Jennifer
Tilly
Here is something special
for all of you Jennifer Tilly fans out there. This
a a log of Live AOL chat with Jennifer from which you can find out
some great facts about Jennifer, her life... This is a 'must read'
material.
| Question: |
Jennifer
Tilly, what would be your "dream role"? |
| Jennifer
Tilly: |
My
dream role would be a character kind of like Bette Davis in
All About Eve, I like roles like that, the sort of bitter
and bitchy, but at the same time they're vulnerable and you
like them because you see where they're coming from. She's
sort of a mature woman who's been through the mill. I like
characters that aren't really cut and dried in respect to
being a hero. They're more flawed, but you like them in spite
of or perhaps because of, their imperfections. I wouldn't
actually WANT to play that character because I don't think
anyone could play it as well as Bette Davis did. |
| Jennifer
Tilly: |
Another
character that Vivian Leigh put her stamp on is Blanche in
Streetcar Named Desire. I like these women who are sort of
bitter about what life has brought them, because it didn't
live up to their expectations. But they still struggle on,
I think that's very interesting thing to play, when they still
have pride, and fire and hope. I think a lot of times in modern
theater and film the ingenue part, or the "girlfriend"
part is the least interesting character to play: it's kind
of one-note. They're usually blank and pretty and vapid. I
mean it's great to have a job, but I always prefer to play
the eccentric one, or the nasty one or the bitter one, but
I don't often get the opportunity. |
| Jennifer
Tilly: |
I
think you have to grow into those roles, but that's why I
really like "Violet," the character in my new movie,
Bound, because she has so many colors. She's sort of damaged,
and dark. She's not very nice. She can be, but she's a little
on the amoral side! She's the mastermind behind everything
that's going on in the film. So she's a person who's kind
of been underestimated by the people in the film --by the
men in the film, especially-- because of her physical appearance,
and the way she presents herself. She presents a perfectly
blank, vapid surface when it suits her, but underneath there's
so much more going on. There's a lot of passion and anger
in her. This is somebody that definitely cannot be trusted.
So I like Violet, because it marks my first foray into this
kind of role. In the past, I've played more "girls"
and Violet is more of a "woman". |
| Question: |
Which
actor(s) would you most like as co-star(s)? |
| Jennifer
Tilly: |
I
would love to work with Al Pacino. I think he's amazing! I'd
like to work with Robert De Niro, and of course, Martin Scorsese,
Meryl Streep, I think is great. Then there's actors I just
like to work with because I think they're cute...(laughs)
like Benicio Del Toro, Michael Wincott, I like David Arquette
(I worked with him before). I guess I like actors that are
a little on the eccentric side, I also love Tim Roth and Gary
Oldman. |
| Jennifer
Tilly: |
A
lot of times I'll get a script where maybe the script isn't
that interesting, but if an actor is attached that I think
is really cool, I'll definitely consider doing the project,
because I think you're only as good as the people you work
with. ...and that's why I really liked Bound. |
| Jennifer
Tilly: |
I
think the casting was so unpredictable, they had to fight
for every actor they wanted (including myself, which is very
hard on the ego!). They got very unconventional actors, Joey
Pantiliano, whom they got to play my boyfriend, was not even
in the top 20 choices originally, because the producer felt
(Dino Di Laurentis) felt he wasn't really a leading man, not
good looking enough to play a mobster! Joey got a phone call
when he was in Santa Barbara: "If you want the part you
have to drive down here and meet the Wachowskis (the directors
on the film) in the next two hours". His agent had gotten
him a meeting and was afraid that they would change their
minds! |
| Jennifer
Tilly: |
Joey
knew this was going to be a great movie, and he wanted to
be a part of it. He has a tremendous body of work, I mean
he's very well respected in the industry, but basically he
had to drive down, give the best reading of his life, and
cut his price to nothing, to get this part. And if you knew
how money-obsessed Joey is, you would realize that this was
a great sacrifice! (laughs) Not a day went by when Joey didn't
complain about how little money he was making. He instigated
all these card games on the set as a means of supplementing
his income. And now, Dino says (about Joey) "I knew he
would be the best "Caesar" ever!" "Aren't
you glad I thought of him?" |
| Jennifer
Tilly: |
Basically,
Gina Gershon and I went through the same process. They knew
they wanted the three of us in this movie. And as it turns
out, they got their way with everything. So what you see up
on screen is very much, exactly what the directors envisioned
when they wrote this script. |
| Jennifer
Tilly: |
Now
when I say "eccentric" casting: 1) In a typical
Hollywood film, (aside from having bigger stars than the 3
of us) I think most directors would cast the parts of Violet
and Corky (the parts Gina and I play) with more contrasting
actresses, for example (this seems to be a formula) if you
have two women in a movie, one has to be blonde and the other
a brunette, and when I met Gina I thought "that's funny,
she looks almost exactly like me". IN FACT THAT'S WHAT
MAKES THE MOVIE WORK: Gina and Joey and I have the same manic
energy, the directors did this deliberately because they felt
that Corky and Violet were the parts that made up the whole,
they were a yin and yang, and that's why they had to look
similar, and I take it one step further, and I say that Joey
looks like a male version of Gina, but Gina and Joey both
get really upset when I say that. Gina says; "I do NOT
look like Joey!" Joey says "Stop saying I look like
Gina!" But I think we all look similar, as if we all
belonged to the same dysfunctional family. |
| Question: |
Is
Jennifer Tilly married? She is
beautiful! |
| Jennifer
Tilly: |
Thank
you! No, I was married once and divorced. Still very good
friends with my ex-husband, who is a wonderful man, but now
I'm dating an English boy (I was about to say "man"
but he's really a boy). His name is Peter. I was dating him
for about two years then we broke up for about 5 months earlier
this year, and while we were broken up I did a lot of interviews
promoting Bound and in these interviews I kind of ran down
men a little bit, and talked about how available I was, being
torn between disillusionment and desperation for a new boyfriend.
I thought "Hey, it doesn't hurt to advertise". Then
I got back together with Peter, and all the magazine articles
came out...and so I learned a good lesson, which is, it's
always a good idea to keep your big, fat mouth shut! (laughs)
But now everybody thinks I'm available. So I get asked out
on dates a lot. But that could also be because I'm a blond
now, and I think everybody's heard about blondes being more
fun, so I look more like someone who wants to go on dates
than I did when I had dark hair. |
| Question: |
Loved
you in Scorchers..BEAUTIFUL work.. ( also loved "Bullets
over Broadway")...Were you Picked to Scorchers personally?
It was such a unique script... & will you be doing any
theater soon? |
| Jennifer
Tilly: |
Scorchers
was a movie that was written by a close friend of mine, David
Baird who is a great writer. He directed me in a play at the
LA Theater Center called Boy's Life. Then later on we did
a TV series together called Key West, and he's always been
kind of a mentor of mine, and I was sort of getting typecast
in the industry, but he saw potential in me and gave me parts
that were different from the ones I was offered. He also gives
these great pep talks. He's an acting teacher, I don't think
they can help teaching. He's also doing a play in New York
called 900 Oneanta that I was supposed to be in, but at the
last minute, I got a role in the new Jim Carrey movie, Liar
Liar and torn between money and art, I happily went for the
money! (laughs) |
| Jennifer
Tilly: |
I'm
surprised you saw Scorchers actually because it was released
overseas, but never theatrically in the US. In fact, the producer
is still trying to get it released, because it went straight
to video. I think this was 5 years ago. I remember the role
was this very unattractive, plain girl, whose husband would
not sleep with her preferring instead, a local hooker, played
by the ever-glamorous Faye Dunaway (who can blame him?). But
that was another situation where the producers really fought
against my being cast in this role, because they were saying
"Who could ever believe that somebody would not want
to sleep with Jennifer Tilly?" But I argued that the
psychology of men (here I go on men again!) is that they don't
stray because their girlfriends or wives are unattractive,
it has nothing to do with the woman, it has to do with a void
in the man. That was a rewarding part for me. Because it was
a departure from the other types of characters that I had
been playing. Thanks for watching it! |
| Jennifer
Tilly: |
In
answer to the second part of the Question. I love theater.
I've done a lot of plays. But at this point in my career,
I feel I have to put that on the back burner for a while because
the time commitment to do a play is such a large one. In the
time that it takes to do one play you could do 2 or 3 movies.
I was also a rather late bloomer in terms of career success
and having options, I feel like I'm running out of time. I
want to get a respectable body of work behind me. Before I
can relax! (laughs) |
| Question: |
When
and why did you get into acting? |
| Jennifer
Tilly: |
I
always wanted to be an actress, as far back as I can remember.
I think the feeling crystallized when I was in 5th grade and
a traveling theater troupe came to town and stayed at our
house. I remember these actors seemed so special to me, and
I thought, "What a fantastic way to make a living! By
playing!" I never thought I would make any money at it.
I just thought "How great, to not have to go to the office
every morning and do whatever they do in offices, and instead
to pretend to be other people, and change your personality
every 2 months". So when I graduated high school, I went
to Stephens College and majored in theater, and when I graduated
(many, many years ago) I came to L.A. and tried to get an
agent. That was the hard part. It took me about 4 years. In
the meantime I was selling sandwiches on the street, amongst
many other demeaning jobs. Cleaning apartments was about the
worst, but I persevered because even though Hollywood didn't
know it yet, the movie industry NEEDED me! (Plus I didn't
have anything else to do.) |
| Question: |
Jennifer
Tilly, what movie did you do with one of the Baldwin
brothers? |
| Jennifer
Tilly: |
That
would be The Getaway, the remake, in which I co-starred with
Michael Madsen, and Kim Basinger and Alec Baldwin. I only
had one scene with him, which was a scene where I leapt on
his back, and pulled his hair, and tried to gouge his eyes
out. Kim Basinger yanks me off of his back and cold cocks
me, I fall over backwards, on Michael Madsen, who is unconscious,
so he couldn't flinch when my considerable weight fell on
top of him. It was a very memorable day. |
| Question: |
Hello
Jennifer, I'm a big fan. What was it like working with the
Bridges in Fabulous Baker Boys? |
| Jennifer
Tilly: |
Thank
you! (For being a big fan.) I only worked on that movie 2
days, but it was great. The calmest, most pleasant set. There's
this scene in the movie which is really a high traumatic,
emotional point for Beau. He's had a fight with his brother,
his girlfriend (Pfeiffer) has deserted him, and he runs into
my character waitressing in a restaurant, babbling at him,
and I'll never forget him saying to me "What can I do
to help you? Is there anything you need from me?" And
it was his scene! What a giving actor! If it was me, I'd be
crouched in a corner trying to dredge up some emotion, definitely
not making chitchat with the day player! But he was just an
easy guy, calm and un-tense, right up till the moment the
camera was rolling, then the makeup artist would run over
and put some drops in his eyes for tears, and he'd make this
sudden, 180 degree turn and be plunged into the scene, crying
and emotional, and I thought "Wow. This guy has been
acting for a long time". |
| Jennifer
Tilly: |
That
was with a first time director Steve Kloves. He really seemed
to know what he was doing, and let me tell you, I've worked
with a lot of first time directors, and that isn't always
the case. That's why the Wachowski brothers (Bound) really
impressed me, because they were so prepared. They really knew
what they wanted, and they were really relaxed. They reminded
me of the last really good first time director I had worked
with, which was Steve Kloves. Really good directors have confidence
in their abilities, when you have a nervous director, one
who doesn't know what he's doing and let's everybody see it,
it's like a virus that sweeps through the cast and crew, and
then it's like one of those disaster movies where the stewardess
is flying the plane because the captain passed out from eating
the fish, and all the passengers are screaming because they
know the person at the wheel doesn't know what he's doing. |
| Jennifer
Tilly: |
So,
in conclusion, I would have to say, that when I worked with
brothers (The Bridges brothers and the : Wachowski brothers)
it's been a very rewarding experience. |
| Question: |
Which
do you like better: stage, movies or TV? Why? |
| JnfrTilly: |
I
think stage creatively is the most rewarding. Because stage
truly is an actor's medium. You get a long rehearsal period
to work everything out. What you put up there is what the
audience sees. Your performance can't be edited or tampered
with. The response is immediate: if you're bombing in a play
you know it, you don't have to wait six months to find out,
and on the other hand, if you're doing a great job, there's
nothing as rewarding as feeling that communion with a live
audience. Also many plays are better written than many screenplays
or television because the writer has had a lot of time to
write that particular opus, and in theater, improvising is
not encouraged. The playwright is God. If you have a sentence
that's difficult for you to say, you had better take that
sentence home, and spend hours trying to figure out why the
character has such odd speech patterns. |
| Jennifer
Tilly: |
There
is usually a reason why a sentence sticks out and is difficult,
and once you've cracked it it's like the code to a safe. It's
usually the key to the character. In film, you're moving so
fast, if you don't have the scene you move on. If you can't
figure out the sentence, you don't have the luxury of weeks
of rehearsal you just change it. Usually screenplays are written
by committee, it's not unusual to have 4 or 5 writers who
worked on one script. You add to that all the actors saying
anything that pops into their minds, and while that's OK for
me to do, other actors may not be as insightful as me, and
then it's very irritating. |
| Jennifer
Tilly: |
Also
in film, it's very much an editor's medium, if the editor
and/or the director are not in sync with what you're trying
to do with your performance, you can come across really badly,
because little gestures and things that you do that are really
important to yourself in terms of the character really do
not mean anything to the editor/director who, not being in
sync with you, can unintentionally Bowlderize your performance.
At the same time a writer/director/producer can take their
name off any work they feel does not represent them accurately,
but an actor is always up there. It does no good to protest
"That's not the performance I think I gave!" because
it looks like you're making excuses for your own lack of talent!
(laughs). Television, forget it. I admire any actor who comes
across positively in TV, because frankly, I have not figured
out the knack of working so fast. That's not to say there's
not good TV, or that I would never do TV, but I have not been
happy with a lot of my forays into that medium, because I
think it's a skill like doing crossword puzzles that you either
have or you don't. And I don't think I really have that skill. |
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