Amy Adamsis one of the more celebrated actors of her generation. She was first nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her 2005 filmJunebug. Since then, she has gone on to receive nominations for several other projects, includingAmerican HustleandThe Fighter. She vies for a potential Oscar nomination once again for her work in this year’sNightbitch, a surrealist horror comedy with a canine twist. It is acompetitive year for Best Actress, but Adams has scored a Golden Globe nod already.
During her career, Adams has gotten to work with directorDenis Villeneuveonly once. Villeneuve is also an Oscar nominee, having received Academy Award recognition for his work directing, writing, and producing. Like Adams, Villeneuve will be eligible for awards this year for his work on a 2024 film. For him, this will be the sci-fi sequelDune: Part Two, which did well among critics and audiences upon its March release. Adams and Villeneuve’s one joint project also got Oscar recognition, and Adams reveals something about her experience with the film years later.
Adams Did Not Show Her Daughter Arrival
The Movie Was Nominated For Multiple Oscars
Adams explains why she waited a long time to show her daughterArrival, her Villeneuve film. This 2016 alien invasion sci-fi film is based on the Ted Chiang short story “Story of Your Life.” In addition to Adams, it features a leading cast including Jeremy Renner, Forest Whitaker, Michael Stuhlbarg, and Mark O’Brien. It was nominated for multiple Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Production Design, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Directing for Villeneuve.Adams' omission from the Best Actress category that year was controversial, as many viewers adored her performance.
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Speaking withVanity Fair, Adams reveals why she did not let her daughter watchArrivaluntil recently. Addressing director Villeneuve, Adams said that Villeneuve gave her “one of the greatest gifts a director has ever given” her by saying that Adams “own[ed]” the character of Louise. She says that her daughter, Aviana, “finally watched the movie six months ago.” Initially, she didn’t show the movie to Aviana becauseshe doesn’t “like her watching [her] mothering other people.“Check out the full explanation from Adams below:
I’d done so much work and came in with all of this energy, and I still remember the first day we were going through the script and I was just hammering you with questions and thoughts. The next day you gave me one of the greatest gifts a director has ever given me where you said, “you own her. I’m giving her to you. I know that you know her, and she’s yours now.” I don’t know why I’d never really thought about being able to have that kind of faith in myself, but when you had that faith in me, I just felt free. It was transformative for me. [Adams’ daughter] Aviana finally watched the movie six months ago. I let her watch the movie and she loved it.
I didn’t want her to see Arrival, because I don’t like her watching me mother other people. I don’t want her to think that my mothering is in any way performative, so that’s why I was always careful.
Our Take On Adams' Arrival Stance
Arrival Has Other Potential Upsetting Themes
This is not what one would necessarily expect when they think of why Adams may not have let her daughter watchArrival. In the sci-fi film, Louise’s daughter, Hannah, dies at 12 years old due to an incurable illness. While Aviana is not known to have any kind of terminal illness in real-life, this would also be an element that could contribute to whyArrivalwould be upsetting for Adams' daughter to watch. Especially in the wake ofNightbitch, it is fascinating to hear whyAdamsis “alwayscareful” about showing her daughter movies in which she plays a mom.
Arrival
Cast
Arrival is a science fiction film centered on linguist Louise Banks, who is recruited by the military after alien spacecraft land across the globe. Tasked with determining the extraterrestrials' intentions, she embarks on a critical mission to decipher their complex language, exploring themes of communication and time.
