by Paul Fischer
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VIVICA
A. FOX
Lessee if we can remember it all: Stripper girlfriend of Will Smith in Independence Day, Pregnant sister in Soul Food; Lawbreaker in Set It Off; One of a trio of wives of bigamist one hit wonder rock star Frankie Lymon in Why Do Fools Fall in Love? Now she's a Druidic Priestess in a Winnebago, tracking malevolent evil across these great United States in Idle Hands, a horror slash comedy flick in the mode of things like An American Werewolf in London. |
Serious actress. Non-serious role. That's as good a place as any to start off this StarTalk with Vivica A. Fox
CrankyCritic:
You've delivered roles in a a bunch of mainstream flicks. Why Idle
Hands?
Vivica A. Fox: I was excited, for the very simple reason that Scream
and Halloween and all of those movies are generating $70 million
and above, they're definitely on a comeback. In the 80s you wouldn't do
a horror film because they were considered "B" films and B actors.
Nowadays everyone's jumping into 'em. I met with the director film and
I said "Do I get killed? 'cuz if they kill the black person in the
first five minutes it ain't gonna work for me [laughs]" He said "No,
you actually save the day. You play a Druidic priestess in search of this
evil spirit that's possessed The Hand. It's very physical and you get
to change costumes and it's a really fun character to play." What
made me happy about it is that I heard that they had auditioned a lot
of actors and that no one thought the character should be black and someone
pitched me and, for me, I've made that crossover that they didn't look
at me as a black actor, they just looked at me as a good actress to come
in to play the part.
CrankyCritic:
Are you a big horror fan?
Vivica A. Fox: Nope. Ever since I saw The Exorcist when I was nine
years old. It traumatized me for the rest of my life. I am not going to
lie. I'm a scaredy cat. I'm not a huge fan of horror films I will not
kid you. Probably I will watch the majority of Idle Hands with my hands
over my face.
CrankyCritic:
Yet you have another teen horror flick coming
Vivica A. Fox: Yeah! Is it the year of teen horror or what? I have
a cameo in Kevin Williamson's Killing Mrs. Tingle. I play
a guidance counselor. It's Kevin's directorial debut and that definitely
had a hand in my decision to make it. I got to work with Katie Holmes,
who is wonderful, and Helen Mirren, who I've always admired.
CrankyCritic:
Is your husband a horror fan?
Vivica A. Fox: He loves 'em. He can sit and watch 'em. Not me.
I'm a scaredy cat, I'm not gonna kid you. He'll probably watch it and
tell me what it's all about. I, personally, don't like to watch heads
get chopped off, even if it comes back and smokes a joint.
CrankyCritic:
Wasn't that the most fun about Idle Hands, though? All the really gruesome
killings take place off screen.
Vivica A. Fox: Exactly. It wasn't traditional slice n dice. It's
more about the comedy and the silliness. I say it's like a Dawn of
the Dead meets Animal House.
CrankyCritic:
So let's talk about the silliness. Define "Druidic ritual sex."
How do Druids do it that's different from the rest of us?
Vivica A. Fox: [laughing] that was a new line that they came up
with for me because the audience didn't like the first ending. So they
came back to us and said there's going to be a different ending and you're
now going to have the ritualistic sex. [long pause] O-kay!
CrankyCritic:
Total goof.
Vivica A. Fox: Yeah!
CrankyCritic:
If I was 19 it would've made perfect sense to me.
Vivica A. Fox: Time to get a groove on.
CrankyCritic:
Michael J. Fox changed his middle initial (it was originally "A")
because someone asked him if he wanted to be known as "Michael. A
fox" Have you ever had that experience?
Vivica A. Fox: No. For me it's worked to my advantage. When I first
started acting; you have to have catchy ways for people to remember you.
So I thought "Vivica. A fox" Yeah that flows well. It was catchy,
I liked it and "A" is my middle initial (Angenetta) so it's
not something made up. I like the way it's sounded.
CrankyCritic:
Where did Vivica come from?
Vivica A. Fox: I have no idea. My mother told me she met a Spanish
lady whose name was Vivica, and that's where she got it from.
CrankyCritic:
Do you have trouble watching yourself on screen when you work?
Vivica A. Fox: Sometimes.
CrankyCritic:
Do you sit there and go "I never should have had that double stuffed
ravioli last night"?
Vivica A. Fox: [big laughs] see! Where it's films like ID4
I had to. Soul Food, I was pregnant, I ate everything. I was so
happy. I ate macaroni and cheese. Nia and Vanessa was like "Oh, I'll
have salad." Me, I was like I'll have the ham and cheese and everything.
I didn't have to worry about that. For me, I like to be surprised at the
premiere. When I have a chance to see it 6 or 7 times then I start getting
"Oh, that outfit doesn't work" or "Look at my hair".
I get a bit over analytical and you can't be the fan and enjoy your work.
The better I've gotten in years the more I've enjoyed the work. When I
first started I nitpicked everything I did. I don't know why.
CrankyCritic:
What did you nitpick about ID4?
Vivica A. Fox: ID4? not much. I was pretty happy with that.
But I didn't see it until the premiere. I was really nervous about the
strip scene and I was really happy when it was only 30 seconds long, that
they didn't embellish it. I shot for like eight hours that day and was
thinking "Well, my mom's gonna love to see this one, boy". I
don't have any complaints about Independence Day. I was very happy
with my performance.
CrankyCritic:
When you first started acting was there one performance that you saw that
made you say "wow! I want to do something like that!"
Vivica A. Fox: Oh yeah. Angela Bassett in What's Love
Got to Do With It. I was blown away by her and by Laurence [Fishburne]
because I know both of them and to see both of them totally strip themselves
and become Tina and Ike Turner was just incredible. At first I was like,
Laurence doesn't look nothing like Ike! And by the end, he was Ike. It
was movie magic. For me the only role that I feel that I've totally stripped
myself for was Why Do Fools Fall In Love and unfortunately they
didn't market it that well. That's a roll of the dice and as an actress
you have no control over that. None. That's why you become a producer,
so you can control that!
CrankyCritic:
Do you have a dream project you'd like to make?
Vivica A. Fox: I would like to do a remake of Cleopatra Jones
or Foxy Brown. Some fun. Action. Guns. Shoot 'em up. drivin'
fast cars and fighting. That would be fun. And then if I wanted to do
something real serious I'd like to do a remake of the story about Angela
Davis. That would be good, to bring something poignant to the screen.
But I like action flicks.
CrankyCritic:
There is a remake of Shaft in the works
Vivica A. Fox: I know! I been campaigning! I could be Shaft's partner!
He don't have to run, I could run down the street! I've been campaigning
for that. I love action. If Aaron Spelling had called me for Charlie's
Angels, I would've done that, too.