IN PRINT 

Ms. Coolidge 'Considers' Her Options
by Paul Fischer

Posted: 11/17/06
EXCLUSIVE Jennifer Coolidge For your Consideration Interview by Paul Fischer in Los Angeles
Frequent Christopher Guest collaborator Jennifer Coolidge returns to familiar improve territory in Guest’s For your Consideration. The comedienne is frequently cast as bimbos despite her academic background and beginnings as a cast member with The Groundlings. Recently seen in the axed Joey, Coolidge stars as a not so bright producer in the film-with-a-film comedy. Looking stunning these days, the effervescent Coolidge sat down and talked exclusively to PAUL FISCHER.

Paul Fischer: Now when Chris says we’re ready to do another movie you just say I’m available whenever you need me, right.? How different is the process now as against when you did Chris’s first one? How comfortable is it and how much more work is it now than it was originally?

Jennifer Coolidge:   I mean that’s a really good question.  No one has ever asked me that question and I think it’s a really interesting question. My first film with Chris was Best in Show and I had no idea what I was in for.  I had no idea sort of what the process was or anything. I kind of miss my naiveté when I did Best in Show because I was much more panicked on this one, even though I was very nervous, because I feel like you’re supposed to sort of get better as you go and sometimes I feel like some of the stuff I did ten or fifteen years ago,  things I did onstage and things like that are much better than things I’ve done lately. But as far as the group goes I love this group of people and I feel so comfortable with them.  You have to remember from A Mighty Wind we went around on a bus together, so we really go to know each other and so this is like a group of friends driving around.  So, yes, I’m much more at ease like as far as the other people in the scene go, but as far as like the pressure I put on myself, sometimes I feel like if I put too much on myself I’m less funny, and I find as the jobs go on with Chris I feel like I should be getting better.

PF:    I imagine Chris must feel the same way because everyone expects these movies to be of a certain standard, and I can imagine that you guys get together and want to try and better the last one.

JC:   You know it’s hard.  Sometimes I’m like, oh, did that sound like someone I’ve already played.  You know, as you go you’re like did I use up all the… you know, it’s like grandmother’s trunk where you have a couple of costumes and you’re like did I use up all of the outfits.  Do you know what I mean? Do I have anything left?

PF:  In terms of For your Consideration, how familiar do you think that world is outside of L.A?  What is the danger of making a film that deals with Hollywood ?

JC:  This does sort of nail Hollywood but it really sort of captures the actor’s life, even when you’re an actor just how hard it is and how the options are. I don’t know,  it gets grimmer as you go sometimes.

PF:    Do you find that yourself, because you seem to be working all the time?

JC:   You know what, I’m very, very lucky and I think being a comedian really helps.  I think you have a much longer span  as a comedian than you do as a dramatic actress because I think there’s more competition for a dramatic actress.  I feel like sometimes when I go in for auditions it’s the same five or six people sitting in the room.  You know what I mean, it’s a smaller world.

PF:    Now this movie is a little bit different to the other ones in that it doesn’t use the documentary style that the other films adopted.  Does that make the process any different to what you guys did beforehand or is it still the same process?

JC:   Not really.  I was actually even more intrigued to do it this style.  And, you know, I had a very good time on this one.  But not that different though as far as like when you’re improvising you’re just praying…  Like I’m one of those people where I’m like praying to the heavens above that someone will come out.  I know a lot of people are much smarter improvisers and they sort of… know something great is going to come out.  But I feel like whenever something great comes out it – you know, if it does come out – it’s a fluke and so I’m sort of praying to the improv gods like, you know, please…

PF:    Is it still challenging to do an improv and make sure that that improv is, as you say, something you’ve not done in any other one of these movies?  I mean how do you come across as being fresher on each movie?

JC:   Well I think the real key to being really fresh in one of Chris’ movies is just being incredibly specific about who you are when you go in, and I feel like if I’m clear enough on the character that I created then I can…

PF:    So they give you that from the get-go.

JC:   Yeah, I mean he did tell me I was a diaper heiress and, you know, he did tell me that, you know, my name was Whitney Taylor Brown and he gave me all that.  He gave me the background, but I have to come up with, you know, the rest of the back story and then… But that really helps  for me – improvising,  if I can have all the specific information it really helps me say things.

PF:    What did you want when you were younger?  Did you want to be a comedian, did you want to be a straightforward actress?

JC:   Yeah, I wanted to be a straightforward actress. I became obsessed with Meryl Streep in college and I wanted to be a dramatic actress my whole life.  I was very serious about that and it went a different route. 

PF:    Are you surprised by that?

JC:   I am very surprised because mo one in my family thought I was funny. You know they thought I was weird.  But, my brother was the funny one in the family so it’s so bizarre…

PF:    How did that weirdness manifest itself in you?

JC:   I mean the only reason why I think I ended up in comedy was that I was really good at sort of imitating people. I wasn’t a very smart kid but when someone was condescending, whenever they would like they would like come over… I never said anything smart at the dinner table but when someone left, like a guest would come to our house and they would leave, I could do that person really well and I could say all the stupid things that they said and, you know…  So I knew I had something.

PF:    When did you discover that you could make people laugh, that you had the comedic gift?  Because you either have that or you don’t.

JC:   You know, I didn’t know… I thank god for The Groundlings because a friend of mine made me go to an audition.  He’s like you shouldn’t be in the serious acting class that we’re in.  This guy, John Williams, drove me to the audition.  He said this is where you should be.  I needed some direction and he made me do this audition.  I got in The Groundlings and The Groundlings sort of changed my life and then, you know, Mark Hirschfield that cast Seinfeld was in the audience one night, he cast me on Seinfeld and then all these cool things happened because of The Groundlings. 

PF:    Do you see yourself as a comic actress or a character actress who happens to do comedy?

JC:   I think I’m a character actress that happens to do comedy. 

PF:    Now a lot of comedians do look for things that are different; do look for dramas as they start to establish themselves comedically.  Are you striving for that or do you…

JC:   Are you kidding?  I call my agent everyday and say I would like to do a dramatic part in a film – or anything.  I would love to do a drama.  I would like to play anything else but not comedic and they go wow that’s very interesting, okay, we’re going to look for it.

PF:    Would you do television again after the Joey experience?

JC:   Yes, I would… To be really honest I would love to do the format of like single camera.  I think that’s a more interesting format and I think, you know, it feels more like making a movie and it’s more of what I’m interested in.

PF:    Are you pursuing that?

JC:   Yeah, again, back to my agent.

PF:    So what are you doing professionally next?  What else has been going on?

JC:   You know I was doing this movie that was starting in December and now it’s been put on hold and it was called American Primitive and it was shooting down in Cape Cod .  So I guess I’m supposed to be looking for the next…

Paul Fischer is originally from Australia. Now he is an interviewer and film critic living in Hollywood.

EXCLUSIVE Jennifer CoolidgeFor your Consideration Interview by Paul Fischer in Los Angeles

HTTP://www.ign.com

An Interview with Jennifer Coolidge

The actress discusses Legally Blonde 2, American Wedding, and more.
by Michelle Zoromski

July 3, 2003 - Best known for her roles as Stifler's Mom in the American Pie movies and Sherri Ann in Christopher Guest's Best in Show, Jennifer Coolidge has a large number of comedic credits in TV & film. From appearances on Seinfeld and The Andy Dick Show to bits in A Night at the Roxbury and Down to Earth, the Groundling comedy troupe vet has kept herself busy. Currently she's reprising her Legally Blonde role of hairdresser Paulette Bonafonté in Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde. Recently, Ms. Coolidge sat down for a roundtable interview to discuss her involvement in the sequel.

Sequels can be tricky, forcing an actor to return to a character that's been dormant for several years. When asked about how she felt revisiting her character, Paulette Bonafonté, Coolidge had a very positive response. "I always get excited when I find out there's a sequel, because all the work is kind of done. The only thing I had to was watch Legally Blonde 1 again, because I couldn't remember, it's a couple years gone by and I didn't know what I sounded like. I forgot what I looked like. I forgot what I looked like in that film. Then I watched it and then I knew that the movie was two years later, so I thought, you know, Paulette would have improved in those two years, because she's been Elle's friend for two years and everything. So I thought I deserved an upgrade, and I thought I could fix myself up a little. But, yeah, I like going back and doing a sequel ... the work is done and it's just showing up. In sequels, it's the only chance for some actresses to really ask for some money."

Jennifer has a smaller part in Legally Blonde 2 than she did in the first one. But, originally her role in the sequel was even smaller. "Actually, they extended my part in this one. We did re-shoots and added. But, hey, I always want a bigger part."

Coolidge has created some very unique, quirky characters for her roles over the years. Each character also has their own distinctive characteristics, including voice. So where do all these voices and personalities come from? "I just sort of hear someone in real life, I meet someone and then I just kind of steal from them." With all this borrowing and stealing accents or voices from people, has she ever run into any of the people who were the initial influence? "Yes, and they never know it's them. I'm horrified. I do shows, stage shows all the time, and I'm so afraid that people are going to recognize themselves, and they never do. They never do. They're always like, 'Oh, that woman was ridiculous,' and yeah, they're talking about themselves."

Some of Coolidge's characters are not the brightest people around. So does that lead to people underestimating the actress's intelligence? "Yeah, I do sometimes have people say, 'Oh, I'm so glad you're not the woman you played in Best in Show.' I've heard people say that. But, you know, I had a friend of mine say, who went and saw Legally Blonde, and he said, 'Oh, finally you're playing someone else other than yourself.' I said, 'What do you mean? You think that's who I was in Best in Show?' 'Well, you know, you kind of played yourself in Best in Show, but I really thought you were different in Legally Blonde.' I can't believe they think that's who I am, with the blown-up lips and everything."

When asked if her Legally Blonde character, Paulette, has made her a hero for trade cosmeticians, Coolidge jokes, "Yes, I have many cosmetic campaigns going right now ... I think what happens with hairdressers watching the movie, they go, 'You know, you really wouldn't cut hair that way.' To be honest, I was a hairdresser in another movie and I really had to go and learn sort of how to cut hair. But, I thought Paulette would be better if I didn't know much about haircutting for this one. I thought the worst job I could do, the better ... I kept eating lots of food on the set and I kept saying it was for my character. I think Reese thinks I'm full of s**t."

© MGM; Photo: Sam Emerson

Jennifer Coolidge and Bob Newhart in Legally Blonde 2
Jennifer described how she generally immerses herself in a character, whether it's learning to cut hair or attending dog shows. "You usually have to do that, unless you're someone who's really bad at the job ... I was learning all this stuff about publicity, and Christopher Guest in A Mighty Wind said, 'I hope you're not learning anything about publicity, because you're very bad at it.'"

In mid-2001, Coolidge filmed a movie with director Marleen Gorris, titled Carolina. Carolina has yet to announce a release date, "Yeah, I don't know what's happening to that ... That was years ago ... they never released it ... I always think it's not a very good sign, but who knows. They may be holding out for their blockbuster, holding out for when they're not up against Terminator or something."

Carolina had a strong female cast, a female director, and a female writer. Jennifer's views on if there are any notable differences in the process of making such a female-driven movie, "I'd have to say sometimes it's a more low-key set for some reason. It's sort of maybe a little bit less intimidating with lots of gals around, [but] I like when there's boys around."

The third movie in the American Pie franchise is set for release in 2003. When asked about Stifler's mom returning for American Wedding, Jennifer replied, "You know what, I don't know if I'm in the final edit. I hope I am. I mean, she's still horny and I think they should have her back."

 

Jennifer Coolidge, 2002
WITH AMY SEDARIS
PHOTOGRAPHED BY RICHARD KERN
Bombshell comedian meets hump-backed funny lady in girl-on-girl free for all!
Well known for her bit as Stifler's head-turning mom in American Pie, Coolidge also sizzled as a bored trophy wife seduced by her lesbian dog trainer in Christopher Guest's Best in Show.

AMY: I fantasized about us doing a cop show together. We're a team. You're so tall and I'm so short. We would be roommates, something like Ren and Stimpy, but we're real. Nobody really knows what our relationship is, but we're pals. Maybe we solve crimes. We'll call it Pretty Ugly. It would be fun to do something like that with you. You just ooze sex and trouble.
JENNIFER: Somebody once told me, "You have this really crazy look in your eye, like you could be insane. It's the same thing that Karen Black had." I'll take the sexy thing, but when people say you look insane. 
AMY: Insane is a wild card. But it's always been my choice to play ugly rather than pretty. I'm the one-eyed guy in the lobby. I think that's what my audience is, too — ugly people. My brother did a book tour, and he said, "Amy, I always knew who your fans were because they would always be the ugliest people."
JENNIFER: I think those one-eyed guys are more interesting in the end.
AMY: Oh yeah. They're the real diamonds, the geeks.
JENNIFER: Tomorrow I'm going to meet Paul Reubens for lunch.
AMY: Peewee Herman?
JENNIFER: We're doing this show on Monday that is a takeoff on bad actor showcases, the kind where everyone makes really bad choices. Paul is playing the blind guy in Butterflies Are Free. Of course he doesn't know his lines and has to read them off of his hand. He's amazing. I'm playing a Beverly Hills housewife doing The Glass Menagerie.
AMY: Whenever I had to bring a monologue into an audition I would take something from Our Bodies, Ourselves. I wasn't going to fucking memorize some boring Shakespeare thing that you'd already heard three times that day. Instead it would be, "I like something small in my anus during lovemaking. No pressure, no movement, just plain there." It's really good. And people learn from it.
JENNIFER: I don't know how actors are able to walk into an audition, win everyone over, and at the same time be aloof enough so that people think you don't quite want the job. It's a really complicated moment. You have to play fifty different things at once.
AMY: You might as well be naked. They're staring at you and you're like, "I can't make you laugh right now. I want to know that you're into it, too."
JENNIFER: I used to go into auditions and present one hundred different possibilities for one part. I thought that would be interesting to some directors, but that just confuses them. I know this sounds stupid, but the less you give, the better.
AMY: You're right. You have to go in with a solid choice and stick to it.
JENNIFER: Even with one choice, you have to do less than what you set out to do. I can't explain it, but if you really nail it, you don't get the part. You have to leave it where you don't quite give them what they want so they feel like they can give their input. I've never really pulled it off. Christopher Guest doesn't make people audition for his shit.
AMY: Best in Show, forget about it, I can't even imagine getting to work with those people. SCTV was my favorite show growing up.
JENNIFER: That is such a talented group. They're very cool people who got a dose of fame, but none of them are full of themselves.
AMY: They seem grounded like that. All they want to do is make each other laugh. It was all improvised, right?
JENNIFER: Yeah. All the dialogue was. I didn't really know how Best in Show was going to turn out. Christopher has a vision, but it's not really clear until the movie is completed. I got a rough outline that said I'm in a relationship with an old man and eventually I end up falling in love with my female dog trainer. I had to figure out how I was going to get there, what this character was going to say. Christopher is the genius behind making it all work. He's an incredible editor. There was tons of footage where I knew I wasn't funny. Actually, the stuff I thought was going to be used was sort of darker.
AMY: Everything that came out of your mouth was perfect. I hate to go see improv, but I come from it. I was at Second City and I still use improvisation as a tool, but I have no desire to get up on stage and say, "Who, What, Where." But, when people are good at it, like everyone in that movie, boy, it's like magic.
JENNIFER: The great thing is that anything that I pre-planned didn't come out well at all — you really can't cheat at improv. All the good shit happens when you're winging it. It was such a fun thing to do. I live in LA and I was in all these wretched acting classes —
AMY: Los Angeles is some weird pretend land. It doesn't seem real to me at all.
JENNIFER: Yeah. There's a girl in my gym, and she had all this weird shit done to her face. I can't take my eyes off her — she doesn't look like any human being I've ever seen. My trainer was saying that her face had been green for about four months. I'm not talking light green. She had a bright green face. It must have been a cheekbone implant that backfired. And there's a guy there who winks at himself and talks to himself in the mirror. It's bizarre. His trainer just stands there and waits for him. He's having a sort of love affair with himself.
AMY: Have you ever lived with a guy before?
JENNIFER: When you live with somebody, you're showing all these incredibly real moments. If I get married, I'm going to live in the house next-door.
AMY: I'm the same way.
JENNIFER: Otherwise, I don't know how you can possibly stay attractive and full of mystery and all that stuff —
AMY: — when you're on top of each other all the time. You need your space.
JENNIFER: James Bond couldn't have lived with a woman. I mean, who really wants to know that James Bond can fart?
AMY: When they become real and human to you, or you to them, the game's over.
JENNIFER: I just feel it's really hard to maintain the desire to fuck someone's brains out if you live together. I can't speak for the guys, but I'm sure I become less attractive. I can't live with a man unless he goes on long trips. My father was always out on a boat or spending time in his studio playing his piano. My mom felt like she didn't get enough of him, but she always said that was the key. Maybe she instilled that in me.
AMY: Are your parents alive?
JENNIFER: My mother passed away about six years ago. My father is still alive. He's like eighty-three.
AMY: Was your mom supportive? Did she get to see you work?
JENNIFER: She was very supportive, even though she really didn't know what to make of my dream to be an actress or a comedian or whatever I am. Before she died I appeared on an episode of Seinfeld and somehow that made everything right for her.
AMY: Losing your mom changes everything in the world.
JENNIFER: The best, most interesting thoughts I've ever had in my life were when my mother was dying and right after she died. Everything was so raw. I was so clear when she was dying. I don't feel it now. A porthole opened up, a sort of objectivity. It becomes very clear what's not important. If I was a songwriter, I would have written all my best songs during that time.
AMY: Because you feel alive. You have to be right there in that moment, you can't be dwelling in the past or looking at the future. You're living this thing, and that's all that matters. When you perform, I swear, that's what I see. I see you right fucking there, in the moment.
JENNIFER: For every good moment, there are a hundred bad ones. Sometimes I really suck. It's always incredibly humbling. It was really weird doing Legally Blonde with Reese Witherspoon. She didn't have those moments. She never had a really shitty take.
AMY: What are you working on now?
JENNIFER: I just finished the new Christopher Guest film, A Mighty Wind. It's a mockumentary about folk music. I play a publicist. We did it exactly like Best in Show, with the same group of people. I think it's his best work.
AMY: Do you have any hobbies or things you like to do when you aren't working?
JENNIFER: I'm becoming obsessed with collecting bad art.
AMY: Art is tricky. What kind of bad art do you collect?
JENNIFER: Paintings that are done very badly. I discovered that true, great art, is art with an intention to be great. I just found this amazing painting of a bullfighter and his bull. The bull has an absurd expression on his face, like he has a sense of humor, and the bullfighter looks like he's mentally retarded. But you know the guy painting it was thinking this was a sexy bullfighter.
AMY: They did the best job they could.
JENNIFER: If someone gives it their all, even if they're not very good, something amazing happens.

index magazine interview

Chris Rose

The 60-Second Interview

JENNIFER COOLIDGE
Tuesday, January 02, 2007
Chris Rose

Your familiarity with Jennifer Coolidge's eclectic screen career is probably dictated by your demographic identity or, at least, is based on whether you call what she does for a living making "movies" or "films."

"Film" people know her as one of the ensemble members of the doggedly erudite Christopher Guest movies such as "Best in Show," "A Mighty Wind" and, most recently, "For Your Consideration."

Mainstream movie-goers would know her as the flighty beautician from the "Legally Blonde" series. And everyone under 30 knows her as Stiffler's mom from the "American Pie" teen classics, in which she plays the Mrs. Robinson of the postmodern era.

Coolidge is a longtime New Orleans aficionado; her sister has lived here for years. In the past few years, she bought a dilapidated mansion on Coliseum Square, which she is rehabbing, and a French Quarter apartment building, where she intended to stay while renovating the big house, but the apartment building collapsed on Aug. 29, 2005.

She was in town recently to promote "For Your Consideration" and work on the Coliseum Square house. She took a minute at the Rue de la Course coffee shop in her neighborhood to talk about her life and times.

Many folks with the means to do so have given up on New Orleans and moved away and many more are likely to follow. Why do you choose to stay?

I'm an actress and I make a good living so I suppose I can live anywhere I want. But I want to live here. I used to go to places like Hawaii for my vacations and places like that, and then I started coming here and I thought this was the most interesting city I had ever found. My whole life, I've been looking for something like this. I'm never bored with this city.

What inspires you here?

Where I grew up, in Boston, the only time I saw people come together was during snowstorms; all of sudden people would appear out of nowhere and dig you out. And ever since the storm, I feel like we've been in a constant state of digging out of our driveways. There are so many people here who have nothing, they've been wiped out, and they're still fighting for their city. It's so inspiring. It's like meeting the original prairie people from "The Grapes of Wrath."

You're actively involved in the fight for the city yourself.

I try to be, but what the neighborhood groups need most is consistency and, unfortunately, I'm not here enough right now to help like I want to. These guys here around Coliseum Square are amazing. They buy houses just so they won't be torn down. They spend all their money trying to keep Coliseum Square alive so it doesn't become mini-malls and modern brick catastrophes. They are keeping a neighborhood intact.

What's also cool about this town is that it's not just rich people who are preservationists. Everyone here seems to know the value of New Orleans history and how important it is to save it.

What would be the tipping point for you; what would make you give up?

All these people who have lost so much are still fighting the fight and I don't want to see them lose their hope. I just don't want to see these people get exhausted and give up. Someone said to me a lot of people in town are on antidepressants. If that is true, I can see why.

What have you learned from all this?

I was one of those stupid people who actually thought our government was taken by surprise when we had the hurricane. I thought when something big like this happened, the brigade came in and came to the rescue. But over time you really start to see the truth and it's disappointing. I'm amazed that the Corps of Engineers is not going to take responsibility and is not going to be held accountable. That's mind-blowing to me.

What have you learned about yourself in all of this?

What I really like about getting older is that I feel much more fulfilled living in a place like this where people are actually doing amazing things that you get to witness on a day-to-day basis. The daily grind of being an actress in L.A. is so much hustling for the job that you miss so much of regular life.

I am realizing that what I was doing for such an incredibly long time as an actress has become uninteresting to me. Doing movies and television doesn't fulfill me anymore.

What you want to do?

I want to live here full-time. That much I know. Who knows what I'd end up doing here. Maybe it wouldn't be acting. But that's another thing that sucks; I've been an actress for so long that I don't even know what else I am qualified to do.

What do you miss most about pre-Katrina New Orleans?

All the people and all the trees. There's a feeling I get when I come here that's like being around people who have lost someone in their family -- a kid or a father -- that feeling you have when you see a family that has suffered loss.

Can we be better than we were before?

I hope I don't sound naive, but I feel like we're on the cusp, right at that point where everyone just needs a good push and something really cool could happen.

The most interesting thing that has happened to me this past year is that people who have never asked me about New Orleans before are now interested in the town. The P.R. end of it is amazing; think about the exposure we have gotten. New Orleans has been brought into every home in America.

Then again, if all they see is the 9th Ward and Lakeview, that's depressing. The press has somehow painted a picture that that's all they're going to see if they come down here. They show Bourbon Street and then they show the 9th Ward and Lakeview and then they say: "That's the end of our CNN report." There's this whole other world here that people don't know about.

Without making references to food or music, describe the magic of New Orleans.

It's the only city I've ever been to that has its own feeling, its own ambiance. It has its own eeriness. Sometimes I'll go into the park and this mist comes out of nowhere over the park and I feel like a vampire family could just appear out of nowhere and join me.

Like tonight: The wind is blowing and the mist is coming. I feel like anything could happen, like you could sprout wings in a second and just fly away. When I lived in New York in the '80s, it was such an exciting time and you never knew where the night could take you and I feel like this town is like that times 100.

Who do you hang out with here; what's your social circle?

We can't get over the social aspects of this town. I mean, we like just about everybody we meet. You can't really say that about any other place, at least any other place that I've ever been to. Instead of finding one interesting person in every hundred that you meet, here it's just about every other person. It's kind of weird, actually.

People in L.A. would kill to be as eccentric as people in New Orleans are. And none of it is fabricated. There's no pretense to it. It's all authentic. This whole town is authentic.

I love that you go into these bars and everyone has brought their dogs and there isn't a curfew. In L.A., at 10 o'clock, everyone runs home because they're all working on their films the next day; everything just sort of dies. But here, people who have a big morning the next day actually stay out late and ride the ride. There are no wimps here. It's a very strong, tough, salty person who chooses to stay here.

Do people recognize you here?

Yeah, but you know what's weird? I've never had anyone ask me for anything in this town. And no one has any agenda. I've never been to a dinner here where someone was like: "Can you get me in the movies?" That happens on a daily basis in L.A. It's always: "How can you help me? What can you do for me?" Everyone there is trying to make it happen all the time.

You're getting on a plane tomorrow and leaving town, back to the relative functionality of L.A. and your life there, away from the dregs of the day-to-day here. What words of encouragement to leave behind?

What can you say to people here? It's all just words on a page. I am leaving tomorrow but I am going to get the troops. I'm trying to recruit people to come down here and buy homes and invest in this city. I have all these great friends and they're burning their lives away in L.A. I want them to come here and have a life. That's a huge goal of mine. Ask any of my friends; this is all I talk about.

You know the way people work today -- all they need is their computer and a cell phone to do their jobs. They can live anywhere. So why not live here? I want everyone I know to live here.

Columnist Chris Rose can be reached at chris.rose@timespicayune.com, or (504) 826-3309, or (504) 352-2535.


10 Things You Don't Know About Women

By Jennifer Coolidge | Mar 1, 2006 | 338 words, 0 images

1. It's the circumference, stupid! The numerical measurement of the bra has nothing to do with the size of our boobs.

2. Hair extensions and wigs are not the same thing. Wigs are for old ladies and drag queens. Extensions are for women who want longer hair. To be safe, never bring it up if you think a woman is wearing either. No good comes of it.

3. Never take credit for something we actually did. Unless that something is farting. We'll never raise our hands there.

4. You say: "I'm intense." We hear: "I'm a psycho."

5. We don't ever want to have an "intense" time at dinner.

6. Shaving down there doesn't make your equipment look any bigger. It does make it more manageable, however, which improves the chances of us admiring your manscaping.

7. The fact that you hesitate before using our razor because it's pink and that might make you seem gay is equal parts cute and pathetic.

8. Short of spending $10,000, there is nothing you can do to your head to hide the fact that you're going bald. If you're spraying your hair on from an aerosol can, chances are we can tell. Unless you're going to shell out the cash to do it right, just let it go.

9. When the car won't start and you do nothing but open the hood, there's a 40 percent chance it will start on the second try. Men will always act like they fixed it. We know and accept this.

10. A man's ability to haggle is never a turn-on. The only thing less romantic than how much you paid is how much you saved . The last thing we want to hear is how you talked the jeweler down on our new earrings.
Jennifer Coolidge can be seen this month in the romantic-comedy spoof Date Movie and in American Dreamz , in theaters April 14.

KeepMedia Esquire 10 Things You Don't Know About Women

 

Maurie Sherman, CMP

Published: Tuesday, September 12, 2006


Name: Jennifer Coolidge
Age: 43
Why you know her: Played Stifler’s mom in the American Pie movies and Joey’s agent on the defunct sitcom Joey.
Why you love her: Starred with Reese Witherspoon in Legally Blonde.
 What you didn't know until now: She lost the part of Lynette Scavo to Felicity Huffman... but she's not bitter. She says she would "kill" for a guest role on Desperate Housewives.
Why she’s at TIFF: She’s part of the ensemble cast of the improvised comedy For Your Consideration.

Coolidge sat down for a chat with canada.com... and started the conversation.
So, I was at the party for Short Bus at the Phoenix (nightclub) and they were like: “And now ladies and gentlemen, Kathy Bates!” and then this amazing drag queen came out. And then she goes and, “Now, ladies and gentlemen, Kevin Spacey!” and this little short lesbian came out. It was amazing.

What would your drag queen name be?
It would be, um… Tasty Doughnuts, and yours?

Mahogany Brown. Was it difficult to keep a straight face while shooting For Your Consideration?
I really blew it on one scene. I had a scene with Christopher Guest, Michael McKean and Bob Balaban and I was supposed to be interjecting with lines as they got into this fight and I was ruining the shots, cuz what’s happening is everyone is doing it so serious, and I just could not keep it together. The thing about an improv movie is you don’t know what everyone is going to say, so you can’t prepare for it, and then they say something that would naturally make you laugh and you can’t help it.

Do you think awards shows have “jumped the shark”?
You know, I used to think award shows were important. I remember watching the Oscars in the ‘70s thinking they were so cool. Now, I don’t know. I think the celebrity thing is so overblown, it’s just really out of control. So I think maybe they have jumped the shark. My big problem is that people accept the awards for, let’s say, playing a cop, but it seems like they are saving lives, you know what I mean? They are accepting the award as if they did save people and really was a cop. Geez, you’re just playing a cop. You’re an actor! You know, there are people who are incredibly talented. Did I think Philip Seymour Hoffman deserved that Oscar? Yes I did. I thought that was one of the most brilliant performances I have ever seen by an actor. And if they are going to give out awards, he should get one. Then you see some people get an award, and you’re like, what? How did that happen?

If you were not an actress what would you be?
Well, when I was six years old I told my parents that I wanted to be a dump picker and a lullaby singer for a living. And what I meant was I wanted to go to the dump and pick things out that could be restored and then I would go door to door and sing lullabies.

Because you have been in all these Christopher Guest films that have such a following, do you often get people stopping you and quoting lines?
You know what, they do. You have people come up to you and they’ll say: “We love that line, ‘We both love soup.’” Now, it’s a couple of years after Best In Show and people come up to me and go: “We love that line were you say, ‘We both love…’ and then they say something that really did not happen in the film. They’ll say something like: “We love that line where you say, ‘We both love canoes.’ We love that line, we say it in our house, it’s on our answering machine!” And I’m not going to let them know that’s not the line, but if I made it to their answering machine, cool.

What’s next for you, working on anything right now?
No, I’m not. Do you know of anything? No, I have this movie coming up in Cape Cod next month called American Primitive. It’s sort of a coming-of-age cool story.

What was it like to work on Joey?
(silence)

OK, you know facial expressions don’t go over well in print...
I know, I know. You know it was, um…I was incredibly grateful to have a job like that at the time, but you know, when you do TV shows like that, they are hard to do, and you feel… well, the great thing was I was doing this Christopher Guest film while doing Joey. I have to say I kind of liked leaving Joey and going to do the Christopher Guest thing, and going back to Joey and I was thinking, how do you do a TV show and a movie at the same time? If I could do that all the time, that would be cool. I had a hard time with Joey because I chose that over the top character because I thought I was going to play her one time on the pilot then they offered me the series and all of a sudden you can’t change it, you can’t go: “She’s going to be totally different now,” you know what I mean? And it’s written in stone so… That’s my regret. I wish that I had been more subtle. I feel I was a bit cheesy.

Do you always enjoy doing comedy? Or would you like to try a more serious role?
I think I might fail as a doctor. I don’t think I would be believable as a doctor but I would love to play a lawyer or a serial killer. I would love to play some scary lady, someone really scary. How about a lawyer-serial killer but it’s also a musical? But are you kidding? I would love to be in a serious role. I want to play someone who is really messed up.

What do you like to do on a day off to unwind?
I like to drink maybe four or five high-powered cappuccinos and then I like to arrange flowers.

© Cheeky Monkey Productions 2006
 

For your consideration, Jennifer Coolidge
 
Exclusive Interview: Jennifer Coolidge
"For Your Consideration"
Posted:   Monday, November 20th 2006 1:11AM
Author:   Paul Fischer
Location: Los Angeles, CA
 HTTP://www.darkhorizons.com

Frequent Christopher Guest collaborator Jennifer Coolidge returns to familiar improve territory in Guest's For your Consideration. The comedienne is frequently cast as bimbos despite her academic background and beginnings as a cast member with The Groundlings. Recently seen in the axed Joey, Coolidge stars as a not so bright producer in the film-with-a-film comedy. Looking stunning these days, the effervescent Coolidge sat down and talked exclusively to Paul Fischer:

Question: Now when Chris says we're ready to do another movie you just say I'm available whenever you need me, right.? How different is the process now as against when you did Chris's first one? How comfortable is it and how much more work is it now than it was originally?

Coolidge: I mean that's a really good question. No one has ever asked me that question and I think it's a really interesting question. My first film with Chris was Best in Show and I had no idea what I was in for. I had no idea sort of what the process was or anything. I kind of miss my naiveté when I did Best in Show because I was much more panicked on this one, even though I was very nervous, because I feel like you're supposed to sort of get better as you go and sometimes I feel like some of the stuff I did ten or fifteen years ago, things I did onstage and things like that are much better than things I've done lately. But as far as the group goes I love this group of people and I feel so comfortable with them. You have to remember from A Mighty Wind we went around on a bus together, so we really go to know each other and so this is like a group of friends driving around. So, yes, I'm much more at ease like as far as the other people in the scene go, but as far as like the pressure I put on myself, sometimes I feel like if I put too much on myself I'm less funny, and I find as the jobs go on with Chris I feel like I should be getting better.

Question: I imagine Chris must feel the same way because everyone expects these movies to be of a certain standard, and I can imagine that you guys get together and want to try and better the last one.

Coolidge: You know it's hard. Sometimes I'm like, oh, did that sound like someone I've already played. You know, as you go you're like did I use up all the... you know, it's like grandmother's trunk where you have a couple of costumes and you're like did I use up all of the outfits. Do you know what I mean? Do I have anything left?

Question: In terms of For your Consideration, how familiar do you think that world is outside of L.A? What is the danger of making a film that deals with Hollywood?

Coolidge: This does sort of nail Hollywood but it really sort of captures the actor's life, even when you're an actor just how hard it is and how the options are. I don't know, it gets grimmer as you go sometimes.

Question: Do you find that yourself, because you seem to be working all the time?

Coolidge: You know what, I'm very, very lucky and I think being a comedian really helps. I think you have a much longer span as a comedian than you do as a dramatic actress because I think there's more competition for a dramatic actress. I feel like sometimes when I go in for auditions it's the same five or six people sitting in the room. You know what I mean, it's a smaller world.

Question: Now this movie is a little bit different to the other ones in that it doesn't use the documentary style that the other films adopted. Does that make the process any different to what you guys did beforehand or is it still the same process?

Coolidge: Not really. I was actually even more intrigued to do it this style. And, you know, I had a very good time on this one. But not that different though as far as like when you're improvising you're just praying... Like I'm one of those people where I'm like praying to the heavens above that someone will come out. I know a lot of people are much smarter improvisers and they sort of... know something great is going to come out. But I feel like whenever something great comes out it - you know, if it does come out - it's a fluke and so I'm sort of praying to the improv gods like, you know, please...

Question: Is it still challenging to do an improv and make sure that that improv is, as you say, something you've not done in any other one of these movies? I mean how do you come across as being fresher on each movie?

Coolidge: Well I think the real key to being really fresh in one of Chris' movies is just being incredibly specific about who you are when you go in, and I feel like if I'm clear enough on the character that I created then I can...

Question: So they give you that from the get-go.

Coolidge: Yeah, I mean he did tell me I was a diaper heiress and, you know, he did tell me that, you know, my name was Whitney Taylor Brown and he gave me all that. He gave me the background, but I have to come up with, you know, the rest of the back story and then... But that really helps for me - improvising, if I can have all the specific information it really helps me say things.

Question: What did you want when you were younger? Did you want to be a comedian, did you want to be a straightforward actress?

Coolidge: Yeah, I wanted to be a straightforward actress. I became obsessed with Meryl Streep in college and I wanted to be a dramatic actress my whole life. I was very serious about that and it went a different route.

Question: Are you surprised by that?

Coolidge: I am very surprised because mo one in my family thought I was funny. You know they thought I was weird. But, my brother was the funny one in the family so it's so bizarre...

Question: How did that weirdness manifest itself in you?

Coolidge: I mean the only reason why I think I ended up in comedy was that I was really good at sort of imitating people. I wasn't a very smart kid but when someone was condescending, whenever they would like they would like come over... I never said anything smart at the dinner table but when someone left, like a guest would come to our house and they would leave, I could do that person really well and I could say all the stupid things that they said and, you know... So I knew I had something.

Question: When did you discover that you could make people laugh, that you had the comedic gift? Because you either have that or you don't.

Coolidge: You know, I didn't know... I thank god for The Groundlings because a friend of mine made me go to an audition. He's like you shouldn't be in the serious acting class that we're in. This guy, John Williams, drove me to the audition. He said this is where you should be. I needed some direction and he made me do this audition. I got in The Groundlings and The Groundlings sort of changed my life and then, you know, Mark Hirschfield that cast Seinfeld was in the audience one night, he cast me on Seinfeld and then all these cool things happened because of The Groundlings.

Question: Do you see yourself as a comic actress or a character actress who happens to do comedy?

Coolidge: I think I'm a character actress that happens to do comedy.

Question: Now a lot of comedians do look for things that are different; do look for dramas as they start to establish themselves comedically. Are you striving for that or do you...

Coolidge: Are you kidding? I call my agent everyday and say I would like to do a dramatic part in a film - or anything. I would love to do a drama. I would like to play anything else but not comedic and they go wow that's very interesting, okay, we're going to look for it.

Question: Would you do television again after the Joey experience?

Coolidge: Yes, I would... To be really honest I would love to do the format of like single camera. I think that's a more interesting format and I think, you know, it feels more like making a movie and it's more of what I'm interested in.

Question: Are you pursuing that?

Coolidge: Yeah, again, back to my agent.

Question: So what are you doing professionally next? What else has been going on?

Coolidge: You know I was doing this movie that was starting in December and now it's been put on hold and it was called American Primitive and it was shooting down in Cape Cod. So I guess I'm supposed to be looking for the next...