411 Movies Interview: Amanda Detmer of Saving Silverman and Final Destination

Posted by Tony Farinella on 07.03.2007

411's Tony Farinella sits down with Amanda Detmer to discuss her new film, which hits DVD on July 3rd.



TONY: What were your initial thoughts on the script for Jam ?

AMANDA: It's really hard to do Independent films, because there's no money, basically. That's like the first problem. When you read a script that's Independent like this and you can see that it can be done for little money, you're excited. It was also an actor's piece. It was about what was going on between the actors. I liked that it was an ensemble. I really liked the character and what she was going through.

TONY: Speaking of your character in the film, how did you want her to come across on screen?

AMANDA: I had been through kind of a similar situation where you're literally on that last ride to the end of getting married to somebody that might not be the right person for you. I wanted to make sure that I did the character justice. It is a really hard decision to make to not go through with something that's been planned. It happens so often nowadays, because people spend so much money and all these other people are involved. You really have to make sure that you're the one making the decision, and you're not making it for the sake of others. I wanted to make sure that came through. I wanted to show how difficult that is. I just wanted it to be real and not push it too far over the top. I really wanted it to be grounded in my own situation, yet make it different and funny and heartfelt. I think we always have to find the humor in situations, and that's how we get through things.

TONY: Since this was an ensemble piece, what was it like on set?

AMANDA: It's funny, because I did a radio show yesterday with one of the actresses in the movie. We only met because we happen to be on the set on the same day. I only shot about three days of the three weeks, which Craig reminded me of. I don't remember that at all! It felt like I was there every day. It's very long and very tough, no matter how few days you shoot. I didn't meet most of the cast. I had met Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Tess Harper. I never met William Forsythe or Marianne Jean-Baptiste, who I would have loved to have met. They had it going pretty well. They had a pretty tight ship going, because we were all working on other things as well.

TONY: I'm sure Jam is going to draw comparisons to Crash, which won the Oscar for Best Picture in 2006. How do you think Jam is similar and also different from Crash?

AMANDA: You are going to be very upset with me, because I never saw Crash.

TONY: Oh my! Wow!

AMANDA: I know! I'm terrible. I have it in my house, actually. I've never watched it. Whenever I go and rent a movie, I think: "I should have watched that." I've also never seen Little Miss Sunshine. I'm a horrible, horrible actress and person. (laughs)

TONY: What's your most vivid memory from shooting Jam?

AMANDA: The bees. We had this problem with these bees up in Griffith Park, which is where we shot the film. It was very, very hot. There were bees everywhere. There were swarms of bees all around us. There were people who got stung as much as fifty times. I was terrified. I said: "If one of those bees stings me, I gotta go." I'm really allergic. They just followed us everywhere. No one knew what to do about it. It was the weirdest thing. These bees followed us everywhere we went.



TONY: Is there a certain genre that you prefer to act in?

AMANDA: I'm really open. I think you have to be. Thankfully, with some hard work, I've been able to do comedy and drama. I consider myself lucky that I'm able to do both. I sometimes now get put in the comedy category all the time. With the TV show that I did, they allowed me to do some drama. You have to really work hard to show everyone that you can span all areas, which is way more fun as an actor. Who wants to do one thing over and over again? I don't!

TONY: What was it like working on Final Destination?

AMANDA: So much fun! I hear that all the time. When you're doing scary movies, you have to have fun. Otherwise, it's just too scary. I will say that shooting on a plane for eight day, that was really tough. We would shoot like eighteen hours a day. All the extras were puking everywhere. It was really bizarre. That was probably the hardest part of it and the scariest part. It ruined flying for me for a good while.

TONY: What's the biggest difference between filming movies and filming television?

AMANDA: The speed, really. I think a lot of people say that. It depends on what kind of film you're doing. With big budget movies, you move a lot slower. I think television has fallen somewhere in between big budget and no budget Independent. With Jam, we shot so fast and so furious. It was practically guerrilla shooting. A lot of it was: "Well, let's hope this works. The sun is going down, so let's get in the car and roll the camera." You had people running around like crazy. It's very fast to do a low budget movie.

TONY: How did your education help shape you as an actress?

AMANDA: At Chico State, I never thought being an actor was a good idea. I'm still not sure that it is! I started doing theater there. There are so many talented people there. When I do a movie like Jam, it's so similar to going back to where you were when you started. Everybody is doing it for free, and nobody's making any money. They're there for the love of it. I just fell in love with it. I couldn't picture doing anything else. I tried. As far as NYU, it kicked my butt! It breaks you down and builds you back up. All those stories are true. It was really tough. I learned how to be a professional actress.

TONY: How have you stayed out of trouble in Hollywood?

AMANDA: It's tough. I honestly have a lot of sympathy for some of these girls. I don't think you can keep making the same mistakes and garner any sympathy. I don't believe in that. I would be fearful had I been here at the age of twenty for my life. I don't know if I would have made it. It's very hard here. There's a lot of pressure. Fame is very difficult to handle. I got here when I was older. I didn't make it to Hollywood until I was in my late twenties. I worked and paid for both of my educations and both of my degrees. I didn't really have time to mess around. I had to put the blinders on and go forward. I certainly allowed myself some fun in between. Honestly, the scene has never interested me. That was easy to stay away from.



TONY: What was it like working with Amanda Bynes on Big Fat Liar ?

AMANDA: She's the sweetest, sweetest thing on earth. She was in the beginning of her career when I worked with her. Now, obviously, she's grown and matured. She has a lot of raw and natural talent. It's much more defined now. Because she was so young and coming off her show on Nickelodeon, she would always come over and ask for suggestions. We were allowed to improv on Big Fat Liar. A lot of what I gave to her, it ended up in the movie. It was fun.

TONY: How hard was it to say goodbye to What about Brian ?

AMANDA: I didn't want to say goodbye to it at all. There's nothing quite like having the security of a regular job. I had never experienced that before. It felt like this weight had been lifted off my shoulders. As soon as they canceled it, it felt like it came back on. I was not happy to say goodbye. We are all still close. We still talk on the phone, and we're still friends. I tend to invest a lot into what I do and the people that I'm doing it with. I was really sad. Now, it's been a while and we've maintained our friendships, so I feel OK about it. I didn't want to say goodbye to everybody.

TONY: On IMDB, you are listed in the credits for You, Me, and Dupree as Annie. After watching the film, some of your scenes looked like they were cut. What happened with You, Me, and Dupree ?

AMANDA: Some or all? (laughs) It was a disappointment to say the least. I couldn't really argue. They handled it well. I have seen situations that weren't handled well like that. I got all kinds of phone calls. Basically, it came down to a choice between Amanda Detmer's screentime or Michael Douglas' screentime. You can imagine who won. It wasn't me. I took it kind of hard at first. You get over it in a couple of days. We've all ended up on the cutting room floor.

TONY: What was it like working on Saving Silverman?

AMANDA: Saving Silverman was really fun. I got to work with Neil Diamond. How can you really top that? I always think to myself: "If it ever gets better than this, I've come a long way." I said the same thing when I worked with Jim Carrey. I try to take those moments and go with them. Shooting the movie was even more fun than what you even saw, which was really funny and great. We had too much fun. Sometimes we would get in trouble, because we were having too much fun. They would be like: "Alright, it's time to shut up!" You also had Jack Black and Steve Zahn, who are improvisational geniuses. It's really hard to keep a straight face. We messed around a lot and had a really good time. We watched each other's work and laughed. It was really fun.

TONY: Finally, what are your plans for the future?

AMANDA: I hope to be working for ABC again soon. We'll see. I'm sticking with my ABC network. I think they're great people to work for. I'd love to do another show. It's been a tough time. Times are tough for everyone. I'm back to hitting the streets. I'm going on auditions every week. Good ones, but we'll see. I don't know what the future holds yet.