Shailene Woodley not surprised by chatter over ‘White Bird in a Blizzard’ nudity

TORONTO – “Divergent” star Shailene Woodley says she’s not surprised by all the attention surrounding her nude scenes in the new film “White Bird in a Blizzard.”

“I knew that was going to happen, because we live in a society where that’s the thing we like to focus on,” the 22-year-old said in a recent phone interview.

“We don’t really question when teenagers are shooting guns (on screen) but we do question when somebody has an intimate, truthful, romantic scene.”

“White Bird in a Blizzard” stars Woodley as Kat Connors, who was 17 when her unhappy homemaker mother (Eva Green) disappeared in the 1980s. As Kat goes off to college, she comes to terms with her mother’s absence but starts to probe her father (Christopher Meloni) for answers. Writer-director Gregg Araki adapted the drama from the Laura Kasischke novel.

Headlines are swirling over how Woodley is seen in various states of undress as Kat explores her sexuality.

The former star of “The Secret Life of the American Teenager,” who made her big-screen breakout with “The Descendants,” said her decision to appear nude on screen is an “instinctual” one based on what she feels is right for a story.

“I love this character and I love this story and I love Gregg Araki, and these themes lent themselves to the movie. This movie would not be the same without them,” she said. “There’s a moment where my character looks at herself in the mirror and examines her body. I very much remember doing that as a teenager. Your body changes constantly.

“So this movie would not be what it is without those scenes.”

Araki said he adapted the story because he found the book to be moving, haunting and poetic. The story also offered the “feminist perspective” he’s been exploring in his work since film school, and it had the “outsider” type of characters he likes to focus on his features, which have also included “Kaboom,” “Smiley Face” and “Mysterious Skin.”

In the case of “White Bird in a Blizzard,” the outsiders include Kat, her pothead boyfriend (Shiloh Fernandez) and her friends, played by Gabourey Sidibe and Mark Indelicato. The cast also includes Angela Bassett as Kat’s therapist and Thomas Jane as an alluring detective.

“I think that my place in culture is that of the outsider, and my sensibility is that,” said Araki. “As an artist I think it’s a huge advantage, to be outside of the mainstream, because you can be maybe a little more critical, or you’re looking at the world through a different lens.

“I think that’s what makes your work kind of fresh and engaging.”

Araki, who grew up in suburban California and set the film there, said his “outsider” feeling came from being gay and Asian-American. Like the characters in the film, he’s also loved alternative music since high school.

“That’s actually one of the reasons why I was so excited to make a movie set in the ’80s,” he said. “Because I really wanted to pay tribute to that music and those artists.”

But Araki notes his childhood was not the fractured one Kat faces.

“I come from a very happy and very normal childhood, which for me I feel like is kind of what allows me to make the films that I do, because I feel like I have those roots, so I can go off and explore all this other crazy stuff,” he said.

“I feel like if you have a really messed up childhood, you’re always kind of searching for security or stability. Whereas because I come from such a stable background, I can kind of seek out adventure and insecurity and this other side of life. I think as a filmmaker it’s a huge advantage to be able to approach life from that direction.”

Araki said Woodley brought a freshness as well as a grounded and genuine nature to the set.

It’s those very qualities the actress herself looks for in her roles.

“What matters to me is truth and authenticity,” said Woodley. “When I read a script, I know immediately if it’s something I want to do, based on my instinct. Intuitively I am drawn to a project or not, but they always have to be grounded in some sort of truthful reality.”

“White Bird in a Blizzard” opens Ottawa on Friday and in Saskatoon on Nov. 7.

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