Gorgeous Monica Bellucci co-stars with Clive Owen and Paul Giamatti in writer/director Michael Davis' intense action comedy Shoot 'Em Up. Bellucci plays a hooker with heart who helps Owen protect a newborn baby from a ruthless criminal (Giamatti) who wants the baby dead and doesn't care who else gets killed in the process. But despite how that sounds, Shoot 'Em Up is more about humor than drama, and that's one of the reasons Bellucci was attracted to the film.
Falling for Shoot ‘Em Up: Bellucci said it wasn’t any one thing in particular that drew her to Shoot ‘Em Up. “Oh, everything,” said Bellucci when asked what part of the script grabbed her attention. “When I read the script I was in Europe and I said when I read the script it was crazy and, ‘How is he going to make this movie?’ So I went to Los Angeles and met Michael Davis and then he told me about everything he wanted to do. I said, ‘Yes, I want to do it.’ I had so much fun playing DQ because she’s totally free. She does dangerous, dark, dirty things but in a playful way. It’s like the movie, the movie is a comedy, it’s over the top, it’s like video games in some way. Of course, it’s violent but it’s also rock and roll, sexy, dark, scary, with a lot of humor in it.”
Bellucci’s not exactly sure why she’s attracted to certain roles. “You don’t know why you choose some characters instead of others,” revealed Bellucci. “I should go into therapy. You don’t know. You just read a script and say, ‘This is very interesting.’ It’s incredible because I’m very interested in very dark films all the time. I don’t know why.”
Understanding Her Character: Bellucci has no idea what inspired Davis to write this character. “Actually I didn’t know what was in his mind in the beginning about my character really, because she could have been Italian, French, American, everything, and I think that he wanted to bring the emotion in the middle of all of this mess and violence and blood. He wanted the female character to bring just the emotion, because in the end it’s all about love.”
Her character, DQ, is a lactating hooker who has a very twisted relationship with milk. There’s even a scene in the film involving milk and S&M. “This is the script,” said Bellucci. “This was in the script, but actually for me it was…I didn’t know anything about lactating stuff. So when I read the script I said, ‘What is this?’ Then he explained to me and I did [research on] lactating prostitutes. And actually you kind of understand she’s lactating because she doesn’t need to make love with men in some way. She comes from far…her child was killed by her pimp so she doesn’t want to have violent men around her, so that’s why she became lactating. There’s a reason for everything in this movie.”
Playing Strong, Sexy Woman: Bellucci is a beautiful woman who seldom chooses the sort of role you’d expect of her. Asked why, Bellucci replied, “I like to do on screen what I’m not in life. In life I’m much more weak and insecure and so then you know I like to play characters that are stronger than me.”
The Film’s Incredible Sex Scene: Shoot ‘Em Up features one of the more interesting sex scenes – and one of the best choreographed – on film. Bellucci said it took a whole day to film and was the most difficult scene she was involved in. “For me the difficult scene I had to do was the love scene because it’s an action scene at the same time. We had to rehearse and you know, it looks sexy but it was dangerous.” Bellucci compared the love scene in Shoot ‘Em Up to other films she’s been a part of. “You know, of course when I do a film like Irreversible there’s nothing to do with that because then the violence is much more realistic. You know, when you watch a film like Irreversible it’s just so difficult to watch because it’s like a documentary. It’s like so real. Here the violence is unreal. Nobody kills anybody with carrots, you know? So I mean it’s just entertaining.”
The Shoot ‘Em Up sex scene never gave her pause. “You know, when I received the script I thought the character was really, really strong and okay, there is one sex scene in the movie of course, but there’s much more what you would imagine than what you really see. That’s why the scene is very sensual but nothing more than that.”
Monica Bellucci’s Take on Nudity: Has her opinion changed any as she’s matured in the business? “Yeah, I won’t do this forever, then they won’t be beautiful anymore. No, I’m not scared of nudity that’s for sure. I have nothing against it and maybe because I come from fashion and all models they have no problem with nudity and they’re perfectly comfortable with their own body. I did films like Malena or films like Irreversible where I had nude scenes. It doesn’t bother me—nudity—on screen, if there’s a reason for that.”
Calling On Her Maternal Instincts: Bellucci’s the proud mother of a 3-year-old and that helped her get into the role. “When you play a mother and you are a mother it’s easier. And of course the baby didn’t have any risks in the movie because I’m a mother so I was really careful, and also the baby was on set for just a few minutes because most of the time it was just special effects.”
Bellucci is preparing for the time when her daughter will be in school and won’t be able to travel with her for work. “She travels always with me so you know I was in Toronto while I was shooting this movie for four months and she was with me. When she goes to school then it’s going to change in three years. I won’t work anymore. I’ll stay out of the business. No, I’m kidding, but I won’t make three movies a year. Because when you have a baby and she goes to school it becomes really difficult. It’s so difficult, you know, to be an actress and to be a good mother at the same time.”
