drinking

The Girl on the Train Changed Its Setting to Make Emily Blunt’s Alcoholism More Sad

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Emily Blunt in The Girl on the Train. Photo: Barry Wetcher/Universal Pictures

Why did the upcoming film adaptation of The Girl on the Train change its setting from London to New York? Money, of course, but also shame. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, screenwriter Erin Cressida Wilson says that the project was always intended as an American film — keeping it in Britain was “not even on the table.” But now, she says, the different attitudes about drinking in the two countries has added another dimension to Emily Blunt’s character’s alcoholism. “It’s much more of a drinking culture [in England],” Wilson says. “It’s not as shameful as it is here … In America, [drinking at bars] is all about going into a dark hole where nobody can see you do a bad thing.” Upon hearing Wilson’s quotes, the people of Britain attempted to jump out of their seats in a rage, noticed the ground moving uneasily beneath their feet, sat back down and muttered, “Sod off.”

Why Girl on the Train Changed Its Setting to NYC