• Home
  • Movie News
  • Movie Trailers
  • Reviews
    • Cinema Reviews
    • Home Entertainment Reviews
      • Blu-ray Review
      • DVD Review
  • Competitions
  • Features
    • Interview

Movie Muser

Have your say about cinema

Joan Cusack Interview – The actress talks going mo-cap for Mars Needs Moms

12th August 2011 By Tim Isaac


Since she first hit screens in the 1980s, Joan Cusack has received two Academy Award nominations, first for her role in Working Girl, and again for “In & Out, and has also been seen in films as diverse as Friends With Money, Raising Helen, Arlington Road, High Fidelity, Where the Heart Is, Grosse Pointe Blank, Nine Months, Broadcast News, Say Anything, Sixteen Candles and My Sister’s Keeper – as well as voicing Jessie in the second and third Toy Story movie. However Mars Needs Moms presented a special challenge, asking the actress to go motion capture to play a mother who gets kidnapped to the Red Planet. With the movie out on DVD on Monday August 15th, here’s what Joan had to say about the CG animated film.

What made you want to take part in “Mars Needs Moms”?
I love being Mom.  I have kids – I have a passion for being a mom.  So from the beginning, I thought this part was so awesome. I loved the script that Wendy [Wells] and Simon [Wells] wrote – they’re parents who clearly relate to the story – and I thought it was a great story. I love the idea that if you’re a parent, it’s not about being a friend. It’s not about being your child’s friend. It’s much more than that. It’s more selfless than that. And because of that, you have to do the hard things and say the hard things that are important for your child to develop the right way. This really shows her to be a universal Mom that cares. It’s all about building real character in children, which is really the role of a mom. 

Describe your character Mom in Mars Needs Moms and what happens in the beginning of the movie.
She looks a lot like me. The character is a universal Mom that cares. It’s a slice-of-life, very normal day. She has fun with her son, teasing him a little bit to get him to do the right thing. There’s a lot of joy with him and a fun playfulness to her. She has a sweet love for her husband.

But she’s the one who tells Milo that there are consequences for bad behavior. She tells him to eat his vegetables, clear the table and go to bed. And he says the same thing every single kid says to a mom who’s doing her job, which is basically “I hate you” or “I wish you weren’t in my life.” It’s very typical. It’s a hard job being a parent – and sometimes when you’re tired they know the right buttons to push.

Who portrays Milo? 
Seth Green plays Milo. He has exuberance. What’s so wonderful about him is he’s able to be a professional and translate a real vision that Simon and Wendy have created, and do it well with great commitment and energy and discipline.  It’s a lot of physical work and it’s a lot of imaginative work. He’s amazing. We did a scene that was very emotional and he was just incredibly present and awesome.

How do you feel about the rest of the Mars Needs Moms cast?
Dan Fogler is so sweet and soulful. He’s one of those actors who’s already an original – he’s a giving entertainer – some people are just born to entertain. Mindy Sterling just blows my doors off. She’s just awesome. She’s a mom and a professional and that’s not always easy.

What is your impression of director Simon Wells?
Simon [Wells] is incredibly thorough and thoughtful about the entire world.  He’s so great because his background in animation helps give all of his work purpose and thoughtfulness.

He’s an incredible director; he’s just so interesting and smart. He takes you right to the feeling, and comes up with different, fun ways of conveying that. This kind of filmmaking is such a great medium for him because he can be right there.  It’s much more like theater. You get to act with a sense of privacy, because the cameras are all far away and you’re just acting with the person that you’re acting with. Simon is not self-conscious about anything, and because he’s such a good, giving person, the actors don’t feel self-conscious having him there. We felt watched and supported; he gets it.

Related

CHECK OUT THESE RELATED ARCHIVES:

Filed Under: Interview

Search this site…

Get Social

RSSTwitterFacebook

Get new posts by e-mail

Get the latest in our daily e-mail

Latest Cinema & Home Ent. Reviews

Mortal Engines (Cinema Review)

Anna and the Apocalypse (Cinema Review)

Suspiria (Cinema Review)

Overlord (Cinema Review)

King of Thieves (Cinema Review)

Isle of Dogs (DVD Review)

Mission: Impossible – Fallout (Cinema Review)

Tomb Raider (Blu-ray Review)

The Bridge 4 (DVD Review)

My Friend Dahmer (Cinema Review)

Latest News & Trailers

Detective Pikachu Trailer – Pokemon is going live action with Ryan Reynolds

Toy Story 4 Teaser Trailer – Woody & the gang are coming back once more

Aladdin Teaser Trailer – Guy Ritchie directs Disney’s latest live-action adaptation

New Glass Trailer – The worlds of Unbreakable and Split meet

Aquaman Extended Trailer – Jason Momoa goes to war under the seas against Patrick Wilson

New Overlord Trailer – Soldiers take on Nazi-created zombies in the JJ Abrams produced movie

The Mule Trailer – Clint Eastwood is an octogenarian drug runner opposite Bradley Cooper

Vice Trailer – Christian Bale transforms into former Vice President Dick Cheney

Mary Queen of Scots Trailer – Saoirse Ronan & Margot Robbie get Elizabethan

New Mortal Engines Trailer – London is literally on the move in the steampunk fantasy

Handpicked MediaHandpicked MediaCopyright © 2025 Muser Media · Powered by WordPress & Genesis Framework · Log in
Movie Muser is a member of The Handpicked Media network

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish.Accept Read More
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT