Kristen Bell

Buzzine Film Editor Emmanuel Itier has a difficult job–including flying to Honolulu, doing heavy research in the art of the Mai Tai, and interviewing the beautiful Kristin Bell about her upcoming film, Forgetting Sarah Marshall.

Kristen Bell: [Sitting down, turning her Blackberry silent] Wow–so many machines!

Emmanuel Itier: So the Blackberry is also working on Sundays?

KB: Pretty much, yeah.

EI: How is it to be back in Hawaii with the cast after shooting the movie here?

KB: Well, it is very refreshing. We all had dinner together, and there are only four restaurants on this end of the island, and we pretty much went to them three or four times a week each, so we are familiar with the cuisine around here. But I think we all convened the first night and reminisced…fondly.

EI: How much of the script is improvised?

KB: Jason [Jason Segal, co-star] wrote the script–and they cast people that they think they can work with and their personalities, and also sort of have the character be an extension of themselves. So we videotaped ourselves for about two weeks doing the scenes or doing improvised scenes, and I remember, with Jason, the night we fought on camera for hours and hours, just making things up, and took the best parts of those fights and put them in the fights that (our characters) Peter and Sarah had, and Russell [Brand] just goofed around in the bungalows and he was also coming up with 15 of the most awkward yoga positions all around and had to bring them to work. They were pretty good, but they were hard.

EI: Did you do yoga already?

KB: Jason and I both do. We did a lot when we were here–right here in this beautiful gazebo out there.

EI: How many Mai Thais did you guys drink?

KB: We don’t drink. I just fall asleep very easily.

EI: What do you think about Russell? He is becoming the next big star in Hollywood.

KB: I agree. I don’t think Americans realize that they are actually already addicted to Russell. I don’t think people noticed that yet. Even after working with him, we speak highly of him, which is a facade. He was quite protective. I feel like I may have ruined his reputation with saying this, but actually it would only get him more action, but he was really protective and made sure I was tucked in like a burrito every time with the sheet [referring to the scenes in bed], because we had to wear “pasties”. They are little stickers that cover your breasts so that you can be shot from behind and not wear a strapless bra, but Russell was quite protective, and every time I was leaning over to get my drink, he would go and cover me with the sheets.

EI: What is your advice to go through a heartbreak? What helps when being dumped?

KB: I have been on both ends, and I think that there is no good advice to be given, but I think ultimately the thing to apply to your life is to seek out someone that brings out the best to you, who makes you love yourself, and I think that Sarah doesn’t bring out the best in Peter. You know obsession and domination and all those kinds of things come into the mix, and he wants so badly to get her but she doesn’t bring out the best in Peter, and that is eventually why it fails.

EI: You are currently on the TV show called Heroes. Is TV something you still want to do, or do you want to switch your time between TV and movies, or do you want to stick with one of them?

KB: It is an interesting situation because I am not bound by contract. I have only been guest-starring on Heroes, and the relationship is not mandatorily to continue, and the writers’ strike interrupted it, unfortunately. I signed up for 18 episodes, and we had gotten 13 shoots before the writers’ strike, so I have technically five more shots to complete of what we had thought the character would do. Though I don’t have to go back, I had such a wonderful time doing it, and even though I am doing a project for the next 12 weeks, we are going to try to absolutely squeeze it in this summer, and it is sort of a scheduling problem now because clearly they have to work with the main cast and to work with their schedule, and even though I am sort of one of the main characters, it is different because I am not a season regular. But I hope to get it done this summer because I had a wonderful experience on this show.

EI: What is your next project?

KB: I am shooting a Disney romantic comedy in New York and in Rome called When in Rome, and I think it is a little less raunchy as this, though just as adult.

EI: What are the disadvantages of filming on Hawaii, if there are any?

KB: There are no minuses.

EI: What did you first think when you met Russell?

KB: [Rolling her eyes, making a funny face] I think that…he came down to San Diego so we would test together and to see our chemistry. And they all drove down and I was talking to Jason, and I literally did a double-take because, in the script, it had been written like a Great Gatsby kind of writer—a very harsh sort of English man, and his jeans were tighter than mine and I thought, “What?” Then we sat down and he opened his mouth, and there was no one else to be cast, and that is exactly what Jason and Nick thought–that is was just, if you don’t realize it–and he has a funny way of doing his hair–but you become utterly addicted to the way that he socializes and it’s genuine, and even when we were not in a group of reporters or just had dinner at the pool bar, he may be a little quieter, but he is the same personality.

EI: Have you ever been in love with a man like him?

KB: [Laughing] No one other than Russell. He surprised me.

EI: Would you go for a kind of rock star type?

KB: I kind of like nerds. He is a rock star and that is the only way I could keep my hands off him, because he is not nerdy enough as I like it.

EI: I once read that you claimed to be a “serial monogamist,” which is totally the opposite of your character, since Sarah cheated on her boyfriend.

KB: What I meant is that I am much more comfortable in a relationship than being single. I am uncomfortable being single. I much prefer having a boyfriend and being invested in that situation.

EI: What are you wearing, by the way?

KB: Oh, the dress is from Shoshana.

: Do you decide on your wardrobe, or do you rely on a stylist?

KB: I am very fortunate to have one of my best friends here with me as a guest, and she is my stylist. I listen to her, but I do love shopping and looking for stuff that fits me.

EI: You hang out with Hayden Pennetiere a lot, right?

KB: I have known Hayden since she was a little girl, and we get along really well.

EI: You also both love animals…

KB: Yeah, and she is so ambitious, I think she is one of the brightest, most well-spoken young ladies out there. She is also incredibly talented in that category that rivals her.

EI: What is it you like to do when you are not working? Are you a party girl?

KB: No, I like to sleep. I don’t drink.

EI: Never? Why? By choice?

KB: I don’t like it and I fall asleep easily, and I do get headaches really easily. I usually am in bed by midnight.

EI: What is it you like to do when you have time?

KB: I like to go hiking with my dogs. I love going to Fryman Canyon and Runyon Canyon.

EI: What kind of dogs do you have?

KB: I have two Corgi Chow Chows named Lola and Shakey, and a Labrador Retriever, who I rescued from Katrina and has no teeth at all. They are the greatest.

EI: So who takes care of them when you are not in town, shooting somewhere else?

KB: I don’t take them with me. I am more concerned having to adapt them to a new environment than having them missing me. I have a friend that takes care of them when I’m not around.

EI: Do you find falling in love easy?

KB: I think as much I like to share, I also have high standards.

EI: Like what?

KB: Kindness is a must. I am not much into self-obsession, and if you are rude to the waiter, I not only will dislike you, but I also might kick your ass because it is unnecessary. I also like someone who makes me laugh–that is important.

EI: After being on Hawaii, what is your favorite vacation spot?

KB: Australia…and I also would like go to England because Russell keeps talking about it.

EI: Have you been to Europe at all? Austria, for example?

KB: No, I have never been to Europe. This summer I will be in Italy for the first time to shoot my new movie, and I can’t wait. I am shooting in Rome and will drive around the Amalfi Coast. How great is that?!

EI: When are you leaving?

KB: This June.