Interviews with Alicia

Interviewer - Red

Alicia - Blue

Steve Gidlow TV Hits

On Excess Baggage

Did you have a good time making Excess Baggage?

It was so fun and such a, you know, fulfilling experience. I was so challenged every day and so excited. I had a blast and I'm so proud of the movie and so proud of the people in it and so proud of the people who put their heart and soul into making it.

Do you understand where Emily is coming from?

I think that we can all really understand what it's like to want love and to want to know who you are and to be happy because in order to be happy you've got to know who you are, right? That's what I responded to. It's like the overall lesson that I've got to learn, you can't look to someone else to give you approval. The responses you get in Hollywood - that stuff will not help me be who I am. That stuff has nothing to do with it. It's all about me. It's all about you for you and it's like that's the lesson for me in the movie.

Do you think you were a typical teenager - you separated from your parents when you were 15?

I went to like three, I think I went to seven proms in my freshman year so I got to do that sort of thing.

Oh my God! You went to seven proms as someone's date?!

Yeah, I went but they weren't the prom. We had a prom and we had a "morp" which was backwards - girls asked guys! Well that doesn't make any sense. (laughs) I went to a lot of them.

Do you feel that you missed out on anything?

No, because I still feel all the same things that any normal girl would feel and there are things I've gained. There are things that I miss out on but altogether it's who I am so I can't do much about it.

What made you choose Benicio Del Toro as your co-star?

I saw him in The Usual Suspects and didn't see anything else in the movie but him! Like, I couldn't concentrate on anything else. I was just like, "wow!" and then rented all his movies and saw things like Fearless. He's so talented and I just thought he was wonderful.

What influence did you have as the film's producer?

Oh, it's like 180 degrees. It's like, you know, so much of this movie is improv and ad libs. Benicio and I wrote a lot of scenes together and it was just so much work, you know, real work and development and that's so exciting. It's so exciting to be able to sit in a room with another person that you respect and you find so talented and bounce ideas back and forth and take something at one place and take it to a whole other place.

Did you find being the producer stressful?

No, not like that. You're more like a warrior that you want to be on their team. Like not a combative thing but I was just committed to making it the best it could be and I think that they knew that and probably respected that. I respected all of them. They all had to show up and work crazy hours and because Benicio and I did a lot of improv I'm sure that creates some frustration to the camera guys!

How do you view your Clueless success?

I have a very strange way of looking at my life. I don't look at it like improvements and I don't look at it like, "Ooh, I wish I could take that back." I am so appreciative of every nasty thing, every disgusting thing, every wonderful thing that's happened to me because it makes me who I am so I haven't noticed a shift in my life as a result of the film. It's just my life and it's just as colourful as much as it was when I wasn't doing Clueless, just for different reasons.

What's the best thing about producing?

I love producing and that's the greatest thing that has come out of this. You know, somebody said, "Great, we want her to do this," and it was such a great experience and I'm thrilled that it happened. Clueless was an acting role for me and Excess Baggage was clearly a producing thing where I put the whole thing together so it was less focused on my character and more on the whole thing, you know?

Are you a good cook?

My cooking? Well, I think it's good. (giggles) Some others might disagree... but I like it. I just cook whatever I love, you know. I used to love stir-frys. I'm off stir-frys right now.

What do you like most about Australia?

We had some really good barbecues there. Really good and tried what was it called? The bug? Yeah, Moreton Bay Bugs!

What comes first for you in life?

The most important thing for me in my life is that I live a happy life and what makes me happy is having really, really truly loving relationships and honest relationships and celebrating life with people that I love. Producing this movie made me happy too, but the other stuff comes first.

So you could be far away from acting, from movies.

Well, it's not that it's far away because all of those things can be done while I also have a job and my love for creating it all blends together. You know, I get to work with the person that I really, really love. I get to work with Carolyn (Alicia's manager) every day and she's my best friend so we get to do that together and I also get to meet people like Benicio.

What's up next for you?

I have a movie with Anjelica Huston coming out called Breakers... we're a mother/daughter con team, terrorising men and stuff.

Are you rebellious in this one too?

Yeah, more rebellion.

So Alicia, is there a pattern emerging there?!

(Laughs) Well I guess I'm pretty rebellious!

Steven Hardy TV Hits

Alicia in Oz

There were some cruel remarks about you in the press around the time of Batman, like "Buttgirl" and "Fatgirl".

Batman director Joel Schumacher says you're "the sexiest, hottest, coolest young actress in the business". Yet you seem so determined not to be considered a sex symbol. Does that make you defensive?

What's the worst part of being an actress?

What's your favourite food?

My favourite thing in the world is a box of fine European chocolates which is, for sure, better than sex!

Do you have a pet peeve, something that really irritates you?

Yeah, people not pronouncing my name correctly. It's A-LEE-SEE-AH, not A-LISH-A. Also I really hate people who call me "That Aerosmith chick"!

So you didn't like that image?

You started out as a child model for Yves Saint Laurent and Levi's.

Did you ever have any other jobs before you became an actress?

Didn't you go to Beverly Hills High when you moved to California?

How do you feel about the fact that men are in love with the dream girl they see on the screen?

Well, what about a romance?

What can't you live without?

Tell me a secret about yourself

Who are your biggest role models?

What do you look for when you consider taking a part in a film?

What roles have you turned down recently?

Is it true you've said you'd never do nude scenes in a film?

But many ambitious young actresses, like Drew Barrymore, do nude Playboy stories.

I know you have a new 1.4 million home in the San Fernando Valley, so what's your favourite item of clothing in your new closet?

Tell me about your new film Excess Baggage.

How have you changed in the past year?

You're earning a great deal of money...

Page last edited: Saturday, 16 September 2000 13:52:17 AUS Eastern Standard Time