From Rebecca Murray,
Your Guide to Hollywood Movies.
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Jan 16 2005

Known for her work in dramatic movies ("The Cooler," "Auto Focus"), Maria Bello takes a stab at the action film genre in "Assault on Precinct 13," the 2005 updated version of John Carpenter's classic '70s movie.

In "Assault on Precinct 13," Maria Bello plays a police psychologist who has a flirtatious relationship with a troubled sergeant (played by Ethan Hawke). In a 'doctor, heal thyself'-type of twist, Bello's character suffers from OCD which she keeps under control by counting.

Showing up in Beverly Hills to promote "Assault on Precinct 13" minus her long hair and sporting a new, very flattering above-the-shoulders style, Maria Bello talked about the pleasurable experience of working with Laurence Fishburne and the rest of the "AP13" cast. Bello also talked about a few of her other projects - and corrected the Internet rumor which had her playing a role in Robert Rodriguez/ Frank Miller's "Sin City:"

INTERVIEW WITH MARIA BELLO ('Alex'):

You look great with short hair.
Thank you! I worked for the last 10 months and every director I’ve worked for, I’ve said “I think this character should have short hair.” And the directors, who were all male, said, “No!” So I finished this shoot and my hair dresser chopped it off – just for me! So I don’t have to ask anyone for permission on how I wear my hair. That’s kind of a drag.

If they want you with long hair, you could always wear extensions.
Yeah. I don’t know why they won’t let me. So many actors wear wigs nowadays. Besides, if someone is hiring me because of how I wear my hair, I don’t want to work with them anyway.

Was this shoot a fun experience for you?
It sure was. Laurence [Fishburne] said that some days it felt like we were on a playground together. It was like theater summer camp. We were all so excited to work together. We all have sort of that theatrical base, and we were invested in playing and making the story good. We had a great great time together.

This isn’t your normal type of project. How did you get involved?
I was sent this script with interest in me to play ‘Alex,’ and I wasn’t quite sure about it, about the part. As it was originally written – it’s original inception - she was quite staid and in control for the whole movie, and she had moments of where maybe she was going off the deep end, but not quite. And when I met with Jean-François, the director, and James DeMonaco, the writer, I said, “I think she has to go more off the deep end and I think that just because she is a psychiatrist, she doesn’t have to be so straight. I think that she should be really odd because I think psychiatrists are really odd human beings.” I’ve met quite a few of them so I can say that. Actually, I ran into one last night at a movie, this psychiatrist that I met a couple of times, and I find him really odd. I looked at him and I said that I’m sure you are the most neurotic person inside.

So are you going to be an action movie star now? Is this a new genre for you?
Oh, I don’t know. I always say that I’m dying to do it. This was my first action film and I loved it, but I’m the girl who can’t handle a gun, who can’t run, but that’s okay. I really like the idea of a normal person in extraordinary circumstances and then how do they handle that. I never want to be an action hero that’s, you know, slick. Cool. I want to be the kind that is a bumbler. You know, someone who just can’t quite do it right. So hopefully this will be the beginning of that.

I’ve done very dramatic movies in the last 10 months. They were just so heavy and dramatic – I just want to do a comedy. I want to do more action adventures and more romantic comedies.

So your turn in “Sin City” is very dramatic?
I am not in “Sin City. That’s a big fat lie. I know it’s on imdb.com and everyone keeps asking me about it, but I’m not in that movie. Weird.

Were there any problems with working with this director in terms of the language differences?
No. The thing about Jean-Françoise is that he is so enthusiastic…and he is so expressive with his eyes and his body. It was like he comes from a child-like place and we actors are such children, so we all understood one another. You would know what he was saying from his gestures and his hand moments. From his eyes and his grunts. We knew exactly what he wanted and he was getting it. He is a very strong leader and we trusted him.

Had you seen the original movie before shooting this?
It wasn’t until after I decided to do the film that I saw the original movie. I liked it. For the time I think it was very provocative and, you know, campy and violent. But when I looked at this film on the page, it’s quite a different movie. It’s not a remake. It’s more of a retelling of the original story. I think our movie, this telling of it, is a lot edgier and more modern.

PAGE 2: Maria Bello on Bonding with the Cast, Action Movies, and OCD