WORDS EDEN CARTER WOOD
PHOTO MIRANDA MIRSEC

DIVA: How did you get involved with the Lola film?

JB: It all started with a message from Ellen on Myspace. She contacted me directly, I think she was afraid that if she went through my agent I wouldn’t bother because it was a low budget movie. She said we’re really interested in having you be a part of this project and explained that although it was a low budget project it was an all-lesbian production and she knew that type of thing was important to me. And she sent me the script and I really enjoyed it. I thought it would be a really fun movie, so that’s how I got roped into it.

DIVA: So did you feel a connection to the character of Casey right away?

JB: I did. I vacillated for a bit. I was interested for a bit in the character of Lola. Every actress is going to be most interested in the lead role, but ultimately I conceded that I was a little better suited for this role than for the role of Lola. I think Ellen & Megan even adjusted their view of Lola should be. Ashleigh was not physically what they were looking for that part.

DIVA: Cathy said your relationship with her was budding during the film. Can you tell us about that?

JB: Well, it was interesting because we filmed this movie almost over the course of 6 months, we started filming in the fall and we didn’t end up wrapping it until the end of January. So for the biggest section of the filming we were just friends, getting to know one another. We didn’t actually really like each other all that much when the film started. We didn’t know each other well but we just kind of had a negative perception of one another for some reason. I don’t know where that was from but we just didn’t really care for each other. And through the course of filming we obviously got to know each other and I remember coming back from the first chunk of filming and saying to my friends ‘You know Cathy DeBuono isn’t that bad, she’s actually nice!’ It was that kind of thing, it was definitely a slow, slow build.

And by the time we had ended the filming we knew that there was something there between us but we didn’t know what it was. We didn’t know if we should pursue it. We both decided that one of the common traps that actors have is they fall in love with their costars, and that had never happened to me in my life. We knew that there was chemistry but we also knew that it was probably best to give it some space and just see if it was real or if it was the onset romance thing. So we really, really took our time, figuring this out, making sure it was real, you know, not the pretend chemistry that happens. So that’s how it all started out. It was a lot of fun, and the most fun I had on set was obviously with Cathy and we had so much fun playing together and improvising we obviously led to us doing We Have To Stop Now, but on the whole the set was just a blast because of all the energy going around between all these women working together and trying to create something together.

DIVA: Ashleigh said you were her first ever love scene. How do you talk someone through that and prepare for those?

JB: Well, as far as love scenes are concerned they’re really not comfortable to do at all even if, say, you were attracted to your costar. It even makes it more uncomfortable. The way that I’ve learnt to do them is the first step is to have a talk with your costar to find out where their comfort zone is. And literally talk about everything you could possibly do. Like, is it ok if I touch you here? Is it ok if I touch your face? Is it ok if I reach behind you? You know, to get a really clear picture of somebody’s comfort zone, because if you cross that comfort zone it’s going to kill it and it’ll be very, very obvious as they’re filming it. And find out from the director what it is that they want and hopefully they will have choreographed exactly because you can’t just tell two actors to go at it. [laughs] It never ever works.

Ashleigh was great, she drank a little booze beforehand, I’m not going to lie.

DIVA: She didn’t mention that.

JB: [laughs] Well we went through it beat by beat and she was a sport about it. But we just made sure beforehand that we were all good with 'Can I put my hand there? Can I put my head here?' All that kind of very unsexy stuff.

DIVA: What do you think the film is about?

JB: It’s ultimately a commitment story and realising what you’ve got before it’s gone and not taking that for granted. It’s a common story in the love theme which is always the most interesting story you can tell in any movie. And seeing how Lola changes in the movie until she finally realizes she’s got to get it together if she’s going to save this relationship and give it her best shot. And by the end of the movie, you know, the final love scene is a much different love scene from the first love scene, even though it’s very similar as far as it looks, there’s a lot more going on between the characters. Lola has finally decided she need to feel something back from Casey which is a very different Lola from the beginning of the movie so I think it’s definitely a story about commitment.

DIVA: Have there been any times when you have been aware of the way random events can have a major impact in your life?

JB: Yes, I have had that happen. It’s one of the few moments of my life that I would probably keep private about, but that has happened to me before and I think that the older I get and the more reflective I get, which is a consequence of age to be honest with you, I find it happening more and more. It’s something that has happened more often in my life as I’ve gotten older.

Read the rest of this interview in the July issue of DIVA, on sale 10 June