STACK #143 Sept 2016

INTERVIEW CINEMA

Haley Bennett is the woman in a man’s world in the remake of The Magnificent Seven . And she loved every minute of it, especially breaking the stereotype of female characters in Westerns. Words: Scott Hocking H aley Bennett plays the recently widowed Emma Cullen, who hires bounty hunter Sam Chisolm (Denzel Washington) and six Haley get your gun

BY THE NUMBERS The Magnificent Seven is just one group among many cinematic outsiders united by a common goal.

gunslingers to dispatch the corrupt industrialist (Peter Sarsgaard) who murdered her husband and now intends to plunder her hometown. Emma is a rarity in a Western, a gutsy female character in what is essentially a male-dominated genre – a fact that surprised the 28-year-old actress when she first read the script. “I knew there was a female role, but I didn’t have high hopes that it would be a very deep character,” she recalls, citing the lack of significant female players in the Western genre. “Usually when you see a woman they’re the victim, or they’re in the kitchen, or at home worrying about the men who are out on the adventure. It’s unfortunate. “But there’s a lot for Emma to do; she’s right there with the guys on the front line and in the trenches. I’m really feminine, so it was great to get my hands dirty, strap on my gun holsters and ride a horse – in a dress! I felt pretty cool up there in a dress when they were all in pants. I wanted to tell them, ‘you put on the dress and we’ll see how well you ride’. It’s not easy. “It’s such a male-oriented film, so it was fun to get to do all the stuff that the guys were doing. I really got an insight into a man’s world,” she laughs. When it came to physical preparation, Bennett took up boxing to develop the reflexes and endurance that the role required. “The women of that period were very strong,“ she explains. “They were out in the field and rolling out pies and doing manual labour. I didn’t want to be as willowy as I was at the beginning; I wanted to get some of that

FANASTIC FOUR This awesome foursome are officially Marvel's 'First Family'. And the family that mutates together, stays together.

THE FURIOUS FIVE Tigress, Monkey, Viper, Mantis, and Crane. This quintet of kung fu warriors create all manner of panda-monium.

grit that comes with boxing. You have to have a lot of endurance to box, so that was an important aspect in making the film, too. There were going to be long days outside and it was going to be hot, so that helped.” Bennett also spent time at the gun range learning to handle a Navy Colt and a Winchester rifle. “Working with firearms is an adrenaline rush,” she says. “It feels like something you’re not supposed to be doing, so I had to get used to the feel of a gun in my hands. I got really good with the Winchester.” The Magnificent Seven remake isn’t just about gunslingers on horseback out for vengeance. Bennett hopes that the film’s strong themes of unity and diversity will resonate with audiences when they see it. “This film is so multicultural: there’s a black man, and a Mexican, and a Native American ... they’re all outsiders who come together and achieve this great thing together. So I think that’s an important message to take away.”

THE HATEFUL EIGHT This badass bunch are more

interested in redecorating Minnie's Haberdashery with each other's blood than uniting for a common good.

THE DIRTY DOZEN Transform the worst convicts into commandos. Train them. Excite them. Arm them. Then turn them loose on the Nazis!

The Magnificent Seven is in cinemas on Sept 29

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