After supporting roles in Simon Pegg’s alien comedy Paul and Drew Barrymore’s roller-derby drama Whip It, KRISTEN WIIG finally takes centre stage in BRIDESMAIDS, a comic tale of female friendship co-written by the Saturday Night Live star.
MMM: Weddings have long been an area ripe for drama and comedy. What attracted you to the wedding movie genre and did any particular movies inspire you?
Wiig: You know what, when we were writing it we really didn’t think about any other movies. I think when you’re writing something you’re trying to avoid this thing or ‘is this like that movie?’ We didn’t go out of our way to watch any movies. We wanted to keep it like this is what we want to write. It wasn’t written in reaction to anything.
MMM: How much of what we see in the film is drawn from real-life experience?
Wiig: Thankfully not much that you see in the movie happened to me. There were a few touches in there that my writing partner had happen to her.
MMM: How much did Bridesmaids feel like a collaboration as opposed to a star vehicle?
Wiig: Well, I think the collaboration started at the very beginning. We worked with Judd [Apatow, producer] to write the script, and when Paul [Feig, director] came along we worked with Paul. There was no telling someone what to do or you have to take this out. It was very collaborative. Paul is extremely generous. And when the cast came along, the same thing – we wanted them all to feel comfortable playing their characters and we encouraged improvising. Annie [Mumolo, co-writer] and I didn’t swear by every word in the script, we wanted people to feel comfortable. We have so many funny improvisers so we wanted to use them.
MMM: Who are your comic inspirations?
Wiig: I watched a lot of old movies when I was younger. I was obsessed with Abbott and Costello, Dean Martin… I love Lucille Ball and Madeline Kahn. A lot of women that have been on Saturday Night Live have inspired me a lot, so all the people I got to work with.
MMM: And what was it like filming those bedroom scenes with Mad Men star Jon Hamm?
Wiig: That question’s hard to answer because I want to say, ‘oh, it was fun’ but then I sound like a big perv! I think we laughed through the whole thing. Paul made me laugh the way he was shouting out things for him to do to me!
**BRIDESMAIDS is in UK cinemas from 24 June
