Margot Robbie recently appeared alongside her Wuthering Heights co-star Jacob Elordi in a video interview with GQ Australia, hosted by fellow Australian actor Joel Edgerton. When asked how much she considers movie-going audiences when working on new films, Robbie said that’s all she ever thinks about. One group Oscar nominees aren’t worried about are film critics.
“I’m always thinking about the audience. I’ve never been on set and thought, ‘What will the critics think of this?'” Robbie told Egerton. “I’m thinking, ‘What will the audience feel now? What will their emotional response be?'” I think you should make movies for the people who are going to buy tickets to see them. It’s that simple. ”
“I love working with Emerald[Fennell]because she always prioritizes emotional experiences over quick-thinking ideas,” Robbie continued. “She’s very smart. She has great ideas, but she puts aside the cool ones to give the audience the most exciting options. I really appreciate that about her.”
Fennell directed Robbie and Elordi as Cathy and Heathcliff in Wuthering Heights, which opened at the top of the domestic box office despite polarizing reactions from audiences. Fennell’s previous films “Promising Young Woman” and “Saltburn” similarly divided audiences. Robbie produced all three of Fennell’s feature directorial films.
Hate it or love it, audiences can’t help but talk about Wuthering Heights. That’s exactly what Robbie wants when he makes a movie. Last year, fellow A-lister Jennifer Lawrence opened up about the anxiety she feels right before her films are about to be received by the public.
“That experience just adds to the fear, because I’ve had many experiences where you work so hard on something, you love something so deeply, and you release it to the world and the world is just like, ‘Boo! I hate it!’ It’s so awful,” Lawrence told V magazine. “And[yet]somehow you read the script, you meet with the director, you get on set, you start shooting. And somehow you manage to forget that this part of the process happens. I mean, I’m very blessed, I’m very lucky. But it’s a very scary few months.”
“My husband doesn’t have much experience with this, so he was very confused,” she continued. “So I told him about my anxiety and he said, ‘But this movie is great.’ And I thought, ‘I know, but that’s not the point.’ People might not understand. ‘And he said, ‘But they’re wrong.’ As if that was supposed to make me feel better. ”
Watch Robbie and Elordi’s full conversation with GQ Australia in the video below.
