The edgy MTV cartoon “Aeon Flux” was known for its hyper-stylized setting and its eponymous character, whose outfit left little to the imagination. The show amassed a cult following, and the studio began planning for a movie.
Finally, after years in development hell, the show was adapted into a live-action movie, with the main character brought to life by the beautiful and Academy Award-winning actress Charlize Theron. She spoke with The Hatchet in a conference call about her career, the making of the movie and her much-talked-about appearance on the Fox show “Arrested Development.”
“Aeon Flux” (Paramount Pictures) follows the story of an operative in an underground rebel group who attempts to take down the leader of a tyrannical government. Although it is set 400 years in the future, there are heavy political undertones.
“The whole film is really about questioning your government . so I think it is a very relevant film,” Theron said. “Aeon is that quintessential character who stands up against the government and does not give in and does not live in this gilded cage and just stays quiet.”
The original animated show is practically impossible to accurately translate to the screen, Theron said.
“I am not a cartoon and I cannot run around in a G-string and do splits,” she admits. Despite this hurdle, the show’s creator, Peter Chung, gave it his thumbs-up.
“Aeon Flux” is a diversion from Theron’s latest films, which include the socially conscious “North County” and “Monster,” a film about a serial-killing prostitute for which she won an Academy Award. “You cannot compare a film like ‘Aeon Flux’ to ‘North Country’ or ‘Monster,'” she said. “I mean, they are different genres and you have to celebrate them for that and it does not make one easier than the other.”
The film required Theron to perform her own stunts, which she was excited to do – until she was injured.
“I had herniated a disk in my neck doing a back-handspring, and it was just an accident. It was early morning, there was some dew on one of the surfaces that we were working on, and I was just rehearsing and I slipped and landed on my neck.”
She added, “This was a hard physical film for me to do. I had been kind of injuring myself in lighter ways so many times on it and I was so prepared to go through that kind of pain, but when that happened it was a little bit more serious.”
Theron recently appeared on television in the critically acclaimed yet low-rated “Arrested Development” in a rare comedic role. She said about the show, “It’s one of the few things on television that I think is just written so well and I just could never understand why it could not get an audience.”
When “Monster” director Patty Jenkins directed an episode of the Fox series, she said Theron was a fan and said the actress was open to an appearance on the show.
“I do not get to do a lot of comedy and it is an aspect that I have always really wanted to explore,” Theron said. “I had an incredible time.”
“Aeon Flux” opens in theaters Dec. 2.
