Something's Gotta Give - Amanda Peet interview

AMANDA Peet discusses the making of Something's Gotta Give, the current state of Hollywood and working with some of her idols. She was speaking at a London press conference.

Q. I'm sorry that Nancy Meyers can't answer for herself, but I know that she said there's elements of autobiography in the script, and there are some resonance's, particularly for you, can you tell us a bit about that?
Amanda Peet:  Well, my mum is single, and we've both been single at the same time, over the years, over the last ten or 15 years, so I really related to their bond, and thought it was quite natural that the daughter would step aside when she sees the little flicker of interest. Other people that it was a bit strange and wondered if I would feel a bit competitive, but I felt like, of course Diane Keaton should get him!

She's Diane Keaton! So, yeah, I related to it, because my mum has been through the dating rigmarole.

Jack Nicholson: Her mum likes me too [says with a trademark Jack grin]

Amanda: She has a huge crush on him [laughs].

Q. Jack Nicholson said that, despite the fact that Nancy Meyers is the first female director he has worked with, he didn't notice much of a difference? Do you notice any differences in gender, when working with different people? Or is it just a different director to you?
Amanda Peet:  No, I think it's just, she has her vision and, as Jack said, she's a formidable force to be reckoned with - and that's similar to most of the male directors I've worked with. The only difference is probably in-between scenes, sort of sitting in the corner, gossiping with Diane Keaton and Frances McDormand and Nancy Meyers about who's had botox and who hasn't. I don't know if that would necessarily happen on another set... There was a lot of gossip in between.

Q. Paris provides the ideal romantic backdrop for the finale of the movie, what would your ideal romantic backdrop be?
Amanda Peet:  Paris sounds good!

Q. As an alternative... Manchester?
Amanda Peet:  Liverpool [laughs]

Q. Are there any actors or directors you would particularly like to work with?
Amanda Peet:  You know, honestly, I just hit the Lottery. I mean, you have to understand, I was sitting at a table with Diane Keaton and Frances McDormand. I mean, it's just completely surreal and, yeah, I hit the Jack-pot.

Jack Nicholson: That's a good pun!

Amanda: I meant to say that [blushes and laughs]. It just didn't go over very well.

Q. What did you learn from Jack?
Amanda Peet:  I don't know, but both Jack and Diane... I think the thing that I noticed about Jack is, we did a table reading of the script, before we started shooting, just to warm up I guess, and there's a whole email section in the movie, and they had a reader who was reading the stage directions, so obviously that part was not dialogue, and Jack was like [mimics Jack typing, furiously]. And I was like, 'oh my God, he's still madly in love with acting. He can't even be at a casual table read, and not be creating the whole thing in his mind'!

I remembered just feeling very awed at how much he still seems to be so in love with it, and so kind of dedicated to making everything really real, and spontaneous. That was the other thing, is how spontaneous they are. Nothing's ever fixed, nothing's ever the same. It's all about surprising your team partner, off-camera, whether it's in the script or not. Cos sometimes a person's off-camera, so they can do whatever they want in order to get Diane all riled up, or to blush, which isn't hard to do with her! I think those two things, yeah...

Q. Referring to the state of Hollywood, as it were, do you get a good range of scripts? Are good female roles few on the ground, do you find?
Amanda Peet:  It's very tough, there's a very small group of elite actresses, who are my age, who people want to work with. And it is tough. It's not easy to get a good job. I auditioned for this movie, when all's said and done, including the meetings with Nancy, eight times, and that's no joke. I think definitely, I agree with what Jack said, that the movies tend to pander to the young, sort of 18-year-old mall mentality, which, I think, is one of the reasons this movie is so exciting.

Because it's not typical that the more mature women gets both the guys, which is the way it should be, but it's very exciting to see Diane be sexy and romantic with Jack, and have them be in two incredibly dynamic roles, and sexy roles, with incredibly sexy scenes. It's ridiculous that everybody thinks that this doesn't play, because clearly it does.

Q. A lot of actresses like to develop their own material and start production companies and stuff. Does that interest you?
Amanda Peet: You know, not just yet. I think about it, and there are a lot of people doing very exciting things. Charlize just came out of Monster, and I was very inspired watching her. A lot of young actresses are transforming themselves and taking over, and Drew Barrymore started her production company, as did Reece Witherspoon, and I definitely think they are the trailblazers, because they are making movies that are about women, and are about girl power, and that definitely appeals to me, but I'm not quite there yet. I'm still sort of stumbling along.