Margaret and Anne Marie here, reporting from AFI Fest ("presented by [corporation]!").
Last night the AFI and the LA Times kicked off a series of panel discussions with its "Young Hollywood Roundtable," whose panelists ranged widely in age and perspective but are all of whom making their mark on the movie business. Jenny Slate, writer/star of critical hit Obvious Child and former SNL castmember, was joined by Jena Malone (Inherent Vice, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay), Logan Lerman (Fury, The Perks of Being a Wallflower), and Joey King (Wish I Was Here, FX's Fargo).
Here are 8 lessons we learned from the Young Hollywood Roundtable:
Anne Marie:
1. Queen Latifah's royal legacy is enduring and eternal. When asked who her inspiration was, Joey King informed the audience that Queen Latifah is underrated. What followed was a 5 minute Latifah love-fest where Jenny Slate promised a detailed list of reasons why Queen Latifah is amazing ("on my personal stationary") and Logan Lerman revealed that his biggest inspiration is... Queen Latifah.
2. Jena Malone has a lot of very intelligent but frustratingly vague things to say about superhero movies. No confirmation from the newly-redheaded actress as to what her role is on Batman vs. Superman, but when Kaufman asked her about the pros and cons of working on a major superhero flick, Malone was frank: "We're artists, but we're also businesswomen." But working on a blockbuster isn't just about money. It has to tell a story as well.
I'm not saying Jena Malone is Robin, but I am saying she's being really evasive and her hair is red. #AFIFEST #YoungHollywood #Batman
— Anne Marie (@WeRecycleMovies) November 8, 2014
Ruminations on Twitter, higher education, and punching Brad Pitt after the jump.
3. Logan Lerman thinks we should stop giving superhero movies so much flack. When asked if he'd don a cape, Lerman demurred and said that the story and the director are the most important factors. However,the Fury star defended the genre as well: blockbusters bring money to Hollywood, and that money helps the smaller passion projects get made.
4. You should probably be following Jenny Slate on Twitter. Everyone had a different take on how to use social media, but Jenny spoke forcefully for using it as a way to promote causes important to her (like Planned Parenthood & feminist issues), and controlling her own image. For the record, this is what her image looks like:
I'm taking a bath and flipping through the Zabar's catalogue. HI! IM A 63 YEAR OLD THERAPIST NAMED MIRIAM GOLDFARB?
— jenny slate (@jennyslate) November 8, 2014
Margaret:
5. For young actors, sometimes college is the right choice, and sometimes it’s not. Jena Malone and Logan Lerman, both former child actors, extolled the virtues of an education on-set, and expressed appreciation for getting to build lives and careers outside of the college system. Jenny Slate, who didn’t start performing professionally until after graduating from Columbia, acknowledges that her studies weren’t all direct preparation for the career she has now, but still cherishes what she learned. “I’m glad I took History of Japan! I don’t know what I use it for, but my brain feels like it has texture and that’s a good thing.”
6. There’s a simple solution when you’re feeling intimidated by veteran costars. Logan Lerman, recently of the WWII tank movie “Fury,” believes it’s really important for casts to bond and get to know each other before filming. According to him, the best way to do that is to “get up in the morning and beat the sh*t out of each other.”
So Logan Lerman says if you want to feel comfortable with Brad Pitt, you should punch him in the face. #DulyNoted #AFIfest #Fury
— Margaret de Larios (@says_margaret) November 8, 2014
7. If you’re looking for book recommendations, James Franco is your guy. Joey King is working on a new movie with James Franco, and while on set she did what any sane person would do and asked him for reading suggestions. He turned her on to Maus, which wasn’t what I had in the betting pool but sounds about right.
8. There’s one very important difference between independent movie projects and behemoth franchises. Says Jena Malone, with a wink: “The craft services. There’s no comparison.”