“Cruella”, face to face with Emma Stone and Emma Thompson

The myth of Crudelia De Mon, born Estella when punk went crazy in London, has distant origins. Yet, no one, ever, has thought of retracing them. The name of Cruella De Mon, to which Glenn Close gave a first (and unforgettable) representation, has always evoked the image of a withered woman who, wrapped in her own clouds of greenish smoke, is obsessed with the two-colored fur of little Dalmatians. Who was it before, what evil evoked in her, has not been said. And, perhaps, not a spectator beyond Craig Gillespie if he ever asked.

The director, who de 101 Dalmatians, of his bad Cruella he wanted to shoot a prequel in live-action, he went back to the root of an evil told with tones foreign to the universe Disney. “I was amazed to see how much Disney gave Gillespie, allowing him to vent his darkest fantasies”, he had to admit. Emma Stone, which in The cruel – the first film dedicated to the origins of his Mrs. De Mon – he starred in a young, fickle version. “As a child, I loved 101 Dalmatians and spent hours checking to see if there was any similarity between dogs and their owners. However, the live-action Cruella “, in Italian cinemas from 26 May, “It has nothing to do with its animated counterpart. He is a character in his own right, with a new story. In some ways, I think we can say that the film is about the ability that Cruella had in transforming into strength what her mother would have considered weakness: the instability, the ease with which she loses her temper “, explained Stone, in the course of a virtual appointment.

Emma Stone, with long hair and a relaxed smile, told of a charming and aware character, not at all willing to rise to the rank of “inspirational”. “I for one don’t think I could ever overcome certain limits in real life,” said the actress, whose Cruella is the result of a slow and inevitable transformation. Cruella De Mon, in the Disney reconstruction, also available online from May 28, is Estella’s alter ego, a little thief, a scammer with a talent for creativity. This is what disturbs Baroness von Hellman a lot. “This apparently strong woman is, in reality, full of insecurities and frailties. He would like to destroy the talent of others, the competition, because he is unable to understand how essential competition is for individual growth “, he said. Emma Thompson, taking over – with a rare disruption and sympathy – in Emma Stone’s living room.

Thompson, who in The cruel she is the antagonist of her younger namesake (“Like Estella, she is more talented and beautiful than me. At night, I drink a lot of Negroni to get through all this”), she asked for a lifetime to be bad. “Instead, for years I have been what my mother would have called ‘A good woman in good clothes’. When I was offered to be Baroness von Hellman, my husband said to me: ‘Ah, but then you don’t even have to act.’ A laugh, then, a grim admission. “I was born in 1959, in the seventies I was a young teenager and I really wore those clothes: clogs, huge skirts, parka. However, I have never had direct experience with bad and narcissistic personalities. My family has been wonderful and loving, and mean has always been on the fringes. In show business, without wishing to mention the names of characters who have even recently come to the fore, it is, however, quite common, ”he said with a veil of bitterness, before breaking out in a new, sincere smile. “You don’t know how uncomfortable the underwear they forced me to wear is. Going to the bathroom required the intervention of an entire team. The corsets, then, were very uncomfortable. For me, at least, because Stone is as thin as a rush. I had to squeeze a little bit of flab up and a little bit of flab down, like with a tube of toothpaste. It was painful, but in the end, with Jenny Beavan, we have created crazy shapes and extraordinary costumes », continued Thompson, who in his Baroness – as bad as and more than Cruella De Mon – was able to find a pinch of goodness, a timeless topicality.

«The dedication he has to his creativity is admirable, almost inspirational. It is impossible to forgive a bad mother, yet the Baroness admits it. She has a selfish mind, she says, but that’s what allowed her not to put her genius at the door, as so many women end up doing. To some extent, his is a business advice».