Amy Adams is currently promoting Nightbitch, adapted from Rachel Yoder’s book of the same name. It’s about a new mother who gives up her career for her baby and starts to feel like she’s turning into a dog. When the film was announced, it reminded many 30 Rock fans of the kind of jokey film title in Tracy Jordan’s CV. But Nightbitch is real, and it premiered at TIFF, to mixed reviews. People love Amy Adams and people want the best for her. But no one is sure that this is the best project for her. Still, Amy loves the film and she’s very happy to talk about it. Amy covers the latest issue of Variety, and here are some highlights from the interview:

On her “look” in Nightbitch: “I’ve had people be like, ‘Oh my gosh, you looked awful.’ I was like, ‘You do realize that’s what I look like in my life, right?’ I love the metaphor of her connecting with a more primal and feral side of herself in order to learn how to let go and be present and engaged and flexible and find her joy.”

When she became a mother to her now-14-year-old daughter Aviana: “Every moment needed to be dedicated to the care and keeping of my child,” she says, adding that, while her relationship with Le Gallo was “more equitable” than the marriage in “Nightbitch,” it was tough to be the first of her friend group to become a mother. “Motherhood did redirect my priorities. And I think that changed some relationships. That was hard, but I don’t think it’s uncommon.”

The Nightbitch chin hairs were grown by Adams, they weren’t CGI: In an early scene, Mother discovers new hair growing on her chin, and Adams eagerly volunteered to grow the hair herself. “The hair on the face — that was mine,” she says proudly. “I saw it as a wonderful expression of the human experience without any artifice or filters. Or tweezers! I have that kind of hair that just grows overnight. One day it’s not there, and the next day it’s like I’m a catfish. That might turn some people away.”

On the mixed reviews: “It could be polarizing. I’m kind of like, ‘If you know, you know!’ It deals with friendship, community, relationships, motherhood, parenthood. It hits on a lot of different ancestral wounds. So if it hits you, that’ll make me really happy.”

A six-time Oscar nominee, with no wins: “I am entirely grateful for it, and it also draws attention to films that might not otherwise get eyes on them.”

On Rachel Brosnahan taking the Lois Lane role in James Gunn’s “Superman.” “I love her. She’s gonna be great. Hopefully the role will be infused with her sensibility and her natural humor and strength and wit,” Adams says, also confirming that she was never under the impression she’d be returning for more “Superman” adventures after her final appearance in “Justice League.” She makes a point to praise her own Man of Steel, Henry Cavill, adding, “Henry was a really brilliant Superman. I offer every Superman luck and stuff, but I think he was great. I just wanted to say that. It’s so in his spirit….Coming from theater, a role never belongs to you. You just do a take on it. That’s how I feel about that franchise.”

Working with 22-year-old Jenna Ortega: “I learn so much from the young women that I work with. I feel like I learn more from them than they could ever learn from me. I do forget that I’m not their age sometimes. I’m like, ‘Amy, you’re 50. You’re not gonna hang!’”

Life as a 50-year-old woman: “It gets so much better. But there are things I miss: my joints working, collagen, things like that.”

[From Variety]

Amy’s admission that she grew her chin hairs herself… omg. A brave new world for actresses, honestly. Some women – many women? – have facial hair. I tweeze my chin hairs at the same time I’m grooming my increasingly chaotic eyebrows. It IS catfish-like. As for thinking that she could hang with Jenna Ortega… that’s funny. I can actually picture their conversations and vibe together. Amy looking at Jenna with those wide eyes, thinking that Jenna is the coolest girl in the world. And Jenna is probably like… Amy should come to the club!

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.