Evan Rachel Wood Reflects on ‘Across the Universe’ as a True Cinematic Journey

During a virtual introduction to Cinespia’s outdoor screening at L.A.’s Hollywood Forever Cemetery, Evan Rachel Wood revealed an interesting tidbit about the filming of the “I Am the Walrus” scene in Across the Universe. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Wood shared that both she and co-star Jim Sturgess were actually tripping during the scene.

Wood explained that director Julie Taymor was initially unaware of their condition. “When I told her that later on, she said, ‘Oh. That makes sense!'” Wood recounted.

In Across the Universe, Wood portrayed Lucy and Sturgess played Jude, depicting a romance between an upper-class girl and a working-class artist, inspired by the music of the Beatles. The film featured many familiar songs sung by the cast, including the title track performed by Sturgess and Wood’s rendition of “Blackbird.”

The movie received critical acclaim for Albert Wolsky’s colorful costumes, earning an Oscar nomination, and was also nominated for best comedy or musical movie at the Golden Globe Awards. However, Wood noted that the film faced studio pushback.

“The heads of the studio wanted to change quite a bit,” she said. “They wanted to remove anything political, anything queer, and anything psychedelic. So, pretty much every cool part of this film would have ended up on the cutting room floor if it wasn’t for our amazing director Julie Taymor.

She stood her ground and got the entire cast to back her up and say we would remove our names from this film if they were to gut it in that way.” Wood’s latest project is Backspot, in which she plays the role of a sadistic coach of an all-star cheerleading squad.