Emma Stone has said she was left “scared” by certain elements of her preparation for Ari Aster’s new film, Eddington.
The forthcoming movie from the Midsommar and Hereditary director has been described as a state-of-the-nation western-comedy that riffs on Covid and cults.
Stone, 36, stars alongside Pedro Pascal, 50, and Joaquin Phoenix, 50, in the film, which received its premiere on Friday (16 May) at Cannes Film Festival and earned a standing ovation.
In the film, Stone plays Louise, the wife of Joaquin Phoenix’s sheriff, who falls down a conspiracy rabbit hole when she meets Austin Butler’s guru.
The actor, who has won two Oscars for La La Land (2017) and Poor Things (2024), had to enter the world of conspiracy theories to prepare for her role, which led to a disturbing change in her social media algorithms.
Stone spoke about her research for the role at the Cannes Film Festival press conference, stating: “The only additional thing that scared me a little bit in the algorithm system was looking into some of the things that are in this film that haven’t been in my algorithm, unfortunately added them to my algorithm.”
“Because once you start Googling it, you start seeing more and more things,” she said. “So it’s a real rabbit hole, very quickly.”
Stone said she is still seeing the effects of her research, stating: “Unfortunately, I’m still getting fed some crazy s***.”
Produced by A24, also behind Aster’s previous films Midsommar and Hereditary, Eddington is set at the height of the pandemic in May 2020 and follows “a standoff between a small town sheriff (Phoenix) and mayor (Pascal)” that “sparks a powder keg as neighbour is pitted against neighbour in Eddington, New Mexico”.
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The film received a positive reaction at Cannes, with Phoenix reportedly growing emotional at the standing ovation.
The Hollywood Reporter noted Phoenix “tearing up” but described a “somewhat muted standing ovation.”
Aster joked to the crowd: “I don’t know what you think. Thank you for being here. I feel very privileged to be here. It’s a dream come true. Thank you so much for having me. And, I don’t know – sorry? I don’t know.”
The 38-year-old New York-born director added: “This was a great experience. I love all these people around me.”
In a four-star review of Eddington for The Independent, critic Sophie Monks Kaufman wrote: “This is Aster’s funniest film to date, and makes use of an ever expanding and shifting cast to dot the 150-minute runtime with well-observed comic details and visual payoffs. These often riff on the deadpan reactions of the Black and Native American characters to Joe and his meathead deputy.
“Aster’s enduring preoccupation with the paranoid universes we build in our minds takes on a less sympathetic, more malign aspect when this self-absorption wears a law enforcement badge and carries a rifle.”
Eddington is slated for a US theatrical release on 18 July, with a UK date yet to be confirmed.
