Winstead To 'Make It Happen' On The Dancefloor

Additional reporting by Brandy Schaefer

You swooned over "Step Up," became a sucker for "Save the Last Dance," and got titillated by "Take the Lead." But where will you get your next sappy, cinematic dancing fix?

These days, fast-rising actress Mary Elizabeth Winstead is working overtime hoping to provide your answer. Most recently seen in everything from "Live Free or Die Hard" to "Grindhouse" to "Justice League" rumors that would appoint her as the next Wonder Woman, Winstead told us that before she can handle a golden lasso, she needs to perfect her plie, and do great things with her grande jete.

“I would compare it more to 'Flashdance,'" the 22-year-old said of "Make it Happen," the first film to showcase her real-life classical ballet training.

Co-starring Riley Smith ("Radio") and marking the filmmaking debut of video director Darren Grant (Destiny's Child's "Survivor"), Winstead stars as Lauryn, a small-town girl who hopes to achieve her dreams as a dancer at the Chicago School of Music and Dance, only to be rejected. After the setback, she falls into working at a seedy burlesque club, only to have the hardships assist the young woman in discovering herself.

"[Like 'Flashdance'], it's about one girl, not about a group of girls or a couple that dances together," Winstead explained, separating "Happen" from "Save the Last Dance" and the rest of the relationship-centric partnering that we've seen in recent dance flicks. "This one's about a girl trying to make it, dancing professionally, and all the hardships she has to go through."

"[The training] was fun," she said with a grin. "It was hard, but it was fun."

So hard, in fact, that the movie took a toll on Winstead even though she's been tripping the light fantastic for most of her life. Bloody toes, blisters, and overly stressed muscles became an everyday reality for the actress, all in the name of keeping it real. "Every day, I was dancing like 16 hours a day for it," she sighed. "So it was grueling.”

You'll see the fruits of her labor in theaters this spring. But just because Winstead is making comparisons to "Flashdance," don't expect to see her in a spandex leotard, dumping water onto her body "Close," she grinned, "but no."