February 22nd, 2001
Audiences may be thrilled to see Courteney Cox get a hot relationship going with Kurt Russell in 3,000 Miles to Graceland, but her real life husband and Graceland co-star David Arquette had definitely the opposite reaction. Not to worry, Courteney assured PlanetHollywood.com and hopefully David, too. For the Friends actress, a love scene is the last thing that turns her on in a movie. Courteney also described what turned her on about her own role in Graceland as a wild woman on the run, and she gave her personal opinion about the pros and cons of various Elvis incarnations, including one that David enjoys on his down time...
PLANET HOLLYWOOD: You have no idea how
much David loves you. He just said a little while ago that he will forever have
a fire inside him when portraying love on screen, because of his love for you.
COURTENEY COX: Wow...David!
PH: And he said everything about his
life is better since he met you.
CC: Hmm...Well that's true! I'm
just kidding. But when you're in a relationship and it works, it's better. And
he makes my life better. But, I'm not the poet he is, so don't be looking for
the same comments out of me! I just love him, that's all. But he's such a
good....expresser!
PH: How difficult is it to be in a
relationship with another actor?
CC: So far, not so hard. I
mean, we get written about, and stuff like that, but it doesn't really bother me
so much. The hardest part is not being together. He always seems to be on
location, so that part is a little tough. But
we have a lot of freedom. We allow each other to completely be ourselves. And we
have just so much trust.
PH: What about that report on TV that
you guys are separating?
CC: I know! I heard that I
filed, and I kicked him out. And he's a bad boy, but none of it is true. To me,
it's just ridiculous. I don't know where it comes from. It doesn't really bother
me that much because it's just stupid.
PH: What kind of reporter would go into
work and say, 'Well okay, I'll just make this up today?
CC: I know. What's weird is I
think this particular rumor started in England. It was like an inch-big item in
some newspaper. It was a little blurb, and then it just went off.
PH: We've never seen you in a role like
this before, playing a woman from the other side of the tracks. Are you looking
for more unusual roles for yourself?
CC: That's actually a great
question because I don't know that I could play anything! But yes, if I had the
shot and people would give me the chance... I mean, I would try to really get a
character down, and I did it for this part.
This character is something that I really fought for.
People don't assume that I can play this because they think I can only do
comedy, and play an uptight person. And you know, I guess Gail Weathers was
kinda bitchy. But I had to work hard. I
auditioned for this with Kurt, and I read for him a few times. But yes, I think
I could do anything if I had the role. What's hard is getting the role because
then you have to prove yourself before you have your props, before you have your
wardrobe and before you are the character. So
it's just hard. I hate auditioning so much. I can't wait -- and I really think
it will happen. One day, if I don't have to read for things, that's the best.
PH: What's your character Cybil in
Graceland all about?
CC: I think she's well rounded
and she has a lot going on, a lot of stuff. Cybil has a lot of emotion, she's
fun. You know, she's full of life. She's a sexual person, she's a conniver, and
she has a sense of humor. Cybil
has an arc, like she learns, and she comes full circle and has learned something
by the end of the movie. Usually you don't get to play women that have that
much. She's a full character, she has a lot of aspects of her personality. She's
not one note, by any means -- and that doesn't happen very often, at least not
with women's roles.
PH: Do you go for the new Elvis or the
old Elvis?
CC: The young one.
PH: Why?
CC: He's so....cute!
PH: With sideburns or no sideburns?
CC: I'm not a huge sideburns
person, so I would probably say those short ones that he had. But I think it was
the old Elvis with the sideburns, wasn't it?
PH: And boxers or briefs?
CC: Both.
PH: Do you have any old Elvis costumes
in your closet?
CC: No, but David does.
PH: When does he put them on?
CC: He was Elvis for his
niece's birthday this year -- and I'm sure I'll see it some other times. He
actually bought it from the movie, and had it studded. I think he sent it to
Memphis to be studded, I'm not kidding! But David has a lot of costumes.
PH: Since we're talking about outfits,
do you ever check David's wardrobe at the door?
CC: That's just who David is.
He's so creative and he's such a unique person, that I love that he dresses the
way he does because it's not like he's contrived, going in his closet and
spending hours trying to think about what he wants to look like. He just puts it
on. I mean, this is
David. We wake up in the morning, and he's wearing whatever he wore to sleep,
some sort of outfit. Then he wakes up in the morning, and before he goes to get
coffee, he actually puts on an entire outfit. And
I'm not saying it's like a jacket and a pair of pants. But it'll be a certain
pair of slippers, maybe a hat, socks....Like a whole thing. Then after that,
he'll go back to take a shower before the day starts, and he puts on another
complete outfit. Can I tell you the
laundry? It's unbelievable the amount of clothes the man goes through in one
day. He loves it. But this is what he needs to feel like when he's having
breakfast in the morning. And he makes
himself a huge breakfast. I don't care if he had eaten a whole buffet the night
before. And I'm like David, you couldn't be hungry. We ate so much food last
night. But he has a ritual, he just does his thing.
PH: How do you feel about the level of
violence in Graceland?
CC: Well, you know what's
weird? This movie reminds me of a video game. It kind of starts off as a
cartoon, then it ends with the fantasy. I don't know, I think you have to look
at it as fun. Yes, there's a lot of shooting, but I just think it's more of a
crazy ride. I don't know, I just think it's more about quirky characters. It's
just a movie!
PH: Where were you going with that
Southern accent in Graceland?
CC: It's fun to be able to do
that. But with Cybil, I didn't want to make it like 'Oh, that's an accent.' I
wanted to keep it soft. But when she's flirting with a guy, it's a little more
and when she's scared, it's a little less. So I feel like when she's putting the
charm on, it comes out really strong.
PH: How did your own Southern
background help you out?
CC: I'm glad that I'm from
Alabama. I just think that it makes me really.....normal! You know, normal in a
good way. And it definitely helped with Cybil. Like we're kind of easygoing down
there, and she's easygoing. She's easygoing, and she's easy!
PH: What about those sex scenes with
Kurt? David said that he found that more offensive than the violence. Do you
have to psyche yourself up for that, or do you just throw up your hands and say,
'Okay let's go for it?'
CC: No! Well, Kurt is such a
fun person, that I had fun time. He's great, I loved working with him so much,
that it was easy. And those love scenes are so kind of out there.
PH: What's the hardest part?
CC: It's really the kissing, I
think, because you want to look right when you're doing it. And our scenes are
much more kinda, you know, whoo, anything goes. So these weren't hard, they're
not hard at all. But
it's funny, because they don't mean anything when you're doing it. That was just
a scene that you did, and you're done. And as long as you looked all right doing
it, the lighting is good, and they didn't get any weird angles and didn't show
too much, it's okay. I don't think of it as anything more than that.
So to me those scenes were just so funny. But David is
like, 'It's not funny at all.' But I don't think of it the way he does because
it was nothing. That's the least turn on, is doing a love scene in a movie.
PH: When you do horror, is that funny
too?
CC: Oh yeah. Scream 1, I think
David and I laughed pretty much through the whole movie!
PH: How do you react when you look back
on that old "Dancing In The Dark" video you did with Bruce
Springsteen?
CC: I don't like seeing myself
dance. For some reason, when I watch that, ugh. I don't like my hair that short.
I just felt like it did not work for me. I look like a little boy! I didn't know
how to do it right, I don't know. And then I danced like such a little....jock!
PH: What's the most gratifying thing
about doing Monica Gellar in Friends for seven years?
CC: It's really taught me
comedy. I mean, I feel really confident. Like I know how to make a joke work or
I know what's funny. So when I do another project, I always feel comfortable
that I know the timing of things.
PH: Will David come on the show?
CC: At some point, I don't know
when. Not this year. He'll probably do an episode. For his wife!
-- Interview by PlanetHollywood.com
Special Correspondent Prairie Miller --
©2001 Absolutely Arquette