Nicole Kidman, Sandra Bullock, Maisie Williams & Joey King on Why 'Practical Magic' Had to Come Back

I've never ridden a broomstick before, and I felt like this movie might... Is broomstick code for Sandra Bolick in this one there? That might be Practical Magic 3. It's so hot in here. I know, I'm a little... I got really warm too. For Sandra, when you first heard Practical Magic was coming back, what was the very first scene or memory from the original that popped into your head? Do that again. That's excellent. Good timing. I just always expect her to hit me. I should tell you, that's my memory. It's Nicole Kidman hitting me. Aw, poor baby. I don't know why this is a memory that sticks with me, but we were sitting outside on the island, because the house was a facade except for the kitchen. It was freezing. We were in our little down coats under the little tent, and I think it was the first time that we'd ever had a conversation about life. Her hair's in your eyeballs. She's like a cat. It was the first time we had a real conversation, and I remember that. I just remember how she looked and the moonglow off her hair, but it was really nice. It made me feel safe, and that's what I remember. And then she became abusive. Yeah, I was just so excited, because I wanted to – our paths had crossed, but I was just so excited for us to – we'd had so much life, and to be able to go, oh, and come back together with all of that, that's what I was like, tell me, tell me your story, tell me what – and I just was like a sponge. Because she's sort of magical, Sandy, so it's kind of lovely being in her orbit. It is. Not you, don't be scared, Lee. Nicole. You and Sandra have one of those screen pairings – no kidding, it's so crazy that it's me and I'm reading it. You and Sandra have one of those screen pairings, audiences instantly believe. What's something about working together that still feels exactly the same, and what's evolved? We're still exactly the same. I really think – no, but we have so much, we're so different, and then we have so much in common, so I always learn from her, because she's got an incredible amount of pragmatism. I know, it's like I'm the practical one. She is, but she is, right? I mean, you really are. And I'm the base, and I'm boring. We've already said that all day. No, no one says you're boring. But she can still dance, she can dance the pants off any of us. There you go. No magic is stronger than sisterhood. Cast by fate, tested by time, and never broken. What is wrong with you? Are you like six? Are you six? You seem similar to your character. And it is endlessly entertaining. Draining? Entertaining. It's so draining. Here they come. Every day on set, you can just sit back and watch, getting the scene together, shooting the scene. But also, there's so much exquisite acting choices, too. It's not just like it comes so easy. You guys have such an embodiment. But you guys are opposites in the coolest, cutest way ever. Yeah, we are. Remember the plane analogy? Someone said, how is it that you guys work together? And I go, we're like two planes coming onto the same runway at the same time, and we have to figure out how to jockey for position. We'll keep each other safe, but one of us wants to get ahead. But we will defer. If someone's ahead, we'll go, okay, you go ahead and land. But next time, I get to land. Safety first. Oh, for Lee. Oh my goodness. Stepping into the hot seat. The range of characters you've played in your career are incredibly diverse. What attracted you to this particular world where magic is almost treated like another member of the family? What a beautifully phrased question. Thank you, I did not write it myself. And your delivery was impeccable. Oh my god, thank you. I've never ridden a broomstick before, and I felt like this movie might have given me the opportunity to do it. Sadly, I wasn't asked to. Is broomstick code for Sandra Bolick in this one there? That might be Pressure Magic 3. Okay, you can tell me. Oh my god, she's genius. It's my knees. Wow, I was just insulated. I got really warm too. May I? You're scared. She's scared. You're afraid of your power. I've seen what my power can do. You ignore your heritage at your peril. Oh my god, can we please not do the peril speech? You're blocked. Yeah, she's very blocked. You know what? I'm not a drain. I'm a human being. Highly repressed human being. Okay, what was the question? Sorry, what attracted you to this world with your diverse career, basically, is the question. Oh, I'm such a huge fan of the original. I remember when Santa called me and wanted to talk about the movie. I Zoomed you. You Zoomed me, and it was like... A modern woman. I mean, imagine getting... Imagine. Imagine getting yourself dressed in your favorite shirt and showing up to a Zoom call with this beauty. Who wouldn't want to do this movie? We got lucky. We got very lucky. But I was inundated with all these great images of the first movie. You blowing out the candles on the fireplace. You with those super cool sunglasses. Right? The margaritas. There's so many things I remembered about that first movie. And then I rewatched it and... You hated it. I was like, what have I gotten myself into? They're gonna kill me. Love it. You warned them. I did. I love a monologue. Yay, Maisie! I know you love monologues. For Joey. Oh my god, girl. Is that right? Joining a film with such an established legacy could feel intimidating. Was there a moment when you stopped feeling like the new person and started feeling like part of the Owens family? Great question. Thank you. I actually did write this one. You did? Did you? You're good, Maisie. Kardashian. You're so good. I have to say, when I got the initial call with... I also had a Zoom with Sandy, and obviously I've known Nicole for a while. Nicole and I got to work together before. There was such an essence of welcoming energy to this set. Of course, when you're the new kid in town, you get in your own head about everything. And you're like, oh my god, I hope this is good. I hope this is in the right world. I hope I'm doing okay. But that was all me. Everyone else made me feel like I was supposed to be there from day one, which was really, really nice. So I think I let that mentality go. I think every time I'm on a set, it takes me like two weeks to be like, they're not going to fire me. I'm having a good time. I've been in too much stuff. It'd be really hard for them to fire me. So it took me about two weeks to get out of my own way. But everyone else made me feel like I was so welcomed from the beginning. I felt like a true Owens woman from the moment you called and from the moment you called. And then, yeah, and it was just... And you have red hair now. And I liked it so much that I kept it. Yeah. She's a redhead. I know. And now you're not, so I mean like... I go back and forth. That's all right. We'll link up again at some point. I think actually probably me, I came to this, I auditioned, I met Susannah. And then when I got to the read-through, I was so nervous to meet everyone. And Joey sits down like next to me and it was like, oh my God, I'm going to be fine. I have you. And like everyone just kept saying, what is it that you two are talking about? It's like, we have not stopped talking. I know. And we can't stop talking. And I think just like feeling, yeah, feeling like I had you as my person to go to if I felt like terrified for whatever reason. And like you both have just been so welcoming. And like, I think you text me immediately like, just let me know if you ever need anything. I was like, this is crazy. That was my assistant. I just had my assistant. Because I did call the number the other day. It's not mine, right? Disconnected. Beep, beep, beep. So it was just, yeah, the best. Just like in every day, you know, up until the end of the film and we were having sleepovers and we were just like completely inseparable. It just felt good to have that. And today. Nothing's changed. Here we are. The laugh. I know, I'm obsessed with her laugh. I hope you're getting her laugh. She's the greatest laugh. It's the best laugh ever. My favorite. She's like. Charlotte, when did you feel at home? I also was nervous heading into the table read with everyone. And yet, it was all built up in my head. Everyone was so kind. Table reads are scary. And our director and the greater team did a great job of throwing us in the deep end right at the beginning. Right, right. So I was happy to do a dance party and get undressed all in the same day. That was so brave of you to do that. Yeah, I was definitely in my diary at the end of that day like, well, well, well. This is. Well, well, well. Did you write like that? It's like a caveman. This is my. You're carving it into stone. My ransom note. No, no, no. Well, well, well. That's all it. Yeah. Next day. You don't believe we're cursed? No. We're Owens women. Love is our undoing. What if you guys were all just a little bit dramatic? All right, let me jump in here. Oh, he stole it from you. Okay. From AZ. You've played characters and worlds with incredibly devoted fandoms before. I have. What have you learned about stepping into stories that fans feel protective of? Hmm. That's a really great question. Yeah, I think that I think like getting on board with like the fandom of something is really important because then I think you can like come to it from a place of like, well, this is this is what I think it should be. Like if you can read everything and you can get into the world of it, then you can be a part of that too and and be protective of it as well. And I think that then gives you kind of an authenticity of like how you play these characters and, you know, why it means a lot to people. But ultimately, I think you have to find your own connection to that. And that doesn't necessarily mean like listening to everyone's opinion, but just forming your own about what you feel it should be and being like proud of that. Because that, you know, I think even amongst fandoms, people disagree. So like, you know, you can't you can't please everyone. I mean, that was part of the reason we wanted to do it. Yeah. It was that sort of calling almost where it was like, okay, you can't ignore this now. I have a girl that works with me who is a super fan. And so she was watching over it always. And I've a number of people that I know who are who are just uber fans. And that was kind of lovely because it was all like, well, this and this and this. And they know every detail. So it was like, okay. And not to forget that when we first came out, it was a bumpy road for us. Like we knew what we were making and why we were making it. The response wasn't what it is now. Different time. But, you know, the junket is like if I heard one more time, you know, how many women do you need in a film? Like, you know, I'm like, a lot. You know, how many tones? There's just so many tones like comedy and drama and magic. And I'm like, have you lived any life? So it was it was surprising, I think, when I because I don't want to say I had shame, but I was I was sad at how it sort of was received initially. So when it caught it caught its wave with those who were supposed to find it and they were able to come in and communicate with social media, everyone found each other. And we didn't realize how big that audience was. And they championed it together, which was amazing. Yeah. So it was sort of like this groundswell of sisterhood that just went, no, this is our film. We love it. We rewatch it over and over again. And you have to make it. Yeah. And which a lot of pressure. There's something about the way the movie balances the sadness with the funny and the magic that is that people crave right now, that increasingly we want to be able to hold all of that stuff together in a way to kind of be able to chew it up with our mind, the sad things or the riddles and still have a good feeling. Yeah. You know, I would say that's one of the reasons people come to the movie and want to relive that experience. Yeah. Anyway. So how many tones do you need? All of them to live a good life. And it's incredible how you balance them. That's it. We finish on that. And now it's Lee's turn. Shola. Yes. Shola. This cast spans multiple generations of actors. What's a piece of advice or even just an observation you picked up from watching everyone work? I feel like I had some really great chats with all of y'all. I mean, I am definitely an observer when it comes to being on set. I, like, have two ears and one mouth and can kind of resort to being a little bit more quiet. But I was incredibly impressed at there's so much talk about work-life balance in so many different industries, but especially in our workplace. And I was so impressed at all of our cast and crew's ability to find that balance. We'd be filming outside in the garden, and we'd get to go back to the break room for a little bit, and I would see Sandra on the phone with her son going over homework. These people care on camera and off camera in a way that left me buzzing even after I left. I was so pleased to get to share with my family and my friends how warm and intentional everyone was, and I really appreciated our conversations that we got to have and the moments that we got to share. But, yeah, they were leading by example. I'd say that's one of the biggest things I take away. It's like one thing to say how you want a set to be or how you want to operate, but to lead by example is important, and our leaders here were class acts. Away, Nicole. Throw it away. Breathe, breathe. Every actor at this table has played a role in a superhero film or series with the exception of one. What advice would each of you give Sandy, Sandra, if she ever agreed to play a superhero, and who should she play? She is a superhero. This is what my son talks to me. He's like, play herself. You need to do a Marvel film. I'm like, I don't need to do anything but tell you to clean up your damn room. She's a superhero. She's already a superhero. I feel like, Xolo, you should go first because you're the biggest superhero. What? Whoa, whoa, whoa. For sure. Come on. Mr. Beatles. Advice, make sure you got the zipper placement right. Oh. You don't necessarily want three people to have to help you use the restroom every time you've got to go. I like it. It's like a wedding dress. That's an excellent, excellent. That's a very practical one. That's a very Sandy piece of advice. It's a practical piece of advice. That's true. Because by the time you've got to go pee, you're already like 15 minutes too late. Thank you. It's going to take some time to get out. Help me, help me. You really feel like, get me out of here. Get me out of here. Aside from that, and you're kind of already doing this, it was so important to lead like a hero. And sometimes that meant kind of not faking it so you make it. That's a really interesting thing, feeling that you are that. We're in character. I am a mom. I can feel that. Judgy eyes. No, I just feel it pouring into the side of my head. Just the way my face works. Just thinking. I'm just thinking. I'm thinking I'm a superhero. That's a good question. You have to embody and take ownership of being a saviour. It really helps. Can't do it, can't do it. Play a villain. What are you saying? Play a villain. That would be delicious. That's fun. I would love to see you play a villain. I did play a villain, but it was an animated film. And you were great. It was really fun. It's kind of nice to be really mean. I don't really know a lot of superhero characters. Period. So I couldn't tell you which one to be. Yeah, nothing? But I just think you should be one where you really like the outfit. I have to be cute and have a cinched waist and elongate the leg, right? You should be Mrs. Incredible. Mrs. Incredible. But isn't that already a Mrs. Incredible? Well, not in live action. You should be Mrs. Incredible. You've got the body for it. That's a onesie. That's a full-on onesie. You would be so good. Why? You don't think I could do it? No, I didn't say that. You can be Mr. Incredible and we can continue our... Thank you so much. Thank you. Bye. Trainwreck.