You haven’t seen Lupita like this
Nyong’o appears in new zombie movie.
PARK CITY, Utah – You’ve never seen Lupita Nyong’o quite like this.
In horror comedy “Little Monsters,” which premiered Tuesday at the Sundance Film Festival, the Oscar-winning star of “12 Years a Slave” and “Black Panther” lets loose as Miss Caroline, a kindergarten teacher whose petting zoo field trip goes off the rails when zombies attack. With the help of concerned parent and chaperone Dave (Alexander England), the two fend off the living dead using tractors, shovels and a pitchfork – all while serenading students with Taylor Swift and “Old MacDonald Had a Farm.”
Written and directed by Australian filmmaker Abe Forsythe, “Little Monsters” will be released this year by Neon and Hulu. Nyong’o, 35, chats with USA TODAY about the new film.
Question: This movie has so much sincerity and heart, which is rare for the horror genre. What drew you to the script?
Lupita Nyong’o: I loved how outrageous the story was, and all these tonal shifts. You think you’re in one genre of a movie and then you turn the page and you’re in a totally different one. It does that like three times, and I love that surprise.
I also loved how Abe was inspired (to write this) by his son going to kindergarten for the first time. His son has these medical conditions and extreme food allergies, so giving him to another adult was a really big step for him. ... I love that there’s all this fun and profanity, but also this really soft heart.
Q: Were you a fan of the zombie genre before this?
Nyong’o: I really didn’t know too much, except for Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” (laughs). It was something I definitely had to learn more about once I was attracted to this project, so I watched “Night of the Living Dead,” “Train to Busan” and, of course, “Shaun of the Dead,” which was fun.
Q: How much fun was it getting to impale and decapitate zombies with a shovel?
Nyong’o: Oh, it was so much fun. I got to do all my own stunts, we worked on the choreography together and I got to take some heads down! I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was a walk in the park after “Black Panther.”
Q: You sing quite a bit in this film and have a really beautiful voice. Were you nervous at all about singing on screen?
Nyong’o: Oh, dear. I was very nervous and I’m very nervous now – just knowing that people are hearing me sing makes me very shy. So I’ll say thank you (laughs). I do enjoy singing but it’s not often that I do it in the movies. It was a weird feeling. But I learned to play the ukulele as well ...
Q: Do you have a favorite Taylor song?
Nyong’o: Honestly, “Shake It Off” is an anthem of mine. The year it came out, I was having a really hard time on a project, so my best friend came to see me and cheer me up. He played it on his phone and we had a dance party in my bedroom, so I played it on repeat through that period. That’s one of the reasons why my interest was piqued in this movie when I read the script, because I was like, “Someone else who loves ‘Shake It Off ’ just as much as I do!”
Q: We also learn that Miss Caroline was a Hanson groupie before she became a teacher. Did you ever fangirl over them growing up?
Nyong’o: Oh, yeah! They were one of the only posters I had on my wall. My favorite was Taylor (Hanson) – I had such a big crush on him. And I loved the song “MMMBop” and “I Will Come to You.” So yes, I have to admit I was a Hanson fan.