Out of Africa
The CrankyCritic.com Interview by Paul Fischer

In the latest issue of Vanity Fair, there's an interview with Kim Basinger, which suggests that she'd a tad left-of-center; compare that with the same magazine that published an interview with the ex-model-now-movie star 10 years ago, and it's Kim the star on top of everything. There lay the dichotomy, and nobody is more bemused than the actress herself, even admitting "there's a bit of truth in both of those articles." Basinger, looking a resplendent 46, was in New York promoting her latest film and her first since L.A. Confidential: Hugh Hudson's real-life saga, I Dreamed of Africa. While she might admit to something of the loony quality implied in that Vanity Fair story, she remains wistfully philosophical about her relationship with the media. "I've had a lot of things written about me, both positive and negative", she says with her Southern drawl more pronounced than usual. "I've learned about journalists and how they do salt and pepper things; I think it makes the copy funny." And for this high profile star, that's fine with her "because it comes with the territory," she insists. "You lose your anonymity just like a helium balloon with a string. Therefore people are going to have their own opinion and they're going to write in whatever clever manner they desire." The impression one has about Basinger from what one reads about her is that she's a reluctant star, and fiercely shy. These are qualities she doesn't deny, "because they're the cards with which I've been dealt", she says. "If that at times has me somewhat reluctant to walk out on David Letterman, then that's true. That part of my work is a hurdle I have to get over. I don't know where it comes from, but it's something I'll have to live with for the rest of my life."

The Georgia-born ex-model, who graced the screen from the James Bond flick Never Say Never Again, to more challenging efforts as 9½ Weeks and the recent LA Confidential, became a major star, but first and foremost, loved the art of pretending. Acting was a means not only to escape from her innate shyness, "but between action and cut I just really love to pretend; That's what we do; we try and be as real as we can be and all we're doin' is pretendin'." Long criticized for being more than a pretty and sexy blonde, that changed 2 years ago with her Oscar win as Best Supporting Actress for LA Confidential. Finally, Hollywood stood up and took notice. Winning the Oscar, she now concedes, "is the most unreal and surrealistic moment that I have ever had." For Basinger, the Oscar and the Golden Globe "are the highest awards you can win and it's one of the greatest moments in your life you'll ever have." But the Oscar was more than just a prize. For Basinger, the award, she recalls, "Gave me a little more confidence and somehow legitimizes you. In American cinema, people will take a chance on you, though they'll often remind you that really, they always liked you." It's part of the Hollywood game, but a game that Basinger now finds to be fun "as long as you understand it", she says smilingly.

It took Basinger two years to return to the cameras following LA Confidential. The film that fueled her passions after a two-year hiatus was I Dreamed of Africa, based on the best-selling autobiography of Kuki Gallman, surviving tragedy amidst extraordinary circumstances. It was Gallman's remarkable book that drew her to the film. "I found her journey so remarkable, it's that simple", she explains. After being offered the part, she read the book "knowing that I had to step into her shoes, and after reading the last page, I knew I had to do this movie. It was all there." In agreeing to do this film, which meant enduring three months in Africa, Basinger had to confront "a lot of my fears, and I started to combat all of them, which got bigger and bigger in the middle of night, believe me."