Most child actors either burn out or fade away.
At 12, Anna Kendrick earned a Tony Award nomination for Broadway’s “High Society” in 1998, becoming the third-youngest nominee after 11-year-old Daisy Eagan and 10-year-old Frankie Michaels, both of whom won. Yet while those two went on to amass, respectively, few and no other credits, Kendrick has continued a steady rise that now finds her “Up in the Air.”
That’s the title of the new dramedy film, which opened Friday, in which she and George Clooney spar as reluctant protege and mentor in a corporate-downsizing consulting firm. The Portland, Maine, native matches the established star blow for blow, showing the same fierce talent she’s demonstrated in such disparate roles as a manipulative, high-school debater barracuda in “Rocket Science” and boy-crazy best friend Jessica in the “Twilight” films.
Now 24, Kendrick spoke at the Waldorf Towers in Manhattan.
You’re known to cult audiences for your knockout performance
in “Rocket Science,” and for a YouTube clip of your knockout song “The Ladies Who Lunch” in the movie “Camp” (2003).
Oh, no!
Oh, no? What, oh, no?
(Laughs) No, it’s just funny that for whatever reason only that one number has really resurfaced on YouTube, and it makes me regret that people don’t see the whole movie. I mean, I understand it, and I’m happy people are watching any piece of it, but people really should see the whole movie!
You have fans who know your work and you’ve got this indie career and a role in the “Twilight” movies. How did that background lead to co-starring with George Clooney in a big studio picture?
People assume, and rightly so, that it was this grueling audition process and I must have screen-tested with George and probably went in five times. And what actually happened is I went in once, thought I blew it, and then two or three weeks later I got a call saying they were going to offer me the job. And I was completely thrown. Jason told me he had written it with me in mind.
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He knew your work from …
From “Rocket Science.” And I basically had to come in and prove I had the goods, because from a studio standpoint why wouldn’t you hire Natalie Portman or somebody like that? Nobody’s heard of me — like, why would you put me in a movie with George Clooney? That’s ridiculous!
What went through your head when you heard who your co-star was?
I had heard that George was attached to it, but I just assumed it was one of those things they just say on a movie when there’s a slim possibility it will work, just to generate interest, and there was no way it was going to work out, because why would I be given the opportunity to so much as audition for a George Clooney film? And then when I was cast, I had lunch with Jason and he was telling me about “me and George” and how excited he was to do the film, and I was eating my taco trying to act like it was the most normal thing in the world, for me to be doing a movie with George Clooney.
What’s next? “Twilight” surely raised your profile.
It’s funny — I was cast before “Twilight,” actually. “Twilight” is this huge phenomenon, but I’ve yet to get a job from it! (Laughs) I was cast in “Scott Pilgrim vs. the World” (her next film) for ages before “Twilight” came out. And Jason saw “Rocket Science” and didn’t even know what “Twilight” was. He actually texted me after seeing it and said, “Oh, I loved ‘Twilight,’ great job, but I prefer when you play a genius.” As strange compliments go, that’s pretty good!
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George’s gals
George Clooney is bacon — he makes everything better, including his leading ladies. Sure, some of his co-stars already were great, but playing around with George seems to bring out the best in folks. Anna Kendrick, who spars with Clooney in “Up in the Air,” is suddenly on everyone’s radar — she won the National Board of Review’s award for best supporting actress on Thursday. And she’s getting a lot of Oscar buzz for her performance — a prospect that leaves her dazed and amazed. “Part of me can’t help but feel that I’d get kicked out of parties like that,” she told the Los Angeles Times. Here are some other actresses who have shone on screen with Clooney:
Jennifer Lopez
Her only truly great movie performance came opposite Clooney in “Out of Sight.” She was sexy, sassy, a little bit vulnerable and she could wield a shotgun. Remember that sex scene in the hotel? Yowza. It’s likely that her agent has been on the horn trying to get those two back together ever since.
Julia Roberts
The trouble with Roberts is that she often is brittle and a bit unlikable on screen. In the “Ocean’s Eleven” movies, however, her toughness is the perfect foil to Danny Ocean’s goofiness and shenanigans. Naturally her character eventually melts in Clooney’s presence.
Tilda Swinton
She was marvelous in “Michael Clayton” as the cold corporate lawyer who would do anything to keep the truth from coming out. Sparks of a different kind flew between Swinton, who went on to win an Oscar, and Clooney in their big battle scene. Side note: We do not hold Clooney responsible for her living-room-velvet-curtain Oscar gown.
Catherine Zeta-Jones
Yes, it was obvious that these two would eventually stop battling and fall for each other, but “Intolerable Cruelty” gave us one sexy pairing. The banter wasn’t exactly on a Preston Sturges level, but Zeta-Jones was the perfect gold-digging bitch opposite Clooney’s super-slick divorce lawyer.
— EMILY ROSENBAUM MAKA, REDEYE
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‘Air’ moving and refreshing
Up in the Air (R)
3 stars
A very high percentage of Americans will find something to relate to in “Up in the Air,” director Jason Reitman’s (“Juno”) new dramedy about unemployment, loneliness and this stinkin’ economy. A weakness is just how on the nose the movie is about these themes; many scenes and conversations are blunt about the difficulty of being loyal to companies that don’t seem to care and struggling to be loyal to the people in your life who do care.
One major character also is presented as wise, only to be exposed for not having it all worked out and then pretty much let off the hook. Small matters, those. “Up in the Air” is a charming, disarming movie about a guy (George Clooney) who fires people for a living. He’s also got a casual, occasional hookup (Vera Farmiga) and a young co-worker (Anna Kendrick) trying to revolutionize the job.
Wonderfully acted and considerably moving, “Up in the Air” knows what it’s like to be alone in a crowded room and wonders who, in a fast-moving world, is worth slowing down for.
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— MATT PAIS IS THE METROMIX MOVIES PRODUCER.