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As a child, did you know a lot of fairy tales, and did they ever scare you? Amanda Seyfried: I was afraid of fairy tales, but I’d heard them all. I had this Teddy Ruxpin tape player, and I had three tapes, one story on each side, and they were all narrated by this British man. They were very scary… I listened to them a lot to go to sleep at night, and then I’d have nightmares. I was so mean to myself. It’s probably why I was so afraid of everything. But the Brothers Grimm stories are very, very dark. Psychologically, they’re just intense. As much as they were meant for children, I don’t think children should be reading the original stories. I guess I don’t get what’s implied, when you’re three, you don’t get that there are sexual undertones. You get a lot of sexual symbolism… It’s just very dark. What attracted you to playing the character? AS: The opportunity to play an iconic figure. And I thought that the script was really good. The whodunit aspect of it was well written. Nobody could really figure out who the wolf was. It’s good writing, if you can keep that under wraps. Did you have to fight to get the role? AS: Nope. It’s kind of boring when you don’t fight. It just happened, it was too easy. I’m in the process of fighting for a role right now, and if I get it it’ll be that much more fun. If you had two guys fighting over you, which one would you choose? In cinema we usually go for the wild one… AS: You’re right. I think whoever gets my blood going more… I this age I don’t see myself going for the safe choice. Right now what’s important to me is experiencing passion. Someone, no matter wonderful they are, if I don’t feel it in my bones, then I’m probably going to overlook it… for now. Have you ever acted roles for the money, then hated it? AS: Kind of… But not hated it. I’ve never hated anything I’ve done. The experiences I’ve had were very unique. Its not secret that I got a really big pay cheque for Letters To Juliet. It ended up being one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. I was living in Italy with Gary Winick (the director), who became a close friend, and Caroline Kaplan. It ended up becoming part of my life, and making it better. And it was a love story I wanted to do, and I loved Gary. Did you do anything stupid with that kind of money? AS: No. I bought a house though. Letters To Juliet was my apartment in New York… All My Children was a pair of shoes, because I was young and I didn’t really make any money. But my LA house is Red Riding Hood. How far would you if a director wanted you to change something about your face or our body for a role? AS: If a director wanted me to change something about my face, I’d be like ‘fuck off’. But if I had to go any thinner, I wouldn’t, I mean that’d be stupid. And I wouldn’t gain weight either. I’m just not into that. It really fucks up your immune system, it’s not worth it. I guess I’d consider botox… How does working in film compare with working in television? AS: Well, it’s over now, but television is faster, there’s less attention to every detail. But it doesn’t feel that much different. What importance does a film like Mamma Mia have for you? AS: The first thing I think about is that it really did bring joy to the world. It did. It’s a silly movie, but it was very successful in making people feel good about themselves, in their lives. They watch it over and over again, because they want that excitement, they want that high. A two-hour movie can transfer you to this whole other world… The enjoyment the audience gets from the movie is almost the same as what I had in my life at that time. I was really living with Meryl Streep, on a Greek island, in love. And I was getting to do I love most, which is singing. We’re seeing quite a few live action fairy tales with a twist coming up, why do you think Hollywood is getting these films out now? AS: I think it’s the whole supernatural thing, with Twilight, and vampires, and werewolves, and ghosts… That is just inspiring because its part of a different world where there is no real danger in our own lives. I think the supernatural thing is very interesting, and you can do so much as a filmmaker and an actor with that idea. And then fairy tales have a very similar quality, and we all know them. I think all the producers are just seeing dollar signs.

Amanda Seyfried, Shiloh Fernandez, Max Irons, Adrian Holmes, with director Catherine Hardwicke were in London to promote their new film Red Riding Hood, a twist on the well known fairytale, and we were invited along to a special round table with the cast and crew. So how did you come on board this film? Did you audition or did Catherine Hardwicke already have to in mind from when you were almost cast in Twilight? Shiloh Fernandez: I wish she had kept me in mind, but to be honest, she didn’t I think. I auditioned for her other movie Hamlet, which didn’t get made, but I had hoped that that would work out. Then I read this script, and heard she was directing it, but there was a British actor who had been telling all my friends that he’d been cast in it. So I went up to her, and was like “What the fuck? I mean, we were supposed to work together.” And she told me it wasn’t true, that he wasn’t in the movie. So I went to her house to audition, and Keisha Castle-Hughes was staying there, and I read with her. It was quite a rigorous process. I had long hair, and Catherine was really trying to make it work, because when there’s a studio involved it never really comes down to just the director, unfortunately, and if it did I think I’d get a lot more parts. So yeah, she took me to her hair stylist, and she started cutting my hair, slowly. I was like, okay, if you think it’s a good idea I’ll do it, and then I ended up like that (points to the poster out the door). I wouldn’t even dare do that in my real life. How much time did you spend on the infamous casting bed? SF: This time? There was no bed involved this time. We stayed in the garage the whole time. Actually, I think Warner Brothers didn’t want her to do that this time. As a child, were there fairy tales you were afraid of? SF: As a child, I didn’t really get read any fairy tales. After doing the first press junket where people asked me that, I had to talk to my dad. He made up these stories, called the Magic Boy stories. But the way that I was raised there wasn’t really any fear. My dad has a five year old and a three year old, and they feel so safe, and I think that’s how they’re raised. There wasn’t a lot of fear. The only fear was, like, school. I hated going to school. So you didn’t read fairy tales, you read Playboy? SF: Yeah. Are you ready to be the next hot guy? SF: I’ve been waiting a long time. Like the next Robert Pattinson? SF: Do I want to be the next Robert Pattinson? No. What I want is to be able to make movies, like he can make movies. But I don’t know how all the craziness and the fame would affect someone, I think he’s handled himself really well. How do you react to seeing yourself up on posters, and on magazine covers? SF: There’s no connection, I don’t really understand. It’s very separated from my life. I have the same life I’ve always had, nothings changed. Its not like I get recognized. But I don’t look like that, right? (referring to the poster) Did you audition just for Peter, or for Henry as well? SF: What happened was, they wanted everybody to read for both parts. I wanted to do a good job, and I didn’t think I could do a good job trying to memorize both. It would be the same, you know, you read the parts in the same way. So I came into the first one, and I only auditioned for Peter. Then I got a call from Catherine saying ‘everybody loved your audition, but we want you to come back for Henry’. I had to think about it, ‘cos I didn’t really understand that. What was it about Peter then? SF: Well, everybody wants to be the hero, or sees themselves that way sometimes. What I loved about him is that he’s good the whole time, even though you may think he’s something strange or wrong with him. But really the whole time he’s trying to do the right guy. It’s better to want to be something, and strive to be that, than saying that’s who I am and I’ll just be myself, I guess. After not getting Twilight, what do you think of the movie as a viewer? SF: I thought the book was cool, and the reason that I wanted to do it was because it was a great part, Edward was a great part. I thought he really did a great job. I actually saw it with Ashley Greene (Alice in the Twilight movies). It’s a once in a lifetime phenomenon. I didn’t see the other ones, I just saw the first one. And Catherine’s a great director. She connected with the youth in a way that’s unexplainable, and I’m really impressed with that. I felt I could fit in her world. What’s next, Shiloh? SF: I have a movie, called Skateland, coming out in May, I don’t know when its coming out in the UK. I really proud of that movie. There are five things that I want to do, that I’m attached to, but none of them have any money, so if you have any money… But there’s a British movie called Beloved that I really hope happens soon. Sandra Goldbacher is making it, and its got Andrea Riseborough.