Jesse Eisenberg has revealed that his Zombieland co-star Emma Stone got the role by insulting him in the audition.
The 2009 post-apocalyptic comedy was directed by Ruben Fleischer (Venom, Uncharted) and starred Eisenberg as Columbus and Stone as Wichita, two survivors in a zombie-ridden America who attempt to make their way on an extended cross-country road trip. Woody Harrelson and Abigail Breslin co-star, alongside a memorable cameo from Bill Murray.
The film was a breakout moment for Stone, and in an appearance on SiriusXM’s The Spotlight with Jessica Shaw, Eisenberg has recalled how she immediately stood out from other contenders when they were casting the role of Wichita.
“I was already cast in the movie, so I was auditioning like many people for her part that day,” he said. “The actors at that point were all amazing actresses, but they were all, like, trying to get into the movie, and so they were being really polite and everything.”
“And then [Stone] came in, and she just started making fun of me in the scene, like just assaulting me with insults in the scene and it was so funny. They were so quick and so funny and cutting,” he added. “And she left the room and I just felt so, so small.”
“We were like, ‘Oh my God. That person is a genius.’ And maybe she was 19 even at that time of the audition. I mean, she’s a truly spectacularly, unusually brilliant person.”
As noted by NME on the 10th anniversary of the film’s release, Zombieland “injected the zombie genre with an inventive dose of fun, self-awareness and gory, gory black humour.”
“While still playing on our lingering fascination with the idea of humankind being wiped out by some undead-conjuring and cannibal-causing plague, Zombieland is still, even on the 10th anniversary of its UK release, arguably the most fun anyone can have with a zombie flick.”
In 2019, a sequel, Zombieland: Double Tap, was released. In a three-star review, NME noted: “Unfortunately, as things progress it all becomes fairly predictable. Extended battle scenes drag, the banter becomes unsurprising and each nostalgic reference grows boring. By the time we get to the inevitable brain-splattered conclusion, everything feels rushed with dramatic moments lacking payoff. Whilst the core cast inject some much needed energy, it often seems like the film is trying to recreate the magic of its predecessor, rather than add anything new.”
Stone has gone on to be a two-time Oscar winner, for La La Land and Poor Things, while Eisenberg has directed the upcoming comedy drama A Real Pain, starring Kieran Culkin. The film is about two brothers heading to Poland to explore their family’s roots, and Eisenberg has opened up about becoming a Polish citizen himself in recent days.
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