Desde Hollywood had the pleasure of speaking with super talented rising star Liza Soberano about her first Hollywood movie, LISA FRANKENSTEIN.

The Filipino actress and singer injects her electric personality into the coming-of-age, horror rom-com, bringing ‘Taffy’ to life, the charming stepsister of the protagonist.

The film is directed by Zelda Williams -in her feature-length debut- and written by Diablo Cody. The cast also includes Kathryn Newton, Cole Sprouse, Henry Eikenberry, Joe Chrest, and Carla Gugino.

Watch the video interview and/or read the interesting exchange below, where Liza shares her thoughts on her character, researching the 80’s, wanting to play a monster herself, and much more.

Focus Features will release LISA FRANKENSTEIN this Friday, February 9, in theaters nationwide.

It’s so cool and refreshing to see this mash-up of different genres. What were those conversations with the director and you, and the cast, to kind of nail that very heightened, specific tone?

Before going into filming, I made sure to have a few conversations with the director, Zelda Williams, because I had my own perception of what the tone would be initially after reading the script. And I just wanted to make sure that we were seeing eye to eye on things. And so it really helped. I asked her certain questions like “What type of movie is this? What are the movie references that you pulled from to create this film? What do the visuals look like?” I had her show some pictures to me, mood boards and everything. I also asked her if she could create like an album, a Spotify album of different songs for me to listen to. That way I got an idea of the tone and the sound of everything.
So I made sure to do my homework and really understand the exact tone that they were looking for. And you’re right, it’s a tricky balance between the comedy, the suspense, the romance and everything. And I think she and Diablo did so well at it and all the actors. And it was so much fun doing and balancing that.

How was it for you to submerge in the crazy technicolor that was the pop culture landscape of the eighties?

So some of the movies that I had to watch in preparation for this were Ferris Bueller’s Day Off… Actually, Zelda said that Ferris Bueller’s Girlfriend in the movie is a good character example of who she wanted Taffy to be. Aside from that, I also watched Beetlejuice, and Death Becomes Her. With the music and everything, I started searching like eighties pop culture because I wanted to be able to get like the inside jokes and the references that Diablo was making in the script.
I did like I did sort of a deep dive into eighties pop culture. I even watched a bunch of videos of people from the eighties dancing because I wanted to understand, like, how they moved in the eighties, how they talked. What things were interesting to a high school student in the eighties? What looks did they have? So yeah, I just really tried to immerse myself in the eighties and really understand the psyche of a high school student then.

And you did an amazing job because, yes, you are bringing to life this kind of archetype of the Valley girl of the eighties, but she’s more than that. How was it for you to explore all those different aspects of Taffy?

It was a lot of fun for me because initially when I read the script, on a surface level, you kind of see that Taffy is kind of made out to be that stereotypical, evil stepsister or mean girl who pretends like she’s sweet and is the girl next door and everything. But then, if you really do a deep dive into the character and how she sees Lisa and how she is around her family and friends, you’ll understand that she is very genuine and earnest and truly loves Lisa. She has her moments where she says pretty forward things, especially when it comes to the physical appearance of a lot of people, but I would like to blame that on Janet, her mom. It’s her upbringing. She doesn’t know that she’s being mean and it’s just she’s saying it like it’s a fact. But it normally comes from a good place, with good intentions. She’s all love and all support for the people that she truly loves and cares about.
So, I had a fun time kind of balancing that because obviously, we wanted the viewers to think that, maybe Taffy’s in on it, too. Maybe Taffy is a mean girl who’s pretending to be nice to Lisa initially. But eventually you figure out that she really does love Lisa and she really, genuinely is a supporter.

They’re representing different types of young women that come together to overcome different obstacles. Can you talk about that feminist, coming of age… “coming off rage” side of the story?

Yeah. I actually had a conversation with Zelda and Diablo about that because I noticed that all the female characters in the movie were very strong female characters,very empowered in different ways. And even Lisa, like in her own little way, even if she’s seen as an outcast or someone who is less confident than Taffy, she’s still very empowered in her own way and knows exactly what she wants and kind of just sticks to that. That’s what really excited me because I’m a women’s and children’s rights ambassador for Save the Children, a global organization.
I would love to lean into stories that empower and inspire young women. I love that in this film you see different archetypes of a woman, and of an empowered woman and hopefully, that different female audiences can resonate with that and find who they are.

It’s pretty obvious that you guys had a lot of fun filming the movie. Is there one particular scene that is especially memorable for you? How was it for you to watch the whole thing afterwards? What was your reaction?

I would say that my most favorite scene that we filmed was the one where Kathryn, Cole, Henry and I were finally in one scene together. That is actually the climax of the film as well. So a lot was going on technicality-wise and just like in real life too, we were all together throwing banter on set and just having a good time.
We filmed this like almost two years ago, actually, and I kind of forgot about some of the scenes that we filmed. So when I watched it pretty recently, I was pleasantly surprised because honestly, I forgot how much I was in the movie. I kept on popping up! [Laughs] But it was also kind of strange because I’ve never played a character from the eighties so when I was watching myself, It was like I wasn’t watching myself. I wasn’t seeing Liza, only Taffy, which was a good thing. I hope others see that too, in the movie.
But yeah, it was so much fun seeing it all together because, when you’re filming, you don’t hear the music, don’t see the special effects and everything. But even during filming, it was already so magical. So when I finally saw it together, like as a whole, it just made even more sense to me, and it became even more fun than what I had initially imagined.

I’m a geek, a nerd. I’m always thinking about science fiction and superhero movies. I wonder if there’s a particular kind of comic book hero that you would like to play, or a specific universe, like DC or Marvel.

Okay. I’ve always wanted to play a superhero character. There’s not one in particular, but I wouldn’t mind being in any of the universes, whether the Marvel Avengers universe or the DC universe. I just want to play a superhero in general, or I want to play someone from the supernatural world. I actually want to play a monster myself, like either a zombie or a vampire or anything.

Cool! We have many movies coming… we have Blade! It’s a superhero movie with vampires, so who knows? Fingers crossed.

A coming of RAGE love story from acclaimed writer Diablo Cody (Jennifer’s Body) about a misunderstood teenager and her high school crush, who happens to be a handsome corpse. After a set of playfully horrific circumstances bring him back to life, the two embark on a murderous journey to find love, happiness… and a few missing body parts along the way.