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Compiled by: Jack Foley
Q. How does it feel to play a member of the noblest profession
on earth?
A. Well, after I lost the fight with my director about
changing my character's profession I accepted it and then it was
fine. But it was actually a challenge for me because they start
off the movie violating Allegra Cole's privary and disclosing
personal information about her and then, through the movie, I
follow her around with the camera and I'm just in her business
- it's not a very likeable trait. So I had to have people rooting
for me to be with Will by the end of the movie, which actually
really made it a big challenge so that people wouldn't hate me.
I hope I did it.
Q. Was there much research?
A. Well that was my big thing. I was going to hang out
with the Liz Smith's of the world; the women in New York who've
been doing it for a long time. And then I thought to myself 'what
the hell am I thinking?' Why open this relationship up with these
people, because I can't just sit down and have a dis-connected
conversation with somebody. I give away way too much information
about myself. So I thought, 'you know what, I'll just read up
on them, I'll see what's been written about them and what interviews
they've given and I'll kind of go from there...'
Q. Don't you secretly get a kick out of reading the gossip
columns, though?
A. Yes! Well I don't get a kick out reading it, honestly,
I get a kick out of the photos. That's my thing. I really don't
read them. Even when I started buying them for the.... and that's
my other rule, I don't buy them. If I see them at the airport,
I'll look through them. But when I did buy them for the role,
I actually started reading them, and I just didn't like it, cos
I was in some of them! Some of it is based on truth, like 'she
was there with so and so'. Well yes, I was there, but I wasn't
there with him. He was there as well and at one point we said
'hello'.
Q. Do you think you've been treated fairly by the tabloid
press in general?
A. So far so good. There's been a few things but I don't
mind it much because they're not true and I haven't put myself
out there. If I do the parties, it's for work reasons and I go
to meet who I need to meet, or I go and see who I need to see
and then leave and am out of there. I'm not one who goes to premieres
just to be seen; I go to my own and that's it. And I'm not one
who goes to the fancy, high-profile restaurants so when you walk
up the paparazzi is snapping away. So I steer clear away from
it.
Q. How does it feel when you read interviews that you've
done that the journalist is clearly besotted with you? And he's
writing when he sees you eating onion soup, he wants to be onion
soup, so that your lips will caress his soup?
A. That was a bit much! But you know what? Again, you've
got to take the good with the bad and I read it, I process it
and then let it go.
Q. Will has said 'you're a lot of woman'. Did you have
similar sayings about him and Kevin [James]?
A. I love Kevin. I didn't have a scene in the movie with
him, though, so I don't know him as well as I know Will. But Will
is.... what isn't Will? He is, in the best way possible, what
you see. What you see is what you get. I've done a movie with
him now, going through tedious re-writes and rehearsals and moving
schedules, and long, long shoots; he was the producer on this
as well, so I kind of had to respect him. But I'm telling you,
this guy never once lost his cool, always kept morale up, funny
as can be - that's him all the time.
And now we're doing this press tour, where we're all on this plane
together, and we're all cranky and tired, and he's always just
the positive person that we all need and look up to. Sometimes
I feel bad because we rely on him so much for morale, you know?
When he's not around, we're a little lost.
Q. The director told us that you were sometimes ringing
Will at 2am asking for the next day's script. It must have been
like a rollercoaster ride?
A. It was and I have to be honest, I'm not a fan of getting
the re-write in the morning and then having it done by lunch.
It's not the way I love to work but it's kind of cool in this
situation because I really didn't have time to think and I was
more spontaneous. I actually like the outcome. But I would have
liked a little more time to prepare for some of the stuff.
Q. On the subject of dating, what's your own experiences?
Have they been positive?
A. Dating sucks! It's such a contrived situation, especially
the first date. It's like when you go and I had to sell a house,
you know, I'm not going to show the leaky pipes, I'm going to
show the beautiful decor and all the good elements, but you know
there are leaky pipes but you've got to get through that first
one. It's a mess.
Q. But that's when you know the relationship is good,
when the leaky pipes don't make a difference...
A. Exactly. But you never see the leaky pipes up front.
I'd much rather cut to the leaky pipes, deal with them and then
move on.
Q. Have you been out with some guys who needed the date
doctor?
A. Oh yeah. And I've needed one as well.
Q. Care to explain some nightmare dates?
A. I have quite a few, but I guess the first one which
started everything off, I was in 12th Grade, so I was 17, and
I've always been very assertive, I have no problem asking a man
out, so I asked this boy to dance. He said 'yes', I've no idea
why, he picked me up (because I didn't have a car), we go to the
dance together, there's not too much conversation but I'm trying
to make it happen, we get to the dance, and then you know how
you take those silly professional pictures where you have to have
that geeky smile on your face? Everybody does it, but he didn't
want to do it. I was a little crushed. So we didn't do that, but
there was still hope, and we start dancing and he then says 'oh,
Eva, hang on, I'll be right back, I have to go to the bathroom',
and he goes to the bathroom and never comes back. Just gone.
Q. How do beautiful, intelligent women such as yourself
have these problems with men?
A. You know honestly? I think I was annoying. Really,
when I think back, Rick wasn't the nicest guy in the world, but
I always try and think now what could I have done to drive him
away? And I think at that time, I was 17, and I was very insecure
and I think I just annoyed the hell out of him with trying to
talk!
And that's another thing that happens on dates, I was trying to
impress, and it wasn't happening; so the more it wasn't happening,
the more I tried to make it happen and find what we had in common.
And it was disastrous. So now I'd rather just shut up if it's
not happening and not force anything.
Before it would be like, 'what's wrong, is something wrong? Why
aren't you talking?'
Q. So give advice to teenage daughters?
A. Oh gosh. Join a convent. Go now! Just kidding. I guess
my only advice. It might be ok to have a different boyfriend every
week. If you see the smoke signals right away, listen to them.
My biggest mistake was we don't listen and then we let time pass
and it becomes so much more difficult and then it really hurts,
when it's three or six months down the line. Sometimes we spend
years with somebody who should have just been done the first week.
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Q. What about since you've
become a celebrity, does the whole business of dating become worse
as people know more about you?
A. I don't date. I have somebody in my life.
Q. Was he someone you were with before you became famous?
A. Yes.
Q. And that must have helped?
A. Absolutely. Honestly, if it doesn't work out with
me and this person, I would join a convent! I don't know what
I would do because it is so ugly out there within the business.
Actually, it's a smaller circle than you realise and everybody
has slept with everybody! It's a sex recycling machine and I don't
want to be a part of that. I really don't! I would probably just
go for some regular bloke.
Q. You hold your own against so many A-listers, such
as Denzel Washington and now Will Smith. How does it feel? Do
you ever have to pinch yourself? Or feel intimidated?
A. You know it's funny. With Will it's so easy not to
feel intimidated because he puts you at ease. So I always think
it's up to the other person, too, and how they deal with their
sucess and their stardom. I'm sure you guys have experienced this
with a ton of stars - some of them make you feel very comfortable,
some make you feel not so comfortable.
But you know who I did feel really intimidated with? Johnny Depp.
I did because when I was little, about eight-years-old, I had
the 21 Jump Street posters on the wall and I woke up to him every
morning and to actually be in front of him, I felt 'holy crap,
it's Johnny Depp'. So that was the only weird thing for me because
it happened when I was so young. He was this major heart-throb
through my adolescence.
So that was kind of the only one. But then I realised after I
worked with him that that was my worst performance - I shouldn't
say that. But I think I could have done better and in order for
me to be the best actress I could be there isn't room to be gazing
into their eyes. I need to step up.
Q. In terms of being starry-eyed, did anyone turn out
to be disappointing?
A. Um, honestly, I haven't had one disappointment. I
haven't had a bad experience. There's certain people I need to
work around a little bit more, if you know what I mean, and I
can't be so strong and in your face. It's like 'wait a minute
little girl, I've been doing this this long and you just came
into this scene and it's my movie', but I'm certainly not talking
about Will! This was in the past. I've still had to work around
them but nothing horrible.
Q. What are you doing next?
A. I'm going off to Australia to work with Nicolas Cage
on Ghost Rider. I'm Roxanne. I'm the love of his life that he
lost years ago and we kind of get re-connected and go from there.
Q. Are you a big comic book fan?
A. No I'm not. Sorry. But one of the things that's really
attractive to me is that I love Nicolas Cage. I think that he's
one of the best actors that we have today but I also love the
fact that he's obsessed with Ghost Rider. He has a Ghost Rider
tattoo on his arm. That means I'm working with somebody who...
I'm a part of somebody's dream and that's exciting to me. Cos
you know that it's not just going to be a pay cheque for him,
it's going to be irrelevant. This is a serious movie for him.
Q. What about this movie for you? This is an enormous
leap in terms of moving to the next level?
A. It feels really good because one thing I'm really
proud of myself for is that I just keep getting better and better
films and co-stars, and this and that. The quality is getting
better and better. And this is one of those things that I've been
wanting to do. I've been wanting to work with Will and it feels
good.
The fact that in Hollywood it's really hard to make a movie with
a black male lead and a Latin female lead without it being an
ethnic movie, and we've managed to do that and not only managed
to do that but we've managed to do it incredibly successfully.
It just feels really good that the studios now know it's not a
risk anymore, which is going to create so many more opportunities
for everybody.
Q. You've done quite a few action roles and quite a few
comedies. Which do you prefer?
A. I did Stuck on You which was the only comedy I'd done.
And that's a comedy, but it's The Farrelly brothers so that's
something totally different. This is my first romantic comedy
and I know they're not all like this one - they're usually, like,
sappy and blah - but I'd love to do something else like this to
explore by comedic side.
Q. What was being directed by the Farrelly's like?
A. Never a dull moment. I'm obsessed with them. Kingpin
is perfect comedy for me. Dumb and Dumber I really love. So I
was so eager, I was like a little puppy going just tell me what
to do and I'll do it. And they did; they were very specific about
how they wanted a performance. And I love that because I do my
homework, I bring it to set and then they direct me.
Q. How do your family react to all that's happened? And
what's it like when you get together with your older sisters?
A. Well they love to remind me of what a little poop-head
I was and all the little silly things I did. But they're really
honest, I have to tell you. They're the first ones. I come from
a working class family and nobody has a film or theatre background,
but they know what they like or don't like. So they'll tell me,
'oh gosh, Evie, don't ever make that face again, that was just...'
From those kind of comments to 'oh God, you've never looked more
beautiful, that was so sweet, that's my little sister up there',
to' if you ever do a nude scene again I'll kill you' [laughs]
Q. Was that last one from your mum? Or your sisters?
A. My mum, actually, it's funny, she's a Cuban immigrant
and this is very new to her, but she understands more the artistic
side than my sisters do. My sisters are a little closer in age
to me so they've almost become more protective, like 'you don't
have to take your clothes off'. And I'm like 'I know I don't,
it's not like I go around doing it, I did it for one movie, it's
not a big deal'. And they'd follow up with 'Denzel didn't have
his clothes off in that scene', and I'd be like 'but that was
the character'. It's really cute.
I just did Oprah for the first time with Will and Kevin and my
sister, Janet, was like 'can you give her this note for me, can
you just tell her this story of how this show changed her life',
and I'm like 'no, Janet, I'm not going to do it, that's not professional'.
Q. How was working with Owen and Luke Wilson and Will
Ferrell on the same set?
A. It's a great little independent comedy that's got
a lot of sweetness to it, but I'm the straight girl in it so I
don't get to have any fun. The boys had all the fun. We shot in
Texas and we shot in Austin, which is really fun. Honestly? That
wasn't work. It felt like we just had a camera with a bunch of
friends, so I'm curious to see how that turns out.
I've also just finished Trust The Man with Julianne Moore and
Maggie Gyllenhaal and David Duchovny and Billy Crudup. That was
fun as well. It's a romantic comedy as well, so we'll see how
that turns out, but I don't play a nice girl.
Q. And it's so cool you do all that great work for cancer?
A. Thanks you guys, it's great, it's what keeps me going.
Sometimes you feel like when you're an actress and you're selling
yourself all the time and stuff, and then when you have a cause
like that, you're a part of, and you can go back to it and it's
real. Especially since I have a friend who had breast cancer at
22 and is now 25 and she's in remission.
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