POWER PLAY RACHEL WEISZ GETS INTO FULL LABUTE MODE FOR 'THE SHAPE OF THINGS' ON STAGE AND SCREEN.Byline: Evan Henerson Staff Writer Rachel Weisz's ``artists I want to work with'' list isn't especially lengthy, and the 32-year-old actress and Revlon model isn't about to tempt fate by saying which names that list contains. Beyond, that is, the name of writer/director Neil LaBute, director of ``In the Company of Men,'' ``Nurse Betty'' and ``Possession.'' When presented with the opportunity to star in the premiere of LaBute's play ``The Shape of Things'' in London, Weisz didn't simply agree - she practically set off fireworks fireworks: see pyrotechnics. fireworks Explosives or combustibles used for display. Of ancient Chinese origin, fireworks evidently developed out of military rockets and explosive missiles and accompanied the spread of military explosives westward to . Signing up to play the same role in ``Shape's'' film adaptation was another no-brainer. Weisz even became a producer, since she already had a relationship with Working Title films. ``If Neil had said, 'Will you be my personal assistant?' I would have said yes,'' says Weisz whose name is pronounced ``vice.'' ``As much time as you can get with Neil, the better, so any way I could colonize col·o·nize v. col·o·nized, col·o·niz·ing, col·o·niz·es v.tr. 1. To form or establish a colony or colonies in. 2. To migrate to and settle in; occupy as a colony. 3. his time was a bargain for me.'' Weisz wasn't the only one already committed. The entire cast of ``Shape's'' original production, including Paul Rudd, Gretchen Mol Gretchen Mol (born November 8, 1972) is an American actress. Biography Early life Mol was born in Deep River, Connecticut where her mother, Janet, is an artist and teacher and her father is a school principal. and Frederick Weller, re-upped for the film, which opens today in limited release. Putting the play on film, the actors claim, was like extending the run of the play. And Weisz's character, Evelyn, was a lady the actress was in no hurry to relinquish. ``It doesn't happen that often where you read something and you feel like you would do anything to get this part,'' says Weisz. ``She's kind of an ingenue in·gé·nue also in·ge·nue n. 1. A naive, innocent girl or young woman. 2. a. The role of an ingénue in a dramatic production. b. An actress playing such a role. age, the young female lead. But when do women ever get to play these kinds of roles? Very, very rarely.'' Evelyn Ann Thompson - whose initials, the play points out, spell the word ``eat'' - is a graduate art student whose relationship with besotted be·sot tr.v. be·sot·ted, be·sot·ting, be·sots To muddle or stupefy, as with alcoholic liquor or infatuation. [be- + sot, to stupefy (from sot, fool English major The English Major (alternatively English concentration, B.A. in English) is a term for an undergraduate university degree in the United States and a few other countries which focuses on the study of literature in the English language (the term may also be used to describe a student Adam (Rudd) begets extreme and unusual consequences. The two characters meet as Evelyn is preparing to deface de·face tr.v. de·faced, de·fac·ing, de·fac·es 1. To mar or spoil the appearance or surface of; disfigure. 2. To impair the usefulness, value, or influence of. 3. a statue in the college museum where Rudd's character works as a security guard. A discussion on the nature of art and censorship ensues, and Adam - an overweight and thoroughly ordinary guy - asks Evelyn out. The introduction of Adam's friend Philip and Philip's fiancee, Jenny, complete the foursome. Controversial stage LaBute premiered the play in May 2001 with Weisz as the only non- American in the cast. The production featured a Smashing Pumpkins score and had no curtain call. Weisz called it a ``rock 'n' roll rock 'n' roll: see rock music. play'' and, when asked if it's a comedy, says, ``Definitely!'' The film version is practically a line-by-line adaptation, with more scenery but no additional characters. In both versions, Evelyn is the story's engine, the character who sets the action in motion. The movie may not get extensive distribution, but if enough people see it, Evelyn's antics could spark water-cooler dialogue comparable to admire-her-or-hate-her ladies like ``Fatal Attraction's'' Glenn Close or ``The Last Seduction's'' Linda Fiorentino. LaBute has created some thorny thorn·y adj. thorn·i·er, thorn·i·est 1. Full of or covered with thorns. 2. Spiny. 3. Painfully controversial; vexatious: a thorny situation; thorny issues. characters in the past, from ``In the Company of Men's'' pair of office drones who set out to break a woman's heart out of sheer boredom, to the bed-swapping yuppies of his ``Your Friends and Neighbors.'' Evelyn may be a distant relation of the ``Company of Men'' pair, or, depending upon your perspective, she may be the only character with any real sense of values. ``I'm often leading people through the briar briar: see brier. patch with some good- looking host saying, 'It's not much further,' while the thorns are ripping their clothes,'' says LaBute. ``I think Rachel's got all the things that Evelyn needs. Beyond the physical endowments and this beautiful face, she has to be sort of beguiling. On top of that, she's really smart, and Rachel has this radical side to her.'' Understanding LaBute Critics weary of the ``boys club'' antics of LaBute's characters have frequently accused the director of misogyny misogyny /mi·sog·y·ny/ (mi-soj´i-ne) hatred of women. mi·sog·y·ny n. Hatred of women. mi·sog . Incorrect, says his ``Shape of Things'' leading lady. ``To me, Neil is a moralist mor·al·ist n. 1. A teacher or student of morals and moral problems. 2. One who follows a system of moral principles. 3. One who is unduly concerned with the morals of others. . He's like an intellectual punk,'' says Weisz. ``He writes really extreme tales about flawed people who do flawed things.'' And Evelyn? ``The only thing I would say,'' says Weisz, who is reluctant to reveal the twists and turns of her character, ``is that she definitely believes in art. ``In England, I felt like I had more people on my side,'' she adds. ``Griffin Dunne came backstage and said, 'Your head on a plate.' That's what's interesting about Neil's writing - it sets off a debate. If I were trying to sell this movie, I'd say it's like the ultimate date movie. See it with your partner. You're either going to leave and split up, or you're going to get closer together.'' Pouring herself tea during an interview at a Beverly Hills hotel The Beverly Hills Hotel is a hotel in Beverly Hills, CA, at 9641 Sunset Boulevard. It was opened on May 12, 1912 and started by Margaret J. Anderson and her son, Stanley S. Anderson, who had been managing the Hollywood Hotel. , Weisz is soft-spoken and unfailingly polite. Born in London, she now lives in New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of but has spent a lot of time in L.A. recently on film shoots. In town for work and publicity, she planned a jaunt to Venice on her free day. She takes on an American accent in ``The Shape of Things'' and the recently released noir caper caper, common name for members of the Capparidaceae, a family of tropical plants found chiefly in the Old World and closely related to the family Cruciferae (mustard family). movie ``Confidence,'' and in both her upcoming films, ``The Runaway Jury'' and ``Envy.'' Except for the latter film, directed by Barry Levinson and co-starring Jack Black and Ben Stiller, her recent roles have all been about grifts, cons and schemes. Comedy calls ``One of the reasons I did 'Envy' was because I love doing comedy,'' she says, ``I felt like my role in 'The Mummy' was comedic, but because I was English in it, Americans don't think, 'Oh, she can do comedy.' '' Directors also have a tendency to place her in period films. ``I look kind of old-fashioned,'' admits the star of such films as ``Sunshine,'' ``Land Girls'' and ``Enemy at the Gates At the Gates are a Swedish melodic death metal band. They are one of the forebears of the Gothenburg sound of heavy metal along with other bands of the Gothenburg metal scene like Dark Tranquillity and In Flames. .'' ``I can do contemporary, too, but I definitely have a very period face.'' To date, ``The Mummy'' and its 2001 sequel - which cast Weisz as the librarian love interest to Brendan Fraser's soldier of fortune - have been Weisz's highest-profile roles, but she has been working since the early 1990s, primarily in low-budget British or independent films. LaBute knew her work primarily from the 1998 Michael Winterbottom film ``I Want You.'' The real Rachel Weisz, say her co-stars, isn't dark or grift-able. ``There's something that is kind of babe-in-the-woods about her that is so endearing en·dear·ing adj. Inspiring affection or warm sympathy: the endearing charm of a little child. en·dear ,'' says Rudd. ``She has no sense of irony. Neil and I would joke around because we're a couple of idiots who use irony way too much. We'd make a joke and Rachel would say, 'Really? Oh my gosh,' constantly. She never caught on. And every time we would explain ourselves, 'No, Rachel, we were just kidding.' '' After completing four films back to back, Weisz plans to take a bit of a breather. She'll return to the stage in a new version of August Strindberg's ``Miss Julie This article is about the play by Strindberg, for other works see Miss Julie (disambiguation). Miss Julie (Swedish: Fröken Julie) is an 1888 play by August Strindberg dealing with class, love/lust, the battle of the sexes, and the interaction among ,'' for director David Leveau, who directed LaBute's 9/11-themed play, ``The Mercy Seat.'' ``Neil (LaBute) is going to write the new version,'' says Weisz. ``There's a classicist clas·si·cist n. 1. One versed in the classics; a classical scholar. 2. An adherent of classicism. 3. An advocate of the study of ancient Greek and Latin. Noun 1. in him.'' CAPTION(S): 3 photos Photo: (1 -- cover -- color) in shape Rachel Weisz is tough enough to take on Neil LaBute's new film Steve Granitz/WireImage.com Jennifer Blatz/Staff Designer (2) ``It doesn't happen that often where you read something and you feel like you would do anything to get this part,'' says Rachel Weisz of her character in ``The Shape of Things.'' Dimitrios Kambouris/WireImage.com (3) Best-known for her role in the ``Mummy'' movies, Weisz is moving into comedy with the upcoming ``Envy,'' directed by Barry Levinson and co-starring Jack Black and Ben Stiller. Randall Michelson/WireImage.com |
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