Love and Monsters premieres at home and in select theaters tomorrow from Paramount Pictures, and takes place seven years after the "Monsterpocalypse." Humanity has been forced to hide underground, but Joel (Dylan O'Brien, The Maze Runner) decides to embark on a mission to reunite with his high school girlfriend Aimee (Jessica Henwick, Iron Fist) after reconnecting with her over the radio. However, with dangerous monsters standing in his way, their reunion isn't going to be easy.
Michael Rooker (Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2) and Ariana Greenblatt (Avengers: Infinity War) are also part of the cast, and we recently caught up with the latter to discuss her role in the movie.
As Minnow, she's not just a kid sidekick or someone in need of rescuing by the adults around her; instead, Greenblatt plays a tough as nails, battle hardened orphan who, along with Rooker's Clyde, teaches Joel how to survive in the crazy, savage world of the "Monsterpocalypse."
In this interview, the actress talks to us in detail about her role in Love and Monsters, what it means to her to be a young Latina woman on screen, working with Rooker, the possibility of returning as the character in a sequel, and even how she would go about surviving an apocalyptic scenario!
It goes without saying that we want to extend a huge thank you to Ariana for talking to us about the film, and be sure to check out our review of Love and Monsters by clicking here.
When you were first offered a role in Love and Monsters, what was it about the movie that made it a project you wanted to be part of?
I loved my character if I'm being honest! It's something I've never done before, so I thought it would be a super, super cool opportunity. It's a role with girl power, super powerful, and a good message. Also, I love Dylan O'Brien's work, so I knew it would be awesome to work with him as well.
Dylan O'Brien is someone else you get to spend a lot of time with in the film, so what was that experience like for you as a bond develops between your two characters?
Dylan was incredible to work with. He's so sweet and caring and funny. There was never a dull moment on set, I'll just say that! It was really cool to see the bond our two characters develop throughout the movie and to see both of their sides come together. At the very beginning, they're very away from each other, I guess, but it was great to see that dynamic come together really nicely.
Your character is very fiery, and very smart, and I was wondering how important that was to you as a young actress to play this strong female lead?
It's something I've always wanted to do, and I've always wanted to play a strong female lead. I think it's very important for people my age to know that they can be strong and it doesn't matter who you are or where you're from, you can be your own, strong, courageous person. I think Minnow portrays that pretty well.
Did you look at any other films or characters for inspiration with how you would portray Minnow?
I got a lot of creative freedom and got to put my own little spice into it. I don't think I watched any movies to get inspiration, and I think the first time I met [director] Michael Matthews and Dylan together, I already knew there would be great chemistry and that it would be pretty easy to find that. When it came to the monsters, I saw vision boards to see what they would look like.
Was having creative input on the film a new experience for you as an actress?
I always love to do improv and have people to work off of as that's one of my favourite things to do. I was super excited when I met them and realised they also loved improv and having fun which is always awesome. Other than that, I haven't really had many improv opportunities, so this was definitely an awesome one to do. I just had a lot of creative freedom, a lot of improv, and a lot of fun!
The monsters in the film are brought to life with VFX, so what were those scenes like to perform on set when they're obviously added down the line?
It was actually pretty interesting. We saw a vision board to see what the monsters looked like, but it was mostly a case of having eye lines and being given places to look at! The scenarios and scenes we did which had to have some sort of monster in, without spoiling anything, the props and everyone really made the textures and details so, so phenomenal. Shout out to the visual effects artists too because they made it look so real in the finished film. Definitely, imagination is key for a movie like this.
It looks like you were shooting in some incredible locations, so can you talk a little about what those were like?
We shot in Queensland, Australia which was, by far, one of my best places I've ever filmed. It was beautiful. The locations we shot at were so luscious and green. There were horses and cows walking around and kangaroos and koala bears everywhere, so it definitely helped me get into my character by being in a real location and environment which was so, so cool. I love Australia so much and it was my first time going so that was an amazing opportunity by itself.
Michael Rooker is an incredible actor who has done so much in his career, and I was wondering what your experience working with him here was like?
It was so cool! When I found out I was working with Michael Rooker, my dad was like, 'Oh my gosh, he's Yondu in Guardians of the Galaxy!' I was like, 'What? No way, I had no idea!' Meeting him, I didn't know what to expect, but he was so sweet and so funny and a blast to work with.
Did you feel you could learn a lot from him?
Yeah, he's definitely so talented and the characters he plays, he just morphs himself into them which I find so cool. Underneath that and his acting, he's just such a great person and so funny. I really hope I can work with him again in future.
You and Michael Rooker both have big ties to the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise, so is that something you both had chance to talk about on set?
I did mention, 'You played Yondu in Guardians of the Galaxy' and he was like, 'Oh, and you played Young Gamora!' We definitely had that little bonding thing for sure and something in common, but we did talk about it a little bit. He's amazing and definitely a firecracker [Laughs].
They weren't your only co-stars, of course, as you got to work with a really adorable dog – what were those days on set like?
The dog was so brilliant! I was mesmerised by the dog, and every second I had, I would play with him and pet it. It was so fun, but I had no idea what to expect working with a dog, so watching as they pick up all these little things and treats and doing all these tricks was so cool. He was amazing, for sure!
After watching the movie, I know I wanted a sequel, but is that something you'd be interested in?
I would totally be interested in doing a sequel. I'd love to see Minnow and Clyde's relationship grow, and maybe have the three of them get back together for another movie and see what journey takes them maybe in winter, maybe not, who knows, but I'd definitely love to see where things go in a sequel for these characters.
At this stage in your career, you've starred in some big franchises, and it must be great as a young Latina woman to bring that sort of representation to screen?
It's extremely important to me. I grew up never really seeing anyone that looked like me, so for me, being able to be that person for someone else is just super, super important. I just want to represent Latinas out there, especially women, as it's harder being in the Hollywood industry being a Latina woman, so I hope Hollywood can change and make us the main characters, not the tokens, if you know what I mean?
With Love and Monsters, what were some of your most memorable moments working on the film?
There are so many! Every day was like a new story, so there are so many memories that I have with the film, but I think the helicopter ride where I had to be on top of the mountain was just crazy for me to do. It was insane looking down. I'm not afraid of heights, but being that high up on a mountain with so many people was definitely crazy, but also maybe the last day. It was super sad, but also super fun. Dylan was trying to make me laugh and so was Michael, so probably those moments. It was just a memorable experience, and I'm so happy with it.
Watching the film, we're seeing people in isolation that's a lot like what's happening in the world with COVID, so looking at it now and seeing those real-life similarities must be quite strange?
Definitely strange. When I went back and watched the film for the first time, I was like, 'Oh my Gosh, I'm realising this for the first time now. This is what we're going through right now.' It's a very relevant movie to come out and I feel like everyone can clear their minds, enter this new environment, spend some time with some fun people, and it's the perfect movie to help people take their minds off everything that's happening right now. The similarities are cool, though!
Finally, if you were to find yourself trapped in a bunker, what three essentials would you take with you to survive the "Monsterapocalypse"?
Hmm, that's a good question! Let's see, maybe a flashlight. A huge jug of water. A lighter...maybe a great partner like Clyde is to Minnow to keep you going and to keep your head up and be encouraged. Those would be my essentials!
Check out the Love and Monsters trailer ahead of its release tomorrow: