David Fincher's "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" doesn't hit theaters until Dec. 20, but the film received two Golden Globe nominations Thursday -- one for its score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross and one for its star, Rooney Mara, who plays the computer hacker Lisbeth Salander originally brought to the screen by actress Noomi Rapace in the Swedish movie version of the bestselling thriller. Mara spoke by phone to 24 Frames' Amy Kaufman about how she feels about the nomination and the "Dragon Tattoo" whirlwind.
A.K.: Where are you?
R.M.: I’m in New York. I’ve kind of just been all busy. It’s been crazy. We had three premieres in three different countries in three nights.
A.K.: So you’re jet lagged?
R.M.: I was like half asleep getting my hair and makeup done to go to something when I heard about the nomination. It was a very pleasant surprise. I had totally forgotten that was even happening, because I’ve been travelling for three days. I was really excited.
A.K.: Is it weird to be nominated when the film hasn’t even come out yet?
R.M.: I’ve never had any other experience with anything like this, so I’m just looking forward to the movie finally coming out. We all put so much hard work into it.
A.K.: You’ve said it’s been hard to transition out of playing Lisbeth. Are you still in the Lisbeth mindset?
R.M.: No, I’m not. Obviously, there are parts of me that still are. When I told David [Fincher] that coming out of the role was much harder than going into it, he said I must have been more at odds with my former self than I thought.
A.K.: Do you think he was right?
R.M.: I don’t know.
A.K.: Were you disappointed that the film wasn’t nominated in other categories?
R.M.: We never really thought about any of that while making the film. It just never crossed our minds. We’ve worked really hard. We wanted to bring this book to life.
A.K.: While doing press, have you felt the weight of the fans’ expectations for this movie?
R.M.: Definitely. There’s always that weight, but you just have to remember that it’s impossible to please everyone. We’re really proud of what we did.
A.K.: Are you going to keep your hair in the Lisbeth style?
R.M.: No. It’s slowly growing -– but hair doesn’t grow that fast.
A.K.: Are you going to go back to blond?
R.M.: I was never blond, but I’m gonna dye it.
A.K.: How do you think Noomi Rapace is feeling right now, seeing you tackle a role she already did?
R.M.: I think she is incredible, and I think there’s room for both performances. I think she’s probably fine with it. She was done with the role and she was incredible. I think our performances are very different.
A.K.: You don’t strike me as a fan of award shows. What do you think the experience will be like?
R.M.: I think it’ll be fun. It’s always really nice when people respect the work you did. It’s not the end all, be all for me. This is my first experience, so I don’t have anything to compare it to. Of course, I’m really excited.
Really, really, didn't get that.
Congratulations Rooney! 
