Believe it or not, “X-Men: First Class” is only six months away from hitting theaters, and the marketing machine will be gearing up (trailer soon please?) and it seems to have already begun as “Mad Men” star January Jones recently spoke to the LA Times about her role in the film as sexy mutant Emma Frost.
To be certain, the film leans heavily on special effects, but if there was one relief Jones had that some of her castmates didn’t, it was that she didn’t have to do any of the time-consuming and tedious prosthetics work. Emma Frost’s main ability is incredible telepathic power, though she can also take on a hardened diamond form which, while suppressing her telepathic abilities, allows her to become pretty much totally invulnerable. However, thanks to technology, Jones reveals she didn’t have to spend too much time in make-up. “I don’t have to do all the crazy prosthetics,” Jones said. “When I morph into my diamond form, it’s all done on computer.”
The film takes place, like “Mad Men,” in the 1960s and will chart the origins of Charles Xavier (James McAvoy) and Magneto (Michael Fassbender) as they discover their powers and find their friendship tested, with thematic comparisons being drawn rather ambitiously to the divide between Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X. But for Jones, her main concern was getting the character down right. “When I heard that this installment of ‘X-Men’ was gonna take place in the ’60s I was like, ‘Oh my God, you must be kidding me!’” She said. “But I read the script and familiarized myself with the character of Emma Frost. She’s so, so far from Betty and from ‘Mad Men,’ and it takes place in that time but it doesn’t feel like a period movie.”
While fanboys initially wet themselves at the news that the easy-on-the-eyes Jones was going to be suiting up in the tiny outfit of Emma Frost, the actress had reservations. “It’s a lot of very body-conscious stuff. If you look at the comic book, she’s barely dressed. She’s got quite the bod, which is very intimidating.”
The main focus for Jones was in maintaining her curves which meant not going to the gym, in order to retain the physique of women during the era. “I’m thinking, ‘I’m supposed to be doing crunches on the plane,’” she said. “How am I gonna get buff in one day? I’m a petite person, so I didn’t want to go into a strict workout and eating regime. I would have disappeared entirely, and she’s very busty, very voluptuous, so I didn’t want to get rid of any of my curves.”
Yet, despite what seems like a genius bit of casting in landing Jones as Emma Frost, the actress understands how dedicated fans are to the comics and she’s ready to embrace the fact she may face some scrutiny from the comic faithful. “Fans of the X-Men comics have a very set idea of these characters in their heads,” Jones said. “I wanted to know as much as I could about her so I wasn’t disappointing anyone. I’m sure I will still disappoint someone.”
Well, despite her reservations, Jones certainly has a lot of support around her and we’re very excited to see what Matthew Vaughan brings to the franchise. The wait isn’t too long now. “X-Men: First Class” stars McAvoy, Fassbender, Jones, Kevin Bacon (Sebastian Shaw), Oliver Platt (Man In Black), Caleb Landry (Phoenix), Lucas Till (Havoc), Edi Gathegi (Darwin), Jason Flemyng (Azazel), Zoe Kravitz (Angel), Bill Milner (young Magneto), Morgan Lily (young Mystique), Alex Gonzalez (Riptide), Laurence Belcher (young Prof. X) and Ray Wise. It lands in theaters on June 3rd.
