Interview with Marina Gatell ('Magdalena')

http://www.themovie-fanatic.com/la/index.php/Exclusives/marina-interview.html

This was from Marina Gatell's board. Fascinating because I didn't know some of the facts behind the character of Magdalena.

Exclusive Interview with Little Ashes Actress Marina Gatell
Written by Sam Kerbey
Thursday, 01 January 2009 00:00
Welcome to the new year! It’s time for another installment in our string of exclusive interviews! This time, we interview Marina Gatell, who plays Margarita in Little Ashes. Even for us at the Promo Blitz, we were a bit confused as to the origin of Marina’s character; thankfully she helps clear it all up for us. Additionally, Marina explains the relationship between her character, Dalí, and Lorca, her filming experience, and her career. There is still more to come, so stay tuned!

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So have you seen Little Ashes yet?

No not yet! I've seen like…bits of it…ummm…Sorry I'm not speaking properly! I'm working 16 hours now. I'm doing a show on Spanish TV about this man - who was a womanizer and then one night an angry lover turns him into a woman, so he woke up and he was me (laughs). He was named Lalo and now he's Lalolla. We do 20 scenes a day - this is my vacation. I've been working for five months and it's very (waves hands in the air trying to think of the word)

Intense?

Well, it's a comedy but...(laughs)

Haha. Ok, so first things first, was Margarita based on a real person?

Yes, well actually the name ended up being Magdalena because they couldn't find the family of Margarita, and there were some scenes that could compromise. She was Margarita Manso and she was the best friend of Lorca.

Was she the actress?

No that was Margarita Xirgu, there were a lot of Margaritas in his life! I think one of his sisters was as well, and its not that common a name (pauses for a moment) well I guess…but its not like Anna or Maria, (laughs) so Manso...(giggles)

Ok cool, so tell us about Magdalena and the relationship she had with Dalí and Lorca.

So she was friends with Federico, she loved Federico. She wanted to be a journalist. She was one of the few women who could study at the time; I think there were only two of them…

So she comes from a very wealthy family like all of them - because the only people who could study in university like that were rich. She was a writer, she went to university because she wanted to be a journalist, she wanted to be part of that movement. For her though it was much more difficult than for them [Lorca/Dalí/Buñuel], maybe because she was a woman (pauses) and also because she wasn't that talented...

(I laugh)

No really! She was fascinated by all of it. She made Federico believe a lot in himself and she helped him get inspired and everything. But then Salvador appeared and he got distracted by someone else and she got sort of lost. [The relationship] has a limit, it was not evolving or it evolved somewhere else, it was an obsession. The obsession distracts her a little bit but she wants to face the reality. She put her and Dalí and Lorca in a situation...well, she doesn't put them in it exactly, but she's a journalist and she wants to face the reality. She wants to know what's going on, because she wants to love him again. Because when there was this fight [for Lorca's attention] between Dalí and her, she wasn't loving him. She was observing his movements to see if he loved her. So she wanted to face the reality and see what is going on between them. I think for a bit she doesn't love Federico but then after the situation [between her, Lorca and Dalí] then yes she loves him again.

Because actually what was happening was Lorca was doing to her what Dalí was doing to him you know? It's a triangle and it's interesting. It's confusing it’s a story of love, limits and vision. I guess none of them needed the school, they were geniuses. What they needed was to be in a club, to be together, a group.

What drew you to the project?

I worked with the same production company in Spain on a movie in Italy. Then by chance I met this producer who told me 'oh I have a role you could try for'. I read the script and I loved it, and I wanted to be part of it. I did the audition and it was good but then there were six more months before I was called to do another audition, and then six more again and I was like 'My God!' I never had the feeling that I would get it, I was always kind of fighting for it. Then I got this TV show in Spain [not Lallola] which was supposed to be happening at the same time and I said no to the show. I mean Magadalena is a small role, but I wanted to play it, it was beautiful, it was well written I wanted to be apart of it, I didn't care about the show, which at the time was...(she smiles sheepishly) well now I'm sort of famous in Spain but at the time...well, I just wanted to say the words you know? They were so beautiful. It was one of the happiest days of my life when I got the role.

So can you tell us about filming?

It was an amazing experience we all came together, the four of us, we’d all done bits but now we’re all working, I mean look at Robert. I don’t know… it was a really interesting experience. We all talked a lot, and we walked around Barcelona. I mean we were really busy but it was beautiful. Also for me, I’m from Barcelona, so it was interesting to see it through a foreigner’s eyes.

And also because my role is a journalist, I was telling the guy who played Lorca [Javier Beltran] that I read all of Lorca’s biographies. I think it was more necessary for me to do this research than it was for him, because he was living it, I was the one who was fascinated with Lorca’s life…

Can you see your self moving to America for your career?

(laughs) I don’t know. I’d like my job anywhere. I did go over there to film ‘the un-godly’ with Wes Bentley, it’s like a thriller and I went to shoot in Philadelphia. I love to travel, I love to experience new things that’s why I do this job, you know?

Yea, so if it happens it happens?

Sure (laughs) it wasn’t my dream when I was young, I mean I never even had an idol or anything, I remember my friends had a picture of Tom Cruise in their notebooks and I was like ‘what? who’s that?’ (laughs). So I don’t know. I mean there are probably more jobs there than here, and more interesting projects there than here...and by here I mean Spain… (laughs)

Haha yea I knew what you meant…

Well this morning I was in Spain! (laughs)

Ok and lastly (and sorry this has stumped most people) do you have a favourite Dalí painting?

errrr…(laughs)…I do but I don’t know the name! I have one in mind…ummm…no, I can’t think of the English name. Does my manager have your address? I’ll e-mail it to you!