From: WASHINGTON WIRE
Michelle Pfeiffer
Joey Berlin Copley News Service
Three-time Academy Award nominee Michelle Pfeiffer could win her fourth Oscar
nod, at least, for the big screen adaptation of the popular Janet Fitch novel
and Oprah Book Club selection, "White Oleander."
Pfeiffer and Alison Lohman play a mother-daughter duo in the contemporary drama.
Their bohemian existence is torn apart when Pfeiffer is jailed for poisoning her
cheating lover with a deadly white oleander flower. Suddenly, Lohman must cope
with a series of horrendous foster home experiences (Renee Zellweger and Robin
Wright Penn co-star as two of Lohman's foster parents). Though the film centers
on Lohman's story, Pfeiffer has won the lion's share of the Oscar buzz for her
edgy portrayal of Ingrid, the demented murdering mom. A real-life mother of two,
the 44-year-old Pfeiffer is married to television producer-writer David E.
Kelley.
Q: Why are dysfunctional characters so attractive to you?
A: As an actor, they're just more fun to play. They're more dimensional, more
complicated and challenging. I'm always looking for new territory to cover. I
think that it is more realistic and more like how people are. You know, we all
do have the instinct to kill. We're socialized beings, but we don't come into
this world that way. Just watch kids interact, you know?
Q: But this twisted character you play in "White Oleander" in no way
reflects yourself, right?
A: I would like to think not! I have to say, of all the characters I've ever
played, this is really a big departure for me. I grew up in Southern California
and I loved this novel, and I know all these women. When I was little, I mean,
Robin's character Starr was it for me. She was glamorous, I wanted to be her.
And I knew the swap-meet lady, I knew those hot Santa Ana winds, those huge
tumbleweeds rolling down the street. But Ingrid, I just had never met anybody
like this and I hopefully never will.
Q: Did you have any reservations about playing Ingrid?
A: Yeah, I did. I think I was more committed to the script and the story. It
took me awhile to really commit to the character, because I loved the piece, but
I really didn't know about this character. I would have loved to have played
Starr. That's the kind of thing that I would just have such fun with. But this
wasn't fun, and I knew it wasn't going to be fun.
Q: You are so good in this film. Are you going to look for more roles along the
same line?
A: No, heh! No, I didn't like doing this part. It was hard, it was really like
going to work every day. I mean, it's not that I'm not happy that I did it, but
it's sort of like facing your fear. I'm glad I did that, but now I've done it
and I don't need to do it again. Not this
particular part. The way this particular character was crafted was really hard.
It was really isolating.
Q: Was it easy to leave those feelings behind you when you left the set and went
home to your family?
A: Yeah, it was. It was really, like, "Goodbye! I'm going home, see you
tomorrow!" Because it was so hard stepping into it. I knew going into it
that it would just be four weeks of filming, and I don't know that I would have
been able to commit to it for any longer than that.
Q: Is it true that you declined to play the female leads in both "Basic
Instinct" and "The Silence of the Lambs?" Why did you pass on
those?
A: I didn't want to do the sex scenes in "Basic Instinct." And with
"The Silence of the Lambs," I was concerned that, ultimately, the
villain was the smartest person and won.
Q: As a celebrity, you are always guarding your privacy. But as a parent in the
spotlight, you must feel doubly protective, right?
A: Heh, if there ever was an instinct to kill, that's when it comes out. When
you see your child at all affected by it, that's upsetting. I've had to change
patterns. I've had to sell cars, because the paparazzi get to know your car. You
can outsmart them for a while. My children and I have kind of turned it into a
game now, but they're not happy about it, you know? We talk about it, and they
don't understand and I don't really have a good answer for them, about why they
don't have any rights. They say, "But I'm not famous!" And all I can
say is, "Well, some laws are not just."
Q: When we talked a while ago, you mentioned that you and your husband, David,
have a special Date Night every week. Does that still work for you two?
A: Yeah! Absolutely! It keeps me going all week. I always look forward to
Saturday night, and so does he. It's true that we're each so busy, but we both
love having our Date Night.