I
IN THE HOWDY-DO WORLD OF SMALL-TOWN MAGAZINE MEDIA, OFTENTIMES ITS' A TRIP THE WAY A SUBSTANTIVE INTERVIEW/FEATURE FALLS INTO ONE'S LAP. IN THE CASE OF MY FAVORITE ONE-ON-ONE SITDOWN IN SEVEN YEARS PUBLISHING V3 MAGAZINE, A HALF-HOUR POWWOW WITH HOLLYWOOD'S MOST POTENTIAL-PACKED YOUNG ACTOR, CHLOË GRACE MORETZ, HINGED ON—OF ALL MUNDANE THINGS—AN OIL CHANGE. "WHAT'S SHE BEEN IN THAT I MIGHT'VE SEEN?" I ASKED RUSS GATES OF QUICK TUNE & LUBE, MORETZ'S UNCLE, SOMETIME IN THE SPRING OF 2012. WE HAD STUMBLED RANDOMLY, SERENDIPITOUSLY, ONTO THE SUBJECT AS I WAITED FOR MY AGING SUV TO EMERGE FROM ONE OF HIS MAINTENANCE BAYS. "OH MAN, LET'S SEE..." HE SAID, MULTI-TASKING HIS DESKTOP PC AND STAPLER WITH THE DEFTNESS OF A MODEL T LINE WORKER FASTENING HOT RIVETS. "SHE WAS IN HUGO. SHE'S IN THE NEW TIM BURTON MOVIE, DARK SHADOWS. HMMM..." HANDS NEVER IDLING, HE EYED THE CEILING 'TIL HE SURFACED ANOTHER. "500 DAYS OF SUMMER. SHE WAS IN KICK-A..." THE THIRD TITLE HAD PERKED MY EARS. "500 DAYS OF SUMMER, YEAH? I REALLY LIKED THAT ONE." (THERE WAS A YOUNG FEMALE ACTOR WHO'D STOLEN THE OPENING SCENE FOR ME.) "WHO'D SHE PLAY?"—FINGERS CROSSED—"TOM'S LITTLE SISTER? IF SO, THAT GIRL HAS A SERIOUS FUTURE." HUGO (Paramount/GK Films), opposite co-star Asa Butterfield ELEVEN MONTHS LATER IN APRIL 2013, AS A CASUALLY CHIC'D, LEATHER KNEEBOOTED MORETZ BOUNDED DOWN THE STAIRS OF RUSS AND PAM GATES' HOME OFF HORSELEG CREEK, I FOUND MYSELF JUGGLING AN ODD BEVVY OF EMOTIONS: 1) THE MILD ENDORPHIN WOOSHHH I FEEL BEFORE INTERVIEWING A PUBLIC FIGURE WHOSE WORK I RESPECT. 2) A PINCH OF INSECURITY THAT PERHAPS, AT THE AGE OF 33, I HAVEN'T ACCOMPLISHED NEARLY ENOUGH. AND 3) HOPEFULNESS, GIVEN THAT WISE EYES TEND TO PRELUDE FABULOUS INTERVIEWS. DARK SHADOWS (Warner Bros./Village Roadshow)
w/ Oscar winner Julianne Moore,
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vini vidi vici / v3 magazine
CARRIE (MGM/Screen Gems)
MORETZ CERTAINLY HAS THEM— DEEPLY INTELLIGENT, COW-LASHED, CONVENTION-DICING EYES—AND NOT LONG AFTER SHE BEGINS TO FIELD QUESTIONS ON HER HERETO BRIEF BUT SMASHING CAREER, I FEEL A FOURTH EMOTION SILENTLY STIRRING: ANXIETY—AS IN, PLEASE DON'T LET FAME PILLOW-SMOTHER THIS PROVEN YOUNG ARTIST'S PROMISE OF AN ICONIC CAREER. WHY DID I HAVE SUCH A PERSONAL STAKE IN IT, YOU ASK? MAYBE IT'S BECAUSE MORETZ APPEARS TO BE THE REAL DEAL IN BOTH TALENT AND CLARITY OF PERSPECTIVE, AS YOU'LL FIND IN THE Q&A TO FOLLOW
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