The Hollywood superstar, Anne Hathaway who is known for her roles in movies such as The Devil Wears Prada, Love and Other Drugs, and Interstellar, revealed at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival that a journalist asked her a bizarre question when she was only 16 and just started her acting career.
The 2023 Sundance Film Festival premiered Anne Hathway’s film Eileen which is based on the novel of the same name, the film is a dark and funny thriller where Anne Hathway plays the role of a psychologist who gets entangled with a prison secretary.
Why Did Anne Hathaway Share This Experience?
Anne Hathaway shared this creepy experience after the premiere of her movie Eileen. The actress was onstage for a Q&A session where she apologized for saying something that might become “an annoying headline.” She felt that she would regret sharing this awkward anecdote, but this needs to be surfaced to stop incidents like these. Anne Hathaway said:
“I just remembered one of the very first questions I ever got asked when I started acting and had to do press was: Are you a good girl or a bad girl? I was 16, and my 16-year-old self wanted to respond with this film. And so though I did not know that when I read the script, I think part of me hoped for this exact moment.”
A video of Anne Hathaway talking about this creepy question was shared on Twitter by a user, where the audience gasped at the shocking revelation by the actress.
Anne Hathaway at the #Sundance Q&A of the premiere of Eileen. pic.twitter.com/KEDvXv1IHB
— Chris Barrett ⛓ (@ChrisBarrett) January 22, 2023
The upcoming movie that deals with the empowerment of women seemed like a befitting way of responding to the existing sexism that young actresses have to face in the industry.
How Did Eileen Help Anne Hathaway?
Eileen is based on the 2015 novel of the same name by Ottessa Moshfegh. The movie is set in the 1960s and the story revolves around Eileen (played by Thomas McKenzie), a young girl who works at a prison and lives with her alcoholic father. Eileen meets Rebecca (played by Anne Hathaway), who changes her course of life. The movie is about a woman breaking free of discrimination, place, class, social status, and upbringing.
Anne Hathaway revealed that she was excited to work with William Oldroyd, and she was in awe with his work in the film Lady Macbeth, which was a study of female complications; Anne Hathaway believed that she could trust William Oldroyd with Eileen as well.
Journalists tend to have personal biases or prejudices against young actresses, as a result, they tend to cross the line where they would not respect their privacy, asking questions that would create a sensational or controversial headline. The story of Eileen narrates a woman’s progress, where she would take steps to be independent, and live life on her terms. The film shows how societal expectations and limitations can limit women, and how determination and self-empowerment can help overcome them.
Eileen premiered at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival on January 21, 2023.
Source: Variety
