Because Stephenie said something that caused way too many people to get their panties in a twist, I was paying extra attention to this interview as I was editing. Editing Interviews is HARD. There is sarcasm. There are voices we use. There is laughter- and all of that is really hard to get across in writing. So in this interview I tried not to remove the oohs and the ahhs and the ums so you could get an idea of how fun it is to have a sit down with Stephenie Meyer. Because it’s fun. It’s also fun to sit down with Stephenie’s assistant-extraordinaire and producing partner, Meghan Hibbett.
I also added some gifs of my emotions and thoughts because… why not? After we were done we took this picture together because #twins (kinda)
Austenland Interview with Stephenie Meyer
Because who doesn’t want to talk about Max Irons?
Bekah: We asked for questions on Twitter & our friend Ellie is on a roll! She just asked why Max Irons is not in this movie, Stephenie. She said he should be in all your movies
Stephenie: We actually filmed Austenland before The Host. So I didn’t know Max Irons. If I had known Max Irons- because he’s British and lives in England most of the time- he would have been one of the hot servants at the very least. I would have put him in the orange make-up and stuffed the front of his pants. Cuz, you know, we needed some lookers up there.
(all laughing)
Meghan: Stephenie would not have stuffed his pants…
Stephenie: I would have not personally done the stuffing but it would have happened and he would be one of our hot servants.
Bekah: He would have been perfect. Have you been watching The White Queen?
Stephenie: No, I haven’t been watching anything
Bekah: (to Meghan) Have you? Did we already discuss this?
Meghan: I saw the first episode. I was here, in New York, the night before [The Host] premiere and I saw him the next day. And I couldn’t look him in the eye.
Bekah: Yeah. Because he’s, like, naked the whole time
Stephenie: I will never see this.
Meghan: Yes, you won’t. He seemed to do a very good job at simulating…. I had to fast forward.
laughing
Stephenie: It makes it harder when you know people
Bekah: exactly. So.. How are you guys?
Stephenie: We’re good. this has been a very short tour & we’re already tired. Shows how old we’re getting.
Fine, let’s talk about the movie
Bekah: So refresh our memories on how you got involved with Austenland because it was forever ago, right?
Stephenie: It was forever ago. I think it was either before Twilight was first out or right around that time. Shannon sent me the rough draft
Bekah: And how do you know her?
Stephenie: Uh, she e-mailed me out of the blue after Twilight was a hit and basically said, “Hey! I’m another LDS author & I’m guessing other authors are being very nice to you right now.” And I was like “How did you know!?” and so we started talking & we both had a couple kids, we were both writers, we were LDS, we were women, we were just notching off the right points there.
Bekah: And then did you get the film rights right away?
Stephenie: no, not until later. I was just excited about it. That’s actually why we have a production company. We created it to facilitate making the movie.
Bekah: Who is your favorite Jane Austen dreamboat- is it Mr. Darcy?
Stephenie: Well, my favorite character or movie role?
Bekah: Both!
Stephenie: Well my favorite character- well, I’m so confused is Colonel Brandon my favorite character because Alan Rickman played him? Maybe. So there’s that. And I do love him- Colonel Brandon. Darcy is sort of the star. He has everything. Colonel Brandon is suppose to be too old and he has sadness in his past. Mr Darcy is the plum, right? He’s the one that’s got it all. And I really like him when Lawrence Olivier plays him.
Bekah: which one is that?
Stephenie: there’s an old black & white- kind of comedic version. It doesn’t go into the depths of how sad everything is. in the end lady Lady Catherine de Bourgh is a good guy. She’s kinda funny. It’s worth watching. That’s how I was first introduced to Darcy. And I fell in love with him first, so I can’t really love anyone quite as much.
Bekah: not even Edward Cullen ?
Stephenie: Well, any Darcy quite as much.
Bekah: oh! that’s what you were saying- like you can love your husband more than Darcy…
Stephenie: But I do love Mr. Darcy more than Edward Cullen, yes this is true.
Bekah: we heard it first here!
Bekah: Okay so at one point you would have signed up for Muse-land or Joshua-Jackson-land. I know you’ll go to Austenland- I read an interview this morning where you said you would. Where else would you go?
Stephenie: If you would have asked me as a kid- did you ever read Anne McCaffrey’s DragonFlight.
Bekah: no!
Stephenie: oh my gosh read it- it’s SO good! I read it a lot. And there were other YA novels in the same world- so I would have gone to “Pern-world.” And i would have ridden some kind of fake dragon and that would have been what I wanted at that age.
My second probably would have been Little Women
Bekah: (hisses) Yessssss
Stephenie: I wanted to be Jo. You know what’s really funny? When I was reading that book I thought, “I’m just exactly like Jo. I’ve got the beautiful older sister, kinda whiny little sister” I didn’t have a Beth, nobody died. Um, and the only things were different were that- she had all boys (and I was planning on having girls) and she was an author. And then I ended up having all boys and writing books. Isn’t that weird?
Bekah: That is so weird
Stephenie: I AM JO MARCH!
The one where I get shamed
Bekah: Wait.. when does Jo have kids- are there many books…?
GASPS AND SIGHS FROM MEGHAN AND STEPHENIE
Stephenie: INTERVIEW IS OVER!!!
Bekah: No! I think I read them! I forget! I’m confused!
Meghan: (making noises) I am DONE!
Stephenie: “Jo’s boys.” She marries the German and they start a school!
Bekah: Okay- maybe I didn’t read them all, but I remember that.
Meghan: the professor….
Bekah: It’s been a long time. I need to re-read these as an Adult
Stephenie: you do
Bekah: Have they done the movies since that one with…
Meghan: Winona Ryder… no
Stephenie: No one has ever done them grown-up. Maybe because sad, sad stuff happens.
Meghan: I would have gone to Anne of Green Gables land
Stephenie: yeah- before Little women
Meghan: you could have shipped me off to Prince Edward island
Stephenie: I still haven’t been there- it’s on the list.
Bekah: I have a friend who lives there & I see his pictures and always think, “That is where Anne happened!!” Well, I think Little Women should be the next project for Fickle Films- like a remake. Or an adult version
Stephenie: Or a TV version where we do every chapter.
Bekah: Yes.
Stephenie: This is my latest obsession. because, like, you can’t really do it. Because making films is really expensive. The BBC sometimes gets away with it but, like, we don’t have that in America where you make a book and you did every page. how much fun would it be do to Anne of Green Gables and every chapter that happens?
Bekah: it would be huge too because it’s such a big fandom
Stephenie: You could run 11 seasons off just what is in the books. You wouldn’t even have to look for anything else.
Meghan: Canada wouldn’t let us
Stephenie: Yeah, no, Canada– that’s theirs. But Little Women! You could do a couple seasons of Little Women. Except we all know Beth dies and that kind of ruins it.
I just want to find out when I’m seeing them next…
Bekah: So you have Anna Dressed in Blood & Down a dark hall next. What is first?
Stephenie: Down a Dark Hall. We have the script finished on that. And we’re very happy with that- it’s good.
Bekah: So where is that in process?
Stephenie: That’s it. We’ve got a script so we’re just about to start looking for the rest of the puzzle.
Bekah: I haven’t read either one of them, but Anna Dressed in Blood is about ghosts?
Stephenie: They are both about ghosts! We somehow accidentally ended up doing two YA ghost stories! Down a Dark Hall is very serious in tone. The original novel was written in early 1970s and you can tell. We’ve had to update it a little bit for a world where there are computers and cell phones. And I think it’s a bit scarier. When I was 8 that book scared the crap out of me. I had to read with the lights on with my sister read next to me- we flipped pages together. But now… I had my son read it and he’s like “That wasn’t scary.” And I said “That’s because you’re grown up & think you’re too cool for school” Anyway…
Anna is more of a comedy. It’s still very– it’s much more gruesome I think (looks to Meghan)
Meghan: Well, Down a Dark Hall is much more suspenseful I think in terms of being scary and Anna will be more like horror-scary
Stephenie: But it’s a comedy!
we laugh
Bekah: So a horr-omedy ! There’s a new term
Meghan: Horr-omedy! laughs We coined Con-Rom [for Austenland] and now we have horr-omedy!
Stephenie: But in my head it’s being spelled with a W at the beginning….
Bekah: Yeah- that’s what makes it funnier!
Stephenie talks about “Twittering”
Bekah: So you said in some interview- no wait- it was today on your website! which you updated! Congratulations!
Stephenie: She made me do it (points to Meghan) In fact I sent the stuff over- my brother is my webmaster- last night
Bekah: and her dentist (points to Meghan)
Meghan: no my eye doctor!
Bekah: Oh Eye Doctor!
Stephenie: Mine too but only I don’t need them so…
Meghan and I glare at Stephenie
Meghan: whispers shut up
Stephenie: So I email him last night at like 12:30 and he emailed me right back & I felt so bad but it was only 9;30 there. That was a very last minute thing because of peer pressure. (looks at Meghan)
And I am Twittering! I’ve never done this before
Bekah: Wait you’re ACTUALLY tweeting? Or just putting your name next to a tweet Meghan writes?
Meghan: No she tells me what to say…
Bekah: Oh okay!
Stephenie: I tell her what to say and she writes it because she has the link on her phone & knows what she’s supposed to be doing!
Stephenie’s cell phone: Now you understand why she can’t get the twittering link on it
Stephenie: so I’ve avoided Twitter for all this time- and for two dirty days I have to do it.
Meghan: I have never tweeted in my life before this press tour
Stephenie: after this I’m going to my hermit life.
Bekah: no! and your fake Instagram got shut down
Stephenie: I have a fake instagram? I’ve had a fake everything but I didn’t know about that one! What was on it?
Bekah: It would be like… pictures of you and your daughter
laughs
Stephenie: I’d love to meet her….. So did they just not do research or were they trying to create an alternate reality?
Bekah: I think she just didn’t know. It was some picture of you at some press thing standing next to a girl – it was probably you, Meghan.
Stephenie: You’re my daughter now (to Meghan)
Movie Spoilers ahead!
Bekah: Okay, did you ever wish Jane would choose Martin? whispers Because I kind of did
Stephenie: in the novel… I liked Martin a lot. I like tall boys. I didn’t marry a tall boy but there is a draw to a tall boy. And when we’re making the movie it’s obvious that Martin is a scum bag, but Bret McKenzie is NOT a scumbag and so then there’s like- “but Bret is so sweet and so nice– doesn’t he deserve love too!?” but you have to remember- No, Martin is a jerk!
Bekah: was he [Bret] in LA for press?
Stephenie: yes.
Bekah: I thought he would be here today because I wanted to ask him to do a quick little… song for us.
Stephenie: he probably would have
Meghan: he would have done it
Bekah: did he do anything like that on set?
Meghan: Erica, Jerusha’s assistant, was telling him some story about – well Erica is Asian- and she was talking about how Asians put these peace signs by their eyes
so if you look at all the pictures from the red carpet in LA- he is doing that in all the pictures.
laughter
Someone was telling him he needed to stop because it looked like he was doing a gang sign!
Bekah: What is your favorite part of producing. And what isn’t your favorite part?
Stephenie: My favorite part is casting, I think. That is when all the hopes and dreams sort of coalesce- and on Austenland it was cool because some of them were last minute. There were some that just were not fitting. And then last minute Bret came in- and it was like Ding! Everything fits in & he was so good and I’ve always loved him from Flight of the Conchords. He’s all sexy and doesn’t know it. So he was so perfect because Martin- you think he’s innocent. Here is this sexy stable boy- who doesn’t know how cute he is- what a perfect fantasy! But casting is the best.
The least best is probably press. Not when we’re talking to people we know, who are friends, (points to me, gives me a hug & says she’ll text me later *not) but sometimes people are oddly aggressive and sometimes they ask very bad questions. And there’s been a lot of.. weird, um, and then you don’t know what to do. And you want to be really polite, but sometimes you want to say, “What’s your problem!?”
Then I tell a story about a press person that may or may not be true that I shared may or may not have happened the other day.
Stephenie can’t do it
Bekah: One thing I’m going to make you do: Can you do your best British accent….
Stephenie: I can’t
Bekah: Yes you can
Stephenie: I tried! for Two months! I tried to learn.
Bekah: just do a British accent- it’s going to be terrible!
Stephenie: I can’t! All I can do is cockney
Bekah: Here I’ll give you something to say. Can you say “I will never publish Midnight Sun”
laughter
Stephenie: I can’t. I can say “I will sweet your chimney Governor, but that’s about it”
laughter
Bekah: What about saying, “Edward Cullen is hotter than Mr. Darcy?”
Stephenie: I won’t say that. It’s blasphemy!
Bekah: Well, then Mr. Darcy is hotter than Edward Cullen!
Stephenie: I really can’t- I don’t know how!
Bekah: in a terrible, terrible cockney accent, “Edward Cullen is not hotter than Mr. Darcy”
Stephenie: That was me! That’s as good as I can do. I really cannot do British accents!
Austenland is out in NYC and LA today and tons of other cities very soon. Check out all our Austenland coverage here
