British actress Rachel Weisz felt incredibly “vulnerable” filming a stoning scene naked in her new movie Agora and admits her feelings about baring all on set helped her channel the terror of her character. The Mummy star agreed to disrobe for the unsettling scene but had no idea she’d be overwhelmed by emotions when it was time to shoot. She says, “When you do nude scenes, there’s a closed set and usually you just do it. It’s slightly strange being naked in front of a crew, but you get on with it. “But this was much weirder. The stoning scene is a very emotional and dramatic and tragic scene, but I was also naked and that made me feel incredibly vulnerable, so it was a powerful tool for me as an actor. “I think we all feel pretty vulnerable naked in front of strangers so I kind of used it.”

Source: Contactmusic

Rachel Weisz is adamant there will be no “competition” with Katie Holmes when they both play Jackie Kennedy in separate projects – insisting her younger rival will be “fabulous” in the role. Weisz will play America’s former First Lady in a new biopic, titled Jackie, which will be directed by her fiance Darren Aronofsky, while Holmes will star in an eight-part TV mini-series, The Kennedys, chronicling the famous family. But the 40-year-old British actress doesn’t feel any rivalry with 31-year-old Holmes – because the two portrayals will be very different. She tells People.com, “She’s a fantastic actress. She will be fabulous. It’s not a competition. I’m surprised more people haven’t played her (Kennedy) thus far. It seems strange there hasn’t been many versions. But it’s great she (Holmes) has the opportunity to play her as well.” And when asked whether she will watch Holmes’ portrayal, Weisz adds, “For sure!”

Source: Contactmusic

Rachel Weisz is “scared” about playing Jackie Kennedy in an upcoming movie. The British actress will portray the former US First Lady in biopic Jackie – directed by her partner Darren Aronofsky – and she admits she is nervous about taking on the role. She said: “It’s extremely exciting and scary at the same time. She’s American royalty. So there’s some fear.” However, she says the chance to don some of the stylish designer clothes she was well known for is a fun prospect. She revealed to People: “I haven’t really got deep into it yet, but of course she’s one of the 20th century’s greatest and fabulous fashion icons. I’m thrilled.”

Source: Contactmusic

Back in September we heard about an intriguing project that Jennifer’s Body director Karyn Kusama has had her eye on for some time. The pitch doesn’t have a title, but it is described as a “[David] Cronenberg-inspired body horror” tale focusing on gender issues and the intent is for the movie to star Rachel Weisz. MTV spoke with Kusama shortly afterwards, and she spoke a little more about the plans. She’s been trying to secure funding for it for almost a decade now, but the idea is for Weisz to play “two characters, or essentially two halves of the same character, but she is both male and female.” We recently spoke with the actress, who will star in Agora this summer, and she gave us an update on where things are at for the project. “It’s something we’ve talked about doing but there are no immediate plans for it. Sometimes it takes awhile for these things to get off the ground,” she explained. Eight years definitely qualifies as “awhile.” It could have something to do with the subject matter, Weisz playing a dual-gendered role. “[It's called] ‘The Invisible X,’” she said. “It’s actually about a man who turns into a woman. Its an amazing script.” She went on to say that the movie does indeed have the “tone” of a Cronenberg film, and that Kusama is currently working on a rewrite. The big roadblock up until now has just been getting funding for the indie. “These independent films can take a long time to get together,” Weisz explained. “Its almost impossible to make things now that aren’t genre pictures.”

Source: MTV Movies Blog

Rachel Weisz became an actress to find out more about people. The Agora star – who studied English at the prestigious Cambridge University – admits one of her favourite things about her profession is the research she carries out into her characters. She said: “I liked acting because I love to ask people questions. “I like knowing about people and trying to imagine myself in other people’s shoes and other people’s skins. I do that all the time.” Rachel, 40, also spoke about her marriage to The Wrestler director Darren Aronofsky – with who she has three-year-old son Henry – insisting the 41-year-old filmmaker is nothing like people expect from the subject matter of his movies. She explained: “Seeing his films, you’d think he is this weird, dark, intense guy. But I don’t live with a dark person. He’s really good at life, very good at going to the park and having a good time. “He’s also very organised. He doesn’t live in chaos. His parents are teachers and they have an easy sense of order and discipline.”

Source: Contactmusic

Rachel Weisz has admitted she knew nothing about Greek scholar Hypatia, whom she portrays in Agora. The Mummy star told the Daily Mirror: “I must confess I’d never heard of Hypatia – I now know that she was heroine for the romantic poets in the 18th century, but I didn’t know anything about her.” But she said yes to the part because it “seemed too unusual, unique, wonderful and bold to say no to”. Rachel – who has three-year-old son Henry with her fiance, Oscar-winning director Darren Aronofsky – brought the family to Malta as she filmed Agora. “Henry wasn’t even in pre-school at that point, so he came with me,” she continued. “We rented a little apartment overlooking the sea and Darren worked on his film The Wrestler. We were a family and we went to work every morning. He went off to edit Mickey Rourke and I went off to battle religious intolerance in the fourth century.” She added: “Then we had dinner and put Henry to bed. It was kind of bonkers – but how dreamy!”

Source: The Press Association