What is your impression of Clu and how he represents technology coming in between humanity? Is that your take on it? Olivia: Yes, but only because it’s our fault. Clu is like the abused stepchild. He’s been created out of this beautiful program that Flynn designed, in order to be a partner to Flynn, but he’s not his real son. He’s an avatar, and he’ll only ever be that because there’s a limit to what programs can be, and that is what frustrates and enrages Clu. The philosophy of Tron, for me, really is summed up by the question of monkey versus robot, and that’s what a lot of these movies are about, like Terminator. Any sci-fi film of the last 20 years is really about monkey versus robot, but Tron is, in a way that none of the rest of them are.
The question of the first Tron movie was, “What would happen if technology overtook our lives and this new thing became more powerful than us?” That was the premise. Now, 30 years later, the film is not asking that question. It’s saying, “Technology has taken over and we are slaves to technology, so now what? Can we escape this? Can we recapture what it is to be human and appreciate that, and harness the technology we have created for good?” I think that’s what Kevin Flynn has dreamt of doing, but he became swallowed up by his own creation, and Clu is just a symptom of that. But, I don’t think it’s irreversible. I’m optimistic about what technology can do.
Did Joan of Arc influence the hair? Olivia: Yes, it did. My first conversation with Joe about the look of Quorra, I said, “Joe, she’s Joan of Arc. We should cut off all her hair. She should be androgynous. There’s nothing about her that’s sexy and flowing. She doesn’t need to pile on sexiness because it’s inherent in that suit. Because she is this powerful warrior, she is sexy. We don’t need to push it at all.” With her character, internally she’s quite innocent and childlike, in her appreciation for the world, and very compassionate and naive, but with the hair and the physical creation of Quorra, I wanted her to have something that was reminiscent of Joan of Arc in a future cyberpunk world. She was also influenced by Karen O. of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and some other characters and images that we found. It was just really exciting that Joe was open to that and that Disney was open to that. She didn’t need to have Little Mermaid hair. She could be asymmetrical and unorganic and not the typical definition of sexy.
Did being involved with something this massive help prepare you to do another big project like Cowboys & Aliens? Do you feel like you could take on anything now? Olivia: Yes, I do. Cowboys & Aliens was another step. With Tron, I worked 68 days out of 75. On Cowboys, I worked 80 days. I’m becoming more and more responsible for the film, but I feel like I can accept that responsibility, based on each experience and what I’ve learned from it. I think Tron definitely prepared me for working with iconic actors. After working with Jeff Bridges, I was like, “Okay, I can handle working with Harrison Ford, Daniel Craig and Sam Rockwell.” I’ve looked up to these people for a long time. I like that I feel like I’m taking these incremental steps, and I feel prepared for each one, and I feel like I’m in the right place and that I’m meant to be playing these characters. I feel ready for it.
For the rest of this interesting interview, head on over to
Collider.