Lawrence, KS The
halls of the University of Kansas has given the world many things: the discovery of
helium, the inventor of basketball, and several works by beatnik author William S.
Bourroughs. And now it can also claim Laura Kirk. Kirk, an 1989 graduate of the school's
theatre department, moved to New York in order to pursue a career in acting. After years
of parts in off-Broadway shows and commercial work, Kirk and acting-class partner Nat
DeWolf went to work on a 27-page treatment that slowly became the script for Lisa
Picard is Famous. After securing financing (Backers included close friend and
producer Mira Sorvino), they attracted director Griffin Dunne (Addicted to Love,
Practical Magic) who helmed and co-starred in the low-budget mockumentary. The
comedy, which documents the lives of two struggling actors at the bottom of the
profession, made its premiere as an Official Selection at the Cannes Film Festival in May.
Since then, the film has been praised by the likes of The New York Times, The New York
Post, Entertainment Weekly, and Rolling Stone. Kirk and her
co-stars have also appeared on Comedy Central's The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
and have been featured on 20/20 in a piece on fame and celebrity. While the film
has been playing in New York and Los Angeles for the past several months, it will be
making its Midwestern debut at Liberty Hall in
Lawrence, Kansas on October 26. While in town for this event, Ms. Kirk went against her
better judgment and sat down with Film Snobs Jimmy O for an interview that covered
everything from life to love to trailers.
The Setting: The Paradise Cafe in downtown
Lawrence, KS.
The Conversation:
Jimmy O: Thanks once again for sitting down with me.
Laura Kirk: Oh not at all. I just want to say that I
think your web site is great. I really believe in research before I see a movie with
tickets prices as high as they are and most film critics seem like they're really biased.
It doesn't help to read interviews because those are all spun by publicists. You guys are
funny and independent and from the Midwest, which I think is great. I really look to the
Web. I go on there to get a feel for what people think of the movie.
JO: I have to wonder about that. I've read some
negative reviews that say some really mean things. How do you handle personal attacks on
your work as an artist?
LK: It's weird. The New York Times and The
New York Post really liked it but Time Out didn't. And the only one of those
I subscribe to is Time Out. I saw it in my mail that one day and I just thought
that was my luck. The big ones like it, so who am I to complain? To be able to have all of
the success of this also means to have the Variety's and the Time Out's as
well. Either people love the film or they hate it. We (De Wolf and I) took some of worst
parts of our lives and tried to laugh at them. That means we created some pretty unlikable
characters. Very early on, people kept saying, "Make the character easier to
like. We have to make the characters more likable." I guess this is the reaction you
get by not making the characters nicer. I mean, I wish everyone loved the movie but I
guess it's good to provoke.
JO: Rick Ferguson once said that if a film divides
an audience to extreme levels, then at least you know the film will be interesting.
LK: I agree. I guess that no matter what the
audience thinks, I'm still stunned to think there's some theater out there where someone
is saying, "Two for 'Lisa Picard'". It's just so exciting to think that
something we worked so hard on is getting seen.
JO: Did you both find it hard to separate your
personal lives when maintaining a narrative that held a coherent story line?
LK: We made two rules when dealing with Lisa and
Tate. (1) They both took themselves too seriously and (2) We never blamed the business or
agents or anything that would be considered an easy target. If it were too easy, we didn't
do it. We just felt we needed to tell this story because no one had ever talked about the
actors at the bottom of the ladder. That's where about 90% of the actors are. But everyone
pays attention to that 10%. We loved the idea of two characters that could not wait to be
on "Access Hollywood". Like the scene where Tate is showing off his apartment
like he's doing it for an entertainment show. And we tried to make the film look so real
that real actors would just kind of blend in to the background of some scenes when they
were just walking through the set.
JO: Acting. Let's talk about that. What attracted
you to it?
LK: It all started in high school. (Laura attended
school at Perry-LeCompton, a rural school district in between Lawrence and Topeka, KS.) I
was attracted to making people laugh.I always got cast playing the old lady. Because I
would play anything that other high schoolers just found dorky. I didn't care.
JO: Yeah, I always got cast as the old guy who was
the comic relief, too. Who encouraged you to pursue it as a career?
LK: Directors encouraged me so much. I got awards in
high school and I recieved scholarships in college. I never had a doubt that I would go
into acting. I really felt driven. That's the illusion of "Lisa Picard", she is so
driven by the profession.
JO: Why did you initially choose New York over LA
after college?
LK: I had an internship just outside of New
York, in the same place I live now. I loved how New York felt and it was just a gut
reaction. It wasn't anymore planned than that. I moved to LA for a while and it just
didn't go very well. I spent alot of money to move out there and the only role I got was
on this Dr. Pepper and this part where I played an android. I showed these to a friend of
mine in New York and they told me not to put it on my reel. I moved out there and had
nothing to show for it really.
Page 1 Page 2
Page 3
|
