Interview: Alicia Silverstone talks Requin, Scream Easter Egg

Saban Films' shark thriller El Requín is available in theaters, on-demand and digital today. Directed by Le-Van Kiet, the film stars Alicia Silverstone and James Tupper in the lead roles of a couple whose romantic retreat goes terribly wrong.

“There is terror in paradise when Jaelyn (Alicia Silverstone) and Kyle (James Tupper) arrive at a remote seaside villa in Vietnam for a romantic getaway,” reads the official synopsis. “A torrential storm descends, reducing the village to little more than a raft and dragging the young couple out to sea. Suddenly, another danger appears: a school of great white sharks. With her injured husband looking on helplessly, Jaelyn must fight deadly predators alone in this tense thriller that rides an unrelenting wave of fear.”

ComingSoon Editor-in-Chief Tyler Treese spoke with El Requín star Alicia Silverstone about the challenges of filming on water, the film's emotional themes, and more.

Tyler Treese: Your character in the movie, Jaelyn, is dealing with a lot of trauma after losing a child. That's something that, unfortunately, a lot of people can relate to and she blames herself. What happened in that performance?

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Alicia Silverstone: Well, I mean, that's such a deep and sad thing, right? And yes, losing a baby is, you know, it's the worst. What a terrible thing! And make the baby come to birth and then leave. So she's struggling with so much post-traumatic stress and trauma, and she's having these episodes and it's really her husband and she's just barely making it. She is destroying them.

Speaking of her husband in the movie, James Tupper does a great job. What went through to build that relationship with him and what was it like filming with him?

Well, James and I worked together before on American Woman, a show I did a few years ago, maybe three or four years ago. He was recommended to me by a friend at the time and I brought him in and just killed him, he was so cool, and we loved working together. I had an amazing time with him. So I recommended him for this too, and Le-Van Kiet, the director, fell in love with him like he knew he would, and we had a great time together. He is a very funny person. I am so happy to be able to work with him, and I really love the experience.

There are some extremely tense water scenes in the movie. What were the biggest challenges in shooting so much in the water and doing these shark scenes?

Well, it was really cold, so that's it. I mean, really ice cream. At one point, the regular doctor checked my temperature and said, 'No, you have to stay, we have to warm you up. Your temperatures are getting too low,' because they were pouring water. I was laying in the sand with my face in the sand, and they were throwing buckets of water at me to try and make it look like the ocean, you know, was getting into my mouth and waking me up, and I was freezing. Absolutely ice cold so that was a challenge. It's also a challenge because we're in a pool all the time. There is no ocean, there are no sharks, there are people everywhere, right? So it's just that your imagination really has to work and your commitment to what you know the circumstances to be because it depends so much on visual effects. The entire film is based on visual effects.

The film revolves around this universal terror that these big sharks are and getting trapped in the sea. Shark movies have been able to stay relevant for so many decades at this point. What did you enjoy most about this subgenre?

Well, I want to say that I love sharks and I respect them. I don't think they are scary creatures that we should be so scared of. That said, I don't want to run into one in the ocean, that's for sure. I want them to be allowed to do their business. So this is a story about… we're taking that to the extreme of these sharks, because they smell blood, because they're hungry. One could even argue that we are destroying the planet, the environment, that we are being hunted.

But I don't know why people like shark movies so much. I think it's survival. It's this idea that these two people in this movie are fighting for their marriage because of everything they've been through, and they're coming into this journey with one last ditch effort to win back their love and make it work, right? You see glimpses of that, the hope and the possibility, but then unfortunately this life-changing thing happens and now they're fighting for their real lives. And when they fight for their real lives, it helps them fall in love again, somehow, or at least really, really appreciate what they loved about each other to begin with. I think it's really beautiful, captivating, loving and emotional.

Speaking of horror, I'm not sure if you've seen it yet, but you were mentioned in the new Scream movie with a role in their movie-within-a-movie, Stab. Did they give you any warning about that little easter egg? And what are your thoughts on that?

I really don't know anything about that. So let me ask, I'm going to write that down and ask someone about it, because I don't know anything about it.

You played Batgirl and Leslie Grace will play a different version of that character in an upcoming movie. Do you have any advice for her, just for dealing with the scrutiny actresses face when taking on these high-profile superhero roles?

I think times are very different now. I really do. I think you'll do great and you'll be fine. I don't think people criticize us like they did 20 years ago. I think the internet would come and attack whoever was doing that, right? [laughs] It's like there's a support team saying that's not allowed. And yes, I think she's going to be fine. Believe! not?

Yeah. Some of the set photos look great. You had a hilarious cameo in the Beastie Boys' short film Fight For Your Right Revisited. How did the idea come about?

I've been on a big Beastie Boys kick. I saw it the other day and then I realized you were in it, but how did that happen and what did it mean for you to do that before MCA unfortunately happened?

Well, he asked me to do it and, I don't remember why or how, unfortunately, that was a while ago, but… how did that come about? He just asked me and I said, "Absolutely." I knew fun friends were going to be there like Laura Dern and, you know, it was going to be a fun group of people. So it was a joy to do and easy to do. I have no idea why he was there, how that all happened. Yes. It was fun.

Clueless is still quoted more than 25 years later. How crazy is it that you had an impact on the vernacular for a whole generation and that the movie is still so beloved?

It's really wonderful, honestly. I was in Round Top, Texas, and I was meeting a lot of fun people and getting on the phone with his kids. [laughs], as if they and their children are having a heart attack with FaceTiming. The 18-year-old girl's reaction to seeing me was very sweet. And I think what's really cool is that you expect people your age to be the ones to like it because they were there at the time.

But this is a movie that's been broadcast over and over again and it's really lovely that people really connect with it, and in terms of the vernacular, I think it's really funny that sometimes you just hear people say things from clueless and… they say the word clueless a lot, and they say “as if”, there are many references, and sometimes it even appears in my own life, and that makes me laugh. Where I'll just think, "Wow, my mistake," or I'll say something like, "You know how picky I am," and I'll think, "You see how picky I am about my shoes and they only see about my feet." I think that's such a funny phrase. Amy Heckerling is a brilliant genius, basically. [The novel] emma written by Jane Austin is also a genius. So the combination is quite good.