Into The Woods Interview: Emily Blunt & James Corden

As part of our #IntoTheWoodsEvent media trip to LA, we had the amazing pleasure to meet with some of the biggest names from the film for exclusive group interviews! That’s me in the photo above sitting on the couch right next to Emily Blunt (who by the way has already been nominated for a Best Actress award) and James Corden! And, I wish these two were my new BFF’s! You all, they were THE most fun to talk to and so down-to-earth! Really hilarious and fun! Their energy, charm, sense of humor, chemistry – Emily and James were an absolute joy to spend time with! No one wanted our time to end – James & Emily even said the same thing! In fact, James enjoyed it so much that he actually tweeted about our interview later that day!

How fun is that?! These two play the lead roles of the Baker and his wife. The fact that they performed so well together on-screen is due in part to their friendship and off-screen chemistry. The two actually met 8/9 years ago at a polo match in England (attended by the Princes Harry & William) and James Corden joked about how “British” that is! So funny! Emily even helped James get a bit of blackberry stuck in his teeth – you know, so it wouldn’t be noticed in our photos! 😉 We did talk about the film though. One interesting tidbit is that Emily learned she was pregnant the same week she learned she got the part in this movie! So naturally in a room full of moms, someone asked her how it was shooting the movie while being pregnant. She was so funny when talking about it..

Emily: …I forgot how much running around this woman does in the woods. Like, I like body slam into Anna Kendrick like a linebacker, and she’s a tiny person. I, like, almost killed her…She’s [her character, the Baker’s wife] always running; like, we’re always rushing. And so it was, it was interesting.
There was a chair onset that was written on it, Emily Bunt’s pregnancy. I often found Chris Pine sitting in it. I’m like, stood over him, several months pregnant,… And he went, ‘oh, do, do you wanna sit down’, and I’m like, ‘yes, I do’. He’s just, ‘god, I’m tired’.

So funny!! They had to do something interesting tricks to hide her pregnancy in some of the scenes. But, we learned that she was through the first trimester by the time rehearsals started and shooting wrapped before she go too much into the “I’m tired, I’m fat stage.” So, in that regard, it worked out really well for her! One thing I was really curious about was the child actors. Obviously, the kids weren’t on the interview tours and such, so I asked James & Emily how it was working with the kids (who play Jack & Little Red Riding Hood).

James: They’re both incredible…incredibly talented and gifted…it’s one thing being brilliant in the film; it’s another thing just being brilliant to be around all day, and they are. I mean…

Emily : I mean, Lilla Crawford [Little Red Riding Hood] was doing eight shows a week playing Annie on Broadway. Like, this is a girl who knows how  to punch in and go to work, and show up, and be professional, and, and when she opens her mouth, she has a voice like a trumpet.

James : Oh my god.

Emily : I mean, it was just insane what she was able to do, and she was so capable, you know. And Daniel was completely unflappable, like, the coolest kid.

James: Well, the first day of shooting was the Giants in the Sky song, and which is my favorite song  in the show anyway, and I, I absolutely remember watching him run around this tree looking at him and thinking, oh my god, this is- I’m watching  a thousand Facebook profiles start to happen from girls who are just gonna be in love with you. He is- he’s got that thing which is unquantifiable that you can’t- you don’t know what it is, but it’s just there. And he’s so gifted, musically. He would sit down at a piano, and he’ll playing these ukulele- he’s, he’s the real deal. He really, really is.

Just like with the Meryl Streep, Tracey Ullman, and Christine Baranski interview though, what stuck with me the most was hearing them talk about parenting – both their own parenting and how there are important messages in the movie about it.

James: I think there’s an honesty in the film which has made me want to be more honest with my children, like, from the get-go. I think …the great message in the film of, like, be careful what wish for, and sometimes the very thing you wish for is not the thing that you need in a world where we seem to have told children that this happily ever after does exist, and we all know it doesn’t. And I feel like- that’s not to say you won’t be happy, but like that song, No One is Alone, which at the end of the film it’s two adults talking to two children saying, there’s some screw-ups coming your way, and that’s true of all of us. There’s screw-ups, and they’re coming for you, and there’s nothing you can do about it. But when they do, you might feel like you’re completely on your own in the world. You will feel like you are completely alone, and you’re not. And you never will be. And these things are just part of your life and what ultimately make you better and stronger. And it has made me think that that’s a positive message to tell your children, that mistakes are gonna happen.

Emily : And also… no one is more perception than a child.

JC : Yeah.

EB : They see everything, they’re like little sponges, they pick up- even babies, I’ve noticed, they pick up on your energy… And so even from a young age, they’re so perceptive. And, I just feel that it’s important to teach your children that life is not always going to be easy, you know, and that is what this film is about.

Nobody goes through life unscathed. Nobody does. And actually, these fairy tales…obviously children can’t understand the deep metaphorical meanings in these fairy tales, but they understand right and wrong, and they understand the need to make decisions, and they understand what happens when people behave badly, they get a comeuppance. You know, it’s that sort of thing that these fairy tales, I think, were created to teach children about life- warn them about life. And we’re sort of in a society where we like to coddle our children and over-tend, over-parent, over-this-there’s like ten thousand books on how to raise a kid nowadays, and it, it’s purely instinctual. it’s purely personal….

They went on to banter and joke about all kinds of hilarious parenting books!  

After seeing them in this interview, I have no doubt that James Corden is going to be awesome when he takes over hosting duties at the The Late, Late Show (currently hosted by Craig Ferguson). He’s excited about it and not taking anything for granted. And, I LOVE that he is excited about the opportunity not only for the show, but to have more time with his kids and his wife! “I get to be creative every day, I get to have fun every day and talk to America before or more likely while they’re falling asleep and, at the end of every day, I get to go home and be a present father and husband. And I just don’t think there’s ever a child when they’re twenty or thirty, sitting in a therapist’s chair going, do you know, my dad was just around too much.” So true!!!!

I can’t wait to watch him on the show. But in the meantime, go see him and Emily in Into the Woods!! For more, be sure to read our Into the Woods Movie Review and check out our interview with Meryl Streep, Tracey Ullman, and Christine Baranski…and  follow the film’s social channels:

Like INTO THE WOODS on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DisneyIntoTheWoods

Follow INTO THE WOODS on Twitter: @IntoTheWoods

Follow INTO THE WOODS on Tumblr: http://intothewoodsmovie.tumblr.com/

Dis­clo­sure: Dis­ney provided me with an all expenses paid trip to the Hol­ly­wood pre­miere for the purposes of this coverage. As always,  all opin­ions, expe­ri­ences, and love of Dis­ney are entirely my own!