Eli Roth turned adapting the video game “Borderlands” into a mini film school for its young star Ariana Greenblatt.
Roth had Oscar winners Cate Blanchett and Jamie Lee Curtis at his disposal in the space-set sci-fi adventure film, but it was “Barbie” breakout Greenblatt (also of “65” and “In the Heights”) who he says stole the feature. Roth called Greenblatt’s performance in his new film reminiscent of Natalie Portman’s turn in Luc Besson’s controversial crime thriller “Leon: The Professional.”
Pretty good company there.
As it turns out, “Leon: The Professional” is one of Greenblatt’s faves. The young actress (16 now, 13 when she auditioned for “Borderlands,” actually has quite the film palate considering her age. Especially now.
Roth assigned Greenblatt “My Dinner with Andre” to prepare for her “Borderlands” role — “just to fuck with her,” he added. But she dutifully watched it — and as Roth recalled, Greenblatt really dug “the dessert scene.”
“My Dinner with Andre” decidedly has nothing to do with any form of video game adaptation, especially not a shoot ’em up one like “Borderlands.” But the classic film is a must-see for any rising star, including Greenblatt. The feature takes place all in one evening over the course of a meal between real-life friends André Gregory and Wallace Shawn, who cowrote and starred in the 1981 Louis Malle small-scale comedy. The duo debate politics, worldviews, and the meaning of life while eating at the Café des Artistes in Manhattan.
While “My Dinner with Andre” may have served as an amuse bouche for Greenblatt, next in her Roth queue was Andy Warhol’s “Empire,” which is eight hours of just a shot of the Empire State Building in New York.
Roth kept the weird lessons — trolling, really — coming. Greenblatt’s continued education included Michael McDonald music, which Roth said also informed her performance.
“What are you putting into this child’s head?,” Greenblatt’s co-star Jamie Lee Curtis said on set, according to Roth.
Well, “What a Fool Believes,” for starters. That ditty will get in one’s head — and stay in one’s head.
Roth’s “Borderlands” opens in theaters on August 9, 2024.
