Five years after it hit theaters, Kate Mara is opening up about her ‘horrible experience’ making 2015’s Fantastic Four.
The superhero reboot was bashed by critics (just 9% on Rotten Tomatoes) and flopped hard at the box office ($56 million domestic from a $120 million budget), and embroiled in scandal after reports of director Josh Trank’s on-set behavior.
While promoting her new FX series A Teacher, Mara spoke for the first time about the superhero reboot in an interview with the Television Academy.
Horrible: Five years after it hit theaters, Kate Mara is opening up about her ‘horrible experience’ making 2015’s Fantastic Four
New series: While promoting her new FX series A Teacher, Mara spoke for the first time about the superhero reboot in an interview with the Television Academy
‘I had a horrible experience on Fantastic Four. I’ve never talked about it before. I married one of my costars, so I don’t regret doing that movie at all . But do I wish I had responded differently to certain things? Yes, definitely,’ Mara began.
It seems meeting Jamie Bell, who she married in 2017, was among the few highlights of the production, and while she won’t go into detail about what happened on the set, her issues seemed to be with director Josh Trank.
‘The fact of the matter is that my two horrendous experiences with directors were male directors,” she says. “Have I not gotten along with a female director? Absolutely. And was it not the greatest work experience? Sure,’ she said.
Horrible experience: ‘I had a horrible experience on Fantastic Four. I’ve never talked about it before. I married one of my costars, so I don’t regret doing that movie at all . But do I wish I had responded differently to certain things? Yes, definitely,’ Mara began
Male directors: ‘The fact of the matter is that my two horrendous experiences with directors were male directors,” she says. “Have I not gotten along with a female director? Absolutely. And was it not the greatest work experience? Sure,’ she said
‘But there was never a time that I felt, “This is happening because I’m a woman.” Where with the male directors, it 100 percent was only happening with me; it was a power dynamic thing,’ she added.
She added that both of her bad experiences on film sets featured, ’95 percent men and I was the only woman in the movie,’ though she doesn’t say what the other movie she had a bad experience on besides Fantastic Four.
Shortly before Fantastic Four was released, where Mara starred alongside her husband-to-be Bell along with Miles Teller and Michael B. Jordan, reports surfaced about the behavior of Josh Trank, who was said to be ‘erratic and very isolated’ according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Co-stars: Shortly before Fantastic Four was released, where Mara starred alongside her husband-to-be Bell along with Miles Teller and Michael B. Jordan, reports surfaced about the behavior of Josh Trank, who was said to be ‘erratic and very isolated’ according to The Hollywood Reporter
There were also reports that tensions boiled over to the point that Trank almost came to blows with Miles Teller.
Mara also spoke about the experience in an interview with Collider, and while she doesn’t go into detail here either, she opened up about how it changed how she reacts to situations on set.
‘I think that the thing that I always go back to on that one is that I think I should have followed my instincts more. Like when my gut was telling me, “You probably shouldn’t let that slide, what that person just said,” or if you’re feeling a certain way about what an energy is like and how that is affecting your performance,’ she said.
Blows: There were also reports that tensions boiled over to the point that Trank almost came to blows with Miles Teller
‘You’re being paid to do a certain thing and if something is in the way of that, you have the right to speak up and say, “I’m actually not able to do what I am here to do because of X, Y and Z,”‘ she added.
She also opened up about some of the cringe-worthy interviews she’s done over the years, such as an Esquire piece that describes Mara’s ‘burnished amber eyes and tight sweater’ and ‘beauty… that can silence a bar with a walk to the bathroom.’
‘Oh God! I look back at some interviews and photo shoots that aren’t from that long ago, and I remember feeling stupid or uncomfortable but thinking, ‘Well, this is what you’re supposed to do,’ she said.
Certain thing: ‘You’re being paid to do a certain thing and if something is in the way of that, you have the right to speak up and say, “I’m actually not able to do what I am here to do because of X, Y and Z,”‘ she added
‘Today I would never agree to any of those things. It’s horrendous and just stupid,’ she added.
Mara plays Claire Wilson, a young teacher at a suburban Texas high school, who falls for a young student (Nick Robinson).
A Teacher continues its first season with a new episode on Tuesday, November 17 on FX.
Mara plays Claire Wilson, a young teacher at a suburban Texas high school, who falls for a young student (Nick Robinson).
First season: A Teacher continues its first season with a new episode on Tuesday, November 17 on FX