When the camera cuts, the interview isn’t over. With “Cut for Time,” TODAY.com asks the questions our anchors couldn’t get to on air.
It’s been nearly 30 years since Sally, Gillian, Aunt Franny and Aunt Jet first danced in the kitchen while blending up midnight margaritas in “Practical Magic.” Now the wait for a family reunion is officially over.
“Practical Magic 2,” the sequel to the 1998 cult classic, just dropped in theaters and reunites Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman as Sally and Gillian Owens, a pair of witch sisters saddled with a centuries-old curse that prevents them from ever finding true love.
Based on Alice Hoffman’s book series, the latest chapter finds the Owens clan again practicing magic, falling in love and of course, imbibing on their favorite tequila-soaked cocktails.
This time around, the margaritas are brewed in honor of Aunt Jet’s (Dianne Wiest) 78th birthday, and joining the celebration are Sally’s now-grown daughters, Kylie and Antonia, played by Joey King and Maisie Williams, respectively.
It’s the latter two who sit down with TODAY.com in the Orange Room to talk — well, whisper — backstage of Studio 1A on all things magic.
For TODAY’s “Cut for Time,” the on-screen sisters dish on having a legendary sleepover at Bullock’s, the career advice they received from Kidman and the genuine sisterhood at the heart of “Practical Magic 2.”
This interview contains mild spoilers for “Practical Magic 2” and has been lightly edited for clarity.
During the filming of “Practical Magic 2,” you went back to Sandra Bullock’s London house and she made you cocktails at 5 a.m. First of all, I’m shocked that you had negronis instead of margaritas. But more important, is Sandra Bullock a good mixologist?
Joey King: Not really (laughs). It is hard to mess up with negronis.
Maisie Williams: Yeah, they were strong.
JK: They were great … but how it came to be, we were on a night shoot and then we went back to her place to debrief and have a sleepover. It was five o’clock in the morning and it was the end of our night, even though it was the beginning of the day. We all like gin, we’re all pretty good gin girlies, and that’s what she had. So, we’re like, “Use what she’s got.” It was great.
MW: Yeah, we just chatted about the world.
In “Practical Magic” and “Practical Magic 2” Nicole Kidman and Sandra Bullock play sisters. You both play sisters, obviously. But, beyond that, both these tales really speak to the sisterhood of women and how they can surmount anything when they come together. Do you agree?
JK: Yes. I just truly think one thing that I love about this movie and the first film is I do think women are at our best when we’re really seeing the best in each other, and we’re really kind to each other. I do think we’re at our worst when we’re not. This movie is just one of those beautiful reminders of how incredibly powerful we are as females when we are united and seeing the best in one another, being supportive and really feeling like everyone’s just doing their best.
MW: Joey and I have been doing this a long time, and it would be like really perfect and romantic to say that the only criticism that we’ve ever had has been from male journalists, but it’s just not true. So, yes, I think the message of uniting and just really respecting and understanding one another, and having a little grace for one another as women, is so important and not something we talk about enough.
This movie really does propel that, and it’s intergenerational as well. Like, we all have different experiences and we only have our experience in the film industry because of the women who came before us.
Although our experience is different, we’re so grateful for what happened before so that we can have a different time. But that means there are differences between the generations, and in this movie, I think we really get to explore that and how see how that can work alongside one another.
Joey, much like Nicole Kidman’s Gillian Owens, your character, Kylie, is more of a free spirit. Do you see any of yourself in Kylie?
JK: I mean, I got the red hair for the movie and I decided to keep it. But I do feel like every character I play, you oftentimes are faced with, “Do I have anything in common with my character? Do I have nothing in common with my character?” And that’s what makes it so fun and interesting is sometimes you have nothing in common with your character and there’s a real, “OK, I’ve got to conjure up something here.”
I would say Kylie and I are very different. I am not not free-spirited, but I’m definitely not that free-spirited or rebellious or curious. But I think that it always makes me braver when I get to play characters that are a little bit braver than me.
Maisie, your character, Antonia, is a junior doctor, did you have to undergo any special training to portray her?
MW: I didn’t do training, but a lot of the supporting artists I was working with worked in medicine. So I got to ask them and they told me what I should be doing at different points, and if someone was really in a coma, what I would be spending my time doing, what the threats are. So, that was really useful because otherwise I was a kind of a fish out of water, really. I’m incredibly squeamish. I think it would be the job that I would be so bad at. So it was really good to be working with people who have done that and could help me.
Something I really loved about this movie was how it was filmed. Everything was so colorful, beautiful, lush and had such depth. For lack of a better word, it felt, well, magical.
JK: The garden! The clothing! The library!
MW: Yes, I love the little quaint pub that’s really small. So beautiful. All green-y.
JK: The props, too. I think that one thing that I love so much about the first film is how aesthetically pleasing it was. It really touched on that feeling of falling in love with autumn and feeling the cold air coming. I think this movie gets me so excited for fall and all those little details that you’re talking about. They really add something to the experience of watching the movie. That’s what makes it so lovable. That’s the artistry of all the people that worked on our crew.
Did either of you receive any heartwarming or helpful advice from Sandra Bullock or Nicole Kidman?
MW: Nicole, she just had so much advice about career and that it’s always going to be up and down. But if you’re loving what you’re doing, if you’re loving the work and you want to be present for the work, it will come. It’s never gonna be linear and you can’t plan for the future. It was just like a nice piece of advice about the unpredictability of the world and the career and the industry.
JK: We’ve both been doing this for such a long time already and we’re obviously very grateful to have the careers we have had. And we’re after that longevity of it all. I feel like Nicole really gave those lovely words about what longevity can look like and what it can mean. It’s definitely not a linear path and that’s a beautiful thing.
Along with Sandra and Nicole, you also co-starred with Stockard Channing and Dianne Wiest. Did they offer you any advice? What was it like working with these two screen veterans?
MW: I definitely wish that I had more questions, but I just felt very concerned about, I don’t know, holding the day up or not being on it. So, I felt like I was trying to be correctly professional when I was on set with Stockard. But there was a few times when she just really put me at ease in a way that I needed so much, which just kind of dropped that barrier between us, which was really, really lovely and really special, and I think about that a lot. If I’m struggling in a scene, sometimes I remember Stockard just being so sweet to me, like, “OK, it’s going to be OK.”
JK: They’re both such legends and they’re both so talented. They’re both so different. Kind of like I would say Sally, Gillian, Antonia and Kylie, you know, Jet and Franny are so different, too.
These actresses are just so incredibly strong at showcasing two brave, strong women, but so differently. I just find their performances and those things so beautiful. They inspired me, and I just find their whole careers to be so inspiring. I felt so lucky to share a space with them.
