Loosely based on the classic romantic novel, “The Scarlet Letter,” teen queen Emma Stone’s (Zombieland) “Easy A” centers around Olive, a straight-laced high school girl who, after faking the loss of her virginity, finds her life mirroring that of Hester Prynne. Rumors, drama and judgments ensue as Olive tries to use her newly-crowned floozy status to her own social gain.
In a recent interview with The Badger Herald, Stone remarked on her role as a modern day high school harlot, “Circumstantially, I really didn’t have anything in common with Olive because I was home schooled all through high school. But, as far as personality goes, I think she and I are eerily similar in a lot of ways. I really loved Olive’s perspective on things…Olive is wildly outspoken and she kind of takes [Hester Prynne] to the next level.”
As far as rumors go, Stone claims she’s been lucky to avoid the Hollywood rumor mill so far in her career, and she doesn’t seem too concerned with gossip, “I’ve got to say that rumors must be so much easier than the truth because with rumors at least you can wave them off.”
When asked about the film taking on a modern version of a great romantic novel Stone replied, “I think a big part of The Scarlet Letter’s influence is in that idea where when you’re young and you read something, or you watch something, you kind of tend to apply it to your life. I think since she’s reading that in class and she sees these kinds of eerie similarities, I think it almost pushes her to go further with it…and is just sort of inspired by the book instead of trying to live out the book.”
Stone said the moral of this story is applicable to any time period, explaining, “I think what [Olive] learns by lying to everyone and her life crumbling around her is the importance of honesty with your friends and your parents if you can be, even about sex. Hopefully, the lesson to be taken from this is the importance of honesty, and to not feel pressure from those outside sources. Olive, like any of us, needs to focus on staying true to your beliefs, and in terms of peer pressure trying to get past that and stay true to who you are.”
“Easy A” isn’t all about morals though, because there’s a healthy dose of sex, romance and comedy to keep things interesting. One of the best parts in the movie requires the starlet to fake a sex scene, and Stone had no problem giving out a few tips on faking the Big-O.
“There’s a lot of angles here,” she laughs. “I mean it depends on what kind of reaction you’re trying to create. The yelling and the banging on the wall and the jumping up and down seems to all work pretty well from my experience. But, if you want to be subtle, throw something against the wall once or twice.”
Overall, Stone is excited to show off her acting skills, fake orgasms and all, and can’t wait to see what her fans think of “Easy A”.
“There aren’t a lot of movies comparable to ‘Easy A,'” she said. “Even if you’re into the whole horror thing, you can go see the week’s horror film, or you can see me simulate fake sex and be satisfied in that way as well. Whatever you’re into you can probably find in this film-comedy, wholehearted laughs, it’s all here.”
Whether you’ve read “The Scarlet Letter” or not, “Easy A” has something for everyone. And, for the ladies on this campus who are having trouble getting their guy to this flick, just casually mention Stone’s faux sex scene because, let’s face it, what guy doesn’t want to watch a hot girl orgasm – even if it is fake?
“Easy A,” starring Emma Stone, Penn Badgley (Gossip Girl), and Amanda Bynes (Hairspray) opens Friday, Sept. 17.
