SAN DIEGO – Elizabeth Olsen is a tad star-struck.
“I’m a little overwhelmed because Bryan Cranston is talking right next to me,” the actress told me while walking the press line at San Diego Comic-Con. I can’t say I blamed her – but then I didn’t star in “Godzilla” with him either.
In any case, the Gareth Edwards-directed reboot is the first big-budget film for Olsen, the younger sister of Mary-Kate and Ashley whose turn in the 2011 indie drama “Martha Marcy May Marlene” garnered her critical acclaim and “next big thing” buzz. Indeed, it’s a big switch from her previous projects, but the actress indicated this will be different from the soulless tentpole flicks that typically clutter the multiplex.
“I really like what Legendary does. I think they make really tasteful and entertaining films,” she said. “I met with [director] Gareth [Edwards], he showed me the teaser they played in Comic-Con last year, and you look at it and you’re like, ‘wait, you haven’t made that yet? Cause I wanna be part of whatever you just showed me.’ And that’s what it was. And he talked about the script, and it just sounded like it was in good taste and that it was gonna be a fun ride to be a part of.”
So will it be better than Roland Emmerich’s widely-derided 1998 version?
“I actually never saw Emmerich’s [film],” she told me. “Ummm…you know, it’s funny because it would’ve been for my age group when it came out, but no one really talked about it so I never saw it.”
Ouch.
To check out the rest of what Olsen had to say – including her reaction to seeing the Comic-Con teaser for the first time with the Hall H audience – click on the video above for the full interview.
“Godzilla” hits theaters on May 16, 2014.