Read Our Quick, Spoilery Interviews With the ‘Black Mirror’ Cast, Which Netflix Gave Us for Just Four Minutes!
There are spoilers in these interviews for the current Netflix original series “Black Mirror” episodes “Joan Is Awful,” “Mazey Day,” and “Beyond the Sea” from Season 6.
After a four-year break, the eagerly anticipated sixth season of “Black Mirror” returns and — appropriately — begins with “Joan is Awful,” an investigation into the questionable operations of a made-up streaming service called Streamberry.
In order to produce AI-driven, CGI-rendered semi-fictional dramas, Streamberry, which is more than a passing likeness to “Black Mirror’s” IRL production partner Netflix, co-opts consumers’ lives without their consent. Similar to, example, “Inventing Anna” (which received the OK of the named Anna Delvey but not her former BFF Rachel Williams, who sued the streamer for slander last year) or “The Crown” or “The Tinder Swindler” or “Narcos” or—you get the idea.
The fictionalised portrayal of Netflix in “Joan is Awful” gives viewers a glimpse into a dystopian future where, to misquote Nora Ephron, “everything is content,” right down to the “tudum” sound that accompanies Streamberry’s logo. It gives viewers the delicious feeling that the streamer is finally getting a taste of its own medicine.
The press junket for Season 6 was not unlike a press junket you could picture Streamberry organising, which is in keeping with “Black Mirror’s” talent for fusing fact, fiction, present, and future (see: the final mind-melting twist in “Joan is Awful,” which makes Christopher Nolan’s “Inception” look like an episode of “Peppa Pig”). A number of journalists from around the world were invited online into a confusing succession of virtual waiting rooms, where they were given only a few minutes to ask a few questions of the actors before being sent on their way.
Salma Hayek Pinault, Josh Hartnett, Kate Mara, and Clara Rugaard (who appear in Episode 3, “Beyond the Sea”) each received a four-minute interview slot from Variety, while Zazie Beetz, Danny Ramirez, and Clara Rugaard (Episode 4, “Mazey Day”) each received a five-minute slot.
The kind of arbitrary interval of time that makes you wonder about the purpose of the cosmos itself is four minutes, or 240 seconds. What is possible in just four minutes? A six-year-old can be prodded to put on their shoes a number of times (without success). In a space shuttle, you can get halfway around the earth. If you’re Justin Timberlake and Madonna, you can save the world.
If you’re a Variety reporter, it takes exactly four minutes to ask Kate Mara and Josh Hartnett five questions before a Streamberry publicist, sorry, a Netflix publicist, cuts you off at the two-minute mark by typing, “1 minute left. Please finish.
2+1 = 4? That is unquestionably “Black Mirror” maths.
Just a few hours prior to the virtual junket, Variety ran into “Black Mirror” creator Charlie Brooker standing quietly in London’s Leicester Square under a statue of William Shakespeare, adding to the impression that we may have entered what Michael Cera reveals to be Fictive Level One. He had come to take part in a demonstration in favour of the WGA writers’ strike. There were no Streamberry PRs present to shoo Variety away under the watchful eye of England’s most well-known writer, and Brooker appeared to be amenable to conversation.
He justified his support for the strike by saying, “I worry for a living — it’s basically what I do— and I’m really worried about AI and the use of ChatGPT and stuff like that. I’m here because I’m very concerned about that, so that’s why. Did his concerns about AI play any role in “Joan is Awful”? Brooker responded, “That was written and finished before ChatGPT and anything like that launched.
Oh. Then again, was that simply him speculating about the future? Sadly, in this instance, he said.
In spite of the fact that you can’t completely stop the genie from escaping, he said, “I do think they’re useful tools for writers in the same way photoshop is a useful tool for illustrators, photographers, and so on.” “So I’m not sure. Knowing how you govern it and what kind of agreement there is is above my pay grade. But I believe it must be.” Brooker mockingly distorted his voice to resemble a sci-fi overlord and uttered, “controoolled.”
There you have it, then. Discover what else Variety was able to elicit from some of the Season 6 cast members in the following paragraphs.
In spite of the fact that you can’t completely stop the genie from escaping, he said, “I do think they’re useful tools for writers in the same way photoshop is a useful tool for illustrators, photographers, and so on.” “So I’m not sure. Knowing how you govern it and what kind of agreement there is is above my pay grade. But I believe it must be.” Brooker mockingly distorted his voice to resemble a sci-fi overlord and uttered, “controoolled.”
Oh, and Streamberry, if we accidentally wind up in a “Black Mirror” episode, could you note that we’d prefer to be portrayed by AI-generated likenesses of Blake Lively, Anne Hathaway, and Michelle Yeoh.
The statement
“JOAN IS AWFUL”
In “Joan Is Awful,” Annie Murphy’s Joan learns that Salma Hayek is starring in a dramatic rendition of her life that has just been released on a major streaming service. As her life falls apart, Joan takes increasingly extreme steps to end the show, including stuffing herself full of cheeseburgers, taking laxatives and going to the toilet in front of a packed church.
You portray yourself in this episode, Salma. Did you provide Charlie Brooker any feedback on your genuine speaking style? And do you believe that you resemble the version of yourself that we see in “Black Mirror” in any way?
Salma Hayek: I did share a few aspects about myself with Charlie, like the fact that I struggle with reading. Is this the real me, though? No, but it was a lot of fun to play about with various perceptions of what people would think of me, to laugh at them, to find humour in them, and to take them to their logical conclusions. In addition, I’m portraying [Joan] as a more severe version of myself. It was just so enjoyable.
What came to mind as you read the laxative scene in the church, Annie? Were you hesitant to go there in any way?
There was never any ambivalence about any of this, according to Annie Murphy. I received a call informing me of this deal. I didn’t think twice. What the part or the nature of the show was didn’t matter to me. I merely wanted to participate in the show. It just kept checking boxes until we reached that scene, at which point I yelled, “Put me in! This is what I want to do.
Tell them about me, Hayek!
Salma then said, “Don’t ever put me in!” Murphy This is awful and abhorrent.
Hayek: The exact opposite response! Like attracts like!
Murphy: It was truly a dream come true to learn that Salma Hayek would be my coworker. Salma fucking Hayek.
Particularly given that artificial intelligence is a big topic in the ongoing WGA strike, the episode feels incredibly timely. Have you realised how ideal the timing of this release is?
Hayek: Yes, it’s somewhat intriguing. When we were shooting it, it was already on time. Only a few months have passed, and already the worry has set in. Future time is not something we’re considering. Charlie has caught up with technology! like it regularly does. — Katcy Stephan
“BEYOND THE SEA”
Josh Hartnett and Aaron Paul portray two astronauts in the middle of a six-year space mission in “Beyond the Sea,” which is set in the 1960s. They can transmit their consciousness into realistic copies back on Earth in order to stay sane. The spaceman starts to unravel when bloodthirsty hippies decimate Hartnett’s family and ruin his copy. Paul gives Hartnett his duplicate out of pity and self-preservation, but he soon starts to wonder if there might be a relationship between his co-pilot and his wife (Kate Mara).
Josh, were you present to give him advice on how you may behave in his body in the farmhouse sequences where Aaron Paul plays you occupying his replica?
Josh Hartnett: No, they didn’t give me that opportunity.
So there weren’t any scenes between you and Kate in real life?
No to both.
How did the two of you become engaged with “Black Mirror” this season?
As the only person associated to this particular script when it was sent to me, Kate Mara said, “I was immediately fascinated because I love “Black Mirror.” I went into reading it with no prior knowledge, which was unquestionably the proper approach given that the novel has several significant twists, revelations, and other surprises. The topics of this one and the relationship my character has with both males really caught my attention.
Hartnett: I kind of acted in the opposite way. With “Black Mirror,” I would have done anything, but I didn’t have time to read the script until a week before. My reps, I believe, went after them, essentially saying, “I hear you’re coming back to do something new—Josh would love to be a part of it.” Then, a week before we began filming, they called and offered me the part and emailed it to me.
What a speedy turnaround, wow. Which “Black Mirror” episode do you prefer?
Mara: My favourite is “Nosedive” from Season 3 with Bryce Dallas Howard. There are so many excellent ones, but I adore her and think her performance in that is outstanding-KJ Yossman
In “MAZEY DAY”
“Mazey Day” takes place in the early 2000s, when paparazzi sales were at their peak. Zazie Beetz portrays a surprisingly likeable tabloid reporter who wants to leave the industry but is seduced by a sizable offer from a fellow reporter at another publication, Danny Ramirez. The objective is Clara Rugaard’s portrayal of actress Mazey Day, who seems to be going through a drug detox. However, her true ailment is much more evil.
Your episode of “Black Mirror” is unique among all others since it features a supernatural subplot. When you read the script, were you surprised?
Zazie Beetz: I admit I was taken aback. However, I also think it’s good to have an episode that is a little different and takes a different approach to the “Black Mirror” world than what we’ve gotten accustomed to seeing.
This episode also demonstrates the negative aspects of paparazzi. If you based your performance on a personal encounter, may I ask what it was? Or have you discovered something via researching this world that has changed your perspective on paparazzi?
Beetz: I’m not “papped” all that frequently. However, Danny and I saw the documentary “Smash His Camera” about a paparazzi by the name of Ron Galella. And it’s a wonderful documentary—I highly suggest it. It’s intriguing how he approaches it almost as a craft. He enjoys it and is both documenting culture and participating in the current cultural moment. And it’s so fascinating because he loves rabbits and has such a magnetic personality. It, in my opinion, gives a sympathetic face to a profession that many people, I believe, do demonise. And I believe that in order to effectively portray my role, I must empathise.
I therefore made an effort to understand her motives. She also wonders the morality of what she is doing on her own. So, I hope that doesn’t come across as me passing judgement on her, because I tried not to.
Aside from your own, which other “Black Mirror” episode is your favourite?
Danny Ramirez says, “Hang the DJ.” My jaw dropped when I saw it. It’s also probably one of the ones with the most hope, in my opinion.
Clara Rugaard (Ph. I’ll say, “San Junipero.” Every time, we change our responses because there are simply too many viable options. But that has such a tragic, uplifting, lovely, and romantic quality about it. I thought about it a lot for a while.
I therefore made an effort to understand her motives. She also wonders the morality of what she is doing on her own. So, I hope that doesn’t come across as me passing judgement on her, because I tried not to.
Aside from your own, which other “Black Mirror” episode is your favourite?
Danny Ramirez says, “Hang the DJ.” My jaw dropped when I saw it. It’s also probably one of the ones with the most hope, in my opinion.
Clara Rugaard (Ph. I’ll say, “San Junipero.” Every time, we change our responses because there are simply too many viable options. But that has such a tragic, uplifting, lovely, and romantic quality about it. I thought about it a lot for a while.
