(2005) Interview with Lauren Graham (+ "The Pacifier")
Lauren Graham Stars With Vin Diesel in "The Pacifier"
From Rebecca Murray,Your Guide to Hollywood Movies.
Lauren Graham on Working with Vin Diesel and Choosing Movie Roles
"Gilmore Girls" star Lauren Graham takes on the role of school principal in the comedy movie, "The Pacifier," starring Vin Diesel, Faith Ford, Brittany Snow, and Brad Garrett.
Lauren Graham was last seen on the big screen opposite Billy Bob Thornton in "Bad Santa" where she played a bartender who was sexually attracted to men in Santa suits. In "The Pacifier," Graham's character is much more controlled about her urges, but she still manages to end up with the guy. As Vin Diesel's onscreen love interest, Graham not only gets to bat her eyelashes and play the romantic lead, she also gets in on a little of the action by showing off some smooth hand-to-hand combat skills.
INTERVIEW WITH LAUREN GRAHAM ('Claire'):
Did you have to do any physical preparation?
For my big stunt? (Laughing) Yeah. You choreograph it and stuff but initially it was fun to me. I wanted to do more of that. They had gotten me a stunt person, and they were like, “Noooo! You're not going to be doing that.” And then my stunt person got injured because that's how difficult the stunt is. Really tough. So I ended up getting to do it myself. There's a lot of preparation because they want you to be safe and know what you're doing. It was fun.
How are you with kids in real life?
I'm good. I was a camp counselor for many years… I really like kids because when you do the hours I do on that show, you never see anybody. You never see your own family, let alone other people's families, so it's very soothing to hold a baby.
Can you be a disciplinarian if you have to?
Yeah. I don't know. I'm not a parent, I just play one on TV. Until you do it yourself, you don't know how you'd be. I grew up in a family where there was no yelling and screaming as discipline. It was like, the rules were clear and the worst my dad could say is I'm really disappointed in you. That kind of thing. I don't think I'd be so tough. I can tell them what to do a little bit.
Was it more fun doing "Bad Santa" or this?
I have this character I do every day, so anything is sort of a refreshing change. Anything is such a slower pace. We cram [on “Gilmore Girls”]. We do 12 pages regularly on the TV show [each day]. You never have enough time. I talk so much, my brain is working overtime. I'm memorizing. So any new experience, I get a lot out of. The Billy Bob movie was more of a character to build. Here [in "The Pacifier"], I'm serving the hero and trying to be real and natural and smooch him at the end. It wasn't so much about creating a character. I really love to work so it was fun.
Was Vin a good kisser?
He was a good kisser. He has a beautiful mouth. He's very sexy.
Do you normally go for tough guys like that?
No. I normally go for bookish, skinny Irish guys. (Laughing) But those muscles are so fascinating to me. I went out with somebody once who rowed heavyweight crew, and his legs were like hams. It's not nice to poke your co-star and squeeze them, so I tried to keep it together.
How did Vin do as a parental figure?
I think he did great. The kids came to him. You'd think that he's such an imposing figure, they'd be slightly afraid of him. But maybe because he's fun to climb on, they really clung to him and hung out with him and looked up to him. He had an easy time with that. He has an even-tempered, quiet sort of way about him. He was nice with them.
Will there be a “Pacifier 2?”
I don’t know. I've been at work and haven't seen the movie. Does it leave you wondering where does the duck go from here? Is there an unanswered question? If it takes off, it could be a franchise for (Vin). You can see that guy in another comedic situation and he's the guy to do it. He's our Arnold, after all.
Do you have any more movie projects lined up?
I did this movie with Jeff Bridges called "The Moguls.” It's just another little part. I'm a huge fan of his. It's just a little indie movie. I'm also looking at some stuff now for the summer. It's a little early to know yet.
Who do you play?
I'm a love interest-y person. It's Jeff's movie. He plays a down-on-his luck loser who tries to make a porno film because it's the only way he can make money. But there's no nudity. It's not even as dark as “Bad Santa.” He and his friends think it will be a great business opportunity. It's all these interesting actors like Bill Fichtner and Joe Pantiliano and Ted Danson. It's a sweet loser movie. And I play an ex-Playboy Bunny that says no to the porno movie but yes to Jeff Bridges.
Is the selection of movie roles better during your hiatus?
It's always tricky to plan that because it's such a specific period of time. There are always things that, had I been available, would have been amazing opportunities. That's frustrating. As long as I keep building a film career… You know, I've been the lead in a TV show but never the lead in a movie. That's a different process and I'm not there yet. As long as I can keep working with different people and working my way up, then it's really satisfying for me.
Sometimes, I think from "Bad Santa," all the stuff I'm reading, I'm on top of some guy. It's gratifying because I didn't used to get seen that way before. But once they see you play a 'ho, then, man, you're in the like, “Let's get her to play that sleazy role.” But it's fun.
The parts for women, you're either like the quietly suffering wife or you're the wild girl. As long as I can do a bit of both, I guess.
Do you do a feature every break?
Yeah.
How do you choose projects?
I'd been trying to work with Adam Shankman and he offered this to me. I knew I'd have a great time and it fit… Sometimes you lose something, there was something I really wanted to do last year, it started a month before the show ended. They tried to work it out. Yeah, it's a crazy schedule.
So you didn't shift your schedule for this movie?
You don't shift [a schedule] around me. God no. We were in Canada, which was fun. It was where we shot the pilot for “The Gilmore Girls” too. Toronto's like my second home.
How many seasons have you been on and are you signed for a certain number?
Five, and we're signed for seven. It looks like we're coming back for next year. We're having a nice ratings year, which is mainly what they care about. The show is in a fun place. There's some good conflict and good stuff to play. I could see it one more year and I don't know the year after that.
It's changed my life - that schedule. It's not a complaint, the reality of that work is that I miss a balanced life. I don't know that it would go beyond seven [years]. You want the story to end when it's supposed to and not be squeezed for somebody's financial gain, neither mine nor the studio. Seven could be the perfect time. [Rory] could graduate from college and I'm sure there will be some double wedding, or something like that.
Do young mothers come up to you asking for advice?
Not so much advice, but I do get a lot of single parents who say it's been a bonding experience for them to be able to watch the show, which is a wish-fulfillment of the best possible scenario, being a single parent. It was just me and my dad for a long time. It was much harder. That's TV, so it makes life a little better. The nicest compliment is when people say we watch it over the phone or we get together [to watch it]. It's been a generational kind of bonding experience. So that's nice.
Would you ever do another series?
I wouldn't do these hours again. I wouldn't do a one-hour series again unless it was an ensemble or something. When you've had a part like this and been the lead in a show, what do you want to do? I'd maybe do a half-hour. I started doing half-hour comedy. Immediately, I'd take a year and try to make it a film year and pay my mortgage. I love television. What are the chances of having two long-running shows in your life? I don't know. But I'll try and find out.
http://romanticmovies.about.com/od/thepacifier/a/pacfierlg022505.htm
- Submitted by Trisha (pippi virgin)
From Rebecca Murray,Your Guide to Hollywood Movies.
Lauren Graham on Working with Vin Diesel and Choosing Movie Roles
"Gilmore Girls" star Lauren Graham takes on the role of school principal in the comedy movie, "The Pacifier," starring Vin Diesel, Faith Ford, Brittany Snow, and Brad Garrett.
Lauren Graham was last seen on the big screen opposite Billy Bob Thornton in "Bad Santa" where she played a bartender who was sexually attracted to men in Santa suits. In "The Pacifier," Graham's character is much more controlled about her urges, but she still manages to end up with the guy. As Vin Diesel's onscreen love interest, Graham not only gets to bat her eyelashes and play the romantic lead, she also gets in on a little of the action by showing off some smooth hand-to-hand combat skills.
INTERVIEW WITH LAUREN GRAHAM ('Claire'):
Did you have to do any physical preparation?
For my big stunt? (Laughing) Yeah. You choreograph it and stuff but initially it was fun to me. I wanted to do more of that. They had gotten me a stunt person, and they were like, “Noooo! You're not going to be doing that.” And then my stunt person got injured because that's how difficult the stunt is. Really tough. So I ended up getting to do it myself. There's a lot of preparation because they want you to be safe and know what you're doing. It was fun.
How are you with kids in real life?
I'm good. I was a camp counselor for many years… I really like kids because when you do the hours I do on that show, you never see anybody. You never see your own family, let alone other people's families, so it's very soothing to hold a baby.
Can you be a disciplinarian if you have to?
Yeah. I don't know. I'm not a parent, I just play one on TV. Until you do it yourself, you don't know how you'd be. I grew up in a family where there was no yelling and screaming as discipline. It was like, the rules were clear and the worst my dad could say is I'm really disappointed in you. That kind of thing. I don't think I'd be so tough. I can tell them what to do a little bit.
Was it more fun doing "Bad Santa" or this?
I have this character I do every day, so anything is sort of a refreshing change. Anything is such a slower pace. We cram [on “Gilmore Girls”]. We do 12 pages regularly on the TV show [each day]. You never have enough time. I talk so much, my brain is working overtime. I'm memorizing. So any new experience, I get a lot out of. The Billy Bob movie was more of a character to build. Here [in "The Pacifier"], I'm serving the hero and trying to be real and natural and smooch him at the end. It wasn't so much about creating a character. I really love to work so it was fun.
Was Vin a good kisser?
He was a good kisser. He has a beautiful mouth. He's very sexy.
Do you normally go for tough guys like that?
No. I normally go for bookish, skinny Irish guys. (Laughing) But those muscles are so fascinating to me. I went out with somebody once who rowed heavyweight crew, and his legs were like hams. It's not nice to poke your co-star and squeeze them, so I tried to keep it together.
How did Vin do as a parental figure?
I think he did great. The kids came to him. You'd think that he's such an imposing figure, they'd be slightly afraid of him. But maybe because he's fun to climb on, they really clung to him and hung out with him and looked up to him. He had an easy time with that. He has an even-tempered, quiet sort of way about him. He was nice with them.
Will there be a “Pacifier 2?”
I don’t know. I've been at work and haven't seen the movie. Does it leave you wondering where does the duck go from here? Is there an unanswered question? If it takes off, it could be a franchise for (Vin). You can see that guy in another comedic situation and he's the guy to do it. He's our Arnold, after all.
Do you have any more movie projects lined up?
I did this movie with Jeff Bridges called "The Moguls.” It's just another little part. I'm a huge fan of his. It's just a little indie movie. I'm also looking at some stuff now for the summer. It's a little early to know yet.
Who do you play?
I'm a love interest-y person. It's Jeff's movie. He plays a down-on-his luck loser who tries to make a porno film because it's the only way he can make money. But there's no nudity. It's not even as dark as “Bad Santa.” He and his friends think it will be a great business opportunity. It's all these interesting actors like Bill Fichtner and Joe Pantiliano and Ted Danson. It's a sweet loser movie. And I play an ex-Playboy Bunny that says no to the porno movie but yes to Jeff Bridges.
Is the selection of movie roles better during your hiatus?
It's always tricky to plan that because it's such a specific period of time. There are always things that, had I been available, would have been amazing opportunities. That's frustrating. As long as I keep building a film career… You know, I've been the lead in a TV show but never the lead in a movie. That's a different process and I'm not there yet. As long as I can keep working with different people and working my way up, then it's really satisfying for me.
Sometimes, I think from "Bad Santa," all the stuff I'm reading, I'm on top of some guy. It's gratifying because I didn't used to get seen that way before. But once they see you play a 'ho, then, man, you're in the like, “Let's get her to play that sleazy role.” But it's fun.
The parts for women, you're either like the quietly suffering wife or you're the wild girl. As long as I can do a bit of both, I guess.
Do you do a feature every break?
Yeah.
How do you choose projects?
I'd been trying to work with Adam Shankman and he offered this to me. I knew I'd have a great time and it fit… Sometimes you lose something, there was something I really wanted to do last year, it started a month before the show ended. They tried to work it out. Yeah, it's a crazy schedule.
So you didn't shift your schedule for this movie?
You don't shift [a schedule] around me. God no. We were in Canada, which was fun. It was where we shot the pilot for “The Gilmore Girls” too. Toronto's like my second home.
How many seasons have you been on and are you signed for a certain number?
Five, and we're signed for seven. It looks like we're coming back for next year. We're having a nice ratings year, which is mainly what they care about. The show is in a fun place. There's some good conflict and good stuff to play. I could see it one more year and I don't know the year after that.
It's changed my life - that schedule. It's not a complaint, the reality of that work is that I miss a balanced life. I don't know that it would go beyond seven [years]. You want the story to end when it's supposed to and not be squeezed for somebody's financial gain, neither mine nor the studio. Seven could be the perfect time. [Rory] could graduate from college and I'm sure there will be some double wedding, or something like that.
Do young mothers come up to you asking for advice?
Not so much advice, but I do get a lot of single parents who say it's been a bonding experience for them to be able to watch the show, which is a wish-fulfillment of the best possible scenario, being a single parent. It was just me and my dad for a long time. It was much harder. That's TV, so it makes life a little better. The nicest compliment is when people say we watch it over the phone or we get together [to watch it]. It's been a generational kind of bonding experience. So that's nice.
Would you ever do another series?
I wouldn't do these hours again. I wouldn't do a one-hour series again unless it was an ensemble or something. When you've had a part like this and been the lead in a show, what do you want to do? I'd maybe do a half-hour. I started doing half-hour comedy. Immediately, I'd take a year and try to make it a film year and pay my mortgage. I love television. What are the chances of having two long-running shows in your life? I don't know. But I'll try and find out.
http://romanticmovies.about.com/od/thepacifier/a/pacfierlg022505.htm
- Submitted by Trisha (pippi virgin)
posted by MissCoffee @ 8:57 p.m.
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