Glenn Close and director Lee Daniels delve deep into the creative process behind their latest horror/thriller, The Deliverance. In an insightful conversation, they share how they envisioned and brought to life Close's character, Alberta, a role that marks a dramatic transformation for the iconic actress. Daniels reveals the meticulous attention to detail that went into crafting Alberta's complex and unsettling persona, while Close discusses the emotional and physical challenges of embodying such a haunting figure. The result is a character that is both chilling and compelling, a testament to the powerful collaboration between actor and director. Witness Glenn Close like never before as she takes on this gripping role in The Deliverance, now streaming exclusively on Netflix.
The Deliverance Cast:
Andra Day, Rob Morgan, Caleb McLaughlin, Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, Tasha Smith, Omar Epps, Mo'Nique and Glenn Close
Stream The Deliverance now on Netflix!
The Deliverance Cast:
Andra Day, Rob Morgan, Caleb McLaughlin, Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, Tasha Smith, Omar Epps, Mo'Nique and Glenn Close
Stream The Deliverance now on Netflix!
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Short filmTranscript
00:00You can do anything.
00:01Are you kidding me?
00:02Hi, I'm Lee Daniels.
00:04And I'm Glenn Close.
00:05And we are going to have a deep dive
00:07into my character, Alberta, in The Deliverance.
00:10This is Up Close with Glenn Close.
00:13You humiliated him, Ebony.
00:16Wonder where I learned that shit from, Ma.
00:19How do you expect to set an example
00:21if you just go flying off the handle like that?
00:23I think it's important to learn
00:25that you can say terrible things
00:27and still have love in your heart.
00:28And I think that's what happens in this movie a lot.
00:31It's certainly between Andra and me
00:33that we say terrible things to each other,
00:35but underneath that is this love
00:37that comes out in strange ways.
00:39There was moments that Andra felt
00:41like she needed to be softer to her mother
00:44because she was coming at her mother so hard.
00:46And I didn't want her to.
00:47I knew that the mother knew how much she loved her.
00:51I knew how I saw the film at the end of the day,
00:53how I was in the edit room already.
00:55And so Andra just felt so horrible
00:57talking to Glenn this way.
00:58She would come up and touch her.
00:59I said, please don't touch her.
01:01Please, can I kiss her?
01:02No, please don't kiss her.
01:03That's the complications of just a dysfunctional
01:06kind of love that this mother and daughter have.
01:09And I wanted to show what it was like
01:11to be a black girl with a white mom.
01:13It really was the first time I got into those clothes
01:16that I started to get a window into who this woman was
01:20that was incredibly positive
01:22because those are clothes that I wouldn't before,
01:25maybe now, I don't know, wear, you know.
01:30And you can't wear those clothes
01:32and be self-conscious about your body.
01:35And so from that, I said, oh, okay, I get it.
01:38I, you know, no matter what Lee puts me in,
01:41I am the sexiest woman on the street.
01:44I think the most outrageous ones were those shorts.
01:47Remember those shorts that come way up here
01:49and then the huge, big rips.
01:51We had to go back and re-edit that scene
01:53so that I said, there's no way I'm putting her in these shorts
01:56and we're not gonna get a close-up of those thighs.
01:58There's no f***ing way.
02:00So I had to go back and re-edit it
02:02because I was like, wait a minute,
02:03girl, I was so worried about the acting,
02:05I wasn't paying attention to the shorts.
02:07I had to go back and re-edit the whole,
02:09that whole walk down those stairs
02:10because of those shorts.
02:12Lee and I took a long time coming up
02:14with what she should sound like.
02:16Doing the best I can, what God gave me, Melvin.
02:19It came down to, I listened very much to Andrew
02:22and not just to Andrew, but my family
02:24in this movie and how they were talking
02:27and I just, I got it.
02:29I said, I'm part of this family
02:31and that's how I should talk.
02:33Girl, I'm just trying to see that you live a clean life.
02:36So it was a process that Lee led me through
02:39as was the clothes.
02:41I remember saying to you, I have no idea
02:43you're gonna be my teacher,
02:44you're gonna lead me into this.
02:46And that is what made it one of the most
02:48incredible adventures of my career.
02:51I wanted to show how black women feel
02:54about white women taking their men
02:56in a comedic way.
02:58But I also wanted to show that Alberta
03:00didn't give a fuck.
03:01Like she was ready to fight them back,
03:03just like she was ready to fight her daughter back.
03:05Like Ebony just didn't come out of the ether
03:08ready to beat people up.
03:09That she came from a bad-ass woman
03:11and that shows that Alberta has respect
03:14in this black community.
03:15I know the conversation that'll spark
03:17within the black community, we haven't,
03:19and it feels so great to be gratified,
03:21gratified to see the response
03:23and to see audiences, black men and women
03:26talk about this woman like they haven't seen her before.
03:28Cause it felt like, oh God, I thought I was going crazy
03:30for the longest time.
03:31And so now it just feels like I'm justified
03:33by creating the character.
03:35I was so excited to be in a film with these women.
03:40Their talent is monumental.
03:42I think we all learn from each other.
03:44And when I see somebody as gifted
03:46as the women in this movie,
03:48it just makes me want to be better.
03:50Of course I spent most time with Andra,
03:52but I wish I had had as equal time
03:54with Angenieux and Monique.
03:56They were phenomenal.
03:57Just the bravery and the ferocity
04:00and the love, it was a gift.
04:03It was a true gift.