A Minute With: Gemma Arterton on "The Finest", solidarity among women

[April 14, 2017]   LONDON (Reuters) - Actress Gemma Arterton joins forces with fellow Britons Sam Claflin and Bill Nighy in heart-warming film "Their Finest", playing a writer asked to pen a movie to lift morale in World War Two Britain.

The 31-year-old is known for her roles in "Quantum of Solace" and "Gemma Bovery" and recently took to the London stage in "Saint Joan".

In an interview with Reuters, Arterton spoke about her new movie as well as gender disparity in film. She also called for solidarity among women after critics criticized fellow actress Emma Watson for a revealing Vanity Fair photo shoot, which they said betrayed the "Harry Potter" star's feminist ideals.

Here are excerpts from the interview:

Q: What was it like to play this role?

A: "It was such a great opportunity for me to play someone so strong-willed but not necessarily a front-footed fighter like I usually play. It was nice to play somebody reluctant and observant and shy."

Q: Your character Catrin offers audiences a window into what it was like to be a woman in the 1940s in the film industry. What is it like now?

A: "I think that it's a really great time to be a woman in the film industry at the moment because I mean we've had this sort of big hoo-ha which is needed ... We've brought Hollywood and the rest of the world has brought up these problems, these disparities and actually now people are starting to see the changes and people are starting to talk about it."

Q: What do you think when you see someone like Emma Watson being criticized for not being a real feminist after the photo shoot she did? Does it make you angry?

A: "Oh yeah. It's a really - it's weird you know. I think we should just be supportive of each other. I think Emma Watson is an incredible role model and she's done so much for women's rights ... Part of the problem is that ... sometimes the biggest enemy is other women not supporting each other and we should just support each other, it's ridiculous."

Q: In this film the characters are making a movie with the hope of getting America to join the war. How important is cinema today and does that affect what movies you chose to make?

A: "Sometimes in really desperate times great art is made because it is one of the most powerful tools ... They try to take it away from people but actually it's something, I think it's part of human nature to express."

(Reporting By Sarah Mills and George Sargent; Editing by Andrew Heavens)

[© 2017 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.]

Copyright 2017 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.