Anna Faris stars as a Playboy Bunny who gets the boot from the Playboy Mansion and finds herself totally lost in the comedy movie The House Bunny. So where does a rejected Bunny go to reevaluate life? A college sorority house, of course. Shelley (Faris) joins the girls of Zeta Alpha Zeta – played by Emma Stone, Kat Dennings, Rumer Willis, Dana Goodman and Katharine McPhee – as they attempt to save their house from the rival Phi Iota Mu girls.
Faris, the star of the Scary Movie franchise, was an integral part of The House Bunny process, helping to come up with the basic storyline, pitching the story to producers, and seeing it through to the end. "It was amazing," Faris said of being intimately involved behind-the-scenes. "Very inspiring and empowering and also eye-opening because I had no idea how difficult it was to make a movie and to put all the pieces together. We thankfully had the support of – without my writers I would still be twiddling my thumbs thinking, 'Where would that Playboy Bunny go?' And then, of course, the support of Happy Madison was incredible. They were able to push our movie through so quickly, and Sony was amazing. I had a really positive experience. I keep thinking I am really naïve to think that anything ever goes that smoothly, but you know I’ve got to say I wasn’t getting a chance to play the roles that I really wanted to and so this felt like, 'Oh, so maybe I can do this and maybe I can continue to do this,' which would be amazing."
Faris joined her co-stars Rumer Willis, Emma Stone and Katharine McPhee at a press conference in Los Angeles to discuss the film:
Anna, can you talk about preparations for playing this character and to what extent could you identify with her?
Anna Faris: "I would like to say that I slept with Hef, but I’ll dispel that rumor right now. No, I was thinking about three years ago about what happens when it’s time for the next phase of life for some of these girls who have lived in the Playboy Mansion, and how do you sort of re-enter the real world? And I pitched the character to these ladies and, together, they wrote a script and together we produced it. And the next thing you know, we’re shooting at the Playboy Mansion. I have to admit, I did very little to emotionally prepare to play Shelley Darlington. I guess she’s always been in there somewhere. But, I did work out. I tried to… I got some hair extensions, a lot of padded bras. I guess that’s the extent of my prep."
Can you tell us about the origin of the gravelly voice?
Anna Faris: "I have to credit our director with that. He was like, ‘Can you do a crazy voice?’ And I said, ‘What do you mean?’ And he said, ‘I don't know, just say something like, you know, ‘Natalie’ in a funny way.’ And I was like, ‘Okay, Natalie,’ [gravelly]. And I thought there was no way this was going to work. It’s out of left field, Shelley is suddenly demonic. Anyway, but it ended up, I think people will like it and now I’ve been doing that gravelly voice all day."
Rumer, I know when you were growing up you were only allowed to act in your parents movies, so how does it feel to be acting on your own now?
Rumer Willis: "Well, I’m fortunately lucky, I got to work with Anna Faris, I mean, c’mon. It was really cool. It’s been very different and I have to say, probably the biggest learning experience I’ve ever had. Just to be able to, it’s very different to be an accessory than to actually do it and all the responsibility is on you - what time you get to bed, how you act, what you eat on set. But it’s been really nice and I am grateful I got to be a part of something that, you know, it’s really cool. It’s Anna Faris’ first female-driven comedy. It’s kind of a big deal. Yeah, I felt very grateful to be a part of it."
Katharine, having gotten your start on American Idol I’d hate to compare you to Jennifer Hudson.
Katharine McPhee: [Laughing] "No, I will not be winning an Academy Award."
Do you have aspirations to get more into feature films or theater?
Katharine McPhee: "Yeah, I am definitely taking each step – I am trying to make the smart decisions and I definitely want to do more film and theater. I feel like I’ll do it at some point. It’s not my main focus right now, but I start shooting a movie in August with Wes Bentley so I’m just taking my time. This movie was so great because I really, you know, it’s not like I was carrying the movie on my shoulder. But, yes, I get to do press junkets. I’ve done a lot of press events, but what’s a press junket? So I’ve gotten to learn a lot of things and work with like great people like Anna and Emma and Rumer. And Rumer, this was kind of one of her first big movies so it just felt good to be in a group with professionals and people who were just starting. And, yes, to answer your question, I’d love to do more of this kind of stuff."
Have you shown the movie to Hugh Hefner?
Anna Faris: "Yes, yes, we have. He loves it. He really likes it. He’s been an incredible support system. I saw him yesterday and he really likes the movie. His girls are in it. It definitely, you know, it was thrilling to see him act in a movie we conceived of. It’s awesome."
It is so obvious with the Hefner thing…did he offer any of you anything in the magazine?
Anna Faris: "Just keep your eye out for maybe the September issue. [Laughing] I have to cryptic about these things…I’m instructed to be."
