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Compiled by: Jack Foley
Q. I'm sorry that Nancy Meyers can't answer for herself, but
I know that she said there's elements of autobiography in the
script, and there are some resonance's, particularly for you,
can you tell us a bit about that?
A. Well, my mum is single, and we've both been single at the
same time, over the years, over the last ten or 15 years, so I
really related to their bond, and thought it was quite natural
that the daughter would step aside when she sees the little flicker
of interest. Other people that it was a bit strange and wondered
if I would feel a bit competitive, but I felt like, of course
Diane Keaton should get him!
She's Diane Keaton! So, yeah, I related to it, because my mum
has been through the dating rigmarole.
Jack Nicholson: Her mum likes me too [says with a trademark
Jack grin]
Amanda: She has a huge crush on him [laughs].
Q. Jack Nicholson said that, despite the fact that Nancy Meyers
is the first female director he has worked with, he didn't notice
much of a difference? Do you notice any differences in gender,
when working with different people? Or is it just a different
director to you?
A. No, I think it's just, she has her vision and, as Jack
said, she's a formidable force to be reckoned with - and that's
similar to most of the male directors I've worked with.
The only difference is probably in-between scenes, sort of sitting
in the corner, gossiping with Diane Keaton and Frances McDormand
and Nancy Meyers about who's had botox and who hasn't. I don't
know if that would necessarily happen on another set...
There was a lot of gossip in between.
Q. Paris provides the ideal romantic backdrop for the finale
of the movie, what would your ideal romantic backdrop be?
A. Paris sounds good!
Q. As an alternative... Manchester?
A. Liverpool [laughs]
Q. Are there any actors or directors you would particularly
like to work with?
A. You know, honestly, I just hit the Lottery. I mean, you
have to understand, I was sitting at a table with Diane Keaton
and Frances McDormand. I mean, it's just completely surreal and,
yeah, I hit the Jack-pot.
Jack: That's a good pun!
Amanda: I meant to say that [blushes and laughs]. It just
didn't go over very well.
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Q. What did you learn from Jack?
A. I don't know, but both Jack and Diane... I think the thing
that I noticed about Jack is, we did a table reading of the script,
before we started shooting, just to warm up I guess, and there's
a whole email section in the movie, and they had a reader who
was reading the stage directions, so obviously that part was not
dialogue, and Jack was like [mimics Jack typing, furiously]. And
I was like, 'oh my God, he's still madly in love with acting.
He can't even be at a casual table read, and not be creating the
whole thing in his mind'!
I remembered just feeling very awed at how much he still seems
to be so in love with it, and so kind of dedicated to making everything
really real, and spontaneous. That was the other thing, is how
spontaneous they are. Nothing's ever fixed, nothing's ever the
same. It's all about surprising your team partner, off-camera,
whether it's in the script or not. Cos sometimes a person's off-camera,
so they can do whatever they want in order to get Diane all riled
up, or to blush, which isn't hard to do with her!
I think those two things, yeah...
Q. Referring to the state of Hollywood, as it were, do you
get a good range of scripts? Are good female roles few on the
ground, do you find?
A. It's very tough, there's a very small group of elite actresses,
who are my age, who people want to work with. And it is tough.
It's not easy to get a good job. I auditioned for this movie,
when all's said and done, including the meetings with Nancy, eight
times, and that's no joke.
I think definitely, I agree with what Jack said, that the movies
tend to pander to the young, sort of 18-year-old mall mentality,
which, I think, is one of the reasons this movie is so exciting.
Because it's not typical that the more mature women gets both
the guys, which is the way it should be, but it's very exciting
to see Diane be sexy and romantic with Jack, and have them be
in two incredibly dynamic roles, and sexy roles, with incredibly
sexy scenes. It's ridiculous that everybody thinks that this doesn't
play, because clearly it does.
Q. A lot of actresses like to develop their own material and
start production companies and stuff. Does that interest you?
A. You know, not just yet. I think about it, and there are
a lot of people doing very exciting things. Charlize just came
out of Monster, and I was very inspired watching her. A lot of
young actresses are transforming themselves and taking over, and
Drew Barrymore started her production company, as did Reece Witherspoon,
and I definitely think they are the trailblazers, because they
are making movies that are about women, and are about girl power,
and that definitely appeals to me, but I'm not quite there yet.
I'm still sort of stumbling along.
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