Juliette Lewis & Giovanni Ribisi - March 1999

down with Juliet Lewis and Giovani risi the stars of the new film The Other Sister check this out hi you guys hello you like that really good transition yeah you guys have been in a couple movies and a couple of TV shows together right yeah wait what didn't you do Wonder Years together and oh no yeah that we didn't do that together we you were both in it yeah yeah I think she was a little before me that but um yeah we did this other movie that my sister wrote and and she was in it and I was in it with a couple other people well you guys really touched me in this movie oh thanks touching touching and lovable characters that kind of make you cry and laugh both yeah yeah how freaky was that freaky I was how freaky was it to play somebody who's um you know challenged and different I was scared to death when I first uh because this is the type of role that's so easy to do bad yeah and if you do it bad boy you're just getting humiliate yourself so and that's the thing with acting is you can really humiliate yourself but um um this but but you didn't you lifted you lifted that uh you lifted that character up well thank you I credit Gary for finessing my performance and really this was the first time I could trust the director not trust because I've worked with great directors but I mean where I really had to depend on him and rely on him that he would sort of guide me keep you sweet and not make you a caricature yeah yeah yeah and keep it honest yeah and and it seems like it did that with what I the impression that I got from it it didn't never it never felt offensive or as a caricature yeah I think that you I mean I I don't think we even focused on being you know like the politically correct thing or being you know like you know being careful it was mainly I mean we actually talked about you know the idea of that if there's not humor then it's going to be really Mel melodramatic and kind of like over over sentimentalized is that right yeah and um what what do you think that the playing um these people this couple this young couple what what message did you hope to send to I guess the IND in the world about like a new Direction in your career or a new level that you found as an artist or what can I answer that yeah go off okay me cuz it was the I think it was a a big chance you let me tell this is the most personal um uh performance I've ever given and that I've was so connected to it personally because of natural and Killers was so I think I think that was the biggest movie I've done so um meaning the most people saw it and because of the power of Oliver Stone he's such a um sort of powerful filmmaker so people identified me as the wild girl the freakout girl and that's actually not my sensibility my sensibility is more like Carla if you must know the truth I am Carla Tage you know I'm I'm well I was just watching a real synthesis of of you as an actor and you still got like the big wild you know that scene where you were really mad at him yeah I I saw a little bit of vestage of like Natural Born Killers in that in that I well if you must in volume like I I was gifted with a big voice as you know too CU you got a great Boys Yourself where we can it's nice to be able to let but you big emotion too it was just the boys I mean it was huge emotion and a such a a different a thing in the beginning of kind of a real sweet I was thinking that's why she took this role that's what I thought oh well I took it because of well because of what I was saying before it's the antithesis of earlier projects but also because in taking time off I fell in love with acting again and I got to I never was in love with it before I never understood my talent so I got to come back and be challenged in this way and uh absolutely this this project is meaty so actually that seen before they argue where I they stop laughing at me and this stuff that's the most emotion that's ever shot up through my body and been Unleashed and it's very uncomfortable for me to watch my whole body goes like this cuz it was so much yeah there was a lot of pain in it yeah let's finish our chat with Juliet Lewis and Giovani risi where'd you go when you took time off I went to I ran it have see um printed reports they'll never report it correctly they just won't it's sort of an inability that they have but well there's a law that they're not allowed to tell the truth did you not know a law oh good stuff W glad to know that I love that it's in the law the media that must follow well so I went to Florida and rented a house there and lived on the beach for about a couple years I did a number of things to help myself but I was renting a house there and then till where I felt strong and like my head was out of the sand and sort of looking around I got reinter interested in life and in a way I never was before you know I kind of grew kind of from 21 22 to 25 you were young to be well you're both really young to be playing decimated and devastated characters aren't you well yeah I don't know I guess I mean the characters are young and so I mean it was just the thing of like being trying to find out about that life I guess and those you know the just getting into the practicalities of you know the speech and the walk and and well I can see some of your role in this movie The Other Sister there was a little bit of a trail right back to Private Ryan too oh yeah yeah I could see like you were wait those two roles I could see you kind of analogous to each other yeah um could see some parts of it in there yeah I guess there's like a distance in you know in kind of like where the mind is well I'm just just in a nosy way what the hell's in your head to come up with these two characters um I don't know I guess just trying to I mean how innocent and like optimistic a person must you be to to be uh to go um you better answer the question how to answer it um I mean there's just a sweetness and an innocence and a kind of a just a optimism that you don't see a lot of actors oh thanks yeah um I guess it was just I just kind of being inspired both movies there was like a similarity um cuz my wife was pregnant uh during Saving Private Ryan and then her the my daughter was born actually over that movie and then um I went right from that into the other sister and uh I I guess that maybe that's the only thing that I can think of you know my you're just in a real positive place in your life that you brought that into your work yeah and just seeing you know this inspirational being there who's just got this new life to live and well both of you guys are into Scientology right that's what she was getting because yeah because I'm so fascinated by Scientology because I find it to be a really positive thing and I know a lot of people and I know um I heard that you both were there and you want to say anything good about it since it's always under considerable attack no I absolutely feel cuz that's it was funny and the article I did it's hard to not mention that's all I did I did nothing but Scientology for a year and a half so I did courses and various counseling you do to sort of uncover your past and repair things that upset you you know what I mean I do know what you mean and then to look into the future to be a to get out of thinking about the past and be reinvigorated towards life and that's like to Slough off the old skin and get reborn right yeah that's exactly what it was I'm glad for you because I think you have a like a very very deep well of of talent that I think you're probably only just starting to tap in a positive way in you too oh thank you I'm just saying that from somebody who sees stuff thanks I feeling I just I know feel like that's a huge you're not going to be a psychic now are you that's my why not get crazy not be married to a psych no but I just when I watched I just felt and I mean I guess that's oh thank you that's really a compliment especially coming from you thank you thank you thank you I wish you best the I wish you both the best and I'm I'm really glad that you came and talked to me thank you onward into the future thank you meet thank you you're f coming