A grieving widow, haunted by ghosts, builds an enormous mansion to house their spirits. That’s the story behind “Winchester,” the new supernatural thriller starring Helen Mirren and Jason Clarke. Deco spoke to the stars and got all the spooky details.
Helen Mirren (as Sarah Winchester): “Do you believe in ghosts, Dr. Price?”
Jason Clarke (as Eric Price): “I do not believe in anything I cannot see or study.”
Helen Mirren (as Sarah Winchester): “I feel their presence in the air, in the walls. It has found us.”
“Winchester” tells the true-life story of Sarah Winchester.
Helen Mirren plays the mysterious heiress to the Winchester rifle fortune.
Helen Mirren: “So little is known about her, and that in and of itself, in a way, is a clue. She became a recluse. She retired with the loss of her young husband and her daughter.”
Winchester was haunted by the countless deaths caused by the firearm her company was famous for.
Helen Mirren: “You know, the sense of guilt of her huge fortune basically sitting on the backs of people losing their lives.”
Convinced the dead are coming to destroy her, Winchester builds a huge mansion to keep their souls at bay.
Jason Clarke plays psychiatrist Eric Price, brought in to determine whether or not she’s gone mad.
Tyler Coppin (as Arthur Gates): “Sarah Winchester is the majority shareholder of the Winchester Repeating Arms Company.”
Jason Clarke (as Eric Price): “You want to take it away from her.”
Tyler Coppin (as Arthur Gates): “We’re worried about her sanity, Dr. Price.”
Most of the filming was done in Australia. When it came time to shoot in the actual mansion, that was a whole different gig.
Jason Clarke (as Eric Price): “It was very funny to go from a studio that had been a recreation of it — you have different sections built and different parts — to the actual real house, where if you did keep wandering you’d get lost.”
The house keeps growing and the ghosts keep coming.
Jason Clarke (as Eric Price): “So why all the noise? Why all this construction?”
Helen Mirren (as Sarah Winchester): “They want me to build, doctor. The spirits.”
Now that they’ve worked in what’s known as the “Winchester Mystery House,” you’d think that Helen and Jason would jump at the chance to spend the night there. Not so fast.
Helen Mirren: “On my own?”
Jason Clarke: “On my own?”
Helen Mirren and Jason Clarke: “No.”
Helen Mirren (as Sarah Winchester): “Your anger will never defeat us.”
“Winchester” hits theaters this weekend.
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