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Full Moon Fever
Young actress Amanda Seyfried dons the famous scarlet robe and reinvigorates a classic fairy tale with director Catherine Hardwicke’s Red Riding Hood.
When Amanda Seyfried walks into a room, everyone takes notice. And not just because of the Australian sheep dog that she has brought with her. The 25-year-old actress looks every inch the Hollywood actress with her long blonde hair and big blue eyes, but stands out from the rest with her wonderfully dry sense of humour. Seyfried began her career with roles on the TV soaps As The World Turns and All My Children, but her big break came when she was cast as the ditzy Karen in 2004's smash hit Mean Girls. Since then, her ability to portray characters that are both sweet and sexy has seen her star in several romantic films, such as Dear John, Mamma Mia! and Letters To Juliet.
Director Catherine Hardwicke (Twilight) became a fan of Seyfried while hearing her speak at a Hollywood charity benefit, and thought that she was perfect to star in her new version of Red Riding Hood. "I've always admired Amanda," Hardwicke says. "I've always been paying attention, and I've really wanted to work with her. I was very excited about having her in Red Riding Hood because she actually looks like a fairy tale character. She's got that sense of vulnerability."
In Red Riding Hood, Seyfried has the leading role of Valerie, a young girl caught in the middle of a love triangle. Her parents have arranged a marriage to the wealthy blacksmith, Henry (Max Irons), but her heart lies with her childhood friend, Peter (Shiloh Fernandez), who has just come back to town. "Valerie is young and adventurous," Seyfried explains. "She feels pretty much what she wants. She really is fearless. It's a beautiful thing."
Valerie's courageous nature is tested when tragedy strikes, and a lurking wolf kills her sister. She begins to suspect that the wolf could be someone that she knows, and Valerie dons that famous red robe for a trip to her grandmother's house to check that she is safe. It's a story that we've all grown up with, but Seyfried says that this version is not so much a revamping of the classic fairy tale as it is a throwback to the tone of the original Brothers Grimm tale. "It went back to the original, which was dark and had so much to say. Fairy tales have always really scared me," Seyfried deadpans. "I'm easily terrified. I didn't really get into any of them. I listened to Rapunzel and I was just...I couldn't deal with it."
The look of Hardwicke's Red Riding Hood is striking; with just one glance at the poster showing a red-caped Seyfried walking through dark woodlands, you can tell that the director has put her production designer background to good use. But one element that is definitely staying secret until the film's release is what the wolf will look like. On set, they grabbed whoever was on hand to stand in for the scary beast, which made for some funny moments. "At times, it was Catherine Hardwicke," Seyfried laughs. "We changed all the time. We also had this guy that we hired from this acting school up north in Canada who played the wolf in a costume that I got online for $69."
Devoted fans of Hardwicke's Twilight have been eagerly awaiting Red Riding Hood, hoping that the director will deliver the same kind of moody love story that made the vampire franchise such a hit. Even from the trailer, it's easy to see how people will compare Red Riding Hood to Twilight, with its sexy young cast, a rocking soundtrack, and of course, a supernatural being. When asked what Seyfried thinks the appeal of Twilight is, the actress laughs. "The boys! That's a big one," she says. And she does concede that Red Riding Hood lends itself to fans choosing "Team Henry" or "Team Peter." "Honestly, I'm so sick of the comparisons, but it's going to happen..."
Red Riding Hood is released on March 24.
For more from Amanda Seyfried and director Catherine Hardwicke, pick up the April issue of FILMINK on sale now.
