Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman on Trauma, Honesty and Witches | Ap Interview

Hello. Hi. I am so excited for you. What an exciting thing to come back to. I mean, So many thoughts went through my mind when I saw this film. I rewatched the first one just before going into the second one and that was the perfect way to do it I think. It just ticked all the right boxes, it lined everything up perfectly. One of my first thoughts was it's good to see that Gillian has stopped smoking. In the first film you were ripping darts like crazy. Sign of the times, I guess. Yeah. But yeah, thoroughly enjoyed it. I'm glad to see she stopped smoking too. I know, so nice. Thank God. But yes, amazing film. And I read that both of you said that you had gone back and obviously re-watched the first. I'm curious what you saw. Who do you see when you watch yourselves back, you know, 28 years ago? I didn't so much as go back and watch it myself. I watched it with my, I had my children and their friends watch it because I wanted the fresh eyes. Interesting. Wow. Yeah, I had them watch, both boys and girls, to sort of see how they, because we were embarking on the new chapter, the new baby witches coming in. I wanted to understand it from a point of view I didn't have. So that's what I had. I wanted to see what they had to say. And I watched it and went, wow, it's really good. Oh, I'm glad you can see that. Yeah. Yeah. I did. I loved it. So there you go. There you go. When you saw other people watching it, were you like, oh, I can see why people are resonating with this so much, like seeing people watch it? I can now. I mean, I had so much drama from the press junket from the first one because it was brutal. It was brutal. Um, we were not well received because we were too much, too witchy, too many women, too sweet tones, too many tones. I'm like, have you lived a day in a life as a woman? But, but, but this is where social media can work magic. And then it creates a place for a community to find each other and find each other quickly. And I had no idea that it had found a new life or a life. And that, to me, is what was really emotional. I was like, and I was still harboring so much, like, shame. I was like, oh, my God, the things that were said. Like, I'm sorry, you know, we thought we were doing something nice. And it turns out we did. It was just 28 and change years too early. Right. You know, I think it found the people that needed it. I agree. Maybe when they needed it. I agree 100%. And then they went back. And people go back and re-watch this, which is what's kind of extraordinary. And it was made for the movies. The landscape, the scope, the house, the storytelling, the music, you know, it's not as valued or should be valued more than it has been. And I think people are coming back to the theater to have that experience communally, but be stimulated by the score. And you notice that with Dolby Sound, where it lands, and you just sense things that you don't get sitting at home. So we made it for that. And it's so interesting that you said that first press junket, you were, you know, traumatized by it. Yeah, but here we are, and how lucky are we that we're still here to be able to go, reap the benefits and the rewards of our work. Crazy. I mean, that must be another dream. First off, for something that you did so long ago to find footing, and as I say, find the right people. As public opinion kind of shifted, you know, streaming, VHS culture, did your feelings about the film change? Like, you know? I didn't know. Not until I heard how popular it had become on social media, which was like six years ago. I wasn't on social. That's how recent it is for me. People started just coming into my life who would go, you want to know my favorite film? I feel it's Practical Magic. And suddenly I was like, what? Wow. Okay. And then they would recite lines and they would know scenes. And And that's when I went. And this was a while back. And then it just slowly kept snowballing. And that's when I was, I was. pleasantly surprised and then it was like oh I'm going to re-watch it and in and that's when I was able to release into it but that's happened to me on many films of mine because I think it is traumatic when you first make a film and you watch it for the first time no matter how good it is you're still kind of in shock almost because it's hard to watch yourself and to Be objective. Right. Right. I bet. You know, legacy sequels are kind of a tightrope walk in Hollywood. You have to satisfy those people that memorize that VHS tape and onboard a whole new crowd of people. Where do you draw the line between fan service and telling a new story, but then also make sure that the sequel feels earned? Easy. Just nitpick and poke and say this. There were intentional moments in the script development. Alice Hoffman wrote an incredibly rich book. But there's also surprising things that happen as you're building a set. And we're like, we need to do this over here. You just have to be there for the whole process to see where the things bloom. And you can catch them in time to execute them. So literal and organic. But this one told us what it wanted. This one was almost like if you build it, they will come. If you build the house, everything else seemed to show up. Everything felt so intentional in this film. It was. It really did. But there was a lot of play, too. It wasn't like, oh, my gosh, this is mapped out exactly. I mean, there was still so much room for the playfulness, which I think is what this film kind of vibrates, or hopefully it does. You build the foundation and then just let it go and let our spirit go where it needs to go. Did being producers then kind of, like, I don't know, does it make you feel more protective? Absolutely. Explain that. And also you carry the burden of needing to be fiscally responsible. It was an incredibly tough fiscal time. The dollar was, we were hedging the dollar going, yeah, we're in London and trying to, when do we land? And then you sort of stuck with that amount. We're not a big superhero film, so you don't get the luxury of a big price tag, but we also had the benefit of shooting in London where the story took place and the history of it. It's already there. So the house really was a nucleus and if we could execute that, which we did on a back lot and had this entire muddy area to resurrect this house and the garden. Where we couldn't have afforded it. We were talking about going to Devon. That was an eight-hour drive and put everyone up. The pragmatics. All that stuff. So as long as you can keep a fresh perspective on the story and the joy of the story while dealing with the practicals, it was hard, but it wanted to be made. It just wanted to be made. We figured it out. And we also knew... The responsibility of bringing it in on a certain price, because then you go, OK, we can breathe a bit. I think when a budget blows out, you're like, oh, my gosh, the stress. And we don't need any more stress in our lives. It's stressful enough. Yes, yes. How do you think the definition of kind of a witch in cinema has changed over the time? My daughter said something really amazing. She goes, why is it that women are called witches and men are called warlocks? And I went, from the mouths of babes. Thank Witches to me is a negative, a witch has always been a negative connotation. It was presented that way. Anyway. The word is being taken back and there's ownership of it from the community saying I'm a witch and I'm proud, but it's never been said with love and respect. And those women from back in the times of the witch trials you. and throughout history, the shaman and all the women who gave their knowledge and their healing aspects. I think we're now toe-dipping into that, and I think it's beautiful about Jet and Franny is that a line that says they've always had the light on at home for anyone who needed anything, even those that judged them, and there's a scene where you're like, yeah, but they'll never admit that they were here. You know, they'll come here, but they'll never admit that they were. And that's okay with the aunts. They'll still share what they have. The aunts' storyline was beautiful. Beautiful and brutal and just sacrificial. And they're exquisite in show, right? Crazy. Yeah. So well done. We're so lucky to have them. Yeah. Um, And, I mean, you two. The chemistry has been there since the get-go, it's been praised and spoken about, but in an industry that seems to love pitting women against each other, how have you ensured that this endured, on-screen, off-screen, what's the secret? Open, honest, willing and able. And you also go, I'm here. With all my flaws and all my virtues, here I am. But the thing you said about pitting women up against each other, it's so that we take each other out so we don't have power in numbers and we don't become a community. Versus this household under this roof, that's exactly what they are, a community, and welcoming everybody. And we're not threatening anybody who wants to No. We want you to succeed. We want you to be fire. We want you to have everything that you want. It doesn't take anything away from me who doesn't have that. We want you to have what you want. And as long as it's safe and it's in support, we're there for you. But I think that's the difference, is that we're showing that why were women pitted up against each other is to eliminate, I think. And we're not going anywhere, you know. I'm not going anywhere. It's so beautiful to see you both on screen together. Thank you for such great questions. Thank you. Thoughtful questions. Very deep, thoughtful questions. Well, thank you. I appreciate it. I appreciate this film. I want to end by just asking what you're most proud of. That we did it, that we were able to get it made with the people we made it with and every artisan that built that house and brought the details back in and our composer and the soundtrack contributors that wanted to contribute. We get to work with these incredible artists and all tell one story and it just got done for the budget. It got done for the budget. I think everybody that loved the original is just going to Take this in. It's going to find a new audience. Yeah. Congratulations. Thank you so much. I'm so thrilled for you. Well, you have such a beautiful energy. You're like, you have such a, just. I might send it. My anxiety just went. Yeah. Phew. Really beautiful. I love what I do. Well, I, you know, you feel it. Thank you. I moved here nine years ago to do this and I feel lucky every day. Well, thank God you're doing it. It's your heart. Thank you. Thank you for that. Thank you. I'll see you tomorrow at the premiere. Thank you so much. Be safe, ladies. We'll see you tomorrow. Okay. Thank you. Bye. Thank you. Thank you. Bye.