Talking to Winona Ryder is akin to traveling back in time to the 1990s, before Google, the iPad, or the onset of reality TV.
The actress, doll-like and dreamy, just found a cache of mixed tapes she'd made as a teenager, she tells USA TODAY. And she's still firmly entrenched in the pre-digital age.
"I don't have a computer. I don't go on the Internet. I keep hearing that you can find out anything, which is kind of too bad. Now everyone knows the salaries and the budgets and the troubles. It does take the mystery out," says Ryder. "I got this TV installed. It was HD something? It looked like a bad videotape, and I had to take it off. All this stuff and I'm pretty bad with that stuff. I gotta bring in some boys!"
The actress has a standout supporting turn in Darren Aronofsky's trippy ballet thriller "Black Swan," opening next month. She plays Beth, a former prima ballerina who's put out pasture in favor of Natalie Portman's lithe, gorgeous, and young Nina, who gets the lead in Swan Lake. Yes, Ryder can relate - somewhat - to her role in the drama.
"I had this great run when I was a teen and in my 20s and then things got harder. That's why I kind of love the parallel in Black Swan. It's absurd that these girls have to retire so young. I think Darren saw the parallel. I just turned 39 the other day. And it's like wow, in a year I'll be 40," muses Ryder.