Abbie Cornish talks up 'Limitless,' 'Sucker Punch'
Michael Ordońa, Special to The Chronicle
03/20/11
If you don't know Abbie Cornish's work yet, you should ... and will. The 27-year-old star of "Bright Star," "Stop-Loss" and the arresting "Candy" (with Heath Ledger) can now be seen in theaters with Bradley Cooper in "Limitless," in which a new drug can afford users access to 100 percent of their brains. She also stars in Zack Snyder's "Sucker Punch" - as Sweet Pea, one of a group of institutionalized women who discover they are warriors. "Sucker Punch" opens March 25.
Q: Was the nature of intelligence something you addressed in preparing for "Limitless"?
A: Particularly, there were discussions of what it would feel like to use 100 percent of your brain. It's hard to imagine, you know? They say we only use, like, 10 percent of our brains. So it's not like we use 50 and you just have to times it by two; we have to times it by 10.
Q: Did you have to confront that in a practical way, because your character takes the drug?
A: I imagined if you could have all your senses working at optimum form, how would that feel? Everything just heightened. I guess it's almost animalistic in a way, the way certain animals can use their senses as we can't - a dog's sense of smell, for instance. Also the idea of instinct, the sixth sense, being able to predict an outcome. I tapped into that.
Q: What is your "Sucker Punch" character like, and what is the film about?
A: Sweet Pea is the older sister of Rocket (played by Jena Malone) ... she's in there as her protector, her mother, her nurturer. She's very strong, but in the beginning of the film she's playing by the book, and that book is not one you can trust. Of course, the film is entertaining; it's girls kicking butt and all that sort of stuff, but there are a lot of existential ideas explored. What is fate? Do we have a hand in our own destiny? Who is it that sets us free? All these things are explored in the film. What it is to be a girl, to be a woman.
Q: Your combat was particularly convincing.
A: I've always loved it. My mum was Australian national karate champion. She won the full-contact championship when I was about 9. When she went into the final, she was up against a younger black belt; she was a brown belt. I remember being incredibly scared - this is my mother! It was the most amazing thing ever. I'll never, ever forget it. My mum fought so hard, round after round, and she won. She was so fierce and amazing and strong. So I would go with her and train a little bit. I've dabbled in mixed martial arts; a little bit of ninjutsu and taekwondo and karate and kickboxing and that sort of thing, so I was ready to go, day one.
Q: When this is published, your fan base is going to expand alarmingly in a new direction.
A: (laughs) I loved training with these guys. There was a moment where I actually felt like this could be my life. I bounced out of bed every single morning. I would do anything to do it again. Even with all the swords and guns and stuff, and being a vegetarian - I love people and animals so much, I never thought I'd be excited or interested in guns, but when you're using them and not harming anyone, it's amazing. So yeah, I loved making that movie. {sbox}
Limitless (PG-13) opened this weekend at Bay Area theaters.
To see a trailer, go to
www.iamrogue. com/limitless.
Sucker Punch (PG-13) opens March 25 at Bay Area theaters.
To see a trailer, go to suckerpunch movie.warnerbros.com.
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