FILM INTERVIEW: ZOOEY DESCHANEL
Multi-Talented Actress Says Yes to Film and Music and Kissing Jim Carrey
The muli-talented Zooey Deschanel has been bouncing back and forth between the worlds of film (Elf, All The Real Girls, Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy), television (Weeds, Tin Man) and music (She & Him) for some time now, and alongside Jim Carrey in Yes Man, she gets to bring some of her skills together as she joins up with a real band (Von Iva, from San Francisco, CA) in creating a fake band (Munchausen by Proxy) to record real music... Confused? Well, then let Buzzine's Izumi Hasegawa and Ms. Deschanel clear things up about the film, the music and reasons for (and against) saying 'yes' or 'no' to everything...
Izumi Hasegawa: Zooey, I enjoyed the music you helped create for this film. It was a lot of fun, and I understand you had something to do with both the lyrics and…
Zooey Deschanel: ...and the music!
IH: Okay, everything! Was it fun working with some girls for a change: What was the dynamic like?
ZD: Yeah, I usually write music alone, so it was fun to write with other people, and all those girls are so great and so talented and funny and smart, and it was a fun process ’cause we had a week to rehearse… I just joined their band for a week and it was really fun.
IH: The scenes at Spaceland were very cool, and I was wondering — were you consulted at all in getting the culture, the indie rock scene in Los Angeles... just right?
ZD: It wasn’t so hard. Yeah, I mean, I’m in a band myself and I write music and I do go to see shows a lot, and so it wasn’t too much of stretch for me. [Laughs]
IH: Given the current economic climate, is this a good time to make comedies?
ZD: Yes, it is. I think the best comedies came out during the Depression, personally.
IH: What sort of Christmas gifts are you giving, considering these tough economic times?
ZD: I’m going to bake things. I’m going to buy some flour and some sugar. I’m a fan of making bar cookies and brownies. Actually, for Thanksgiving, I made toffee bit brownies. They had toffee bits in them and roasted almonds. I didn’t actually eat them, but they were good, according to everybody else.
IH: Have you ever said “no” in the past, and looking back now, especially after this movie, you kind of regret it?
ZD: It’s exhausting, I think, to just say “yes” to everything for real. Even if you do it for a day.
ZD: I accidentally entered a youth pageant when I was 14. That’s like a beauty pageant but without the beauty. [Laughs] It was terrible...
IH: What do you mean “accidentally”?
ZD: I thought it was a talent show. My choir teacher led me on.
IH: What was it like having to keep the energy up with Jim Carrey? Your character’s energy is so up and so positive, and then it’s against him, who’s so big. What was that like for you?
ZD: Well, it’s so fun to work with Jim ’cause he’s so fun, and…I just used “fun” twice in a sentence. That would be like, “Nice job Zooey.” [Laughs] He’s so fun and fun, totally fun. [Laughs] But yeah, it’s very contagious, and the fun [laughs] is very contagious.
IH: Were there any days where you came in and you were like just…
ZD: It was always delightful [laughs], so it was always amusing on set, so it was pretty [laughs]…it’s hard to answer this question, because I’m just getting mocked at every turn. But no, it was wonderful, and I’m a pretty energetic person myself.
It’s always good, I think, in general, to have different energies on screen; it’s nice to have different characters go at different speeds. Different people work at different speeds, and it was really fun.
IH: There’s some extreme sport at the end over the credits. Did you give any thought to doing any part of that yourself?
ZD: Absolutely not. Terrifying. To stand up on that hill on roller blades was terrifying. I can’t imagine being on…
IH: What hill were you on? Where were you?
ZD: We were up in Malibu, up one of those…Rock Canyon…
IH: When you first meet him, your character kind of impulsively kisses him. Advice?
ZD: You mean to make out with somebody that you just met? Absolutely not, no. [Laughs]
I mean... it’s a great idea! What I mean to say is yes. [Laughs]
Warner Bros. Pictures' 'Yes Man' is in theaters from December 19, 2008.
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