Category Articles & Interviews

FX Cold War drama’s cast and executive producers talk bad wigs, counterintelligence and what’s ahead in Season Two

The setting of The Americans may be 1981 Washington, D.C., but since the FX thriller about undercover Soviet spies is actually shot in New York, the cast and executive producers held court at the Paley Center for Media last night for the latest installment of the PaleyFest: Made in NY panel series. On hand were stars Keri Russell (Elizabeth Jennings), Matthew Rhys (Philip Jennings) and Noah Emmerich (Stan Beeman), as well as executive producers Joe Weisberg and Joel Fields.

Those salivating for juicy tidbits about the forthcoming second season were bound to be disappointed as the cast and producers remained tight-lipped about specific plot points, both on the red carpet and during the panel. In their defense, Russell and Fields (demonstrating his loyalty to the Jenningses by wearing a red CCCP T-shirt emblazoned with a yellow hammer and sickle) admitted that the first table read of the season had just occurred that day, and shooting even doesn’t start until next week. (Russell told Rolling Stone that they’ll start on Wednesday. The series is set to return in January 2014.) But gleaning information about what’s next for the KGB agents who speak flawless English and look like they walked out of a JC Penney catalog wasn’t quite as impenetrable a task as some of Philip and Elizabeth’s previous missions. “We’ve only read one [script],” Russell told RS, “but it sounds like the family dynamic is going to be a real focus. As Paige [the Jennings’ American-born teenage daughter] gets older, she could be a serious threat for everyone’s safety.” Considering that Paige started snooping around her parents’ basement at the end of last season, Russell’s hints sound right on the mark. Continue reading ‘The Americans’ Invade New York’s Paley Center

It may not seem like your typical rom-com duo: Keri Russell, known as a clandestine Russian spy in FX’s retro thriller “The Americans,” and Bret McKenzie of New Zealand’s comic-music duo, “Flight of the Conchords.” Put them both in regency costumes in a faux British amusement park devoted to Jane Austen fanatics, and things are bound to get a little freaky.

That’s the premise of the new film “Austenland,” directed by Jerusha Hess, the co-screenwriter of “Napoleon Dynamite” and “Gentlemen Broncos.” Based on the book by Shannon Hale, Russell plays a plain Jane unable to sustain a relationship while absorbed in her time-warp fantasies of romance and ruffles in Jane Austen books.

Her home is a shrine to Colin Firth’s portrayal of the dashing Mr. Darcy from the BBC production of “Pride and Prejudice,” complete with life-size cut-outs of the actor in costume and pillows and throws emblazoned with “I (heart) Darcy” symbols. She blows her life savings on a full-emersion experience at a British resort devoted to role-playing Austen where male actors are hired to fulfill guests’ romantic fantasies.

“It started with a lot of giggling about British men in britches,” says Hess, who co-wrote the screenplay with Hale and makes her directing debut. “I wanted to do something different and this is unashamedly a girl’s movie.” Continue reading ‘Austenland’ features unlikely pair, unlikely film

Keri Russell loved her experience shooting “Austenland,” a comedy about a group of modern-day Jane Austen fans who travel to what is essentially a theme park filled with characters from the novelist’s books.

She loved the script, her cast mates, working with a new director — loved it all. Except for one thing: the dresses.

“I definitely am one of those actors who likes the least amount of time in hair and makeup as possible,” said Russell, who entered the cultural zeitgeist with the WB show “Felicity” in the late 1990s and scored an indie hit as the lead in 2007’s “Waitress.”

“If I can do it in 20 minutes, I will. The idea of then adding an extra 20 minutes just to put on the clothes — I’m like, ‘No! That’s crazy.’ I dare you to put on a corset that you have to lace up every single day, and the bloomers and the lace-up boots and the tights, and then the underdress and the petticoat, and then the dress, which has to be laced and buttoned. It’s un-be-lieve-able.”

And try it when you’re six months’ pregnant, as Russell was at the beginning of the shoot.

“Certainly the chest region grew over the shooting,” Russell said, her laughter booming.

“Austenland” stars Russell as Jane Hayes, a mopey single woman in her 30s who can’t find a man — or when she does find one, she drives him away with her obsession with Austen.

She decides to spend her life savings on a Jane Austen experience, traveling to an English manor that has been decked out in 18th-century accoutrements and stocked with actors who dress and speak as Austen characters.

Jane Seymour has a delicious role as the micromanaging woman who runs the whole show.

The film is the first directing effort by Jerusha Hess, the Salt Lake City writer and filmmaker who, with her husband, Jared Hess, created a string of oddball comedies, including “Napoleon Dynamite” and “Nacho Libre.”

“I did it because of her,” Russell said. “Jerusha is young and smart and definitely has her own voice, which I appreciate. She has a real sense of style, and is great to work with. I’m really curious to see what she does next.”

Source: http://www.goerie.com/

For Austenland star Keri Russell, an afternoon glass of wine is totally fine. Bad music? Not so much.

The Golden Rule

“Always order something you don’t normally cook yourself. That’s what the late Jill Clayburgh told me once. She ordered sweetbreads. It sounded so exotic to me. But even if it’s something I can cook, they’re going to cook it better than I could.”

Music Makes the Meal

“I like music in restaurants—when it’s used well. I’ve spent a lot of kitchen time dancing to Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros’ ‘Man on Fire.’”

Embrace Happy Hour

“It’s always okay to have an afternoon glass of wine. I’m a mother of two. Isn’t it in the rule book?”

Don’t Obsess Over Price

“It doesn’t always reflect a restaurant’s quality. If a place is cozy and delicious, it’s so much better than having eight courses and being uptight.”

Go Early

“I eat alone a lot, so I love finding a tucked-away-in-the-corner spot with my book, just when they open.”

Define Your Night

“Maybe I’m old, but to me, ‘going out’ means going out to dinner. It’s about the conversation: someone recognizing your intellect, the charm of flirting, and really speaking to somebody.”

MY TOP NOLA SPOTS

“When I’m in a city for a few months, I get a bunch of favorites and create a routine.” Here’s where Russell ate in New Orleans this summer while shooting Dawn of the Planet of the Apes.

Boucherie “They make this insane appetizer: shredded-pork carnitas rolled up with peach inside.”

Patois “I love the olive oil cake.”

Velvet Espresso Bar “A sweet little coffee shop.”

Lilette “Every single one of the desserts was incredible.”

Sylvain “I stumbled into this magic dark alley and had a glass of rosé with good food in a hidden courtyard.”

Source: http://www.bonappetit.com

Underneath her good-girl cloak, Keri Russell is bursting with mischief — and searching for imperfection.

It’s not that Keri Russell is tired of being adorable on-screen. She’s made a nifty career of it, from her debut at age 15 on “The All New Mickey Mouse Club,” through her coming-of-age years on the college drama “Felicity” (J.J. Abrams’ first TV series), and on into films including the new rom-com “Austenland,” in which she plays a wallflower who visits a Jane Austen theme park in search of her own Mr. Darcy. Being delightful off-screen isn’t hard for Russell, either — in a recent phone interview, she was sunny and playful, with a mischievous sense of humor.

But to be honest, she’s having a total gas playing the moody and secretive Elizabeth Jennings, a 1980s-era Soviet spy posing as a Washington, DC, housewife, on the FX series “The Americans.”

“I’m really enjoying not having to be charming at every turn,” Russell says. “It’s sort of relaxing. And I get to wear thick, cat-eye eyeliner, and chains and silk blouses and long hair. I feel glamorous and cold. I like it.” She lets loose a peal of laughter. Continue reading Keri Russell goes under cover

Who can do the worm, skateboard, and play Nelly songs on the piano?

This girl: Keri Russell.

She can also juggle a badass leading role on The Americans, Gary Oldman and Gary Clarke in director Matt Reeves’s Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, one husband, and two littles.

For her latest trick, she plays a hopeless Jane Austen addict in Austenland, a Sundance rom com from Napoleon Dynamite co-writer-turned-director Jerusha Hess. We caught up with the wonder woman (who’s more charming and loveable than a Mr. Darcy blow-up doll) to talk movies, books, and beauty.

And Scott Speedman (what?). Continue reading Summer Fridays with Keri Russell

nd I’m back with more from my press day in NYC for Austenland. Besides chatting with director Jerusha Hess & Stephenie Meyer (Our round-table interview is here. Plus I have 1 on 1 interviews I’ll share tomorrow!) we talked with the cast that was in NYC for press-day: Keri Russell (really wish I hadn’t called her Felicity*), Jennifer Coolidge and JJ Feilds (Who, despite all the auto-correct attempts in the world, actually spells his name Feilds and not Fields) Continue reading Austenland interview with Keri Russell, Jennifer Coolidge and JJ Feilds

Idon’t think I’ve ever filled you ladies in on just how much I love Jane Austen—though I did share 5 little-known facts about her—but suffice it to say that if I had the funds to take an Austen-themed vacation to England I would already have gone, come home, and be planning my second, third, fourth trip back. So, yes, Keri Russell’s latest film, Austenland—a movie about a Darcy-obsessed woman who takes a vacation to England and experiences her own Elizabeth Bennet moment—definitely appealed to me. Even better, I got to chat with Keri about being a Janeite, her Felicity roots, and more. Listen in! Continue reading Keri Russell Talks Austenland, Those Empire-Waist Dresses, and Fave Felicity Moments With Us