‘Dead of Winter’ Interview: Emma Thompson and Judy Greer

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Emma Thompson stars in ‘Dead of Winter’.

Opening in theaters on September 26th is the new action thriller ‘Dead of Winter’, which was directed by Brian Kirk (’21 Bridges’) and stars Emma Thompson (‘Cruella’) and Judy Greer (‘Halloween Kills’).

Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with Emma Thompson and Judy Greer about their work on ‘Dead of Winter’, their first reactions to the screenplay, their approach to their characters, working together and the challenges of shooting on the ice.

Related Article: Emma Thompson to Star in Action Thriller ‘The Fisherwoman’

Emma Thompson in ‘Dead of Winter’. Photo: Vertical.

Moviefone: To begin with, can you both talk about your first reactions to the screenplay and why you both wanted to be part of this project?

Emma Thompson: Well, it was a surprising screenplay to be sent, to be honest. Then I I started reading. My first thought was, “Oh, good, she doesn’t say anything.” I love movies where you don’t have to say anything, because then you can just think stuff and the camera finds it. I love that. Then she suddenly said a lot and I thought, “Oh, God, I’m going to have to really learn how to speak Minnesotan if I do this.” I then for some reason or other, I read the story and I omitted somehow to process accurately in my brain, quite how much running around and action there was in the film. I just thought that the writing was so great. I said yes, and then I spent six months dreading it, thinking, “What have I done? Oh, no, I’m going to be in the cold for months. Why? Why did I do this? There are other things out there where I could be in an office or something.” But you know what? It was the most extraordinary life experience. Never mind professional one, because there we were on a frozen lake in the north of Finland, 60 kilometers away from the Russian border, thank you very much, ladies and gentlemen. It was insane, you know? It was just insane. It’s 10 feet of snow when you fall into it, which I did, frequently.

Judy Greer stars in ‘Dead of Winter’.

Judy Greer: My first reaction was that I wanted to be a part of it when I got the email, and it said Emma Thompson. So, I said I would do it. Then, when I read it, and I saw the role, I thought maybe it was sent to me by mistake because no one ever sends me roles like this. I was assured that it wasn’t. I probably cried a little if I’m being honest because I was so excited and so proud. Then I met with Brian Kirk, the director and I fell deeply in love with him. He’s about the nicest, funniest guy, but then he directs these movies that are so complicated and intense. So, I’m interested in that person, always, who’s telling these stories. Yeah, it was just a character I’d never been offered before with one of my idols.

MF: Can you also both talk about filming in Finland and the challenges of shooting in those weather conditions?

ET: Well, it was the same for everybody because the point is, where we were shooting was so remote that there’s no nice hotel just down the road and there’s no Winnebago, there’s no where you can go to have a nice hot chocolate or get your feet warm. You just had to endure it. So, the way I prepared for it was to just go a month early, put my costume on and live in it for a month in the cold, just go for walks, you know, snowshoeing, walking around, doing cross- country skiing, learning how to do that, and digging into the ice. I spent a month doing that and talking to Minnesotans in Minnesota. So, it was the combination of that landscape, that Finnish landscape, which is very similar to Minnesota, because it’s the same latitude. And learning from the Minnesotan women and men who were so generous with their time, about what that kind of weather’s really like and how you must behave. You know, for instance, how essential your gloves are. We spent a lot of time talking about gloves. There are three sets of gloves. She must wear gloves if she’s dealing with a metal thing, because if you put your hand on that cold metal, it will stick to the metal. It’s extraordinary. Meanwhile, we’re surrounded by all these huge Fins who are basically chain sawing into the ice and clawing out these huge pieces of ice with their bare hands. I mean, these people are crazy tough, you know?

Judy Greer in ‘Dead of Winter’. Photo: Vertical.

JG: It was totally easy. It was totally not a challenge at all. You should interview the crew. Honestly, they are the real superheroes of this movie because of what they had to do. I am not being hyperbolic, it was Herculean. They were lugging all the film equipment on sleds up these snowy mountains to start the day and then down the snowy mountains to end the day. There were not a lot of bathrooms. There’s a lot of layers of clothing. We got to sit in warming tents. They never did. As soon as they would put out hot coffee, it would get cold. I mean, it was just never ending, but it was also so beautiful. I mean, the first time I walked on that frozen lake, I couldn’t believe it. You can see it in the movie, but that is what we saw every single day. It was stunning for miles and like so quiet and peaceful and beautiful. But then sometimes we’re all standing on this frozen lake, and you would hear these booming sounds. It was the ice breaking, and that’s kind of freaky to someone who lives in southern California, but all you must do is look at a Finnish person and see that they don’t even flinch. It’s like when there’s turbulence and the flight attendants are still talking to each other and laughing and stuff, and you’re like, “Okay, we’re fine”. Like if you’re standing on a frozen lake and there’s booming sounds coming from under the lake and the Finnish people are cool, then it’s cool. Then you know you’re okay.

Emma Thompson in ‘Dead of Winter’. Photo: Vertical.

MF: Emma, can you talk about the resilience of your character and why she takes action to protect this girl that she doesn’t even know?

ET: I think that her resilience comes from having been brought up in the way that she’s been brought up. I mean, her moral gauge is extremely simple, humble, American, a straightforward life where she’s loved somebody very much and been loved very much. She’s had a very rich life from that point of view, with a lot of tragedy in it, but the normal tragedy, human tragedy, because all life contains loss and grief. She’s really does appreciate what she’s had, I think. She’s been formed by the landscape that she’s grown up in, and by the stories, one of which she tells this girl about her grandparents. Because I imagine her life was tough, but she’ll say, “Well, that was nothing compared to my grandmother. You know, she had to give birth under ice.” You know, you just don’t know what people had to go through. So, I think that was her. That was the important thing about her is that she couldn’t have left that child. No one, none of us would have left that child. I mean, those of us who’ve grown up in, you know, like where I grew up, would have died, obviously, in the attempt, just of cold. But Barb is of the landscape, she was born and brought up there. She knows what to do and she’s not only resilient, but she also has a great cunning to her as well. So, you can see that, she’s had a life where she’s not no fool.

MF: Judy, can you talk about your approach to your character and how you were able to justify her actions and motivations in your own mind?

JG: Well, I find that I do fall for every character I play. But I don’t often play characters that do things that I would never do. But I love finding a reason why they do it. This one, even though she seems kind of like a demon, it was easy because she’s just desperate to stay alive. When you think about it, we’re all desperate for something, you know? So, it’s not that hard to tap into that desperation. I mean, physically, it can be trying, with the feeling of being so desperate for this one thing. In this character’s case, it’s keeping herself alive. In every character I’ve played, it’s something different. So, in that sense, she’s a lot like everybody else, you know, she just goes about it and in not maybe a respectful way.

Emma Thompson in ‘Dead of Winter’. Photo: Vertical.

MF: Finally, Judy, what was Emma Thompson like to have as a scene partner on this film?

JG: She’s perfect in every way. She exceeded my expectations as an artist and as a person. I knew I would love being on set with her. I knew she would inspire me and bring out the best in me. What I wasn’t sure about was what it would be like to hang out with her and be stuck in a northeastern Finnish town for a month. She’s just the coolest. She’s so fun and so funny. She’s so kind and so generous. She takes care of everyone around her. She’s never not caregiving. I just loved her. I feel like me as a person in my life is better from having spent two months with her on this movie. And I’m a better artist because of it too.

What was the plot of ‘Dead of Winter’?

A widowed fisherwoman (Emma Thompson), travelling alone through snowbound northern Minnesota, interrupts the kidnapping of a teenage girl. Hours from the nearest town and with no phone service, she realizes that she is the young girl’s only hope.