A whopper of a fish story and a whale of a tale, The Incredible Mr. Limpet (1964) and Pinocchio (1940) are two fascinating morality plays dealing with issues of honesty, wish fulfillment and bravery.
In The Incredible Mr. Limpet, Henry Limpet (Don Knotts), a scrawny man-boy accountant, is rejected by the Navy during WWII. Depressed, he takes a walk on the Coney Island pier with his wife, Bessie (Carole Cook) and falls into the water. Underwater, he is transformed into a cartoon fish and falls in love with the beautiful Ladyfish (Elizabeth MacRae). Mr. Limpet overcomes his fears and summons the courage to help a team of Navy Admirals track down Nazi U-boats.
Yes. It is as silly as it sounds.
In Walt Disney’s Pinocchio, Pinocchio (Dick Jones, voice), a scrawny puppet-boy created by lonely woodcarver Gepetto (Christian Rub), is promised the gift of humanity by Blue Fairy (Evelyn Venable)--if he proves himself worthy. Pinocchio is shanghaied by con-men (actually con-fox and con-cat), indentured as an entertainer to the nefarious Stromboli, rescued by the Blue Fairy and Jiminy Cricket, shanghaied yet again, and befriended by fellow truants on Pleasure Island. On Pleasure Island, Pinocchio is transformed into a donkey and rescued, once again, by Jiminy Cricket. Learning that Geppeto was swallowed by Monstro the Whale, Pinocchio overcomes his fears and summons the courage to rescue Geppeto from the belly of the beast. Proving himself worthy, the puppet becomes a real boy.
Yes. It is as harrowing as it sounds.
And both films are truly family fare: movies you will enjoy along with the kids. The Incredible Mr. Limpet is sappy but laugh-filled--what else would expect from the rubber-faced, bug-eyed Don Knotts? Pinocchio is a crowning achievement in Disney storytelling--painstaking artwork, Oscar-winning score, spine-tingling adventure. As a matter of fact, I would go out on a limb and, in the face of AFI’s Top 100, proclaim Pinocchio a better film than both Snow White and Fantasia.
Monday, January 22, 2007
Weekly Double Feature Zardoz and Outland
Post-James Bond and pre-stately elderly gentleman of respectable films, Sean Connery’s middle career was populated with a half-dozen sword-and-sorcery epics and sci-fi sagas, from B-movies like Highlander and Meteor to Terry Gilliam’s Time Bandits and the elegiac Robin and Marian. Lest we forget the Z-grade Sword Of The Valiant, the horrendous version of the Arthurian legend “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight,” with Miles O’Keefe portraying Gawain as a pageboy-sporting dandy.
Two films from this era in Connery’s corpus opi stand out, Zardoz and Outland, sci-fi adventures set in futuristic dystopias pitting Connery against insurmountable odds that only a brave heart and a thick Scottish brogue can conquer.
Zardoz (1973)
“And I have looked into the face of the force which put the idea in your head. You are bred and led yourself.”
Screenwriter/director, John Boorman followed up Deliverance with this sci-fi disaster flick set in 23rd Century Earth. Zed (Connery) is a member of what he believes to be the ruling class, The Exterminators, a force of highly-trained assassins. Following directives from their giant stone god Zardoz, The Exterminators wield their might over the Brutals, the supposed uncivilized lower class. A series of inconsistencies leads Zed to challenge his belief in Zardoz. After further investigation, he discovers that, indeed, Zardoz is not a true god, but rather a smokescreen for the Eternals, a society of immortals with heightened psychic abilities who use their intelligence and mental powers to exploit the other denizens of Earth. Armed with the truth, Zed attempts to divulge the secrets of the Eternals, hoping to incite and overthrow of their rule and stop a plague that threatens the Exterminators and Brutals both. This is 1970’s science fiction at its best, surrealistic visuals, cheezoid effects and heady allegorical themes abound. Zardoz ranks up there with the Heston triumvirate (Planet Of The Apes, Soylent Green, and The Omega Man).
Outland (1981)
“Even in space, the ultimate enemy is man.”
A contemporary film of Blade Runner and Alien, screenwriter/director Peter Hyams’ Outland was the unsung hero in setting the look, feel and tone for science fiction films of the ‘80s and ‘90s. Adapting High Noon as a space adventure (complete with digital clock tickdown), Hyams updated the Miller gang from maverick outlaws to mercenary killers in the employ of an evil mega-corporation who runs a corrupt mining operation (and drug ring) on Jupiter’s moon, Io. Connery is the Marshall--herein, O’Neil, rather than Gary Cooper’s Kane--who has every opportunity to flee the ultraviolent moon with his wife and bypass the impending showdown altogether, but duty beckons. Abandoned not only by the missus, but also his would-be deputy co-workers, Marshall O’Neil waits on the satellite alone, preparing for the ultimate face-off with the hired assassins. While primarily a visually compelling film, the phenomenal production design and effects are supported by terrific performances by Peter Boyle as Sheppard, the chief Baddie von Nogood and Connery’s 12-guage shotgun-toting (in space, no less!) Marshall O’Neil.
Two films from this era in Connery’s corpus opi stand out, Zardoz and Outland, sci-fi adventures set in futuristic dystopias pitting Connery against insurmountable odds that only a brave heart and a thick Scottish brogue can conquer.
Zardoz (1973)
“And I have looked into the face of the force which put the idea in your head. You are bred and led yourself.”
Screenwriter/director, John Boorman followed up Deliverance with this sci-fi disaster flick set in 23rd Century Earth. Zed (Connery) is a member of what he believes to be the ruling class, The Exterminators, a force of highly-trained assassins. Following directives from their giant stone god Zardoz, The Exterminators wield their might over the Brutals, the supposed uncivilized lower class. A series of inconsistencies leads Zed to challenge his belief in Zardoz. After further investigation, he discovers that, indeed, Zardoz is not a true god, but rather a smokescreen for the Eternals, a society of immortals with heightened psychic abilities who use their intelligence and mental powers to exploit the other denizens of Earth. Armed with the truth, Zed attempts to divulge the secrets of the Eternals, hoping to incite and overthrow of their rule and stop a plague that threatens the Exterminators and Brutals both. This is 1970’s science fiction at its best, surrealistic visuals, cheezoid effects and heady allegorical themes abound. Zardoz ranks up there with the Heston triumvirate (Planet Of The Apes, Soylent Green, and The Omega Man).
Outland (1981)
“Even in space, the ultimate enemy is man.”
A contemporary film of Blade Runner and Alien, screenwriter/director Peter Hyams’ Outland was the unsung hero in setting the look, feel and tone for science fiction films of the ‘80s and ‘90s. Adapting High Noon as a space adventure (complete with digital clock tickdown), Hyams updated the Miller gang from maverick outlaws to mercenary killers in the employ of an evil mega-corporation who runs a corrupt mining operation (and drug ring) on Jupiter’s moon, Io. Connery is the Marshall--herein, O’Neil, rather than Gary Cooper’s Kane--who has every opportunity to flee the ultraviolent moon with his wife and bypass the impending showdown altogether, but duty beckons. Abandoned not only by the missus, but also his would-be deputy co-workers, Marshall O’Neil waits on the satellite alone, preparing for the ultimate face-off with the hired assassins. While primarily a visually compelling film, the phenomenal production design and effects are supported by terrific performances by Peter Boyle as Sheppard, the chief Baddie von Nogood and Connery’s 12-guage shotgun-toting (in space, no less!) Marshall O’Neil.
The Skinny On… Natasha Henstridge
NAME: Natasha Henstridge
SPECIES: Actress/Model
ORIGIN OF THE SPECIES: August 15, 1974, Springdale, Newfoundland, Canada.
GENESIS: Species.
ANAGRAM OF: The Sahara Sting Den
FORGOTTEN FILM SPECIMEN: Dog Park.
LOST TV SPECIMEN: Homeboys in Outer Space, “Happy Happy, Droid Droid, or Amma Sees Red.”
HONORS: 1995 MTV Movie Award, Best Kiss; 1995 MTV Movie Award nomination, Best Breakthrough Performance. #1 of Sci-Fi's Sexy 50, by Femme Fatales Magazine.
NEXT ON THE PITRE DISH: Bounce
DISTINGUISHING FEATURE: Being a Leo, Natasha bears a tatoo of a bearded lion on her ass.
SIX DEGREES OF WILLIE AAMES: Natasha Henstridge plays a post-apocalyptic cop in Adrenaline: Fear the Rush opposite Christopher Lambert… who remembered he was from the planet Zeist in Highlander II: The Quickening with Virginia Madsen… the femme fatale of Dennis Hopper’s The Hot Spot, co-starring Jennifer Connelly… whose hot spots were in full view in Mulholland Falls with Nick Nolte… the gravelly-voiced actor who won a Golden Globe for his performance in The Prince of Tides directed by Barbra Streisand… Babs, of course, began her film career in Funny Girl, playing Fanny Brice opposite Egyptian-born…Willie Aames.
SPECIES: Actress/Model
ORIGIN OF THE SPECIES: August 15, 1974, Springdale, Newfoundland, Canada.
GENESIS: Species.
ANAGRAM OF: The Sahara Sting Den
FORGOTTEN FILM SPECIMEN: Dog Park.
LOST TV SPECIMEN: Homeboys in Outer Space, “Happy Happy, Droid Droid, or Amma Sees Red.”
HONORS: 1995 MTV Movie Award, Best Kiss; 1995 MTV Movie Award nomination, Best Breakthrough Performance. #1 of Sci-Fi's Sexy 50, by Femme Fatales Magazine.
NEXT ON THE PITRE DISH: Bounce
DISTINGUISHING FEATURE: Being a Leo, Natasha bears a tatoo of a bearded lion on her ass.
SIX DEGREES OF WILLIE AAMES: Natasha Henstridge plays a post-apocalyptic cop in Adrenaline: Fear the Rush opposite Christopher Lambert… who remembered he was from the planet Zeist in Highlander II: The Quickening with Virginia Madsen… the femme fatale of Dennis Hopper’s The Hot Spot, co-starring Jennifer Connelly… whose hot spots were in full view in Mulholland Falls with Nick Nolte… the gravelly-voiced actor who won a Golden Globe for his performance in The Prince of Tides directed by Barbra Streisand… Babs, of course, began her film career in Funny Girl, playing Fanny Brice opposite Egyptian-born…Willie Aames.
The Skinny On... Jennifer Lopez 07.19.00
Ain’t nothing skinny about that ass
NAME: Jennifer Lopez
ANAGRAM: Jeez, Elfin Porn
ORIGIN: July 24, 1970, The Bronx
SECRET ORIGIN: Along with Rosie Perez, Jennifer got her start as a flygirl on In Living Color.
ACCOLADES: ALMA Award, Female Entertainer of the Year 2000, Outstanding Actress in a Feature Film in a Crossover Role for Out of Sight, Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture for Selena, Golden Glove nomination, Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Comedy/Musical for Selena, MTV Movie Awards nominations, Best Female Performance for Out of Sight, Best Kiss for Out of Sight, Best Breakthrough Performance for Selena. People Magazine “50 Most Beautiful People in the World” 1997.
TELEVISION LOST EPISODE: South Central as “Cashier at the Co-op.”
FORGOTTEN FILM CLASSIC: Blood and Wine with Jack Nicholson and Michael Caine.
NEXT ON THE PLATE: Sci-fi thriller The Cell.
BLACK BOOK: Puff Daddy, with whom she’s been arrested.
SECOND CAREER AS: A pop siren (1999’s On the 6) and club owner (she and a handful of others own The Conga Room in Los Angeles.)
MOST VALUABLE ASS-ET: Jennifer’s famous posterior is insured for $300 million.
SIX DEGREES OF WILLIE AAMES: Jennifer Lopez heated up the screen in Out of Sight with co-star George Clooney… who transitioned from TV star to movie star with Batman & Robin which introduced the character of Batgirl, portrayed by a womanly Alicia Silverstone… who was decidedly more girly but no less a woman in The Crush with Humbert Humbert-esque Cary Elwes… who took over the duties of The Dread Pirate Roberts in The Princess Bride, which was directed by Rob Reiner… whose father Carl Reiner recently starred in The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle with Jason Alexander… who played the mean hotel girl in Pretty Woman, which, of course, contains the infamous bathtub scene with Richard Gere… and Willie Aames.
NAME: Jennifer Lopez
ANAGRAM: Jeez, Elfin Porn
ORIGIN: July 24, 1970, The Bronx
SECRET ORIGIN: Along with Rosie Perez, Jennifer got her start as a flygirl on In Living Color.
ACCOLADES: ALMA Award, Female Entertainer of the Year 2000, Outstanding Actress in a Feature Film in a Crossover Role for Out of Sight, Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture for Selena, Golden Glove nomination, Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Comedy/Musical for Selena, MTV Movie Awards nominations, Best Female Performance for Out of Sight, Best Kiss for Out of Sight, Best Breakthrough Performance for Selena. People Magazine “50 Most Beautiful People in the World” 1997.
TELEVISION LOST EPISODE: South Central as “Cashier at the Co-op.”
FORGOTTEN FILM CLASSIC: Blood and Wine with Jack Nicholson and Michael Caine.
NEXT ON THE PLATE: Sci-fi thriller The Cell.
BLACK BOOK: Puff Daddy, with whom she’s been arrested.
SECOND CAREER AS: A pop siren (1999’s On the 6) and club owner (she and a handful of others own The Conga Room in Los Angeles.)
MOST VALUABLE ASS-ET: Jennifer’s famous posterior is insured for $300 million.
SIX DEGREES OF WILLIE AAMES: Jennifer Lopez heated up the screen in Out of Sight with co-star George Clooney… who transitioned from TV star to movie star with Batman & Robin which introduced the character of Batgirl, portrayed by a womanly Alicia Silverstone… who was decidedly more girly but no less a woman in The Crush with Humbert Humbert-esque Cary Elwes… who took over the duties of The Dread Pirate Roberts in The Princess Bride, which was directed by Rob Reiner… whose father Carl Reiner recently starred in The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle with Jason Alexander… who played the mean hotel girl in Pretty Woman, which, of course, contains the infamous bathtub scene with Richard Gere… and Willie Aames.
The Revenge of the Teenage Vixens from Outer Space 02.18.00
Ladies. Let me hep you to a little secret. That pimple-faced boy who sits behind you in geo-trig, breathing funny and reading a dog-eared, highlighted and underlined copy of Stranger in a Strange Land is not the dork you think he is. He’s a sexual dynamo, a cauldron of raging hormones, obsessed on one thing and one thing only: sex… and interplanetary travel… and bending time and space… and Azimov’s laws of robotics… and which Rush album is better, Hemispheres or 2112. But, he does think about sex a lot.
All you have to do is look at his video collection as evidence. You can skip past Marillion: Live from Loreley, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, and More Dirty Debutantes #86, and head right to the volumes of sci-fi flicks and taped-from-television episodes of Dr. Who. You’ll begin to see a recurring theme in almost every science fiction classic. Amid the special effects and quasi-scientific theories, there is a whole lot of hotties. Whether mini-kirted, leather-clad or fully nude, the universe of sci-fi is populated by honeys. Born from the minds of dorks with overactive imaginations and understimulated pineal glands.
I know. I breathe funny, too. And in my desk drawer is a dog-eared, highlighted and underlined copy of The Artificial Kid.
The Absolute Sexiest Women in Science Fiction
1. Natasha Henstridge as “Sil” in Species and Species II.
2. Julie Newmar as “Eleen” in Star Trek Episode 32. Friday’s Child.
3. Carrie-Anne Moss as “Trinity” in The Matrix.
4. Sigourney Weaver as “Ripley” in Alien, Aliens, Alien3, and Alien: Resurrection.
5. Dorothy Stratten as “Galaxina” in Galaxina.
6. Caroline Munro as “Stella Star”in Star Crash.
7. Sean Young as “Chani” in Dune and “Rachael” in Blade Runner.
8. Majel Barrett Roddenberry as the voice of the computer on the Star Trek TV series.
9. Yvonne Craig as “Dr. Marjorie Bolen” in Mars Needs Women.
10. Diana Rigg as “Miss Emma Peel” in The Avengers.
The Unlikeliest Yet Strangely Sexy Women in Science Fiction
1. Zsa Zsa Gabor as “Talleah,” apparently a Hungarian Venutian, in Queen of Outer Space.
2. June Lockheart as “Maureen Robinson”--the mom!--on the Lost in Space TV series.
3. Renee Soutendijk as robot “Eve VIII,” whose out-of-control libido may detonate a nuclear weapon, in Eve of Destruction.
4. Allison Hayes as the heartbroken and gigantic “Nancy Archer” in Attack of the 50 Foot Woman.
5. Linda Hamilton as the musclebound psychotic “Sarah Connor” in Terminator 2.
The Greatest Titles For Sexy Sci-Fi Films
1. The Revenge of the Teenage Vixens from Outer Space: A bevy of bunnies from a planet without men invade an earthbound high school to find mates, incurring the wrath of jealous local teenage girls who declare war on the invaders.
2. Beach Babes From Beyond: Three alien bimbos crashland their sports-spaceship in Malibu and enter a bikini contest to help save Beatnik Bud’s beach pad.
3. I Was A Teenage Sex Mutant: Curvy professor, Ms. Xenophia (Judy Landers) enlists nerdy Wesley for an extra credit research project that turns him into the Big Man On Campus. Also stars Troy Donahue and scream queens Ginger Lynn Allen, Michelle Bauer and Linnea Quigley .
4. Cat Women of the Moon: A hostile tribe of “cat women” who live on the dark side of the moon, wear leotards and perform sexy dance rituals, telepathically enslave a squad of intrepid male space explorers.
5. Fire Maidens from Outer Space: Beautiful young women, descended from the lost tribe of Atlantis, reside on the thirteenth moon of Jupiter where they perform sexy dance rituals before they are rescued from the Black God by a squad of intrepid male space explorers.
6. My Stepmother Is An Alien: An alien in distress travels to earth in the bodily form of Kim Basinger seeking the help of a radio astrophysicist who falls in love with her.
7. Devil Girl From Mars: A comely Martian girl disturbs vacationing travelers at a quaint Scottish bed and breakfast by explaining that her home planet desperately needs good man-stock to breed. But, what makes her devilish?
All you have to do is look at his video collection as evidence. You can skip past Marillion: Live from Loreley, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, and More Dirty Debutantes #86, and head right to the volumes of sci-fi flicks and taped-from-television episodes of Dr. Who. You’ll begin to see a recurring theme in almost every science fiction classic. Amid the special effects and quasi-scientific theories, there is a whole lot of hotties. Whether mini-kirted, leather-clad or fully nude, the universe of sci-fi is populated by honeys. Born from the minds of dorks with overactive imaginations and understimulated pineal glands.
I know. I breathe funny, too. And in my desk drawer is a dog-eared, highlighted and underlined copy of The Artificial Kid.
The Absolute Sexiest Women in Science Fiction
1. Natasha Henstridge as “Sil” in Species and Species II.
2. Julie Newmar as “Eleen” in Star Trek Episode 32. Friday’s Child.
3. Carrie-Anne Moss as “Trinity” in The Matrix.
4. Sigourney Weaver as “Ripley” in Alien, Aliens, Alien3, and Alien: Resurrection.
5. Dorothy Stratten as “Galaxina” in Galaxina.
6. Caroline Munro as “Stella Star”in Star Crash.
7. Sean Young as “Chani” in Dune and “Rachael” in Blade Runner.
8. Majel Barrett Roddenberry as the voice of the computer on the Star Trek TV series.
9. Yvonne Craig as “Dr. Marjorie Bolen” in Mars Needs Women.
10. Diana Rigg as “Miss Emma Peel” in The Avengers.
The Unlikeliest Yet Strangely Sexy Women in Science Fiction
1. Zsa Zsa Gabor as “Talleah,” apparently a Hungarian Venutian, in Queen of Outer Space.
2. June Lockheart as “Maureen Robinson”--the mom!--on the Lost in Space TV series.
3. Renee Soutendijk as robot “Eve VIII,” whose out-of-control libido may detonate a nuclear weapon, in Eve of Destruction.
4. Allison Hayes as the heartbroken and gigantic “Nancy Archer” in Attack of the 50 Foot Woman.
5. Linda Hamilton as the musclebound psychotic “Sarah Connor” in Terminator 2.
The Greatest Titles For Sexy Sci-Fi Films
1. The Revenge of the Teenage Vixens from Outer Space: A bevy of bunnies from a planet without men invade an earthbound high school to find mates, incurring the wrath of jealous local teenage girls who declare war on the invaders.
2. Beach Babes From Beyond: Three alien bimbos crashland their sports-spaceship in Malibu and enter a bikini contest to help save Beatnik Bud’s beach pad.
3. I Was A Teenage Sex Mutant: Curvy professor, Ms. Xenophia (Judy Landers) enlists nerdy Wesley for an extra credit research project that turns him into the Big Man On Campus. Also stars Troy Donahue and scream queens Ginger Lynn Allen, Michelle Bauer and Linnea Quigley .
4. Cat Women of the Moon: A hostile tribe of “cat women” who live on the dark side of the moon, wear leotards and perform sexy dance rituals, telepathically enslave a squad of intrepid male space explorers.
5. Fire Maidens from Outer Space: Beautiful young women, descended from the lost tribe of Atlantis, reside on the thirteenth moon of Jupiter where they perform sexy dance rituals before they are rescued from the Black God by a squad of intrepid male space explorers.
6. My Stepmother Is An Alien: An alien in distress travels to earth in the bodily form of Kim Basinger seeking the help of a radio astrophysicist who falls in love with her.
7. Devil Girl From Mars: A comely Martian girl disturbs vacationing travelers at a quaint Scottish bed and breakfast by explaining that her home planet desperately needs good man-stock to breed. But, what makes her devilish?
The Germinator of The Terminator: An interview with effects maven Van Ling 09.18.00
Van Ling is a summa cum laude graduate of the esteemed USC School of Cinema. There, he studied all aspects of film production but became most interested in post-production: editing, sound mixing and visual effects. A technophile obsessed with gadgetry, Ling naturally admired the work of filmmakers Terry Gilliam and James Cameron, whom he contacted for an entry level gig after graduation.
The story of how Ling came to work with James Cameron is legendary among Hollywood insiders, but, suffice it to say, Ling’s ballsy dedication paid off. In 1986, Cameron hired Ling as a research assistant on a then-conceptual project called The Abyss. Within a few short years, Ling was the Head of Production for Cameron’s Lightstorm Entertainment. During his seven-year tenure, Ling was responsible for the integration of digital technology into the world of filmmaking, creating techniques and technologies that are still industry standard today. However, even as the latest technologies create new opportunities for filmmaking, the films Ling worked on -- specifically Terminator 2: Judgment Day -- continue to look fresh. Ling attributes this to his philosophy of “designing effects that help tell the story, not overwhelm it.”
In 1994, Ling cut the apron strings from his mentor and became the Creative Director for Banned from the Ranch Entertainment, a leader in the field of digital graphics. For the film Congo, Banned from the Ranch created a computer playback system that allowed digital graphics to be played on actual computer screens rather than monitors dressed as computer screens. Ling and his team have continued to perfect the technology in films like Twister and Dante’s Peak.
Ling has also produced a handful of premiere laserdiscs and DVDs, including the milestone The Abyss Special Edition and T2: The Ultimate Edition DVD. He is a proponent of the potential of the DVD format, calling it a “mini-filmschool.”
I chatted with Ling recently via the telephone about his association with James Cameron and what makes a DVD great.
James Cameron was one of the filmmakers you looked up to in film school. How does a guy not even a year out of college get to work with one of his heroes?
I had just graduated from film school the summer that Aliens came out. That was the summer of 1986. I went and saw it on opening night with some friends, and I was a big fan of the film and of James Cameron’s work from Terminator and so on. Throughout the period prior to the release of the movie and after I had graduated, I was actually calling around looking for work. One of the places I called was Pacific Western Productions -- which was Jim Cameron and Gail Anne Hurd’s company at the time. And I had left messages there and they had always said, “Oh, we don’t have anything right now, you know, but call back later.”
Well, one of my friends said, “You’re interested in effects and mechanical things and props and so on, I dare you to build a Powerloader.”
The walking forklift that Ripley battled the Queen with at the end of the movie?
Right.
Okay. So your friend challenged you…
Yeah, he said, “I have a Halloween party coming up in a couple of months, and I dare you to build a working model or something of the Powerloader.” You know, a little model or something. So, we kind of had a gentleman’s bet, but instead of building a little model, I built a seven-and-a half-foot-tall working Powerloader costume with motorized claws and a roll cage and everything.
On Halloween, when we were finishing up the Powerloader costume, my friends were all, “You gotta call them. You gotta call them and tell them about this.” So I called up Pacific Western Productions again and said, “I have something I want to show you,” And they said, “What?” And I said, “A Powerloader.” They said, “What…something you wear?” I said, “Yeah, well, it’s Halloween, isn’t it?” Dead silence on the phone. And then they said, “We’ll leave you a gate pass, come on down, we gotta see this.”
So you schlepped it over to their offices?
I ended up renting a pickup truck and loading up the Powerloader costume that I had built out of cardboard and styrofoam and wood and PVC pipe and so forth down to Twentieth Century Fox studios. Jim Cameron had already left for the day, but Gail Anne Hurd and her staff were there and they came out to look at this thing, spilling out of a pick up that I was strapped into.
What was their initial reaction?
Gail Anne Hurd basically said, “This is the best walking resume I’ve ever seen.” And we talked, then she said, “Hang on a second…” You know, “Lemme do something for you.” She goes back in, comes out, hands me Sigourney Weaver’s jumpsuit and custom Reeboks from the movie. The actual costume! She said, “You might as well make the costume complete. Just bring it back when you’re done with it.” So I ended up wearing it to my friend’s party and winning the bet.
Wow. Wow. And that led to you working with Cameron?
Two weeks later, I got a call on my parent’s answering machine -- which is where I was staying at the time -- from James Cameron, saying he wanted to see this thing. So, he ended up coming down and we talked and we kind of hit it off right away, and he called me a couple of weeks later and said, “Would you like to be my research assistant on a movie I’m starting up called The Abyss?” And that’s how I ended up meeting and working with James Cameron. And I worked with him after that for about eight years and when I left the company in 1994, I was head of his production department.
And now, fourteen years leader, you’ve produced the DVD editions of The Abyss and T2, probably the two best discs on the market. In your opinion, what makes for a DVD worthy of the format?
Yeah. It’s a combination of things. An okay DVD is one that has the movie. A good DVD is one that has a great presentation of the movie and a bunch of interesting ancillary material, additional material. A really great DVD, in my mind, is one that takes all of that ancillary material and organizes it in a way that casual viewers can really get something out of it, that the material doesn’t overwhelm the casual viewer with too much information at once. But at the same time, it provides a real depth of information for people who really want it. The hardcore fans, the film students, the people who really want to know more.
A lot of it is just thinking it through. A lot of it for me in creating any of these kinds of materials or programs is to make it accessible to people, but informative at the same time. That’s the way I go about it. I look at all the materials that I have to work with and then I start trying to sort them out in into what would be “if you want more information…” and what is really “hardcore.” Organization is the most important key.
Yeah. It seems to me the best DVDs are also easily navigable through an imaginative interface that’s also intuitive.
It’s always important thematically to present things in a way that captures the spirit and the mood of the film and kind of gets you ready for it, puts you in the environment. You know, gives you a sense of you know something more than just a promotional still with some text laid on top of it as a menu.
The interface for me -- the menu system, the navigation system on a DVD -- is a very important part. There’s an article on the Monty Python discs and their menu system, and somebody had said it perfectly. They said, “The movie is the jewel and the menu system is the setting in which that jewel sits.” And for that reason, it’s there to help present the movie in the best light, and present you with all the facets, all the other options of the film. In other words, it’s not just a road to get there -- to the content -- it’s actually the journey getting there. And that’s what I try to do with the DVDs I do. I kind of differ from a lot of other DVD producers in that I actually, physically create my own menus.
I think sometimes what will happen is you’ll create a menu environment and say, “This would be really cool to have the menus like this…” Then the logical extension of that is, “There’s this really cool portion of the menu, wouldn’t it be great if we put an Easter egg (hidden bonus) behind that?” In that way, you enrich the experience because you end up adding more things that work with the menu. The menus become more intuitive to the viewer. They’ll look at it and say, “Boy, that looks really cool, but I would love it if this little door over here if I clicked on it, that it would take me somewhere.” And then you have the ability to do that and pleasantly surprise your viewers.
Speaking of Easter eggs, can you give us any clues about Easter eggs on T2?
Oh, there’s plenty of that information out there on websites already.
Yeah. I suppose the hunt is the fun of Easter eggs. T2 is loaded, by the way. It took me a weekend to get through it all and I’m sure I didn’t find all the little hidden goodies.
Absolutely.
You were saying that the studios will often assign menu houses. Do they also hand you the media you have to work with it and that’s that or do you actively seek out the elements?
I’ll seek out information because it’s kind of become a standard a lot of the times that you now have a trailer, you have chapter selection, and you have a little featurette and maybe some cast and crew bios. Those are the kinds of things that people are starting to take as a given. What’s really interesting is that those items were things that people with laserdiscs had eight-to-ten-years-ago, and it’s now become the standard on DVDs. That’s usually the material that was put together for the promotion of the film, so it’s already available, readily available. That’s the easy stuff.
What you want to do is go a little farther than that to do a good disc. And if you’re lucky, you can create new material that is only for the DVD. Exclusively created for the format, that can make it more you unique, so that people don’t feel like, “Oh, I saw the HBO First Look. Oh, I saw the behind-the-scenes EPK, why should I buy this?”
Because it’s not just the movie, the goodies add value…
It also gives them the impression that the people making the DVD care as much about the movie and its presentation as the people who made the movie itself. That’s important because oftentimes because DVD is seen as the home video ancillary market driven by the movie. It’s just kind of a packaging of the movie. It doesn’t have to be just that. There’s a graphic interface that can help convey the flavor of the movie. It can be an experience and an artform in and of itself.
Do you think we’ll start seeing more respect for that way of thinking now?
Nowadays, there are so many wonderful DVDs out there: Men in Black, Spinal Tap, Fight Club. All of these discs try to do more than just give you the movie plus a press kit. They try to provide omitted scenes you wouldn’t see anywhere else, director’s commentary, all of the things that a good film student would be interested in -- in addition to the kind of promotional things which kind of get included as a matter of course. So you end up getting more documentaries, more things that are custom about the making of the film, things that really show what’s unique about the film that isn’t just the kind of standard cable station or entertainment program promotional material.
The story of how Ling came to work with James Cameron is legendary among Hollywood insiders, but, suffice it to say, Ling’s ballsy dedication paid off. In 1986, Cameron hired Ling as a research assistant on a then-conceptual project called The Abyss. Within a few short years, Ling was the Head of Production for Cameron’s Lightstorm Entertainment. During his seven-year tenure, Ling was responsible for the integration of digital technology into the world of filmmaking, creating techniques and technologies that are still industry standard today. However, even as the latest technologies create new opportunities for filmmaking, the films Ling worked on -- specifically Terminator 2: Judgment Day -- continue to look fresh. Ling attributes this to his philosophy of “designing effects that help tell the story, not overwhelm it.”
In 1994, Ling cut the apron strings from his mentor and became the Creative Director for Banned from the Ranch Entertainment, a leader in the field of digital graphics. For the film Congo, Banned from the Ranch created a computer playback system that allowed digital graphics to be played on actual computer screens rather than monitors dressed as computer screens. Ling and his team have continued to perfect the technology in films like Twister and Dante’s Peak.
Ling has also produced a handful of premiere laserdiscs and DVDs, including the milestone The Abyss Special Edition and T2: The Ultimate Edition DVD. He is a proponent of the potential of the DVD format, calling it a “mini-filmschool.”
I chatted with Ling recently via the telephone about his association with James Cameron and what makes a DVD great.
James Cameron was one of the filmmakers you looked up to in film school. How does a guy not even a year out of college get to work with one of his heroes?
I had just graduated from film school the summer that Aliens came out. That was the summer of 1986. I went and saw it on opening night with some friends, and I was a big fan of the film and of James Cameron’s work from Terminator and so on. Throughout the period prior to the release of the movie and after I had graduated, I was actually calling around looking for work. One of the places I called was Pacific Western Productions -- which was Jim Cameron and Gail Anne Hurd’s company at the time. And I had left messages there and they had always said, “Oh, we don’t have anything right now, you know, but call back later.”
Well, one of my friends said, “You’re interested in effects and mechanical things and props and so on, I dare you to build a Powerloader.”
The walking forklift that Ripley battled the Queen with at the end of the movie?
Right.
Okay. So your friend challenged you…
Yeah, he said, “I have a Halloween party coming up in a couple of months, and I dare you to build a working model or something of the Powerloader.” You know, a little model or something. So, we kind of had a gentleman’s bet, but instead of building a little model, I built a seven-and-a half-foot-tall working Powerloader costume with motorized claws and a roll cage and everything.
On Halloween, when we were finishing up the Powerloader costume, my friends were all, “You gotta call them. You gotta call them and tell them about this.” So I called up Pacific Western Productions again and said, “I have something I want to show you,” And they said, “What?” And I said, “A Powerloader.” They said, “What…something you wear?” I said, “Yeah, well, it’s Halloween, isn’t it?” Dead silence on the phone. And then they said, “We’ll leave you a gate pass, come on down, we gotta see this.”
So you schlepped it over to their offices?
I ended up renting a pickup truck and loading up the Powerloader costume that I had built out of cardboard and styrofoam and wood and PVC pipe and so forth down to Twentieth Century Fox studios. Jim Cameron had already left for the day, but Gail Anne Hurd and her staff were there and they came out to look at this thing, spilling out of a pick up that I was strapped into.
What was their initial reaction?
Gail Anne Hurd basically said, “This is the best walking resume I’ve ever seen.” And we talked, then she said, “Hang on a second…” You know, “Lemme do something for you.” She goes back in, comes out, hands me Sigourney Weaver’s jumpsuit and custom Reeboks from the movie. The actual costume! She said, “You might as well make the costume complete. Just bring it back when you’re done with it.” So I ended up wearing it to my friend’s party and winning the bet.
Wow. Wow. And that led to you working with Cameron?
Two weeks later, I got a call on my parent’s answering machine -- which is where I was staying at the time -- from James Cameron, saying he wanted to see this thing. So, he ended up coming down and we talked and we kind of hit it off right away, and he called me a couple of weeks later and said, “Would you like to be my research assistant on a movie I’m starting up called The Abyss?” And that’s how I ended up meeting and working with James Cameron. And I worked with him after that for about eight years and when I left the company in 1994, I was head of his production department.
And now, fourteen years leader, you’ve produced the DVD editions of The Abyss and T2, probably the two best discs on the market. In your opinion, what makes for a DVD worthy of the format?
Yeah. It’s a combination of things. An okay DVD is one that has the movie. A good DVD is one that has a great presentation of the movie and a bunch of interesting ancillary material, additional material. A really great DVD, in my mind, is one that takes all of that ancillary material and organizes it in a way that casual viewers can really get something out of it, that the material doesn’t overwhelm the casual viewer with too much information at once. But at the same time, it provides a real depth of information for people who really want it. The hardcore fans, the film students, the people who really want to know more.
A lot of it is just thinking it through. A lot of it for me in creating any of these kinds of materials or programs is to make it accessible to people, but informative at the same time. That’s the way I go about it. I look at all the materials that I have to work with and then I start trying to sort them out in into what would be “if you want more information…” and what is really “hardcore.” Organization is the most important key.
Yeah. It seems to me the best DVDs are also easily navigable through an imaginative interface that’s also intuitive.
It’s always important thematically to present things in a way that captures the spirit and the mood of the film and kind of gets you ready for it, puts you in the environment. You know, gives you a sense of you know something more than just a promotional still with some text laid on top of it as a menu.
The interface for me -- the menu system, the navigation system on a DVD -- is a very important part. There’s an article on the Monty Python discs and their menu system, and somebody had said it perfectly. They said, “The movie is the jewel and the menu system is the setting in which that jewel sits.” And for that reason, it’s there to help present the movie in the best light, and present you with all the facets, all the other options of the film. In other words, it’s not just a road to get there -- to the content -- it’s actually the journey getting there. And that’s what I try to do with the DVDs I do. I kind of differ from a lot of other DVD producers in that I actually, physically create my own menus.
I think sometimes what will happen is you’ll create a menu environment and say, “This would be really cool to have the menus like this…” Then the logical extension of that is, “There’s this really cool portion of the menu, wouldn’t it be great if we put an Easter egg (hidden bonus) behind that?” In that way, you enrich the experience because you end up adding more things that work with the menu. The menus become more intuitive to the viewer. They’ll look at it and say, “Boy, that looks really cool, but I would love it if this little door over here if I clicked on it, that it would take me somewhere.” And then you have the ability to do that and pleasantly surprise your viewers.
Speaking of Easter eggs, can you give us any clues about Easter eggs on T2?
Oh, there’s plenty of that information out there on websites already.
Yeah. I suppose the hunt is the fun of Easter eggs. T2 is loaded, by the way. It took me a weekend to get through it all and I’m sure I didn’t find all the little hidden goodies.
Absolutely.
You were saying that the studios will often assign menu houses. Do they also hand you the media you have to work with it and that’s that or do you actively seek out the elements?
I’ll seek out information because it’s kind of become a standard a lot of the times that you now have a trailer, you have chapter selection, and you have a little featurette and maybe some cast and crew bios. Those are the kinds of things that people are starting to take as a given. What’s really interesting is that those items were things that people with laserdiscs had eight-to-ten-years-ago, and it’s now become the standard on DVDs. That’s usually the material that was put together for the promotion of the film, so it’s already available, readily available. That’s the easy stuff.
What you want to do is go a little farther than that to do a good disc. And if you’re lucky, you can create new material that is only for the DVD. Exclusively created for the format, that can make it more you unique, so that people don’t feel like, “Oh, I saw the HBO First Look. Oh, I saw the behind-the-scenes EPK, why should I buy this?”
Because it’s not just the movie, the goodies add value…
It also gives them the impression that the people making the DVD care as much about the movie and its presentation as the people who made the movie itself. That’s important because oftentimes because DVD is seen as the home video ancillary market driven by the movie. It’s just kind of a packaging of the movie. It doesn’t have to be just that. There’s a graphic interface that can help convey the flavor of the movie. It can be an experience and an artform in and of itself.
Do you think we’ll start seeing more respect for that way of thinking now?
Nowadays, there are so many wonderful DVDs out there: Men in Black, Spinal Tap, Fight Club. All of these discs try to do more than just give you the movie plus a press kit. They try to provide omitted scenes you wouldn’t see anywhere else, director’s commentary, all of the things that a good film student would be interested in -- in addition to the kind of promotional things which kind of get included as a matter of course. So you end up getting more documentaries, more things that are custom about the making of the film, things that really show what’s unique about the film that isn’t just the kind of standard cable station or entertainment program promotional material.
The Dream Life of Jennifer Lopez 08.22.00
From her humble beginning dancing as a Fly Girl on In Living Color, Jennifer Lopez has slowly, surely and steadily worked her way up the Hollywood ladder to become a superstar. Her head-turning performance as the Tijuana pop stinger Selena in the biopic of the same name paved the path for Jennifer, who after appearing in a few more films, exploded critically and commercially with Out of Sight. The following year, she released a pop album of her own, On the 6, which shot up the charts and secured her status as a high-profile celebrity, her popularity fueled further by her relationship with Bad Boy Records bad boy Puff Daddy. Currently, she is starring opposite Vincent D’Onofrio and Vince Vaughn in the lauded sci-fi thriller The Cell, in which she plays a child psychologist who enters the dreams of her patients.
Lopez spoke recently about making The Cell, keeping grounded and living out your dreams.
Was The Cell as freaky to make as it is to watch?
No, I thought it would be worse than it was. When I first read it I was like, “This is gonna be really creepy.” And then when I saw the visual references that (director) Tarsem was gonna use for the movie I was like, “Oh God, it’s gonna be creepy.” But when you’re filming it, it’s a different experience, you know? You’re concentrating on other things; it doesn’t really freak you out like that.
When you finally saw the final cut, were you disturbed by it?
It’s funny. For me it wasn’t as disturbing as U-Turn. When I first watched it, it was just really crazy for me. But this does have some images that are graphic and disturbing. Not as graphic as I think Tarsem would have. But it’s definitely not for the little girls who buy my album, who like to sing my songs. This is not for them. They have to wait for The Wedding Planner. This is something else. This is for adults. It’s about a serial killer. It’s not going to be pretty inside the head of a serial killer.
Is there anyone whose head you’d like to get inside?
I wouldn’t really want to be just hooked up to a machine with one person. I’d like the chip implanted and just be able to read everybody’s mind who passed by me.
What was your first reaction to the film the first time you saw it put together?
I was really blown away. I was really impressed with what Tarsem had done with the film. It’s the most visually beautiful movie I think I’ve seen. And the story… when I first sat there and watched the finished product from beginning to end, I was like, “First of all, It’s moving along and the story’s there.” And then when I’m watching these incredible images, halfway through I thought to myself, “This is something I’ve never seen before.”
All the Blessed Virgin Mary parallelism and Biblical symbolism is drawing some heat from Catholics…
That’s what people are telling me, but it’s not about religion or Catholicism or Christianity in any way. It’s not a reference to that. We weren’t trying to dress up like the Virgin Mary. That wasn’t supposed to be a Madonna figure. The costume was based on a Brazilian Sea Goddess.
Is costuming crucial to you as an actor in developing the character?
Absolutely. But it’s funny because in this one there were so many weird costumes, to find yourself was, like, schizophrenic. I was schizophrenic! (laughs) Forget about the little boy and the serial killer.
Did you meet with therapists to prepare for playing one?
I went to see a therapist as research for the character because I play a child therapist, and I just wanted to see how a woman therapist dealt with a patient. I had never been to a therapist before -- if I had, I wouldn’t have a problem saying it, either -- but I hadn’t. I guess, the thing that I learned from her was that your perspective on something is not always a true perspective. For us, and I think for most people, when you think of something -- like I went to her with a problem that I actually thought I had figured out. I just wanted to see her take on it. And she totally flipped it on me. She was like, “No, you are wrong and these are the reasons why…” I was like, “Oh. Okay…” It was nice to learn that.
Did you and D’onofrio interact a lot on set?
Vincent was great. Very intense. Very intense on the set. And he’s a very sweet, funny guy, so for him to play this character, I know he had to concentrate a lot. So we kind of kept our distance because we had this weird relationship in the movie. He was like this freak-of-nature to me and I was like this victim to him. It was better that we just stayed away from each other.
Did the original script call for you to be in your underwear, illuminated by the light of a refrigerator? And might I add, damn!?
I wasn’t in my underwear in the script. It was just when you’re at home alone and you’re hanging out. I don’t know about you, but I’d be in my underwear.
It’s obvious you maintain.
I take care of myself, I do. I think it’s important because I feel better that way. I feel it’s whatever works for you. I like feeling good, feeling healthy, eating right. I don’t feel good when I eat too much or the wrong things, or I don’t get to work out for months. That’s not good. You know, you have to do what works for you. I think drinking and smoking really wrecks you.
Since I’ve started down that road, is it true that you’ve insured your body, or at least parts of your body, for an astronomical sum?
Someone asked me what was the wildest rumor that anybody ever made up about me, and I couldn’t think and he was like, “Was it the 250-count thing?” Which was a lie about sheets -- that I take sheets to the hotel and they have to be 250-count, some ridiculousness like that. I said, “No.” Then Alan, my publicist came over, “What about the billion dollar butt.” I was like, “Yeah, that’s right.” That was the craziest one ever! Because it was on the front page of the paper here in New York, and I happened to be in New York that week. It was insane. But it was funny and it was great that I had the front page of the paper I could save it to show my kids.
So you haven’t insured your body?
I think that’s what I’m trying to say, yeah.
Do your friends send you all these bogus items as a joke?
Oh, yeah. Oh, they love it. And they like the negative stuff that they know is not true because they’re like, “Look what they wrote!” I’m like, “Ha ha ha, very funny.”
With your schedule and the limelight, is it difficult to keep in touch with these friends?
I value the private time that I get with them, and I value it more maybe than I would if I wasn’t doing this.
How do you balance the pressures of celebrity with maintaining relationships with your friends and family?
When the Selena thing happened that was like the weird time when I had to sit back and go, “Okay, what’s happening, and how can I deal with this?” And the conclusion I came to is that I’m still the same person that I was when I started, and I will always be that same person, and I have a great family that I came from and a great background, and I still have their loving support, and just because I work in movies and I’m an artist and I do music doesn’t mean that you’re any different than anybody else. Yes, you’re in the public eye and, you know, there’s that whole other animal but it’s not who I am. And staying grounded I think is the most important thing.
How difficult is it to stay grounded when you have an entourage devoted to catering to your every need?
I don’t really stand for that kind of stuff, you know what I mean? I see myself as a regular person, and I have great people around me who care about me as a person first. I have people who are very involved in and believe in what I’m trying to do and do everything they can to help me do that. People who help me manage everything that I have to do. People who I love that I call “my family.” They call me “Ma.” I don’t call them an entourage, you know? I have a manager. I have a publicist. I have an assistant who does so much for me. And I can’t do it without them. I would not be able to function. There’s just not enough hours in the day. I would love to be able to do it all by myself.
And yeah, I have security. I hate security, by the way. I’m always trying to escape without the security. And then like Puff will get so mad at me. He’s like, “You can’t go out without security! You don’t know what’s going to happen?!” And then he’ll get on Benny, my manager.
Earlier you had mentioned “the little girls that buy my album.” You are a role model to a lot of little girls out there. Do you feel a tremendous responsibility to them?
Yeah. I feel like you can’t take on the responsibility of the world. It’s destructive if you start thinking, “Oh God, I have to do this, I have to do that.” You have to live your life. I’m not gonna do anything wrong. I’m not gonna go rob a bank tomorrow. I don’t do drugs. I don’t drink or smoke or anything like that. Those are the types of things that people are like, “Role models. Oh, you can’t be human.” Well, you are human. Things are gonna happen. But I think it’s nice that girls feel they have someone to look up to in me. And I don’t think I’m gonna do anything in the near future that’s gonna disappoint anybody -- I hope.
When you were a little girl did your dreams involve all of this?
I had hoped. I’m really happy with where I am right now and as a little girl I always had dreams, and I still have a lot of big dreams that I wanna, hopefully, realize, so we’ll just wait and see, I guess.
I can imagine you’ve already realized your dreams as a pop singer. Did you expect that kind of response on your first album out?
You don’t expect that success. You just pour your heart and soul into your music. It’s really a reflection of who you are as a person as opposed to playing characters in a movie. You just hope for the best. You hope that somebody relates to it, somebody understands it -- that they like it and that they can dance to it. So I was actually pleasantly surprised with the outcome.
Was it weird to be heralded as a part of the Latin Music Boom?
You know, it’s funny that they create a movement thing because three people come out with an album at the same time or whatever it was. Yes, I’m Latin. Yes, I made an English pop album because I grew here in the United States, so I don’t know. It didn’t bother me in any way. I didn’t think of it as a negative thing, but I also didn’t think it was fair to do it because it makes it seem like people are a fad or culture is a fad and I think that’s unfair to do. I think that music should be separated and judged by individual artists. We don’t go, “Oh, all those artists are from Texas; let’s put all their music together,” you know what I mean? It’s just not done with any other cultures, and I think it was unfair that it was done. It’s not important. The music should speak for itself.
Lopez spoke recently about making The Cell, keeping grounded and living out your dreams.
Was The Cell as freaky to make as it is to watch?
No, I thought it would be worse than it was. When I first read it I was like, “This is gonna be really creepy.” And then when I saw the visual references that (director) Tarsem was gonna use for the movie I was like, “Oh God, it’s gonna be creepy.” But when you’re filming it, it’s a different experience, you know? You’re concentrating on other things; it doesn’t really freak you out like that.
When you finally saw the final cut, were you disturbed by it?
It’s funny. For me it wasn’t as disturbing as U-Turn. When I first watched it, it was just really crazy for me. But this does have some images that are graphic and disturbing. Not as graphic as I think Tarsem would have. But it’s definitely not for the little girls who buy my album, who like to sing my songs. This is not for them. They have to wait for The Wedding Planner. This is something else. This is for adults. It’s about a serial killer. It’s not going to be pretty inside the head of a serial killer.
Is there anyone whose head you’d like to get inside?
I wouldn’t really want to be just hooked up to a machine with one person. I’d like the chip implanted and just be able to read everybody’s mind who passed by me.
What was your first reaction to the film the first time you saw it put together?
I was really blown away. I was really impressed with what Tarsem had done with the film. It’s the most visually beautiful movie I think I’ve seen. And the story… when I first sat there and watched the finished product from beginning to end, I was like, “First of all, It’s moving along and the story’s there.” And then when I’m watching these incredible images, halfway through I thought to myself, “This is something I’ve never seen before.”
All the Blessed Virgin Mary parallelism and Biblical symbolism is drawing some heat from Catholics…
That’s what people are telling me, but it’s not about religion or Catholicism or Christianity in any way. It’s not a reference to that. We weren’t trying to dress up like the Virgin Mary. That wasn’t supposed to be a Madonna figure. The costume was based on a Brazilian Sea Goddess.
Is costuming crucial to you as an actor in developing the character?
Absolutely. But it’s funny because in this one there were so many weird costumes, to find yourself was, like, schizophrenic. I was schizophrenic! (laughs) Forget about the little boy and the serial killer.
Did you meet with therapists to prepare for playing one?
I went to see a therapist as research for the character because I play a child therapist, and I just wanted to see how a woman therapist dealt with a patient. I had never been to a therapist before -- if I had, I wouldn’t have a problem saying it, either -- but I hadn’t. I guess, the thing that I learned from her was that your perspective on something is not always a true perspective. For us, and I think for most people, when you think of something -- like I went to her with a problem that I actually thought I had figured out. I just wanted to see her take on it. And she totally flipped it on me. She was like, “No, you are wrong and these are the reasons why…” I was like, “Oh. Okay…” It was nice to learn that.
Did you and D’onofrio interact a lot on set?
Vincent was great. Very intense. Very intense on the set. And he’s a very sweet, funny guy, so for him to play this character, I know he had to concentrate a lot. So we kind of kept our distance because we had this weird relationship in the movie. He was like this freak-of-nature to me and I was like this victim to him. It was better that we just stayed away from each other.
Did the original script call for you to be in your underwear, illuminated by the light of a refrigerator? And might I add, damn!?
I wasn’t in my underwear in the script. It was just when you’re at home alone and you’re hanging out. I don’t know about you, but I’d be in my underwear.
It’s obvious you maintain.
I take care of myself, I do. I think it’s important because I feel better that way. I feel it’s whatever works for you. I like feeling good, feeling healthy, eating right. I don’t feel good when I eat too much or the wrong things, or I don’t get to work out for months. That’s not good. You know, you have to do what works for you. I think drinking and smoking really wrecks you.
Since I’ve started down that road, is it true that you’ve insured your body, or at least parts of your body, for an astronomical sum?
Someone asked me what was the wildest rumor that anybody ever made up about me, and I couldn’t think and he was like, “Was it the 250-count thing?” Which was a lie about sheets -- that I take sheets to the hotel and they have to be 250-count, some ridiculousness like that. I said, “No.” Then Alan, my publicist came over, “What about the billion dollar butt.” I was like, “Yeah, that’s right.” That was the craziest one ever! Because it was on the front page of the paper here in New York, and I happened to be in New York that week. It was insane. But it was funny and it was great that I had the front page of the paper I could save it to show my kids.
So you haven’t insured your body?
I think that’s what I’m trying to say, yeah.
Do your friends send you all these bogus items as a joke?
Oh, yeah. Oh, they love it. And they like the negative stuff that they know is not true because they’re like, “Look what they wrote!” I’m like, “Ha ha ha, very funny.”
With your schedule and the limelight, is it difficult to keep in touch with these friends?
I value the private time that I get with them, and I value it more maybe than I would if I wasn’t doing this.
How do you balance the pressures of celebrity with maintaining relationships with your friends and family?
When the Selena thing happened that was like the weird time when I had to sit back and go, “Okay, what’s happening, and how can I deal with this?” And the conclusion I came to is that I’m still the same person that I was when I started, and I will always be that same person, and I have a great family that I came from and a great background, and I still have their loving support, and just because I work in movies and I’m an artist and I do music doesn’t mean that you’re any different than anybody else. Yes, you’re in the public eye and, you know, there’s that whole other animal but it’s not who I am. And staying grounded I think is the most important thing.
How difficult is it to stay grounded when you have an entourage devoted to catering to your every need?
I don’t really stand for that kind of stuff, you know what I mean? I see myself as a regular person, and I have great people around me who care about me as a person first. I have people who are very involved in and believe in what I’m trying to do and do everything they can to help me do that. People who help me manage everything that I have to do. People who I love that I call “my family.” They call me “Ma.” I don’t call them an entourage, you know? I have a manager. I have a publicist. I have an assistant who does so much for me. And I can’t do it without them. I would not be able to function. There’s just not enough hours in the day. I would love to be able to do it all by myself.
And yeah, I have security. I hate security, by the way. I’m always trying to escape without the security. And then like Puff will get so mad at me. He’s like, “You can’t go out without security! You don’t know what’s going to happen?!” And then he’ll get on Benny, my manager.
Earlier you had mentioned “the little girls that buy my album.” You are a role model to a lot of little girls out there. Do you feel a tremendous responsibility to them?
Yeah. I feel like you can’t take on the responsibility of the world. It’s destructive if you start thinking, “Oh God, I have to do this, I have to do that.” You have to live your life. I’m not gonna do anything wrong. I’m not gonna go rob a bank tomorrow. I don’t do drugs. I don’t drink or smoke or anything like that. Those are the types of things that people are like, “Role models. Oh, you can’t be human.” Well, you are human. Things are gonna happen. But I think it’s nice that girls feel they have someone to look up to in me. And I don’t think I’m gonna do anything in the near future that’s gonna disappoint anybody -- I hope.
When you were a little girl did your dreams involve all of this?
I had hoped. I’m really happy with where I am right now and as a little girl I always had dreams, and I still have a lot of big dreams that I wanna, hopefully, realize, so we’ll just wait and see, I guess.
I can imagine you’ve already realized your dreams as a pop singer. Did you expect that kind of response on your first album out?
You don’t expect that success. You just pour your heart and soul into your music. It’s really a reflection of who you are as a person as opposed to playing characters in a movie. You just hope for the best. You hope that somebody relates to it, somebody understands it -- that they like it and that they can dance to it. So I was actually pleasantly surprised with the outcome.
Was it weird to be heralded as a part of the Latin Music Boom?
You know, it’s funny that they create a movement thing because three people come out with an album at the same time or whatever it was. Yes, I’m Latin. Yes, I made an English pop album because I grew here in the United States, so I don’t know. It didn’t bother me in any way. I didn’t think of it as a negative thing, but I also didn’t think it was fair to do it because it makes it seem like people are a fad or culture is a fad and I think that’s unfair to do. I think that music should be separated and judged by individual artists. We don’t go, “Oh, all those artists are from Texas; let’s put all their music together,” you know what I mean? It’s just not done with any other cultures, and I think it was unfair that it was done. It’s not important. The music should speak for itself.
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