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Desert Local News - Desert Local News Print and Virtual Edition April 17 2008 - Index

30 ENTERTAINMENT
Kristen Bell
By Joey Berlin
Copley news service
in the raunchy yet sweet comedy
“Forgetting sarah marshall,” sarah
is a beautiful, fictional TV starlet
played by a real one, Kristen Bell.
The petite 27-year-old michigan native
has appeared in quite a few films,
but she is best known for her work on
the small screen. since the end of her
acclaimed detective series “veronica
mars,” Bell has been juggling gueststar
duties on two other hit shows,
“heroes” and “gossip girl.”
At first glance, the R-rated “Forgetting
sarah marshall” is not the
kind of film in which Bell would
typically star. it is, after all, a sexy
comedy from producer Judd apatow
and some of the other minds behind
“Knocked up” and “The 40-yearold
virgin.” The “Forgetting sarah
marshall” screenplay was written by
Jason segel, who also co-stars as her
heartbroken ex-boyfriend, the guy
trying to do the forgetting. after the
tough breakup he decides to go on a
hawaiian vacation, but Bell has the
same idea. she brings her rock star
bimbo boyfriend, and they bump into
her ex.
on the personal side, Bell has
been a vegetarian since childhood,
she is an animal-rights activist and
an avid hockey fan. she currently has
four more film projects in the works.
Q: To play this type of character
and do the kind of comedy in “Forgetting
sarah marshall,” is there a
level of embarrassment that you have
to get over first?
A: I think that I very quickly got
over the embarrassment of playing
an actress. and then i completely
just let myself be indulgent in all the
maybe horrible characteristics of every
actor and actress, and certainly of
myself, that we like nobody to know
about. you know, the unbelievable
sense of vanity and what can happen
when you let that run away. so
that was a lot of fun. and some of
the stuff she says, that they wrote for
sarah marshall, it’s just bizarre. But
no, i think all of it just sort of felt
right.
Q: doing bedroom scenes is always
awkward because everybody
on the set is watching. But here you
are doing it for comedy, with some
exotic positions. how did you keep a
straight face while shooting that?
a: it’s not as organic, yeah! Well,
russell (Brand) and i were actually
thrown into a room six days after we
met. They said, “go into the hotel
bedroom and find 10 different awkward
sexual positions.” and russell
and i both do yoga so we were both,
like, “Well, oK. and this is what we
do for a living, so it’s just part of the
job.” Luckily i’m very comfortable
with russell and despite his image of
being such a lady’s man on the streets,
is really kind and very protective and
very comfortable and sweet.
Q: how did you get this role?
What was the audition like?
a: i was given the script on a
Thursday night. i was working in
san diego and we had to work all
day Friday. We shot 15- to 16-hour
days. and the audition was saturday
morning. i thought to myself, there is
no way i’m going to stay up reading
this tonight, not memorize my “veronica
mars” sides for tomorrow, try
to memorize it during the day, drive
to Los angeles at 6 in the morning
and go to this 10 a.m. audition. and
then part of me was like, “stop being
lazy!” and i did it. Thankfully i did
it, oh man!
Q: you have been working pretty
much nonstop for several years now.
But did you relate to the scene where
your character said she worried she
would never get another role again?
a: absolutely. after every job,
i have “never going to work again”
syndrome. Like, how “gossip girl”
came to fruition is because a week
and a half after dawn ostroff had to
unfortunately make the decision to
cancel “veronica mars” - she’s the
head of The CW - i was just about to
leave for hawaii. i had heard about
“gossip girl” and that there was a
narrator. i knew i probably couldn’t
play 16 anymore but i called her up
and i said, “you remember last week
when you cancelled ‘veronica mars?’
um, i happen to be out of work this
fall. Can i have that narrating job?”
and i pitched myself for it. so i think
that’s one thing i learned from my father,
is how to be extremely proactive.
and i’m not an idiot. i mean,
i’ve got a mortgage to pay. so it was
kind of like, i don’t want to be out of
work for six months. and i’m lucky
to have this job now. But i don’t think
that feeling ever goes away.
Q: did you ever have a plan B,
for what you would do if the acting
thing ever stopped?
a: i never avidly pursued it,
though i think i would have been a
cameraman. my grandfather was a
cameraman and i think i probably
would have been a camera operator.
i really like that, and i try to learn as
much as possible when working with
different dps or different cameramen,
and i understand somewhat - in
my limited way of not having taken
too many classes - how to light and
what lights i know i look the best in,
and getting recommendations from
people. so i’m able to sort of speak
“camera,” which i guess just helps
everybody.
Q: do you have an interest in directing?
a: i don’t know. i think that bug
hasn’t struck me yet. i think you have
to really have an enormous vision to
be a good director. yeah, it hasn’t hit
me yet, wanting to be a director, but
maybe someday. i don’t really want
to rule anything out.
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