Danielle Solzman
Maggie Grace spoke with Solzy at the Movies this week about her role in Dennis Dugan’s new film, Love, Weddings, and Other Disasters.
Love, Weddings, and Other Disasters opens in theaters and VOD on December 4. What was it about the script that attracted you to the role of Jessie?
Maggie Grace: Well, I had such a lovely conversation with the director, Dennis Dugan, and just felt like I was in really capable hands with his long resume in the genre. He is such a sweet person and such as a romantic at heart. I have a more bleak job most of the year in a TV show about an apocalypse. This felt like a really nice balance in my life to join them in Boston and enjoy a beautiful autumn in Boston and do a movie about love.
Did you do anything in particular as far as prepping for the role of an inexperienced wedding planner?
Maggie Grace: Well, I planned a wedding once—my own–so that was kind of canny. You’re kind of learning along the way about spreadsheets and all that. I think I had a bit of a different relationship with perfection and how everything looked. I was a bit more laid back about the details, I suppose. It was really important to me that the people were there. I have a rather large family now so even a small wedding with just family is a pretty large one. For instance, my husband is one of eight kids. It can be chaos no matter what as my point.
My paternal grandmother was one of six children.
Nice.
What do you typically look for in a character when reading a screenplay?
Maggie Grace: With this character, she was oriented and capable in how she came on and how she navigates the dynamic with Jeremy Irons’s character, I think that was fun to explore. They were growing together but she still had space for him to figure it out. He had some learning to do at this point in his life as well. He’s learning to be open, flexible, and adaptable and how to fall in love again, and perhaps how to collaborate with someone that was a lot less experienced in my character. I thought that was really interesting and also, it’s really fun to shoot as well.
I couldn’t stop laughing during the opening scene. Can you talk about shooting that scene?
Maggie Grace: Oh my G-d! We were so lucky that it wasn’t freezing yet when we landed in the lake It was really fun and cut together so well. We had a blast skydiving through a wedding. That was definitely a first for me. I don’t know if you’ve skydived into a party before but I highly recommend it. It was really hilarious.
Did you require a stunt double for that scene or did you do your own stunts?
Maggie Grace: Of course, there was a skydiving experts it was doing all the fancy bits. They just had me up on a wire rig. That part, I have done quite a bit. Not skydiving but the wire rig part. It was a ton of fun and hopefully, it is a fun way to kick off the movie.
What were some of your favorite things about filming in Boston?
Maggie Grace: Oh my G-d, the lobster rolls, obviously. I would sit at the counter by myself at the Neptune Oyster in Boston. One of my friends in The Walking Dead recommended it. It was like a religious right. It was so good to just go sit at the counter at the Neptune Oyster and have a lobster roll myself at night. It was just heaven! It was such a great city for walking. And obviously, October and November are just gorgeous. The leafs were turning. It was really romantic all on its own no matter where you point the camera.
Did you take in any of the historical sites when you weren’t on set?
Maggie Grace: Yeah, some. We were shooting during the day quite a bit. I did a lot of walking tours in some of the old districts and that was really fun. I didn’t get to do the Boston Tea Party but will save that for another time.
It’s definitely a city I want to go back to. If you could go back in time, what advice would you give your younger self?
Maggie Grace: That’s a tough one. I think trust your voice. Trust your instincts more. I had some pretty loud voices in my 20s that weren’t my own.
