A Conversation With The Cast & Director Of ‘Wonder Woman’

On a hot, sunny Sunday afternoon I packed into a small room for a Q&A with the cast and director of Wonder Woman before it hits theaters June 2nd.

Wonder Woman Gal Gadot Patty Jenkins Warner Bros.

On a hot, sunny Sunday afternoon I packed into a small room with about 20 other members of the press to have an intimate Q&A with the cast and director of Wonder Woman before it hits domestic theaters on June 2nd.

More than anything else, everyone on stage voiced their appreciation and excitement to be a part of the Wonder Woman.

“The magic of Wonder Woman is she is everything,” said Wonder Woman director Patty Jenkins who described herself as a life-long fan of the character. “She is strong but stands for the opposite of violence.”

Wonder Woman star Gal Gadot, who stood throughout the event because she threw her back out, said she is still overwhelmed and grateful to able to bring Wonder Woman to the big screen.  She described how important it was for her to portray a character who symbolizes compassion and is fiercely independent.

“I wanted a profound message everyone can relate to and take home to practice… maybe,” Gadot said laughing.

When asked about what it felt like crafting a female-led superhero project, Jenkins described the ultimate goal as a time when audiences don’t care whether a character is female or in a wheel chair and just identity with them as a person.

“I just want to make her a great hero and make a great story and great amazons where we’re not thinking about it. That is a victory.”

When asked what it’s like to play the love interest in the Wonder Woman, Chris Pine immediately lit up and complemented his co-star’s warmth and curiosity.

“I mean look at her,” he said gesturing to Gadot. “It’s not a bad gig.”

In fact, it sounds like Pine might have had the easiest time on set compared to everyone else. He joked about his easy costume and his lack of fight training when everyone else had extreme costumes and had to train for months.

“I like playing characters who are educate in bar room fights. They just get it done.”

Connie Nielsen, who plays Diana’s mother Queen Hippolyta, was pretty stoked about the opportunity to train and fight with swords. She said this was the first time in her career she’s ever gotten to do things like this and is hopeful she’ll have the opportunity to fight more in the future.

“The costumes make it hard to do it all, but they do make you feel bad ass,” Nielsen said laughing.

While all of the Amazons had months to prep for Wonder Woman, Robin Wright joined everyone two months late due to work on another project. She said she arrived “after they all became Incredible Hulks,” and had to rush and play catch up in order to portray General Antiope. Even though she said she was hospitalized a few times due to pushing herself too hard, she said the worst part of preparing was all the food she had to eat in order to bulk up.

Well, at least someone had a good time on set.

“I had the time of my life vacationing in Italy making a movie with Amazon warriors,” Pine said with a smile.

Jenkins, who stayed mum about whether or not she is in talks with DC to helm any future movies, described the action sequences as essential to Wonder Woman. She said she worked hard to make sure every fight feels like a part of the story and the audience can learn something about the characters as they fight.

“The Amazon women will get the job done, but they’re not going to punch people in the face.”

While Jenkins spoke about the fight scenes seriously, both Gadot and Pine said she was a big fan of making comic book noises during production on the fight scenes. So we might not get to hear “bang,” “zap,” or “crack” throughout Wonder Woman, but if you close your eyes you can imagine Jenkins running around set and making comic book noises like we all wish we could have.

Stick to Heroic Hollywood for more Wonder Woman coverage soon!