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| soccergirl |
 Posted: Wed Mar 12, 2008 2:27 am |
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Jen's Loyal Friend
Joined: 14 Nov 2006
Posts: 176
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Getting personal
Jennifer Aniston and Shirley MacLaine, who bonded on the set of the new film 'Rumor Has It,' talk about family, fame and learning to forgive.
By BARRY KOLTNOW
The Orange County Register
Jennifer Aniston
Jennifer Aniston was never one to reveal much in interviews. But once the dissolution of her marriage to Brad Pitt and his rumored involvement with Angelina Jolie became an international media curiosity, the normally shy and tight-lipped actress became almost mute on any perceived intrusion into her privacy.
Shirley MacLaine, on the other hand, has always been pretty forthcoming in interviews. She'll tell you anything you want to know, personal or otherwise.
So, when The Orange County Register sat down with the two women in a cottage at the Ritz-Carlton in Pasadena to discuss their new movie (Shirley plays Jennifer's grandmother in the Rob Reiner comedy "Rumor Has It," which opens Christmas Day), no one was quite sure how it would go.
Surprisingly, it turned into an extraordinarily candid chat between two women who genuinely seem to like each other. During the conversation, Aniston revealed the strange, almost-otherworldly circumstances behind the reconciliation with her mother after a nine-year estrangement that began when Nancy Aniston discussed her daughter on a talk show in 1996. The rift widened three years later after her mother wrote a tell-all book about her daughter.
Aniston also talked about moving from the Los Angeles area, and described her legal battle with a photographer who took topless photos of her in her back yard.
Be a fly on the wall and listen to what these fascinating women had to say about their lives and careers as they devoured a tray full of fruit and cheeses.
And yes, Brad and Angelina did come up in the conversation.
SHIRLEY MACLAINE: Do you mind if we munch?
ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER: No, go right ahead. I won't even mention it if food falls out of your mouth.
JENNIFER ANISTON: Good, because I can't shove this food in fast enough. (Everybody laughs.)
OCR: Jennifer, what can you learn from this woman?
ANISTON: Name it. I don't have enough time to tell you.
OCR: Try.
ANISTON: You know, I had a very difficult time in the beginning of this movie because I didn't understand my character. Shirley is so good with character, and she was able to get me back on track.
OCR: By saying what?
MACLAINE: It was about her mother. Her character's mother had died, and Jennifer's mother is gone. They both had to deal with that, and I reminded her of the connection between her and her character.
ANISTON: Yes, I remember that. You came into my trailer and said, "You have lost a mother, too." In a way, I had. We hadn't spoken in years. But I'm talking to her now.
OCR: You are?
MACLAINE: That's wonderful. What happened?
ANISTON: I called her.
MACLAINE: Because of this movie?
ANISTON: No, because I went through a divorce. I finally had some compassion for her. So I called her.
OCR: Just like that?
ANISTON: The weirdest thing happened to me. It was a Sunday, and I was having a little bit of a down day. I hadn't had a down day in so long that it threw me. I had been feeling so good. So, I got out my astrology book and started reading. Then I went out and sat on my deck and looked at the ocean. That's when things speak to me. All of a sudden, like on the CNN crawl on the bottom of the screen, I saw this telephone number. I thought, "What the hell was that?" I kept looking at the number, and it dawned on me that it might be my mother's number. I hadn't called that number in eight or nine years. I had thought about calling her so many times in the past, but never did. So, I picked up the phone and dialed the number. And there she was.
MACLAINE: I don't understand. What was your mother's number doing on the CNN crawl?
ANISTON: No, it was in my head. It was like the CNN crawl. It was just a number that flashed across my mind.
MACLAINE: Fantastic.
ANISTON: I had to call the number because God was talking to me. Somebody was talking to me.
MACLAINE: What did she say?
ANISTON: She almost fell through the phone. I said, "Hi Mom, it's Jen." And she said, "You're kidding? Get out of here." I said, "No, it's me." And she said, "Jennifer? Jennifer Aniston? My kid?"
MACLAINE: Was it awkward?
ANISTON: No, it was like we had just spoken a minute ago. The first thing she said was, "Jennifer, what on earth?" She had never met my ex-husband.
MACLAINE: You're kidding.
ANISTON: Isn't that amazing? We had stopped speaking right before Brad and I started dating. But it was wonderful to speak to her again. We knew what we were doing. We knew we needed this break for whatever reason. We were too co-dependent.
OCR: She must have been in a lot of pain watching you go through all that.
ANISTON: She said she knew I was OK.
MACLAINE: And she knew you needed that period of independence from her?
ANISTON: Yes. I had to get to a place where I was strong enough in myself that I wouldn't fall back into the "little girl Jen thing," because that's what was not good.
MACLAINE: Did you have to go over that period apart, or were you able to leave that in the past and just move on?
ANISTON: We dabbled in it for a second, and then decided to agree to disagree.
OCR: Were you already past all your marital problems when this movie began?
ANISTON: Oh, no. It hadn't even begun. But let's talk about the movie.
OCR: Fair enough. Shirley, your character is supposed to be the woman upon whom the Mrs. Robinson character in "The Graduate" is based. How did you approach it?
MACLAINE: I didn't model it after the Anne Bancroft character in the book. Ted Griffin (the screenwriter) told me that his mother knew the real Mrs. Robinson, and she was nothing like the character in the movie.
OCR: She knew the real Mrs. Robinson?
MACLAINE: Yes, this movie is based on a true rumor that the movie was based on a real family in Pasadena. Of course, in the last couple of days, I've met at least three journalists from Pasadena who say they know who the real Mrs. Robinson is. Who knows what the real story is?
OCR: Jennifer, this is one of four movies you've got coming out in a relatively short span. What is the career plan?
ANISTON: I want to be doing this for a long time. And I figured that the only way to do that is by not playing it safe. If you play it safe and do the same thing all the time, you get stale. It's scary, though. I was really comfortable on "Friends." I was really comfortable doing films like "Picture Perfect," which were not very satisfying. But that's all they were allowing me to do. I was in a catch-22 situation. You have to prove yourself, but you can't get a chance to prove yourself until you've proven yourself. Finally, you get someone like Miguel Arteta (director of "The Good Girl") to give you that chance to prove yourself and everything changes.
OCR: Could you both describe what it was like to work with each other in a scene?
ANISTON: It was easy. It didn't feel like I was working. There was an instant chemistry.
MACLAINE: And trust.
ANISTON: I feel related to her. Our relationship in life is similar to our relationship in the movie.
MACLAINE: That's right.
OCR: In what way?
ANISTON: We'd have great conversations about life. That doesn't normally happen on a set.
MACLAINE: I felt like I knew her. I didn't know Cameron Diaz or Toni Collette (from "In Her Shoes"). I respected them, but I didn't feel I knew them. The other actress I worked with this year, Nicole Kidman, is an alien, and I related to her on that level (laughter).
OCR: So, what was the connection with Jennifer?
MACLAINE: She reminds me of my daughter. And I really admired her when we came back for the retakes. Before that, we didn't really know what she was going through with her marriage. Then everything hit. That's when I realized that this dame has courage and real emotional discipline. Other actresses would have called in sick, but she never did that. I also think a lot about what's going to happen to her.
OCR: Meaning?
MACLAINE: I'm interested in who she's going to marry, or if she will marry, or how many kids I see in her future, and where she's going to live. I think these are questions she's asking herself. I've asked these kind of questions of myself in the last few years. I asked, "Who am I? Am I just this movie star icon; is that all I am? Am I just this Oscar-winner or spiritual nut case, or whatever they say I am? What would my life be like if I wasn't me?"
ANISTON: That's a good question.
MACLAINE: Who are you without the job?
ANISTON: That's why, as much as I love my work and want to do it for a while, there is so much else that's now interesting to me. For instance, I've just realized that I can move; I don't have to live here. That's just dawning on me.
MACLAINE: Because you were trapped for 10 years on the show. This is where you had to be.
ANISTON: Yes, I can leave now. That realization has made it so much more fun for me this year. Being alone. I like being alone.
MACLAINE: Maybe that is where I identify with you?
ANISTON: Do you see me having kids?
MACLAINE: I see you having kids, but I don't know what kind of father you'll have for those kids. Or even if you need a father. But I see the kids later. Now, I see you traveling.
OCR: Do you ever wish you could dial back your level of fame?
ANISTON: That's part of the reason I want to leave this city, so I'm not accessible.
MACLAINE: The reason she's still a victim of that is because of what Brad and Angelina are doing. This stuff is so unbelievably interesting, and you can put interesting in quotes, that people can't help but to think of Jennifer, and what she must be thinking. What does she think about what these other famous people are doing?
ANISTON: Which only adds fuel to the fire.
MACLAINE: If she got married again, it might dial down the fame a bit, but only if she married a stockbroker or some guy who ran Ralphs. Otherwise, I'm afraid you're stuck with it for a while.
OCR: How difficult is it living here with all the paparazzi attention?
MACLAINE: Yes, how does that work?
ANISTON: They wait at the bottom of the hill, and they follow you all day. They'll shoot through intersections on a red light, and they'll drive up on the sidewalk to keep up. It's reckless.
OCR: Tell me about the incident that led you to sue a photographer who took topless pictures of you sunbathing in your yard.
ANISTON: It was horrible. And I decided that it was enough. Thank God I have the finances to take them as far as I have to. I will stop at nothing when it comes to my privacy, and hopefully to set a precedent for everybody else. I don't care how much time it takes, or how much aggravation there is, I'm going to pursue this. And I don't care if they say I shouldn't have taken my top off. That was my choice. It was my home.
OCR: Are you looking forward to the day that they move on to someone else?
ANISTON: Of course, but I don't wish that on anyone, either.
MACLAINE: You have to go away for a while, learn from a couple of flops and then come back.
OCR: Does she have to go through a couple of flops?
MACLAINE: Why not? She's been through "Derailed" already. |
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| cookie jar |
| Posted: Wed Mar 12, 2008 5:20 pm |
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Moderator: Veni, vidi, vacatum.
Joined: 02 Nov 2004
Posts: 5667
Location: Stars Hollow, Connecticut
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| I really like this interview, although some quotes seem really off. But thanks for posting! |
_________________
  
John Cash: Y'know what, June Carter? I think you're afraid of livin' in my big fat shadow.
June Carter: Is that what my problem is?
John Cash: Yes.
June Carter: My problem is that it's 2 am. My problem is I'm asleep. I'm on a tour bus with eight stinkin' men. Rule number one: Don't propose to a girl on a bus, you got that? Rule number two: Don't tell her it's because you had a bad dream. - Walk the Line |
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| jendavidfan |
| Posted: Wed Mar 12, 2008 5:21 pm |
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Jen's Loyal Friend
Joined: 05 Sep 2007
Posts: 152
Location: Germany
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cookie jar wrote: I really like this interview, although some quotes seem really off. But thanks for posting!
I thought I was seeing things. I agree. |
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| jenforever |
| Posted: Thu Mar 13, 2008 11:56 pm |
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Jen's Loyal Friend
Joined: 18 Nov 2007
Posts: 162
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| I frankly didn't even bother reading the whole thing as the beginning itself sounds way off! It almost sounds fake to be honest. |
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| RnR4eva |
| Posted: Fri Mar 14, 2008 12:22 am |
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Moderator: Jen's Aquarius Friend
Joined: 19 Nov 2003
Posts: 6337
Location: D.C. Metro Area
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| I guess I am the only one who remembers this from 2005?! |
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~*Kamia*~
   
"If you spend five minutes with Jennifer, you get that she's funny, beautiful, charming, sweet - all of those things. |
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| Lekinha |
| Posted: Fri Mar 14, 2008 12:30 am |
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She said Gleba!
Joined: 24 Jul 2006
Posts: 1082
Location: Brazil
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| ^ I do, too. I remember clearly the "What was your mother's number doing on the CNN crawl?" thing. |
_________________
Sawyer: Baby, I am tied to a tree in a jungle of mystery. I just got tortured by a damn spinal surgeon and a genuine Iraqi. Of course I'm serious. You're just not seeing the big picture here, Freckles. Are you really going to let that girl suffocate 'cause you can't bring yourself to give me one little kiss? Hell, it's only first base. Lucky for you I ain't greedy. |
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| RnR4eva |
| Posted: Fri Mar 14, 2008 12:44 am |
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Moderator: Jen's Aquarius Friend
Joined: 19 Nov 2003
Posts: 6337
Location: D.C. Metro Area
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| Phew. So that makes two of us. |
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~*Kamia*~
"If you spend five minutes with Jennifer, you get that she's funny, beautiful, charming, sweet - all of those things. |
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| suus |
| Posted: Fri Mar 14, 2008 10:24 am |
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Jen's special friend
Joined: 17 Jul 2006
Posts: 4773
Location: Netherlands
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RnR4eva wrote: Phew. So that makes two of us. |
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| cookie jar |
| Posted: Fri Mar 14, 2008 8:23 pm |
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Moderator: Veni, vidi, vacatum.
Joined: 02 Nov 2004
Posts: 5667
Location: Stars Hollow, Connecticut
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| I remember tidbits of information that's used in this interview, yes. But it seems like words were buildt around the actual quotes. |
_________________
John Cash: Y'know what, June Carter? I think you're afraid of livin' in my big fat shadow.
June Carter: Is that what my problem is?
John Cash: Yes.
June Carter: My problem is that it's 2 am. My problem is I'm asleep. I'm on a tour bus with eight stinkin' men. Rule number one: Don't propose to a girl on a bus, you got that? Rule number two: Don't tell her it's because you had a bad dream. - Walk the Line |
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| jenforever |
| Posted: Sat Mar 15, 2008 1:16 am |
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Jen's Loyal Friend
Joined: 18 Nov 2007
Posts: 162
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| Is there a scan out there from this interview? This was the first time I came across it and some of the stuff to me sounded way off. |
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| magic beans |
| Posted: Wed Mar 19, 2008 9:17 pm |
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I'm a tough cookie
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| Jessica Brazil |
| Posted: Fri Mar 21, 2008 4:59 am |
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Jen's Loyal Friend
Joined: 25 Feb 2008
Posts: 100
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Lekinha wrote: ^ I do, too. I remember clearly the "What was your mother's number doing on the CNN crawl?" thing.
 ...never seen this interview before...is it reliable??? Cause I saw the movie and every possible reviews about it...But anyway, what a great interview, she looks like everyone could be a close friend of hers  |
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Love you Jen so much!!! |
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| rachx90 |
| Posted: Fri Mar 28, 2008 5:06 pm |
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Jen's Obsessed Friend
Joined: 25 Feb 2007
Posts: 283
Location: Cheshire, England
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| i loved Rumor Has It and Jen and Shirley are fab, clearly havin chemistry. i can remember little parts of the interview, thanks for posting |
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MY FAN VIDEOS - www.youtube.com/user/friendsfan9404 |
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| jen_ |
| Posted: Sat Mar 29, 2008 6:24 pm |
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Jen's Friend
Joined: 27 Feb 2008
Posts: 81
Location: Germany
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| Yes, thanks for posting! I haven't known the interview before, but I really like it. |
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| Miami |
| Posted: Wed Apr 16, 2008 1:40 pm |
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Jen's Friend
Joined: 09 Apr 2008
Posts: 91
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I loved this interview, it looks like Shirley is first hand kind oo person, she says it how it's without turning around haha..
I didn't know her mother and ex husband didn't meet ...
what a strange thing is the life huh? |
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