Interview: Mary Elizabeth Winstead On Ramona’s Growth in ‘Scott Pilgrim Takes Off’ and TV Topics

The world does not offer many redos, unless it’s the world of Scott Pilgrim that is. Perhaps it would be more accurate to say Ramona Flowers’ world. For Netflix’s anime entry into the Scott Pilgrim universe, Scott Pilgrim Takes Off, creator Bryan Lee O’Malley and series co-creator BenDavid Grabinski delivered the ultimate switcheroo (spoilers ahead) when killing off of the series titular character and shifted the focus to his girlfriend, Ramona Flowers (Mary Elizabeth Winstead).

Not only did the decision provide a complete shift in perspective, it allowed Ramona to revisit her relationships with the seven evil exes, learn about herself, right some wrongs of the past and put on her detective cap along the way. Mary Elizabeth Winstead was our guest on TV Topics, where she discussed returning to Ramona in-depth after an over a decade expanded viewpoint on the character.

Winstead also answered some TV Topics questions that give a glimpse into her TV viewing past, during which shows like The Comeback, The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, My So-Called Life, and others were mentioned, even Vanderpump Rules. Find out why by listening to our full conversation in TV Topics and read some excerpts below.

Back when you first played Ramona for the film, did you feel her story was incomplete? 

I don’t think I ever felt it was incomplete in terms of wanting to know desperately what was going to happen next or anything like that. I did think that there was a lot more to her that I would have loved to explore. Obviously, when you’re making something that’s based on a book or based on a series of books, there’s going to be a lot more in there than you’re able to capture in one film. So I think I always felt it would be fun to be able to explore all these other little bits and pieces that we didn’t get to see of her in the film.

But I wasn’t exactly wondering what’s going to happen next because I thought it was such a lovely ending, the way that that film wrapped up and I thought it was really perfect. So whenever ideas about sequels were bandied about, I was sort of like, oh yeah, that’d be great. But I didn’t really ever take it too seriously because I thought it was kind of like the perfect, you know, full circle that the way it was handled in the film.

So what was your first reaction when, or your initial reaction when you found out that Ramona was going to be the front and center for this series?

You know, it was really unexpected and lovely. I think I thought it was going to be amazing, but I don’t think I really realized what it was going to feel like until I was there doing it. And I didn’t realize how much it was going to mean to me.

It really meant a lot to me to be able to have Ramona kind of telling this story in her own way and to be kind of taking the reins because I think for a lot of the film, she was a bit passive, you know, she’s sort of watching all this happen around her and because of her, but there’s only a few kind of points in the movie where she gets to actually kind of take charge. And now in this series, she’s doing it throughout the whole series. And that was incredibly cathartic and meaningful for me to get to do that.

Provides some closure for just about every single character and kind of provides closure for the film too. So were you surprised about how much it tackled and how effectively it did so? 

Absolutely. I don’t think I ever expected something so kind of profound to come out of this. You know, I just thought it would be so much fun to get to all get back together and do a fun animation together and it would be great for the fans of the film to have a little something extra that they could all kind of partake in. But I don’t think I expected something so special to come out of it that would be on par with the film that we made, you know? And so I’m still in awe that Bryan and BenDavid were able to pull that off. It seems like kind of an impossible feat and I think that they did it.

I think that that’s because there was this decade of time, of growth, that Bryan was able to use to create something totally new, a perspective on the whole experience, the experience of being in your 20s, which was kind of the Scott Pilgrim experience for the characters and for all of us personally, and kind of bringing the wisdom of time to that. And I think he created something so beautiful and I’m just continually impressed by his ability to kind of take those inner feelings and turn it into something poppy and fun and colorful and funny, but also really heartfelt.

So what was it like to explore her and like to really dig deep into what caused the pain and how she dealt with it? 

I was just so grateful to have the opportunity to do that because, you know, I think it was all kind of there when we were doing the movie and I kind of felt all of these things for her. I really felt a lot of empathy for her in terms of how she was feeling and that vulnerability that she was covering up and that she was afraid of and all of those things.

But I think, you know, it wasn’t really her story. So we didn’t really get to see so much of what was underneath that guardedness. So I felt really grateful to get to kind of unveil that a little bit more and people behind that curtain and to get to see her have that realization about herself.

You know, I think in that scene with Roxy is when it really kind of clicks for her, what she’s been doing her whole life that she’s just runs away when she gets scared or when people get too close to her and, you know, and feeling regret for that. And so it was great to get to humanize her in that way, that there are, that she is vulnerable and that she is a loving person, but that she’s afraid. And so I was just really thankful to get to show that because I love her so much as a character.

She’s so close to me because of, you know, what a huge impact this film had on on our lives for all of us who made it. So it was just special to get to show all those different qualities for her. Is there something that you hope people take away from this? Um, you know, I guess everyone’s going to take something different depending on where they’re at in their lives.

And I think certainly people who are, you know, pushing 40 like me who saw the film when they were in their 20s and had a certain relationship with it and can now have a new relationship to it. I think through this show, we’ll probably have similar feelings that we who made it had, you know, in terms of, you know, going through your 20s and coming to a very different place in your life and getting to reflect on that. I’m also really interested to see what young people think about it and how they connect with it and what their thoughts are on these characters and where they’ve ended up at this point.

And I hope that it makes them kind of think about their lives and where they’re at and their regrets and and their hopes and all of those things. But I’m curious. I think everyone will take something different. Hopefully they connect to it and they have fun with it. Ultimately is the most important thing. 

What was it like? I’m sure you’re an actor, so it’s not that big of a deal. But did you have to do hours of like sound effects too – “oof””oh!””ahhh’ – especially being anime, it seems like half the dialogue are these sounds. 

That was probably what I needed the most kind of direction on, because most of it, it was it was really they were just telling me just be natural, be, you know, however you think Ramona should be in the scene. And they were very kind of hands off with it.

But when it came to those sounds, it wasn’t just do fighting noises. It was like, it needs to be fighting noises, but anime fighting noises. So there is a specificity to that that they wanted me to bring.

And so I was I was just glad that they were kind of eventually I would just be like, OK, just tell me what you want to sound like just so I can hit all the beats like exactly how you want it to be. So they kind of helped guide me in that. But yeah, that was that’s the kind of thing you have to just really let go of any shame or embarrassment and just make weird noises by yourself in a recording booth.

The toughest is probably doing the scenes where we had to kiss. I mean, that’s really awkward to stand in a recording booth and try to make kissing noises by yourself.

Really, I was just like sort of kissing my hand and trying to make it really audible, which is just very, very silly and uncomfortable. 

So after reconciling with her exes and with herself, she finally wears Ramona finally wears her true hair color. It’s one of you talk a little bit about the importance of her hair color. 

It was really interesting watching this show because I actually got something from it just watching how they animated those parts where she’s dying her hair because I sort of realized that it was almost like therapeutic for her as well. Obviously, I think in the film, I’d always kind of seen it as she’s running away. She’s sort of becoming a new person. She’s shedding this last identity. That is what it is. But there’s also something there’s also a comfort to it for her.

That’s the way that they animated that kind of showed that to me with, you know, just the music they chose. And there was something so kind of soft and beautiful about it. And so I could see how it wasn’t as as negative of a thing as maybe it might have appeared to be.

So the fact that she could kind of let go of something that was really maybe her main source of coping in a way by the end of it, I think really speaks a lot to her growth, you know, that she could say, ‘OK, I don’t need that anymore.’ It’s like my security blanket and I can I can let go. I think says a lot, but I thought it was really beautiful the way that they chose to to to animate that and handle that. The fact that Ramona gets to go on that self-love journey, it’s a really amazing thing.

So do Ramona and Scott have a future together and does it matter at this point?

You know, I don’t think it really matters so much in the sense that I think they’ll both be happy, you know, whatever happens and whether they’re together or not or and that was kind of in a way what the film was saying also, you know, it was sort of like we’re just going to try and whatever happens, happens.

I think in this at the end of this, that’s kind of what you find out is that people are not perfect and you can’t control what happens in life. All you can do is try and be your best self and kind of go forward every day from there and realize that, like we were saying, life is beautiful. We’re lucky to have the chance to be alive. If we look at it from that perspective, then maybe we’ll be able to share in it together and make something out of it. 

Be sure to watch all of Mary Elizabeth Winstead’s amazing work in Scott Pilgrim Takes Off, Ahsoka, A Gentleman in Moscow, season three of Fargo and 10 Cloverfield Lane, All About Nina, and so much more. And of course listen to our TV Topics full conversation, below.