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A baker’s dozen – when you order twelve but are given one extra to ensure you don’t get shorted. With Ella Balinska - actress, athlete, and muse of former cakeshop Ella’s Bakehouse - you always get more than you asked for; there are no shortcomings here.
Recently starring in Charlie’s Angels and Resident Evil, Ella knows how to put on a show. An actress born in London and now a budding DJ, she is accustomed to keeping fans tuned in. Whether with big budget stunts or attention to small on-screen details, Ella knows how to navigate the psyche of her audience. In her latest film, Ella’s character Cherie takes us through an overnight war against evil where she is literally in the battle of her life. Filmed on the streets of Los Angeles, known for its Bloods street gang, fire red is the color of the day and an overlay between the lyrics of L.A. rapper The Game and the rose-tinged motif of Balinska’s new movie Run Sweetheart Run.
Carl Ayers __ I want to start by wishing you an early happy birthday.
Ella Balinska __ Aw, thank you.
CA __ Libra gang in the house! My birthday's October 18th.
EB __ Let’s go!!! [laughs]
CA __ I would've sent you a cake. But you are Ella of Ella's Bakehouse, so I didn't want to send you something that you would scoff at and could throw away ‘cause you are accustomed to something better. So I didn't wanna play myself. [laughs] But I’m sending happy birthday wishes.
EB __ Thank you. [laughs]
CA __ So, how is it being Ella of Ella's Bakehouse?
EB __ That was always something interesting because my mum is an amazing chef. She's just a multifaceted woman. And I think she had a deal with Selfridges that suddenly came in, and she had to name this enterprise she built, and she ended up naming it after me! [laughs]
CA __ Nothing wrong with that!
EB __ I think that's a very big favorite child indicator, but then again, I am an only child. [laughs] So whenever I call my mom, I'm like, “It's me, your favorite daughter.” She's like, “I’ve only got one.”
CA __ [laughs] So, for your birthdays, did you get special cakes or anything? Was there any special celebration because you were the only child?
EB __ Uh, no, no, no. I was always more of a “Hey guys, let's all go paintballing” kind of gal. I wasn't too much of a dinner celebration kind of person. I love experiences.
CA __ Okay. Well, we're gonna talk about some great experiences and celebrations because, in addition to celebrating your upcoming birthday, you should also be preparing to celebrate the release of your latest project Run Sweetheart Run.
EB __ FINALLY!!! [screams and laughs]
CA __ Finally! You've been sitting on this for like, what, two years? [laughs].
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EB __ I think we showed it at the beginning of January 2019, so that's three years now.
CA __ So tell me, what is the movie about?
EB __ I'm so excited to be talking about this ‘cause it's been in my back pocket for what feels like an eternity. The film is about a young woman named Cherie who works at a law firm. She accidentally double books her boss's anniversary dinner with a new client meeting, and she has to go, as a representative for the company, to meet this client instead of her boss. And very quickly, it turns into an evening where she finds herself running for her life. And, in a way, that's quite literally from the beginning to the end of the movie. The audience does not get a break. There's no waking up and talking with friends, “Did you see the ghost too?” No, no, no. It is beginning to end, just thrill and horror. And I'm very excited actually to see the final cut too!
CA __ You haven't seen the final cut yet?
EB __ I mean, they're always tweaking things, you know what I mean? We filmed it with one studio, Blumhouse, at the beginning of the pandemic. Then we had Universal on board. Then we were just about to release the trailer, and that same week the pandemic arrived. So it got held until Amazon Studio came in and pumped a lot of energy and passion behind the project. So we kind of got a recut. We've had a lot of fantastic brains and perspective new writers putting their heart into it. So I'm excited to see everyone’s work coming together.
CA __ Okay. So how did you come into this role as Cherie?
EB __ I was sent the script by my team. I got it on a lunch break while shooting a TV show and pretty much flew through the whole script in one sitting, which is a pretty rare occurrence for me. I'm a gamer, so I have the attention span of a goldfish. If it is not on a screen, yeah, it’s that bad. [laughs] But I honestly flew through the thing, and immediately I was like, I need to talk to the person who wrote this because there was something about the script that didn't feel like formulaic script writing, or it didn't feel like anything that was in canon with stuff that I'd read before. There was something emotional and raw behind what was written.
CA __ So now tell me about the character herself. What do you think and feel about [your character] Cherie?
“I'm just opening up to sharing and really allowing myself to feel how I was feeling and being true to myself.”
EB __ Cherie is one of the most challenging characters I've played in my career thus far. I'm athletic and quite tall, so I have a presence in scenarios requiring me to be powerful. However, Cherie is not that. She is someone who hasn't realized her power and hasn't harnessed it. So I had to strip back those layers [of empowerment] that I'm so used to, to instead be vulnerable. In scenarios where it's sink or swim, Cherie would think that she can only sink, although she does have the capabilities to swim, which is what she discovers throughout the film.
CA __ Cherie, for me, is the intersection between badass female fighters like G.I. Jane and the ladies in Kill Bill and Scream Queens, Sissy Spacek in Carrie, and Jamie Lee Curtis in Halloween.
EB __ Queens! [laughs]
CA __ [laughs] You're in good company. So although Cherie doesn't scream much, when she does, it's more out of frustration rather than fear. And she doesn't fight often, but when she does, she puts up a hell of a battle. And she proves to be resilient. But you're no stranger to being an onscreen badass. You are Jane Kano from Charlie's Angels. How did your role in Charlie's Angels, especially the physicality of it, prepare you for this role as Cherie?
EB __ So Jane [Kano], as a character, is very standoffish, “I can handle this by myself,” and her arc was learning essentially to make friends [laughs]. Her journey was more an exo-personal one. In terms of Cherie, Cherie’s journey is more about her interpersonal relationship with herself and understanding that she has the capabilities to make it through the night. It's so funny you picked up on the fact that Cherie doesn't scream very often, and that's actually a choice. Cherie’s entire life, she's sort of the yes woman: "Yes, of course, I'll help you. Yes, I'll do this, whatever you need." Her status within herself, what she feels, is quite low. She doesn't want her voice to be heard. She doesn't feel like she has a voice that's out there and can make a difference. And then the moment she does scream in the film when I watched the scene, I was like, “That’s me, giving me the chills!” [laughs] In that scene, she's finally coming out of that shell she's built around herself. The other important theme that went hand in hand is her physicality. We wanted her to feel small,tight, and hiding away from the world. The pace of her conversations and her posture are all very tight at the beginning of the film. Then towards the end, she expands, and she radiates time, power, unity, and presence, which is sort of the journey we wanted to go on with the character.
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CA __ It’s incredible when your own character takes your breath away when you can watch the film and say, “Oh yeah, that was amazing. Oh, hold on, that is me!”
EB __ But it's more I was so sucked into the character and her journey because I'm so invested in it. That was the moment in the film where I was like, “Okay bitch, let's go!” [laughs]
CA __ [laughs] Got it. Now, without giving away too much, let's talk about your co-star in Run Sweetheart Run, Pilou Asbæk, who is well known as the dastardly Euron Greyjoy in Game of Thrones. He plays Ethan in Run Sweetheart Run. How was it working opposite him?
EB __ I feel like he's going to read a collection of all the interviews I've spoken about him, and he's going to be like, “Just never speak about me again!” [laughs] He is an incredible person to work with. He immediately made me feel so safe in such an unsafe story. We shot the whole thing on location, so we were subjects of L.A. at its finest and grittiest. If this movie isn't a love letter to L.A. for all its best and worst parts, then I don’t know what else is. He made me feel so comfortable. He's so electric to work with as an actor because he's so spontaneous. That's something he truly brought to step was his spontaneity. There's something so incredible about horror films, not just from the editing, that they manage to build tension and give jump scares. The way comfortability is formed is with a rhythm. The second you break that rhythm is when you find the inception of the uncomfortable. He was the person who did that very well. So we’d do a scene, and typically you're like, “Oh, okay, this is how we're doing the scene.” We rehearsed it like this. “Nice, okay, let's play within these boundaries.” No, no! No boundaries for Pilou! [laughs] Because he made me feel so safe as Ella Balinska, I felt like Cherie was allowed to be totally fearful. For example, in the prison cell scene, I didn't know what would happen from moment to moment. It was different every take.
CA __ Well, he gave you options. He gave you range! [laughs]That prison cell scene, as small and intense as it was, did not need a whole lot of extras to heighten it. It was just you two in the cell, in that small, tiny room, and you could feel the tension watching it—outstanding job to both of you. Now let's talk about another character in the movie, the color red. It's prominent and sometimes subtle, but it's there throughout the entire film, from the lighting and scenery to the wardrobe created by costume designer Nadine Haders. The color red has a steadfast presence throughout the movie. Why is that?
EB __ So [director] Shana Feste, Nadine Haders, and director of photography Bartosz Nalazek wanted to focus on the iconography that the colors red and its contrast the color green brought to the screen. Throughout the movie, we have red as a subtle symbol of female empowerment. Very subtle. You notice Cherie’s dress is red. Her earrings are circular and red. The circular red subconsciously represents the female energy. The masculine energy is the green, the square, the hard, that contrasts it. So you'll notice in the church scene she walks in, the color is red, and then the second that Ethan appears, it shifts to green. And that was something that they did so well. It's so subtle, but you notice it when you watch it again. [The rapper] The Game talks about it at the end of one of his songs; he talks about the color red. It raises your heart rate. It almost makes you connect with her character more and puts you, as an audience member, in that position of feeling stressed for her and wanting her to fight.
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CA __ You mentioned Shana Feste. She's the writer and the director. She made several interesting creative choices, as you’ve just discussed. Some were obvious, and some were not so obvious, like Easter eggs. What are some of the creative directions Shana gave you?
EB __ She'll surely be able to speak on this better than I would for her, but she wrote this from a place of experience. She said she wrote it in three days. And she's usually used to writing very heartfelt, slower paced movies. That's the best way to frame it. For this one, she said, she literally sat down, and it screamed onto her pages. The thing that we wanted to focus on was to not glorify the victimization of the protagonist, glorify the female suffering, glorify all of the gore and the horror. We didn't want to do that because it comes from a place of authenticity. So from moment to moment, Shana [Feste] really challenged me. How would you react as Cherie in this scenario? Does this make sense for your character? What does she want? How does she try and get out of it? And what is the main thing you're fighting for? Which, of course, is to stay alive to be able to protect her daughter. So she really made sure that every choice we made was this constant chase of authenticity, moment to moment. It was just very aggressive.
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CA __ Yes, it was very aggressive. It was action packed and thrilling the entire way, but it was also intellectual. It made me think. It's a very woman focused movie and provides a bit of social commentary. So while you're watching it, you're thinking about how it's relevant to the current plight of women.
EB __ I think that's why Shana does such an excellent job because it's not just slapping you across the face. If you sit back and take a second to think about what happened on screen, you're like, “oh”! Stuff that makes you just go “huh” and makes you discover it for yourself. I mean, if you just want to watch it as a horror movie, it's great [laughs], but there are deeper meanings, and I’m proud of it.
CA __ What do you think it says about the current state of womanhood throughout this country and the globe?
EB __ That's a great question. I think there's a strange universality because so many different things happen throughout the night. I think wherever you come from, wherever you're looking at this, whatever status, economic background, social background, age, there's something, and it breaks my heart that I can even say there's something that every woman, unfortunately, can relate to. But in how unfortunate that is, it's also a wonderful thing that it's being represented on screen that you can go, “Oh, hold on a second. It's not just me.” Especially towards the end of the film, I personally was overwhelmed by the power and unity of women when we come together. And it doesn't have to be with a group of women, even just with yourself; the relationship with yourself is so powerful. In whatever capacity that is for whoever's watching it, I think this film, especially the catharsis, is a fantastic way to reignite that power and love for yourself.
CA __ So I think you have my notes in front of you [laughs] because my next question is this, I'm going to read it word for word. The film displays positive notes like determination, strength as an individual and as a collective, and triumph over abject adversity. See, and you're just talking about it all
EB __ Let’s go! [laughs]
CA __ I like that! We see how Cherie fairs in the film, but what did you, Ella, walk away with after filming ended?
“I think this film [Run Sweetheart Run], especially the catharsis, is a fantastic way to reignite that power and love for yourself.”
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EB __ Like two weeks of not being able to sleep! [laughs] Honestly, that shoot was so visceral. The whole thing was shot on location. We didn't shoot any of it on stage. So, going to sleep, I had overly active dreams and woke up being like, “Woo, thank God I survived that. Right! Let's go to set and survive some more!” [laughs] But I also had my good friend Jideena with me the entire time I shot the film because it was just such a journey. And as Ella Balinska, it's funny how as a parallel, I came out of my shell sharing how I was feeling at the end of the day to my friends, just opening up. Because I'm so used to being “I can do this by myself. I'm okay; I don't want to bother anyone with my problems.” After filming, I was just opening up and allowing myself to feel how I was feeling and being true to myself; it allowed me to have space to take in everything happening on set the next day.
CA __ That's a very Libra answer. We always give ourselves to others, trying to ensure everyone is taken care of. While we don't necessarily always take care of ourselves and don't necessarily allow others to care for us. We Libras are the best. We're very giving, and I don't care what anyone else says. [laughs]
EB __ Oh yeah, we are the best. [laughs].
CA __ Aside from being the face of movies, you're also the face of a few brands: the face of the new Panthère de Cartier collection and global ambassador for Clé de Peau Beauté. Now, this all sounds fun and exciting. So talk to me about those partnerships.
EB __ Yes! Oh my goodness. So Cartier. It has been such an honor to be part of the maison there. They are such an incredible family. And the Panthère collection especially is something that is, I mean, wow! Sorry, I don't even know how to express that. Every day, it's always just such an honor, and the places that partnership takes me, that ambassadorship is amazing. The thing that I love about them is that they really harness the family mentality within that brand. I really love that. It's all about bringing people together, especially with the Love collection. Then we have the Clé de Peau Beauté ambassadorship alongside Dakota Fanning and Diana Silvers. That is so much fun. And that is a fantastic example; it's a constant learning journey. Cartier also coordinates incredible philanthropic endeavors in their company, which really aligns with me. They focus on STEM education for young women, which, I mean, I'm talking to you on my gaming PC right now, so that's really close to my heart. We're constantly brainstorming with ways that we're able to sort of change the world in our own little way. And then there are also a couple of other exciting things in the pipeline, so stay tuned!
“Red, is a very emotionally intense colour.
It enhances Human metabolism, increases respiration rate and raises blood pressure.
It has a very high visibility, it is why stop signs, stop lights and fire equipments are usually painted red.
It also represents one third of California's gang population.
Needless to say, please dress accordingly while visiting the Los Angeles area.
Also, tuck your jewellery, and keep your hands inside your vehicle.”
The city (feat. Kendrick Lamar) - The Game
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CA __ So that's my next question, actually. What can we look forward to next from you? I've heard that you have been DJing in L.A
EB __ I have been! It's been amazing! Oh my goodness. That's sort of like a massive hobby of mine. And I wasn't too outward about it. And then I was like, you know what, I might just throw myself in the deep end and see what happens. And it's been working in wonderful ways to keep me occupied and very happy and make my friends happy because I can invite them to some really cool gigs. Also, on the acting side, I have two films that I am going to be shooting in the near future. I have one, and all I can say about it is that it's a romance. And then, in January, I'm shooting The Occupant, a survival movie that I am also really excited to take on. I was in a slightly different head space because I signed onto the film pre-pandemic. But I feel like now that I've had that sort of extreme experience [with Run Sweetheart Run], I can bring some of those emotions into shooting it. So I'm excited to see the challenges that it brings.
CA __ Your Hollywood career has been relatively brief, a few years, but you've done so much. You've had three lead roles in four years. What is it that you haven't done yet that you want to do?
EB __ I really want to work with my friends. I've had amazing experiences, as you've just listed, but what I haven't done is stepped onto a set with somebody that I already know. And I'd love to be in a scene with someone I have a preexisting friendship with. I think it just unlocks that extra level of play. And I really want to know what that feels like. So whether it's me starring in something or me producing something, it's going to happen.
CA __ Stepping to the other side of the camera. I like that. All right, so I have a final question for you. You've done so much, and many people are looking to you or up to you. What message do you hope to send to little girls, women, and aspiring actresses that look to you as inspiration?
EB __ Oh my goodness. I love that. I would like to address this, not just for aspiring actresses, because I will say everyone has their own journey. Just because someone did A-B-C doesn't mean you can’t do A-C-B, and it will still work out. But just to women in general, I mean, all the choices that I make in my career, I try to inspire the eight-year-old inside of me. Whether it's the roles that I pick, the hobbies that I have, or the adventures that I go on, I never want to feel like I'm punishing myself for a choice that I might have made at the moment that's like, “Oh, I shouldn't have done that.” Because I just want everyone to remember that when they look in the mirror, that eight-year-old is still there. So be kind to yourself, no one's perfect; everybody's human. And then the main mantra that I live by is “if you don't shoot, you don't score.” Give it a go. Because if you do it with kindness, care, and compassion, the worst thing anyone can say is no. So go for it!
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Photographer Kevin Sinclair, Styling Oretta Corbelli, Producer David Gargiulo, Interview Carl Ayers, Makeup Tami El Sombati (The Wall Group), Hair Graham Nation (The Wall Group), Director DP Ryan Wermich, Talent Ella Balinska (Dane Punch PR)