Set Visit Interview with Cailee Spaeny from THE CRAFT: LEGACY
Alyse Wax
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Blumhouse and director Zoe Lister-Jones’ The Craft sequel, The Craft: Legacy, with Cailee Spaeny, Gideon Adlon, Lovie Simone, Zoey Luna, Nicholas Galitzine, David Duchovny, and Michelle Monaghan will head straight to on-demand platforms on October 28th. In the lead-up to the film’s release, we’ll be sharing a series of interviews from our set visit in 2019.
Today, we’re talking to Cailee Spaeny who plays one of the new teenage witches! Give it a read below the trailer and synopsis.
Synopsis:
In Blumhouse’s continuation of the cult hit The Craft, an eclectic foursome of aspiring teenage witches get more than they bargained for as they lean into their newfound powers.
So what is that amazing outfit you are wearing that our readers will not get to see?
Cailee Spaeny: It’s the party outfit; about to film the beginning of it with the girls getting ready. That’s what I’m about to jump into. Avery [Plewes], so smart, the costume designer. My element is water and so we’ve incorporated a lot of pearls into her look. Just keep an eye out as the movie progresses; there’s more water elements, you see little droplets so yeah, she’s pretty genius.
What was your relationship with the original Craft? Were you a hardcore fan, casual?
CS: Actually, this is so embarrassing, but I’d never even heard of The Craft. Yeah, it’s not my favorite answer to give but when I started telling my friends, older, in their thirties, women mostly, they were very protective of it. They were like, “Ok Cailee, we’re going to sit you down to watch this film; we need you to know how important it is to us. It changed our whole lives, so don’t mess this up, please.” When I was auditioning for it I went in to meet Doug and Lucy from Red Wagon who produced the first film and talked to them about how much it meant to them, and I began to understand that this changed a lot of people’s lives. And then I watched the film myself and I totally understood why. So I feel super lucky and grateful to be a part of this. I also understand how meaningful it is to the original fanbase.
Why do you think it changed people’s lives? What were some of the elements that you gravitated towards?
CS: I think it showed teen women’s angst in such a raw and visceral way. It was one of the only movies at that time that showed women coming into their power. I also love in this filming process, and the original, seeing true bonds between young women, so that’s what I connected with. I also think we have some witch consultants on this project, which I think is super exciting. One of them, she’s like our Mom Witch for this project, her name is Pam Grossman; she wrote this amazing book called Waking the Witch and she also has this podcast called The Witch Wave. She basically breaks down witches in pop culture and how it changed her life. So I think it also took the stigma out of being a witch for young girls and opened up doors for women and men. It kind of has for me too; this whole process has opened my eyes to witchcraft in general. You know, a lot of people who are close to me, a lot of older people, are really scared for me to do this project. I’m from Missouri and I got a lot of messages and a bit of hate for doing this film actually, that I was promoting witchcraft. It’s just so funny that there is still such a stigma to it, it has to be evil, when in reality if you actually look back on the history of witchcraft, it’s about women coming into their power and how it scared a lot of people, shook a lot of things up. And I just think it’s perfect for right now with what women are going through today and how this is a vessel to just bring encouragement and power and that it’s ok for women to have power and share their strength and story.
What is it like working with Zoe Lister-Jones and your other castmates, speaking of that connection to women and womanhood?
CS: It’s been really special. Zoe feels like a sister to me now and it’s funny, when I met her on this project, it was almost spooky how a lot of things in the script actually happened to Zoe in real life. Also, some of the things she wrote by coincidence happened to me in my real life. It’s funny, we joke about how we are the same person. People get our names mixed up on set and I couldn’t do this without her. She’s so special. Something that I love about Zoe too is, I don’t know if you guys have seen her film Band Aid? the thing I love about her work is, and this is apparent in Band Aid, you’re cracking up in some moments and crying in another. She has obviously brought that into this film. Everything feels so grounded and raw, and I think the fantastical and magical moments. There has to be moments in between that feel believable and true and one of those things had been the relationship with the girls, like falling in love with your sisters and why that relationship is so important. And I think it needs to be taught, in more television and movies. The core for a young woman is to find your group, your coven and I think that this film, and Zoe’s writing, shows that very well. I love the girls, Gideon [Adlon] is actually a friend of mine before we started this movie and I think the rest of the coven that Zoe cast was so perfect. We have our own little rituals back at the hotel. The first week of pre-production we had a full moon ritual together and we’ve all kind of become witches and have our own coven outside of the movie. We had no idea what was going to happen and it’s funny. I’m the one who is being educated by them in real life, about witchcraft. They read my Tarot cards when I’m back at the hotel; we’re full-on. It’s so eerie how my life, outside of this movie and then this movie, have kind of lined up in a lot of different ways and that’s one of them, they all taught me a lot, all the girls have.
I was going to ask, it sounds like you’ve gotten pretty emotionally vulnerable through this film, it’s kind of demanding like that, which is great to hear. How do you both access that as an actor and then step back from it so you can kind of keep your head together as a person and keep coming back fresh each day?
CS: Good question. This is the hardest project I’ve ever done and the most emotionally tasking part I’ve ever done. I’ve never led something before like this and I’m learning along the way, people are watching me and saying, you’re learning how to be number one right now, we’re watching you learn, and each week, every Friday when we wrap, I look at Zoe and go, “I don’t know how we got through this week but we did it.” On the acting side of it, it’s just been a balance of trying not to emotionally drain myself so I can have something to give on set, but just keeping myself open every day. It’s really been an acting intensive except I’ve been filmed and it’s been immortalized forever, which is terrifying. But I don’t know, hopefully, I’m pulling it off, I’m learning. I feel so grateful for this. I think I’m forever changed by this project. I think it’s important to stay emotionally available through the whole process
Can you introduce us to your character a little bit and maybe describe her?
CS: It’s always so funny to get interviewed in the middle of a project because you’re so close to it. I don’t have that one tag line for my character. She’s a young girl, she’s a loner, her best friend is her mother. She hasn’t really had friends her own age at all and she’s been uprooted from her life with her mom, moving into a whole new life with new people, starting in a new school. Then when she meets these girls everything changes, but you guys know that from the first movie.
What kind of things did you do with the other girls, to get your bond together I guess?
CS: We did a lot. Like I said, we had a full moon ritual, did Tarot cards, went karaoke-ing. It was really important that we had that bond. We went to crystal shops, bought crystals. I told the owner of the crystal shop, “We’re shooting The Craft, it’s really cool.” Lovie [Simone] cooks breakfast every morning on the weekends so yeah, the bond is super important. We have a group chat, all the teas spilt every day so yeah, we’re super close.
Check back tomorrow for another interview from the set of The Craft: Legacy!
Categorized:Interviews News
