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thing that I remember that stood out to me was, after seeing image upon
image of this woman with a sunny smile in various poses, was hearing her
speak at the very end. She had this amazing, earthy voice – and a
really strong accent. The juxtaposition of the voice and the images…I
remember thinking, That voice doesn’t go with the image. Who is
she? And that was before I read the script.
Q:
What initial preconceptions did you have of her
A:
Because of the image that Id seen of her, I always thought she was a
bit of a bad girl, somehow, and was pushing the envelope and had that
awareness. But every time she was ever quoted, she never took
responsibility in that way – she’d just say, I was just doing my
job, doing the best I could. It was everyone else who decided that
she was this feminist woman ahead of her time. In fact, there’s a
floating quality to her life. She didn’t necessarily make choices. She
was kind of a loner. That was interesting to me. And also her
relationship with religion and God was very interesting.
Q:
Shes a victim and a survivor at the same time…
A:
Yeah. I came to really feel that she was not a victim at all – because
of the fact that she got up and dusted herself off and kept moving. So I
loved that about her. Then, on the other hand, what I liked about the
script was that it was almost a deconstruction of this iconic image –
showing an ordinary woman who had foibles. It really found who Bettie
Page was; it was hard to put her into a little box. You couldn’t quite
figure her out. What was interesting about the part was being OK with
that. Let her be a little bit of an enigma – even to myself.
Q:
Were you nervous about taking the role on
A:
Well, I was nervous mostly because she has such a fan-base and is a
living human being. I wanted to respect her and do right by her, and
that was such a responsibility. So those were the harder things, but as
far as the character goes, I was so excited to have something that I
could get as involved in as I was.
Q:
So the nudity didnt bother you
A:
Of course I thought about it. But I got behind what I took to be
Bettie’s philosophy – lack of shame and pure enjoyment. Her most
powerful photographs were the ones where she was nude and outdoors. When
you look at those pictures, she had a boundary around her, always. She
was in her own world, enjoying – and this was another reason why
she’s not a victim – herself. She seems to get as much out of the
posing as the audience did.
Q:
What do you think about Bettie’ seeming naďvete about her work
A:
I think that in the 50s in general, people didn’t over-talk things.
I see that with the way my grandmothers are. Certain things in life are
not talked about – the abuse she suffered, I don’t think she ever
really sat on a couch and worked that out. So I think even with the
fetish wear…she was aware. I dont think she was totally naďve but
it didn’t really serve her to think about that too much. She was
living in New York City, struggling to try to be an actress, and she’s
making a living in the meantime – doing something she was pretty good
at. She had a family atmosphere, and I do believe that to be true. There
was a naďvete, regarding the fetish wear. They didn’t have the
Internet, it wasnt on every street corner. The idea of somebody being
into boots…I think she was not judgmental in that way. She was like, OK, I’ll put the boots
on. It was costumes for her.
Q:
How does it feel to see yourself dressed up on the poster
A:
I’m happy for the wig – it does give me some distance. It means I
can watch the movie, quite frankly. I just feel with that wig, from the
beginning it was what allowed me to be Bettie. It’s the same thing
that allows me to enjoy the film – it’s not quite me.
Q:
Did you keep anything from the set
A: I got to keep my wardrobe. All of it. The boots were custom made to
fit my legs. Most of it’s just in a box. I don’t really take it out!
I did a photo shoot with Jeff Koons for the New York Times magazine, a
couple of weeks ago, and we did some images of Bettie with his
inflatables. And it was so much fun. But I said, If I’m going to do
Bettie, I want to use what we had for the film, so I went out and dug
out some of those things. And I’m so happy to have that. He wanted to
show the transition for me to Bettie.
Q:
What do you think Bettie would do these days, if she made the same
choices in life
A: I dont know. That’s the thing about Bettie. She would do what
she did, but she wouldnt sleep with the producer…she had a core
sense of something about herself, how far she would go. I cant say.
The one thing she always stood by – which is the interesting thing
about the film – is shown in the Senate investigation, which bookends
the film. Really the whole thing starts with Bettie sitting out there,
waiting to testify, and she sits and she sits, and then the movie
happens and then you come back. And they say, We don’t need your
testimony. And I’ve heard Bettie talk about it in interviews. She
would’ve defended what she did as not pornography. Nobody was having
sex, you werent even in the photographs with men and they were
wearing two pairs of underwear – it really wasn’t what was wrong
with it.
Q:
What happened to Bettie after the film ended
A:
She had a couple of mental breakdowns – she was diagnosed
schizophrenic in the 60s. She wanted to become a missionary. The
pamphlet scene in the film, that was real. She did get remarried – to
her first husband, Billy Neal. Mainly because she wanted to be a
missionary and they wanted her to be married. So she married him again,
and then converted him. Now she lives by herself in Southern California.
Shes pretty reclusive.
Q:
Did you ever meet her
A: I didnt meet her. She had sold her life-rights to another film
production – though that’s not happening now. I think she needed
money at the time. Mary had tried to contact her, and this explanation
came forward, and we had to respect the boundaries. I would love to meet
her. Apparently, she’s just done an interview for the LA Times. I
think she has seen the movie – Hugh Hefner showed it to her at the
Playboy mansion. They still have a relationship. Im sure it must have
been really very odd for her. Its one of those things where I’d
love to meet her.
Q:
Could you relate to her acting experiences – the rejections
A:
Yeah, I could relate to the nerves. I feel, in a way, you keep hopefully
growing into yourself, as an actor. Hopefully you keep growing into it.
I definitely feel like I have. I feel like when I first started, I was
floundering around trying to find it – the confidence wasnt there,
always. Those are tough moments but that’s how you learn.
Q:
Do you expect to feel some heat around your film career after this
A:
I can already feel a little bit. I was certainly not doing much in the
way of film for a while – The Shape of Things was the last one. It was
pretty sporadic. But now I feel more energy, at least. Now I can come
out in a different way – my way. Its more comfortable.
Q:
What are you working on next
A:
I’m going to do a film called Trainwreck, that my cousin is directing
– his name is Tod Harrison Williams. Its shooting in New York for
24 days, real quick. The subtitle is: My Life As An Idiot and
it’s based on an unpublished memoir of this comedian called Jeff
Nichols – played by Sean William Scott. He confesses to have all
these addictions – so hes in AA – and learning disabilities. But
it’s questionable whether that’s even true. Hes just found a life
to himself trying out all of these meetings, and my character is in the
meetings. Its a smart, fun script.
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