Super model Milla Jovovich is proving she’s more than one kind of model. “I think it’s a bit more of a role model [than Sigourney Weaver in ‘Aliens’] because there are so many amazing martial arts in this movie. I think it would be great for someone like Violet to be a role model,” she says of her new character in Screen Gems’ latest film that opens Friday.
In Ultraviolet, Jovovich assumes the role of Violet, or “V,” who is determined to save the subculture of humans called Hemophages, who have a genetic mutation that allows them to have incredible speed, heightened intelligence and tremendous endurance and staying power from the government who fear their power.
She sets out to destroy a government-designed time bomb that will eliminate the Hemophages, and much to her surprise, she finds the device is a nine-year old named Six (Cameron Bright) who was raised in a laboratory and injected with antibodies that can potentially kill or help the subculture.
Writer and director Kurt Wimmer (Equilibrium) knew he wanted only Jovovich for the part. “It was amazing because Kurt came to me and said ‘I wrote this with you in mind.’ So it was really incredible because it’s not everyday you get a director writing something for you. I was really honored and felt very flattered that he did that,” Jovovich beamed.
She trained for six months for the role in martial arts that was influenced from other countries and thinks as a result “it’s kind of setting some sort of line for like what a western martial arts movie could be. I feel really good because there’s not a lot of white girls that get to kick butt like that,” Jovovich laughed.
And she does it looking as amazing as ever. She describes Violet as a “sophisticated hot chick,” but don’t think you’ll see her in those incredibly tight sexy costumes anytime soon. “I don’t ever want to wear them again. If we do a second one, we’ll have to think of something else. Something better,” she said.
So what distinguished this film from other science fiction and action roles for the runway model-turned-actress? The script, of course. “I definitely thought the story was really touching, because the truth of the fact is that she’s this badass and fighter. It’s like she’s actually fighting for a cause against this totalitarian government who you know is trying to destroy a group of people. Through this she meets this sick child and has to make this choice of whether to save his life or whether to continue her crazy mission.”
She admits, however, she really related to that kind of special relationship to the boy because “I’m getting to that place where I want to think about kids and family.”
In the interview, Jovovich wouldn’t give anything away about the third “Resident Evil” movie except that she would start shooting in May and that she is “maybe” being set up to be the villain. “There’s a lot of people who’d pay good money for that information,” she joked. Jovovich did, however, talk about why she initially took the role as Alice.
“I ended up doing the movie because I have a younger brother. He loves ‘Resident Evil,’ of course. It’s something he really wanted me to do. He would play the game, and I would sit with him and talk him through it. The thing is I didn’t want him to zone out completely in his world. I’d joke around and be like, ‘Oh, you killed this other thing.’ Isn’t that funny? To make sure that, I don’t know. I don’t know where kids go in that world, but I didn’t want to let him go. So we would end up sitting for hours and playing this kind of together. I would end up getting into it. I’d be like, ‘Go over there. See what’s in that closet thing. Okay, open the thing. Oh, you have a choice between an ax and a machine gun. Look through your weapons.’ So I was talking him through. I ended up having a really great time playing with him. So he was like, ‘Oh, you’d be so perfect as the girl from Resident Evil.’ So when it came up I had to say yes.”
She also talked about the differences between playing Violet and Alice.
“I think Violet is very much like some mythological character I had in my head, where Alice is a bit more of a modern character in my head. Violet was kind of all my dreams of being a ninja my whole life, like coming true in this moment. There was a bit more of that comic book edge so it was a bit brighter. She doesn’t react to a punch or pain in the same way that Alice is a bit more real in that sense. Where Violet, because of the advanced state of her sickness, she’s got just like super powers and so it really gave me a chance to not make faces and be all like super cool. Not be like, ‘Grrr!’ (grimaces) all the time like in ‘Resident Evil’ where constantly I need to be really tough.”
Jovovich has another upcoming film called .45 in which she plays the girlfriend of a drug addict. He abuses her one too many times and she talks her friend into killing him.
“‘.45’ is a film that I did last year, and hopefully we should see it soon. It’s a really small movie that’s about domestic violence. The writer and director wrote one of my favorite plays called ‘Blackout.’ It was really incredible to work on the part because it’s something I’ve experienced growing up and like knowing lots of Eastern European people, domestic violence is a very normal part of life. So it was really important for me to make a movie about a woman who is trying to escape this vicious cycle. It was great. It was an independent film.”
Look for Ultraviolet in theatres Friday, March 3rd.
Source: Heather Newgen
