| ROSE MCIVER - Lindsey Salmon in 'THE LOVELY BONES' |
| Written by Fleur Douglas |
| Tuesday, 22 December 2009 12:45 |
 “Lindsey Salmon was another thing altogether. She was gifted, one of the twenty students from [the] school who had been selected for the statewide Gifted Symposium. The only trouble in her file was a slight altercation early in the year when a teacher reprimanded her for bringing obscene literature - Fear of Flying - into the classroom.” And so we have Lindsey Salmon described to us in Alice Sebold’s 'The Lovely Bones' - sister of the central character, who happens to be played by bright and every bit as gifted Kiwi actress ROSE MCIVER, in Peter Jackson's film adaptation. McIver has been in countless film and television projects on a local basis, including 'Rude Awakenings' and 'Maddigan's Quest' - and now has the entire world at her feet with 'THE LOVELY BONES', where she stars alongside SAOIRSE RONAN ('Atonement'), MARK WAHLBERG ('Shooter') and RACHEL WEISZ ('The Fountain'). "It’s about coming to terms with it, and the kind of hope that gets found at the end of the story - and it can be seen as quite a positive, inspirational story as well."
COUP DE MAIN: You started acting early, when you were just a little girl - what’s given you the biggest buzz in your career? ROSE MCIVER: I enjoy different things for different reasons. I have a lot of fun with the New Zealand industry - especially the Auckland industry - where we use so many of the same people time and time again that it’s become sort of a family; I see lots of familiar faces. Something I particularly enjoyed... I had a lot of fun working on 'Rude Awakenings', which was a project I did years ago. Obviously, 'The Lovely Bones' has been exciting for different reasons; to work with some people that I’ve looked up to for a long time, and that’s been really cool. Also to travel; it was my first time working in the States, which was exciting. CDM: Did you fan-girl over any of the people you looked up to that you got to work with? ROSE: Not too bad! Everyone was actually really down-to-earth. It was great meeting these people that I have so much respect for, but have them being really approachable, and it was just really lovely to work with them - it wasn’t too intimidating or anything. CDM: Growing up in New Zealand, do you think you were at an advantage, or disadvantage to pursue an acting career? ROSE: I think it can be both. On the New Zealand level, I love what we make. I love local projects, and I’m really interested in staying involved in those for as long as I can - for my whole career. It’s kind of a positive/negative for international markets, because they do like to find people from different countries, different backgrounds and different approaches - but at the same time you’re just not really in front of people the same way as if you were in somewhere like the States. For me, I find it a big positive. I wouldn’t have had it any other way. CDM: You never considered moving overseas? ROSE: No, definitely not. I like being home. There’s too much here, to ever want to leave. CDM: 'The Lovely Bones' has been a long time coming - the first movement on the project started right back in 2000. When did you first get involved? ROSE: There was a casting process overseas and in New Zealand, and I did an audition around the middle of 2007, and heard about it a month or two down the track. We did a lot of pre-production in New Zealand, and I’ve been involved since then, since the casting all came off the ground a good couple of years ago now. It has definitely been a long time coming. It felt interesting to go back into it all now, after having wrapped a year ago - over a year ago. It’s been interesting to go straight back into it, and it feels like something that was done when I was much younger, in some ways. CDM: Were you a fan of the book before you were cast? Was Lindsey your favourite character? ROSE: Yes - I’d read the book. It came out when I was thirteen, and my mum had a copy, and so I read it years ago and I’ve always loved the story. When they cast, I was really excited to be auditioning for Lindsey. I didn’t think it would happen. It was definitely a story I really adored. I don’t know if I had a favourite character, I don’t know if I necessarily operate like that, but I really liked her story - I think she’s got a really interesting journey. She’s a fascinating, complex character. I love the fact that you get to see her age through the book and come to terms with different things in the book.  CDM: It’s a hugely emotional book - was the filming experience emotional? ROSE: It was nice having the support we had around us; we were working with such seasoned professionals, and they’ve dealt with that kind of dark subject matter before. It was definitely a really safe environment, but I think it’s impossible not to be affected at all by the work you create. I think, as well, the story - it really begins with Susie’s death, but it sort of goes a long way from there. That’s not what it’s all about. It’s about coming to terms with it, and the kind of hope that gets found at the end of the story - and it can be seen as quite a positive, inspirational story as well. CDM: What was the hardest part to film? ROSE: Because I was playing from about eleven to nineteen, it was playing the eleven year old stuff that I found the hardest - just because it was so outside myself. I was trying to create a different age, which is always going to be a bit interesting. That was probably the hardest - I found that more challenging than any of the emotional stuff. CDM: How did they accomplish the change in ages? ROSE: It’s a combination of make-up, hair, costume, movement, voice... it’s kind of all the departments coming together to help you. Just working with voice and movement, mainly. CDM: Because it’s such a beloved book, and there’s such a lot of expectation around the film - did you feel that pressure on set? ROSE: We all loved the story, and we all wanted to tell that as best as we could. Everyone worked really hard. I guess it’s a bit hard, you don’t really see it as other people’s perspectives. You can’t see it as beloved in other people’s perspectives. You read it as your own story, and the story that’s really important to tell, and I think everybody was really just passionate about the project, so I hope that translates on-screen. CDM: What was Peter Jackson like? ROSE: He’s great! It was fantastic to work with him. As a Kiwi, it was definitely an iconic part of my career. CDM: Which cast members did you get really close to? ROSE: Saoirse [ Ronan ], who plays Susie Salmon, I’m very close to. I didn’t know her before the project at all, but we’ve definitely kept in touch. CDM: What was your favourite moment during filming? ROSE: We woke up to snow one morning. We didn’t expect to, and we managed to film some of the scenes in a winter season. That worked pretty well - that was really special. CDM: Have you seen the finished project? Are you looking forward to it? ROSE: I’ve seen a cut, not a final cut. It’s not like I like seeing myself on screen, but I’m really looking forward to seeing the project. It’s something we all care so much about and have spent so much time on, and I think it’s a wonderful story - so I’m really excited to see it. I’m excited to see everybody who worked on it again - kind of come back together for a bit. CDM: You want to do theatre - do you sing? What roles would you love to play? ROSE: I do sing - I’m not a singer, but I’m an actor who can sing... kind of! I wouldn’t call myself a singer. I have nothing in mind at the moment that I particularly want, but there are a million different plays that I go and see and think, oh, I wish I could do that. It’s just like, the buzz of being able to create your arc in one night rather than out of sequence the way you do on a film, and having an audience’s response in an evening would be so exciting. There are a million things about it, and it’s just a world that I don’t know at all. I’ve never really done theatre. CDM: What’s next for you? ROSE: We finished shooting 'Predicament', so that’ll come out next year at some stage, and it’s just waiting to see what other roles are around at the moment. I’m a student at University, so I just finished my year at that. I’m studying linguistics and psychology - not drama! Just subjects that interested me. I don’t really know what I’ll do with them yet, but I really enjoy them! 
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