Britt Robertson stars as Casey in Disney’s TOMORROWLAND. ©Disney Enterprises.
By ANGELA DAWSON
Front Row Features
HOLLYWOOD—Britt Robertson and Raffey Cassidy co-star with George Clooney in the Disney fantasy adventure “Tomorrowland,” based on the popular Disney theme parks attraction.
Robertson (CBS’ “Under the Dome”) plays Casey, a young inventor who is drawn into a time-traveling journey to Tomorrowland by a mysterious little girl named Athena (Cassidy, who appeared in “Snow White and the Huntsman” and “Dark Shadows”). They are joined by Frank, a reclusive and somewhat jaded inventor (played by Academy Award winner Clooney), to go on a mission to save the world.
At a recent press conference here Robertson, 25, and Raffey, 12, spoke about being part of a big sci-fi adventure movie, working with the world-famous Clooney and the future of space exploration.
Q: How would you describe the dynamic between your characters?
Robertson: Raffey played mom a lot, especially with George and I. She was constantly just trying to keep us focused. Funny enough, that’s how she is in life too, and not intentionally but she’s so professional and so focused herself. I oftentimes would look over and be like, “Oh, yeah, okay, right. This is what we’re doing. This is what we’re doing.” We had so much fun together and we had such a great time. We spent a lot of time together just between stunt training and then, obviously, filming the movie. So I think our dynamic off screen probably helped a lot of our chemistry on screen as well.
Q: Raffey, were you trying to be the mom of the trio?
Cassidy: I tried my best. I think the relationship between Casey and Athena is quite friendly because Athena just wants to get Casey and Frank together to try and save the world.
Robertson: It doesn’t always work out as planned, but sometimes it does.
Q: What are your thoughts on NASA and the future of space exploration?
Robertson: I think NASA represents a very specific hope. It sort of ties in with the movie in a symbolic way. NASA represents the unknown and the human race as being able to explore the universe and other things that are out there. That’s sort of in line with the movie in terms of the theme. We’re talking about a movie that’s saying we don’t know what our future is. It’s not determined for us. Maybe if we go out there and explore the world, maybe if NASA wants to go and see what else is out there, then maybe that’ll have some helpful part in making our future something to be excited about.
Q: What would you like to see changed or added to Tomorrowland at the theme parks?
Robertson: I think they should just update the Carousel of Progress a little bit.
Q: What would it take to make this world better?
Cassidy: Well, I’d like to, if I could change something in the world and get rid of any technology or anything, but keep the cool cars and everything. And then, like in the old-fashioned times when you wrote letters to people, I’d like to do that, but make better things that gets it to them quicker.
Robertson: My big thing right now, living in California is that I’ve turned off my sprinklers. I know it’s a small thing. I know it’s a very small step but I’m trying to use less water. I’ve been trying to conserve on the water front, and I think it’s important to for people to take into consideration their community and the environment wherever they are and the things that they can do for that specific region. That’s kind of what I’m doing but I’ll try other things. If you have any ideas, send them over.
