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Did Emma Stone Eat '60 Portuguese Tarts' While Filming Poor Things? Actress Reveals
Emma Stone, who won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in Poor Things, spoke at the Celebration of the Nominees for Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures, discussing a dietary issue she faced during filming.
Emma Stone who scored yet another Academy Awards nod in the Best Actress category for her role as Bella Baxter in the film Poor Things, took part in a panel at Saturday's Celebration of the Nominees for Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures in Los Angeles. During the conversation, she described a dietary difficulty she faced while filming the movie.
Emma Stone revealed she ate 60 portuguese tarts while filming Poor Things
During a conversation at the Skirball Cultural Centre, Emma Stone was asked if it was tough to play an explicitly sexual character in Poor Things to which Stone explained that it wasn't.
"The sexuality of Bella was another part of that, and the way that that was going to be shot and how we were going to do it and our incredible intimacy coordinator and our closed sets and all of that. In some ways, that was the easiest part because that was choreographed," Stone revealed of her character. "Those were quick. We knew exactly what we were doing," she added.
However, Stone revealed that the bigger challenge was portraying some of Baxter's other emotions and quirks including the character's eating habits. "Figuring out how to walk or eat 60 Portuguese tarts, which the first bite is delicious, but by the end you really want to puke," she continued. "Or her seeing death and decay for the first time, much more challenging than the nudity, which is the only thing people want to seem to ask me about."
ALSO READ: Emma Stone wins Best Actress over Margot Robbie; see as she graciously accepts the award
In the Yorgos Lanthimos film, Poor Things, Stone stars as a woman created by Godwin Baxter, who implants the brain of a deceased woman's baby into her body after her suicide. Her performance has earned her multiple awards, including the leading actress trophy at the 2024 EE BAFTA Film Awards.
Stone has also won the Golden Globe and a Critics Choice Award for her portrayal in the movie. While she was up for the trophy, the outstanding performance by a female actor in a leading role award went to Lily Gladstone at Saturday's SAG Awards for her performance in Killers of the Flower Moon.
What was the movie Poor Things about?
Poor Things is a 2023 film directed by Yorgos Lanthimos and written by Tony McNamara. It stars Emma Stone, Mark Ruffalo, Willem Dafoe, Ramy Youssef, Christopher Abbott, and Jerrod Carmichael. Based on the 1992 novel by Alasdair Gray, the plot follows Bella Baxter, a young woman in Victorian London who comes to life through a brain transplant and embarks on an odyssey of self-discovery.
Poor Things won the Golden Lion at the 80th Venice International Film Festival and was released in the US, Ireland, and the UK on January 12, 2024. It was named one of the top 10 films of 2023 by the American Film Institute and the National Board of Review and grossed over $100 million worldwide. The film also won two Golden Globe Awards, including Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy and Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy for Stone.
The plot of the movie starts in Victorian London with Max McCandles, a medical student, becomes an assistant to surgeon Godwin Baxter and falls in love with Bella, a childlike woman. He learns that Victoria, a pregnant woman, killed herself and Godwin replaced her brain with her unborn fetus, giving Bella an adult body.
With Godwin's encouragement, Max asks for Bella's hand in marriage. Bella accepts, but as her intelligence rapidly develops, she becomes curious about the outside world and herself. By exploring her own body she discovers masturbation and sexual pleasure. She runs off with Duncan Wedderburn, a debauched lawyer who Baxter hired to overhaul the nuptial contract. Deciding to let her go, Godwin starts a new experiment with a young woman, Felicity, who matures much more slowly than Bella.
Bella and Duncan embark on a grand journey, starting in Lisbon. They have frequent sex, but when Bella becomes difficult for Duncan to control, he smuggles her onto a cruise ship. Bella befriends passengers Martha and Harry, who open her mind to philosophy.
Duncan attempts to stunt her growth but becomes exasperated and indulges in drinking and gambling. At Alexandria, Bella witnesses the suffering of the poor and entrusts Duncan's winnings to unscrupulous crew members. Unable to afford the rest of the trip, they are dropped at Marseille and head to Paris.
Seeking money, Bella works at a brothel, where she meets Madame Swiney and Toinette, who introduces her to socialism. Godwin, terminally ill, asks Max to bring Bella to him. Max locates her after tracking down Duncan, who is institutionalized. In London, Bella reconciles with Godwin and renews her plans to marry Max.
The wedding is interrupted by Duncan and General Alfie Blessington, Victoria's husband. Alfie, addressing Bella as Victoria, declares that they were married before her disappearance and that he has come to reclaim her. She abandons Max to learn of her past life, but discovers Alfie's violent and sadistic nature and realizes she killed herself to escape him.
Alfie confines Bella to his mansion. He threatens her at gunpoint to submit to genital mutilation, demanding she drink a sedative. She tosses the sedative in his face. After a struggle, Alfie accidentally shoots himself in the foot and then passes out from the sedative. Godwin dies peacefully with Bella and Max at his side. Bella decides to carry on Godwin's work by also becoming a surgeon with the help of Max and Toinette, and transplants a goat's brain into Alfie's head.
ALSO READ: BAFTAs 2024: Emma Stone Wins Best Leading Actress For Poor Things; Keeps Up Her Winning Streak
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