Yahoo Lifestyle Emma Stone “Blackmailed” Kieran Culkin Out Of Quitting ‘A Real Pain’
Although Kieran Culkin won a Golden Globe for his performance in A Real Pain, he almost dropped out of the role.
Jesse Eisenberg recently explained how producer Emma Stone “blackmailed” his co-star to stop him from quitting the film with two weeks to spare before production kicked off in New York City and Poland.
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“[Kieran] was trying to drop out of the movie two weeks before we were shooting,” he recalled at the Palm Springs Film Festival, according to Collider. “Like all the money had been spent, and he was trying to drop out in New York. So one of our producers, Emma Stone, essentially like blackmailed him to come back to the movie behind my back, and literally took him off the plane with his kids and flew to Poland with him.”
Eisenberg continued, “I have a video of her holding his kid’s hands going through customs like a proof of life video that he made it, and he showed up to rehearsal late, even though we had made the rehearsal around when his plane was getting in.”
Written and directed by Eisenberg, he and Culkin star in A Real Pain as mismatched cousins David and Benji Kaplan, who reignite old tensions while exploring their family history in Poland to honor their grandmother.
While accepting the Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor — Motion Picture, Culkin praised Eisenberg as a writer, director and co-star.
“I’m here because Jesse Eisenberg wrote an incredible script. He’s a fantastic director and scene partner,” said Culkin. “So anybody that has an opportunity to work with him in any category, just leap at it. Thank you, sir.”
The film was also nominated for Best Motion Picture — Musical or Comedy, as well as Best Actor — Motion Picture Musical or Comedy and Best Screenplay for Eisenberg.
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