’READY’ FOR BATTLE
Weaving says ‘I do’ to endangered bride role
For Samara Weaving, playing the embattled bride in “Ready or Not,” Wednesday’s gore-drenched horror comedy, is one wild ride.
“Honestly, the cast and crew — we had so much fun! — the hardest thing was to keep a straight face and stop cracking jokes,” said this Aussie native, who could pass as Margot Robbie’s kid sister.
“Ready” begins innocently if a little forbiddingly as Weaving’s Grace preps for her wedding, one that will make her part of a rich eccentric family.
Grace quickly learns that tradition demands she play a game on her wedding night. She then discovers it’s a deadly one as she becomes the hunted. She must somehow stay alive until dawn to “win.”
Weaving, 27, and the niece of Hugo Weaving (“Lord of the Rings,” “The Matrix”), has a bit of horror history with “Ash vs Evil Dead” and “The Babysitter.”
What really intrigued her here is how “Ready” continually changes tone. “Right off the page straightaway they spread that line of thriller, comedy, romance, horror, every genre in there.”
Weaving realized, “There’s a few lines where Grace talks about growing up in foster care, so I figured that’s why she’s pushing to get married, to start her own family and maybe be part of this one.
“She’s probably fought before, been in some fights. So I said, ‘Let’s make it when she is fighting for her life, I didn’t want her to be a damsel in distress.’
“This family’s probably never been in a fight before and she could kick their butts.”
As Grace rips off her bridal train, dumps the heels and races in her sneakers — a riff on Uma Thurman’s angry Bride in “Kill Bill” — Weaving charted each phase of her long race to daylight.
“There were so many fight scenes and obstacles to overcome and we didn’t want that to be the same beat over and over again,” she said.
“It starts in state of shock as her hopes have been dashed. Then she’s distraught, followed by anger and determination.”
There’s another action comedy Weaving’s filmed, opposite Daniel Radcliffe: “Guns Akimbo.”
“We did training that was really demanding for three weeks that really came in handy.”
As a rising star, Weaving discovered how Radcliffe’s status is “vastly different than mine. He’s down to earth and grounded — even though he literally can’t walk without being pounced on in every country.”