More on "Whip it"
Barrymore whips out directorial skills
By Bob Thompson, Canwest News Service September 13, 2009...
Barrymore talks about her directorial debut with Whip It, showcased as a world premiere Saturday at the Toronto International Film Festival.Photograph by: Whip It!, Fox Searchlight Pictures (TORONTO - So far, it's been a very good year for Drew Barrymore. And she's hoping the trend continues.
Last winter, she co-produced and co-starred in the dramatized film version of the best-selling self-help book He's Just Not That Into You, which received decent reviews and performed well at the box office.
Barrymore might even win a best actress Emmy at the Sept. 20 awards show for her role opposite Jessica Lange in HBO's Grey Gardens.
Now there's the little matter of her directorial debut with Whip It, showcased as a world premiere Saturday at the Toronto International Film Festival and opening in theatres Oct. 2.
"I haven't relished in that 'positivity,' I just keep my head down," noted 34-year-old Barrymore, a few hours before the special presentation of her film, which she also co-starred in and co-produced.
Based on the Shauna Cross's novel, Whip It features Halifax's Ellen Page portraying Bliss Cavendar, a Texas teen who tries to rebel against her beauty pageant-obsessed mother by competing in a raunchy female roller-derby league.
While the Juno Oscar-nominee is the headliner, she has lots of support from the ensemble cast, including Barrymore, who couldn't resist portraying the teen's buddy and policeman on the squad, Smashly Simpson.
Of course, multi-tasking is nothing new for Barrymore.
"I have been producing for 15 years," she noted. But she admitted the responsibility for all things Whip It was far more intense. "It does change when you are in the driver's seat," she said of directing.
Lucky for her, she was also heavily involved in casting, so she surrounded herself with friends, colleagues and folks she knew were talented in their own right but "willing to be part of the tribe."
And, if she needed a reality kick, she always had novelist and Whip It screenwriter Cross on set for referencing. Cross, besides a talented writer, moonlighted as Maggie Mayhem, a star on the roller-derby circuit.
Certainly, Page and the roller-derby cast were required to attend a roller-skating camp to give the movie more authenticity. Page, reported Barrymore, was especially adept thanks to her athletic co-ordination and her ice skating past as a bona fide Canadian.
The rest of the actors had varying degrees of success, but Barrymore said they all suffered from bumps and bruises.
The director said her cast choices had more to do with acting prowess and comedy timing than roller-skating co-ordination.
For example, Saturday Night Live's Kristen Wiig is front and centre as mentor Malice in Wonderland. Singer Eve takes a spin as Rosa Sparks, while Zoe Bell (Uma Thurman's stunt double in the Kill Bill movies) does her best Bloody Holly. And Juliette Lewis (Old School) does a great turn as rival Iron Maven.
Andrew Wilson, Owen and Luke Wilson's older brother, gets laughs as the hippy-dippy coach. So does Jimmy Fallon (he co-starred with Barrymore in Fever Pitch) as the tacky roller-derby MC. Alia Shawkat, best known as Maeby from Arrested Development, is solid as Bliss's best friend.
What might surprise filmgoers is this: despite the rollicking farcical tone, Barrymore's keen focus on the mother (Oscar-honoured Marcia Gay Harden) and daughter (Page) relationship is heartfelt, helped along by Daniel Stern's understated dad and husband.
"I know all about the heartache and the emotions of mother-daughter relationships," said Barrymore, who grew up with an erratic one as a child actor.
In the end, she's hoping filmgoers will appreciate Whip It's delicate balance of both comedy and drama minus "the typical Hollywood ending." That's one of the main reasons she didn't get obvious and use Devo's Whip It song in the film.
On another Barrymore front, she suggested a third Charlie's Angels film is still on the back burner. She organized the remake of the 1970s TV series, also featuring Cameron Diaz and Lucy Liu almost a decade go. In 2006, the second one, Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle, was slammed by critics but earned $260 million US globally.
But fans might have to wait a few more years for a third. She doesn't have a script or director for number three, only enthusiasm. But she insisted, one more Angels' picture will be made. "Even if we're in wheelchairs," said Barrymore, smiling.
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