Pick one (laughing). Every scene. The first time I saw the mutant was the scene where I see him for the first time and I’m screaming my head off. I’m sure in the gag reel – the gag reel will be on the DVD – you will see me opening my mouth to scream and out comes a laugh, a huge guffaw. But the scene I remember the most was the dinner party scene. It was 4:00 in the morning when we were shooting that thing. It was very late and we were all very punchy, very tired and we couldn’t get through a take. There was one take with Animala (Jennifer Blaire) that nobody manages to make it through without laughing. Finally we got it and then the soundman cracked up. It was that kind of night. It was so funny, we couldn’t stop laughing.
In every scene there was something. You do the scene and you stop and go, “What was that? Where am I? What movie is this? Is my career over?” (laughing).
What was your reaction the first time you saw the finished film?
I was thrilled. I was like, “Wow! That’s what it’s supposed to be like!” I thought it was so smart and really unusual. Nobody has seen anything like this. I was really pleased. The way that we shot it – we shot it so fast and in such a short amount of time, there was very little money, we were sharing a cabin in Lake Arrowhead. It felt like a student film. It was so risky. The feeling at the end of it, we all felt like we had a really good time but we had no idea if that was going to transcend on screen.
When we first saw it, I remember Miguel Valenti the producer screened it at his place and that time we were like, “Who is going to buy this film?” And then there’s a TriStar logo on the front of it! Brian Howe and I, when they screened it at the New Art Cinema in Los Angeles, which was kind of the premiere for its theatrical release, we laughed hysterically. I think we laughed harder at the TriStar logo than we did at the movie. We couldn’t believe a major movie studio had picked up this little film. We were so happy because it deserves it, but still it was very bizarre.
You’ve got a couple more films in the works. What’s your character in “Paparazzi?”
Her name is Marcy and Tom Sizemore’s character - he plays this paparazzi - meets her in a bar and kind of convinces her to come along for ride. She’s a very skeptical young girl about what he does for a living. She finds it pretty disgusting. He says, “Well, come along and see what it’s like.” She goes along for a crazy night with him. That’s kind of what she does in the movie.
Have you had any bizarre run-ins with the media in your career?
Yeah, I have. I have in England. When I was younger there were a couple of movies that I made that had done very well and because of that I’d done a lot of press in England. There were a few of them, but I’ve never been chased by a photographer. I’ve never had anything really scary happen to me, but I’ve certainly had journalists take advantage of situations that I was kind of surprised at. I was very young at that time and really inexperienced so there were a few times when I was like, “Oh my God, can they really do that? What? That was off the record.” I was kind of blown away by the whole thing.
I did a movie with Mel Gibson that he directed called “The Man Without a Face” and when that came out in England it was huge because it was the Royal Command Performance of that year. It was a big deal, it was going to be in front of Prince Charles, and there was so much press about the film. And doing the press for that and having your face [out there] and flashbulbs going off everywhere, that was really wild to me. It was very surreal. You can’t describe it, you have to experience it.
And you also have a romantic comedy with Jason Behr coming up?
Yes, it just got into the Tribeca Film Festival and I’m thrilled. It’s called “Happily Even After” and it’s a very cute little film. It’s very sweet. It’s lovely. He and I play brother and sister and it’s how we deal with life after our parents die in a car crash, and kind of the different way we handle that. He falls in love and it’s a very anxious time in his life. It’s a really good little film.
Is there a genre of film that you prefer to act in? No, that’s a really good question. That’s a very good question. No, I love everything. I’ve done sitcom, film, television… I’m not a big fan of horror, I will say that. I don’t have any interest in acting in a horror movie. I like sci-fi, but I’m not a big fan of horror. Other than that, I love everything. (Laughing) As long as it takes me to an exotic location, I’m like, “Yes, sign me up.” So I’m all about the traveling, all about the experience. I’ll pretty much try anything.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:
"Lost Skeleton" Photo Gallery
"Lost Skeleton" Cast List and Movie News
