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Renée Zawawi’s L-E-G-E-N-D-S – How One Recording Artist Openly Shares Her Life in Her Music
When the first track “American Girrrl” came on, I immediately wanted to move. The beat is stirring and Renée Zawawi’s voice has a wispy, childlike quality, which is a nice contrast to the heavy dance groove. “‘American Girrrl’ is about being accepted in
The second track “The Wind Was Her Only Music” is a very visual track. The music is not the standard major chords that you hear in Western society. This song has a far-away quality, and the hook of this song is haunting and addicting. The Latin guitar tastefully adds to the track. Renée has a well-trained voice, exercising so much control, and she impresses me with her natural quarter toned vibrato. This song is about Renée’s experiences as a little girl, where she was dragged away from home by her abductors, and longed to see her family. Track 7 “Never Knew” starts out sexy with a Spanish feel, it alternates between mid-tempo and upbeat and is peppered with castanets once again showing Renée Zawawi’s uniqueness and her deliberate attempt at change. Renée pulls it off well. Every track inL-E-G-E-N-D-S encompasses Renée’s diversity. “I sang to release my soul and relieve the heartache of what I was going through.” Prevalent in L-E-G-E-N-D-S, Renée experiments with different and unique sounds. The beats are infectious and very synonymous with clubs and DJs. Renée’s voice is soothing and smooth—very reminiscent of Astrud Gilberto, in that she can hold a This album is unique, well-produced, creative, haunting, sexy . . . the adjectives are limitless. Renée has delivered a beautiful piece of eclectic work. I give this CD 4.5 stars. To keep updated on Renée Zawawi and L-E-G-E-N-D-S go towww.reneezawawi.com. Reviewed by Sean McKenzie |
Category: Summer 2008
Kaitlyn Anderson’s EP, A New Word For Over Climbs the Indie Pop/Rock Charts
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Kaitlyn Anderson’s EP, A New Word For Over Climbs the Indie Pop/Rock Charts
“I take an idea, like pressure and think of ways I feel pressure in life. Running out of time for me was a big one. So I drew a clock and an hour glass symbolizing time… that turned into grains of sand and ticking clocks like I was on the clock and running out of time.” – Kaitlyn Anderson A New Word for Over is an easy blend of rock and pop. The first track is titled “So Much Better.” It has a catchy hook an upbeat groove, and Kaitlyn lives up to her songwriting. “I’m ever so much better without you.” She achieves the vibe that after a Kaitlyn Anderson moves me with her vocals, and most of the time she is spot on. I don’t really hear her influences (Bette Midler) in her voice, but that could be seen as a good thing. She has managed to cultivate her own style. The production on her EP is very professional and the sonic quality could fool anyone into thinking this was anything but an Indie project. Over all, I give this 3.5 stars out of 5 stars. Kudos to you, Kaitlyn and your team for a polished EP. The Personnel: Kaitlyn Anderson – Lead Vocals, Backgrounds, Writer and Co-Writer on all songs Eric Kambestad – Drum and Drum Arrangements Guillermo Guerrero – Guitars, Backgrounds, Musical Arrangements Visit www.myspace.com/kaitlynandersonmusic to learn more about Kaitlyn Anderson. Reviewed by Sean McKenzie |
Resurrection Mary’s Pamela Jean – A Young Leading Lady with a Promising Career
Resurrection Mary‘s Pamela Jean – A Young Leading Lady with a Promising Career
“What makes the story of Resurrection Mary so compelling to folklorists and other historians is the sheer number of documented credible eyewitness sightings of this very mysterious ghost, spanning decades.”
Resurrection Mary, directed by Sean Michael Beyer, is a film about a legendary ghost story about a high school student back in the 1930s. Pamela Jean (aka Pamela Noble), who plays opposite Kevin G. Schmidt, plays the character Mary. At just 18 years old, she made her on-screen debut in the movie’s title role. She has appeared in the short film Social Theory Revised, and has appeared in numerous music videos and commercials. Pamela’s role in this feature film certainly dictates that she has a promising career as a leading lady.
“Resurrection Mary manages to tell a story of ghosts and murder without falling into slasher movie clichés. Peppered with strong performances, Indie audiences who favor character development over gore will enjoy Resurrection Mary.“
—Michael Gavine, LAsThePlace.com—
So, Pamela, this is your first feature film. What is your background as an actress?
I started acting when I was five in television, did some modeling and commercials. When I was eight, I was with an agency and they ripped us off for $8,000.00. So I quit until I was about 13 and decided I wanted to get back into it. I started doing more singing than acting, and then at 14 that’s when I made the switch to doing what I wanted to do, acting. Singing is a lot harder industry to break into than acting. There’s a lot more competition. I do country music and they don’t want me because there are too many young blonde country artists out there right now.
That’s a really interesting statement you make. I’ve never heard that before, for someone to say that it’s harder to break into music than it is to break into acting.
I’ve been told that so many times that no country label is going to take me because there are too many blondes out there. I am not going to dye my hair. I went out on my first audition at eight, and all I did until I graduated from high school was do commercials and music videos.
Your father, Dale Noble, is the Producer? What was it like working with your father on this film?
It was fun. I live out in Fontana, so I’m kind of far away. It was nice to have him around. If I ever needed to talk to somebody, he was right there. I had fun with it. I thought it was a great way to do my first film.
Being that he was the executive producer─and you said it was good to have him there with you─did it also help you with developing character for how you were going to perform in the movie, too?
Not really. When it came to film, I made my own decisions. To my dad and my agent, I always said I want to be in control of my acting career. I wanted to make the big decisions. For instance, when I was younger, I never wanted to be on a soap opera. I never wanted to be on Nickelodeon or a Disney show. There are a couple of actors that come out and they’re big, but some of them don’t do the kind of movies that I personally would be proud of. I want my career to be very broad. That’s one thing my dad knows off the bat. Anything I do in acting, I am going to make the decisions.
[Pertaining to Resurrection Mary], for example, my character Mary, was physically and verbally abused by her boyfriend, and he drank a lot. In the movie, you’ll see if anybody’s drinking around me, I was scared. And I would always fidget with my locket.
Those are always good signs of those films that have character development.
Yeah if you don’t have those, your character isn’t fully developed. Even though my character wasn’t assigned a last name, I gave her one. I gave her a birthday. You have to actually do
those things so you feel like you are her. For example, Mary is very prim and proper and I am a tomboy. [Someone even commented on how different I was from the character in the movie once they met me.]
That makes your characters more 3-dimensional. IsResurrection Mary an Indie film?
Our film’s budget is higher than most Indie films, so they’re calling it something else. It was fully funded right from the beginning.
There are a lot of movies that are Indie films that were hugely funded. For example, Enemy at the Gate was an independent film. Right now there’s only Indie or studio films, but unfortunately sometimes when something’s labeled Indie, people automatically assume low budget. But obviously Resurrection Mary doesn’t really fit into that.
That’s what everyone thinks when they say Indie film. They think the budget is like $80,000.00, and everyone gets the wrong idea.
I guess they need to come up with a new label.
Pamela, where do you see yourself in five years?
My dad and I have talked about this. An up-and-coming director told me he wanted to do an action film with me, which is perfect for me. If I can be running around in shorts and be dirty and shooting guns, that’s perfect. Where do I sign up? He started writing one for me. We’re hoping that’s going to happen next. I’m hoping I can do a very dramatic love story. I always wanted to do a period piece. I always wanted to do some kind of musical because that’s where my passion is, too—it’s singing. I want my career to be very broad.
Being that you are a young actress who has made some very wise choices in your life already and in your career, which is probably going to play out very well in the future because of it, what advice would you give to someone who’s trying to also do the same thing you’re doing?
You have to work hard. Especially for the people in my film, I was basically the newcomer. Kevin Schmidt, who plays Jeff Pryce in the movie, has been in a lot of movies (The Butterfly Effect and Cheaper by the Dozen), and Kristen Herrera (Freedom Writers); and when you’re the lead role and one of the few people that no one really knows where you came from, you 
need to work twice as hard as anyone else. You need to show that you have a place to be in that movie. And that’s what I did. Every single day I was studying for this role, learning my lines. I had to learn a different way to talk. Especially in that kind of film, you have to be very articulate. You just have to work really hard and just be yourself. If you’re going to have the attitude that “I’m better than anyone else,” your career is not going to get far at all.
Is there anything else you’d like to add?
When people see the trailer to Resurrection Mary, they’re just going to think it’s a horror film, but it’s a lot more. At my premiere, people were coming up to me saying how they related to the character. People really need to come and see it, because it’s not just a horror film. It
adds an element that is a lot different than the way most horror or thriller films are made.
Resurrection Mary will be released on DVD August 26, 2008. To learn more about this film, visit www.resurrectionmarythemovie.com.
See the trailer of Resurrection Mary.
Interviewed by Kaylene Peoples
Dawn Westlake – Making Independent Filmmaking Look Easy
Dawn Westlake – Making Independent Filmmaking Look Easy
Dawn Westlake is a graduate from Northwestern University’s Radio-TV-Film program. She has been acting, writing, directing, and producing media and theater in Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Upstate NY, and Northern Portugal. She won the Mark of Excellence Award from the Society of Professional Journalists for a televised interview with former President Jimmy Carter in 1987 and NU’s prestigious Richter Scholarship for a thesis on TV3, Televisió de Catalunya in 1984. She was named a Platinum Filmmaker by Canon USA in 2002 and won an award for personal expression from JVC-Tokyo in 2005. Collectively, Dawn’s seven short films produced under her Ron de Caña Prods., Inc., banner have played on all seven continents and have won 38 international awards. She was named one of the “Top 100” short filmmakers in the world by Cultural Mall in 2008. And if that weren’t enough, Dawn is also fluent in Spanish and proficient in Portuguese and Italian.
How did you get started in filmmaking?
As an actress I’ve been in SAG and AFTRA for about 20 years now and I basically got really frustrated from having no control. People treating you like, don’t let the door hit you in the bottom on the way out. That got old. So I started writing stuff and I thought a producer would
come along, and of course they never did. So then I started producing for myself. After a while, directing. I did my first film (Mini Driver Project) in Portugal.
How is it that you were able to do your first film in Portugal?
I was trying to co-produce a feature film with Spain or some other Mediterranean country. I bought the rights to a very famous Spanish novel, and I was trying to get that done. I was knocking on doors and then knocking my head against the wall. And it wasn’t working out. So a friend of mine told me I needed to have a script and a tape of something I already produced, perhaps here in Portugal, and show that you can command a foreign crew. It didn’t make my co-production dreams come true.
How long does it take for you to write a screenplay?
I’m always writing in my head, so you could say it takes months and years, or if you want to talk about the time that I sit down, not that long—just a couple of days. When I feel like I’m 
ready to shoot, I go to my crew, the Moser brothers. They do a lot of visual effects work, animation for really big shows and studios. When they have free time, that’s when we do my low budget stuff. They always tell me this is the stuff that has meaning. So they like being involved.
Are all of your films shorts?
Yes, they’re all shorts. The shortest one is eight minutes. That’s “The Life of Death” and the longest one is “God’s Good Pleasure.” That’s about 18-1⁄2 minutes.
What has been one of your biggest challenges when shooting your films?
Portugal was challenge because I was so far away from home in a different culture, but I’ve really been fortunate. I haven’t really had any big obstacles. I always work with people that I know I can trust. Also I rarely have ever cast. And what I mean by that is, I write for people I already know. In fact the first time I ever cast is for the most recent film. I cast “The
Grandpa.” I didn’t know anybody of that race in that age group. I couldn’t believe I didn’t know any 60 plus black actors. I put out an ad, and I found this wonderful gentleman, Warren Watkins, took him to lunch, and I didn’t even have him read lines. He was the part.
You seem to have an instinct.
I think I do have an instinct. Creepy sometimes. When I don’t follow my gut, that’s when I usually have problems.
You’re also an actress. Do you act in all of your movies?
Not all of them, but most of them.
What’s your background?
I was always acting as a kid. Then I thought that was not a very serious pursuit, so I went to Northwestern to be a broadcast journalist. And when I got out of school they were laying people off. It was the time of Laurence Tisch at CBS and the big strike at NBC, and there were no jobs. I hit rock bottom and I had always been this overachiever and here I was applying myself, pounding the pavement. People didn’t even want me to script bust or get 
coffee. My then boyfriend, now husband was in my room at my parents’ house and saw all my trophies. He said, “I didn’t know you were an athlete.” I told him the trophies were for acting. He then said, “Why don’t you do that?” I told him it wasn’t a serious career, but he said a lot of people take it really seriously and they do well. So I went back to school and started studying at Second City in Chicago. I did some international commercials and industrials, then moved to San Francisco, did more work, and then came here.
Was it hard finding an agent?
In Chicago not so much, because you can be multi-listed. You could have as many as 12 agents. So it can be exhausting making the rounds. You have a lot of people looking out for you. San Francisco I signed right away. Here . . . yeah, it was very difficult. I also ran into people whose ethics weren’t square with mine. That’s another reason I catapulted into setting my own schedule and taking charge.
As an actress, do you find it helps you with your directing skills?
Oh, definitely. You try to put yourself in their position and try to encourage them to use things from life. Or if you see in their eyes that that might be too painful, you tell them about something in your own life.
I like the fact that you don’t cast. I think you’re getting more authentic performances.
Absolutely! My father wrote and narrated the piece “The Life of Death.” And he’s probably one of my favorite actors. And he’s actually a material scientist. No acting bug ever hit him.
My editors said it was the easiest edit ever. He made his choices and he hit his mark the same every time. It was great working with my dad.
Highest High:
When I finish something and have it in the box with the packaging. That’s the greatest feeling. As far as festivals or awards . . . one thing that was pretty glamorous, I was invited to Taipei in 2004. I was up for what the Taiwanese consider their Oscar, called “Golden Horse.” I was flown there and put up in the Hyatt. One of the guys I competed with ended up winning our Oscar for Best Animated Short. A guy named Steven Hoban, the maker of “Ryan.” [I felt like I arrived.] But I love every festival I’m in. I’m starting to judge festivals now.
What medium do you shoot on, film or digital?
I call myself a filmmaker, but we always shoot mini DV. I’ve used the Canon XL, the Sony
PD150, and the Panasonic DVX 100A. I used to edit on Premiere, but now I edit on Final Cut Pro.
Do you edit your own films?
I’ve not edited my own movies, but I have this hobby doing all these viral vids for revver.com and YouTube.com and those I edit myself.
Lowest Low:
The first film in Portugal. There was this scene that was a health club which we turned into a restaurant that we had to shoot three [separate] times. I ended up making the film, but it took three times. It was either a sound problem or a lighting problem, or all-the-actors-were-fast-asleep problem because it was 4:00 in the morning. I had to beg the manager of the health club three times to let us shoot the scene over.
As an actress, how do you wear both hats?
I have to tip my hat to the Moser brothers and their directing talents. I have a definite way that I want the film to look. I have a definite vision and that all gets explained beforehand. We have a lot of meetings and sometimes storyboards. So when it’s my turn to get in front of the camera, they’re really [good]. It’s all in the preparation. The more you prepare the more relaxed you can be when it’s time to act.
What advice would you give to an aspiring filmmaker?
Just do it. First of all, I don’t think I’m someone who really can give advice because I just think we all make our own paths and do our own things. You might be related to Spielberg, and that’s going to help you . . . . Don’t steal. Be ethical so you can sleep at night. And do get a good sleep at night so you’re not crabby at people. Otherwise, I don’t have advice other than just do it. There’s nothing stopping you.
To learn more about Dawn Westlake, visit her websites atwww.Filmbaby.com/films/2412, www.Rondecana.com, andwww.Dawnwestlake.com.
Interviewed by Kaylene Peoples
Watch the (video) interview with Dawn where she talks about her short films in detail.
Justin Chon—Climbing the Hollywood Ladder One Role at a Time
Justin Chon—Climbing the Hollywood Ladder One Role at a Time
Justin Chon has been acting for six years and has already appeared in countless television shows. He got his first part in television after acting for only two years. He played Tony in the Nickelodeon series “Just Jordan” for two years and appeared in 14 episodes. He also appeared in several other television shows including “The O.C.,” “Wendy Wu: Homecoming Warrior,” and the horror film Hack. Justin Chon opens August 22, in a starring role with Harrison Ford, Sean Penn, Ray Liotta, and Ashley Judd in the Weinstein Company/MGM film, Crossing Over. The film, reminiscent of Crash or Babble, has six intersecting story lines, one of which Justin carries. Chon can also be seen in the upcoming films Balls Out: The Gary Houseman Story with Sean William Scott and Twilight with Kristen Stewart, based on Stephanie Meyer’s book Twilight, coming out this year.
How did you get started acting?
My dad was an actor in South Korea. When I was young, I used to watch his black and white films. I’ve always been interested in acting and entertainment and stuff, but it wasn’t until I had to decide what I was going to do as a profession that I decided to try out acting. I took a few acting classes and decided that it’s something I really enjoyed, so I started to pursue it.
Do you think that the fact that your father was a well-known actor helped you?
Yeah, and what’s really helped is how my parents raised me. It was an extremely artistic household. My mom was a pianist. So she had me playing a bunch of different instruments since I was really young. I played the piano, violin, and the guitar. I was in the high school marching band. We’d watch movies my dad would enjoy and we’d talk about them. And my mom put me in art classes. So we were always [immersed] in the arts. I think that’s really helped me in terms of my acting career. But I didn’t take any acting classes until I got older.
You’re in quite a few movies coming out.
Yeah, I’m in this movie called Twilight, based on the Stephanie Meyer book called Twilight. I play a character called Eric Yorkie, and he’s just this sort of a geeky chess type guy and sort of really over-eager, overachiever. Another movie coming out is with Sean William Scott, and that’s called Balls Out: The Gary Houseman Story, and it’s more of a comedy. I play this guy named Joe Chang, and I’m on the tennis team. They call me the scrapper from the Far East. And I have a movie coming out in August called Crossing Over, starring Sean Penn, Harrison Ford, Ray Liotta, and Ashley Judd, that deals with immigration. There are a lot of different scenarios played out in the movie. There are green card issues, deportation, naturalization. It’s going to be interesting.
Would you say you’ve ever had any challenging roles?
Crossing Over is the most challenging it’s gotten. I have an accent, and I play a character that’s sort of like me, but not really. I’m dealing with material that’s somewhat familiar, but not. It’s a huge mixture of things that made it kind of difficult.
How long did it take you to shoot the movie?
My shooting schedule was about 2-3 weeks. There are a bunch of different story lines.
A lot of people try their hand at acting. They really pursue it really hard, but never quite make it. But you have in what seems like a short period of time. Would you like to share some of the things that you did to help you get past some of the barriers that other people can’t seem to get past?
The thing that I’ve done that has helped my career as well as helped me to excel has been to work really hard. It is just a lot of hard work. Especially being ethnic and a minority, I feel that I just have to try harder than everybody else to compete, also, continue to train. I don’t stop training. I’m always working on material whether I’m shooting or not. You have to have real tenacity and not care what people think. I think people worry [too much] about what people think. And you shouldn’t because it’s your career and it’s your life. And you should take control of your own situation. A lot of people play the blame game. But I try not to think about outside factors and just concentrate on what I’m doing to make it the best I can. And I feel like that’s gotten me to be better than a lot of other people.
Has your father helped you any, like with your style?
He doesn’t really tell me anything like techniques. He just tells me just to make it real, make it natural. Don’t act. Make it like it’s really happening. And that’s a pretty general note, but it’s a hard thing to do. He’s always saying, you got to make it real, just don’t fake anything.
So your family’s been very supportive.
At first they were a little skeptical because until a few years ago you didn’t see that many Asians on film except martial arts people. They were skeptical that it would be hard to make a living doing it. But once I started booking jobs, they started having a little bit more faith for the whole career aspect of it.
So being a young, good-looking, well-known actor, do you have any problem with young ladies throwing themselves at you?
Not really. I don’t think I’m that smooth. If there’s a really cute girl, or hot girl, I get really shy.
I really clam up. I don’t know in that department if it’s really helped me.
So what would a young lady have to do to win your heart?
I think just be upfront, truthful, and real. Down to earth and up for anything. Like let’s go hiking at midnight and drive up to San Bernardino.
So you like somebody who’s adventurous.
Recently I just went to Alaska with no plans. It would be nice to find someone who is adventurous as I am.
Highest High:
The specific breakthroughs I got in terms of acting. When I first started, it was really hard for me to express emotions and to just be really open about things. I always had this dumb smile on my face all the time. The highest high was when I was able to let that go. I was in an acting class and they gave us an exercise and I was able to just let it go. Everything just started coming out. Not forcefully, just naturally. I felt like I was doing what I was supposed to be doing.
Lowest Low:
There have been a lot of lows. Certain parts I had to do. There were a few parts that I wasn’t into that I had to do. There’s a lot of compromising your artistic values for your career. Sometimes you just have to do that. And there’s no shame in it. If no one knows who you are, you’re not going to get hired for bigger things.
Now that you’ve been around for a while, do you feel like you’re compromising a lot less?
No. I don’t think it ever ends. I think there are always bigger and better things out there. There are always people telling you to do something opposite what your heart tells you to do. I don’t think that goes away. But you compromise, unless you want to starve.
Because of the whole Indie filmmaking thing now, a lot of actors create their own scripts and even go out and make their own movies. Do you have any aspirations to do that?
I definitely do. I bought a really nice HD camera, a Panasonic HVX. I got this adapter for 35 mm lenses, got rails and everything. And I’m learning Final Cut Pro. If I have to do things,
just to do them, at the end of the day I can do something for myself. I’ll get my friends and do something that’s artistic.
What kinds of roles would be the perfect role for you as an actor?
I really just like simple, kitchen-sink drama. I like movies that have strong relationships. It doesn’t have to be complicated crime thrillers. I like basic stuff that touches on the human condition—why we are the way we are. When it’s for me, I love to explore those kinds of things because it really gets somewhat introspective. You’ve got to look at yourself, too, and why you do things and try to make logic out of your life.
Let’s take, for example, someone like Bai Ling. She’s huge in China. Do you feel like you have a bigger following in South Korea than you have here?
I think right now I have no following in South Korea. I think that because most of the movies I’ve done have not come out yet. I’m relatively an unknown. Nobody knows who I am. There are a few things that might go through that might involve me with South Korean actors. If that were to happen, then, yes, I think it could grow. But I’m American. I grew up in Orange County. Whether that happens or not, that’s just fate, I guess. But I’m not pushing for it.
Where do you see yourself in five years?
I don’t know because if you would have asked me that question five years ago, I would not say that I’d be here.
Where would you like to see yourself?
I would like to see myself really doing projects that I enjoy, love, and believe in, working with fellow actors that are amazing and working with directors that have clear-cut visions and I am excited about their work. That’s all I ask for.
What would be your dream film that you could star in?
Nick Cassavetes and some Indie movie with no form or structure, or a David Lynch film where you’re just going for the ride and you can’t plan anything. Because a lot of movies are so predictable, with those two directors you would have no idea [what’s going to happen] when you show up on set. Every day would be like, okay, what are we doing?
Do you have an all-time favorite movie?
Yes, directed by Clint Eastwood, A Perfect World. Kevin Costner starred in it. I watched it in fifth grade, and I think it was the first movie that I got emotional—I cried. It was at summer camp in Big Bear—just the fact that a movie can touch you when you’re young. It just made a huge impact on me. It’s a testament to his directing.
To learn more about Justin and his upcoming films, visit his website at www.Justinchon.com.
Interviewed by Kaylene Peoples
Adrianne Curry – Top Model, Television Personality—Next Stop . . . Author!
Adrianne Curry – Top Model, Television Personality—Next Stop . . . Author!
Adrianne Curry was the first winner of “America’s Next Top Model.” After one year she went on to star in the television reality show “The Surreal Life,” where she met her husband, former Brady Bunch cast member Peter Brady. Their union spun off to the highest rated VH-1 show “My Fair Brady.” Adrianne appeared on such television sitcoms as ABC‘s “Hot Properties” and UPN’s “Half and Half,” among others. She has taken on the big screen as well, in films such as Worlds Apartand Fallen Angels. Her modeling career has extended to include campaigns and runway shows for Famous Stars and Straps, Beverly Hills Choppers, Jaime by Jaime Presley, Cuffz by Linz, and Ed Hardy, to name a few. Adrianne has landed pictorials in Marie Claire, Sync, and Maxim, where she also made the prestigious “Maxim Hot 100” list of the world’s most beautiful women. She’s even writing a book.
I visited Adrianne at her South Bay home, where she and her husband were still in the process of decorating. Her two cats hung around, occasionally scrapping as we chatted about her career. Adrianne shared with me very candidly what she’s been up to since “Top Model.”
I followed “America’s Next Top Model (ANTM)” so I kind of know how you got your start. Why don’t you enlighten our readers on what you’ve been doing since you won.
Since I won in 2003, I’ve been keeping pretty busy with reality television . . . and some modeling here and there.
What was it like to win ANTM?
Winning “Top Model” for me was absolutely life-changing. I don’t know how to describe it. I had a life that was kind of almost living in hopelessness to having hope in my life. It took a while to get things going [after my win]. I got shipped off to Europe and traveled the world. I got put with an agency, [which] wasn’t a fan of the show [and I was] in a two-year deal, so I had to fight through that. [As a result I went on “The Surreal Life”] and started my television career. I met my husband Christopher Knight on that show. But that’s okay because at least I didn’t meet my husband on one of those loser dating shows. I’d walk in and say, “You’re going to make your decision now! Either you’re gonna come after me or I’m leaving, ‘cause I am not going to be your whore. Sorry Guy.” She laughs.
“The Surreal Life” branched off to three seasons so far of “My Fair Brady.” We’re one of VH1’s highest rated shows. Did celebrity paranormal project. I did a cameo in a few shows. I
was on “Dirt” with Courtney Cox, “Hot Properties,” which used to be on ABC. Right now I am in the middle of writing a book and really close to closing a show deal to start producing and creating my own shows.
Tell me about your book.
It’s basically about the story of my life. I had a really troubled youth, huge drug and self-esteem problems. I was into self-mutilation. I’m really opening the floodgates, and I’m hoping that I’ll be able to help other people that are going through the same thing. I feel confident in writing it because even though it’s a dark story, it has an amazing ending. So it will uplift at the end. But it’s taken a toll on me. You get into really heavy stuff. There are things I hadn’t really talked about with my friends. I just recently called them up to tell them I was writing a book [and what it was about] and there was just this stunned silence. After the silence the normal response was, “Yeah, now that you say that, I could see that was probably happening with you. I didn’t even think it through. But now that I’m older, it makes sense.”
One year I went to school as Marilyn Manson, and I cut myself all up just like he used to. And everyone thought [my costume looked so real] and they jabbed me in these cuts and I would react “ough!” It was crazy. Who does that? Me. (Laughs). So I’m writing a book about it.
If you’re doing it, so are other people.
I know. Self-mutilation is a big problem. The problem is it feeds you temporary relief. It’s 
really strange. When you’re feeling a lot of pain inside, you cut yourself. It’s like punishing yourself to feel better, and it’s not a good thing. It can come in all forms—people who verbally beat themselves up to people who physically beat themselves up.
You’re going to help a lot of young people. As one of the top bloggers on Myspace, you already have an audience for this book.
Out of a million blogs on Myspace, I’m always in the top 5, and they do a million blogs a day. I think my book will appeal to more than just my fans. If anyone wants to just look into the life of a child raised from abuse—though mine didn’t come from my family, thank God—I’ll be able to show what parents can look for in their kids. They’ll know their kids are [messed] up and that they need to help them. And I think that’s good.
Is your family very supportive of what you’re doing now?
My family is very supportive of anything I decide to do. A lot of them are very religious and they don’t always agree with what I’m doing, but they always support me. And I would say 
that’s probably one of the most important things. So I would say that I am blessed that I have a family that most people would envy. But I always get [in trouble] all the time for things I say in the press [especially with my grandma].
Tell me about your husband.
My husband, Christopher Knight, was in “The Brady Bunch.” He played Peter Brady. We’ve been married two years. I never liked “The Brady Bunch.” Thought they were kind of lame. So I married one. That’s what’s funny about it.
Do you have any aspirations to get on the big screen at all?
I don’t have any aspirations to become an actor. If someone wants a cameo where I can be myself . . . fine. I’ve carved a niche of being a personality. If there’s a fun movie like Scary Movie, sure! Am I the next Angelina Jolie? Hell no! My realistic dreams and aspirations are to get more behind the lens so that I can be in front or behind. And once the front dies, I will have all the experience of being behind. I’ve been a co-executive producer and producer. I really want to learn those ropes. I think that’s a more realistic expectation than acting alongside Bruce Willis. I love being myself. Why would I want to sit there for months on end pretending to be somebody else?
Highest High
Not the day that I got my first Playboy cover,because that was pretty big, but the day I got my second Playboycover, because this was a magazine that Cindy Crawford had posed in, that huge stars have posed in. And to be in that magazine before, God forbid anything happens to Hugh Hefner, I was a part of that. And no matter what happens to me in my life, I’m going to have that and say, “I was a part of that.” I’ll be 90 years old saying, “Your grandma was smoking back in the day! Come look at these pictures, yeah!”—Especially since they came out so artistic. I was looking to accentuate the modelesque features. My second spread was all European-looking with rich French interiors and just wearing long flowing
robes and lush shoes and materials. Everything was designer, and that’s what I was going for when I saw it. It was so Vogue. To work with Stephen Wayda was absolutely amazing. He totally got my vision of who I was and what I needed to portray. I wanted a story, which I got with each shoot. It was awesome.
What about the second Playboy shoot?
The second shoot was very Helmut Newtonesque, very Stanley Kubrick Eyes Wide Shut. It was just lush and rich, voyeuristic and grand. It’s probably the best work that I’ve ever done.
What’s the most interesting shoot that you’ve done besidesPlayboy?
The most interesting shoot that I’ve done was for Merit Diamond and their Sirena collection. And we filmed underwater. For an entire night I had an oxygen tank and a regulator at the bottom of the pool with weights on my calves. I couldn’t see anything. I was under there for so long, I came up at the end of the night and I just puked all over the outside of this pool 
because my equilibrium was off. We had divers there instructing us what was good and what was not good for me, and they got really mad because at the end of the commercial they wanted me swimming from the bottom of the pool and bursting out of the pool. Well, the first you know about diving is you can’t do that. You have to slowly come up, equalize, I didn’t do that and that’s what got me so sick. I kept bursting out [over and over again]—I’m a mermaid . . . I puked everywhere, and everyone was so grossed out. I’m in the pool and everyone’s in wetsuits, and I asked them what did they do when they had to go to the bathroom? They all smiled [devilishly] and I was like [gross], my mouth has to be open under water! That was the craziest shoot I ever did. It was really elaborate and everything was so strange, but we did have a great time. That was in Florida about three years ago.
You still do a lot of modeling now?
I haven’t been signed to an agency in a very long time. I only take the modeling that comes to me. I loved modeling from Travis Barker’s line, Stars and Straps, because it was so edgy and rocker.
So you really have just moved 100% into television?
Absolutely! First of all I’m 25 years old. That’s way too old for this industry. Most models last until they’re 21 and they’re thrown away. But I’m going to do things in this industry from being who I am. As I was flipping through Fredericks of Hollywood, I thought I would like to do this. They have really cleaned up their image. They’re very Victoria Secret. I like it, but they’re edgier. They’re me. I have Frederick’s everything. I said, “Maybe I should call them.” Realistically, I’m not pin-thin anymore. I can’t do the runways in New York anymore. I tortured myself to walk the ones that I did. I hadn’t eaten in like three weeks, and I’m walking down the runway all gaunt, dying, and that’s just not for me. And it’s so great to be able to go on television, make money from that and [instead] let modeling be something that’s fun. But I’m probably going to sign with another agency soon. I like Ford. I just had a bad experience with my last one because they were angry with “Top Model” so they took it out on me. And that was ugly.
Lowest Low:
I was in Cape Town, South Africa [and got treated so badly there. They actually told me they wanted to stick it to “Top Model”] and I was stuck in this two-year contract. I ran out of money and they wouldn’t even get any of my money wired to me. I had to ask my mother, who couldn’t afford it, could I have some money. I wrote Tyra Banks, and I had asked for her advice before. She was my angel when I won “Top Model.” I saw her as a deity that saved my life and I really respected her. I loved her and I thought that she was my friend. But then the realization that it was all just TV hit me when the advice wasn’t forthcoming. I got so frustrated and angry, I wrote her hate mail. I just felt so down. My career was over. I had no money. I thought, she’s not even going to help me or even give me any advice, so I wrote . . . an angry letter. Then I went home and didn’t know what I was going to do until I heard about that show “The Surreal Life.” I saw how it had resurrected other careers. It had been one year since I won “Top Model” and I was already old news. No one cared about me. And I decided to go on the show, and things changed. But that was the lowest of the lows for me. Because I really thought it was over. In fact I had packed up, moved back home to Joliet, Illinois, and was living there for four months before I got the gig for “The Surreal Life.” I had at least traveled the world, but it took all my money.
What advice would you give to those trying to pursue their dream?
Always have a backup plan. My plan when this is all over is to go to college. Don’t let this industry destroy you, because it eats souls for a living, especially the modeling world. I remember I was running up and down subway stairs to get to castings, and I had really built up my thighs. I didn’t mean to. It just happens. They told me, “Oh my God, look how fat your thighs have gotten.” I said, “Get over here. Touch it. It’s like a rock! That’s not fat.” All they could say was I needed to lose it. So I asked them if they were going to buy me a car with a chauffeur. Otherwise, it’s not going anywhere. They’re very harsh. And you have to be a really strong person.
Visit the following websites to learn more about Adrianne Curry:www.adriannemcurry.com and www.myspace.com/adricurry.
Interviewed by Kaylene Peoples
