More of this Feature ADDITIONAL INTERVIEWS: • Alison Lohman ('Astrid') • Cole Hauser ('Ray') • Patrick Fugit ('Paul') • Director Peter Kosminsky • "White Oleander" Author, Janet Fitch • Producer John Wells ADDITIONAL "White Oleander" INFORMATION: • Photos from the Premiere of "White Oleander" • "White Oleander" News, Trailer, and Websites • "White Oleander" Production Photos

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Based on the best-selling novel by Janet Fitch, "White Oleander" follows a young woman’s journey through hardship and loss to maturity and independence. With more than 1.5 million copies in print, the story of Astrid and her relationship with her controlling mother, Ingrid, needed a careful hand to bring the story to life on the screen. Veteran screenwriter Mary Agnes Donoghue was given the task of making the novel into a compelling screenplay without compromising the characters.

“We didn’t acquire the book with the intention of using just a piece of it and extrapolating from that into something else. We liked the story in whole and wanted to make as faithful an adaptation as possible, knowing that we’d have to reduce the scope of it," explains producer John Wells.

Bringing such a diverse group of complicated characters to life was a daunting task, however the filmmakers immediately knew they needed to take extra care with casting the crucial role of Ingrid. The filmmakers were concerned that whoever was chosen for the role needed to make Ingrid more than just a one-dimensional villain. “If not handled correctly,” Wells says, “Ingrid’s extremes can come across as pure arrogance. The character is easy to dislike. The truth is, Ingrid is extremely narcissistic but that does not mean she doesn’t love her child. Maintaining a balance between the two is very difficult.”

Their first choice for the pivotal role, Michelle Pfeiffer, loved the story and agreed to play the part. "Michelle certainly has a lock on Ingrid,”director Peter Kosminsky attests. “There’s a directness and authority to the way she plays the part that is quite compelling and very moving to watch. Ingrid is an extraordinarily difficult character.”

"White Oleander" author Janet Fitch believes that casting Michelle Pfeiffer as Ingrid was a bit of perfect casting. After hearing her speak as Ingrid, Fitch couldn't envision the character played by anyone by Pfeiffer.

MICHELLE PFEIFFER (Ingrid)

What attracted you to “White Oleander?”
I really loved the theme and I loved this group of women. Oddly enough it wasn't this character I was drawn to. I was daunted by this character; I didn't know what to do. I was concerned that you couldn't really bring all the layers that were so beautifully written in the novel to the screen - or at least that I wouldn't be able to. But I finally decided that it's a challenge and I got excited about the thought of playing this woman. I'd never played a part where it didn't matter how sympathetic the character was to the story. Ultimately it was very liberating to approach something in that way.

I wanted to find the humanity in the person, but you know what? If I fail it doesn't really matter, the story moves along.

Ultimately, what's the message of this film?
People are going to come away from it with many different things but I think that in all of our experiences, it's really about where does the parent end and where does the child begin. I think that one can overcome their childhood.

There's a lot people can learn from this film about the mother-daughter relationship. What do you think people can learn?
I guess it's the connection, isn't it? For me it's even broader than the mother-daughter relationship. We are really the sum total of all of our experiences and that we can overcome the hand that we are dealt in life. Meeting the right person at the right time in your life can completely change the course of your life. Most of the time those people are completely clueless that they've even done it.

What did you tap into for this character?
The thing about this character is that no matter how brutal she is - and at times she is very brutal - really what she is trying to do is to speak the truth. I just always tried to connect up with the fact of how liberating it is to be a person who is willing to speak the truth whatever it is, and is willing to pay whatever price. I think I have a certain kind of admiration for that. I'm certainly not that liberated.

Is there anything you pulled from your own experiences into this character?
I didn't other than obviously that mother-daughter bond and the torture of being separated.

Did you have much apprehension about playing a character who is so unsympathetic?
I never worry about that; I probably should worry about that more. I was more worried that I wouldn't be able to find the humanity in this women or that I wouldn't be able to bring that to the screen. I think it was in the novel, but you have a lot more time to lay in all those dimensions [in the novel].