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Good Luck Chuck

The phoner press conference coverage by Nobuhiro Hosoki

 

Edited audio version of the phoner press conference

(Entire interview)

Q: Hi Jessica, as I was preparing for this call, I was just thinking how we haven't seen you in a lot of comedy, and I did love "The Ten",?which I saw over the summer, so I was wondering if you made a sort of campaign to let Hollywood know that you can be funny too.

A: [Laughs.]  I definitely hosted MTV Movie Awards two summers ago, I think, and I kind of used this as my audition, because like you've said, I haven't really done any comedies, and I couldn't get into those rooms because people just didn't think that was my thing, they thought I was action girl, so I hosted the Movie Awards, and no one knew I was going to do funny skits, and Dane [Cook] was at the show, and that's when he made the call that he thought I could do comedy. . .

Q: I was wondering, was there a particular scene in the movie that was a favorite of yours, and why?

A: Yeah, there was a scene where Dane and I kind of have our first night together, hanging out, and a, bunch of random events happen where he needs to take me to my house so I can get a key, and it was sort of the first time I did a lot of the physical comedy that wasn't written at all in the movie, and I could just be free and have fun.  And Dane and I have a really great chemistry, and we were just playing off one another and have a really great time. And we turned the scene into something better and really cool. and I think it makes the movie better as well because you can see the connection that these two people have.  You know, you want them to be together. (laughs)

Q: And your timing, Both of you did work really well, together.  Did you have to work together on that at all or did it kind of come to you really natural?

A:  You know, it was kind of natural. Dane and I, you know, we really get along well, and it's quite easy for us to bounce off each other. Yeah, it's good.

Q: I had read that during that scene where you guys shot the first kiss.  That you guys ended up chipping your teeth.  Is that true and there a story behind that?

A: Um, yes, I did chip my front tooth doing a kiss with Dane (laughs).

Q: What happened?

A: I chipped my top front tooth and he chipped his bottom tooth.  Well, we were doing like a comedic Mr. and Mrs. Smith love scene, and we were slamming into walls and breaking things and tumbling over couches and stuff.  And I slammed my head into a picture and while my head was smacking into the wall and breaking the picture, his teeth slammed into my teeth.

Q: Oh, my gosh, did you guys have to get emergency dental work?

A: I did, I did.  I had to get, well I had a bond on my tooth, but when I took it off,  I look like Jim Carrey Dumb and Dumber.

Q: Could you tell what it was like working with a first-time director on this film?

A: I worked with a few, and he was very excited about being a director every day. He was like a little kid in a candy store. It was actually quite endearing.  He was like every day, he was having a pinch-me moment, and he was just so happy to be there.  He's been an editor for a very long time, and I think this was something he always wanted to do and it was kind of his dream was coming true.

Q: Why do you think it is it always so hard to find the right person to date?

A: (pause) I think you have to be in the right state of mind, and you have to be in the right state of mind with the type of dating that you want to have with the person that is also in the right state of mind to be dating you (laughs).  Timing is everything.  There's a lot out there I guess.

Q: You have a wide variety of films coming out in the future that cover  comedy and drama and thriller. What do you look for these days when selecting projects you want to be a part of?

A: Good stories.  Good scripts. Fun characters. Stuff I'm afraid of. I like to tackle things that scare me. Like doing comedy.  I never did physical comedy before and I knew that was going to be very interesting every day. Yeah, I like to keep a good variety.

Q: We're so used to seeing you be graceful in your appearances in films.  How did you relate Cam's clumsiness and also what was it like working with the penguins?

A: I'm quite clumsy in my own personal life.More than any person should be (laughs). It's kind of a joke. So it was fun being able to not hide that. I usually having to be incredibly self-aware and self-possessed and self-conscious, and even just walking in heels, and trying to pretend like I'm a superhero and be the most coordinated person on the planet, in "Dark Angel" and all of those things. And in this, I got to be goofy and just have fun and I didn't have to be so self-conscious, so I related to it in a personal way. And what was it like working with the penguins?  It was great! They're lovely little animals. And they don't like everybody, but they liked me right away. I found a way to tickle them on their neck, which is how their handlers do it.  And usually they're kind of spastic and stiff, but they would lay down and kind of purr. And I did that.  That's why they liked me,it was good.

Q: You probably went into the movie with pre-conceived notions of what it was like to work on a comedy and to work with Dane Cook.

A: I really didn't. I really didn't, to be honest with you. I knew it was going to be fun because Dane and I the second we met each other just got along.It was like I had known the guy forever, and we just had a good time. We had a great rapport.

Q: What shocked you the most?

A: Just that comedy is very precise, and when you find the moment=--the funny moment you kind of just have to stay within those boundaries.  And even though it's free and open and you have to put yourself out there, It's very controlled and premeditated. And it's hard to try and make that an organic moment, where everything is so contrived.

Q: So many people find you sexy.  I want to know what you find sexy.

A: I really am into a good sense of humor. That's a big deal for me, and when people are considerate, that's another big one for me. That's very sexy. When you are not thinking only of yourself but when you're thinking
of other people. Love that.

Q: I was wondering in general if you're ever experienced that curse, or do you believe you're lucky or unlucky in love.

A: [Laughs] I think everyone brings it onto themselves.  I have to believe that's the way it is. It's so random, the way things happen.  Some people, bad things always happen. My aunt, like every car she has, it breaks, whether it's brand new or old, or whether it's my car, if she's driving it's gonna break.  So I think you just carry around an energy [laughs] and you enforce that upon anything whether it's breaking cars involuntarily or getting into relationships and constantly sort of not finding your match.  Yeah, I think it's about creating patterns, breaking them and learning from them. And sometimes if you're not willing to be that introspective, you just kind of go in circles.

Q: I was wondering about the status some of the rumored future projects you might be included in, like "Fantastic Four 3"or "Sin City 2,?where they're standing?

A: I have no idea [laughs]. You probably know more than I do about those sort of things.  To be honest, the actress is always the last to know.  I'm excited about this one though [laughs].

Q: Are there any comedic directors like a Woody Allen. I could see you working with Woody Allen on this, that would be a great opportunity.  Is there anybody else you have in mind you'd like to work with on the
comedic side of things?

A: Yeah, he's more like, his style is not that broad, you know what I mean.  A little more artsy, a little more like New York stories. That would be amazing, (Pause) it's so intelligent.

Q: You have a film with Mike Meyers, right?

A: Yes, I'm doing that now. But like the director of this film. I'm excited about working with Mike. The director of this film is a first-time director, and who is to say whether this is gonna be the greatest director that I'm working with in comedy, or the worst? You never know until you go through the experience, and it's finished. For me it's about Mike, it's all about Mike.

Q: Have you ever used a pick-up line on a guy, and did it work?

A: Have I ever used a pick-up line on a guy?  No, I'm bad with all that. I can't tell a joke, A, I can't tell a joke  to save my life. And B, I'm a terrible liar. I'm a terrible liar, and I think you have to be a able to tell a joke and lie to pick someone up with a line.

Q: What's the worst one you're ever heard?

A: I've heard all of them [laughs]. Anything terrible, and yes, I've heard that.

Q: Have you ever needed a pick-up line for a guy?

A: I don't know, I get embarrassed if I have a crush on someone I get all like squirmy and quiet and giggly, I never know what to say and my mouth goes dry, my heart beats fast and I get completely stupid.

Q: Did you sign up for a PG-13 film and then learn they pushed it to an R did you know it was going to be R, are you okay with the rating?

A: Yeah, I think it's funny.  I think it makes it feel more real, more authentic, and yeah, I have to say, I'm not a huge fan of all the romantic comedies that have come out in the past five years, because I felt like a lot of them were too soft and didn't seem real, and I wanted the characters to be more tangible, and this movies yeah, they're crazy, but at least they feel kind of real. They are eccentric but they feel like somebody you know (laughs)Some of the things that Dan says are so out of control. But I have a that talks like that and acts crazy, so yeah, I wasn't offended at all. I thought it was kind of cool that they went out and the studio allowed us to do that.

Q: Do you like to have your way now that you're in your mid-twenties, and you're not a kid any more?.

A: It's great, it's real great.That's definitely more substantial and more dynamic  characters.

Q: Are you trying to make an effort to develop projects of your own in order to kind of seize the control of production?

A: Yeah, I've been attached as a producer on three films, and they just went into development and people got hired and fired, and sort of went nowhere.But, yeah, I've been had an interest to be a producer ever since I worked with Drew Barrymore on "Never Been Kissed", I saw the girl when I think she was like 23 at the time doing it all, and I definitely look up to her and said, I want to do that someday,?and it's real cool, and she still loves doing movies and she's a lovely human being, and she treats people well, she's a lovely person and she's so excited about what she does for a living.

Q: Are there other things you want to do outside of movies like paint?

A: Yeah I love painting.  Certainly, I probably want to get more involved in charities I'm already involved in.  I'd like to maybe explore the broadband aspects of bringing people and women together. Their awareness through using the Internet with issues that I believe are important and that people should be conscious of, without being preachy,just making people  aware. That stuff is important to me. So, yeah, I do want to do other things. Just right now I'm trying to figure this out and build it to a place where I'm comfortable enough to go away from it for a little while.

Q: What would you like to be doing 20 or 30 years from now in your career?

A: Hopefully, something [laughs].  Hopefully I'm doing this 20 or 30 years from now.

Q: Is there any particular role that you feel ultimate?

A: Everyone loves that questions. That actors and directors would you love to work with, and what is the ultimate role you would love to do.. I think, A, there are tons of wonderful, beautiful stories that can be told. I do believe that there's lots of talent out there that people haven't discovered yet, along with people who are incredibly talented who should continue to make movies. But my perspective is a little bit bigger than that in that women still don't open movies the way men open movies. Women still aren't commanding the same sort of they don't really have the same power--there is no equivalent to Tom Cruise in the business; there's no equivalent to Will Smith in the business. I think it will be nice to see women and maybe if I am part of this movement, which I feel I am, along with Cameron Diaz and Drew and Julia Roberts and Jennifer Lopez and Scarlett Johansson and Sharon Syone and all these girls are all trying to be the center, and hopefully we can deal with the franchises and go beyond just one cute movie that people can see but really turn it into a franchise.

Q: If I can follow up on that, Jessica, do you think part of that is, maybe since a lot of the audience for the films are young boys, could it just be that women as audiences have better things to do than go to the
movies on opening weekend, which is what Hollywood looks at.

A: No, I don't think the only people who go to movies are young boys.  Yeah, that's a huge percentage of it, but if you're got  good story and  something is captivating, you're going to draw an audience, and the I checked, young boys like girls, so I don't know why they wouldn't want to go see a movie with a female lead. . .

Q: I remember when you did that Latino dance film a long time ago, you had a lot of strong opinions about your background.  Do you still have those and hope to revisit that and do films that address some of your Latina background?

A: What were my strong opinions about my Latina background?

Q. You were talking about the opportunity to have strong character in the dance movie you did quite a while ago, and you touched on some of those points and ideas. I wanted to hear if you have new ideas, new thoughts you have about characters, people you may want to play maybe from your background?

A: Well you know, it's difficult to call myself a Latina actress because whenever I try to do that the Latin community made it very clear I don't speak Spanish and I never did a Spanish-speaking movie and so I wasn't really part of it because I was half, which made me feel terrible, because I really only grew up with the Latin side of my family, and that's the only culture I could really identify with. But I don't speak Spanish, so there was nothing really I could say in defense. But more importantly than being typecast, or being viewed as a black actress, a Latin actress or an Asian actress or whatever actress. Why can't you just be an actress, why can't you  just be a leading lady, why do you have to be broken down to that level of your nationality or whatever. I don't think it's that important. I think it's more important if you tell amazing stories, no matter what ethnicity you are, and people can hopefully not see you as a certain color.