A New Olsen Hits Sundance

Move over, Mary-Kate, Ashley: Little sister Elizabeth has 2 indie flicks
By Polly Davis Doig,  Newser Staff
Posted Jan 24, 2011 7:09 PM CST
A New Olsen Hits Sundance
Brady Corbet, Elizabeth Olsen, Sarah Paulson, Christopher Abbott, Julia Garner, John Hawkes, Louisa Krause, and Huge Dancy from the film "Martha Marcy May Marlene."   (AP Photo/Victoria Will)

Cue the inevitable jokes about a full house, but there's a new Olsen in town, reports People. Elizabeth Olsen—at age 21 three years younger than her famous twin sisters—is rolling out a pair of indie movies at Sundance that are causing a stir. "It's hard for independent films when they want to get money," says Olsen. "And to have a lead be an unknown—it's kind of a risk for people to take. And so the fact that they took that risk was like made my year, my life, I don't know! It was really exciting."

Olsen is appearing in Silent House, based on a Uruguayan film, made by the folks behind Open Water, and shot in one continuous take. She moves from that to Martha Macy May Marlene, a tale of young women adjusting to life after leaving a cult. All of which are a shade darker than her roles in her sisters' movies: "Sometimes I had lines, and sometimes I'd just sit on a stool," she laughs. "I couldn't pronounce my r's." (Click for "5 Things to Know About Elizabeth Olsen.")

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