Connect with us

Interviews

Lia McHugh Describes The ‘Humiliating’ Eternals Scene With Angelina Jolie That Chloe Zhao Cut

Published

2 years ago

on

Lia McHugh Describes The ‘Humiliating’ Eternals Scene With Angelina Jolie That Chloe Zhao Cut

The Eternals may have had to do some serious world saving in their recent Marvel flick, but behind the scenes, it sounds like the cast really bonded with one another. The team’s youngest hero is Lia McHugh’s Sprite, who is still having secondhand embarrassment over one of her cut scenes in the MCU epic involving Angelina Jolie.

Lia McHugh, who is 17 years old, recently spoke exclusively with CinemaBlend’s own Law Sharma about starring in Eternals as Sprite. When asked about any deleted moments that didn’t make the over two-hour and a half action film, she shared this story:   

I had to shoot a scene where I had to sing karaoke on the private jet, and I have to say, it’s probably one of the most humiliating moments of my life. I had to just go all out and I sang the song that played in the [the first Eternals] trailer actually. I had to sing that song to Angelina Jolie. I was like singing to her and to Barry and Kumail. It was probably the most embarrassing moment of my life and I remember Chloé coming up to me and she was like, ‘Are you trying to sing badly, Lia?’ And I wasn’t, but I was like ‘Yeah, definitely.’

Wait, there could have been two Marvel karaoke scenes in 2021? Of course, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings featured Simu Liu and Awkfafina belting out “A Whole New World” just a couple months before Eternals was released. Perhaps that’s why Chloé Zhao ended up cutting Lia McHugh’s karaoke moment. Considering her reaction to filming the scene, she might be a-ok with it being left out of the movie. 

The song Lia McHugh is referencing is likely “The End of the World” by Skeeter Davis, which was recorded back in 1962 and ended up being featured in the movie’s first trailer. Given Sprite has been alive for thousands of years, she likely knows a ton of oldies despite being in the body of a teenager. McHugh shared that they shot a scene of Sprite singing the song to Angelina Jolie, Barry Keoghan and Kumail Nanjiani. Apparently her singing was so bad that the writer/director pulled her aside and asked if she was trying to sound that bad. 

While the Eternals home release, coming out on February 15, does feature deleted scenes with Lia McHugh’s Sprite, it doesn’t seem like the karaoke moment will be part of it. According to ComicBook.com, there will be four deleted scenes, two of which involve Sprite. One of them is called “Nostalgia,” and has McHugh’s character and Makkari reminiscing about humankind. The other sees Sprite confronting Kit Harington’s Dane in a museum regarding Sersi.    

Advertisement

During CinemaBlend’s interview with Lia McHugh, the actress also spoke about her experience learning ASL to interact with Makkari (played by Lauren Ridloff). It sounds like the young actress flexed a lot of skills on the set of the Marvel movie, so what if she’s bad at a little karaoke! You can stream Eternals with a Disney+ subscription ahead of the home release next week. 

Related Topics:

Interviews

Quentin Tarantino Reveals His Pick For ‘The Greatest Movie Ever Made’

Published

1 year ago

on

August 3, 2022

By

Quentin Tarantino Reveals His Pick For ‘The Greatest Movie Ever Made’

It may not feel like it sometimes, but any upcoming movie has the chance to be named “the greatest movie ever made” by someone out there. However, that honor does have some specific caveats if you’re someone like filmmaker Quentin Tarantino. Not only has the Once Upon a Time in Hollywood director chosen a Steven Spielberg classic for that very distinction, Tarantino also explained just why that title is very specific. 

In an upcoming interview with our in-house podcast ReelBlend, Quentin Tarantino made his fourth appearance to talk about all things movies; the first since the big live show at the New Beverly Cinema. Promoting his new co-hosting gig on The Video Archives Podcast, Tarantino had yet another spirited discussion about cinema, which led to his pick of Steven Spielberg’s Jaws as  the greatest “movie” ever made. That distinction is important, as the Once Upon A Time…In Hollywood director made that perfectly clear through the following remarks: 

I think Jaws is the greatest movie ever made. Maybe not the greatest film. But it’s the greatest movie ever made. And then there are other movies that can get in its rarefied air. But as far as a movie, there’s no making it better than Jaws. There’s no ‘better’ than Jaws. It is the best movie ever made. And it shows how badly timed most movies made before Jaws were.

Leave it to Quentin Tarantino to separate his tastes in movies into those two separate, important camps: “movies” and “films.” In this case, the designation of a movie almost sounds like it’s shorthand for the blockbuster opuses that Steven Spielberg made a name for himself with. Which means that “films” are presumably more of the independent/art house titles that have higher pedigrees, and usually end up on the lists of best picture nominees every year.

Strangely enough, Jaws is one of six horror movies to have Best Picture nominations, so the line could blur just a bit in that respect. Putting aside the “movies” versus “films” debate, Quentin Tarantino isn’t using that separation to be a snob. Later on in the conversation, he explained how spectacles such as this are their own form of art, and how Steven Spielberg came to be someone who perfected it: 

What I meant by that, to one degree or another, is that Spielberg and a lot of his cohorts grew up seeing those kinds of movies in the theater. Henry Levin’s Journey to Center of the Earth, he’s gonna run to go and see that. Richard Fleischer’s Fantastic Voyage. He’s going to run and go see it. Gordon Douglas’s Them! He’s going to run and go see. Now… most of them weren’t directed that well. They were assignments given to journeyman directors who did their best with them. That was how we were used to seeing comic book — that kind of movie experience. As opposed to a Spielberg, who was like, ‘No, this is exactly the kind of movie he likes. This is exactly the kind of movies he was put on earth to make. And he’s going to make it, within an inch of his life, as effective as it possibly can be. And, you know, Michael Anderson, isn’t putting that kind of work in Logan’s Run.

Spielberg, and “cohorts” like George Lucas, Martin Scorsese, and Francis Ford Copolla all latched onto genres that were pulpier entertainments in their childhood, only to make them into something new. Through films like Jaws, Star Wars, Taxi Driver, and The Godfather, we saw a generation of directors taking movies they loved and reviving them through their own personal lenses. Which is exactly what Quentin Tarantino would do when he stepped onto the scene with Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction; and it’s also why he’s such a staunch supporter of the cinematic experience. 

Advertisement

If this conversation boils down to anything, it’s game recognizing game. Much as Steven Spielberg idolized the movies that helped make Jaws, Quentin Tarantino has reverence for the bearded director and his dedication to making the movies that sparked his love of cinema. Though considering the history his collaborator Samuel L. Jackson has had with sharks, you have to wonder if this has already sparked any sort of humorous conversations between the two?

You’ll be able to watch, and listen, to Quentin Tarantino’s latest appearance on ReelBlend, as it’s set to hit YouTube tomorrow. Meanwhile, Tarantino may not have his tenth and final film in the works just yet, but you can still enjoy the man’s gift for words in two very cool ways. 

Tarantino’s Video Archives podcast, which he co-hosts with friend and collaborator Roger Avery, is currently streaming wherever you find fine listening material. However, if you also want to read the man’s thoughts on ‘70s filmmaking in his upcoming book Cinema Speculation, which you can currently preorder on Amazon (opens in new tab); or any other fine bookseller.

Continue Reading

Interviews

‘Prey’ Interviews With Amber Midthunder, Dan Trachtenberg And More!

Published

1 year ago

on

August 3, 2022

By

The stars of “Prey,” Amber Midthunder (“Naru”), Dakota Bevers (“Taabe”), Dane DiLiegro (“The Predator”), director Dan Trachtenberg and producer Jhane Myers discuss their new “Predator” movie in this interview with CinemaBlend at San Diego Comic-Con 2022. They discuss the “Prey” audition moment that landed Amber Midthunder her role and more!

You can stream “Prey” on Hulu on August 5.

Continue Reading

Interviews

‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3’ | Marvel Comic-Con Interviews with Chris Pratt, Karen Gillan & More

Published

1 year ago

on

July 29, 2022

By

‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3’ | Marvel Comic-Con Interviews with Chris Pratt, Karen Gillan & More

“Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” stars Chris Pratt (Peter Quill / Star-Lord), Karen Gillan (Nebula), Will Poulter (Adam Warlock), Pom Klementieff (Mantis), Sean Gunn (Kraglin / On-Set Rocket), Chukwudi Iwuji (The High Evolutionary) and writer Director James Gunn discuss their upcoming Marvel film and conclusion of the “Guardians of the Galaxy” trilogy in this post-Hall H interview with CinemaBlend at San Diego Comic-Con 2022.

Video Chapters

  • 00:00 – Chris Pratt on Finding “Your Side”
  • 00:35 – Chris Pratt Teases What’s Ahead For Star-Lord and Gamora In GOTG 3
  • 01:24 – Karen Gillan LOVES ‘Avengers: Endgame’ Fan Reactions
  • 02:00 – Karen Gillan Weighs In On Nebula Unaliving Nebula in ‘Endgame’
  • 02:32 – James Gunn Teases a “Darker” ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ Movie
  • 03:20 – Sean Gunn on Baby Rocket’s Difficult Backstory
  • 04:30 –  Pom Klementieff on Welcoming New Marvel Actors to the ‘Guardians’ Family
  • 05:15 – Pom Klementieff Teases A More Badass Mantis In ‘Guardians 3’
  • 05:35 – Will Poulter Teases Adam Warlock Origins in ‘GOTG 3’ 
  • 06:32 – Chukwudi Iwuji on The High Evolutionary and His Motivations
  • 07:20 – Chukwudi Iwugi Praises James Gunn’s Dialogue
  • 08:15 – Chris Pratt Recalls His Last Day of Filming the ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ Trilogy
  • 08:55 – James Gunn Is Literally Always Writing and Rewriting Scripts
  • 09:49 – Will Poulter Wants to Play Adam Warlock Again “If Marvel Will Have Me”

Continue Reading

Trending