Jennifer Lawrence To Use Spy Training On Taylor Swift, Karlie Kloss
Red Sparrow star Jennifer Lawrence learned a lot of training to play a super spy and she's going to use her newfound skills to heal a friendship.
Lawrence, movie director Francis Lawrence who is a former C.I.A. officer, and a New York Times reporter gathered together for a TimesTalks chat to promote Red Sparrow.
Surprisingly Realistic
Naturally, the talk soon turned to spycraft, the alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 election, perfecting that elusive accent, and the art of subterfuge among other things. The New York Times reporter in question covered the fall of the Soviet Union and was therefore well-versed in the real-life warfare associated with spies like Lawrence's character in the movie.
Red Sparrow sees Lawrence as a prima ballerina turned spy who's employed as a "honeypot" seductress after going through a vigorous training program. Far from being a clever narrative construct, ex-C.I.A. officer and master of disguise Joanna Hiestand Mendez confirmed that the Kremlin has, in fact, used sex to extract information from American operatives.
Likewise, the Russians did have a real-life school, where these operatives were trained.
"It was a seduction scenario not unlike what you would have done in your movie," said Mendez, referring to Lawrence.
Inescapably Timely
The movie's release next month seems particularly timely, given the ongoing discussion about the purported meddling of Russia in the election. Director Lawrence was concerned when he initially began working on the movie a few years ago, that the tension between the two countries felt contrived.
"We thought, 'God, this Cold War thing doesn't feel all that relevant.' But as we were shooting and actually prepping, this all started to come up, and the movie became more and more relevant as we've progressed," he explained.
Jennifer Lawrence To Use Spy Skills On Ex-BFFs
As for what Lawrence herself would do if she had actual spy skills, the actress was characteristically honest.
"I'd like to know what's going on with Karlie Kloss and Taylor Swift, that's honest to God truth. Is nobody else curious? It's keeping me up at night. What happened?" she quipped.
Swift and Kloss used to be inseparable, even appearing on the cover of Vogue together. Lately, however, they haven't been spotted out in public together or popped up on each other's Instagram accounts.
Allegedly, Kloss was hurt after being excluded from the handmade "squad" T-shirt featured in Swift's infamous "Look What You Made Me Do" video. She has since been spotted hanging out with Swift's arch enemy, Katy Perry, which may have further broken the bond between the two.
Hopefully, Jennifer Lawrence can put her well-earned spy skills to good use soon enough and figure out what the real story is here.
Red Sparrow is slated for theatrical release on March 2.
