Interview: Toni Collette and Naomi Ackie on Bong Joon-Ho's 'Mickey 17'.

Director Bong Joon-Ho has returned with his new satirical sci-fi film, 'Mickey 17' - starring Robert Pattinson in the titular role. Pattinson is bolstered throughout the film by star-studded cast mates: Toni Collette, Naomi Ackie, Steven Yeun, and Mark Ruffalo. 

The film follows a disposable employee Mickey Barnes (Pattinson), known as an "expendable" who is sent on an expedition with the human colony of Nilfheim. Mickey undertakes numerous dangerous tasks he is not expected to survive with a new body printed after each death - all in the name of scientific discovery. 

Toni Collette undertakes the role of Nilfheim leader and attention-seeking politician wife Ylfa who is obsessed with both control and sauces. Naomi Ackie stars as Nasha, Mickey's love interest in the film, who works on the ship as a pillar of the community - firefighter, policeman, and more. 

Coup De Main sat down with Toni and Naomi to discuss the red flags of space-vacationers, notes they received from Director Bong, and the rickety but futuristic nature of the human printer... 

COUP DE MAIN: I’d love to know where you guys stand on the viral discussion of whether to trust people who want to go to space? Popstar Olivia Rodrigo has said: "I just think if you wanna go to space, you’re a little too full of yourself. I think it’s just weird." Do you think it's a red flag? 
NAOMI ACKIE: Oh my god!
TONI COLLETTE: I think we should maybe focus on taking care of our own planet. 
NAOMI: Amen. Amen Toni! Yes, I agree. 
TONI: Because undoubtedly, if there are certain people who do have the means to get to another planet, they'll screw that one up as well. 
NAOMI: Stop colonising other planets, and let's just chill out with the one we have because we're not doing great right now! Do I trust those people? Yeah. I mean, they've done nothing to me YET. But if things go really wrong, and they're like, "Alright, see ya!" Then yeah, I'm gonna be pissed.

CDM: During filming, did Director Bong give you any advice or notes that have stuck with you? 
TONI: The funniest note he gave to Mark [Ruffalo] and myself, he said, "I just want it to always feel as though you've either just had sex or you're about to have sex."
NAOMI: And that shows! It shows!
TONI: You think so? 
NAOMI: Yeah! You guys are all over each other!
TONI: It's very funny because they're horrible people, but they're so in love with each other.
NAOMI: But the love is pure.
TONI: He said, "It's really sweet." And I was like, "How do we infuse sweet here?" But he was obviously right.
NAOMI: What can I remember? A lot of Nasha was just like, "More!" I start from a very small place because I get a bit embarrassed about acting sometimes - like, "Oh... I'm doing a thing!" It was just like, "No, go there," because Nasha is the person who is ballsy and she's one to 100 like that. <snaps fingers> 
TONI: She leads the uprising.
NAOMI: Yeah, she's kind of like a coiled spring, so just giving it more and really going for it was something that I think he told me to do.
TONI: Did it feel good when you did it? 
NAOMI: Oh, it felt fantastic. I wish I was like that in my actual life, but I'm not. 
TONI: You can be!
NAOMI: No, I'm just too shy!

CDM: It really felt like there was so much lore, and the world of 'Mickey 17' was so thoroughly built when we join the story as an audience. Were there any parts of the world in the film that particularly stood out to you both?
NAOMI: Oh man, I guess my favourite thing was that I think my first scene was in the lab and looking at the human printer, and Bong was like, "Hey, look how cool it is!" And he was showing that it prints out like an actual printer.
TONI: Like a fax machine!
NAOMI: Yeah, like an old fax machine. And it kind of reverses back and stuff, so I was like, "Wow, it feels futuristic and yet human." Sometimes futuristic stuff can feel totally other worldly and instant and this felt kind of chickity... that is not a word, but... rackety.
TONI: Rickety? <laughs> Like a dial-up phone.
NAOMI: <laughs> Yeah and that combination - those details made it feel real.

'Mickey 17' is play now in New Zealand cinemas...

Watch a trailer below...