From the Guardians to Eva Green, Here Are the 6 Biggest Winners of Summer

Everyone from Rick Ross to Drake to Jay Z has, at some point, in one way or another claimed, “summer is mine”—proudly, if not always accurately, declaring that they have made the hits most often blasted from convertibles. But they’re talking about music, and even those guys rule every summer. With Labor Day weekend marking the unofficial end of summer, we took a look back at the movies, music, and other media to pick the best of a long summer spent in the theater, on the couch and at the beach.
Guardians of the Galaxy

Many comics fans were totally incredulous when Marvel announced in 2012 that the rag-tag space brigade known as the Guardians of the Galaxy would be getting their own flick. “Seriously?” was the general reaction. Not only was the series relatively obscure, but it had, you know, a talking raccoon and a talking tree. In space. The addition of talent like Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Vin Diesel, and Bradley Cooper did little to inspire confidence with the target audience, either. The first few trailers brought a measure of optimism, but the film was by no means a slam-dunk.

But then Guardians of the Galaxy premiered, and to the surprise of everyone (save, perhaps, the movie’s cast and crew), even WIRED, it was one of the funniest, best-written (thanks, Karen Gillian) movies of the year. Critics lauded it for its visuals, its music, and its complete lack of self-seriousness. Indeed, some even noted that any confusion the plot left in its wake—a criticism that would sink nearly any other movie—was completely forgivable because of just how much entertainment the gang served up. Even Diesel’s Groot birthed a whole sub-fandom thanks to his bonus-scene dancing at the end of the movie. The whole thing was so ridiculously fun that, so far, it’s grossed half a billion dollars worldwide. That’s not Avengers-level numbers, to be sure, but for a movie many feared might be as bad as, say, Daredevil and Batman and Robin, that’s one hell of a win. —Devon Maloney
DJ Mustard

Mustard on the beat, ho. Which beat? These days, just about all of them. The reign of everyone’s favorite condiment-turned-beat-maker officially began in early 2012, with Tyga’s “Rack City,” but two-and-a-half years later Mustard’s empire has expanded, Alexander the Great-style, to encompass the whole of hip-hop radio—and by extension, barbecues, house parties, clubs, and beaches. Last summer belonged to Pharrell, thanks to Daft Punk’s “Get Lucky” and Robin Thicke’s “Blurred Lines”; this summer, virtually any big song came off of young Dijon (yes, that’s why he’s called DJ Mustard) McFarlane’s hard drive. A-list rappers (T.I.’s “No Mediocre”), new-school R&B stars (Jeremih’s “Don’t Tell ‘Em”), young breakouts (YG’s “Who Do You Love,”), and got-next ingénues (Tinashe’s “2 On”) have all benefited from the Angeleno’s hot hand. Even holdovers from early 2014 like Ty Dolla $ign’s “Paranoid” or Kid Ink’s “Show Me” are still coming out of every car window in the western United States. Every summer gets a soundtrack, but few get such a flavorful one. —Peter Rubin
Eva Green

Being pretty and talented is barely enough to cause a ripple in Hollywood. And if you want to really make waves, to take roles for the art instead of just the paycheck, you need to be a part of that magical Five Percent—that group with a maddening alchemy of good looks, preternatural skill, and mysterious intangibles that elevate them above us mere mortals. Eva Green is one of those people. She’s stunning. She’s possessed of a ferocious talent. She’s fucking crazy on screen, and through quiet seduction, she brought the summer of 2014 to its knees.

It started when she became the beating black heart of this spring’s 300: Rise of an Empire, making an otherwise unnecessary sequel worth the price of admission thanks to her frightening, powerful, sexy Artemisia. Then she laced up her corset to anchor Showtime’s Penny Dreadful, playing the gothic temptress Vanessa Ives to maximum slow-burn effect. Then she graduated from dreadful to sinful in the long-awaited Sin City: A Dame To Kill For. Frank Miller and Robert Rodriguez’s joint venture may be crashing headlong into the crushing expectations of its hype, but the critics are hailing Green, with outlets like The Hollywood Reporter, Variety, and WIRED calling her performance as the titular dame representative of everything the movie could have been if it had lived up to its promise.

Green has been chewing up screens with fearless role selections and uncompromising performances since breaking out in Bernardo Bertolucci’s 2003 film The Dreamers. Later this fall she’ll do it again, starring alongside Shailene Woodley in White Bird in a Blizzard, but for now, the summer is hers. —Jordan Crucchiola
Mad Max: Fury Road

Yes, it seems ridiculous to have a movie that won’t be out for another year on a Best of Summer list, but bear with me.

Generally speaking, reboots are a risky proposition that must traverse a minefield with explosives labeled “Pleasing Hardcore Fans” and “Appealing to a New Audience.” But Fury Road has something many reboots don’t: franchise originator George Miller, who directed the original Mad Max way back in 1979. If the teaser he used to basically conquer Comic-Con International is any hint, then he’s been dying to take us on this ride for a long time.

So what makes this trailer so mind-blowing? Short list: Gritty visuals in a color palette you want to roll around naked in, Charlize Theron’s badass shaved head, Charlize Theron’s badass self, impossibly epic desert car chases, IRON FACE MASKS, Tom Hardy as Max himself, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley vogue-ing for no reason with Zoë Kravitz and some other inexplicably well-moisturized model friends. There’s just so damn much. I don’t even care what happens in this movie, I just want to be lost in this world. Who needs water when you’ve got guns and motocross in the dustbowl? I, for one, didn’t see Mad Max coming. Now I can’t wait for it to get here. —Angela Watercutter
John Oliver

When Jon Stewart transformed The Daily Show from a lackluster Craig Kilborn program into the first name in satirical news back in 1999 it felt like the smartest, sharpest news critique on television and a desperately needed breath of fresh air in the fetid world of cable news. While it remains relevant, the show has greyed a bit, even as it’s propelled now-familiar names to prominence: Steve Carell, Ed Helms, Stephen Colbert, and most recently, John Oliver.

Last Week Tonight with John Oliver premiered on HBO in April, and—although Oliver is still finding his footing—has come compellingly close to out-Stewarting Stewart. Moreover, there’s an edge—sometimes a roughness—in Oliver’s satire that is refreshing, especially compared to the smooth familiarity of the well-oiled Daily Show machine. Not only can Oliver drop F-bombs uncensored, but HBO’s ad-free premium model means he need not worry about the displeasure of any corporation that ends up in his crosshairs. Just watch his blistering 13-minute take on net neutrality: “The cable companies have figured out the great truth of America: If you want to do something evil, put it inside something boring. Apple could put the entire text of Mein Kampf inside the iTunes user agreement and you’d just go ‘Agree.'”

His excoriations of everything from FIFA to Ferguson have made a lot of well-deserved hay online, a phenomenon that provoked its own response from Oliver; he subsequently responded to the overblown headlines by announcing that “the internet does not know how to describe things anymore” while bludgeoning a pinata. Who will Oliver go after next? Who knows, but I’m glad to see him shouting from the HBO megaphone—and carrying an awfully big stick. —Laura Hudson
Fall (Like, the Season)

It’s not that this summer was filled with flops, by any stretch of the imagination—Guardians of the Galaxy, Transformers: Age of Extinction and Dawn of the Planet of the Apes all rocked it at the box office, after all—but there was something particularly underwhelming about this season. A lot of this stems from familiarity, and the fact that we’ve seen a lot of these kinds of mega-movies before; even breakout hit Guardians was pretty much a mash-up of Star Wars and all the other Marvel movies when it comes down to it.

It was even worse on television, with Penny Dreadful and The Knick, and (to varying degrees) Masters of Sex and The Leftovers being the rare bright lights in a dark, dull season. Maybe it was the one-two punch of Fargo and True Detective in the spring, and the continuing awesomeness of Game of Thrones, but TV this summer felt particularly unexciting compared with what came before. Did anyone really want to watch Welcome to Sweden or Married, never mind Sing Your Face Off, when they could just dive into a good binge-watch?

If summer did anything, it made me look forward to the fall: A time when television gets an influx of new shows (hey, The Flash looks pretty good!) and movies—released from the blockbuster season with eyes cast towards the Oscars—get a little bit more interesting. It’s not that summer is a bad time for pop culture, per se, but as this season made clear, it’s not the best time for those looking for novelty. Here’s to the changing of the seasons.—Graeme McMillan

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10 Raunchy Moments When Eva Green Went Bad

Here’s to Green’s refreshingly European comfort with baring all on screen.

Dimension Films

Is there any actress out there as desired by the straight male (and lesbian) population as Eva Green right now? The French star has been an eye-opening cinematic presence throughout 2014, first for her kinky, twisted performance in 300: Rise of an Empire, and then in last week’s Sin City: A Dame to Kill For, where she once again cemented her status as one of the film industry’s trustiest go-to femme fatales. If you need a strong, sexy, seductive female for a role, there’s not really anyone better than Green at the moment.

Still, Green’s willingness to strip down for a part isn’t exactly something new, and despite her own (scarcely believable) claims that she’s in fact rather shy, she’s been taking her clothes off ever since her 2003 debut in Bernardo Bertolucci’s The Dreamers, and been the object of desire of millions ever since. While it would be a mistake to simply view Green as a sexual object and little else, given that she also happens to be a fantastic actress, it’s somewhat unavoidable given her recent career choices that her nudity is getting more press than her otherwise presence in the films themselves.

To that end, here’s to Green’s refreshingly European comfort with baring all on screen, and 10 raunchy scenes where Green’s searing sexuality has shone through.

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Eva Green: My dye job horror

Eva Green

Eva Green loves extreme shades when it comes to her hair.

The former Bond girl is known for her striking looks and raven hair. Her natural colour is actually dark blonde which the 35-year-old has always found dull so she likes to experiment - but has had some mishaps along the way.

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"I've dyed my hair black since I was 15. One of my mum's friends had very dark hair and blue eyes and I just thought, 'OK, I have to try it!'" she told British InStyle. "I felt more like myself after I made the colour change. I love extreme shades - I've been dark blue, a dark brown and even red at one point. That was a challenging shade because it eventually went green!"

One colour Eva would love to try is bright blonde. But just like Kim Kardashian, who had to give up her platinum locks after only a few weeks earlier this year, the actress thinks it would be too much strain on her tresses.

"I've done movies with a blonde wig and I'd love to go blonde. But colourists say it would destroy my hair because of how much I'd have to bleach it," she explained. "My hair got very damaged because it's super straight and I always use tongs to give it texture. I've just had the new L'Oréal Professionel Pro Fibre Revive in-salon treatment - it makes your hair shiny and healthy."

Eva likes to be experimental when it comes to her make-up looks too, although it wasn't always the case.

"I was shy until I was 16 and started at the American School of Paris. It was a chance to be a new me," she said. "I had new black hair and would match my eyeshadow with my clothes so I'd wear purple or green. It was very theatrical."

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Eva Green Talks Hair History, Acting Career

Eva Green is a multitasking maven. She recently took time out from filming the Tim Burton movie “Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children” to appear at the press launch in Paris of the new L’Oréal Professionnel Pro Fiber line. Green might have been named the international face of the L’Oréal-owned professional hair-care brand just a few months ago in late January, but hair has played a leading role all her life. The actress, sporting a long black Hervé Leroux dress, sat down with WWD at the Le Meurice Hotel to have a discussion.

WWD: You first dyed your hair dark around the age of 15. What made you do that?

Eva Green: I wanted to change something. You know, like when you go through your teenage years. I hated school. I was a good student, but I just wanted to breathe in something new. I was in awe of a friend of my mum who had dark hair. She was quite weird, beautiful. I was like: ‘Oh wow, I’ll go to the hairdresser and try that.’ So I went there, I dyed my hair blue-black and came back home. It took me a while to get used to it, and then I actually really liked it. I felt more like myself. It’s weird.

WWD: Has hair played an important part of your character creation at work?

E.G.:  Hair defines your character, your state of mind. At the moment I’m in a Burton film, and it took weeks and weeks to find the right hairdo. It’s kind of a weird character. Her name is Miss Peregrine, so there is a bit of a birdlike hairdo in her. It helps you to create the character when you find the hairdo. It’s also like a costume.

WWD: What have been some of the interesting hairstyles you’ve had during your career?

E.G.: In “Dark Shadows” I wear a blonde wig. I was really worried at the beginning, … I was not sure [but] Tim Burton was like: ‘No, no I want you blonde.’ That made total sense for the character and actually was a very good idea, kind of a trashy Barbie. And that helps you tremendously to find the character.

I dyed my hair red six years ago, seven years ago for a role that I ended up not doing, but you feel different. I had a fringe, as well, a year ago for a movie called “White Bird in a Blizzard.” I kind of loved it. It’s a tiny detail, but you feel different. It’s funny.

WWD: What have been some of your favorite roles?

E.G.: I loved a movie called “Cracks” by Jordan Scott. It’s a small film, lots people haven’t seen it, unfortunately, but it’s a beautiful, passionate love story between a swimming teacher in the Thirties, that I play, and one of her students. I really loved that story. It was kind of a gift for an actor.

WWD: Are there any sorts of roles you’ve not gotten to play that you’d like to try?

E.G.: Yes, of course. It’s always hard as an actor because you’re being put in a box. Lots of journalists ask me: “Oh my God, why do you just play evil characters or dark characters?” I feel like I’ve played other characters, maybe that’s what you’ve seen only of me. I like complex characters, complicated people. In darkness you have light; you have different facets in the darkness. So maybe a comedy or something that people don’t expect me in — but the comedy is always a challenge, and it’s rare and it’s quite funny. But yeah, I’d like something kind of [like a] dark comedy.

WWD: Any directors you’ve not worked with yet that you’d like to try?

E.G.: I don’t know where to start. So many. Something simple. I’m sick of people saying that I do femmes fatales or I’m sexy. So I think I have to be careful now and play dirty hair, raw, a Mike Leigh movie or something, you know. No lipstick. I don’t know. Dirty hair for L’Oréal.

Something not too sophisticated, that’s what I mean. In “Penny Dreadful” I’m not very sophisticated. It’s not glamorous, let’s say.

WWD: What about stage acting?

E.G.: I’ve done plays. I get very nervous. I had a few blanks on stage so now I’m like, “Oh my God.” But it’s very electric, and it’s true that there is something kind of magical because there is a direct response with the audience. You’re not cut in the editing room. You are your own master, so that’s great but that’s really scary at the same time. I have to gain confidence again.

WWD: Back to beauty, what are your secrets?

E.G.: Sun cream, protection, food — what we eat is the most important: lots of green vegetables, raw vegetables, organic. Everything has to be organic.

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What drew Bond girl Eva Green to a life in Wicklow hills?

For a former 007 actress, Eva Green knows how to keep under the radar. Ahead of the new series of Penny Dreadful, she tells Patricia Danaher why she's found happiness in Ireland.

Retiring type: Eva Green freely admits she’s battled shyness

Eva Green has been doing so much work in Ireland in recent years that the Paris-born actress jokes that she should get herself an Irish passport.

Living in Dalkey, Co Dublin, for the past two years, she is very at home in a house by the sea, to which she retreats each night, after days at Ardmore Studios filming Penny Dreadful
A self-described introvert - who says she took up acting to help with her acute shyness - the embrace of the coastline of Dublin Bay comforts her.
"There's something very magical and very spiritual in Ireland. The nature is very particular here and there are forces," she tells me in her very quiet voice. It's a statement befitting of Vanessa Ives, the mysterious clairvoyant that Eva plays in supernatural TV series Penny Dreadful.
Though set in Victorian London, the show - which also stars Timothy Dalton and Josh Hartnett and is now in its second series for American network Showtime - is filmed in Dublin. When we meet on the set at Ardmore Studios, 34-year-old Eva is dressed in a purple silk shirt and black tie from Dolce & Gabbana over a pair of black leather trousers and high boots. She's friendly and wants to give a decent interview, but there's also an arms-length reserve which she can't help but give off. There's almost no trace of a French accent when she speaks.
"I shot Cracks here in Ireland, it's a small film. A long time ago, I did a TV show here also, called Camelot. I've spent two years here now doing Penny Dreadful, so I think I should get an Irish passport," she says.
"The people here are amazing. It's the kindest crew I've ever worked with and I'm not just saying that. They're full of heart, they're sincere, they're funny, they're raw. It's a real pleasure." Filming of season two of the popular show is currently close to completion and although Eva looks more like a contemporary Goth, with those smoky dark eyes, there's something about her temperamentally that seems right in the lavish 19th century elegant set. But then, she's never been one to shirk from stretching herself from Bond Girl to Action Girl with the melancholy sexiness that is so much her hallmark.

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"Psychologically, it's hard. I love it, but it's so intense that I can't wait to lie down on a beach and have a tequila very soon. I might end up in a cuckoo home after this TV series. But I know how to read the future with tarot cards now, which is kind of cool, to connect with the universe and all this, the elements … It sounds like kind of witchcraft, but it makes you more aware of yourself and connected to the earth."
Penny Dreadful does indeed have a lot of darkness and violence and includes lots of appearances by literary characters ranging from Frankenstein to Dorian Gray to Dracula. Does the role allow Eva to unleash her inner demons?
"I'm not that confident in real life, so sometimes I'm drawn to playing strong women because I wish I could be like this in reality. Like if somebody annoys me, I wish I could say: 'Off with his head!' In general, I am very scared, so it's kind of a dream to be so ballsy on-screen, even to be rude and evil. In reality, I'm really quite an introvert.
"Although I'm an actor now and have been for several years, I was so shy in school. I never talked and I thought I was going to pass out every time the teacher asked me a question.
"So, weirdly, maybe even masochistically, I decided to take theatre classes to be somebody else and to maybe gain some confidence. Then, I found I really enjoyed it and then I knew it was okay, that what I wanted to do was be other people."
Despite the urgings of her successful actress mother, Marlene Jobert, not to follow her into the same profession, Eva studied acting as a teenager at London's Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Arts. While in London, director Bernardo Bertolucci spotted her and cast her in his sexually charged movie The Dreamers, which effectively put her on the map - eventually leading to a 'Bond girl' role in 2006's Casino Royale.
"People always recognise me as Vesper from Casino Royale and I am very, very grateful and proud of that role.
"It was a nice love story in Bond. She was the only one he ever loved and always looks quite cool. But my favourite Bond girl I'd have to say is Judy Dench! She broke my heart in Skyfall."
Her heart is otherwise unclaimed - she's been single since she split from New Zealand actor Marton Csokas, who she worked with on Kingdom of Heaven.
Eva appears to have compartmentalised the various aspects of her personal life and her work life. She realises the power of her beauty and has become very wealthy from advertising campaigns for Armani, Lancome and Dior.
Her eyes appear to be very much wide-open about the work she's doing and the double standards that exist for women in the world in which she works.
"As actresses, it's very boring, but you have to drink lots of water and eat vegetables - because otherwise I am very naughty," she says. "Doing all the intense training I've had to do lets me have my glass of red wine and cheese at night, or a glass of Guinness, which I wouldn't be able to do otherwise.
"But you have to look after yourself and even despite that, sometimes you're made to feel like an old woman. You hear them talking about the next big thing saying 'Oh, she's 20' and you are like, 'Oh God, I'm 30'.
"They make you very aware of yourself to the point where sometimes you have to just put earplugs in and just not listen to their b*******, because it's very ruthless.
"But sometimes, I am also very hard on myself. I feel like I'm kind of schizophrenic, that's what my mother would say. I can be confident about some things; I can be frank and very determined. But I would say I am not very confident when I feel like I really have to prove myself. And in this business you have to keep your armour on and be strong. At the same time, you have to keep your vulnerability for the set - to be able to act. So it's kind of hard. I'm still learning."
Dublin provides her with the privacy and solitude she craves. "I live a quiet, reclusive life when I'm not working. Living by the sea in Dalkey, it's great, after all those intense scenes during the day, when I can go home at night. I'm just like a cave woman with nature. Some of the roles that I do, like Penny Dreadful, are so intense that I really like being lazy when I'm not working. I love walking and I walk a lot when I can. I've been loving walking in Dublin and also in Wicklow," she says.
"When I'm at home in London, I walk all the way through the centre, through Regent's Park. I love going to the cinema and I love reading. It's very boring really - I'm not somebody who goes out to clubs and things like that. I wear no make-up in real life. I'm very simple. I wear jeans and T-shirts. That may be why I go over the top for the red carpet. But otherwise, I'm very plain. I am really in my own bubble."
And what does she do in that bubble in Dalkey? "I have various TV shows that I like. At the moment, I'm watching Girls, which couldn't be more different from Penny Dreadful. I adored True Detective and will be very interested to see what Colin Farrell does with the role. There are so many good shows at the moment, it's kind of overwhelming."
Eva's family are still in Paris, except for her twin sister Joy, who lives in Italy. So far, she hasn't invited her actress mother to visit her here.
"I didn't bring my mother to the set, because she always has something to say about my hair or something, so I said to her, 'No, no. Don't come'. She always thinks it's very extreme and she's like 'Are you okay?' and making sure I don't lose myself because we are very different actresses," she says.
"Sometimes in the evenings, she helps me run lines, because her English has improved.
"She's very supportive, whereas I'm fighting with myself all the time."

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Why Eva Green has Hollywood’s most notorious breasts

Eva Green at the premiere of "Sin City: A Dame to Kill For" Photo: Reuters

When your subtitle is “A Dame To Kill For,” you can’t just cast any ol’ actress. She needs to be so seductive that men would literally murder for her.
You might not kill for Eva Green, but you’d probably steal a car.
The 34-year-old, French-born actress and former model takes center stage in this weekend’s “Sin City” sequel, playing a femme fatale.
“Eva just completely won me over with those green eyes of hers,” says “Sin City” creator and co-director Frank Miller.

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Green in NYC in MayPhoto: WireImage

All true, but if we’re really being honest, they probably searched for something else, as well: someone who looks good naked.
Green does. Like everything in “Sin City,” she’s a comic-book character come to life, with proportions that would seem only to exist on the page of a comic book read by horny adolescent boys.
And unlike many of her Hollywood contemporaries — both male and female — Green doesn’t seem to have compunctions about stripping her clothes for the camera. She broke through with 2003’s NC-17 “The Dreamers,” directed by Bernardo Bertolucci, and hasn’t put on clothes since.
“She’s French,” says Jim McBride, founder of Mr. Skin, a Web site dedicated to celebrity nudity. “They’ll usually do five or six nude scenes before they’re 25 years old.”
Green has been naked so often, it’s kind of become her thing. Her body even caused a bit of an uproar in May when ratings agency MPAA failed to approve the “A Dame To Kill For” poster showing Green wearing a see-through nightgown with nothing on underneath. The image was later altered to make the gown less sheer.

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Sin City: A Dame to Kill ForPhoto: Dimension Films

“It seems like it’s all just publicity — a lot of noise for nothing,” she told Vanity Fair of the controversy.
Which it may have been. The Weinstein Company, which is releasing “Sin City,” has been accused in the past of ginning up controversies. What can’t be faked though is what God gave Green.
March’s “300: Rise of an Empire” kind of came and went, but the one thing that did create buzz was Green’s violent roll in the hay with co-star Sullivan Stapleton. Dresses were ripped. Faces were slapped. Boobs were bared.
Green has said the scene left her with bruises. Not that other love scenes are much more fun to shoot.
“You feel very awkward and very silly and you don’t feel sexy at all,” Green told the UK’s The Telegraph. “You are just acting.”
The actress has said she’s worried about being known for playing one kind of role, but it’s unlikely that a large segment of the audience would object to her getting typecast. It could actually make her more well-known.
“The fact that she’s willing to show her breasts is a big deal,” Mr. Skin says. “Nudity in a blockbuster movie, it’s a rarity.”

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"I'm basically an old lady"

She ensnared 007, performed occult sacrifices in Arthurian England and, in her latest film, plants a lingering kiss on the still-warm lips of a man she’s just beheaded. So it makes sense that French star Eva Green is now taking me deep into the dark, twisted heart of, erm, one of Britain’s biggest department stores.

“What I do on my days off is go to Selfridges and browse around the furniture department,” she says, her faintly cut-glass (and only vaguely French) voice breaking into a giggle. “Recently I bought a cushion that I’m very happy with. This is the wild life of Eva Green. I’m basically an old lady.”
It’s a pointed reminder that – her all-black clothes and clanking silver bangles aside – the 33-year-old actress isn’t anything like the deranged Gothic heroines she’s played in Casino Royale, Camelot, Dark Shadows, Franklyn and upcoming seafaring CGI spin-off 300: Rise Of An Empire.
Still, as she swearily holds court about punching co-stars and the disappointing lack of male crotch shots in blockbuster cinema, you can’t help but think “basically an old lady” doesn’t quite cover it...
You play Artemisia in 300: Rise Of An Empire. How would you describe her to the uninitiated?
God, I mean, she’s pretty full-on. First of all, she’s a woman at the head of the Navy, which is pretty unusual. She’s ballsy and there’s something very virile about her; she’s gifted with weapons and she’s ruthless. She can’t tolerate morons or cowards. And she’s driven by, and almost blinded by, vengeance.
Did you have any say in her look? There’s a touch of Camden Market about the flowing coats…
[Laughs] With the leather? Yeah, I can see that. I always try to take a hand in the costumes because you have to be comfortable. But my hair actually got caught in one of the outfits I wore. I was in the middle of this huge fight scene and had to go, “Oh f*ck, wait a second.”
Was the action and gore what drew you to a huge blockbuster like this?
Yeah, it was that. The sword-fighting, the training – I’d never done that before, so I thought it was a great opportunity. I did proper training with the guys and I loved it. It was like being in the Army, but in a good way. I’m not a coordinated person, so it was tough. Sword-fighting is very precise – it’s like a dance. I trained for three months.
Did you accidentally injure anyone during the fight scenes?
No, but I killed two people during filming and they covered it up.
Sounds plausible. So did the need to maintain those 300 six-packs mean there was no room for fun or drinking on set? Were you all just craving carbs?
Well, that was true for the guys. They weren’t allowed any alcohol and they were on a special diet. Before each scene they had to do burpees and things with the weights and all that. But me? I was all covered up so I could smoke, I could drink wine [laughs].
Is working with lots of insanely ripped, shirtless guys in any way a perk?
Ah, you don’t even look at them after a while. You’re like, “Yeah, whatever.”
You said in the past that you don’t like guys who wear any sort of fragrance. Do you think men are over-groomed these days?
Oh totally. I like rough, animal men. Beasts, basically [laughs]. But it was so funny, because the guys in the film had to get fake-tanned and waxed. I’m anti that, totally. Not just on men, but on women, too. The ones that look at themselves in the mirror all the time and are so self-conscious, it’s just... [makes disgusted puking sound].
How do you go about researching for a role like this?
Well, there were warrior women that I read about, and Artemisia actually existed. My character in the film is only loosely inspired by her, but she was ballsy and went to war to win the heart of Xerxes. Which is very funny. I’m glad that’s not the case today.
What are the weirdest scenes to film in something like this?
I haven’t seen the sex scene [in this yet], but I’ve heard it’s quite full-on and brutal. I’d kind of forgotten about it.
It’s something people have focused on in your career. Have you ever balked at something like that when it’s been in the script?
The thing with sex scenes is, I mean, it’s not like we’re doing all the positions in the Kama Sutra and all that, but we have to make it different. How’s it going to be filmed? Is it gratuitous? Is it part of the story? There’s lots to consider. But that one, pfft, that was sex as a fight. I had bruises all over my body afterwards, and I smacked Sullivan [Stapleton, her co-star who plays vengeful Athenian Themistocles].
In that situation, is it strange having to tell your co-star to go for it?
Oh, you don’t need to tell him [laughs]. He’s not scared, he’s this big, strong Aussie and he’s proud of it. He’s a real man. Which made the fact that he had to have the hair on his chest waxed off even funnier.
Do you think people generally focus on sex and nudity too much?
Well, people always talk about the sex scenes in my films. I do sometimes feel like I’m a porn actress. Even my sister brought it up when she came to see me while I was filming in Ireland last year. She said, “Why is there a sex scene in every film that you do?” OK, thanks for that [laughs]. Sex is part of our lives, so I think it’s justified. Every actor hates them – no one likes doing it. It’s terrible. But I see sex scenes as something very clinical. I always rehearse them and I feel like I’m a bit of a specialist. “I put my hand there, then you grab this boob, then you do that...” So through doing that you feel like there are no surprises and you’re in safe hands.
There have been calls recently for more on-screen male nudity to even things up. Do you agree?
It’s quite rare when you see the cock, actually. In indie films you do, but not in big blockbusters, and that just doesn’t seem fair [laughs].
Away from that, you’re set to star in a dark new Victorian drama called Penny Dreadful. It looks fairly messed-up…
It’s one of the best roles I’ve ever had. All the characters have secrets and they’re not exactly aliens, but they don’t quite fit into society. It’s me, Josh Hartnett, Timothy Dalton and Harry Treadaway, who is absolutely fantastic in it. It’s extremely well written and I really believe in it.
And you’re playing Ava Lord in Sin City 2. What can you tell us about that one?
It is another femme fatale, but it’s an incredible cast, great script and a really funny role, actually. She’s really a bitch, of course. But she’s very cool, very sharp. She’s a different character with every man she’s with, so it’s like I’m playing a real actress. It’s really funny, film noir. I find it funny, but people think I’m a weirdo. Everyone thinks I’m just this femme fatale bitch.
You mention that. Is it true that you collect insects and skulls? Does that freak guests out when they come round?
No, they’re all very beautiful. There’s this amazing shop in Paris called Deyrolle, and it’s the most beautiful taxidermist in the world. It has rare birds, camels, lions, everything. So I’ve got stuff from there. I have this enormous bull’s head, which is quite shocking. It’s an ancestor of the bull called an Aurochs, they don’t exist any more. I bought him because his eyes looked like he was asking for help in the shop. I was like, “OK, you’re going to come home with me.”
You’ve had a place in London for a while now. Have you picked up any British traits? Excessive drinking, perhaps?
Yes, I think it might be coming up to eight years that I’ve been in London. But come on, French people know how to drink, don’t worry about that. I don’t really feel French though – I’m kind of a mix and I have lots of British friends. I love the space in London and people are less judgemental. I find it cooler. I like the food, too, but I don’t cook and just love going to restaurants. I’d be a terrible housewife.
Finally, what’s the biggest misconception about you?
It’s probably the Gothic thing. I mean, I like to wear black, but that’s because it’s just easy.
To be fair, owning extinct animal taxidermy is quite Goth…
You’re right. Maybe I should embrace it rather than going, “What do you mean?” I’ll try to embrace my Gothicness.

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'When Lucifer fell, he did not fall alone': Eva Green issues warning in new trailer for upcoming season of Penny Dreadful

Eva Green cut an ominous figure in a new trailer released on Monday for the upcoming second season of Penny Dreadful.

The 34-year-old portrays the mysterious Vanessa Ives in the critically-acclaimed Showtime horror series.

Her character will have a lot to deal with this season as British actress Helen McCrory, 46, takes a more villainous role. 

Eva Green stars in dark trailer for Penny Dreadful Season 2

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Second season: Eva Green is shown in a new trailer released on Monday for the upcoming second season of Showtime's Penny Dreadful

Helen was shown as Evelyn Poole, nee spiritualist Madame Kali, enjoying a cigarette in a bathtub filled with blood.

A new face was spotted in the trailer with a patch covering his right eye and upper lip suggesting an appearance by The Phantom Of The Opera.

There were plenty of creepy scenes including a woman using her fingers to paint a scorpion in blood on a wood floor. 

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New face: The trailer featured a new face that could perhaps be The Phantom Of The Opera

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Bloody smoke: The trailer ended with a woman enjoying a cigarette while immersed in a bath of blood

The scenes played out over a woman singing the mournful English folk song The Unquiet Grave.

Eva's character spoke up as the song faded out and said, 'When Lucifer fell, he did not fall alone.'

The show's creator John Logan joined cast members Josh Hartnett, Harry Treadaway, Timothy Dalton and Helen on Monday for a panel talk about the show at the Television Critics Association press tour in Pasadena, California. 

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Press tour: Josh Hartnett spoke onstage on Monday during a Penny Dreadful panel at the Television Critics Association press tour in Pasadena, California

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He's back: Timothy Dalton was seen as Sir Malcolm Murray in the preview

Penny Dreadful refers to the cheap 19th-century British fiction that featured Gothic horror stories and true crime tales.

Characters in the series including immortal Dorian Gray from the Oscar Wilde novel, monster maker Victor Frankenstein from the Mary Shelley novel and Abraham Van Helsing from Bram Stoker's Dracula.

The show will make its second season premiere on April 26.  

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A symbol: A bloody scorpion was fingerpainted with blood on a wood floor

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Into his research: Harry Treadaway returns as Victor Frankenstein in the series

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Panel talk: Series creator John Logan, Josh, Timothy, Helen McCrory (wearing Roksanda Ilincic) and Harry took part in the press panel

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Eva Green on Sunday Night’s Penny Dreadful: “It’s Cool To Be Crazy”

French actress and former Bond girl Eva Green has played no shortage of witchy women in her career—including a 300-year-old sorceress in The Golden Compass and Johnny Depp’s supernatural seductress in Dark Shadows. But in the Showtime horror drama Penny Dreadful, the actress dials up the intrigue and mystique for her most enigmatic character yet. As Vanessa Ives, a Victorian-era spiritualist on the hunt for a woman being held hostage in some kind of denomic underworld, her character encompasses the duality of good and evil under a veil of secrets. And in Sunday’s episode, “Closer Than Sisters,” we finally learn some of them.
Last week, we phoned Green to discuss the episode at length as well as the difficulties of playing crazy, Victorian psychiatric treatments, and her masterful séance scene earlier this season.
[If you have not yet watched tonight’s show, do not read further.]
Julie Miller: Your character is so complex and full of contradictions. How did [Penny Dreadful] creator John Logan describe her to you when he pitched the character?
Eva Green: He didn’t really have to. He sent me the first five episode [scripts] and I kind of connected with the character straightaway and I loved that she had such an amazing journey full of twists and turns. You discover her secrets little by little. It’s an extremely complicated character that I was lucky to be offered.
Other characters in the TV series are based on famous literary figures, like Dorian Gray, Frankenstein’s monster, and Mina Harker. Did John say if Vanessa was based on any famous literary or real-life figures?
No, I mean, sometimes I feel like I am playing John Logan himself. [Laughs] It’s a completely original, fictional character.
Did you consult any mediums or spiritualists before filming?
Oh yeah! I saw two psychics in Paris—one that kind of showed me how to spread the Tarot cards. I kind of got into that weirdly. I thought that was fascinating and if it’s well done, it can give you some [insight] into how to make the right decisions. I spoke to people who had visions and said they can see the future. It’s a bit scary but I completely believe in it now because I met a psychic who told me things [about my life] that nobody knows. She knew what had happened and told me what would happen in the future—so we’ll see if she is right.
Vanessa’s character is so offbeat, especially for a woman during that time period, and, at times, frightening. Where did you find this character inside yourself?
At the end of the day, she is a very tormented, torn human being and she is at war with herself constantly. She seems very smooth and in control, but underneath is all of this fire and all of these demons. She seems very cold sometimes and then she has these mad moments, especially for that time period. Victorian women were so uptight and almost seen like wax figures but she is kind of a rebel. She is ballsy and hungry to live, dance, and explore.
In [tonight’s episode] you discover the background of Vanessa and will understand why she is like this and how she has all of these powers and how she is completely consumed by guilt after her betrayal of Mina, Sir Malcolm’s daughter. And this guilt will manifest in a kind of sexual hysteria—or that’s what people think has happened. So I have lots of absolutely insane scenes, literally, that I had to do and they were a challenge. I love extreme scenes—it’s fun to let it all out rather than play the boring girlfriend or something.
What are some of the challenges of playing insane?
It’s scary because of course you do explore the darkness inside you. It’s cool to be crazy. It’s fun and people might think I’m a weirdo. But it was full-on, let’s say, and very demanding. I was completely shattered at the end of the day. But the crew was very nice and John Logan was looking after me like my dad.
Do you stay in character between scenes, especially for this episode where your character is going crazy?
Oh no! I need to laugh actually. It helps me to focus. I always find it so pretentious when actors stay in character. I like to have a great relationship with the crew. For those difficult scenes, I like to listen to a lot of music. It helps me concentrate and remain grounded.
Your character is subjected to some frightening psychiatric treatments common during that time period, including having a hole drilled into her brain to let what the doctors think are demons out. What kind of research did you do on the subject?
A lot. They used lots of water, freezing water, to kind of numb all of the senses. They used crude brain surgery. Women were not allowed to really express themselves—sexually, for sure, that was out of the question—but in any way. In this episode, we now know that the doctors and family think she is suffering from sexual hysteria but we know that it is this obscure force inside of her doing all of this damage. I am very visual so I looked at lots of pictures of women in hospitals during the time period. They were so scary that they were almost funny—women with their mouths very much open, looking very much like animals. It’s a bit scary because we don’t talk about sexual hysteria very much any more.
Did becoming that unhinged for those scenes affect your personal life in any way? For instance, did you have nightmares?
When you do something like this you do become a bit more aware—wondering whether there are forces around us. But sometimes as an actor, you have to put up your armor [to what your character is experiencing] otherwise you will end up in an asylum. When you do a role like this, you do approach the dark side. Though, now I know all of my prayers in Latin so I can also fight the devil. [Laughs]
I have to ask you about the séance scene earlier this season, which was incredible. [For those readers who haven’t seen it, Green channels a series of men, women, children, and the devil, in a six-minute tour de force worthy of its own Emmy.] How did you go about preparing for that?
My god, that was one of the most challenging scenes for me because I was worried I was doing too much. The most challenging things were the transitions actually, going from the little boy to the older boy and then to Mina and then the devil. I wanted to be understood and to be clear because it’s so fast and very easy to look ridiculous [acting that out]. I made sure to have like four cameras on me so I didn’t have to do it too much. It was hard though, to find the right recipe.
How did you even rehearse? Did you tape yourself?
I worked with my drama coach because by yourself you would drown in that scene. You need someone external who can help you a bit. That was very necessary for that scene. I also worked with John Logan and the director, J. A. Bayona, who was amazing. About two weeks before, we rehearsed that scene while playing really intense, mad music and trying to find the right amount of things I should do. J.A. was wonderful and if it had been another director, I would have been worried. For example though, in rehearsal, he gave me a rope and I was kind of pulling it. . . it helped me find moments, like where I was doing the child, and resisting. It helped me find the physicality. He’s very physical, very Spanish, and he helped me channel all of these little people inside me. [Laughs]
What I noticed is there was a butterfly during that seance that was around for those two days [we filmed the scene] and then it followed me around for the whole shoot, for all eight episodes. It was like my little guardian angel. It was very weird. Everyone was laughing. It was like a Penny Dreadful butterfly. A spirit.

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Protest: Does “Penny Dreadful” Really Belong to Eva Green?

When Showtime’s deliciously sensual and morbidly horrifying cult show “Penny Dreadful” returned for a second season in May, Entertainment Weekly made the statement, “’Penny Dreadful’ belongs to Eva Green.” It was a bold statement. So I’m here, a month later, to make an even bolder statement. “’Penny Dreadful’ belongs to Billie Piper.”

Don’t get me wrong, please don’t misunderstand: Eva Green is a rare gem, a magnificent sight to watch and not just because she’s basically the most beautiful woman on earth, but because she commands the screen and those sitting on the other side of it. But there’s someone else who lurked in the background of season one who’s pushed her way through to the foreground in season two as a major player and a driving force behind all that is emotional, beautiful, innocent, terrifying, and puzzling about “Penny Dreadful.”
Brona Croft.
Piper, who plays Brona/Lily Frankenstein, channels something on the show that no other character has channeled for me, a pure sense of heart and soul. The only other character that comes close to this is Caliban, but he also has his typical Frankenstein’s Monster anger issues. There was one character that also channeled what Piper brings to “Penny Dreadful” but he was killed in the second episode of season one: Proteus. It seems clear to me that the show wanted to make this correlation between Brona Croft’s pure soul and Proteus’ similar soul during the scene where they first met. At the time, it felt like nothing, looking back, now that Brona is Lily and has all of the attributes of Proteus, it feels very monumental.

Proteus: “Enjoy the fairy lights.”

Brona: “I always do.”

As Brona, Piper played a rough-around-the-edges, but intensely sweet and giving tortured soul. Still portraying one of the loveliest characters on the show. As Lily, she carries all the attributes of Mary Shelley’s famous Monster minus the “I’m going to murder everyone you love if you don’t do what I say” part. She exhibits trust, love, pureness, intelligence, loneliness, and a charming heart of gold. She is essentially everything that Vanessa Ives is not.
I’m not purporting that the show doesn’t belong to Eva Green because she isn’t pure at heart. But what I think is going to happen is that Lily is about to steal the show. She’s about to become one of the main reasons people watch it and a favorite character to boot. I think this fact is becoming increasingly clear to viewers, but what was not so clear is that she’s been stealing our hearts since the beginning of season one.
She was captivating when she so boldly came on to Ethan, her excitement and wonder at the theatre was absolutely child-like and delightful, her appreciation of the city on her first night out with Ethan could teach us all a lesson in gratitude, and when she tried to push Ethan away because of her own insecurities, she slayed us. These subtle scenes that didn’t seem to play too much of a part in the grand scheme of “Penny Dreadful’s” first season plot, were toying with our subconscious, preparing us for the second season and her return as Lily Frankenstein.

All this in addition to the fact that she channels a new take on Mary Shelley’s Monster. She is, as I’ve previously mentioned, a completely pure and charming version of the classic Monster. But she will also be (what I am completely assuming) a very feminist version, one that Shelley would be so proud of. Ives challenges the patriarchy all the time, it’s in her blood, she practically is the patriarchy. So it doesn’t make as much of an impact on the viewer. But Lily is learning things as a grown adult female that she wasn’t able to learn as she grew up, because she didn’t grow up, she popped into existence and now she has to figure out how to be a female in a dominant, patriarchal society. This is something viewers need right now, especially now. We look at Ives and think, “What a badass female! She is completely respected along with these men; they admire her, they need her. She’s such a great example for females!” And we’re not wrong… But with Lily, we will see the process. We will watch her transform and become the exact thing that we all want in modern day society. Watching that transformation, in my opinion, will be much more powerful than just seeing it already developed in Ives.

“Penny Dreadful” is a dark and dreary show without much to hope for (in the best way possible, it is horror after all). While the evil characters and the characters that sit somewhere between good and evil are absolutely necessary, there has to be a light. There has to be something to guide us through to the end. If not, we lose hope and the show starts to feel daunting. Brona was, and Lily is, that light.
Postscript: Not to mention, Lily is going to steal all of the men’s hearts and this is going to add such a sexy, lovely, and energizing element to the show!

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