Entertainment Weekly - 11.2019

LAST CHRISTMAS

NOVEMBER

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WITH LINDA HAMILTON AND

Mackenzie Davis, the love is pal­
pable. “Hot and heavy,” Davis, 32,
jokes of their dynamic. Adds Ham­
ilton, 63: “We couldn’t have done
this without each other.”
This sixth entry in the Termi­
nator franchise serves as a direct
sequel to James Cameron’s first
two films and brings back Hamil­
ton’s Sarah Connor, while also
introducing Davis as enhanced
human Grace.
“I’m extremely proud of how
hard I worked on this movie, but
no one worked harder than Linda
Hamilton,” says Davis. Hamilton
trained for a year, but realized it
was physically impossible to
replicate 1991 Sarah Connor. “I
couldn’t get the muscle mass that
matched T2,” she says. “So we
focused on movement, and my
body came into the rhythm of a
soldier, as opposed to just looking
like a soldier.” —Derek Lawrence

DIRECTED BY Tim Miller STARRING Linda

Hamilton, Mackenzie Davis, Arnold

Schwarzenegger IN THEATERS Nov. 1

Linda Hamilton is Mackenzie Davis’
(below) “biggest fan”

TERMINATOR:

DARK FATE

The Future
Is

FEMALE

George Michael

“ ‘Last Christmas’ is not

my favorite song,” admits

Thompson. “[But] George

Michael himself [was]

a complex and brilliant

artist. [There was a] lyric

of ‘Last Christmas’ that

inspired me, and then

I thought, ‘Oh, actually, so

much of George’s other

music really works with

this idea.’ ‘Heal the Pain’

is central to the ethos

of the movie. Because

‘Heal the Pain’ is about

the fact that if you

can’t love yourself, you

can’t love anyone.”

A Christmas Carol

“The Dickensian Christmas

Carol is a seminal part

of my literary DNA,”

Thompson says. “I was

built by books. I was

built by writers like Dick­

ens, like Austen, like

Eliot. Christmas is very

popular—particularly in

19th­century literature—

in my country, and I’m

profoundly influenced by

that. The story of Christ­

mas has been so deeply

bastardized by commer­

cialism, [but] it really does

have this very powerful

effect upon people.”

Secret London

The film showcases rec­

ognizable London sights,

but Thompson also

highlights some of her

hometown’s hidden

gems. “It’s a love letter

to London,” she says.

Thompson took a “Secret

London” walking tour

where she encountered

a plaster wall carving

of two mice—which

ended up in the movie.

“Part of the story is Tom

[Golding] getting Kate

[Clarke] to look around

her and notice things.”

—Maureen Lee Lenker

The Oscar winner tells us what fueled the ideas behind the romantic dramedy she

wrote (with Bryony Kimmings) about a young woman (Emilia Clarke) whose encounter

with a handsome stranger (Henry Golding) changes her outlook on life

EMMA THOMPSON’S

HOLIDAY INSPIRATIONS

DIRECTED BY Paul Feig STARRING Emilia Clarke, Henry Golding, Michelle Yeoh,

Emma Thompson IN THEATERS Nov. 8

TERMINATOR: DARK FATE

: KERRY BROWN/PARAMOUNT;

LAST CHRISTMAS

: JONATHAN PRIME/UNIVERSAL; THOMPSON: DAVE J HOGAN/GETTY IMAGES