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Aleki77
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Jennifer Morrison Interview About Once Upon a Time
Jennifer Morrison Talks About the Fairy Tale She Wants on Once Upon a Time and Emma's New Love Interest
Jennifer Morrison plays Emma on Once Upon a Time, the show's reluctant heroine who has been chosen to break the curse of a town full of fairy-tale characters. I chatted with Morrison about the series, and I had to know how she felt about Graham's shocking death and whether we'll ever see him again. We also discussed the upcoming tales we'll get to see on the show, including the story Morrison would love to see play out.
BuzzSugar: We were really upset when Graham died; were you sad when you found out it was going to happen?
Jennifer Morrison: Well, we knew what was coming in the story line since the beginning of the season. But all of us were upset because we love Jamie Dornan, and I thought he was just absolutely fabulous in the show. We all were very close, you know? So it felt like a huge loss, not just on the show, but just personally. We were all really close friends, and we still feel that loss. It feels weird with him not being in Vancouver with us.
Buzz: Is there any way that Dornan might return?
JM: The thing is, just because he died in reality doesn't mean that he can't return as the huntsman, because those are flashbacks. So, depending on the structure of the show, and the story we decide to tell, as far as I understand, there's room for him to exist still in fairy-tale land.
Buzz: With him gone, is Emma getting another love interest?
JM: Well, this last episode that aired, there's a stranger that comes to town, played by Eion Bailey, who is in that very last scene in that last episode that aired. I don't know for sure where they're cutting this at, but I know that there is a possibility that this stranger in town could somehow be connected to Emma at some point. Beyond that, I don't really know.
To find out what else Morrison said about the show, including the fairy tale she hopes to see on Once Upon a Time, just keep reading.
Buzz: What fairy tales are coming up on the show?
JM: I know Little Red Riding Hood's story gets told, and they go back into Snow White and Prince Charming's story and reveal more in their fairy-tale stuff as well. Those are the major ones that are coming up in the next few episodes.
Buzz: Since Emma is only part of the real world, do you ever get jealous that you don't get to shoot any magical fairy-tale scenes?
JM: Obviously it's fun to look at all the pictures from when they shoot in fairy-tale land, and everyone looks beautiful in the gorgeous costumes, but I'm so in love with Emma. I really just love playing Emma, and I have such a good time playing her that I would never wish that away just to have pretty costumes. I'm just really enjoying her right now, and also selfishly, when they shoot the fairy-tale land stuff, I usually get a day off!
Buzz: Do you think more characters will have the same kind of breakthrough that Graham did, where they realize they had another life?
JM: Yes; I think that so much of the whole idea of Emma being in town and being the chosen one to break this curse is that, without her realizing it, her presence and her relationships with people are going to start, in different ways, sparking things. Sometimes it'll be in ways that people actually remember things, and sometimes it'll be in ways where someone just starts to become more of a truer version of themselves rather than a cursed version of themselves.
Buzz: What do you think of the relationship between Emma and Mary Margaret?
JM: I think it's fascinating and I think it was a genius idea on Eddie and Adam's part — Eddie Kitsis and Adam Horowitz, the showrunners — because I think all of us have had those moments where we think, "God, what would it be like to go back and be friends with my parents, before they had kids, and before they had to be parents?" This is the ultimate exploration of what that could possibly look like. Emma doesn't for a second think that Mary Margaret is really her mother, and so she definitely has this very natural friendship with her, which in some ways is very alarming, because Mary Margaret is so pure and so true and seems to just be nice to her for the sake of being nice to her without ulterior motives. And I don't think Emma's really come across that in life. And because Emma's been so damaged and so hurt and so isolated over time, this is really new for her to have this kind of relationship with another woman and I think it does very naturally feel maternal in some ways. It is fun to find those times where it feels like we're just friends, and times where she feels like the mom and I feel like the kid, or I feel like the mom and she feels like the kid. We're always playing around with that dynamic when we have those scenes together.
Buzz: Are there any fairy tales or characters you'd like to see on the show?
JM: We all keep bugging them to do Ariel from The Little Mermaid. We're trying to figure out how they're going to work a mermaid into the show!
http://www.buzzsugar.com/Jennifer-Morrison...n-Time-21414132
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Aleki77 .
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Beyond the gingerbread House
An evil Queen murdering her father, Jimmy Cricket as a child psychologist and Snow White running around bailing pretty blondes out of prison – welcome to Storybrooke, home of TV2's new Once Upon a Time.
Dreamed up by the guys behind Lost – meaning yes, you will have at least five questions per scene – the fantastical drama follows a bunch of characters, from Prince Charming to Rumpelstiltskin, who are placed under a curse that transports them to modern-day Boston.
Here, they remain trapped as everyday humans with no memory of their fairytale roots, awaiting the day their only possible saviour comes to town to break the spell and release them.
Cue Emma Swan, a 28-year-old bail bondswoman, who was abandoned at birth (by Snow White and Prince Charming in the parallel fairytale universe) and is sceptical when Henry, the son she gave up in her teens, arrives on her doorstep, now 10 and convinced she holds the key to freeing the enchanted ones of Storybrooke.
Once Upon a Time lead actress Jennifer Morrison likens the pilot of the series – which switches back and forth between modern-day Storybrooke and the fairytale world – to the universe of Harry Potter, and isn't surprised by the frowns that the premise has received, both from critics and her character.
"I feel like someone has to comment on how ridiculous it all seems," she tells Culture.
"If I were faced with this just as me, I would think it was ridiculous. So it's been fun to be able to have those reactions as Emma.
"She's had a tough life in terms of being abandoned as a child, raised in the foster system and going through horrible things, but she has a really tough exterior. So for her to open herself to the idea that something else is out there is going to take some time."
Despite her doubts, Emma is struck by the impromptu reunion with Henry and drives him home to Storybrooke, where she encounters his adoptive mother – the town mayor Regina, who doubles as the Evil Queen in the fairytale world.
Deciding to stick around town, she also meets Henry's teacher Mary Margaret, whose alter-ego is, unbeknownst to Emma, her birth mother Snow White.
"From Emma's perspective, Mary Margaret is very disarming because she's kind and seems to have no ulterior motives.
"It's like with your own parents when you go home – you're borrowing the keys to the car and you suddenly feel 14 again. There's a feeling like that in Emma whenever she's around Mary Margaret – not that she understands why."
While the ensemble cast, which includes Big Love's Ginnifer Goodwin and veteran actor Robert Carlyle, transport their minds back to childhood tales as they switch between their modern-day characters and fairytale counterparts, picturesque Vancouver, where the show films, has provided a natural Ansel Adams-like setting.
"You don't even have to imagine it," says Morrison, noting one scene where Snow White is woken up by Prince Charming atop a snow-capped mountain.
"It was real snow on a real mountain in a real forest – it just magically snowed for that scene!"
Every detail of the plot has been carefully thought out, down to Emma's surname – which producers are quick to point out is no connection to Twilight's Bella Swan.
"I didn't know that that was the last name of the woman in Twilight until two weeks ago," says executive-producer Edward Kitsis.
"If we knew, I don't know if we would have named her Swan! But we loved the idea of what a swan is to fairy tales."
"They're very meaningful creatures and especially with how they're establishing Emma in the story – she's the link between fairytale and reality," Morrison says. "Often in literature and in religious references, swans are the unity between divinity and humanity. So it seemed a great symbolic fit for her to have that name, not even realising that she might be the link."
It's as far away as Morrison could get from Dr Allison Cameron on House, and the actress is enjoying taking her acting skills out of the hospital wards.
"Dr Cameron was always going to serve a very specific purpose, which I was more than happy to do and enjoyed pushing the limits of. But with this set up – fairytales, mythology, endless possibility – it's exciting because I won't have those restrictions.
"There's definitely a broader range of emotions and experiences that Emma Swan is going to have compared to Dr Cameron!"
Magic and mythology aside, Kitsis says ultimately he hopes the show will convey an underlying message of hope in today's often-dark times.
"I think we can all agree that right now, everyone's scared shitless at what's going on in the world.
"We wanted to write about hope because it's the one thing that's really missing right now and that's why we're seeing so many fairytales and Snow White movies – there's a reason Snow White originally came out during The Depression.
"People like fairytales for the same reason they buy lottery tickets – so you can tell your boss to go to hell and retire to an apartment in Paris.
"That's what a fairytale is; one day you're doing laundry for your evil stepsisters and the next your fairy godmother says, `Go to the ball,' and your happy ending comes. Our goal is for one hour a week to get people to sit back and be transported into a place that leaves them a little more hopeful about life than it was an hour before."
http://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/tv/63...ngerbread-House. -
HeatherC12 .
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Great article. I hope the writers do have a few more happy and hopeful things happen though as it seems like the darker things have been rather prominent lately. I don't read spoilers so hopefully there are some good things coming! 
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aurore .
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Once Upon a Time, a show became a surprise hit
Jennifer Morrison was caught between two worlds - literally - on this brisk mid-winter's evening. She was leaving an ABC-sponsored party in Pasadena, Calif., dressed in a resplendent red ballroom dress, only to change into civilian duds and jump onto a three-hour flight up the coast to Vancouver and back to work on the set of Once Upon a Time.
Once Upon a Time - an enchanting fantasy drama in which Morrison plays hard-luck, hardscrabble single mother Emma Swan - is the 2011-2012 TV season's most-watched and, judging from the groundswell of popular opinion on Twitter and in online chat forums, one of the most beloved, obsessively followed, and fondly discussed new drama series since Lost in 2004.
Once Upon a Time, the creation of Lost co-writers Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz and written off as recently as October as a fanciful misfire, now shows real signs of living happily ever after. Originally slated for 13 episodes, if that, parent network ABC recently bumped the season order to a full 22, with a second-season renewal now just a formality.
Once Upon a Time is airing on the same night and time as ABC's The Wonderful World of Disney, which aired for more than 20 seasons in all, but had not been seen since Christmas Eve, 2008. Once Upon a Time appeals to a similar audience: children of all ages, men, women and the young at heart. For Morrison, shoe-horning her TV work into a film career that has included J.J. Abrams' Star Trek, Surviving Christmas, Warrior, and Mr. & Mrs. Smith, Once Upon a Time has taken on a life of its own. Morrison was most familiar to TV viewers as Dr. Allison Cameron in early seasons of House, but her role in Once Upon a Time may be about to eclipse that.
Once Upon a Time's story is set in the picture-postcard town of Storybrooke, Maine, where familiar fairy-tale characters are unknowingly trapped in the present day, the result of a vengeful and possibly irreversible curse. The town's inhabitants have no memory of their true identities. Morrison's character, Emma Swan, is the only character who lives entirely in the present day, but doesn't know she's the grown daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming, and an integral part of the story.
For now, though, Emma Swan is the resident skeptic, and it's a role she's only too happy to take on.
"It's actually fun to have that perspective on things, because I feel like someone has to comment on how ridiculous it all seems," Morrison said. "It's been fun to have a genuine response to what's going on. If I were faced with this, just as me, I would think it was ridiculous. So it's fun having the freedom to just react as Emma."
Morrison has no idea when the illusion will be shattered - that's up to Kitsis and Horowitz, she says - but for now, she's content to play a heroine with a hard, brittle exterior.
"From my perspective, she's had such a tough life, being abandoned as a child and raised in foster care and experiencing a lot of horrible things that we'll come to find out over time, she has a real hardness on the outside. I think that, for her to open herself to the idea of something being out there and really embracing it is going to take some time."
Playing the unknowing daughter of someone her own age - Ginnifer Goodwin's dual character of Snow White and present-day elementary school teacher Mary Margaret - has added a whole extra shade of meaning to her performance.
It's ironic, too, and completely understandable that Morrison and Goodwin have become fast friends on the set.
"Mary Margaret is disarming for her, from Emma's perspective, because she's kind and seems to truly have no ulterior motives," Morrison explained. "Throughout Emma's whole life, she's encountered people who are only nice if they want something from her.
"Interestingly, it's sort of the same way I feel about my own parents. When you go home, it's like you're suddenly 14 again. No matter how old you are, you're like, 'Oh, God, I'm right back to feeling like I'm borrowing the keys to the car, or something. Emma gets that feeling whenever she's around Mary Margaret, a feeling she doesn't quite understand."
Morrison has adopted Vancouver as a second home. The hours on set are long, though, and she hasn't experienced as much of the city as she'd like.
"It's a lovely city, for sure," Morrison said. "I only wish I had time to see more, because there are a lot of things to do. It's been a lovely, lovely time, though, because people have been so embracing of all of us being there, and are supportive of the show. That means a lot, because it's not my home, really. There's been an adjustment period, of course, but people have gone out of their way to make it seem like we belong, and that's meant so much to me."
Morrison worked with a tight crew in Los Angeles while on House. There are no bad crews, she says, but the Vancouver crew has been special. Workdays can run to 14 hours or more, and the five-day work week often spills over into Saturday. A lot can happen on a film set, but the Vancouver crew has everyone's backs, Morrison says, whether it's a department head in charge of lighting equipment or the frequently unsung production assistants.
"It's an extraordinary crew, just extraordinary," Morrison said. "Ginny Goodwin and I share a coffee truck each week for the crew, because we've been so blown away by just how hard they work and how talented they all are. They're adults, real professionals. They're married with kids, really family-oriented. They're fans of the show, which we feel honoured by. I can't believe how many hours a week they have to spend living with us, and then they still watch the show. That means a lot to us. It's a very tight family."
House played a major role in Morrison's life for six years. Now that House's end has been officially announced - the series finale is May 21 - many of those connected with the series, past and present, are looking back and reflecting on its past.
"It was a fabulous show, with incredible writing," Morrison said. "I was lucky to get to play Dr. Cameron for that long. I mean, my goodness, it was just fabulous, fabulous stuff. Anyone who gets the opportunity, as an actor, to play a character who's written by great writers is in an awesome place. It's just awesome."
Morrison looked down, and smiled. She's been in an awesome place twice now. Twice lucky.
http://www.edmontonjournal.com/Once+Upon+T...azi+Group+Media. -
jennwithapen .
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Jennifer Morrison was caught between two worlds - literally - on this brisk mid-winter's evening. She was leaving an ABC-sponsored party in Pasadena, Calif., dressed in a resplendent red ballroom dress, only to change into civilian duds and jump onto a three-hour flight up the coast to Vancouver and back to work on the set of Once Upon a Time.
Do we know what event the interviewer is talking about here? Do we have any pictures?. -
aurore .
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I don't know when they did the interview. She was in red next month at the TCA winter press tour https://jmolove.forumfree.it/?t=59707601 but for me it's not a "ballroom dress"
So a new event?. -
Aleki77 .
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?? mah?! ABC winter TCA was in Pasadena but I don't know ... . -
HeatherC12 .
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Great article. Jennifer is so articulate when she talks about whatever project or show she's working on.
Count me as another one curious about this random event with her in a red ballroom dress!
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comotion .
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I think that Aurore and Aleki nailed it. Nothing gets by those two, as well as our other diligent contributors. 
All the clues point to the winter TCA's and the ABC portion in Pasdena. January 10 would have been the mid-winter reference in the interview.. -
Aleki77+1 .
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'Once Upon A Time': Jennifer Morrison Teases What's To Come For Emma
As "Once Upon a Time" nears its first season finale, it seems like Evil is kind of kicking Good's ass in the fairytale drama. The final moments of this week's episode, "Red Handed," saw Mary Margaret (Ginnifer Goodwin) implicated in Kathryn's apparent murder, leaving Emma (Jennifer Morrison) in the unenviable position of having to arrest her mother roommate.
Times are tough for Storybrooke's new sheriff, so HuffPost TV caught up with Jennifer Morrison for an exclusive phone interview to find out how her character is handling her sudden lack of allies, her ongoing rivalry with Regina and the growing proof that all isn't quite as normal as it appears in the tiny town.
Proceed with caution, there are spoilers ahead.
In this week's episode, we again saw Emma placing a lot of faith in her "super-power" of being able to tell when someone's lying to her, but Sidney's been playing her for weeks now. Is she going to get a rude awakening in terms of her alliances any time soon?
Yeah, I think eventually, for sure. I feel like she's always been a little bit skeptical of Sidney only because he did come from being so deep in Regina's pocket that it's hard for Emma to believe that someone could really make that much of a turnaround. But she's also in a town where she doesn't have a lot of people who are on her side. So, sometimes I think she feels that she has to take the best-worst option. It’s like she knows that there may be something to be skeptical about with Sidney, and yet, he seems like the best possible option at this point. She almost has to force herself to believe that he's going to be trustworthy because she has no other choice. He's really the only person she has access to that can get her the information that she needs and to help her try to solve this case. But yes, at some point, she will definitely have a rude awakening in terms of how deeply he's not supporting her.
The promo for next week reveals that Emma actually arrests Mary Margaret for Kathryn's murder. Obviously, Mary Margaret has been Emma's closest friend in Storybrooke up to this point, so what does this new development mean for their friendship?
It’s a really upsetting situation for Emma because clearly, she doesn't think that Mary Margaret is guilty. And yet, there are seemingly tangible pieces of evidence that point to her. Emma's sort of left with no option because if she doesn’t go where the evidence leads and actually make the arrest, then she looks like she's offering some sort of favoritism to Mary Margaret, which then makes Emma look like she's not doing her job properly, which then gives Regina a reason to fire Emma. So, there's this domino effect of problems that would happen if Emma doesn't follow through with what actually seems to be going on. In Emma's mind, even though it's a horrible thing to have to arrest this person who she truly does consider a friend and truly does believe in, she feels like she can protect her better by doing this than she can if she doesn't do it, because then she could be fired and then someone else be put in that would really take her down.
I think you've said in the past that you guys want to avoid playing the parent/daughter dynamic in Emma's scenes with Mary Margaret or David because you don't want to be winking at the audience like any of them are really aware of something, correct?
Yeah, I think that she really doesn't believe any of this at all. I mean, there's no little part of her that thinks that what Henry has suggested to her with these fairytales being true could possibly be real. So, I can't ever go into a scene thinking that she believes that. So her entire dealings with David or with Mary Margaret are always from the perspective of two people that she just met and treating them as two people that she just met. I do believe that she does feel drawn to both of them in some way. There's some sort of underlying magnetism that she feels to them. But I think she just thinks that that's because she thinks they're good people and that she believes that they're telling the truth, not because she thinks that there's any deeper meaning of them being related.
In next week's episode, we'll also see Mr. Gold as Mary Margaret's attorney. What are Emma's feelings towards him at this point?
I think initially she's very opposed to [Mary hiring him] because obviously she doesn't trust him, for good reason. Ultimately, the dilemma that Emma always ends up having with Mr. Gold, sort of from this point on, is that she does not agree with his methods and she does not agree with the way that he goes about doing things, but she does agree with his results, oftentimes. She suspects that he has ulterior motives that are serving him, but those ulterior motives that are serving him are also serving Emma sometimes. So she, once again, has to sort of choose the lesser of two evils and decide if she's going to go along with what he's doing in order to get the results that she needs in order to protect the people that she wants to protect, or shy away from all of it and try to do all of it by herself.
I think the producers have indicated in previous interviews that there will be a resolution to the Kathryn storyline fairly soon. So in terms of where you're filming now, has the balance shifted between Emma and Regina at all, or has Regina still got the upper hand?
By the point we're at right now, it does start to balance out a little bit. There's more and more building against Regina in terms of proof for other people in town to realize that maybe, she isn't just a good mayor. Part of the curse has been that people have not questioned things; they’re sort of in this haze where they don’t really think outside of what's been the norm from day to day for the last 28 years. Now, all of the things that have been set in motion because of Emma being in town are forcing people to sort of wake up a little bit at a time and go, "Wait a second, why would she do this?" So, Regina is starting to lose her footing in terms of her hold over everyone in town. There does start to be a little bit of a power shift -- or at least some sort of a power balance -- because once you plant those seeds of doubt then she's definitely not as all powerful as she once was.
The March 25 episode will see Emma kidnapped by the Storybrooke version of the Mad Hatter. What can you reveal about that episode and what he wants from Emma?
It was probably the most fun I've had so far shooting episodes. It's one of my favorite scripts. I had such an amazing time. Sebastian Stan, who plays the Mad Hatter, he’s such an extraordinary actor. It was so great coming to work with him every day. He did such cool stuff with his character. I mean, there was not a second I didn't believe he really was this guy. So, from that perspective it was just such a good time.
It does start to plant some interesting seeds in Emma, because it's another person saying to her some of the things that Henry has been saying. She can still justify it away in the sense that, "Well, maybe he read the book. Maybe there's another copy of the book. Maybe he heard about the book." But it is really the first time that there are little chips in Emma's armor in terms of her thinking; not necessarily that there really is a curse and that everybody really is a fairytale, but I think it’s really that turning point for her to realize that there is something very dark and possibly dangerous going on that she needs to try to figure out.
We now know August's name and that he's a writer, but we don't know much more than that. How are things developing between him and Emma?
Very slowly, but surely. I mean, she’s clearly very suspicious of him. He's a stranger who's come to town [and] he doesn't offer a lot of information about himself. Emma relates to that -- she’s someone who keeps to herself and doesn’t like to offer a lot of information about herself because she feels like she has a lot to hide. Because she’s aware of her own reasons for doing that, I think that makes her especially suspicious of him. So, I think the next several episodes you sort of start to see her test whether or not she can trust him. She allows him in, in little bits, and then pushes him away in other ways and sort of starts to kind of test the waters to see how trustworthy he is, where he really stands on things, and if he is safe or not for her or for Henry or for anyone. There’s definitely a bit of a dance that goes on there. You will find out by the end of the season who he is. But it's going to be a little while.
Can you tease anything else about the story lines you're currently filming?
I feel like the whole season -- the way I’ve put it metaphorically is -- we’ve been sort of climbing up the roller coaster. It’s been sort of like one notch at a time. Climbing, climbing, climbing, climbing. By the time we get to episode 20, we're hanging at the top. At 21 and 22, we're just flying down. So, all these little pieces of things that have been set up, all these little puzzle pieces that have been planted all along the way for the whole season, a lot happens really fast. All of it starts to come together very quickly. It's going to be a whirlwind at the end.
"Once Upon a Time" airs Sundays at 8 p.m. EST on ABC.
Do you think Emma will start believing the truth about the curse? Who do you think August truly is? Are you looking forward to seeing Sebastian Stan as The Mad Hatter? Share your thoughts below.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/12/o...893.html?ref=tw. -
aurore .
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Morrison thinks ‘Time’ has magic
Jennifer Morrison didn’t need wizardry to deduce that her TV series Once Upon a Time had the potential to be a hit.
“I remember driving my car up to Vancouver (where Once Upon a Time is shot) and it was the weekend when the last Harry Potter movie was coming out,” Morrison said. “And every time I went into a Starbucks, people were like, ‘Are you going to go see the new Harry Potter movie?’
“And I thought, ‘I’ve stopped in a lot of Starbucks, just on this drive. And every barista has asked me the same question.’
“I thought that was a good sign for us. Because there is that element of good versus evil, and mythology mixed in with very real emotions and relationships. It gave me a secret hope that we would find that audience quickly.”
Once Upon a Time, which airs Sundays on ABC and CTV, did find an audience quickly. And while you can argue that any TV show that becomes a widespread hit these days can be categorized as a “surprise,” the success of Once Upon a Time has raised eyebrows.
The narrative exists in two worlds: Flashback sequences to the land of fairy tales; and a modern-day town called Storybrooke, Maine, where all your favourite fairy-tale characters - Snow White, Rumpelstiltskin, Little Red Riding Hood, etc. - have been banished by a curse, living everyday lives and unaware of their true identities.
Morrison stars as Emma Swan, whose arrival in town has stirred things up. She doesn’t believe there’s a curse, let alone that she’s the key to breaking it, but she certainly has become aware there’s something odd about Storybrooke.
Morrison, who previously played Dr. Allison Cameron on House, said one of the main things that attracted her to Once Upon a Time is that the creators aren’t making it up as they go along.
“When I first sat down with them, they told me their ideas in a way that you felt they had already watched it for six years,” Morrison said.
“I’m not saying they’re rigid in not letting the show breathe the way it wants to breathe. But just having the foundation is fun for the audience already, because you can feel that one little thing could really be big eventually.
“We have characters you’ll see for two seconds in season one, but - God willing we keep going - by season three they could be series regulars. You just don’t know, with all the seeds they’re planting.”
Structurally speaking, Morrison compared Once Upon a Time to the stage show Wicked.
“In Wicked they kind of went back and explained why the green witch was green, and why she was who she was,” Morrison said. “We do that every week with different fairy tales.
“And yet, there always is a domino effect. Once we’ve established something, it gets woven into the fabric of our mythology, and it impacts things down the road.
“I felt like the story telling (in Once Upon a Time) was very much in the same vein as Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings. It crosses a lot of age groups and a lot of different types of people, in terms of who’s drawn to it.”
So Jennifer Morrison’s theory is that Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings and Wicked all helped pave the road for her TV series.
Hmmm ... perhaps the success of Once Upon a Time isn’t so surprising after all.
www.torontosun.com/2012/03/13/morrison-thinks-time-has-magic. -
aurore .
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Once Upon a Time's Jennnifer Morrison: "A Lot Gets Revealed Very Quickly"
Jennifer Morrison hints at what's next on Once Upon a Time and reflects on the end of House.
Now the number one show on Sunday nights, Once Upon a Time is easily one of the current TV season's biggest new success stories. I spoke to the show's star, Jennifer Morrison about the current storylines with her character, Emma, on the heels of some pretty incriminating evidence in the last episode,which found Emma's friend (And, though she wouldn't believe it, her mother) Mary Margaret's fingerprints on a box… containing a human heart!
Jennifer and I also spoke about her previous show, House, coming to an end, her memorable appearance in J.J. Abrams' Star Trek as Captain Kirk's mother and more.
IGN: With Mary Margaret's fingerprints, what does Emma do? This is her roommate and her friend at this point, but Emma's also the sheriff.
Morrison: Yeah. Ultimately Emma is very confident that Mary Margaret is not doing anything wrong and that something weird is going on. But if Emma doesn't follow the evidence and she doesn't follow through with doing what's right based on what's being handed to her evidence-wise -- even if it has been tampered with or even if Mary Margaret is being set up or something -- at this point, I have to follow through with it because otherwise I won't be doing my job properly. It will look like I'm having some sort of favoritism for Mary Margaret, and then Regina would have cause to fire me. Then if she's able to fire me and put someone else in that position, then she would definitely have control over ruining Mary Margaret. So I think Emma sees it as a very upsetting and frustrating position to be in to have to see the evidence as floating towards this person she truly believes to be innocent and who she truly cares about. But at the same time, I think she's relieved that she's the one in an authority position because it's the best way she could possibly hopefully protect Mary Margaret.
IGN: Does Emma have any reason to think Regina's involved in this specifically yet?
Morrison: I don't think she specifically is thinking Regina at this point. I just think that she is very confident that Mary Margaret is not capable of murder. So it seems to her that something is off and wrong and that someone is trying to set her up for some reason.
IGN: You have a very interesting, very different dynamic on the show where these two characters are your parents, but you simply don't believe it. Emma and David have had a few more scenes recently, but it's mostly been about this case. Are we going to see a little bit more bonding there?
Morrison: There's not a lot of reason at this point in the show, unfortunately. There's just these little bits and pieces that we hit with them, because of the case obviously. So I feel like people are definitely going to get to see little bits of their time together, but Emma really does not believe on any, even small, scale that this person could possibly be her father. So it's not like she's going into this time with David thinking, "Oh gee, maybe this guy's my father." He's just this guy that Mary Margaret fell in love with who's causing all sorts of trouble by not being honest with people, and now his wife -- it's like in Emma's eyes he's just sort of the center of a lot of complications.
IGN: Emma's been there a few months now. Making the leap to "these are my parents" is obviously something massive, but do you think she's started to at all maybe be a little more receptive to something being off in this town?
Morrison: I think she's absolutely at zero with thinking there's any chance of a curse. I think that she feels like that there's something going on in terms of there being some sort of manipulation or some sort of framing of something going on and someone being set up. And I think she thinks politically maybe there's some dark things going on and she doesn't understand why or who or what exactly their motives are, but it's all very reality-based for her. There's just zero part of her that believes it has anything to do with a curse.
IGN: And is her relationship going to progress with August? Obviously, we have more reason that she does to be suspicious or very curious about what exactly he's doing.
Morrison: She's obviously very skeptical of August. August is someone who doesn't offer a lot of information about himself, which is very similar to Emma. She's always been very guarded and she's kept a lot of her life private. And she did that because she felt like she had a lot to hide. So I think she's assuming that August must have a lot to hide if she's operating the same way. So she is definitely very skeptical of him. And we're going to see this bit of a dance that goes on in terms of the push and pull of her trying to figure out if he's trustworthy or not or if he has good motives or bad motives or no motives. To her, he's really the wild card in the town right now. She's got everybody else sort of figured out and kind of knows what alliances exist and where they stand or who to trust or who not to trust. But she still feels the jury is out on him.
IGN: The show's interesting in that with the different stories and the different characters the tone can be very different depending on what you're focusing on. There can be a more fanciful tale involving, say, the fairies. But in this past episode with Red Riding Hood, it's pretty dark stuff with all the corpses in the snow. Is it fun for you to be on a show that can go back and forth like that?
Morrison: Yeah, I like that about the show in particular, because I feel like it's a nice representation of how life is. Things can be very light and cheery, and then everything can change in a moment. I was just talking to a friend of mine who, very tragically, had a friend who was in a very terrible car accident, and their whole family's life changed based on dealing with these obstacles: hoping that she'll pull through and hoping she'll be okay. And that was life changing in an instant. And I feel like there's a lot of what you see on our show; there's these vast extremes that can happen on any given day and how faith and help are involved in both extremes of good and bad and light and dark.
IGN: What is it that you think helped Once Upon a Time so quickly find a fanbase?
Morrison: You know, there's always a bit of mystery to all of that. I used to get asked that about House all the time too. It's one of those things where just every once in awhile all the puzzle pieces fit. And it is a bit of magic. It always starts with the writing and the writing on Once Upon a Time is so extraordinary and so inventive and so original. Then after that, it's casting everybody appropriately and with actors that suit the characters in a way that people are going to feel they connect with them and that they all have chemistry with each other. Then it's who's directing and who's production designing and it's who's costume designing. You know, it's all those things. And ultimately, I also feel like it's about the showunners having a really strong vision. Often times, there are very good ideas for pilots, and then the showrunners don't have the guts to fight to keep the show or fight to make the show what it really needs to be. And I think on both House and Once Upon a Time I was shown examples of showrunners who had extraordinary ideas and followed it up with extraordinary writing and execution. And also, we're willing to fight for their idea and willing to fight for the tone of the show and fight to maintain a certain quality and certain vision that is consistently put out every week. And both shows were really able to do that. I think that that often times is what you end up missing.
You might have a great pilot, and then the second episode is just sort of like, "Oh, it's okay." Then the third episode, "I don't understand. It doesn't seem like the same show anymore," you know? So I feel like having that strong vision is a big part of the success of the first year of a show. And beyond that, I think it really is a bit of luck and magic.
We happen to be doing a show about fairytales in a time where we're struggling financially and all sorts of political things are going on in the world. It's a time where people are looking for glimpses of hope and are questioning their own faith and are looking for a bit of escape from these struggles. And I feel like Once Upon a Time is offering a little piece of that right now. I've said before, I don't think it's an accident that Snow White was released during the Great Depression and we're now having this resurgence of Snow White tales and fairytales in a time that is being compared to the Great Depression.
IGN: Not being in the fairytale scenes, is it fun for you to see the episodes and that whole environment that isn't part of your production day?
Morrison: Yeah! I really get to see that part of the show as an audience member, which is really nice. It's really nice to be able to be removed and -- even though I've read the scripts obviously -- be removed enough from it to really visually be able to enjoy it as a true audience member. It's kind of a nice luxury.
IGN: Besides the burgeoning mystery of what happened to Kathryn, is there anything else you can tease you're excited for the fans to see coming up on the show?
Morrison: Honestly, I would just say as we get to episode 20, 21 and 22, so much happens so quickly. I've been saying it's like we're on a roller coaster and we've been climbing and climbing and climbing one notch at a time, and by episode 20 we're kind of hanging at the top. Then at 21 and 22, it lets go, and you're flying down. It's just so many of the questions that have been posed and so many of the little intriguing things that have been planted throughout the seasons start getting answered, and the piece start coming together so quickly. A lot gets revealed very quickly, and you're going to see a whole lot of the characters interacting and see how all these worlds are crossing over in a very specific way, very quickly.
IGN: You mentioned House earlier. What's it like for you to see that it's coming to an end, after such a long, successful run?
Morrison: I know, it's crazy. It was the center of my life for six years of my life, and it was an amazing part of my life. It seems, in a weird way, like House has always been on television. So it's hard to imagine it coming to an end. But I think that, like I said before, it's also been extraordinary writing. And I think it's always nice when a show has had a really nice long run, but it's still going out on top and going out while they're still in the midst of quality material.
IGN: You're said we're probably not going to see you before the end on House, right?
Morrison: Not as far as I have been told, no!
IGN: I was such a big fan of J.J. Abrams' Star Trek. You're only in the opening sequence, but I'm sure you've encountered people who told you it made such an impact. What was it like working on that, especially since you and Chris Hemsworth aren't ever on camera together, but have to convey so much emotion?
Morrison: Yeah, that was about ten days of filming for that sequence, and it was such an extraordinary experience. It really was. Working with J.J. Abrams is a dream come true. He's just one of those directors that… He's constantly, constantly finding something more for you. You know, I come in always super, super prepared with lots and lots of ideas, and he was coming up with more and more and more. It's just such an invigorating way to work because sometimes you have to do these scenes 60, 70 times -- however many angles -- and have someone constantly be pushing you to find a new idea and constantly coming up with a new way to think about it. It's so inspiring to work that way as an actress. For me, it was just an awesome time. Chris was great too because even though we were not actually, physically in the same room, we came in to read the off-camera stuff for each other for our scenes, just to be able to have the presence of that person -- even though technically, we're cutting back and forth between two different locations. So that made a big difference.
IGN: Lastly, I just had to tell you that my wife and I both agreed you looked awesome at PaleyFest last week. You were rocking that suit.
Morrison: Aw, thank you, thank you. Honestly, I just really wanted to be comfortable. And I thought, "Well, let's just wear a suit!" [laughs]
http://uk.tv.ign.com/articles/122/1220972p2.html. -
aurore .
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Jennifer Morrison: I'm not lining up to say hi to Angelina Jolie
Jennifer Morrison talks to Metro about her latest role as Snow White's daughter in Once Upon A Time, being friends with Angelina Jolie and why she found it weird hearing Hugh Laurie's British accent.
Emma is a damaged character, to say the least. I’m guessing you are rather less damaged.
She’s parts of myself but to a much greater extreme. She puts up her walls and can be very sceptical. I definitely put up a front that I’m OK, and I don’t let people realise how sensitive I am or how emotional I might actually be.
Ginnifer Goodwin plays your mum, Snow White. That’s pretty out there.
It’s wonderful, because I don’t believe or know that she’s my mother. So I just have to think: ‘What would it have been like to be friends with my parents at my age?’ She’s also really Emma’s first friend, and Emma is still a kid, because she hasn’t grown in a way where she’s emotionally an adult.
You have a ‘superpower’ with which you can tell who’s lying. Would you like that in real life?
It may already be something I have in common with Emma. I have strong instincts about people in terms of whether I feel they are being honest with me or not. And it is interesting because, at times, I feel like I’m very off about it when my emotions get involved, or when I’m dealing with a guy that I have feelings for. That’s exactly what Emma has trouble with.
Fairy tales are everywhere right now. Why?
I can only guess but it’s not an accident that Disney’s Snow White was released during the Great Depression. This is a time where everybody is unstable economically and so many things are shifting in the world. We all grew up with these fairy tales so there’s a warm, fuzzy comfort to going back to those stories as an adult and experiencing them in different ways.
Your parents are teachers. How did you end up being a child model, then an actress?
I have no idea. Honestly, it makes me wonder about past lives, because from the moment that I have a memory of having a memory, I thought of myself as an actor.
Has working in the business for such a long time demystified the cult of celebrity for you?
Well, I guess I have to believe that everything happens for a reason. I may never understand exactly what the journey has been.
Did you pick up any crazy English expressions or fondness for strange foods from Hugh Laurie in House?
Hugh always stayed in his American accent during filming, so I feel like I missed out on getting some British culture. It would always feel so weird when we would do a press event or something. He’d be speaking with a British accent and we’d all say: ‘Come on, don’t put on that accent!’
Your on-screen boyfriend in Once Upon A Time, Jamie Dornan, has left the programme. Are you missing him?
So much. He had such a joy for life and was such a central part of our social life out here in Vancouver, where we film. He always found a new little pub with a great new beer, and we all got into playing this arcade game, Big Buck Hunter, because he loved playing it. Ginny Goodwin and I bought him an actual Big Buck Hunter game for his home in London.
You’re also busy making films. You starred in Warrior with Tom Hardy and start another film, Some Girls, soon. Do you like to stay busy?
I really do but I also have to try to take care of myself. I’ve been getting sick a lot lately and that’s because I’ve been going, going, going. There is that thing with actors, though.You always feel like you’re in your last job and that someone is going to catch on to the fact that you have no idea what you’re doing. But then you realise at some point, ‘I guess no one knows what the heck they’re doing, we’re all just figuring it out as we go’. Still, an actor with too much time on their hands is a dangerous thing.
What do you do when you’re not working?
I obsessively watch movies. I feel that, with the amount of films out there, I could watch movies all day and all night and still never catch up to the movies that I’d like to see. I always have a pile of DVDs or BluRays that I’m dying to watch and I always have a pile of books that I’m working my way through. I just started F Scott Fitzgerald’s The Beautiful And The Damned.
What did you play in Mr And Mrs Smith?
I was one of Angelina Jolie’s staff going around in short skirts and high heels. I was on salary for six months with a lovely group of girls, all of whom I still know.
Are you including Ms Jolie in that?
I think I’ve run into her once since then. I’ve certainly been in the same room with her at award shows.
But you’re not lining up with the masses to say ‘hi’?
Yeah, exactly. I’m not adding myself to that list of crazy people who are like: ‘Don’t you remember me?’
http://www.metro.co.uk/showbiz/interviews/...-angelina-jolie. -
jennwithapen .
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Although Jen seems to interact less with fans these days, she is revealing more about herself in interviews. I like this interview a lot b/c it gives us more of a glimpse of who she is. And I like when interviewers ask new questions and not the same old, "So do you wish you had a fairytale counterpart on your show? Do you believe Henry's telling the truth yet? What's it like to kiss Jaime Dornan?" 
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comotion .
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Count me as another one who liked this interview a lot. The revelation that she can put up a wall to hide her sensitivity and certain emotions -- that explains a lot of what we have observed about Jen over the years.
I could have done without the Angelina headline, though.
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Once Upon a Time: Interview to Jennifer Morrison |
