"Ghost World" Suppressed emotions behind the beautiful world

Birth of Enid and Rebecca

Initially, Thora Birch was offered the role of Rebecca rather than Enid. Director Terry Zwigoff said he wanted to avoid a conflict with Thora Birch, who had already played an alienated girl in American Beauty (Sam Mendes/1999). However, Thora Birch's extraordinary enthusiasm for the role of Enid made the director change his mind. Thora Birch gained 20 kilograms to play the role of Enid. Thora Birch reflects on her strong feelings at that time as follows:

"I fell in love with the character and the world. When I first read the script, Enid spoke to me as someone who could say a lot of what I wanted to say, the way I wanted to say it." That's why this movie is so personal to me.'' (*1)

"Ghost World" (c)Photofest / Getty Images

On the other hand, Scarlett Johansson, who played the role of Rebecca, received praise for her performance in `` In the Wind of Montana '' (Robert Redford/1998) and has been attracting attention as a genius child actress. I was patiently waiting for the day when I could meet you. Terry Zwigoff, who had been impressed by Scarlett Johansson's performances in `` Diary of a Stray Cat '' (Lisa Krueger/1996) and ``In the Wind's Wind,'' decided against the studio's opposition to hire her. Select. Terry Zwigoff praises Scarlett Johansson in similar terms to how Robert Redford described her as "a 13-year-old about to turn 30."

``Scarlett was only 15 at the time, but she had the composure to play someone a little older. In fact, she probably had enough poise to play someone who was 35.'' (*3)

Thora Birch and Scarlett Johansson often spent time together during filming. The two would go out to a nearby theme park every Being There they got. The making-of video for ``Ghost World'' shows the two of them hugging each other in a heartwarming way during filming. Scarlett Johansson says that the cast and crew were like a team, looking back on the extremely enjoyable filming of the film.

``We chose Scarlett and Sora because...they're both a little quirky. Their line delivery was so quirky, exquisite, and perfect.'' (Terry Zwigoff) (*2)

*1 THora Birch On The Cult Legacy Of 'Ghost World'(UPROXX.com)

https://uproxx.com/movies/thora-birch-uproxx-interview-ghost-world/

*2 “Scarlett Johansson: Why We Love Her” by Brandon Hearst (P-Vine Books)

*3 The Sly Poetics of Terry Zwigoff(Interview Magazine.com)

https://www.interviewmagazine.com/film/terry-zwigoff-metrograph

Sensitivity to alienation