Interviews
Interview 1: Laura 'Next Big Thing' At the Movie PartyBy BOB THOMPSON, Toronto Sun
Soon, Hollywood movie mavens will be telling Laura Harris they love her. That's the West Coast word.
At last year's film festival, Jerry Maguire co-star Renee Zellweger was in denial over predictions of her star rising.
In '97, it seems to be Harris's turn.
The Vancouver actress is featured in Gary Burns's Kitchen Party, a Perspective Canada entry showing Monday night, and co-stars in Suicide Kings, a Special Presentation, screening on the weekend.
Add to the non-festival list a major motion picture she just completed with Andy Garcia called The Scalper.
By all reports, Harris steals some scenes in The Scalper the way Zellweger did in Jerry Maguire, but her coming attraction is news to her.
"I think I'm pretty oblivious," says the 20-year-old by phone from her Vancouver home before heading here today. "I have lived and worked in obscurity, and happily."
The amazing thing about Harris is that she has been working as an actor for 15 of those 20 years.
She started as a kid in CBC Radio dramas, and by 14 focused on movies, including such obscure low-budget films as Habitat and Skyscraper.
Her experience is in sharp contrast to her youthful looks in Kitchen Party, the warped Burns take on a teenage parents-not-at-home soiree.
"I was trying to play 16," says Harris, just a little tongue-in-cheek.
In the dark Peter O'Fallon comedy, Suicide Kings, starring Christopher Walken, Denis Leary and Henry Thomas, Harris portrays a preppy kidnap victim with convincing aplomb, although she doesn't have much screen time.
The Scalper, which will be released theatrically next year, is definitely the most complicated of the roles. "More substantial and more of a challenge," she admits.
"It's a light romantic comedy," Harris informs, "and a true story."
Garcia is the head a New York gang of ticket scalpers. He's in love with Andie MacDowell's lovely ingenue.
"And I'm like a chick in the gang, and a tomboy, and oh yeah, I'm eight months pregnant," Harris says.
"I'm absolutely in love with Andy Garcia's gang leader, but I realize he's not going to choose me, he's going to choose Andie MacDowell."
So it's a comedy.
"It's a romantic comedy," a chuckling Harris confirms. "But I guess I'm the serious sub-plot."
In a breakthrough role -- maybe. No matter to Harris, apparently.
"I'm already doing what I want to do," she says of acting.
Next year at this time, however, she'll probably have more people aware of her -- with more 'call backs' to prove it.
Interview 2: From Screen Trade Canada
Laura Harris is a talented actress with a taste for quirky character-driven material. She began acting at age six and, after fourteen years of professional work in Vancouver, decided to focus on feature films. Beginning with Rene Daalders Habitat (1996 Berlin Film Festival), which marked her first lead alongside Balthazar Getty and Kenneth Welsh, she went on to a co-starring role in Mark Sawyer's Skyscraper with Taylor Nichols (Barrelona, Metropolitan).
As Skyscraper was a step into adulthood, Kitchen Party, her next film, was a return to high school. As she states, 'Kitchen Party gave me a glimpse into suburbia and the complete insanity that ensues from extreme boredom. And maybe a few drinks. My character Tammy reminded me very much of the way I was in high school: square. I loved Gary's sense of humour from the first read of the script. He was a very patient director with remarkable listening talent. I also really looked forward to working with Sarah Strange- I had been struck so many times by the honesty of her performances, and everyone in the cast was fun and committed. Christine Haebler's incredible reputation preceded her. It is a certain rarity to feel so taken care of on a low budget indie-- the entire experience was nothing but a pleasure.'
Soon after Kitchen Party, Laura moved to Los Angeles were she landed a supporting role in Suicide Kings opposite Christopher Walken and Denis Leary. Laura appeared as a lead in The Faculty, the Robert Rodriguez- Kevin Williamson project, joining a cast that includes Elijah Wood, Josh Hartnett, Sean Hatosey, Clea Duvall, Robert Patrick and Bebe Neuwirth.
Interview 3: AICN's Quint Interviews Laura Harris From THE FACULTY
Harry here. The following is an interview that Quint, resident sailor here at AICN, did just the other day. Laura Harris is one of the 6 students in THE FACULTY that the film centers around. All 6 kids are the stars of the film. None over another, at least that's how I saw it. Over the course of my adventures on set I found Laura to be one of the most delightful people I've known. When she first came to the house, she instantly set about photographing my room, the backyard (it's not like most) She was fascinated by everything. It is my prediction that she will still millions of geeks fascinations when they see the film. Why? Well, she's just very very good. And if her charisma off camera, is caught on. Wow. Quint completely fell wacky over her. He's currently stalking her. She is afraid, I know it. Below you will find a portrait of a scary fan, a Terminator-geek, someday this will all end in tragedy... or worse, he'll win her over. Then I'll have to kill him cause she's mine all mine I say!!! Anyway, you will find that Quint does go off on tangents, but this is a real live fan, a fan that adores the person he interviews. It really is marvelous to behold. Check it out.
Quint here, this time with an interview with my future wife, Ms. Laura Harris, one of the stars of The Faculty. She's got a relatively low profile, even though she's done a whole bunch of small things, like TV movies and the such. You might remember her the most from that cheesy, direct to video flick called Habitat.
She plays Marybeth, the southern transfer student, in The Faculty. Believe me, guys, she's one to watch. She's cute as hell. Just remember, I got dibbs. I saw her first!!!!
Anyway, I saw her around set a lot when extra-ing around. I remember thinking how cute she was and it became sort of an in-joke with me and my group of extras, including Sister Satan, that every time I saw her I'd sing that old '60s love song, Tell Laura I Love Her.
Then I met her at one of Harry's parties. That's when we first started talking and flirting. She arrived at the party with fellow cast member, Josh Hartnett and at about midnight or thereabouts, I decided I wanted to go home. She wanted to go back to her hotel, but Josh wanted to stay. Being that he was her ride, she asked me if I could drop her off at her hotel. Duh, of course I agreed. Josh, after hearing us playfully flirt all night, was kinda doubtful. Anyway, Laura and I board the Orca and start small talk as I pull out of Harry's driveway and start to accelerate down the street when Laura yells, "Stop, stop, stop, stop, stop!" really fast. I stop and up runs Josh, now saying he's ready to go back to the hotel, too. Curses!!!! Foiled again!
I tell Laura it's cool and that next time I'll get her at least double the distance, 10 feet. She laughed and kissed me on the cheek. Well, that's when I fell hard... in love you sick bastards!
In fact, a buddy of mine got so sick of hearing me talk about Laura in the few weeks following, that he made us up a wedding invitation. I guess he figured that if we got married, I'd stop talking about her. Anyhoo, it goes something like, "Join the celebration at Our Lady of Low Interest Rates Church. See the Joining of Quint and 'that blonde girl from the movie that Quint's in'" I include this here only because it has relevance with a question towards the end of the interview. It also helps explain the constant flirtation that goes on throughout the interview.
Well, that's about all the intro. I think this needs. Be sure to catch her in The Faculty and if you happen to bump into her anytime soon, be sure to "Tell Laura I Love Her, Tell Laura I Need Her, Tell Laura Not To Cry, My Love For Her Will Never Dieeeeee!"
Quint: Do you regret doing Habitat?
Laura Harris: No, not at all. The guy who directed it, Rene Daalder, is a really wonderful man. Knowing him was worth the experience. I also got to meet some really great people like one of my greatest friends in the world, Chris Holden Reed. I met him on that set. It took me to Montreal and helped me grow up a lot. I just got a major culture shock being away from Vancouver over a long period of time. I never really think of the repercussions or the results. What's done is done and I don't regret it. It was fun doing it and good came out of it, so...
Q: What other acting stuff have you done besides Habitat and Faculty?
LH: I've done a bunch of television. A lot of things that went through Vancouver before I left. It gets pretty tedious. I mean there's only a certain amount of television movies you can do. I did at least 10 or twelve of those. Then I went to LA... What happened in LA? Oh, yeah, I did a movie called Suicide Kings with Christopher Walken. I had a very small part in that. I went to New York to shoot a movie called The Scalper with Andy Garcia and Andie MacDowell and I played an eight month pregnant, heroin addicted scalper sidekick and Andy Garcia... Next to working on The Faculty, for what I experienced, ugh, it was just so amazing. Andy Garcia is just beautiful. And that's coming out... MGM picked that up, that's coming out next year. Then I went to Europe to shoot a British film called The Manor with Greta Scott and Peter O'Toole and that just got finished as well. I don't know what's going to happen with that. I know it has European distribution, but I don't know if it has US. Then came The Faculty and here I am.
Q: Remember Annette Kellerman from Harry's parties? She said she saw you in Sabrina, The Teenage Witch.
LH: I was in that. That was a TV movie that I did. Not the series. It was a....
Q: Showtime movie, right?
LH: I got them coming out of my ass. Small parts in television movies. I'll be working out in a gym somewhere and all the major stations will be on and some terrible television movie will come on at like 8 pm and I'll be like the best friend of the girl that has an eating disorder. It's so embarrassing.
Q: You also forgot to mention your stint as a featured extra in Stay Tuned.
LH: Oh, yeah. There's that, too. Plus that soap opera I did on Nickelodeon for four years, 15.
Q: Yeah. Everybody on set was all like, "She's the one that was on 15!" At least all the extras.
LH: My God. They must have been old. I was 12 when I started that. I'll be 22 in a coupla months. That was a good eight years ago.
Q: How would you describe the plot of The Faculty to somebody who has no idea what it's about?
LH: I don't know. Misfit teens gather together and like try to save the world from alien domination. Yeah, MISFIT TEENS UNITE AND SAVE THE WORLD!!!!!
Q: That's good enough for me. So how did you get the gig of playing Marybeth?
LH: Um, I just auditioned. I went in and I taped for Robert (Rodriguez for the two people who don't know) and I think I had a call back. I did it again and again. I guess the ultimate decision was Robert's or Miramax's, I don't know. They all kinda agreed and it went forward. I don't really have a miraculous work story, like how I got parts. I started working when I was five and it's always been like audition and work. No one found me in a drug store drinking milk shakes.
Q: Just wait. Pretty soon they'll be coming to you.
LH: Oh, yes. It isn't important as long as I keep getting to audition and work I'm pretty happy.
Q: What was your favorite part about being on set of The Faculty, besides seeing me everyday, of course?
LH: Besides seeing you, [Quint]. I didn't get to see you every day at all. (Laughs all around) Definitely working with Robert. Working with them and the crew and the cast, but specifically Robert and his wife (Elizabeth Avallan, producer) They're so fucking awesome... excuse my language. I'm sorry, this is for a high school paper, right?
Q: That's cool, it'll also go up on the site, too.
LH: Oh, no! I hate that!!
Q: Why?!?!?!??!?!?!?!?!
LH: Just because I'm a little bit private, like a lot bit private, a whole bunch bit private. I don't even mind if it's clean or not, it's just that I get a little bit freaked out when I think about a lot of people reading what I've said. I immediately start doubting myself.
Q: So, the best thing was working with Robert.........
LH: Yeah. Just the vibe on the set was so awesome, so positive, so creative. It was full of integrity, and there was money backing it. It's like an independent film with a studio backing. It was the ideal situation for a set. Then this man, this gentle, beautiful creature directing everybody so wonderfully. His beautiful, amazing wife who makes sure everything runs smoothly. It's kinda neat people to be working with.
Q: That's almost exactly what Elijah said, too.
LH: It wouldn't surprise me if anyone said it. When people ask me for a sorta QUINTessential sum up of the experience, I say that I think any one of the cast members would probably be a grip or work for free on any movie of his in the future, just to be able to work with him. That's how inspiring he is. Not that being a grip is bad or anything, but you know what I'm saying.
Q: How does the set of The Faculty compare to the other movie sets you've been on?
LH: Well, it was the first non-independent movie that I ever worked on, so the feeling of money, you know. The catering. It was like a little less frenzied. Everyone really stayed within the confines of their job. Everything was fulfilled. You know what I'm trying to say? Like on an independent film everyone's doing a bunch of jobs at once and this was like, there's a person to do every single little thing. It added to the ease. To the flow. It just flowed really easily. There were no real problems that I recall. Just the attitude on the set because the tone that Robert sets is so... what's the word?... he just has a lot of grace and ease. Everyone wanted to be there. Everyone wanted to tell the story. Everyone wanted to contribute to the good time of it all. There was no bullshit, which was nice. I think the money stresses on independents put more strain on the set. It's not like I had to put up with any bullshit on any other set, but there was just more of a strain, more pressure.
Q: How do you think it'll turn out?
LH: I have no idea. Again, like I think about the process. I have no idea. I trust Robert completely that it'll be a really entertaining movie. I mean, to the Nth degree of entertainment. I have complete trust. I've never liked horror movies and when I saw From Dusk 'Till Dawn, I didn't know what it was about. I had no idea. I had no idea that they turn into vampires. I thought it was a movie with some really great actors that I liked in it, so I just went to see it. It was the first movie that I've seen with much violence and monsters or vampires or whatever that I sat there and believed. That to me is like a really incredible accomplishment. It's really hard for me to suspend disbelief in situations like that. I don't want to suspend disbelief. I just to not believe it. I want to say, "Fuck this. This does not exist. Don't come into my psyche, thank you." So I totally trust that the result will be phenomenal.
Q: So, how do you think this movie will affect your career?
LH: It honestly doesn't matter. I don't think about it. I honestly don't think about it. I don't know how it'll affect my career. I don't know that it will or won't. I guess any credit on any studio movie that gets a lot of attention, obviously makes a person's name a little more recognizable, which I guess can help in some places. I don't think about it. It's an ensemble cast. It's not like it's "Robert Rodriguez and Laura Harris!" I mean, it's six people doing their thing, so it was more about the work than about.... I don't care! (Laughs) It honestly doesn't matter to me how it'll affect my career because I'm just happy to have done it.
Q: Any future projects coming up?
LH: Actually I don't. I'm unemployed... Just trippin' around. I'm actually really craving nature right now. I've been in cities for too long. I couldn't go outside in Austin. I mean I could go outside, but it was so hot I couldn't like have any physical activity there. So, I'm gonna take off to the woods for a little while. Just hang out.
Q: That's cool. I'm invited right?
LH: Of course, [Quint]. As always, I'll go to the woods and you can come find me.
Q: (Sarcastically) Wow! Thank you! Will you at least tell me what state it's in?
LH: (Laughing) No.
Q: Ok. You're laughing now, but that grin's gonna fall off your face when you see me sitting on the steps to your log cabin.
LH: Exactly. I'll be like, "What the fuck?!?!?!?!?!?!?!? Dude!!!!!!"
Q: You were at most of Harry's parties. What'd you think of them?
LH: What do I think of the parties? Or what do I think of Harry?
Q: Both.
LH: I love them. They're just a really cool way to spend an evening. Go check out some 16 mm films and Harry has such a sweet-ass family. His dad and him... they're just cool people. Everybody who showed up, all really cool people. I felt a little.... uh.... film dumb, film ignorant. Really film ignorant actually. I mean, I normally feel film ignorant, but in that crowd especially I was just lost. But it was cool because I got to learn some stuff and I got to see my first blaxsploitation film.
Q: You'd never seen any blaxsploitation films?!?!?!?!?!?!
LH: Never! We got our first VCR when I was 17 years old and by then I was moving out anyway. I might have been 15, but really later on. We didn't get cable, so we weren't really a movie watching clan.
Q: You poor child!
LH: I guess! I kind of appreciate it now because I have enough lonely nights spent renting videos, watching them one after another after another. I had a free open childhood and I didn't have to worry about that stuff, now I have to catch up.
Q: Your nights wouldn't be so lonely if I was there.....
LH: OK! OK! (Laughing)
Q: How would you describe one of Harry's parties to somebody who wasn't in the know?
LH: Umm. Just a really casual excellent night of film and friends.
Q: Ok, now. This one is kinda serious. You need to now tell the world why you left me standing at the alter 3 pm, June the 12th, 1998, the agreed upon wedding day.
LH: I'm sorry, baby. I sent the note. You didn't get it?
Q: I didn't get no note!!! That's ok. I forgive you.
LH: July 12th, huh?
Q: JUNE 12!!!! You have the only invite, remember?
LH: I knew it was a "J."
Q: (Sarcastically) That makes me feel better! Tease.
LH: (Laughing really hard).
Q: Ok. For all those AICN fans who don't know me, Quint, personally, how would you describe me to them?
LH: An adorable high school guy, who, ah... who should... ah... Let me think. Girls look out that's all I got to say. (Laughs)
Q: That's cool. I'm gonna like put that on a resume somewhere.
LH: (Laughing) Watch out for this bad boy!
Q: Alright. What's your favorite dirty joke?
LH: I have a pretty good joke actually. Ok... My friend Chris Martin tole me this joke and his dad told him, so I have to say that before I tell it. I don't want to take credit for it.
There's this gorilla and he's really, really, really horny. He really has to get laid. And he's looking around and there's no female gorillas around, so he's just walking around the forest. His hard-on is just fuckin' ripping him up. He's blue-ballin' it all the way through the forest until he sees this lion bending over to get a drink of water and he just runs up behind the lion and fucking nails him up the ass, gets off and runs away. The lion is all, "What!?!?!?" So he turns around and starts running after the fucking gorilla. The gorilla is like running really fast. He's looking through the trees, looking for a place to get away, to escape, but he can't find one. There are no trees tall enough and the lion's just gonna fucking kick his ass. He's still a head, though because it took the lion a while to figure out what went on.
So the gorilla gets to this human camp, runs into a ten, picks up a newspaper and puts it in front of him, puts it in front of his face. The lion runs into the tent and says, "Have you seen a gorilla that just passed this way?" And the gorilla goes, with the newspaper still covering his face, he goes: (Laughs) Sorry. I always laugh at the punch line before I tell it. And he goes: "You mean the gorilla that just fucked you up the ass?" And the lion says, "Oh, no! It's in the papers already!" That's my favorite dirty joke. Isn't that a good one? I like that one.