Riley Keough has been appearing in films for a decade, and her resume is already incredibly accomplished for someone barely over the age of 30. In fact, with “The Runaways,” “Magic Mike,” “Mad Max: Fury Road,” “American Honey,” “The Lodge,” “Under the Silver Lake” and “The House That Jack Built” it reads like a cinephile’s wet dream. Now, after a lengthy pandemic delay, you can add another title near the top of that impressive list, Janicza Bravo‘s “Zola.”
READ MORE: “Zola” is the ultimate internet-age tale of messy bitches being extra [Sundance Review]
Based on Ariza “Zola” King’s 148-tweet thread that rocked the internet in 2015, it follows Zola (Taylour Page), a Midwest waitress and pole dancer who semi-reluctantly joins a charismatic sex worker, Stefani (Keough), and her not-so trustworthy pimp X (Colman Domingo) on a cross country trip for a night of work at some Florida strip clubs with promises of massive tips. When they arrive down south things get increasingly sketchy. Before she knows it, Zola is afraid for both her own life and Stefani’s. Oh, but did we mention Stefani’s ridiculous boyfriend Derek (Nicholas Braun) is there too? And, it’s as much a stylish comedy and document of modern-day trafficking as it is a thriller?
Keough jumped on Zoom last month to talk about the long wait for “Zola” to hit theaters, her role in the remake of the almost Oscar-nominated international thriller “The Guilty” alongside Jake Gyllenhaal, and an update on her Amazon Prime Video period rock n’ roll mini-series “Daisy Jones & The Six.”
_____
The Playlist: Congratulations on the movie. I was actually lucky enough to attend the premiere at Sundance 2020 right before the pandemic hit. What has it been like waiting for this film that you shot in 2018 to finally be seen by the world?
Riley Keough: I mean, it’s a really bizarre thing because I feel like everything just went on pause, like the whole world shut down, so it’s just very bizarre. I’ve never experienced anything like it. But there’s this helpful feeling happening and people are getting vaccinated and doing more things and going out into the world. And it feels like such an important time to release a film. And theaters are opening back up that I’m very excited that our film is one of those films that are getting people back into life again. So it’s, yeah, I am very happy that, yeah, that we’re a part of this move back into normalcy, whatever that is.
For sure. So, when the script came your way, what about it made you want to jump into it? What about the project spoke to you?
I was just really blown away by the script. The writing was incredible. It felt like you’re reading a stage play and the dialogue was incredible. And I just thought it was genius and modern and cool and just felt like a modern play in a way and I loved it. So I was just super excited that I was being asked to do it.
When Janicza, who co-write it, talked to you about the project, was there anything about her vision that stood out to you?
She had such a specific vision, so it was on the page. And then meeting her and just seeing her, how her view on life is like. When she speaks it’s like a performance. Everything was just incredible. And the world she created and her sense of humor and what she likes, it’s so specifically her. It was like whoever’s doing this is a genius and especially if they had anything to do with writing it.
I’m assuming you did not meet the real Stefani, is that correct?
That’s correct.
What was your inspiration then for her character?
A lot of it was on the page, so she was very well fleshed out before I got my hands on her. And so it was just what she was like, her mannerisms, that was all there. And then the work I did with Janicza, later on, was figuring out what her dialect was, how her accent would sound like. And then I worked with a woman named Aris Mendoza and went through and would send Janicza voice notes and test out different ways of talking. And I mean, I’ve met this girl before I’ve been around girls like this. I definitely had an idea of what we wanted her to be like. And so just dialing it in and really figuring out. I think a big part of it as well was that Janicza and I both wanted to really go there with her and not hold back and really commit to making her as unlikable as we could.
Do you think Stefani is trapped in this business relationship with Colman? Or do you think she’s just looking out for herself?
That’s a very good question. And I think that that is up to the audience because there are moments where you feel like she’s very much in control and there’s moments where you feel like maybe she doesn’t want to be there. There’s a moment where she is vulnerable with Zola and saying, “I don’t want to be here and I’m only here for my child.” And it was a choice to make that performance very genuine and not silly. And I think what’s amazing is you don’t really know. You don’t walk away from that going, “Oh, she either really wanted to be there or she didn’t.” I think it’s very muddy and I think that that was intentional.
I feel like one of the great things and about your performance is she is manipulative and she often seems like she knows what she’s doing, but you can also feel this pain with her, this grounded realism in this craziness. Was that something that everyone knew from the beginning, it’s like, no matter what happens we have to keep this as grounded as possible?
I think if it’s just silly, you don’t ever feel anything for these people. And so I think that it was really important to make them real human beings, even though they’re wild and colorful. I think it was really important that they were human and they felt real and that you could feel the humanity in them. And they weren’t just a caricature of a person.
Were you able to meet the real Zola?
Yes. Asia, she’s amazing.
Did Asia tell you about the real Stefani?
So, I didn’t meet Asia until the film was done.
Oh wow.
Taylour and she were in contact because she was obviously playing Zola. But for me, I didn’t meet Asia until the film was already wrapped and done. So I didn’t get the chance to get any tips from her. But I think that the important thing to remember is that the film was based off of her Twitter thread, more so than an exact play-by-play of everything to a T. I think it’s her story, what happened in her eyes, her experience and so her version of trying to come up with what she would perceive Stefani to be.
I know you’ve had a busy past year. I know you’re in “The Guilty,” which is the remake of the Danish film that got submitted for a foreign-language Oscar. Is it the same conceit where most of the “action” is via audio or is there some outside of the call center that people see?
I’m not sure if I’m allowed to say. I mean, I’ll tell you, I don’t know if I can spoiler alert it, but I’ll tell you it was COVID safe.
O.K. Are you voicing the victim being kidnapped?
Yes.
Have you ever done a role like that before where it’s just so much audio?
I haven’t ever. And so it was really fun because it’s a totally different thing. And it was really interesting to do it during COVID because, essentially, [the film is definitely] a lot of voice acting. And yeah, it’s just a different ball game and I’ve never done a film like that before. It felt very isolated because you’re alone and going through all this stuff. And it’s also really wild to have these really intense go through acting and things with people just hearing them. It’s yeah, a totally different experience, but I loved it.
Have you shot “Daisy Jones and The Six” yet or is that about to happen?
It’s about to happen any day now.
Have you guys been waiting because of the pandemic?
Yes. We’ve been waiting for a long time and we’re so excited to start. It’s very soon, literally any day we’re going to be starting. So we were about to and then COVID happened.
One last thing on “Zola,” it’s been over a year and a half since I first saw it. I rewatched it for this interview and, tell me if I’m wrong, but doesn’t it play better now?
I think it does too. I think it’s really needed right now. I think just for whatever reason people are wanting to see something that’s just fun and wild and crazy and I think that it’s a good moment for it.
“Zola” opens in limited release on June 30.