LAX Magazine 00/11/2008

 

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Sometimes, it's hard to tell wath season it is in Los Angeles. It seems like the summer sun beats down on the well-trodden pavement of Sunset Blvd. and Highland Ave. 365 days a year. You know that it's getting colder in the rest of the world, but you are still wearing short sleeves, open toa shoes and eating your lunch in the sun, not to mention that going to the beach on October is pretty cool. But here we are in November with an election behind us and a new president ahead of us. Basketball season is back and football season is starting to get interesting. The economy is slowing down, but tje world still tur,s. People continue to travel which brings us to you. May your journey be safe but adventurous ; may you try new experiences with an eager heart.

Without further adieu, we bring you LAX Magazine Issue No.2, featuring the lovely Amanda Righetty on its cover. Amanda talked to us about her role in the forthcoming frightening re-make of Friday the 13th, her favorite wines, loving the movie biz and popping off rounds. What's more L.A. than that? Plus, she's also in this fall's Role Models _ another raucous screen comedy. That's sometimes the only way to tell what season it is _ the movie schedule!

Welcome to Los Angeles! We're here for you : in the terminal and beyond.

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It's not easy being a "Scream Queen". If you think of the actresses synonymous with that moniker, immediately some chillingly spine-tingling performances come to mind. There's Jamie Lee Curtis in Halloween, Neve Campbell in Scream, and, of course, the most notable, Janet Leigh in Psycho. Starring opposite a psychotic movie villain requires a subdued sensuality, and not just any young Hollywood starlet. That's why she signed on for the hotly anticipated re-make of the horror classic Friday the 13th (In theaters on, surprise, surprise, Friday February 13th 2009).

Amanda's stunning beauty is hypnotic, and as she stares through long tresses of sandy brown hair, her emerald eyes widen. She's excited to talk about Friday The 13th, which is bound to scare the hell out of moviegoers this winter. However, Amanda's no stranger to the screen. She's also starring opposite Seann William Scott, Paul Rudd and Elizabeth Banks in Role Models this fall. Plus, she's been on Reunion, CSI, The OC, K-Ville and Entourage. She is currently on The Mentalist, CBS's latest police drama. She spoke candidly to LAX about becoming a "Scream Queen" and much more in our exclusive chat with her.

How does Jason 2009 differ from the original scourge of the screen?

Jason has a new mask. He's a new kind of Jason. For one, he's human. Unlike later installments of the franchise, he's no longer some supernatural zombie creature.

That's interesting for producer Michael Bay to revert Jason to a human character, instead of accelerating the supernatural elements.

Yes, exactly! It's great. It's different. It has many of the best elements of the first four films all rolled-up in one. There's a lot of cool stuff. They kept some of the famous deaths from the first movies.

The director, Marcus Nipsel also directed the Texas Chainsaw Massacre re-make. What was it like working with him?

He's interesting _ an eccentric cat. He's very visual. The sets, as creepy as they are, are beautiful. They're really well lit. In TCM, you see a lot of light shafts coming through the trees. There's a lot of that in the new Friday the 13th. Visually, it was very cool. There should be a full trailer available soon so people can get a taste.

The movie was shot in Austin. Did you enjoy hanging out down there?

Austin was a blast. It was such a fun city! I was there April 'till July. It started to heat up pretty bad towards the end. Thankfully, my scenes were all shot at night, which I welcomed, because it was so muggy during the day. To have to work in that would have been really hard. You get sluggish. It wasn't cool at night, but it was better than having the sun beating down on you. We had some cool locations out on the outskirts of Austin _ cackwoodsy locations. Shooting out in the woods at night _ it was scary just being there! [Laughs] It was easy to get into character and be scared!

How was your first meeting with Michael Bay?

I didn't audition for him at all. I didn't meet him until half-way through the movie. He flew out for a big party half-way through the shoot. I met him then. We met, and he gave me his notes about a few of the scenes that he was concerned about. I think he was watching some of the stuff that was going on. He had a microscope on the script. He expressed his ideas about how it should be played and how turn out and gave me his notes, which was cool. He's a nice guy. It was a business meeting, but there were a lot of people around. That made the encounter a little strange, but he seemed like a nice guy.

Anything embarrassing happen to you on the set?

I did a lot of my own stunts.My knees got really wrecked on the movie. It was embarrassing tha O had to keep icing my knees between takes. I was trying to be a trooper about it. There were a lot of Murphy's Low things that happened. I don't know if it was embarrassing as much as it was challenging. There was one particular night which I think was really funny. Jonathan Zadowski probably doesn't think it's a funny I do through! We were shooting at night in the middle of the woods, in this back-woodsy, creepy Boy Scout camp, and it was pitch black.

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You had to walk a little while to get ro a restroom. So, Jonathan walked off to go to the restroom. We grabbed Derrick, who played Jason and said « Derrick, dude, you HAVE to scare Zadowski ». He went and hid in the bushes. When Jonathan walked back, Derrick jumped out of the bushes and totally scared the piss out of Zadowski! He put the mask on, full makeup, the whole bit. That was hysterical! It was so funny. We had a great time on the set. There was a lot of joking going on – good laughs and good people.

What do you do to keep that body in such great shape?

I like to box. I do. I don't spar, but I'll train with mitts on. I really like Muay Thai. A lot of the UFC guys train in Muay Thai. It's a fighting technique. Something about punching things just does it for me. I also have a personal trainer that I meet with three times a week. That's more weight training and resistance training. I just did the Malibu triathlon with one of my cast mates on The Mentalist, Owain Yeoman. And I was training for that for about a month. We switched it up. That was a lot more endurance training than it was resistance training.

Was that your first triathlon?

That was my first triathlon. It was a Celebrity Challenge for charity event. And...thank goodness we did it as a relay team, because you have to be a special kind of crazy to do the whole thing. I did the running portion. It's like 4miles. I just remember everything started burning out about ¾ of the way in. I was like, « Oh no. How am I gonna make it through the rest. » It was for a good cause – the Los Angeles Children's Hospital. With everybody watching, you don't want to mess up or trip over yourself. You just keep going.

If you ask me next year, I might have a different take on it, but right now, it's not something I'm eager to do again. It's been a big year of endurance for my training. I did a lot of endurance training right before I did the film. I feel like I need to give my body a break. I've been pushing myself hard – proving a lot to myself. I finished a lot of things that I never through I could do. It's time to slow a little bit.

What do you do or where do you go to slow down?

Well, Labor Day weekend I went to Napa. It is so beautiful. We had great weather and I really wanted to do a hot air balloon ride. I had one scheduled the day I was leaving. So we showed up before sunrise, but it was too windy. I was so bummed out. I really really wanted to go. I've never been up in a hot air balloon. It was a little disappointing, but the rest of the trip was amazing.

We drove the coast and stopped in Cambria the first night and went to the Hearst Castle. I'd never been to Napa in the summer. My husband and I usually go after Christmas for a week and it's always raining. So I was excited to go in the summer and see how different it was in daylihgt. Just sit and watch the sunset, watch the stars at night. It was really really relaxing. It was gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous.

Any favorite wineries?

I love Grgich Hills. Grgich Hills is a favorite. And Hess. I met Mike Grgich. He's a really interesting guy. He was at the winery one day when we were there a few years ago. He's very sweet. We hit Grgich every time we go. I love that winery.

Do you prefer reds or whites?

I appreciate both. It depends on my mood. I like Cabernets and Chardonnays. Grgich makes delicious cabs and chards.

If you were going to a desert Island and got to bring a case of something?

I would take a mixed box of Grgich and Châteauneuf-du-pape. I'm not a wine connoisseur, but those are definitely my favorites. I was in Budapest wine country with some friends, which was really beautiful. We spent the day at the winery with peach trees, pear trees and all kinds of fruit trees. We just sat there and drank the wine right out the barrels with some fruit and cheese. I love to do that. I think there's something about the care that's out into making wine _ like a great... continue on page 64