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Compiled by: Jack Foley
Q: This must be as out there as you can get. Did you
think twice about it?
A: Absolutely not. I was so excited and I had been anticipating
it for a while. My uncle Gus is a comic book artist and we had
been talking about it. And with the fan base in the comic book
world this has been something that has been talked about for a
long time but hadn’t been touched for a particular reason.
Frank Miller had written this script and given it to producers
and pulled it because they weren’t going to get it right
and he was like ‘you know what? Some things are meant to
stay as books..’ And then Robert (Rodriguez) took it to
another place and I was so excited to be a part of this film,
it’s going to make history.
Q: Is it true that your mother helped you get this role?
A: That’s exactly how she credits herself [laughs].
She accosted Robert at the Once Upon A Time In Mexico premier
in New York and we were huge fans of his and she jumped on him
and said ‘my daughter Rosario absolutely loves you, you
must put her in a movie..’ and he was like ‘yeah tell
her to call me, the next role is hers..’ but I still had
to audition. [laughs].
Q: Did you do some training before playing Gail?
A: I’ve been wearing heels for a long time, so
that was good training [laughs] . And wielding an Uzi was a little
strange but I’d done some shooting for other films before,
like Rundown, and this was interesting because we usually have
stunt guns for that stuff but because of how close the screen
was we couldn’t use a gun that would have fake kick back,
so I’m having to do that (makes like she’s holding
a gun) like if you were a kid playing with your friends - that’s
exactly how it felt with this green screen behind you and only
a couple of props.
But everyone is in this imaginary world with you and you are just
playing it out and having a good time.
Q: What about the costume? It’s very revealing..
A: Well that was interesting, there wasn’t a whole
lot of it [laughs] I was like ‘oh nice..’ But when
I started it was obvious that they were sticking very closely
to Frank’s graphic novels, it was very exact, so no one
could go ‘can’t she wear pants?’ it was fun
you know, I was just really excited about getting into it. and
once you put that outfit on, with all the dialogue, all the movements
really come to you because it was a very posy character and it
was nice having so much pre-ordained for you just stepping into
this character.
I chopped my hair off for it, I did the strut and it really worked,
it was real fun, if anything I felt really excited sort of being
this woman pretty much half dressed but around all these other
women and still feeling cocky and cocksure.
Q: So the costume helped?
A: Yeah. Every single woman there just felt fantastic
and we weren’t sizing each other up like who is better or
not. There was lots of different looks, every fantasy was out
there, but the women were always in control and that was what
made it fun putting on that outfit.
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Q: Did you stop eating two
weeks before the film started?
A: Hell no! We were in Austin and we would go off and
have this big brisket slathered in barbecue sauce and then Robert
would look over and go ‘maybe that wasn’t the smartest
thing to do...’ and I was like ‘oh, don’t worry,
I’ll loosen a buckle..’ And I like that it was all
digital, I was like ‘take off the inches, help me out there
Robert, make me look good!’ [laughs]
Q: What was your view of the violence? Does the fact
that the violence is so stylised lessen it?
A: I think so. The yellow blood is interesting, it does
lessen it. Everything is so extreme – these women are going
into war in high heels. This is not supposed to be based on reality
at all. The violence is extreme, the outfits are extreme, the
love, the situations, everything is out there. It’s all
about entertainment. You are not supposed to look at this and
go ‘but why would they do all of that violence..’
It was all in the book. Ask Frank, basically, that’s a dark
man [laughs].
Q: Did you ever talk about the way women are portrayed
in the film?
A: I’m just the wrong broad to ask these types
of questions I like to see these women go out there and strut
it and be powerful in the face of all of that and still be feminine.
That’s just something that appeals to me more. So as much
as it seems misogynistic I felt the opposite – I felt liberated
and very strong and I like having that type of woman portrayed.
You know it’s interesting because some of the girls are
topless in this – every single girl was supposed to be topless
in this. You know, Jessica (Alba), myself, Brittany (Murphy),
we decided not to be, it wasn’t an issue.
Q: You didn’t want to do it?
A: Well, they were like ‘if you want to..’
and I was like ‘well, if it’s not a big deal then
I guess I won’t...’ And anyway, Clive Owen was supposed
to be bottomless and I understood that he didn’t want to,
he was like ‘I’m a father, I don’t want my penis
on the internet..’
Q: To what degree is making a film like this a leap of
faith?
A: Well, with Robert it’s not a leap of faith,
he’s already proven himself as such a talent. He is a remarkable
talent and someone I wanted to work with a long time. And having
Frank Miller there, I could see that they meant it and they were
gong to do it exactly like the comic. I’m like ‘OK,
give me the outfit, if we’re going for it, I’m game..’
[laughs]
Q: It must be automatically transforming to put on that
outfit..
A: [laughs] You should try it sometime, you’ll
be amazed at the strut and the life that would come out of you.
Q: Your character is like the Madam of Sin City isn’t
she?
A: Yeah, the geisha thing, a bit of the Black Widow,
I like that these women are completely in control of themselves.
They don’t want the pimps and the gangsters and anyone trying
to push them around, because with that comes all of the problems
that you think of when you think of hookers, you think of rapes
and beatings and all of that. These women take care of themselves
and look out for each other. They will do what a john wants up
to a certain point but when they are not interested anymore they
will kill you and take it. I kind of like playing someone that
deliciously in control..
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