 Onscreen, the girls display enough female firepower to give Lara Croft, Charlie's Angels and all the "Kill Bill" gals a run for their money. But while chatting in a Los Angeles hotel suite, Monaghan and Russell want to make one thing clear: They don't believe that roles like this are just "action fashion."
"I think times are changing, and now there are more roles out there where women are shown being in control," says Monaghan. "It's not that we feel we have to do action roles - it's that these opportunities are there now."
"I like films that feature strong but flawed women," he continues. "When you see how strong the women are in, for example, James Cameron's movies - like the 'Terminator' films or 'Aliens' or 'Titanic' - you see that these are more than just objectified objects of desire."
Up until now, Russell and Monaghan - who were both born on March 23, 1976 (Keri in suburban California, Michelle in small-town Iowa) - have taken different paths in their movie careers.
After "Felicity," Russell played a war bride in "We Were Soldiers," and was Joan Allen's dutiful daughter in last year's indie "The Upside of Anger." Monaghan, however, did a trio of action thrillers ("The Bourne Supremacy," "Mr. & Mrs. Smith" and "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang") before appearing in the drama "North Country." But they share a view that their "M:i:III" characters are not simply updated James Bond babes.
"It was a personal joy to do this film with Keri," says Abrams, who makes the leap to big-screen directing with "M:i:III." "Every take made me laugh - like, 'There's little Felicity running around as a lethal weapon!'" He also has high praise for Monaghan, whom he spotted in an audition tape for the Keanu Reeves comic book adaptation "Constantine" (her scenes from that film were cut). He immediately envisioned her as the love interest for Ethan Hunt: "Michelle is terrific and beautiful, but not the kind of beautiful where you think, 'Gimme a break, it's not real.'" |
Gone, Baby, Gone
Mission: Impossible III
Syriana (Scenes Deleted)
North Country
Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang
Mr. & Mrs. Smith
Constantine (Scenes Deleted)
