By Gill Pringle
Was it easy to say yes to this project, even with the fact that it’s a well-loved movie?
McCarthy: “Yes. I had no hesitations.”
Wiig: “Of course we knew that people would be thinking about the first two movies, but with [director] Paul Feig and the ladies and the script, it was a very easy yes.”
What was your experience with the original Ghostbusters?
Wiig: “It’s a funny movie, and it’s unlike any other movie at that time and now. It combines action and comedy and the supernatural, and the humour is out there in spots. It’s just a good movie, and those movies stick around.
How did you come up with your ensemble?
Wiig: “Well, we didn’t. We’re just actors.”
McCarthy: “We were invited to the party. Paul is really fantastic with casting. He always has been in terms of finding people that will work really well together, and finding unusual combinations, and having people do stuff that they are not usually known for. He is really brilliant at that, and this is no exception.”
Chris Hemsworth is so insanely funny in this…did that surprise you?
Wiig: “The level of funny did! He’s extremely funny. He’s not only just good, he’s one of the best improvisers…”
McCarthy: “Yeah, it’s a little weird. It would have been okay if it was like, ‘Yeah, he’s okay’, and instead, we were like, ‘He may be one of the best improvisers.’ I was rattled. I was like, ‘Maybe he’ll be a jerk.’ Nope, he’s delightful. On every level, he’s just a better made human. He’s just lovely. He’s so funny. He was great.”
How out of your comfort zone are you on this movie? What are you experiencing for the first time?
McCarthy: Well, it’s the first time that I’m doing anything that isn’t an original script. That felt different; you’re going into territory that – even though it’s a completely different story, with different characters – there’s an ownership that goes along with it from the fans. Myself included. I love the original two. If I start trying to think that way, I’m going to mess myself up. So I just thought, ‘What do we need in each scene?’ I try to compartmentalise it.”
There’s a lot of physical comedy in this. Were there any injuries?
McCarthy: “You were always cut! [Laughs]”
Wiig: “I had a lot of cuts! The packs were metal, and they were square with real sharp edges.”
McCarthy: “They had jagged metal parts in the back, so even if we were going to grab each other, you would always slice your hand on something. But it kept it very real. At any given time, we were in high danger. High danger from lots of paper cuts!”
Are the four of you similar to your Ghostbusters characters in real life?
Wiig: “God, I hope not mine! I do wear a lot of skirt suits and I carry a briefcase though.”
McCarthy: “There are little bits of real people in our characters that come through, but they were characters.”
Have you guys had any interaction with the supernatural?
McCarthy: “No. Oh, sigh. You’re like, ‘Boring!’ No, but I believe in it.”
Wiig: “Everyone always asks that question…I feel like I should make up some crazy story.”
Do you have an open mind to it?
McCarthy: “Oh, I believe in it!”
Wiig: “Of course.”
McCarthy: “I’ve been in old houses. I lived in an old house in Boulder; it wasn’t menacing, but there was an incredibly palpable feeling. I looked in the attic, which sounds like a bad set-up for a movie, but somehow I was like, ‘Oh, I get all of this space,’ and then I realised that it’s the attic. It is a hundred-year-old home, and we were the first people out of the family to ever live there and pretty much everybody said, ‘Yeah, it’s just a little weird up here.’ You just felt something…”
Did you go to college in Boulder? Is that why you were there?
McCarthy: “No, I didn’t. I went to Southern Illinois University, for a short segment of time. My sister was in Boulder, so I went out there and I was just working. I made clothes for people and stuff like that. I was apprenticing with a shoe cobbler. I don’t get to say that a lot! I wanted to learn how to make shoes, and I found a woman that made them. And that was it.
Has that skill come in handy?
McCarthy: “Well, certainly with making clothes for my clothing line.”
Wiig: [Sarcastic] “She’s made all my shoes.”
McCarthy: “No, but I weirdly want to. I love all that stuff and something is wrong with me.”
Can you describe the character you are playing in the film?
Wiig: “My character’s name is Erin. She and [Melissa McCarthy’s ghost-obsessed scientist] Abby met when they were kids and my character actually had an experience with a ghost and Abby was the only one that believed her and they just developed this friendship and loved talking about the paranormal, and writing about it, and putting on presentations and shows. They wrote a book about it, and my character struggled with the social side of that because they were never invited to any parties, and people made fun of them. So when she had the opportunity to leave for college, she just went into the world of science. She wanted to have a normal life and not be considered a crazy person. Then she meets up with Abby when the movie starts.”
McCarthy: “I play Abby, and even when I first read it, she was a consummate believer. I liked that no matter what anybody else said, she always stays true to herself. I love a person that has those qualities, so that was very appealing to me: to play someone who is strong enough in herself to march to her own drummer.”
How was it having Bill Murray and Dan Aykroyd on the set?
McCarthy: “It was amazing! The most bizarre thing was that I already know both of the guys, which always seems like I’ve gone crazy, and that I’m making it up. But having them on that set, you knew that you had the full blessing. They had a really good time, and they got a kick out of it. It’s going to be really fun.”
Why do you think that Paul Feig [Bridesmaids, The Heat] is so good with comedies with female leads?
McCarthy: “He not about that. He thinks in terms of comedy. He likes to put a twist on things; if you’ve seen 25 cop movies with two guys, then you immediately think, ‘What’s a different way to do it without trying too hard?’ Strangely, that means put women in it. But he is never thinking about that. I don’t think it occurs to him that you deal with women any differently to men in a comedy. That is why he is successful at it. It doesn’t occur to him.”
Kristen, you’ve been doing some dramatic roles…is this a direction that you see yourself moving more into, or will you always be in comedy?
Wiig: “It’s not really a conscious change in direction. I just gravitate towards the script that I am reading, and if I want to do that movie, it just happens to be the right time. That’s a boring answer. I really enjoy doing drama and I really enjoy doing small films, so if the script feels right and I get that feeling, then I try to go to the next step of it.
You’re both used to being in starring roles – is it more fun when you can share the laughs with a group of girls?
Wiig: “Oh yeah! Doesn’t that just sound more fun!”
McCarthy: “Do you like sitting in a room by yourself, or with really funny women?”
Ghostbusters is in cinemas now.
