\n\tConsidering she\u2019s been fighting for her life on screen for half of her own life, it seems like Newton has moved past the term scream queen. \u201cEmpress\u201d has always seemed like the logical next step if royal titles are the basis of the moniker. But Newton says there\u2019s no consensus for any of it despite a horror filmography that also includes Landon\u2019s Freaky, Lisa Frankenstein, Abigail, Ready or Not 2: Here I Come<\/a> and the upcoming White Elephant.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cI\u2019ve done a lot of interviews, and some people have said, \u2018You\u2019re becoming a scream queen.\u2019 Others have said,\u00a0 \u2018You are a scream queen.\u2019 And now you\u2019re calling me an empress,\u201d Newton tells The Hollywood Reporter in support of the July 29 release of The Devil\u2019s Mouth. \u201cSo it depends on who you talk to, and time will tell.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tIn The Devil\u2019s Mouth, the Miami and Los Angeles-raised actor plays Sara, who\u2019s the fifth wheel during a college friend group\u2019s Thailand vacation. The quintet decide to tour an underwater cave system along the coast, and as expected, the experience quickly goes awry. The story, in a way, is about the danger of not being able to take direction. In other words, it\u2019s important to understand when to lead and when to be led.<\/p>\n \n\tFor Newton, the shark-centric horror of The Devil\u2019s Mouth was not what compelled her to accept the Thailand-based film that shot immediately after wrapping Radio Silence\u2019s Ready or Not 2: Here I Come.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cI\u2019ve wanted to do more action. I\u2019ve felt like there\u2019s something that I can bring to an action film because I can do [the action],\u201d Newton says. \u201cThat was why I did this one. I wanted to test myself and see where I\u2019m really at, physically.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tNewton shot a handful of movies last year, one of which is Marvel Studios\u2019 highly anticipated Avengers: Doomsday<\/a>. Newton conducted Devil\u2019s Mouth interviews just a couple days before she\u2019d appear as Scott Lang\/Ant-Man\u2019s daughter, Cassie Lang, in the first official trailer<\/a>. Thus, she was extra paranoid about saying anything consequential, but the experience with Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame directors, the Russo brothers, far exceeded her preconceived notions.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cIt was better [than expected]. The Russo brothers love these movies. I felt it, and I felt empowered,\u201d Newton says.<\/p>\n \n\tBelow, during a conversation with THR, Newton, who\u2019s widely considered to be Hollywood\u2019s best golfer, also discusses how Ready or Not 2: Here I Come was written for her in more ways than one.<\/p>\n \n\t***<\/p>\n \n\tDid you basically say goodbye to your pet goat on the Toronto set of Ready or Not 2 and fly straight to Thailand for The Devil\u2019s Mouth?<\/strong><\/p>\n \n\tNEWTON<\/strong> How did you know!? Yeah, there were two days in between. I went home, changed my suitcase and then flew out again.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\tKathryn Newton as Sara in The Devil\u2019s Mouth.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCourtesy of Amazon MGM Studios<\/p>\n \n\tThat\u2019s two physically challenging jobs back to back.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n \n\tNEWTON<\/strong> Yeah, I remember talking to Jeff [Wadlow] when I was on set of Ready or Not 2, and he was worried about me. He was like, \u201cAre you working out? Are you going to be in shape?\u201d And I was like, \u201cYou have no idea.\u201d (Laughs.) We were running for our lives every day on Ready or Not, and I was in the best shape of my life, so I was excited for The Devil\u2019s Mouth. I did four or five movies last year, and it was a dream come true. That\u2019s really all you want.<\/p>\n \n\tYou and Jeff Wadlow hadn\u2019t worked together before, but you\u2019ve both worked with Jason Blum a lot. Did either of you talk to Jason about the other person?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n \n\tNEWTON <\/strong>I love Jason, but no.<\/p>\n \n\t[<\/strong>Writer\u2019s Note: Wadlow explains below that he reached out to another Blumhouse vet about Newton.<\/strong>]<\/strong><\/p>\n \n\tWADLOW<\/strong> I\u2019d been a fan of Kathryn\u2019s for a while, and I knew she\u2019d practically grown up on Chris Landon\u2019s sets [Paranormal Activity 4 and Freaky]. So right before I jumped on a Zoom with her, I texted Chris to see if he had any insights, and he replied immediately: \u201cShe\u2019s incredibly talented, a total pro and an absolute assassin on the golf course.\u201d<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\tKathryn Newton, Lana Condor, and Nico Hiraga in The Devil\u2019s Mouth<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCourtesy of Amazon MGM Studios<\/p>\n \n\tYou do spend most of your time walking on fresh-cut grass, so what was your relationship to water before this movie?<\/strong><\/p>\n \n\tNEWTON <\/strong>That\u2019s funny, and while you\u2019re right, I haven\u2019t seen grass in a while because I\u2019ve been a little busy. I grew up in Miami, swimming and snorkeling in the ocean. So I thought that I could handle this, and that\u2019s why I wanted to do the film. I knew my physicality as an athlete was going to be highlighted and that I could make the film better. I also knew how to rock climb. So Jeff really knew what he wanted, and he kept it really simple. Sometimes, I would look at him and be like, \u201cI can do that. I don\u2019t need a harness.\u201d And he was like, \u201cYou\u2019re right. Let\u2019s shoot it.\u201d So it was fun to be able to do something and make it better because I had the physical capability.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tConsidering that almost the entire movie is set in an underwater cave system, I think you\u2019ve undersold how impossible this movie must have been to shoot. Even if the caves were tank sets, it still looks impossible.<\/strong><\/p>\n \n\tNEWTON<\/strong> Well, it wasn\u2019t because we did it. (Laughs.) But what I really mean is that I think I can do anything now. I had never done a movie like this before; none of us had ever done a movie like this before. One day, we were in the middle of the ocean, and I was waiting. I was like, \u201cJeff, what\u2019s going on?\u201d And he was like, \u201cWe didn\u2019t realize how much the camera was going to be bobbing up and down. We\u2019ve got to move the camera.\u201d There were things like that you just don\u2019t plan for. But I don\u2019t think anyone knew the truth of what I was able to do. They had to prepare for the bare minimum, but they still asked a lot of [us]. Emotionally and physically, we all really had to bring it to make it work. Lana Condor is incredible in this movie. So it was more like an opportunity to rise to. There\u2019s a movie that we could have made, and then there\u2019s the one we made. I think we made it really good.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\tKathryn Newton in The Devil\u2019s Mouth<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCourtesy of Amazon MGM Studios<\/p>\n \n\tNow that you\u2019ve made seven horror movies, do you feel like you\u2019ve graduated from scream queen to scream empress?<\/strong><\/p>\n \n\tNEWTON<\/strong> You\u2019re funny. I\u2019ve done a lot of interviews today, and some people have said, \u201cYou\u2019re becoming a scream queen.\u201d Others have said, \u201cYou are a scream queen.\u201d And now you\u2019re calling me an empress. My empire is being formed. So it depends on who you talk to, and time will tell. I actually can\u2019t believe I\u2019ve done seven horror movies at all. Hearing you say that makes me really feel proud, and this one is very different from anything I\u2019ve ever done. I don\u2019t even know how much of a horror film it is. Oftentimes, I feel like the movies I\u2019ve done are more comedies. I feel like Ready or Not 2 is almost a comedy. I know there\u2019s horror elements.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tWith Devil\u2019s Mouth, I\u2019ve wanted to do more action. I\u2019ve felt like there\u2019s something that I can bring to an action film because I can do [the action]. That was why I did this one. I wanted to test myself and see where I\u2019m really at, physically. You say you want to be in an action movie? Well, can you make this one? Can you survive this one? Can you make it better? What are you going to do to make this movie worth being watched? Can you entertain people who\u2019ve all seen a shark movie before? You all know what\u2019s going to happen, and I know what\u2019s going to happen, so that was the challenge for me. I find these movies make you very creative and make you a better actor because it\u2019s not really relatable. You don\u2019t know what it\u2019s like to be chased by a shark. We don\u2019t have to do that in our daily lives. So I want to do things that make audiences excited to see them, and I want to keep entertaining people. That\u2019s why I keep coming back to [genre movies].<\/p>\n \n\tMy editor loves when you and I talk about your golf game \u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n \n\tNEWTON<\/strong> I\u2019m sure! (Laughs.)\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tWhen you shot on a golf course for <\/strong>Ready or Not 2<\/strong>, did you bring a couple clubs to set and get your shots in for the day?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n \n\tNEWTON<\/strong> Again, that\u2019s very funny. You know they wrote that movie for me, right?<\/p>\n \n\tOf course.<\/strong><\/p>\n \n\tNEWTON<\/strong> They also wrote that golf course bit in for me as a little wink. But the heartbreaking part is I only hit one golf ball that day.<\/p>\n \n\tYou\u2019ve changed.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n \n\tNEWTON <\/strong>I know. I don\u2019t want to talk about it.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\tSamara Weaving and Kathryn Newton plays sister Grace and Faith in Ready or Not 2: Here I Come<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPief Weyman\/Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures<\/p>\n \n\tBefore they returned to Ready or Not 2, <\/strong>Radio Silence wrote an original sister movie<\/strong><\/a> for you and <\/strong>Samara Weaving<\/strong><\/a>. Did they ever tell you any details about it?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n \n\tNEWTON <\/strong>No, I found out about that way later. I didn\u2019t even know about it. So it was in the back of their head that they wanted to bring us together, and when they were offered the chance to revisit Ready or Not 2, they were like, \u201cMaybe this is how we do that.\u201d And I\u2019m so grateful they did. It\u2019s not only a good movie, but I also just love Samara Weaving so much. I\u2019m really happy that they gave me a new friend.<\/p>\n \n\tSam had a rough go of it on that movie. Right before filming started, she could barely stand or move due to a back injury. Did she lean on you a lot during filming?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n \n\tNEWTON <\/strong>I thought you were going to say she had a rough go of it because she had to be with me every day. (Laughs.) But no, she never ever swayed. She even got her nails done with me, and she was in pain the whole time. Now she\u2019s a scream queen. She\u2019s a legend.<\/p>\n \n\tShe\u2019s a scream empress as well. She told me that you accidentally kicked her in the face during the sniper scene.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n \n\tNEWTON <\/strong>Well, it\u2019s to be determined if it was an accident, okay? No, it was totally an accident. I love her.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tDid you panic a little bit since she was already in a fragile state?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n \n\tNEWTON <\/strong>No, at that point, she was fine and capable. She could handle it.<\/p>\n \n\tLastly, this is the part where everyone in the Zoom gallery starts holding their breath. You have another movie coming out this year called <\/strong>Avengers: Doomsday<\/strong>. To ask the safest question possible, was the experience everything you hoped it would be?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n \n\tNEWTON <\/strong>It was better. I don\u2019t know how much I\u2019m allowed to say, but the Russo brothers love these movies. I felt it, and I felt empowered. I think they made \u2026 I don\u2019t want to say anything.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.hollywoodreporter.com\/wp-content\/themes\/vip\/pmc-hollywoodreporter-2021\/assets\/public\/lazyload-fallback.gif\")
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