FILM INTERVIEW: KATY PERRY

Musical Documentary ‘Part Of Me 3D’ Reveals Behind-The-Scenes Look At Superstar’s Life

By: Roxanna Bina

July 5, 2012

Since Katy Perry sang her way into stardom with her hit single "I Kissed A Girl" in 2008, she has dominated pop music. From her first mainstream album, One Of The Boys to the blissful Teenage Dream, the triple threat performer has made quite the name for herself. When Perry re-released "Teenage Dream", she added two songs that hinted at a personal sadness: "Part of Me" and "Wide Awake." 

Now, the singer reveals just what goes on behind-the-scenes in Part of Me 3D, an in-depth look at her childhood, personal life, and the girl behind the pop star. Buzzine's Roxanna Bina had a chance to catch up with Katy Perry on her whirlwind film promotional tour to find out more about the upcoming musical documentary.

Roxanna Bina: What were you trying to do with this film? Was it about showing who you truly are?

Katy Perry: Yes, absolutely showing about who I truly am and showing people maybe that I’m not just the Dorothy in the red ruby slippers, that maybe at the end of the journey I’m the Oz as well. But I wanted to show them what was behind the curtain and give them like, a super all-access pass, kind of like they were my best buddy, you know, enjoying the ride with me because I always like to bring people along with me to the different things I get to experience.

RB: How would you describe yourself today?

KP: Today, I am all about speaking truths, I guess, no matter how difficult sometimes they can be. I’m just excited for the movie. I’m excited for people to see it. I’m excited for them to see all the hard work I put into it, and how intense the colors are and the 3D. You saw it, right?

RB: I did, and I loved it, by the way.

KP: Thank you. And hopefully, that people leave the movie theater feeling excited to be able to go and get it, whatever they want.

RB: Why did you decide to go with directors Dan Cutforth and Jane Lipsitz?

KP: Dan and Jane, they were the ones that were willing to watch all three hundred plus hours of this footage! And they’re very successful directors with tying a bit of a documentary with music and making an event. They had done that before in past films and Jane especially, she really gets it. She knows where I’m coming from and the message I want to send.

RB: What music do you listen to beyond yours?

KP: I don’t listen to mine. I create mine and then I perform mine. I just think it's a weird and strange thing. It's too narcissistic. What music do I like besides mine? I love strong female performers, Alanis Morissette. You see me talking about her in the film. When I was on tour I took out a lot of really cool performers like Marina and the Diamonds, Robyn, a group called Oh Land, Janelle Monae, and I just like new, fun, fresh perspectives. I like when I hear an act that either has a really incredibly catchy song and says something that’s maybe never been said that way before.

RB: Back on the subject of movies, what is your favorite scene of all the films you’ve ever seen in your entire life?

KP: My favorite movie scene – it would probably have to be the in The Fifth Element when you see the alien opera singer. It's beautiful and like intense and chaos starts to happen. It's like the calm before the storm. And when she sings it's very futuristic and I thought it was really cool.

RB: What was the main challenge with your film?

KP: There wasn’t many challenges although, of course, you know when we were editing it it wasn’t always fun to see the footage back of the times that were difficult because I had already lived through that. So, of course, I didn’t want to relive it again. But I think it's important that those scenes stay in there so that people will learn. They see that I too have problems and if they feel like they’re the only person going through their situation they can see that like I’m going through it too and they’re not alone.

RB: Did you film some scenes that were too personal and didn’t make the cut?

KP: No, I think we left all of the juicy personal stuff in. Obviously, there was a lot that we caught but I made sure that the movie was jam-packed with all the great stuff because you’re seeing the best cut. It's the filet mignon of the film.

Katy Perry's 'Part of Me 3D' is in theaters now from Paramount Pictures.