Johnstone, Gerard (Film Director)

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    Amie Donald Has the Moves as the Killer Robot in ‘M3gan 2.0’

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    The sunny 15-year-old dancer-turned-actress is about as far as you can get from the role she’s best known for: a deadly A.I. doll.Onscreen, Amie Donald is best known for her role as the killer robot M3gan in the sci-fi horror franchise.But, in real life, Donald, 15, spends a majority of her days in the idyllic, sun-soaked setting of lushly forested New Zealand, where kiwi roam and she’s apt to take a bush walk outside her parents’ home in Papakura, a suburb in South Auckland.“I really enjoy all the nature here,” she said on a video call from the house on a recent morning. Her long red hair fell in beachy waves as sunlight danced on her white sweater. Framed photos of her and her parents and older brother filled the walls behind her.Donald is about the furthest you could get from the cutthroat killer robot returning in the new sequel, “M3gan 2.0.” For one thing, she smiles far too much. Other people, she said, would describe her as “very caring.” She wasn’t a fan of horror films until landing “M3gan” — though she’s since started watching them with her father, and now counts “It” and “The Purge” among her favorites. “I love them so much,” she said.M3gan, the robot that becomes frighteningly protective of a young girl named Cady, was Donald’s first role in a film, following her TV debut as Maya Monkey, an acrobatic girl with simian features, in Netflix’s postapocalyptic series “Sweet Tooth.”Amie Donald embodies the killer doll in the original and “M3gan 2.0,” although a synthetic mask covers her face.Geoffrey Short/Universal PicturesWe are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      ‘M3gan 2.0’ Review: Back to Slay Another Day

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      Everyone’s favorite campy killer doll returns in a movie that has some thoughts about artificial intelligence.The “M3gan” franchise — look, we all know there’s going to be a “3.0” — is the opposite of serious. In 2022, the first film played on the time-tested horror trope of the killer doll, adding an artificial intelligence twist. It became an instant camp classic, owing largely to clips from the trailer that were meme-ified all over the internet, especially its queer corners. Critics even loved it, probably because it clearly knew what kind of flamboyant nonsense it was aiming for and leaned all the way in.“M3gan 2.0” is no more serious than the original, but occasionally feels like it’s trying to be. When we last saw Gemma (Allison Williams, still sincere and excellent) and her tween niece Cady (Violet McGraw), they were picking up the pieces of their lives after M3gan, the A.I.-powered android that Gemma programmed to protect Cady, followed her prime directive so single-mindedly that she wreaked total havoc on their lives. Now, two years later, Gemma has become an author and an advocate for legislation and safeguards in A.I. development, and she carefully monitors Cady’s tech usage.This is an interesting turn of events for a movie like this, because it seems to take Gemma’s concerns seriously, laying out convincing arguments for not leaving all the A.I. development to profit-obsessed tech bros. Watching “M3gan 2.0,” I got the sense someone had done their homework, thinking about the ways that rhetoric about enhancing mankind’s future and creating a better world can, and do, function as a smoke screen for less altruistic ends. Once in a while, I caught myself thinking this movie was more grounded in the reality of A.I. in our world than films like the “Mission: Impossible” series.But it’s still a killer doll movie. With her labmates (Brian Jordan Alvarez and Jen Van Epps), Gemma is still developing products designed to help humans live in this brave new world, like a kind of exoskeleton that increases human stamina and strength. She’s also struck up an ambiguously warm relationship with the tech ethicist Christian (Aristotle Athari). But when a mysterious weapon named Amelia (Ivanna Sakhno) turns up abroad, and a billionaire (Jemaine Clement) starts sniffing around Gemma’s lab, it’s clear things are going go to sideways.In returning to M3gan’s world, the screenwriter and director Gerard Johnstone repeats some of the same formula, most notably the reappearance of the deranged A.I. doll (once again performed by Amie Donald and voiced by Jenna Davis). It’s still camp galore, with lines designed to be meme-ified again, and a lot of elaborate silliness. There’s acrobatic fighting; there’s a dance scene; there’s a hilarious nod to an A.I. product that notoriously flopped in the real world.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      How the Creators of ‘M3gan’ Designed the Doll’s Costumes

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      The titular star of the horror film “M3gan,” released last week, had to try on several outfits before finding a signature look.A doll’s clothes can be as memorable as any worn by a human, especially if that doll has a taste for blood.Talky Tina, the demonic toy made famous by “The Twilight Zone,” had her plaid dress with a dainty lace-trimmed collar. Annabelle, the sinister doll that first appeared in “The Conjuring,” has her white gown with leg-of-mutton sleeves. And even those who have not seen “Child’s Play” (or its sequels) probably know of Chucky and his blue overalls.The titular star of the horror film “M3gan” stands to be another murderous doll recognized for a killer outfit. Not least because M3gan, whose name is pronounced like Megan, for most of the film wears a striped, silk twill scarf tied in a pussy bow — a sartorial choice that tends to elicit strong reactions.M3gan, which stands for Model 3 Generative Android, is a life-size artificially intelligent doll designed to provide companionship and emotional support — until a programming glitch turns her into a Terminator-esque killing machine. There are parts of the film where the doll is played by a high-tech puppet, but in most scenes, M3gan is played by the actress Amie Donald, 12, wearing a mask.M3gan, who has wide eyes with long dark lashes and dirty blonde hair that falls below her shoulders, wears the pussy-bow scarf with an inverted-pleat shift dress layered over a striped long-sleeve shirt, white stockings and shiny black Mary Janes. Gerard Johnstone, the director of “M3gan,” described the doll as having clothes that evoke the mod fashion of the 1960s and “long, flowing hair” like the “Mod Squad” actress Peggy Lipton.“I wanted her to be classy and elegant and unexpected, almost like the toy equivalent of those automotive shows from the ’60s, where the car would appear on the turntable and everyone’s minds would be blown,” Mr. Johnstone said.Three of the possible outfits for M3gan that ended up on the dressing room floor. Universal PicturesThe film’s original script, written by Akela Cooper, only referenced M3gan wearing children’s clothes, Mr. Johnstone said. Putting her in a loose-hanging shift dress was both a stylistic and practical decision.“M3gan has to move quickly and unencumbered. She’s got to run on all fours. She’s going to attack people,” he said. “With the shift dress, I could see the possibilities.”About 25 versions of the dress were produced by the film’s costume and wardrobe department. “They lasted through all of the dancing, all of the killing,” said Daniel Cruden, the film’s costume designer. Lizzy Gardiner, an Oscar-winning costume designer who created M3gan’s main outfit with Mr. Johnstone, said the pussy-bow scarf was also painstakingly reproduced.“We needed so many perfect replicas that each one had to be cut and hand sewn with the stripe in the silk in exactly the same place,” she wrote in an email. “It needed to be fluid without being bouncy. Large but consistent with a young, tiny girl. Doll-like but fashion forward.”While developing M3gan’s wardrobe, many other possible outfits ended up on the dressing room floor. “Initially I wanted her to have a bunch,” Mr. Johnstone said. But by giving her a signature look, “that one costume can be really the focus,” he added. “People could dress up as her for Halloween.”Dressing M3gan in a shift dress was as much a stylistic as a practical decision. “She’s got to run on all fours,” Mr. Johnstone said. “She’s going to attack people.”Universal PicturesWhere did you look for inspiration for M3gan’s clothes?GERARD JOHNSTONE I was on Pinterest every night looking at fashion, trying to figure it out. Originally it was just me and my wife, for a female perspective. I kept going back to the ’60s because of the detailing and the fabrics. Everything was so rich. And Gucci kids’ dresses ended up being a big inspiration. I loved a yellow one with red ribbons that I saw online, but we couldn’t physically get our hands on it.If Gucci was such an inspiration why isn’t M3gan wearing the label?JOHNSTONE I wondered if we could get them on board. But you have to get approval and it takes a long time, especially when you’re making a horror movie, so we went our own way. We hadn’t proved ourselves. The hope now is that it wouldn’t be too hard to get some designers if we do another film.DANIEL CRUDEN If a toy from a film gets licensed and there isn’t clothing approval, it could be seen as replicating for a profit. Even if I’d found a pair of vintage Gucci sunglasses, we’d have put them through clearance to make sure they were OK to use.When viewers see M3gan commit her first murder, she wears a different outfit — a black cloak with gold buttons and a fur collar, black stockings and leather gloves. What inspired that look?JOHNSTONE It was kind of a subversion of Little Red Riding Hood. I also thought of her as a bit like Damien from “The Omen.” The black gloves were a practical consideration because the gloves made the hands feel more robotic. And she’s a doll — she has to have some accessories.The all-black look worn by M3gan when viewers see her commit her first murder “was kind of a subversion of Little Red Riding Hood,” Mr. Johnstone said.Universal PicturesSpeaking of accessories, in another scene M3gan wears a pair of purple sunglasses. Why?JOHNSTONE I really fought for her to have that moment. It felt like it could either be great or ridiculous. I was worried some people might think, “Is this going to diminish the scares?” But once everyone saw her really rocking the look, they started to get on board.CRUDEN We had a real hunt for the sunglasses because we knew they were going to be a statement.JOHNSTONE I wanted Prada.CRUDEN We ended up with a brand called Minista, they came from a children’s boutique in Auckland, New Zealand.From left, M3gan’s equestrian, Audrey Hepburn-inspired and sporty looks designed by Mr. Cruden for a scene that was cut from the film.Universal PicturesWhat are some of the outfits that didn’t make it into the movie?CRUDEN There was a scene that showed different M3gans on a turntable wearing looks I created for her. One was French-inspired, with a black beret, black turtleneck and high-waisted flared silk pants. We had a beach M3gan with a peasant blouse, beach hat and espadrilles. Equestrian M3gan had jodhpurs and riding boots. Sporty M3gan looked like she was ready for tennis.JOHNSTONE Daniel did a very Audrey Hepburn look with a scarf and sunglasses. But the looks were on a dummy M3gan, and she didn’t look alive. If we’d been able to do it with our main M3gan, it would have worked. It was a shame.Interviews with Mr. Johnstone and Mr. Cruden have been edited and condensed. More

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      ‘M3gan’ Review: Wherever I Go, She Goes

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      A state-of-the-art robot doll becomes a girl’s best friend, and dangerously more, in this over-the-top horror film.Allison Williams has a knack for playing it straight. She brings a convincing realism to the most preposterous situations or maybe she’s just an actor with limited range. Whatever the reason, it works, especially in the tricky genre where comedy meets horror. She excelled in a critical role in “Get Out,” and now in “M3gan,” a ludicrous, derivative and irresistible killer-doll movie.Williams plays Gemma, a robotics engineer with no maternal instincts who suddenly must take care of her young niece, Cady (Violet McGraw), after a car accident turned her into an orphan. The synthetic skin of this movie is about how Gemma learns to take care of a child. Thankfully, its bloody heart is far sillier. It’s the comedy of a primly composed mean-girl android turning into The Terminator.This is the kind of scary movie that needs a lead performance that is strong not fragile, deadpan not showy. Williams capably updates the mad-scientist archetype, refusing to pause and ask questions while inventing a doll of the future, one who pairs with a child and adjusts to their needs, filling in as best friend and big sister. Gemma uses Cady as her test case.In a headier movie, there might be some misdirection. But M3gan (performed by Amie Donald) is clearly pure evil from the start. She’s a great heavy: stylish, archly wry, intensely watchful. Her wanton violence never gets graphic enough to lose a PG-13 rating. In early January, when prestige holiday fare tends to give way to trashier pleasures, a good monster and a sense of humor can be enough. This movie has both, and it makes up for a slow start, some absurd dialogue (“You didn’t code in parental controls?”) and a by-the-book conclusion.While the trailer invited comparisons to “Child’s Play,” the slasher film featuring the doll Chucky, that movie had a much grimier, disreputable undercurrent before the sequels and reboots turned goofy. “M3gan” moves with a lighter touch. There’s a scene where a police officer who is investigating the disappearance of a dog blurts out a chuckle, then apologizes, saying, “I shouldn’t have laughed.”I would have preferred a handful more guilty guffaws, though there are a few, including one where M3gan treats a real bully like a doll, with disposable parts. But the tone here sticks to just enough camp to keep the crowd smirking. The director Gerard Johnstone doesn’t go for elaborate suspense sequences or truly intense scares. He wants to please, not rattle. And while there are some hints at social commentary on how modern mothers and fathers use technology to outsource parenting, this movie is smart enough to never take itself too seriously.It’s helped by the comic Ronny Chieng playing Gemma’s boss, a forever annoyed toy manufacturer who, at a rare moment of contentment, trash-talks Hasbro. Any horror fan knows that his jerkiness is as much a sign of impending doom as coeds having sex at a summer camp. When the moment arrives, it does not disappoint. M3gan struts, cartwheels, dances, makes no sense at all. What a doll.M3ganRated PG-13 for cursing, a ripped ear, ruining your childhood. Running time: 1 hour 42 minutes. In theaters. More