Q&A with Cameron Diaz and Toni Collette

Anwar Brett catches up with the stars of Curtis Hanson's new film, 'In Her Shoes'.

Nov 15 2005

Cameron Diaz and Toni Collette discuss retirement communities, shoes and working with screen legend Shirley MacLaine in new comedy-drama 'In Her Shoes'.

Cameron, how easy was it to get under the skin of a character who's so messed up, and at the beginning, so unpleasant?

Diaz: 'Well first off we started we had such a wonderful script, it was so well written and so clear who the characters were. Also the book provided a lot of the background. And then of course the process of rehearsal is such a great place of discovery, working with [director] Curtis Hanson, with Toni, with Shirley MacLaine. You just kind of process through what it would be like to be that character, it's something that I could of course relate to in some aspects. Being a young woman trying to find her way through the world and not always being completely secure with myself. Maggie's issues were really much more intense and convoluted and more dire than mine, but I think it's something we all go through in life, that journey of finding yourself. So I could empathize through that experience.'

Toni, your character is as uptight as Cameron's is wild, with this quality expressed by her buying beautiful shoes and keeping them all in their boxes.

Collette: 'In Rose's case it represents a fantasy life that she's hoping to partake in at some point in the near future. I guess what I loved about Rose is that she went from a shoe stroker by night to a shoe strutter by day.'

Did you ever get Shirley MacLaine to give you any career advice?

Collette: 'She's a very strong woman, you can sense certain things without her being so direct. She told some great old stories. And I think that the honesty that she lives her life with also comes across in her work and that’s probably what's given her such longevity in the industry. Look at performances in films she's done decades ago and they're such contemporary performances. Other people in the films kind of seem wooden compared to her. You could take her out of the film then and put her in a film now and it's completely applicable. But you absorb something from everyone you encounter in life.'

Diaz: 'She definitely bridged the gap between us. Every time Toni and I are asked about Shirley we say is how interested and interesting she is. But mostly how interested she is in every aspect of life, from popular culture to politics to art. Anything that's going on at the moment that we could talk about, there was conversation.'

How was it sharing scenes with the older cast members, in the retirement community scenes?

Diaz: 'There's something to be said for all our actors who were in this film, they were so full of life. I think the success of each one of them is that they're constantly embracing life. Making a movie is not a leisurely process, it's hard work, it's long hours and to work with each actor and have the amount of energy and understanding they had is inspirational. It's wonderful to be around a community of people who know themselves so well, understand the world so well and are able to be generous with you.'

One final thing, how many pairs of shoes do you own?

Collette: 'I don't know how many pairs of shoes I own which is probably quite revealing in itself.'

Diaz: 'I too have no idea of the actual amount of shoes that I have in my closet. But I do at least like to take them out of the boxes and put them up on the shelf so I can see them.'

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