By Christina Radish

Anne Hathaway and Kate Hudson in Bride Wars

Liv is a successful, high-powered lawyer who is used to getting what she wants, and won’t settle for anything less than the perfect wedding she has dreamed of for years. Emma is a dedicated schoolteacher who has always been good at taking care of others, but not so much in looking after herself. When a horrific mistake leads them into a fierce competition that escalates with pranks meant to undermine the other’s Big Day, their friendship is pushed to the breaking point.

Co-stars Kate Hudson, making her producing debut, and Anne Hathaway recently spoke to MediaBlvd Magazine about how important female friendships are in life.

MediaBlvd Magazine> The guys in the movie were gung-ho to just have a double wedding, but you wouldn’t have had a movie, if that happened. In your real lives, if the situation were similar, would you have just had a double wedding?

Kate Hudson> It would be more fun, and it would be a bigger party, and there would be a bigger ballroom. In real life, I probably would have been like, “I don’t even know if I want to get married. Go ahead.” But, then again, there’s that little part of you that’s like, “No, it’s my one day!”

Anne Hathaway> And, I think you would also want your friend to have that day as well. You want it for yourself, but you’re also like, “I don’t want to be diluted in my joy for you.” I wouldn’t have a double wedding. Economically, absolutely, it’s fantastic. But, psychologically, I think you’d always be kinda pissed.

Kate> It would be kinda weird if one of the groom’s vows were better.

Anne> The competition would be horrible.

Kate> You’d be like, “Oh, that kinda sucked!”

Anne> I think a double wedding would cause you to analyze it too closely and read too much into it. You’d have an immediate comparison. That being said, for anybody who has had a double wedding, I’m sure it was lovely.

MediaBlvd> Anne, you have referred to this film as Estrogen Land. How does that vibe on set inform this character for you?

Anne> It was delightful! I’m not a girly girl, in the slightest. I found my best girlfriends a little bit later on in life. Growing up, my best friends were my brothers, and I always had a lot of guy friends, particularly gay men. So, for me to actually be around women all the time, and give into the shoe love, was new for me. I always judged myself and was like, “Oh, that’s frivolous!” And now, I just think, “No, there’s nothing wrong with it.” I really do like clothes. So, it was great to realize that I’m still myself, but I can be girly as well.

Kate> You didn’t learn that in The Princess Diaries?

Anne> No. I fought it, all the way.

Kate> That’s the girliest movie of all time. Every little girl wants to be a girl because of that movie!

Anne> I never wanted to be a princess, so I was focused on my character’s psychological torture, at that time. She had to accept an identity that she wasn’t ready for. I missed the point. It’s actually been really nice to be in this movie and be around such strong female energy and to find that so liberating. When I grew up, I had this idea that I would be defined by a way that I’d be uncomfortable with, and I’ve actually been made much better because of it. I’m much stronger, more open, more loving and more compassionate. This movie was really good for me, in that way.

Kate> It was an interesting time for all of us. Especially in the age we’re both in, you’re going through so many transitions and, for some reason, being around women, you become empowered by your girlfriends and by other women that you learn from, which is what the movie is about -- having those friendships. Poor (director) Gary Winick. He was the one man. It was all girls. The producers and executives were all females, and the stars of the movie. He was just surrounded by the ladies. And, when you get a lot of girls in a room, watch out. It’s a powerful energy. This movie felt really good for that. We were all going through these amazing coming out parties. It was really fun.                  

MediaBlvd> What did you guys do physically to get ready for this movie?

Kate> We didn’t eat for weeks. No. I’m always doing something. I’m either dancing, doing pilates, biking or running. I’m quite active. For this movie, we actually did a lot of drinking.

Anne> Yes, we did. We developed beer biceps.

Kate> I’m a tequila girl. We like our champagne, too.

Anne> We do. Kate’s amazing. She was inspiring, in terms of all of the physical activity that she engages in. We would have script meetings and she would be stretching. I’d be like, “Yeah, I’m going to touch my toes next year. It will be fine.” I worked out with a trainer in New York. I really wanted Emma to appear like an ex-ballerina. I wanted everything to be tight and proper and sinewy, so I really watched what I ate. Whatever the character needed, that’s what we did.

MediaBlvd> What was it like to film the bachelorette party scene and the dance-off?

Anne> All good comedy is painful and horrifying to actually do. But, I felt very protected by my character’s drunkenness, so I knew that, if it didn’t quite turn out the way that I’d hoped, it would be okay. I really wanted to be a good dancer, but I am not a good dancer. Watching the movie is hard for me because I feel like, “I’m trying really hard, and I just look silly and drunk.” But, on the day, it was just hysterical. It was fun! The fact of the matter is that we had a great cast to work with, and we had a lot of background artists in that scene, and everybody was really into it and was giving so much. My favorite part of the scene got cut out of the movie. At the end of it, I run up to Officer Not-Your-Husband and I did a handstand at his feet and wrapped my legs around his head and then pulled myself up, and then he grabbed my butt and I opened my legs wide into a V, and said, “Book me!” This movie stretched some of my boundaries.

MediaBlvd> Will they put that on the DVD?

Kate> There’s a lot that should be on this DVD. We had a lot of good outtakes on this movie. We also have some behind-the-scenes footage that we did, that’s very funny. The DVD extras should be rated R.

Anne> When we made the movie, we never knew where we wanted the humor to be, so we did raunchy versions of the jokes. Very few of the raunchy ones wound up in the movie, and that’s probably for the best.

            MediaBlvd> Kate, what makes Daniel a keeper for Liv, and what’s the perfect guy for you?

Kate> I don’t know what the perfect guy is yet. I do know that I like honest guys. That always gets me going. I like guys who are really up-front and just are who they are. They’re hard to find.

Anne> Yes, they are.

Kate> What I liked about the guys in this movie, and what I liked about the relationships that we both have, which are so different, is that it was unexpected. Liv would be the expected one to be divorced in two years, whereas Emma would probably be the one who people would think would have this long, lasting relationship, and go through the worst possible times and just still be married. So, we liked playing that Liv actually found somebody who could deal with her and knew how to handle her, and Emma needed the person in her life who allowed her to look at herself and go, “You know what? I need something that’s different.”

Kate Hudson in Bride Wars

Kate> If this movie is successful and we thought about doing another one, we talked about how much fun we would have, thinking about where our characters go. It would be Baby Wars. That would be great! We could go so many different ways with Emma. That would be so fun!

MediaBlvd> Why is there so much emphasis placed on a woman getting married?

Kate> We love relationships and love. I would never be cynical about people wanting that day and being excited about that day. It’s your day to present yourself to your man, and to throw this party that’s about wanting to spend the rest of your life with somebody, and bringing everybody together. The idea of the ceremony is great. The reality of the ceremony becomes stressful. I think the emphasis on marriage will always be important for people, no matter what kind of marriage they choose, whether it’s just the two of them getting hitched on the top of the Himalayas, or having a 300-person wedding. People always want that ceremony. When we all sit around and have coffee or drinks, the first thing we talk about is kids, and then we talk about our relationships, love and loss, and the drama in love. It’s such a big topic for us. So, celebrating it will always be something that people will emphasize.

Anne> To be perfectly honest, I don’t know because I don’t, personally, feel any pressure to get married. I don’t feel it from my family, I don’t feel it from my friends and I don’t feel it from within, so I don’t really know how to answer that question. But, I’m not everyone. I don’t know if there is a pressure on women to get married, or if it’s something that women put on themselves, or if it’s the way things have been done, and we’re not yet in a new moment where things have transitioned into people accepting that anything goes and you can do whatever you want. I think there is something to be said about living the happiest life possible, but the only way that you can live a happy life, specific to yourself, is if you are yourself. If you’re the sort of person that never wants to get married, never get married. Who cares? And, if you’re the sort of person that really loves the idea of being committed to someone and having that piece of paper that says that you are committed to someone, and celebrating with either a huge party or a quiet party, go for it. Just be yourself. The important thing to note, though, is moreso than whether or not women feel pressure to get married, we need to work on making it possible for everyone in America to get married.                                                                                                           

MediaBlvd> Some people may feel that this film perpetuates the negative Bridezilla stereotype. What would you say to those people?

Anne> When I got the script, that was what I anticipated, and I was really sensitive to that. I just thought, “There’s no point in making a movie that is reductive to women, in the whole process.” So, when I read the script, I was so happy that the movie takes the tact that the Bridezilla thing doesn’t have a lot to do with actually getting what you want and being the center of attention. That’s the myth that plays into my character’s consciousness. But, what it actually does is bring her to a new place of freedom, where she’s admitting to herself that she wants more for herself, and wants better for herself. And, that leads her to make the incredibly difficult, but ultimately wonderful decision, to take control of her life, be more present, be more demanding and to set boundaries with people, be stronger and more confident. So, to those people that believe we perpetuate a stereotype, I say, “Come see the film. If you disagree with us, I will answer the strongly worded letter that I’m sure you will write.” But, we were super-sensitive to that, from the beginning. Kate and I are both strong women that want to do everything we can to make sure that every woman feels strong, so we would never do anything that would set women back.

Kate> As producer of the film, in developing this, when it came as a pitch, I was like, “Wow, I can’t believe this movie hasn’t really been made.” The more I thought about it, I realized it’s because it’s so easy to pit women against each other and get carried away with the cattiness and the pettiness of the stereotypes of how women handle lots of situations. For me, I looked at it as a challenge. I thought, “Wait a minute. It’s such a great thing for women to be able to make fun of themselves.” We are guilty of going a little crazy sometimes and getting stressed out, and women are great at being self-deprecating and making fun of themselves, but we don’t get the opportunities, as a female comedian, to do that very often. There aren’t really that many female-driven comedies. So, in developing it, I felt that there was a way to try to make a movie that is appealing to all ages of women, that doesn’t leave anybody out. At the end of this wild, funny thing we can all relate to, or feel is a little bit accessible, it is about friendship, honoring your friends and the importance of having those people in your life. None of these things matter, if you don’t have your girls. We really worked hard on that, especially Gary, who I have to say did such a great job of making this movie have that real emotional undertone that took me by surprise, when I saw the first cut. That was the one thing I was most concerned with. And, it really did make me go, “Okay, I want to go call my girlfriends.” That’s why we made the movie, and I hope women will appreciate that.

MediaBlvd> When crossed, are women meaner to each other than men?

Kate> I don’t know because I grew up with all boys, and so did Anne, but yeah, I think so. Because women are a little bit more complicated, they can really hit you where it hurts. Men go right for the shins, whereas I think women can be more hurtful because we’re more emotional.

Anne> I do believe that female friends can be worse to each other than male friends, simply because, for whatever reason, women have a stronger emotional language and we’re more encouraged to use that. Kate and I know things about each other that I don’t know about my male co-stars and, if Kate and I were to turn on each other, because I know how to celebrate her, I would also know how to bring her down, and she would know the same for me.

Kate> It’s so true! Girls talk about everything.

Anne> We talk about what we’re feeling about deep things. Maybe they’re not even particularly deep, in the grand scheme of things, but they’re things that matter to us. So, when you give someone that power, you’re showing them where your buttons are. If you pick wrong, and someone turns around and short-circuits those buttons, it hurts more.

Kate> When you go through relationships, all of a sudden, you realize, “Boys don’t have anybody to talk to. That must really be horrible.” They just don’t talk about their feelings with each other. They talk to their girlfriends. My guy friends call me and they’re like girls. They’re like, “Hey, can you talk? I’m having problems with my girlfriend,” and I’m like, “Yeah, sure!,” They talk to their girls, but they don’t talk to boys about it. My brothers talk to me, but they don’t talk to their friends.

MediaBlvd> Is there a particular moment of making this film that stands out for you?

Kate> Probably when we were so tired and we were on the floor with our torn up wedding dresses. That’s my favorite shot in the movie. We were lying there, looking at each other, for hours. At one point, we were on our sides and we were just talking, lying on the floor. That was probably my most memorable moment because you don’t get to work with girls, this closely, very often.

Anne> One of the things that I’m just so excited about with this film is that, so often in films that we’ve been in, there’s the main character and then there’s the quirky best friend that you never really get to know, who comes in with the great one-liners. To have two complex female characters, who are best friends, at the center of a movie, I haven’t really seen that before. So, anytime we were in those scenes where we got to go deeper, and there wasn’t that formula in place in the script, I was feeling something new, as an actress, for the first time, because I have never been in a situation like that. And, Kate was just there, every time, listening and going deeper with me. There wasn’t one specific moment that stands out. There were so many. Just to get to return to those scenes, again and again, it shouldn’t be rare, but it really is. I’m really appreciative of that.

Anne Hathaway in Bride Wars

MediaBlvd> What was it like to work with Candice Bergen, who has played some pretty strong female characters in her career?

Anne> We were just totally in awe of her. I would look at her and get emotional. I kept wanting to thank her for so much. She’s still so fabulous, and she’s so quick. When I get shy around people, especially around people that I deeply respect, like Candice and some of the other actresses that I’m privileged enough to work with, my instinct is to hang back and just observe them. Just watching her and the way she takes in the environment, and the way she plays with a line, she could clearly just relax and enjoy the ride and be herself, and that would be enough, but she really cares. She would show up every day and explore. To see that kind of passion in someone, of any age, was inspiring, but particularly to see someone like Candice Bergen, who is such a powerful woman, and means so much to so many women, was really cool.

MediaBlvd> Anne, what did you and didn’t you relate to, with your character?
Anne> I’ve never really thought about my wedding. Part of the reason I was drawn to the script was because here was a girl that I didn’t relate to. I didn’t understand that concept of identifying with yourself as a bride, before it had occurred to you to identify with yourself as a woman. But, I did know what it was like because I think of myself as an actress first. I really wanted that when I was a kid, and so, I developed that and assumed that I would develop as a person aside from that, and that didn’t happen. It’s taken a lot of work to figure out who I am and what I want, aside from what it is that I’ve put in my head, and to be here in reality and not just living the dream that I wanted, and accepting that things are different and far more interesting than they were when I thought of them when I was 8. I identified with that kind of desire in my character -- that process, and the hunger for that process. And, I understood the female friendship. It’s beautiful, powerful and scary to mean so much to someone. It’s so fun, but also so much responsibility, in the best possible way. The point of the story was that, as much fun as marriage hopefully is, and as much as we all want to find that one person that fulfills us, and not necessarily have the fairy tale, but be able to rely on that person, you can’t. It’s a sad fact, but whatever happens in your life, in the great moments, the bad moments and the unexpected moments, there’s always going to be someone there, refilling your wine glass, giving you a shoulder to cry on, picking you up and celebrating with you, and that’s your girlfriend. That’s what I related to, and that’s when I fully gave in to it.

Kate> When we were talking about trying to fix the end of the movie, we all sat around, and I told this story about my mother. My brother was getting married, and we had this bridal shower for my sister-in-law, and my mom made this speech, where she said, “I want all the girls to look around the room and, even if you don’t know each other, even if you’re just getting to know each other, or even if it’s your sister, I want you to remember one thing: trust me. Men, they come and go. They always will. Hopefully, they stay. But, it’s the girl that’s sitting next to you, or the girl that’s sitting across from you, that’s going to get you through everything.” My mom is filled with all these little wisdoms like that. That’s really important -- that idea of not losing sight, no matter where you go in your life with men, because women give a lot to men. We love relationships. We thrive in them, as we should. But, sometimes, you lose sight of the girls that are there for you, all the time. That’s what the movie’s about.

MediaBlvd> Kate, what did you or didn’t you relate to, with your character?
Kate> I feel like, just creatively, I’m constantly watching other people. I have so many friends that are all so different, so I could relate to a lot, whether it’s me that’s like that, or my best girlfriend. I’m so not like Liv. I can’t relate to her myself, but I can understand her because I know somebody who’s like that, and it cracks me up. In terms of weddings and stuff, I can relate to it because I like to dress up, I like to have a party, I like to throw parties, I like to bring people together. Everybody has their own opinion, as to the sanctity of marriage or what it is they believe. I come from one parent who ended up not marrying my other parent. I come from a complicated household. How I see marriage is a little unconventional, but I can relate to it. I got married, and it was great! It was a blast. Everybody should do it!

MediaBlvd> Would you ever get married again?

Kate> Possibly. I don’t know. If it’s right, and if it’s important to everybody. But, I don’t know who the guy would be yet. It would all depend on what kind of relationship it is.