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Casting directors from Anne Hathaway films deny 'gross' chemistry tests during auditions

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Casting directors from Anne Hathaway films deny 'gross' chemistry tests during auditions

A recent bombshell from Anne Hathaway may not have the detonation radius some people think.

In a V Magazine story published Monday, the “Devil Wears Prada” alum said she was regularly asked to participate in uncomfortable chemistry tests while auditioning for roles in the 2000s.

“It was considered normal to ask an actor to make out with other actors to test for chemistry, which is actually the worst way to do it,” Hathaway said. “I was told, ‘We have ten guys coming today and you’re cast. Aren’t you excited to make out with all of them?’ And I thought, ‘Is there something wrong with me?’ because I wasn’t excited. I thought it sounded gross.”

She added, “It wasn’t a power play, no one was trying to be awful or hurt me. It was just a very different time and now we know better.”

While Hathaway did not call out anyone by name, at least one casting director who worked with her during that time has denied such tests were conducted on their set.

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“I certainly was not a part of any audition that required her to make out, or anyone else to, and it was not something done at Disney and Touchstone for the 15 years I was a casting executive in feature films, as far as I am aware of,” Donna Morong, casting director for “The Princess Diaries” — which was released in 2001 and may see a third installment soon — said in a statement to The Times.

“I have no reason to believe that Anne Hathaway would lie about experiencing that in other casting offices but it seems like a crazy way to measure whether two people have ‘chemistry,’ completely ineffective and I would agree, ‘gross,’” Morong continued. “As Anne said in her article in ‘V,’ she loved working with Garry Marshall and never referenced making out with multiple actors during the casting of ‘Princess Diaries.’”

“Brokeback Mountain” casting director Avy Kaufman told TMZ she has no recollection of anything similar to what Hathaway detailed in her cover story. She told The Times on Wednesday that she didn’t have “any good stories” to share.

TMZ also reported that Linda Lamontagne, who helped cast Hathaway in the 1999-2000 series “Get Real,” denied overseeing any chemistry read matching the actor’s description.

“I’ve worked in casting since ‘Capital News’ in 1988, and, in all honesty, never had to have actors make out with any other actor for any auditions nor chemistry tests,” Lamontagne told the outlet, adding that while she doesn’t deny Hathaway had such an experience, she was never at the helm of it.

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“It’s hard enough to audition for something that is new, or even established and we don’t want to make a talent uncomfortable. It’s enough pressure as it is,” she said.

Lamontagne didn’t reply immediately to The Times’ request for comment.

As a producer on her upcoming film “The Idea of You,” which premiered March 16 at South by Southwest and drops May 2 on Prime Video, Hathaway was able to concoct a chemistry test of her own, which she related to V Magazine.

During auditions for the film, actors were asked to choose a song they felt their character would love and to play it in a bid to get Hathaway’s character, single mother Solène Marchand, to dance.

Nicholas Galitzine — whose previous credits include “Red, White & Royal Blue” and “Bottoms” — won her over with an Alabama Shakes tune, Hathaway said.

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“I was sitting in a chair like we had come in from dinner or a walk or something, we pressed play, and we just started dancing together. … Nobody was showing off,” she continued. “Nobody was trying to get the gig. We were just in a space dancing. I looked over and Michael Showalter, our director, was beaming. Spark!”

Movie Reviews

Miyamoto says he was surprised Mario Galaxy Movie reviews were even harsher than the first | VGC

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Miyamoto says he was surprised Mario Galaxy Movie reviews were even harsher than the first | VGC

Nintendo’s Shigeru Miyamoto says he’s surprised at the negative critical reception to the Super Mario Galaxy Movie.

As reported by Famitsu, Miyamoto conducted a group interview with Japanese media to mark the local release of The Super Mario Galaxy Movie.

During the interview, Miyamoto was asked for his views on the critical reception to the film in the West, where critics’ reviews have been mostly negative.

Miyamoto replied that while he understood some of the negative points aimed at The Super Mario Bros Movie, he thought the reception would be better for the sequel.

“It’s true: the situation is indeed very similar,” he said. “Actually, regarding the previous film, I felt that the critics’ opinions did hold some validity. “However, I thought things would be different this time around—only to find that the criticism is even harsher than it was before.

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“It really is quite baffling: here we are—having crossed over from a different field—working hard with the specific aim of helping to revitalize the film industry, yet the very people who ought to be championing that cause seem to be the ones taking a passive stance.”

As was the case with the first film, opinion is divided between critics and the public on The Super Mario Galaxy Movie. On review aggregate site Rotten Tomatoes, the film currently has a critics’ score of 43% , while its audience score is 89%.

Shigeru Miyamoto says he was surprised by Mario Galaxy Movie reviews.

While this is down from the first film’s scores (which were 59% critics and 95% public) it does still appear to imply that the film’s target audience is generally enjoying it despite critical negativity.

The negative reception is unlikely to bother Universal and Illumination too much, considering the film currently has a global box office of $752 million before even releasing in Japan, meaning a $1 billion global gross is becoming increasingly likely.

Elsewhere in the interview, Miyamoto said he hoped the film would perform well in Japan, especially because it has a unique script rather than a simple localization as in other regions.

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“The Japanese version is a bit unique,” he said. “Normally, we create an English version and then localize it for each country, but for the first film, we developed the English and Japanese scripts simultaneously. For this film, we didn’t simply localize the completed English version – instead, we rewrote it entirely in Japanese to create a special Japanese version.

“So, if this doesn’t become a hit in Japan, I feel a sense of pressure – as the person in charge of the Japanese version – to not let [Illumination CEO and film co-producer] Chris [Meledandri] down.

“However, judging by the reactions of the audience members who’ve seen it, I feel that Mario fans are really embracing it. I also believe we’ve created a film that people can enjoy even if they haven’t seen the previous one, so I’m hopeful about that as well.”