At the recent press day for Hairspray, Michelle Pfeiffer also talked a bit about the forthcoming Stardust, based on Neil Gaiman’s graphic novel, and directed by Matthew Vaughn. “It’s one of those movies that’s kind of hard to describe in
one sentence or one word, it’s kind of everything rolled into one,” she says. “It’s sort of
a fantasy/mythic/romance adventure… it’s a lot of different
worlds going on at one time. Somehow it all comes together and it all works;
it’s one of those times where everyone being in a different movie isn’t a
bad thing.”

Pfeiffer plays 5,000-year-old witch Lamia (“It’s hard to say which one’s more evil — [her] or Velma Von Tussle; it’s a toss-up”), but she says the film’s heavy prosthetics left her a bit cranky. “I did not enjoy [those], that was four to
five hours of make-up every day, and it was just not pleasant,” says Pfeiffer. “In fact, I was told
by the producers of Hairspray
that I was not allowed to talk to John (Travolta) about
prosthetics. They said, ‘It’d be better if you didn’t swap horror stories…’ But
John fortunately had done his homework and was prepared, and he knew how to set
things up in a way that would make things as comfortable for him as possible.
I, on the other hand, was unprepared, and just got through it.”

In the end it was worth it, though, Pfeiffer says. “The movie is stunning, it is. It’s really beautiful. I
mean — I’m not, I look hideous. Some of the older parts I look OK, but
we poke fun at this quest for eternal youth and the degree to which women will
go to to get it. …When I talked with
Matthew (Vaughn) that was the thing that intrigued me, because it wasn’t really
in the script or story. The storyline of eternal youth was, but we decided to
have a little bit of fun with it, and we do. It’s kind of silly.”
Stardust opens August 10 nationwide, but I’ll be seeing the film Monday, so I’ll post some thoughts on it this coming week. For Sienna Miller’s thoughts on the movie, meanwhile, click here.