BeatBoxBetty Interviews Drew Barrymore about Riding In Cars With Boys!

Betty: First off, I really appreciate you sticking with this interview even though five minutes ago we heard news that will undoubtedly change history as we know it. How hard is it to be talking about something so small as a movie?
Drew: I think that when events like this happen you start to believe that you're the most trivial person on the planet. And this morning, I did not know how to do my job. It took a lot of guidance and courage to be able to go on with this interview today because I feel I have no right to be speaking about anything right now.

Someone who I respect highly said to me that this is going to be an on-going thing and we're going to have to figure out how to live in that. When you don't know how to do your job - you must re-learn your job. Press junkets are something that come to me so naturally. I've done so many of them and I really enjoy and try to have fun with them. This is not that time. And this is not that case. I've never worked in a time of war. And I'm going to have to be learning how to live my life amongst an entire planet of people who are trying to figure it all out.

Brittany Murphy & Drew on the set of Riding In Cars With Boys.
Photo courtesy of Columbia Tristar

Betty: Do you think that the way Hollywood makes movies will be changed by these recent events?
Drew: I studied all of the films that came out during World War II and the Vietnam War and it was interesting to see that this particular industry still functioned, and there was an actual need for it. Whether it be the escapism - or having extraordinary stories to relate to - I think that this film ["Riding In Cars With Boys"] came out at the right time.

It's about needing to hear and say, "I love you." And if we've learned anything in the last few weeks it's that those are the three most profound words that we have. I think that everyone who is good on this planet is being kind and gentle with each other. And I think that films will reflect that. Maybe they'll go back to a softer, more romantic and gentler side. I'd love to see that happen.

Betty: Have you noticed that your relationships with people have changed since September 11th?
Drew: Absolutely. There's an extraordinary article in the New York Times about young people in New York and how they believed that they were living the high life in the most cosmopolitan city in the world. Being single and having a social life was so freeing and fun to them. But now, those same people are sleeping on their friends' couches because they don't want to be alone. So yes, I'm appreciating everyone in my life like I never have before.

Betty: Hmm, sounds like you've been appreciating people even before September 11th.
Drew: You look to those who love you and the family you have with all of its dysfunctions and you accept them. Because of this film, I spent Christmas with my mom this year. And we haven't spent ten Christmas' together! I thank God for times like this that make you a better, more open and accepting person. Let that love in and give it back!

Steven Zahn, Drew & baby make three in Riding In Cars With Boys
Photo - Columbia Tristar

Betty: Speaking of moms, your character, Beverly Donofrio, grows up at a very early age when she becomes pregnant at 15. Have you noticed any similarities between her life and yours?
Drew: Yeah. I related to Bev in that we were both considered such bad girls - for different reasons. For me, because I sort of fell on my face in front of everybody… and well for Bev, she got pregnant in Wallingford, Connecticut in 1965 at the age of 15. That was a big "no-no."

It's great to work from that place and to know that you're not a bad person and that you have dreams and things that you'd like to accomplish and give out into the universe. When everyone thinks that you're a freak, it's a very strange place to work from. But there's a fun challenge in it as well. So I really respected that and I did relate to her on that level.

Betty: You do a marvelous job portraying her during different stages - from when she's a fearless teen until she's rough and rigid in her mid '30s. Do you see yourself at all like her later in life?
Drew: No. Well, in a few ways, yes. The way that she loved her son and the deep connection with him, I can only hope that I can feel that way when I'm a mother. I can only hope to have a son that is so extraordinary. In some ways I imitated my own mother because I'm not like Bev, but my mother is. So I did little things that my mother did when I was growing up.

My mom always strokes the back of my head, so I did that all the time. And she was constantly putting on lipstick which was so irritating to me growing up, so I did that a lot as Bev. It was interesting being in my mother's shoes for the first time because I really found myself respecting her. I related for so long to the child's perspective of being raised by a single mother and it gave me a lot of room for forgiveness. Because I had to become a woman and a mother myself, the film really made me grow up a lot.

Drew as the adult version of Beverly Donofrio
Photo - Columbia Tristar

Betty: What type of resource was the real Beverly Donofrio in creating the role for you?
Drew: A tremendous one. Adam [Garcia] and I hung out with Bev and her son, Jason, all the time, and we really got to know them. It was amazing to have those guides help you and not compromise them or sugar coat them - but play them for who they truly are. Both Bev and Jason have done a tremendous thing in this world; to have been honest and share their story. You hope that your director will guide you as well…

Betty: Ah yes, my next question. What was it like taking direction from Penny Marshall?
Drew: Penny is the greatest "guide" in any director there is! She's meticulous and adamant and relentless and wonderful. And for that, we're all better.

Dreamy Drew as the confused teen, Beverly Donofrio
Photo - Columbia Tristar

Betty: I noticed that while there are plenty of laughs in this movie, this is still a pretty serious flick, isn't it?
Drew: There's an incredible sense of liberation because a lot of families aren't able to be so open and honest about the damage and the darkness and the guilt that does go on in a family. The fact that they acknowledge some of the dysfunction only opens them up as people and brings them closer together. They actually address the dancing elephant in the corner.

I think I wanted to do this film so badly because of how honestly it looked at how we behave - how embarrassed we become and how we don't want to admit it to people. Therefore it doesn't get talked about. That's a crazy moment. It makes you look at things more honestly… and every single person on this planet is bonded to a family. I think that's universal and easy to relate to.

Betty: Amen, sister. Let's just hope that the Taliban can relate to that as well.

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