Here’s Emily Blunt on the latest cover of ES Magazine, the London Evening Standard’s in-house magazine. Blunt is currently promoting A Quiet Place, the horror film directed by her husband John Krasinski. In this ES interview, she chats about the horror genre and how much she doesn’t even like it, and she talks a lot about politics, including the drama back in 2015 when she discussed her citizenship. Back in 2015, she officially became a dual British and American citizen. She did it for tax purposes, and I’m sure she also did it because she’s married to an American man and she’s raising her American-citizen daughters in America. Back then, she made several jokes about becoming a citizen as Donald Trump was running for president. I didn’t have a problem with those jokes, but Fox News had a problem and she was roundly criticized by those proto-Deplorables. (I did take issue with how she repeatedly called her citizenship “sad,” because she came across as very privileged.) Anyway, that’s the background for what she discusses in this interview:
On horror films: “I don’t watch horror films either! I would never be able to go and see It. I’ve not watched most of Get Out because I was too scared — which I apologised to Daniel [Kaluuya] for, ’cause he’s my friend.”
Her family lives in Brooklyn now: “I feel a lot more supported in my quest to create an exciting environment for my girls in Brooklyn. LA, however lovely it was to live in the sunshine — and we have wonderful friends there — was completely alien to what I knew. The idea of creating a world where my daughters can be interesting and interested is giving me a sense of great calm that I don’t know I felt before. Brooklyn’s kind of amazing, I’m not gonna lie. It’s a strange, utopian, fabulous world. John and I have become institutionalised; we just stay in Brooklyn now. The people are cool, we walk everywhere. The restaurants are fabulous and everyone has a stroller. So we fit right in.” They don’t get bothered in the street, which is a bonus “because I really love the idea of still being able to blend in. There’s a lot of very, very famous people in Brooklyn and it’s just a wonderfully supportive community. They just let you be who you want to be.”
How her family felt about her marriage to an American: “He’s from Boston. They’re quite British, the Bostonians, you know?”
Her uncle is Crispin Blunt, the Brexit supporting Tory MP: “I think it’s really sad. I’m really bummed about it. I just think that “globalisation is here guys, come on!” It is an interesting time in the world because it’s fragile, because it feels unsafe. It’s become this sort of “each to their own” mentality and you feel it. You feel people becoming more guarded, and more in the need to protect. It’s sad.”
Her jokes about her American citizenship: “It was a fairly innocuous joke because, you know, where I’m from we poke fun at our public figures… I think I wasn’t quite American enough to be able to say that. I have to be really careful now. Certain subjects, I just can’t. Because I’m also someone who loathes getting in trouble. Ever since I was a kid, I’ve loathed getting in trouble.’
Are Bostonians like British people? Hm. I think the upper-crust British society is probably a lot like the British aristocracy – Boston Brahmins are a real thing. As for what she says about Brooklyn… it just sounds like Peak Gentrified Brooklyn Hipster. She has every right to raise her kids how she wants to raise them, but it does seem like instead of embracing all of the quirky diversity of urban living, Emily and all of the other rich hipsters have just turned Brooklyn into something more homogenized, more elite, more white, more gentrified. It’s like Beverly Hills, just in a more concentrated, walkable area.
Photos courtesy of WENN, cover courtesy of ES Magazine.
I have to admit that while I used to really like her, lately, the more she talks, the less I do….
I agree, Julia. If she wants “interesting and interested” kids she needs to model that for them herself. Has nothing to do with locale.
agree x 100. I mean, we all know what she’s saying but the subtext is, “I’m privileged enough to live amongst rich, white families but i can slum it with the commoners on the subway and shop from bodegas if i choose to.”
She and Justin Theroux: such edgelords in big, bad New York.
lol Edgelords. My new go to insult.
Agree on all counts. And if that is her comment about Brexit, it is all shades of NOs.
I agree with her point about Brexit though.
There is a strong sense in the UK of wanting to go back in time and the rhetoric of ‘we used to be a great nation’ keeps popping up.
It conveniently ignores the colonialist history of the UK and the fact that yes, globalisation has happened and can’t be turned back.
The British spent hundreds of years spreading themselves all over the world, getting in everyone’s business, destroying communities, and now the chickens are coming home to roost–I love it!
If they hate brown people so much they should have stayed home in the first place.
So you’re saying you agree with Brexit because it doesn’t sound to me like she’s saying she does?
No she’s saying she disagrees with Brexit (and so do I by the way).
She’s saying Brexiteers are stuck in their glorified vision of Britain pre-globalisation and pre-multiculturalism. That’s it created a huge rift in British society and a rise in intolerance.
Which is all true and quite depressing.
Question Time has been demoralizing lately.
Eh, Chloe Sevigny said basically this about Manhattan (back when Manhattan was where trust fund hipsters migrated). I have no issue with people wanting to live/raise children in interesting urban centers, but spare me the self-congratulating rhetoric.
Oh wow I had NO IDEA they live in my neighborhood! They’re right- this area has celebrities and people don’t really care.
Also they listed their house for sale and it’s GORGEOUS!! Somebody lemme borrow 8 million dollars…
YEP! I live in Brooklyn and I have to agree. It’s diverse, for the most part it’s safe, there’s a real sense of community and I can’t imagine a cooler place to raise kids. Maybe John and Emily are wealthy but it says a lot about them that they’d rather not raise their kids in the BS environment of privilege that is LA.
These two have always rubbed me the wrong way. Intense snob vibes with a faux-woke cherry on top.
Yep! Especially to the faux woke part. Millionaires moving to Brooklyn pushes property value beyond the reach of people who have lived there as tenants and otherwise for generations. People are losing their homes over this crap.
I don’t even get why these rich white posers, slumming heiresses and the “struggling artists” whose dads send a monthly check, don’t just create their hipster commune in the Nevada desert or some place.
“Millionaires moving to Brooklyn pushes property value beyond the reach of people who have lived there as tenants and otherwise for generations. People are losing their homes over this crap.”
Im curious to what celebs will do when the conversation turns there. If it ever really does. Right now it is very en vogue as a celeb to claim you are 100% pro equality and I wonder how they will handle questions about gentrification, private jet use and living in mansions.
This is exactly what happened to my old neighborhood in Chicago. Super wealthy people, including a few celebs, moved in and created this enclave that ultimately is more suburban in its homogeneity than the suburbs these people scorn so much. I walk around now when I’m visiting and it truly feels like an alien bubble that’s only attainable to the richest few. Generations have been pushed out. The soul of many parts of the city that I grew up in seems to have evaporated into a series of strip malls and McMansions, with just enough hipster establishments to keep its urban cred intact.
So yeah, what she said about Brooklyn had me seriously rolling my eyes. I wonder if they are willing to send their kids to the majority minority school in the neighborhood or are clamoring with their neighbors to stay in the overcrowded but majority white school?
Agreed. Luckily the Brooklyn area I’m from is still largely Caribbean/Jewish neighborhood. Where the celebs live is super gentrified. No thank you. Best part of Brooklyn is the neighborhood vibes which is not Manhattan. But of course people are being pushed out.
This has been happening in Vancouver, BC Canada for quite some time, due to foreign buyers snapping up property…..then leaving the homes empty. Folks are forced out of their homes..we call it ‘renoviction’ so developers can remove ‘affordable’ housing (under $1200 per month for a one bedroom!!) and create multi-million dollar condos, which no ‘real’ person can afford. Certainly not a young person just starting out. Or a senior on a set income. It’s become impossible to live in the region for anyone who isn’t a millionaire.
As I said above, it’s the self-congratulating attitude that really grates. To borrow a phrase from Gillian Flynn, they’re chasing “pre-approved hipness.”
Sounds like they live in Park Slope 🙄
I never got the hate for Park slope though. Yeah we have a bunch of millionaire parents and there’s strollers everywhere, but somehow I still live here (first-generation Afro-Latina immigrant, unmarried, no kids). Pretty much all my friends in the area are single women of various races. This neighborhood isn’t JUST a rich-white-mommy mafia, you know.
Yeah it sounds like a lot of gentrified neighborhoods here in Boston. *shrugs*
I don’t hate it, I was born there and still have many relatives who live there; I spend a lot of time there. My mom grew up there. But life has definitely been made more difficult for my remaining aunts & uncles by so much $$ pouring into the neighborhood and pushing the cost of living up.
I don’t really know how much of the blame for Brooklyn’s gentrification you can lay at her feet. With a city the size of NY and the prices over there it was bound to happen at some point.
I also completely get what she means though. Compared to L.A. living in Brooklyn IS embracing the quirky, diverse kind of living. I live in Berlin Mitte/Prenzlauer Berg which is pretty much hipster central. When I went to NY for the first time and stayed in Brooklyn it felt like I actually hadn’t left home!
Agreed. I do live in LA and aside from the great weather and the beach, I wouldn’t choose to live in LA if I was rich and could live anywhere I wanted. For now I’m stuck here, but I’d choose San Francisco for it’s beauty and great weather.
Yup, me too–I think San Francisco is the perfect city – offbeat, lotta art, literature, music events, and a real walking city. So expensive to live there now, though.
Ugghghgh, San Francisco is the WORST. All the writers, musicians, and artists who made this city great have mostly moved away—to L.A., Chicago, Austin, and Brooklyn, not to mention Oakland—and it now belongs to libertarian tech-bros and the people who have to work for them. (And the weather here is 24/7 pea soup!!!!!)
And I grumpily say all this *just to point out* that every truly great city is really suffering right now. As the middle class (and creative underclass) gets poorer and poorer, it is ever-tougher to make ends meet when living in any great cultural hub. So the undiscovered talent, or the people who give cities their flavor, just… pour out. I can’t tell you how many talented people have gone back (either alone or with their families) to continue working in their childhood hometowns. It isn’t just one city that’s being gentrified; it’s more like it’s the whole country. Pretty chilling.
Good points, Jenn.
I think “gentrification” is just the canary in the coal mine. It is a sign of how vast the gap is becoming between the very rich and the very poor.
Yes. That’s the problem with SF, soo expensive, hyper gentrification and all the libertarian tech-bros. Agreed.
And I LOVE Oakland! It’s more my speed. But as far as breath taking vistas and landmarks, the SF hills and bay are inspiring. And I love SF/Bay area weather. LA is (usually) too hot for me (this year not counting). SF has more weather, and the famous bay fog that rolls in makes it very dramatic and exciting imo. I don’t mind bundling up a bit. It’s no where near as bad as the snow blizzards in the east/north east right now. I think it’s just about perfect, but not as perfect as Santa Cruz, CA.
I always wanted to love SF, but it is just living on the past glory days and nothing like the place it had been once.
My cousin lived in the Mission district until the dot.com nightmare and moved to Portland, but the lack of diversity drove her crazy, and the same thing happened there too.
Gentrification ruins neighborhoods and communities. It forces people out in the harshest ways, and they create a segregated community of clueless white annoying smug people who think they are so arty and daring and original residents who are being pushed out. They just want hardwood floors and crown molding but with funky little overpriced cafes and faux bohemian “energy”. I can’t begin with how much I despise gentrification. It is peak white liberal privilege x 100. When the a-holes stormed Echo Park and Harlem I was done.
They have no respect for the history and the communities they are destroying and don’t care. These are the people who say the neighborhood has really cleaned up and it is much safer WITHOUT irony.
I think it also really, really depends on where in LA you live… the Hollywood Hills, where many celebrities live, is not that diverse. But there are so many interesting neighborhoods around, I think it just takes a little more effort, or balls, to get out of your bubble.
I agree, but even my experience in the Hills is pretty diverse. Overall, though, Los Angeles is soooooooo diverse. We have so many immigrant communities. My co-workers and neighbors are from around the globe and I am grateful for what they add to my city and my life.
The daughters might become “interesting & interested” or they might become “Lena Dunham”. In that sense residents of Brooklyn have nothing to get cocky about. 😉
Ha, truth.
I was JUST thinking that …
Ha! Funny but at the same time spot on truth. I’ve seen obnoxious a holes from every area and socioloeconomic group.
There is another article on Dailymail where Emily admits she got her husband to fire another actress so that she could act in that role.
Completely off this woman now as she seems like a snob.
Oh no – I hope that was just a bad attempt at a joke – that’s quite hateful…if it’s true I wonder who the other actress was?
Sounds like a joke. I’m sure both were happy at the prospect of working together.
It’s probably a joke because I actually think it was greenlit on her name. Her husband has had zero movie success as either an actor or director. Even supposing the film found funding and was great on its own, it wouldn’t be getting this kind of coverage sans her involvement. Anyway, there are very few actresses who wouldn’t get bumped if Emily Blunt showed interest and I doubt the actress who was allegedly bumped is one of those handful.
Maybe LA is not good long term for normalcy regardless of age, and especially for kids. Emma Thompson discussed this on a chat show with another celeb. They claimed in LA everyone is being compared and you have to fix your faces and bodies and go to the gyms. You would feel like you’re not good looking enough so you’d eventually feel that you have to fix a lot of yourself. She may be Oscar material but there would still be parties which she could not join. Thus she felt like you were being graded all the time.
Disclaimer: only gossipping. I don’t live in LA.
Yeah but isn’t NYC the city where parents groom their kids to get into elite preschools? I mean..that doesn’t exactly sound normal or grounded to me. Then again, “normal” among the truly rich is probably very relative.
Yea I’ve always thought NYC is cut throat for the elite. Maybe LA focuses too much on looks so not good for kids’ self esteem.
there are many amazing state schools in brooklyn, btw
I hate that LA is only thought of as Hollywood or Downtown. I hate that California is often reduced to LA. California is beautiful. The central coast is gorgeous and only 50 mi outside of the hub of LA. You don’t have to feed in to the idea you have to go to Brooklyn to experience culture.
I absolutely LOVE California but if I’m being honest, I’ve never cared much for LA.
Lived in Brooklyn my whole life, Dying to move to CA. I am making plans as we speak. Fingers crossed
50 mi. outside the “hub” of LA is Oxnard/Ventura 😊. Central coast is much further up. “Central Cal” is about 200 mi. or so up the coast. All in all though, going from LA to SF on Pacific Coast Hwy (or even north of there) is some of the most beautiful coastline in the country.
When I had my first convertible, my sister and I drove up to look for an apt. in SF (she was going to UC Berkeley), and we had such a great time! Stops in Carmel, Monterrey, Big Sur…. It is one I *highly* recommend everyone try and do, even “virtually” 😊. Truly a great drive.
Anna, I was born in Brooklyn and lived most of my life in LA: we’re “mirror twins” 😊
@imqrious2
I’m in complete agreement with you. I LOVE Big Sur. It is beautiful! And you’re right that stretch of California coast is heaven to road trip. Just inspiring.
california in general though is very very car-centric and unpleasant imo. it sounds like they really like living in a walkable area like brooklyn that is a dense urban area. i feel the same way, i’m not interested in a city built for cars and not people.
We drove up the California coast through Oregon to Washington, and there is nothing like it. California has some great places and natural beauty. There are things I love about it and things that drive me crazy. My brother lives in the canyons and loves it, and I have a lot of family and friends there, but it isn’t for everyone. Driving gets old quickly and the maniac drivers even more so.
I hate Orange County though.
@magnoliarose
I hate Orange County too. It’s so sterile and snobby and pretty racists. It’s republican party central for CA. Where is the canyons?
Hey Anna, hope you make it to California.
@Cranberry
He lives in Topanga Canyon, and we lived in a close by canyon when I was a child. There are others and hubby, and I live in one when we are out west. I have another relative who lives in one too. You have Topanga, Santa Monica, Laurel, Coldwater, Beachwood, Nichols, Runyon; I am sure I forgot some. They are basically part of the Santa Monica mountains in one way or the other.
Got it. I know where now. I’ve been to homes in Topanga and Laurel and drove around ‘the canyons’ and PCH on a day trip to the beach instead of cutting across city on 10 freeway to SM.
LA is so big and diverse. It’s hard for me to listen to everyone talk about how it’s this thing or that. It’s got something for everyone (except those that hate good weather). You just have to find your neighborhood. I didn’t like living in LA until i found my neighborhood. It took years. I’ve now lived here 16 and my 4 year old daughter is growing up with wonderful culture. There is some much her for children. From the programs at local institutions, like LACMA, or classes at our dozens of rec centers. There are probably 10 local places offering dance classes ranging in price from $6 to $30 a class. There are also so many free things we do every week.
Los Angeles gets reduced to Hollywood and the neighborhoods on the Westside a lot. Sadly that snobbery seems to infect the people I’ve met who live there who never would live anywhere else. It kind of is a Manhattan type of snobbery where leaving the island is unthinkable.
I’ve lived in Los Angeles Country my entire life. I would love to move up to the Central Coast or to Mammoth or Lake Tahoe. Hmmm…maybe a condo in Santa Barbara and a second one in Mammoth. If only I had a billion dollars.
Right??? I HATED LA… until I stayed in Santa Monica and then Glendale. Totally normal people from all walks of life, a lot of cultural stuff happening, great food, cute residential areas. You can definitely find the right spot for yourself there—your you-shaped hole! I get that it’s a tough adjustment for someone who doesn’t drive (and I assume Ms Blunt does not drive), but it’s pretty all right!
I agree so very, very much. LA is filled with TONS of “normal” people from around the world. I think when people say “LA is so….” they tend to be talking about their own little circle. If you look around you, there are so many communities you could chose to be a part of. I live in an area with many immigrants. My friends/co-workers are from other states and other countries.
In LA we have unique opportunities to learn and understand people who are different from us through art, through their food, through their music, cultural events, etc. Whether it is going to an authentic place for Japanese ramen, or going to a program on the history of African dance, or attending an event at the Skirball cultural center, or Little Ethiopia for dinner, or observing Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day in Glendale, (etc.) there are so many opportunities to understand people who have a different background than yourself. If people chose to ignore these opportunities, that is on them, not the city.
I compare that to where I come from, where “normalcy” means bigotry and religious judgment, and there is no competition of where I would prefer to live.
When you hear celebrities talking about LA they’re most referring to Beverly Hills, Hollywood hills, maybe Santa Monica beach, basically the most wealthy areas of west side and coastal mountains/ Malibu which consists of several cities that make up only part of LA. Most big celebrities live on the west side or Malibu and Santa Monica mountains but have may have to commute to HW business district for the studios. Paparazzi tend to be in these cities most to get their celebs pics. But there’s nothing very special about these cities. There’s lots of traffic and commerce.
I think what most people from elsewhere have a problem with is that LA is so spread out, and you have to drive everywhere especially to all the “interesting” places like museums etc. It’s just not a city made for people. It’s a city made for cars and freeways.
That’s what drove me crazy about LA. Yes there’s tons of cool stuff, tons of culture…but it’s such a goddamn pain getting to any of it. Everything becomes at least a half-day trip, and you can easily end up spending 2-3 hours in a car just to spend 1 hour somewhere. Add kids into that and ugh.
Walkable cities with good public transport are just so much easier. You can go places on a whim with no planning, without setting aside hours of your day.
Yeah I like LA to visit, it’s more interesting and diverse than people give it credit for but the driving everywhere aspect is why I could never live there. It feels like half a dozen disconnected villages connected by freeways rather than a proper city. Her husband explained NY in a slightly different way, he said he feels like when you step out the front door the world is right there. I think that’s what she means by interested and interesting. LA has a lot of weird dead space that comes from its car reliance.
Didn’t they live in Ojai prior to moving to Brooklyn? Not really LA
“Are Bostonians like British people? Hm. I think the upper-crust British society is probably a lot like the British aristocracy – Boston Brahmins are a real thing.”
I don’t get it, is it a typo or am I stupid? what does that mean?
The time it took to type that, you could’ve just cut/pasted Boston Brahmin into your address bar.
Just sayin’
Imagine that, I even clicked on the embedded link in “Boston Brahmins”!! I know what they are. The quote still doesn’t make sense. Wouldn’t it need to be “..the upper-crust Boston society is probably a lot like the British aristocracy”
That was my actual question, but thank you very much for your reply, which was pretty unecessary and unhelpful, just sayin’
But then, she wouldn’t be introducing the topic into conversation, which is rather the point of a discussion thread, no?
I hadn’t heard of it either but the linked article is interesting. There is a distinct accent too and the Wikipedia article referred to here contains another link to another page explaining the speech pattern – and has an audio sample of that accent. It also says actors from the 1940’s such as Katharine Hepburn, Bette Davis and Christopher Plummer (although he’s Canadian) would put on that accent in movies. Looking back I often wondered about that “accent” that American or Canadian actors had in the 1940’s & ’50’s – not quite British and not quite not either. Interesting article. Thanks for the link!
Thanks for that comment, Redgrl. I had also always been curious about that particular way of articulation heard in the movies around that time – although I knew of Boston Brahmin(s), I never made that connection. Very good to know.
Boston Brahmins are real. I know a couple and they live in an alternate universe. They are truly the 1% of Bostonians, both literally and in the figurative sense.
This poem most succinctly describes these people, who originally looked down upon the Irish and other immigrants in the 19th century/early 20th century:
“And this is good old Boston,
The home of the bean and the cod,
Where the Lowells talk only to Cabots
And the Cabots talk only to God.”
In other words: snobby and WASPY AF.
Yes, but my impression is they are a dying breed.
Yes. As I said, 1% in the literal sense….
I think her jokes go awry. I thought her comment about Bostonians was a joke about British people and the Boston Tea Party. Brits and Bostonians not getting along, but maybe I missed it.
Brooklyn as expensive as it has gotten is still funky neighborhoods and less obsessed with the plastic look than LA.
I’m originally from the American South and I’ve *personally* always joked that East-Coasters are a lot more British, it’s true. (We do refer to them as “Yankees,” after all!)
I’ve always joked that, when you move from east to west across the United States, it gets less and less British, until you finally hit California, which is the most relaxed and least British of all, hahaha. (I tend to make this joke TO British people, but I also believe it. I definitely change my behavior depending on the social norms, which do vary according to U.S. region.)
In the American south, especially, you act like you’re everyone’s friend, even with strangers, because that’s considered “polite” there—but farther east, and in England and parts of Europe, that’s REALLY overfamiliar, really forward. (“Boundaries, people!”) And we walk slower, we’re mellow, we can be late to things…! I live on the West Coast now, where my saunter is OK. In Chicago, my saunter was noticeable; on the East Coast, I’m totally a foot-traffic violation! I would never permanently move to Brooklyn! I was always “in the way” there! It’s totally outside my comfort zone.
Of course, to me, Emily Blunt can do absolutely no wrong—I think she’s witty and smart and definitely the most talented actress my age right now—but, no, that’s the same observation I have also wryly made, no offense intended to anyone in the world.
@arianna I had to read that back too, I think (hope) its a typo. Or I’m just not getting her comparing Brits with…Brits. Haha
I’m old enough to remember when Brooklyn was primarily working class..the ‘hip’ centers of the N.Y.C area have always shifted over time..and they always will..
When I lived in NYC, Bed-Stuy was a very dangerous area but by year 2006 it was improving. Gentrification is real. Investors believe in Brooklyn.
They use to say “Do or die Bed Stuy” was scary when I lived there 1983-1995. I
Lived in Park slope loved it and Brooklyn Heights toward the end before we moved but all not recognisable, Bushwick, Red Hook
Anywhere semi close. E NY, Carnasie and crown heights might still be the same.
Brooklyn is huge so while certain parts (and those aren’t that many but they are large sections) are gentrified, like where she most likely is, it still is not like the upper east side where I doubt anyone low income now lives. There is still a lot of diversity but places, too many, yes, have pushed out the more interesting people … she is getting a different kind of interesting but it’s still there. That’s fascinating that she moved out of L.A.
nikole hannah-jones is a brilliant journalist who extensively studies and focuses on school segregation. her findings in brooklyn, where she lives, are fascinating and eye opening. i recommend her work to everyone.
Yes. I commented above wondering if they’ll send their kids to their local public school and if so which one — the “desirable” white majority one or the “less desirable” one?
I saw your comment up-thread and it’s a great question that we probably all know the answer to. Their kids are going to private school for sure. Lame.
I am sure like literally EVERY Bklyn celeb, she will send her kids to St. Ann’s – the alma mater of, yes, Lena Dunham. Public school of any stripe will not be an option.
I’ve heard Nikole Hannah-Jones on a couple podcasts. Her episodes on This American Life were so powerful. I had to pull over and cry when she played the tape of the Missouri high school meeting, knowing a young child had to hear such hate from adults.
Ok. I really like Emily Blunt but this interview is peak white people. It seems that she likes Brooklyn for all the wrong reasons. The headline was already a bit much but I though she meant, my daughters are gonna be around people from multiple backgrounds. Instead she make Brooklyn sounds like a rich ghetto for celebrities bored by Bel Air and Beverly Hills.
It really is. They can walk to great restaurants! Lol.
Hahaha..yeah you summed it up nicely.
Emily likes anywhere that makes her look hip and cool just like Jen’s soon to be ex-husband. Eye roll to both Emily and the Ex.
Agreed, Helen. She sounds clueless and full of herself. Also, it’s so nice when POC, and low income people can be included in the backdrop of rich people’s lives like in a Wes Anderson film. *eyeroll*
Except that Bel Air and Beverly Hills are atrociously boring!.
Not because there’s nothing there. There’s beautiful homes and safe, clean, modern business districts. But because it’s so wealthy, gated-community boring. It’s either Kardashian boring with high end boutique shops, after shops of rich people shopping. Or it’s neighborhoods of beautiful homes and mansions boring. Anything that’s truly interesting or diverse culturally and economically is not in those communities. You have to drive out of those cities to participate in all the activities and diversity LA has to offer.
Although I’d rather live in Brooklyn than la, interesting people are raised everywhere…even Idaho (no offense to Idaho just using random place). That need to explore, investigate and just absorb information is in all children and it’s up to parents to help make that flourish even it it means getting creative and taking adventures in your small backyard or raising your kid in a million dollar neighborhood in Brooklyn. Naming your children something wild and “interesting” will not make them make them more interesting and neither will raising them in sort elite bohemian area of NYC…the snobbery is real with this one which is sad because I liked her
As a person who lives and Brooklyn I can attest that all of it is true. And gentrification is the best thing that has happened to it. Everyone benefits from it. Yes, the real estate is getting more expensive, but if you would rather pay a little and live near piles of garbage or pay more and live in a safe, beautiful place with proximity to stores and restaurants? If you prefer the first option, there are still dirty and dangerous places in Brooklyn for you to chose from. Gentrification is progress, I have no idea why people are giving this word a negative connotation. “I’ve lived here for 20 years” is not something that entitles you to criticize newcomers to the neighborhood, that’s not what America was built on. Unless it’s rent control, prices are expected to rise anyway, cause of a constant currency devaluation.
Yes, East New York and Brownsville are still gritty! Nothing stopping anyone from moving there. : )
Yeah, America was kind of built on newcomers coming in and shoving the existing residents out :-/. I think it’s completely understandable for existing residents to resent when their neighborhoods change in a way that makes them unable to live there, and shows a weird lack of compassion to not at least understand where it’s coming from. But I do agree that it’s a change that is often inevitable and unstoppable.
Yes, it’s one thing when you are not able to live somewhere anymore because the neighborhood is becoming dangerous or inhabitable (like, say, a new factory is being built nearby that pollutes air and water, etc). These neighborhoods are actually getting BETTER. Are you expecting to pay the same for better? Keep up, evolve or move out. I don’t see anything unfair about this deal. “all the cool people moved out” is a weird sentiment. You mean people who probably don’t have a stable job by choice (like “artists”) and are not able to pay rent? It’s also weird to me how people assume that gentrified neighborhoods are solely overtaken by white people. I live in such area and lots of POC seem to enjoy living in a new building with amazing amenities and a doorman (and why wouldn’t they). It might be surprise, but USA is not a socialistic country. People who earn more get better things. (before you make assumptions about me, I’m neither American nor rich, just realistic)
I loved the Heights and Cobble Hill, my former neighborhoods.
Place used to be incredibly and beautifully diverse with a lot of artists, musicians, writers, intellectuals. Lots of cheap Italian restaurants, the best pizza, gnocchi, on the planet, lard bread from the bakeries, families knew each other. I went back and I don’t know from it anymore, but can appreciate that some areas are safer now.
And I love, love, LA. It’s a land of 1000 neighborhoods. My family lived in Glendale for years.
This woman sounds like a sheltered movie idiot who needs to get out more.
You don’t have to pick between LA or NY. Both have their many charms and many frustrations.
Every place has its pros and cons.
As a Brooklyn girl, it’s kind of annoying to hear celebrities go on about how refreshing & cool it is to live in Bklyn. The continued gentrification of Bklyn is a double edge sword, its nice to see neighborhoods I wouldn’t have dared step foot in when I was growing up are now safe/clean neighborhoods but alot of the people who grew up in those neighborhoods can’t afford to live in them anymore. I grew up in Park Slope, BK and lived in Bushwick for years but can’t afford those neighborhoods anymore. Once we had a baby we couldn’t afford it, it was done, we had to move to the suburbs, unless we wanted to live and raise our baby in a 1 bedroom apt under the train the train tracks :-/
Same. Had to flee once our kid was born.
I mean, I don’t get the BFD. Sure, she’s rich, she can live anywhere she wants, but it’s not like she robbed a bank for her money. I mean, I wouldn’t want to raise my kid near the Hollywood scene either. I’m trying to raise an ‘interesting/interested’ kid in bumf**k Kentucky, but I don’t really have an option – if I did, I’d shoot out of here in a second to Brooklyn LOL. But he is interested and interesting, I’m sure she realizes that. She basically just had a long-winded way of saying she really likes Brooklyn. I just don’t have any big opinions about her, but I don’t find this particularly problematic imo
@Shannon I agree. It just sounds like she is describing Brooklyn the way she’s experiencing it.
I am emigrating out to the US in the next few years and considered Brooklyn at one point. Why? Because it’s walkable, parts have greater access to downtown than some places in upper Manhattan, and they’ve got some really nice neighbourhoods. Nothing wrong with wanting or enjoying that.
It’s true, people who live in New York are automatically more interesting and interested than people who live in California. And let’s not even talk about those people that live in that whole flyover part in the middle — ugh. ::eyeroll::
It sounds so snobby and ignorant, doesn’t it?
Yes.
I guess us people in the South aren’t that ‘interesting and interested.’ *eye roll*
I can see why she would rather live in Brooklyn than LA (even though I think LA gets a bad rap). I think LA is nice for escaping and visiting because of the lifestyle.
Los Angeles and California are a lot more than Hollywood and Silicon Valley. Yet, the whole state gets reduced to one of those locations.
Does she think everyone in NY is brilliant and interesting? LOL come on. I’d pick LA over NYC just for the weather alone. I love NYC…one of my fav places…but you can’t beat Southern Cali when it comes to weather. I need sunshine !
As a European I completely understand why she’s drawn to NYC more. LA does seems shallow and uncultured compared to NYC
California has a ton of culture. Hollywood is not all of California. Also, honestly places are shallow if you’re shallow (not you personally).
It’s beautiful here and there is so much to do, camping, hiking, fishing, skiing, swimming in the ocean. We have museums and great food, whether a Michelin five star or your local taqueria. I love traveling, but I’d never live anywhere else… except Paris, I would definitely take Paris, at least until I retire. lol
“Uncultured”
You cannot be serious.
yep
I wonder if she understands the irony of her position – a boring rich person trying to escape other boring rich, who is the reason interesting middle/lower class cannot afford to live where she is moving to. High five!
Omg, exactly this.
It is obnoxious.
If she can’t figure out that it takes more than a zip code to make you interesting and interested, then she clearly isn’t either.
My best friend is a NY transplant and she’s become insufferable with her “NY is the best place ever” commentary. I’m from LA and people forget that LA is a massive place and not easily characterized as a simple boring beach utopia. It’s complex, SO culturally and economically diverse and SO many different things to do if you leave the confines of boring west LA. You can surf, ski and be in the desert in one day! There are world class museums, music venues, amazing ethnic neighborhoods—what the heck is everyone hating on?? LA is effing amazing. Only a boring person would be bored in LA. So that makes Emily Blunt boring. Being at the forefront of gentrification doesn’t make someone “interesting and interested”.
Agree, but can we maybe remember that Emily is a Londoner and Brooklyn is far closer in character to London than it is to LA. I wouldn’t ever dismiss LA as just ‘heat and Hollywood’ (I know it’s far more than that) but I still wouldn’t want to live there because (as someone who lives in London) I need my seasons and the chaotic city bustle and the fact I can walk everywhere and that I’m living side by side with people from every corner of the earth, all of us getting along and doing our thing.
Not wanting to live in LA doesn’t make either me or Emily Blunt boring, it just makes us people who need different things than LA offers in order to feel ‘at home’.
And ‘feeling at home’ is precisely what I got from Emily’s enthusiastic comments about Brooklyn.
Yeah exactly, Skylark. You explained it very well. People shouldn’t get hurt feelings over this.
To echo what you said, I think sometimes Californians forget how culturally different the northeast is from west coast. As you said, EU is just a short trip across the Atlantic for us. Most European cities are more similar in terms of climate as well as being dense cities that are made for walking. Honestly, any city where I have to own a car is a “no” for me. I’ve been to LA seven times and London three times but I feel more at home in London than I do in LA. *shrugs*
Likewise, I bet most Australians prefer LA over NYC, ya know?
It seems like many Brits, who are celebrities, and move to America love NYC compared to LA. I know Dave Gahan of Depeche Mode, who lived in California for several years, said NYC felt like home to him the minute he moved there. David Bowie lived there. Natasha Richardson absolutely loved NYC. Liam Neeson loved it over LA, which he enjoyed living in. I think they love it for the reasons you’ve stated.
I don’t disagree on there being obvious differences between the west and east coasts, but the gross generalization in these threads point to the superiority of NY over LA. It’s one thing to say that NY is more like London, and thus feels more like home, and another to say that LA is fake, plastic, shallow and boring. A small privileged microcosm of LA and OC might fit that stereotype but last I checked, there are plenty of plastic surgeons cashing in on East Coast clientele.
I speak as a Los Angeleno who has lived in London zone 2 for the last ten years. People always ask me “where is better?” and I always say that there is no answer for that question bc it’s not comparing like for like. They are so different, of course there are things I like and dislike about both places. There is no “better”, just “different”, and I love both places for different reasons.
Also people complain about LA traffic. Do you know how long it takes to drive 1 mile in London?? I gave birth in a hospital 3 miles from my house and almost had the baby in the car because it takes 45 minutes to drive up ONE road in zone 2. God forbid you want to make it to the M25 in under an hour and a half—it takes longer driving though London than going from the M25 to north Yorkshire!
Absolutely agree. I don’t think Emily’s trying to be snobby either.
I live in LA and I know southern Calif has a lot to offer especially nice weather. Sure LA has a lot of cultural diversity and world class attractions too, but my biggest problem with LA is that all those attractions are spread out and not easily accessible to 90% of LA residents unless you drive all around LA. It’s a very isolative city in many ways. Yes there’s people who get out more and are interesting, but on the whole the construction and planning of the city lends it’s self more to many enclosed, cut off communities that don’t work in conjunction together as one integral cosmopolitan LA.
That doesn’t mean LA doesn’t work for everyone. Some people don’t want to live in a compacted metropolitan. Many people like living in the suburbs which is mostly what LA is. an ongoing, expanse of neighboring suburbs cross sectioned by freeways. LA is very much a working class/middle class city when you take into account all the many cities and communities that it’s made up of. For many, many people in the greater LA it’s not about the world class attractions and Hollywood. It’s just about working and the day to day with what’s available and convenient in your little suburb of the expanse what is LA. And it’s very common to just drive to another city for what ever your community doesn’t have like a mall or certain types of food. What ever it is you can find it in LA.
ITA, Deens. My feeling aren’t hurt, she just sounds ignorant. 🤷🏻♀️
DP
Lol I remeber those citizenship threads.
She and John are quite boring but inoffensive. I just find weird how John can’t say 2 sentences without mentioning her.
You’re right, he CAN’T say two sentences without mentioning her, lol 🤣
Gentrification is a positive thing. Many of these neighbourhoods people speak so warmly off were full of crime and poverty. Dangerous, ugly and frightening. They are now being improved, made safe, attractive and livable. It is the future. I don’t get why people hate it. They are plenty of crime-ridden hellholes to move to if you like it gritty and dirty. I’ll choose the gentrified location any day.
People say similar about the UK. I live in a nice area surrounded by a couple of notoriously horrid areas where knife crime and gang culture is rife. All that’s there is chicken shops, barbers and litter. Would I rather cute coffee shops and Italian restaurants and hipsters? Bring them on.
It’s not about “liking” things gritty and dirty, it’s about being able to afford living in a decent neighborhood. Gentrification tends to price out all but the most affluent from an area that the less affluent have been supporting and living in for decades. It tends to further segregate the local schools and exacerbates the divide between the haves and the have nots.
Agreed—I moved to a rapidly gentrifying area and prices skyrocket out of control. In our case our property DOUBLED in value in 6 years. You’re lucky if you’re a homeowner but renters are sh%t out of luck—and the “interesting people” don’t usually make a lot of money to begin with and they tend to be the renters. So gradually the neighborhood becomes more homogenized with wealthy homeowners who work in finance/banking/consulting who tend to send their kids to private school. Meanwhile the creatives have moved on to the next hot place where they can afford rent etc etc. Neighbourhoods do clean up but the heart and soul gets removed bc the new people who have moved in work long hours and rarely volunteer, get involved in community projects etc. They just mingle with their rich neighbors. That’s the downside.
Gentrification is very good… for rich people. But what about for the people who have always lived in those areas, and who cannot afford it anymore, and have to move to poorer areas, in worst conditions? And it is not only that: in my country, for instance, gentrification is happening at an incredible pace in the old towns of our most important cities and they just lose their identity and uniqueness. There has to be some balance between making these places “safer” and “prettier” or “more clean” and making them completely lose their character and what made them unique.
Your comment is steeped in privilege.
“All that’s there is chicken shops, barbers and litter.”
…and people too, right?
Aren’t you basically calling peoples’ neighborhoods disgusting?
Don’t you think the people living in those neighborhoods would enjoy the chance to live in a nice neighborhood like yours?
With gentrification becoming the overwhelming norm and affordable housing becoming few and far-between, these people will eventually get pushed out when the wealth spreads into their neighborhoods.
Don’t you ever wonder who lived in your apartment/house before you did? Why did they get pushed out and where did they go?
Do you really want to live in a city that is only inhabited by wealthy people? Gentrification is not a *good thing*, it is a problematic thing.
*applause* 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
Ugh. “Chicken shops,” I think you might be more at home at Breitbart. You can dog whistle all day long, and no one will call you out.
Funny how no one ever tries to gentrify Appalachian trailer parks full of tweakers, run down convenience stores and empty Mountain Dew cans.
I thought that, too, @magnoliarose. Suppose “barber” is supposed to do the same thing …
@i, pet goat 2
Yeah, it was. I didn’t understand the subtleties since a lot aren’t directed at me, but I have made an effort to learn them, and they are unmistakable. They should be called out every single time, so people know what they are reading and it helps expose bigotry and how prevalent and insidious it is.
The more I learn about them I don’t know how black people and Latinos aren’t exhausted by it on a daily basis. I think it is part of being an ally to confront it.
What is happening with her expression on that cover? I don’t understand why photographers take photos of people like that, and that magazines publish them. It’s not a flattering look.
I lived in Brooklyn and hated it. lol. But I like her and dont think this interview is off putting at all
I just moved to Brooklyn last fall after trying to avoid it for years. I lived on the Upper West Side for three years and say whatever you want but Manhattan also has neighborhoody feeling neighborhoods. I loved the UWS and I never would have left but I had 2 roommates and needed a change. There was no way I was going to find an affordable studio on the UWS. I really wanted to move to Astoria, Queens (also very gentrified now but I feel like it has been for awhile).
However after searching high and low for 3 months straight, I ended up in Brooklyn in a 2 bedroom (now I have 1 roommate and it’s way better that way) when that was not at all where I saw myself ending up! Everyone asks why I moved to Brooklyn and it wasn’t intentional at all, it’s not like I was trying to impose my gentrification whiteness. In fact, I really didn’t want to move to Brooklyn at all. Rents are not that much cheaper than in Manhattan so I was kind of like what is the point. But now that I’ve been here 6 months, I will profess to actually liking it. I will say it is much calmer where I live, it is more family friendly, and it feels more like a small town than a neighborhood in a NYC borough which I do prefer overall. I don’t find Brooklyn to be more or less interesting than Manhattan–it’s just different.
Brooklyn is and has always been overrated. The Bronx is where it’s at. And Harlem and Washington Heights, of course
sure, contribute to gentrification, why not?
I saw the movie yesterday, it’s good.
I’ve seen a lot of actors from European cities prefer NY to LA. She’s moved to a new place and is excited about it right now. I don’t see the big deal.
That isn’t the problem. I still like both of them, and I understand where she is coming from, and Emily means no harm. The problem is her statement is an example of the issue of gentrification in general. However, she is British and wouldn’t know about that aspect, and I think she gets far too much heat. She has a droll, dry sense of humor, that is distinctly British, but it is hard to convey in interviews.
It does open an opportunity to discuss the issue though.
I agree about NYC over LA for Brits. They perceive distance very differently, and LA is spread out. I love London so I can see how LA would not be her thing.
Being British isn’t an excuse. We have the same problems here.
We have our own gentrification woes in Britain too, especially around London.
I’m from London and I lived in Santa Cruz for a year – I think it’s heaven on earth. Brooklyn does feel like London but it is not “better” than Cali – they are both lovely. :o)
Oh yeah baby Santa Cruz is heaven on earth.
Lived there nine years. Haven’t been back over ten years now. It was going through changes when I left, so I can’t say that it’s still as cool as it used to be, but I’d still live there again in a heart beat if I could afford it.
A Quite Place was such a great film. I always thought John Krasinski was kind of more comedy and a lightweight actor (never seen The Office though; only saw him in rom coms) and was pleasantly surprised he acted so well AND directed this. Awesome film.
Watched a couple of their promotional interviews. I like Emily but she seems very tightly zipped up, tired (two young kids), and hungry (didn’t Julianne Moore say that’s true of all actresses?) and not on the ball. I’d look into supplementing and getting advice from a naturopath or nutritionist. Also she seems to have always had a very sharp, almost borderline cruel/wicked sense of humour that can be taken the wrong way. She was going on about how she got her husband to fire the original actress who was cast.