Filmmaker Woody Allen set his latest film Midnight in Paris in the City of Light, using Paris as a backdrop for his new romantic fantasy starring Rachel McAdams, Owen Wilson, Michael Sheen, Kathy Bates, Adrien Brody, Tom Hiddleston, and Carla Bruni. Midnight in Paris finds Wilson playing Gil, an American screenwriter who wants to turn his talents to writing a novel. He's infatuated with the Paris of the 1920s and writers such as Ernest Hemingway and Gertrude Stein, and wishes he could spend time with his idols from decades past.

Allen incorporates magic into the storytelling, and Gil gets his wish.

Rachel McAdams co-stars as Wilson's fiancée, Inez, a woman used to getting her way who only supports Gil's dreams of writing a novel as long as they don't interfere with his ability to earn enough money so that they can lead a very comfortable life.

At the LA press day for the Sony Pictures Classics film, McAdams said she's been a fan of Allen's work forever. "I've always loved his films, every single one of them has something in it that touched me, moved me, made me think about something in a different way," said McAdams.

The first Woody Allen movie she remembers watching was Annie Hall and her favorite Allen film is Stardust Memories, which she said made working on Midnight in Paris all the more special. "I think there's some similarities there, similar worlds."

On what makes a Woody Allen set different than other film sets:

Rachel McAdams: "It's very relaxed. I mean, it's smaller crews. It's quite civilized; it's not really, really long hours.

It's almost like being on stage. He sets up this space, and it's usually a bigger arena to play in than you normally get. He's like, 'You can go there, you can go over there. I've lit it all beautifully.'"

On her initial conversation with Woody Allen about Midnight in Paris:

Rachel McAdams: "He almost tried to talk me out of it. I was very confused. I was like, 'So, wait, you want me to play the part?' We had a meeting in New York and he said, 'I really would like you to play this part, but if you don't want to do it, we'll do something else. It's fine if you don't want to do it.' I was like, 'Whoa, I want to do it.' So it was very endearing and I was very flattered. We had a very brief meeting and he told me the basics of the character, and then we kind of went from there."

On what makes people fall in love in - and with - Paris:

Rachel McAdams: "I think people really take the time to enjoy life there, you know? You see everyone sitting out on the sidewalk cafes, having coffee, and just kind of taking it in. I think there's just this quality of enjoying life for what it is, and not letting it pass you by, which I think Woody is acknowledging in the film a little bit as well. I think Paris is kind of a great place to do that. I think they appreciate really beautiful things there. It's a hub of art and culture, and as expressed in this film, a place where great artists have gone before and been inspired."

"I don't know. For me personally, I was really taken by - and this sounds so cheesy - but the light. It was so extraordinary. I'd heard that but I thought, 'How different can it be to anywhere else?' And I don't know why it is, but it's just so beautiful. I have a great memory of being on a scooter and going down the Champs-Elysées as the sun's going down, and the breeze, the wind in my hair and just thinking, 'This is the closest thing I can imagine to a heavenly experience.'"

On playing a character who was completely immune to all of Paris' charms:

Rachel McAdams: "It was good. I got a little bit of both worlds. She was outrageous at times and could be quite extreme. I liked her practicality. I like that she didn't pretend to be swept away. She was quite honest about that. Woody warned me at the beginning, 'You will not be playing the object of desire. I hope you're okay with that.' And I was just happy to be in a Woody Allen movie, so the fact that he trusted me to play the villain, so to speak, I was kind of excited about that challenge."

On the legacy of women in Woody Allen's films and Allen's favorite character types for actresses to play:

Rachel McAdams: "I feel like he likes those roles to be very clear. You're kind of helping to inform the story, and if I had made her likable it really wouldn't have worked. She was a necessary foil, and I was happy to play into that. I do remember touching Owen [Wilson]... I had this idea that I was the cat and he was the mouse, and I sort of would always have my paw on his tail. I never let him go too far away from me. And then Woody saw it totally differently. He's like, 'Stop fondling Owen! You're always touching him.' So it was just different ways of looking at it, but it's fun to explore it."

On her character's relationship with Michael Sheen:

Rachel McAdams: "That was funny because Michael didn't realize that we had an affair in the film, because some people read the script and some people aren't given the script. So it was quite funny. I think it was his last day and he said something, and I said, 'We have an affair.' And he was like, 'What?! What do you mean we have an affair. Why didn't you tell me that two weeks ago?' But I think that's an interesting thing that Woody does, where he doesn't tell you everything. He just sort of creates these great situations and lets people play them out. I think sometimes holding things back... I think as actors we can't help but want to facilitate the story and want to let the audience know what's going on. And sometimes I think it's better if we don't know because we don't announce it as much, you know?"

On being able to improvise or play with the dialogue:

Rachel McAdams: "I think there's definitely room. I think it's one of those things where if you can make it work, that's all that matters. I think he's very honest about it. If you think your character would do something and it makes sense, and goes with the flow of things, then I think he's into that. The only pressure is to be really good, and then you can get away with it. I think there's definitely room to explore and room to come up with something else."

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Midnight in Paris hits theaters on May 20, 2011.