‘Ghostbusters’ Star Emily Alyn Lind Explains Why Her ‘Frozen Empire’ Character Was Kept Secret
[This story contains spoilers for Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire.]
You’ve got questions and Emily Alyn Lind has answers.
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In Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, when Mckenna Grace’s Phoebe Spengler was sidelined by the Ghostbusters’ longtime bureaucratic nemesis, Walter Peck (William Atherton), the young Ghostbusting hero went on an unexpected journey that quickly introduced her to Lind’s surprise character, Melody.
Melody was nowhere to be found in the marketing for the film, but as soon as she’s introduced opposite Phoebe during a park-based chess match, it becomes clear why director Gil Kenan and Sony played their cards close to their vest. Melody is not only a ghost in the form of a 16-year-old girl, but she also interacts with Phoebe on a very human and relatable level. In other words, she’s a far cry from the typical apparitions that the franchise has offered up, and she further expands on how Ghost Egon was utilized in Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021).
Naturally, Lind was also perplexed at first over her cloak-and-dagger casting.
“I asked the same question. I was a little confused as well, but I think it’s because this is a very different kind of ghost for the Ghostbusters franchise,” Lind tells The Hollywood Reporter. “She’s a ghost with a heart. She’s a ghost that has a full human relationship. So I think that there was a part of them that really wanted to catch people off guard in that sense.”
There was also plenty of secrecy during pre-production, as Lind didn’t even discover that she was playing a ghost until shortly before cameras rolled.
“I met with [director] Gil [Kenan] a few times to delve into the character, and he never mentioned that I was playing a ghost. But he was like, ‘I think you’ll like it. There’s a few surprises there.’ And when I finally read that she’s ‘a ghost,’ I said, ‘What!?’” Lind recalls.
There was even a plan to present Melody in a more ghostly way by having her levitate in the air like most of the franchise’s ghosts, but Kenan and co. opted to do away with that idea in order to make Melody as humanly accessible as possible.
Upon their introduction, Melody and Phoebe quickly hit off, so much so that it raised the question among viewers as to whether the relationship was sparked in a platonic or romantic way. According to Lind, their relationship was never explicitly spelled out in either direction, opting to be open to interpretation.
“I like that we didn’t define it as one thing or another. Sometimes, when people do that, it ruins it. It’s too concrete and absolute, and they’re so not absolute as characters,” Lind says.
Oddly enough, Lind has known Grace for many years, given that she’s friends with her younger sister, Alyvia Alyn Lind. (The latter is currently starring on Syfy and USA’s Chucky series.)
“[Alyvia] was like, ‘What the hell!? Why didn’t I do this one?’ But she came to the premiere, and they hung out, which was cute,” Lind says.
Melody accidentally burned herself and her family alive during a tenement fire many decades earlier, and so she’d been trapped in ghost limbo ever since. Her desperation to reunite with her family in the afterlife became so great that she even agreed to serve up Phoebe to Garraka, the movie’s big bad.
“Thank god she came back and fixed what she did wrong. Otherwise, I would have had so many fans hating me,” Lind says.
Below, during a recent conversation with THR, Lind also discusses acting at the age of five in Gaspar Noé’s Enter the Void, which also revolves around a ghost story and family tragedy.
Well, I hope you found some Neosporin.
I did! I had an interview right before this, and I was literally cutting an apple right before I got the call. And then I was like, “Hi, how are you?” while gushing blood everywhere. (Laughs.)
Let’s pretend that bad omens like that are on brand for a Ghostbusters conversation. Anyway, it’s interesting that you and your mom both have ties to Rick Moranis-related franchises now.
I know! She’s been talking about that as well. [Barbara Alyn Woods starred on Honey, I Shrunk the Kids: The TV Show.]
So, like a lot of people, I was caught off guard when your character first appeared in Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, because she wasn’t a part of the marketing. I literally said to myself, “Whoa, Snakebite Andi is in this!?” Why did they keep you and Melody under wraps? Why the secrecy?
I asked the same question. I was a little confused as well, but I think it’s because this is a very different kind of ghost for the Ghostbusters franchise. She’s a ghost with a heart. She’s a ghost that has a full human relationship. So I think that there was a part of them that really wanted to catch people off guard in that sense.
Did you audition with fake sides, codenames and all sorts of measures to keep a lid on it?
I met with Gil [Kenan], Jason [Reitman] and the amazing casting director John Papsidera, but I didn’t know that I was actually playing a ghost until right before I was going to do the movie. I had no idea, but it makes sense now that I look back at the sides. One of the lines was like, “Oh, don’t worry. I get it. I’m like a hundred years old. You got a name?” I just thought that was a sarcastic way of saying that she’s an old soul, but now I know that she’s literally a hundred years old. So they kept it under wraps. I met with Gil a few times to delve into the character, and he never mentioned that I was playing a ghost. But he was like, “I think you’ll like it. There’s a few surprises there.” And when I finally read that she’s “a ghost,” I said, “What!?” So that was very surprising.
Did you have to wear a mocap suit or anything along those lines?
No, I didn’t have to do anything, surprisingly enough. The practical effects were crazy on this film. There was so much of that. But, for me, specifically, I never had to wear dots. I was followed around by a green man a lot, but it was never green screened or any of that. So I have no idea how they ended up doing the ghostly magic to me. We were going to use this device called a parallelogram. It basically holds you at the waist so that you’re just barely lifted off of the ground, but we ended up not using it. Instead, Melody actually walks on the ground [unlike most of the ghosts]. We just wanted her to feel more authentic and connected.
Now, there’s an implication to her relationship with Phoebe (Mckenna Grace). It’s subtle, but it’s there. Actually, maybe it’s not subtle considering Phoebe risked her life just to spend two minutes in Melody’s dimensional plane. How were the two of you directed when it came to their dynamic?
Phoebe and Melody are cut from the same cloth in a lot of ways. They’re both outsiders in their own ways. They’re both old souls, figuratively and literally. And since physical touch was off the table, that can get pretty irritating in the beginning of any relationship. So [Phoebe] just wanted to be able to be close to this person. Your question is basically, “Is this a romantic relationship or a friendship?” and a lot of people are asking that. But the beauty of this movie is that it’s just two souls connecting. The fact that they literally can’t touch is a metaphor for their deeper soul connection that defies labels.
There’s elements to it that do feel like romantic gestures, and while Mckenna is younger than me [in real life], these characters are still two kids in a lot of ways. They’re outsiders who feel different and like they’re not heard. And now they’re connecting on this grandiose level in two different dimensional planes, and they’re just trying to figure out this world together. So I like that we didn’t define it as one thing or another. Sometimes, when people do that, it ruins it. It’s too concrete and absolute, and they’re so not absolute as characters.
I referenced Snakebite Andi from Doctor Sleep earlier, as you and Mckenna (The Haunting of Hill House) have both worked with Mike Flanagan. Did you use that as an icebreaker?
Funnily enough, Mckenna is actually really good friends with my little sister, [Alyvia Alyn Lind], so I’ve known her for a very long time. They were child actors at the same time so they went out for all the same stuff. But, yeah, we did talk about Mike. He’s a genius, and we both love him. So the ice was broken pretty fast with Miss Mckenna. She’s a really cool chick.
Has your sister been giving you a hard time about all this?
Oh yeah! She’s like, “What the hell!? Why am I not there? Why didn’t I do this one?” But she came to the premiere, and they hung out, which was cute.
Who’s actually the better chess player between you and Mckenna?
Mckenna. Mckenna is better.
I sensed Melody’s betrayal coming just because I’ve seen too many movies, but, in hindsight, she dropped a clue when she joked, “I’ll be 16 for the rest of eternity unless I complete my unfinished business.” Did you include any other hints about her true intentions that people can look for on their second viewing?
Yeah, “16 for the rest of eternity …” was a big one. When Phoebe talks about the matches being Melody’s anchor to this world, that means a lot for the entire film. This spiritually loaded object is the only thing that’s attaching Melody to this world, and she’s trying to light these matches the entire time because that means that she can actually leave this world and see her family again. So that’s an interesting item to look for. There are other parts where you can see that she’s starting to feel a little guilty, but it was important for the surprise element to not have a big dynamic change. That’s what made Melody’s betrayal even more hurtful and sad, and thank god she came back and fixed what she did wrong. Otherwise, I would have had so many fans hating me, just like they’ve hated me in other films for fucking the story up. (Laughs.)
Yeah, Melody ultimately does an about face and helps bust the big bad ghost with the Ghostbusters of past and present. Being in that firehouse with all those actors, was that a real “how did I get here” moment?
It was wild! To be honest, I get excited about it to this day. Even just talking about it is so cool. The new Ghostbusters and the OG Ghostbusters were all frozen, and they were all looking over at my character to help. And I was like, “Of course, I’ll help!” I’ve been in this industry for a very long time now, and this movie gets me so giddy. I can’t even tell you exactly why. You would assume it’s just because of how iconic the franchise is, but it was such a fulfilling experience. I was nerding out every day, and there’s just nothing like being in the same room as Bill [Murray], Dan [Aykroyd], Annie [Potts] and Ernie [Hudson].
So her family owned the Melody Diner, which they clearly named after her. And because she accidentally started the fire that burned down their tenement, that’s why she’s stuck in limbo?
Yes, Melody and her family died in a house fire many years ago, and we come to know that Melody was responsible for that, or at least she believes she was. We don’t go into detail about it, but she’s carried that weight ever since. So that’s why she has unfinished business, and a lot of her personality stems from that guilt. She’s since become this natural city rat, and she hangs out in the park and wastes her time with silly mortals.
You’ve probably been asked a few times now if you’ve had any paranormal experiences, but do you consider your experience on Gaspar Noé’s Enter the Void at age 5 or 6 to be your version of one?
(Laughs.) You’re funny. I would say so, actually. That was such an experience in and of itself. I don’t know if it’s paranormal, but it feels like the ghost of my past at this point. I was like five years old, and it was the craziest experience. People tell me, “Oh, you don’t remember being five or six years old,” and I’m always like, “I do, because I basically lived through a traumatic experience.” Yes, it was fake, but it was an extreme and tragic experience of being in a car crash where my character’s whole family dies in front of her at age five. So that was just a wild experience with all the fake blood, and it’s the reason I do what I do today.
It’s just funny how Enter the Void and Ghosbusters both used different genres and tones to tell ghost stories involving your character’s family tragedy.
Yeah, it’s so weird. I’ll do something upbeat next time, and we’ll talk about that. I’ll just be a carefree, happy girl with a beautiful family and a dog. I’ll be a Norman Rockwell painting. That’s what I’m looking for next.
Your mom, Barbara Alyn Woods, is an actor, as are your two sisters, Natalie Alyn Lind and Alyvia Alyn Lind. Do all of you have pretty similar styles and techniques?
We’re all very different. I’ve been in a lot of horror films and whatnot. I’ve perfected my scream way too well, and there’s blood that’s going to be on my scalp for the rest of my life. I just can never get away from it, but I love the horror genre. My older sister Natalie, who’s always doing something wonderful, is obsessed with the horror genre as well, and she’s ready to delve into it a little bit more. Even my little sister is on Chucky, so maybe that’s the genre that keeps us together. But we’re all very different, which helps. And as Aly [Alyvia] ages and starts to look like a real human adult at 16, which is so scary, we’re all starting to morph into being the same age range. As sisters, you would assume that we go out for the same things, but we’re just so different that it never really overlaps.
I’ve talked to enough former child actors to know that there’s usually a point where they ask themselves if acting is something they really want to do or if it’s just something they fell into when they were too young to know what’s what. Did you ever ponder a question like that?
I think I did as a rebellious teenager. At some point, I was just like, “Mom, I’m going to do this.” And she was like, “Well, if you do, then you’re not going to act anymore. You can’t go on to auditions if you’re going to do that.” And I was like, “Fuck, she got me.” I just wanted to act so badly, and I always put it first. But I was rebellious. I was a wild child at some points. I would sneak out to go to poetry slams in the valley. (Laughs.) So I thought I was wild, but I was a middle child, for sure. We’ll just say that. So I remember my mom very clearly saying, “We will take this away from you. You have to shape up. But if you want to go back to regular school, that’s totally fine.” And once again, I was like, “Fuck, she got me there.”
So there was definitely a phase where I wanted to be rebellious in some ways, but in the biggest moments where I would’ve been like, “Yes, I want to be out of this,” I never said it. People always ask, “Did they push it on you as a kid actor? Did they make you do it?” And the answer was always no. As soon as I started doing it, I was like, “This is what I will do for the rest of my life.” I really had no interest in learning about anything else, and at a certain point, I just kept doing it because I didn’t learn about anything else.
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Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire is now playing in movie theaters.
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