[[CANDIDS]] Street style

On a frosty evening in Hollywood, Selma Blair cloaks herself in London's charm with a stunning tweed poncho.



aca

[[MEDIA-VIDEO]] Selma Blair And Boyfriend Mikey Day Return Home

X17 Xclusive - November 21, 2009: We spotted couple Selma Blair and Mikey Day returning home together on a sunny Saturday afternoon in Los Angeles.

[[APARICIONES PUBLICAS]] Dinner Bvulgari

Selma Blair, Woman of Simple Tastes?

November 20, 2009 5:41 pm

It was a reunion of sorts: Ginnifer Goodwin, Selma Blair, a host of fabulous Bulgari jewels, and me. The occasion was Bulgari’s dinner at L.A.’s Sunset Tower last night, in honor of the upcoming Christie’s auction of the Italian jewelry house’s 125th Anniversary Collection. It was just six months ago that we’d all celebrated Bulgari’s milestone birthday in Rome. Any favorite pieces? Of course. “I’m just a simple girl—I’ll go for the rubellite tourmaline and diamond ring, 37 carats,” Blair deadpanned. (It certainly wouldn’t have been out of place in more-is-more Houston, where she just finished a run in the new play Gruesome Playground Injuries; we hear its next stop is Broadway.) Goodwin, in a Rebecca Minkoff blouse and Antonio Berardi skirt, made sure to tell her boyfriend, Joey Kern, “I would bid on any and all of the Serpent bracelets.” They won’t be cheap, but at least they’ll be virtuous: The auction profits go to benefit Save the Children’s Rewrite the Future campaign, providing funds for the education of children living in war zones and other areas of conflict.

—Cameron Silver

Photo: Donato Sardella, Getty Images

tags: Bulgari, Ginnifer Goodwin, Rebecca Minkoff, Selma Blair

aca

[[APARICIONES PUBLICAS]] Gold carats for a worthy cause

• Cassandra Murnieks
• From: The Australian
• December 01, 2009 7:25PM

BLACK and white was the theme of an elegant dinner Bulgari hosted at the Sunset Tower Hotel in Los Angeles last month.

The scent of white gardenias filled the hotel's Terrace Room as A-list celebrities mingled around black mirrored tables and white lounges scattered with black and white cushions.

Bulgari vice-chairman Nicola Bulgari, Ben Stiller, Ginnifer Goodwin, Maria Shriver, Rosanna Arquette and Selma Blair were among the crowd invited to celebrate the 125th anniversary of the venerable Italian house on November 19.

The party was the second gathering for the elite jeweller staged in a fortnight, following a cocktail soiree the week before in Miami, at which guests such as Jennifer Lopez, Gloria Estefan and music executive Tommy Mottola sipped champagne and viewed some of the company's creations.

But the two events had a purpose beyond the usual branding and celebrity endorsement opportunities such companies often seek from them.

Both were staged to preview a $5 million collection of the jewellery and watches Bulgari is auctioning in New York next month, with all funds raised from the sale to be donated to Save the Children's Rewrite the Future campaign, dedicated to providing quality education for eight million children living in conflict-affected parts of the world.

"For Bulgari, being part of history and at the same time being able to help change it by giving less fortunate people the possibility of a new future is the best possible way of celebrating its 125 years," says Francesco Trapani, Bulgari Group's chief executive.

The Italian jewellery powerhouse originally announced its support of Rewrite the Future in October last year, donating E1m ($1.6m) towards the cause immediately and pledging an overall goal of E10m to be gathered through a series of fundraising initiatives, including the jewellery auction through Christie's at Rockefeller Plaza next Tuesday.

A silver ring with the Bulgari branding was also created to support the campaign, with a percentage of worldwide sales from each ring going to Rewrite the Future.

Italian photographer Fabrizzio Ferri donated his time to shoot a campaign to promote the initiative, starring Willem Dafoe, Jason Lewis, Ben Stiller and Isabella Rossellini all wearing the ring.

The collection to be auctioned in New York, which was first revealed in May at Bulgari's first retrospective exhibition at the Palazzo delle Esposizioni in Rome, is the centrepiece of the ambitious plan.

Since then it has toured the world, making pit stops in cities including Shanghai, London, Sydney and Los Angeles on its way to New York, where the jewels and watches will be on display in Bulgari's Fifth Avenue flagship before heading to Christie's.

The auction will feature 11 exclusive jewellery pieces and seven timepieces, some made for the auction and others to celebrate the anniversary.

The most expensive item is a multicoloured sapphire and diamond necklace with a retail value of $US1.05m ($1.14m).

The show stopper comprises 169 sapphires of differing size and colour, totalling 400 carats sprinkled through 951 brilliantly cut diamonds, forming a collar-like necklace with a slightly Egyptian appearance.

Its variety of colour, gems and cuts is emblematic of the Bulgari aesthetic, which is also exemplified by a sapphire and diamond ring designed around a rare cabochon-cut purple star sapphire with a total weight of 60 carats, flanked on by tapered baguette-cut diamonds.

Another highlight is the Lucea, a striking white gold necklace with diamonds totalling 84 carats. Seven rows of circular and square-shaped diamonds end with a fringe of large marquise and circular-cut diamonds in the piece worn by Brazilian model Gisele Bundchen in another of Ferri's campaigns for the house.

Earrings, diamond-studded watches, bracelets and rings make up the remainder of the collection to go under the hammer for Save the Children.

"I am convinced that we will succeed in achieving, and hopefully in exceeding, the ambitious target we have set ourselves," Trapani says.

[[CANDIDS]] Selma on a gas station in Los Angeles

[[GRUESOME PLAYGROUND INJURIES]] "Injuries" playwright wins national award

Rajiv Joseph, whose play "Gruesome Playground Injuries" is enjoying its world premiere at the Alley Theatre, has won the 2009 Whiting Writers Award in the playwriting category.

The awards, of $50,000 each in ten categories, have been given annually since 1985 by the Mrs. Giles Whiting Foundation to honor writers showing "exceptional talent and promise in early career." This year's awards were presented last week in New York.

"Gruesome Playground Injuries," Joseph's newest play, depicts two troubled soulmates, Kayleen and Doug, chronicling their 30-year relationship through the injuries each acquires in pursuit of attention and love. Selma Blair and Brad Fleischer star in the Alley production.

Joseph's other plays include "Animals Out of Paper" and "Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo," which premiered to acclaim in Los Angeles earlier this year.

[[GRUESOME PLAYGROUND INJURIES]] Selma Blair And Brad Fleischer On Vomit, Gore And The Ick Factor

By Margaret Downing in Stage

Fri., Oct. 23 2009


Selma Blair playing Kayleen picks at the blood on on fellow actor Brad Fleischer's face -- an action designed to be both comic and in keeping with the title of the terrific new, two-actor play now on the Alley's Neuhaus Stage -- Gruesome Playground Injuries.

It's always a big step for someone whose best-known work is on the movie screen (Hell Boy, Hell Boy 2 and Legally Blonde), to suddenly do live theater -- but for Blair, it's bigger than most.

She's scared to go onstage, but she picks a show when she shares 90 continuous minutes of duty with Fleischer who plays Doug. She's not a big fan of ick, but gore and vomit are crucial parts of the plot of this dark comedy by playwright Rajiv Joseph.

Blair and Fleischer, who most recently starred in Joseph's play Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo (and who, if you Google, you can see in a guest role of Timmy the soldier on Jericho), sat down with Hair Balls to answer a few questions between shows. They're relaxed and clearly friends; knew each other before this play, and seem in some (but not all) ways close to the characters they play: the outgoing and athletic Doug who gives too much for love and the more tightly-wound Kayleen who loves and cares, but perhaps not as much, and who cuts herself.

The play bounces back and forth in time as the audience learns of one injury after another that each of the leads incurs from the time they meet at age 8 to when they are both 38.

The injuries are horrendous and have earned the play its mature advisory from the Alley. At the same time, while extreme, they are more than suitable metaphors for the way people have of hurting each other in relationships.

"I think the ick factor of the play is something that keeps the audience visually in check. It keeps testing them. Where did those scars come from?" Blair said. "I'm not an ick fan. I had trouble even looking at him when we were first dealing with the prosthetics in the rehearsal process, just dealing with any blood is very frightening to me."

In contrast, Fleischer said he felt right at home the first time he covered his face in blood. "I come from the horror movie background so I love that stuff. I put the stuff on and I think that's great. I love putting that stuff on."

But Blair is nothing if not a trouper: "I keep my scars on to stay in Kayleen's skin when I'm not at work and then just touch them up before shows."

The length of the one-act show is tough, both agree.

"Having done a bunch of theater before, this is the hardest thing I've ever done," Fleischer said. "It basically is a one-man show where you're lucky enough to have somebody else out there where if you start faltering at all or if your energy starts to drop, you can look at the other person and pick it up."

"Rehearsal itself was really exhausting to me, but the payoff is so important," Blair said. "It's a blessing to get to do a play like this with Brad and with Rajiv's words. I love this play but it does require an endurance I need to find and it's an important play and I need to do it justice eight times a week."

Fleischer was an easy pick for his role, but playwright Joseph said they tried out several actresses for the Kayleen part before they found Blair, who wanted this role for a lot of reasons.

"This play is so close to me. This is a huge huge factor in my life, this play, and it was something I also wanted to prove -- can I do this? I'm terrified of stage, never really sure if I'm a good actress or not and this is a play where you get to figure it out; you get to work through a lot of choices and do it so many times."

At this point, Fleischer broke in to say: "I can tell you exactly why she got it ... We walked in and Selma is nervous and I was nervous for her and we started and ...all of a sudden Selma says 'I've got to stop,' and blood's coming out of her nose. For no reason at all, blood's coming out of her nose."

"I look over to Rajiv and he sits back and goes 'Oh, my God' and was just smiling and I'm thinking 'Rajiv, you can't start smiling when someone's bleeding out their nose.' And Rajiv says to me, 'Are you kidding? This is Kayleen!' "

Gruesome Playground Injuries runs through Sunday, November 15 on the Neuhaus Stage at the Alley Theatre, 615 Texas Avenue. For tickets, go to www.alleytheatre.org or call 713-220-5700.

A special First Affinity Series Symposium with playwright Rajiv Joseph and Alley Dramaturg Mark Bly is scheduled for Saturday, October 24, immediately following the 2:30 p.m. performance. They will discuss the genesis of the play, the rehearsal process and the societal issues raised by the play.

[[THEATRE]] Gruesome Playground Injuries

Stage Performances

[[GRUESOME PLAYGROUND INJURIES]] Review: Taking risks pays off for Gruesome Playground Injuries

By EVERETT EVANS Copyright 2009 Houston Chronicle

Oct. 22, 2009, 5:41Pm

Whew! Sigh-of-relief time!

We'd heard so much about Rajiv Joseph as a promising new playwright that a more-than-ordinary pressure accompanied Wednesday's opening of Gruesome Playground Injuries at the Alley Theatre.

Happily, the Alley's world premiere of Joseph's newest play — his first presented in Houston — delivers on that much-touted promise. From its opening scene, and increasingly as it progresses, GPI reveals an original voice with a knack for blending quirky humor and unexpected poignancy.

Happily, too, the subtle but sure direction of Rebecca Teichman and the achingly human performances of Selma Blair and Brad Fleischer (they're the entire cast) do Joseph's script proud in a terrific rendition.

We first meet Kayleen (Blair) and Doug (Fleischer) as 8-year-olds in their Catholic school's infirmary. Kayleen languishes on the bed with a tummy ache. We discover that chronic “sensitive stomach” and vomiting (with traces of blood, or does Kayleen just imagine them?) will be a lifelong concern for the lass.

Doug bursts in displaying the bloody wounds of his latest escapade: He just rode his bicycle off the school's roof! We discover that Doug is perpetually “accident prone” or, more accurately, an accident enabler.

Doug and Kayleen's conditions draw them to each other in a prickly attraction — Doug eagerly expressing his fascination, Kayleen denying hers. But with the scene's convincingly kidlike obsessions (“Does it hurt?” “Can I touch it?”) and, especially, as it closes with Kayleen tenderly plucking bits of gravel from Doug's hand, we realize the two have forged a lifelong connection, whether they admit it or not.

GPI (if that sounds like a medical diagnosis, in this case it's entirely appropriate) chronicles Kayleen and Doug's relationship through the next 30 years, jumping back and forth in time. We find them at 23, or 13 or 33. Usually, one or the other is in a hospital or institution, or has lost an eye in a fireworks mishap (guess who?). As adults, their encounters occur after periods of estrangement. Though their emotional bond remains strong, the two are never willing to admit that at the same time. Joseph gradually reveals Kayleen's deeper emotional disturbances, her more secretive equivalent of Doug's overtly self-destructive tendencies.

Doug comes to believe Kayleen has a healing power for him — or could. Kayleen rejects that notion and its responsibility. And when the situation is reversed, she doesn't want Doug rescuing her, either.

At first you think, oh cute! a comedy about two oddball kids growing up through a string of crazy mishaps. Yet with its unaffected humor and deep sympathy, Gruesome Playground Injuries exerts a peculiar power to involve us in Doug and Kayleen's troubled lives. That's enhanced by wordless interludes in which the actors prepare for each new scene, donning whatever makeup is needed to suggest the injuries. At one point, simply pouring liquid becomes a potent ritual expressing anger and loss. (Trust me, you'll get it.)

Gruesome Playground Injuries finds a fresh way of expressing human vulnerability, and two individuals' struggle to understand their need for each other. Joseph takes risks, as in a key scene in which circumstances force one character to do all the talking, in a big confessional monologue that pays off emotionally. The unaffected humor, catching what many will recognize as normal weirdness, keeps the play fun and unpredictable. An adolescent first kiss scene is nothing new, but the one in GPI boasts the funniest payoff I've seen in any play or film.

Blair is excellent in her role, challenging because moody Kayleen so often shields herself with a surly, hostile and dismissive exterior. But Blair conveys her real pain, too, her sarcastic humor and her confused longing for Doug.

The engaging Fleischer proves a natural stage energizer in the live-wire role of impulsive, mercurial, energetic and ever kidlike Doug. The contrast between these two may be what makes the team playing so effective. They're the two-car emotional pile-up on the highway of life that you just can't look away from.

Taichman capitalizes on that factor with her shrewd staging of their interplay, from horsing-around to sullen spells. She also guides them persuasively through that tricky now-we're-kids, now-we're-adults stuff.

Taichman capitalizes on that factor with her shrewd staging of their interplay, from horsing-around to sullen spells. She also guides them persuasively through that tricky now-we're-kids, now-we're-adults stuff.

Accident and injury are the human condition, Doug and Kayleen seem to tell us. My own mere half-century on this planet leads me believe there's a lot of truth in what they (and the playwright) are so vividly expressing in Gruesome Playground Injuries.

GRUESOME PLAYGROUND INJURIES

• When: 7:30 p.m. Tuesdays-Thursdays, 8 p.m. Fridays, 2:30 and 8 p.m. Saturdays, 2:30 and 7:30 p.m. Sundays, through Nov. 15

• Where: Neuhaus Stage, Alley Theatre, 615 Texas

• Tickets: $40-$55; 713-220-5700

[[GRUESOME PLAYGROUND INJURIES]] Official Web Page

World Premiere – Thought-Provoking, Darkly Funny Gruesome Playground Injuries By Rajiv Joseph Directed by Rebecca Taichman Neuhaus Stage Previews start October 16, 2009 Opens October 21, 2009 Ends November 15, 2009

Gruesome Playground Injuries charts two lives, using scars, injuries and calamity as the mile markers. An imaginative tour de force, the play explores why people hurt themselves to gain another’s love, and the cumulative effect of such damage, of such demands. Director Rebecca Taichman will make her Alley debut. Recommended for mature audiences. Strong language, profanity, violence.


http://www.alleytheatre.org/alley/Default_EN.asp

[[PROJECTS]] Selma in a play titled “Gruesome Playground Injuries”

Blair and Fleischer Set for Premiere of Gruesome Playground Injuries

By Adam Hetrick
08 Oct 2009

Selma Blair and Brad Fleischer will co-star in the world premiere of Rajiv Joseph’s Gruesome Playground Injuries at the Alley Theatre in Houston.

Advertisement
Rebecca Taichman, who directed The Scene Off-Broadway at Second Stage, will helm the premiere that runs Oct. 16 through Nov. 15 on the Neuhaus Stage. The production is the first play presented as part of the Alley's New Play Initiative.

Blair ("Hellboy," "Legally Blonde," "Kath & Kim") will portray Kayleen opposite Brad Fleischer (Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo, Coram Boy, Streamers) as Doug in the two-hander.

According to the Alley, "Gruesome Playground Injuries charts two lives, using scars, injuries and calamity as the mile markers. An imaginative tour de force the play explores why people hurt themselves to gain another's love, and the cumulative effect of such damage, of such demands."

Designing the production are Riccardo Hernandez (scenic design), Miranda Hoffman (costume design), Christopher Akerlind (lighting design), Jill BC DuBoff (sound design) and Mark Bly (dramaturg).

Blair's extensive screen credits also include "Feast of Love," "The Big Empty," "The Poker House," "In Good Company," "A Dirty Shame," " Storytelling" and "Cruel Intentions." She will appear in the forthcoming film "Columbus Circle."

Fleischer has appeared on stage in Pig Farm at South Coast Rep and Paris Commune at the La Jolla Playhouse. On screen he has appeared in "The Good Shepherd," "Jericho," "The Unit," "Prison Break" and "Over There."

Playwright Rajiv Joseph has penned Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo, which was produced by Center Theatre Group and directed by Tony nominee Moisés Kaufman last spring. His plays also include Animals Out of Paper, The Leopard and the Fox, Huck & Holden and All This Intimacy. He is the recipient of the 2009 Paula Vogel Award.

Tickets are available by visiting AlleyTheatre. The Alley Theatre is located at 615 Texas Avenue in Houston, TX.

[[PROJECTS]] Selma in a play titled “Gruesome Playground Injuries”

Selma will be in a play called “Gruesome Playground Injuries”, which will be going on in Houston, TX. The show begins performances Friday, October 16 and runs through Sunday, November 15 on the Neuhaus Stage at the Alley Theatre.

The world premiere of Rajiv Joseph’s (Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo) Gruesome Playground Injuries features Selma Blair (Hellboy, Hellboy 2: The Golden Army, Storytelling, Legally Blonde, NBC’s Kath & Kim) playing Kayleen and Brad Fleischer (Center Theatre Group’s premiere of Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo, Broadway’s Coram Boy, Off Broadway’s Streamers) playing Doug. Gruesome Playground Injuries charts two lives, using scars, injuries and calamity as the mile markers. An imaginative tour de force the play explores why people hurt themselves to gain another’s love, and the cumulative effect of such damage, of such demands. Recommended for adult audiences. Strong language, profanity and violence.

TICKET INFORMATION

Tickets to Gruesome Playground Injuries are $21 Cheap Thrills pricing, for the October 17 matinee performance. Tickets for other performances are $40 – $55. All tickets to Gruesome Playground Injuries are available for purchase at www.alleytheatre.org, at the Alley Theatre Box Office, 615 Texas Avenue, or by calling 713.220.5700. Groups of 10 or more can receive special concierge services and select discounts by calling 713.315.3346. The added convenience of reservations by phone or Internet is available for a nominal fee. Tickets purchased in person at the Alley Theatre Box Office have a $1 facility fee.

[[MEDIA-VIDEO]] Selma Blair And Boyfriend At The Beverly Hotel

The paps caught up with Selma Blair and her boyfriend Saturday afternoon. They were on their way to the Beverly Hotel, and as they walked they chatted with the paps about his troubles trying to parallel park.

[[APARICIONES PUBLICAS]] Dinner Of Champions To Attract Stars For Multiple Sclerosis

James Blunt, Selma Blair and Marlon Wayans will be amongst the celebrity guests at the National Multiple Sclerosis Society’s 35th annual Dinner of Champions in Los Angeles on Wednesday, September 16.

The National Multiple Sclerosis Society’s Annual Dinner of Champions will honor Rob Friedman, Co-Chairman and CEO of Summit Entertainment for his continued support in helping the Society move closer toward a world free of multiple sclerosis.

This annual event sponsored by and benefiting the Southern California Chapter of the National MS Society, raises funds that support MS research worldwide, as well as vital programs and services for people living with MS and their families.

The event – which will be hosted by Joe Roth and Tom Sherak and will take place at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza Hotel – will also attract stars such as Nia Vardalos, John Corbett and David Lander.

Nota del 14/09/2009

Link nota

Link pág web official

[[MEDIA-VIDEO]] Selma Blair At Dry Cleaner On Sunset

The paps caught up with Selma Blair on Sunset Blvd. Monday afternoon. She was spotted leaving a dry cleaner and getting into her car.

[[CANDIDS]] LOUIS VUITTON BAGS BRIGHTENS SELMA BLAIR’S ATTIRE

Selma Blair was seen carrying Marc Jacobs’ Robert Lexie Bag and a Louis Vuitton Bags. We’re not going to talk more about the LV Luggage, and instead, focus on the handbag since the LV Luggage is already known as every actress’ choice for vacation suitcase.

This type of bag is indeed one of Marc Jacobs’ latest designs, and it’s a good thing that Selma Blair managed to keep up with the trend. The pop of red against her tough black ensemble is simply fascinating that you’d probably even want to stare at it. It is quilted and it is designed with metallic print pattern all over. It opens through a leather drawstring closure with contrasting leather toggles accented with studs. At the front you’ll see a padlock detail with multicolor floral tassel.

This louis vuitton handbags measures at about 21 x 16 x 3 inches, which is enough to give you plenty room for more than just your essentials. This can be carried through its unique metallic webbing handles, which you can place either over your shoulders or arm just like what Selma Blair has shown in this picture.

Now if you want to let this louis vuitton purses stand out as what Selma Blair did, matching it with any of your casual block-colored ensemble would obviously do the job.

[[CANDIDS]] Selma Blair in Monrow

Selma Blair wore a pair of Monrow vintage sweat shorts in heather grey while returning home from a workout. The shorts are retail for $88 and are available for purchase here.

[[CANDIDS]] Selma Blair Likes Titties N' Beer

Actress Selma Blair returns home from a morning workout. She was spotted wearing a pink shirt with the phrase 'Titties N' Beer' on it, that is the name of a track on the late Frank Zappa's album 'Have I Offended Someone?' Selma was once married to Frank Zappa's son, Ahmet Zappa, they divorced in 2006.


link

[[CANDIDS]]Selma Blair in Current/Elliott Jeans

Actress Selma Blair is seen out and about in Hollywood wearing an ambulatory electrocardiogram device on her Current/Elliott Boyfriend Cropped Jean in Super Loved Destroy. I hope all is well with Selma.

[[MEDIA-VIDEO]] Selma Blair's Hand Is Feeling Better

We caught up with Selma Blair and boyfriend Mikey Day in Los Angeles. She held onto her hand and said that it was feeling a lot better.

[[MEDIA-VIDEO]] Selma Blair Waves And Says 'Hi'

Selma Blair smiles for the camera and seems genuinely flattered when the photographer compliments her taste in shoes.

[[CANDIDS]] Selma Blair Carrying Groceries

Actress Selma Blair steps out in a black jumper and saddle shoes as she carries home groceries.





link

[[MEDIA-VIDEO]] Selma Blair And Boyfriend Mikey Day At Palihouse

Actress Selma Blair leaves The Hall At Palihouse with her boyfriend, actor Mikey Day. The two costar in the NBC series "Kath & Kim."

[[INTERVIEWS]] Playboy

By Stephen Rebello

The Hellboy hottie talks about those girl-on-girl kissing scenes we love so much and insists, with a straight face, that she's the flattest woman in Hollywood

Q1

PLAYBOY: You've starred in movies like Legally Blonde, The Fog and Hellboy, but how does it feel knowing fans would love nothing better than to see you kiss Sarah Michelle Gellar again the way you do in Cruel Intentions?
BLAIR: It's insane how big an impression that kiss has made. It's the one thing people remember me for. No matter what their age, they say, "Oh my God, you're that girl from Cruel Intentions who kissed Sarah Michelle Gellar." I'm flattered. I think it was the first girl-on-girl kiss in a popular mainstream American film, so it broke the door down.

Q2

PLAYBOY: In a short story you wrote for the erotic anthology Stirring Up a Storm, the main character enjoys sexual thoughts about a beautiful young woman she happens to see one day. Are we detecting a trend here?
BLAIR: The assignment was to write an erotic story, and I don't have an erotic bone in my body, so I thought, Just go the girl-on-girl way. Now that I think of it, though, I have done three girl-on-girl kisses on-screen -- Cruel Intentions and Feast of Love, and I just finished Driving Lessons, in which I kiss a young girl. I didn't realize I had done so much lesbian exploration, yet I've never done any in my real life. Gay women do hit on me a lot, though. When lesbian friends tell me they're in love with me after our friendship has been cemented, it always shocks me. Why would they think I'm gay, except maybe because I'm open, loving and don't mind gayness at all?

Q3

PLAYBOY: You just said -- jokingly, we hope -- you don't have an erotic bone in your body. We beg to differ. Don't you think you're sexy?
BLAIR: I do feel like a sexual being but not especially when compared with other people. While I was making The Sweetest Thing with Cameron Diaz and Christina Applegate, I felt like a different species. They're such girlie girls -- adorable, endearing, typical blonde, beautiful-figured women -- whereas I'm a brunette tomboy. I'm kind of missing the gene that immediately endears people to me, but that's okay.

Q4

PLAYBOY: You've done offbeat movies like Storytelling and others like Cruel Intentions that enjoy a huge cult following. But what movie plays closest to what it's like inside your head?
BLAIR: Cruel Intentions holds up after all these years, so it's okay to have it as a guilty pleasure. It paved the way for everything on TV now. It opened people up to how good teenage stories can be. But sadly, inside my head it's more like Woody Allen's Interiors or Bob Rafelson's Five Easy Pieces -- lonely movies with strong imagery and something a little off. I don't have a lot of the teen-genre spirit in me, which is funny because that's pretty much all I've been playing the past 10 years.

Q5

PLAYBOY: A Dirty Shame, which John Waters directed, strays pretty far from the teen genre. Do you know there are Internet threads debating whether your freakishly massive breasts in that movie are real?
BLAIR: I remember some people were shocked when they thought I would disfigure myself like that for a movie. I thought, People are daft. I mean, those breasts are gargantuan. Hideous. Nobody would find them attractive -- well, okay, maybe two people out there would be fascinated by them. No, I wouldn't do that to myself in real life. I remain the flattest woman in Hollywood.

Q6

PLAYBOY: Growing up, how did you deal with the crap you must have been handed for being named Selma?
BLAIR: I've always thought of it as an old woman's name, so I demanded that everyone call me Blair. In high school, when people found out my name was Selma, they'd call me things like Smell-ma or Salmonella. That stuff basically came from friends, and I never really had any enemies, so I just kind of smiled through it. I still don't like my name. It does not fall prettily off the tongue. In fact, it's hideous. My middle name is James, and I like to be called that.

Q7

PLAYBOY: What sort of kid were you?
BLAIR: Creative, artistic, always drawing and writing. Going to school, I dressed differently every day so I couldn't be categorized. Like, one day I'd dress like an equestrian -- very strange. My mom gave me a necklace when I was six; on one side was a smiley face, and on the other was a frowning face. She'd have me flip over the necklace to suit my mood. She introduced me to her friends as her little manic-depressive child. My home life came out of a movie by Wes Anderson -- too stylized to be believed.

Q8

PLAYBOY: Speaking of Anderson, is he on the list of directors you would love to work with?
BLAIR: A long time ago I dated Jason Schwartzman, who is in Rushmore, so I've met Wes, but I don't think he was taken with me. I could definitely see being in one of his stories, and I would love to be. I've prayed to work with Roman Polanski. I wish I could've been in Bitter Moon, exploring that world of heartbreak with him. Whenever I'm in Paris I see him in restaurants, but I've never met him. I keep meaning to write him a letter, but I'd just come off like a stalker.

Q9

PLAYBOY: Did you always want to become an actress?
BLAIR: I started at a great small private school in Michigan, Kalamazoo College, where I had a photography scholarship and was introduced to theater. I transferred to the University of Michigan, where I majored in photography. When I moved to New York, I didn't know whether I'd pursue photography or acting, but I would lock myself in the darkroom for 12 hours at a time. It turned out it was harder to make money as a photographer than as an actress.

Q10

PLAYBOY: Describe some of your photographs.
BLAIR: I didn't have many models I was comfortable asking to pose for me, so I did a lot of self-portraits. But I didn't want them to look as if they were of me, so I made myself up like Magritte's mother, who drowned herself and was supposedly found with her nightdress wrapped around her head. I took a bunch of self-portraits in that state and some very macabre, victim-y ones in which I'd torn off my clothes, found a ditch at the side of the road and jumped in.

Q11

PLAYBOY: Is it true you lost out on an early acting job on Dawson's Creek that put another actress on the map?
BLAIR: I had tested for the Joey role, and it came down to me, Katie Holmes and one other girl. Holmes got it fair and square. She hadn't done anything before that. I remember seeing her walk into the room and thinking, She is just the tallest girl. There's no way they'll give it to her. She won't even fit on camera, she's so tall. Then I ate my words. She was adorable.

Q12

PLAYBOY: In the first Hellboy movie, your pyrokinetic character torches a lot of cool stuff, flirts with Hellboy and looks hot. Do you get to do more in Hellboy II: The Golden Army?
BLAIR: In the first movie, Liz is very much a wounded little girl coming to grips with whether Hellboy is her boyfriend or not. In the new movie she's more sure of her powers. She lives with Hellboy, they have lovers' spats, and there's a lot of humor in that because of our superpowers -- he's so strong, and I'm so fiery. Evil creatures come from the underworld to destroy Earth, and without spoiling it, I'm right along with Hellboy. I'm a part of the force and more of a superhero in this one.

Q13

PLAYBOY: Did you have any trouble unleashing your inner butt kicker?
BLAIR: The one note Guillermo del Toro -- the director and writer -- always had for me was "No, you're strong. You're strong!" I found it difficult to play a really strong woman once I had established her as a kind of child in the first movie. I hope it works. I'm in it a lot.

Q14

PLAYBOY: Have you ever had an erotic thought or two about Hellboy?
BLAIR: Oh my God, yes. [laughs] I have such a huge crush on Hellboy. I find him very sexy. I find his body appealing. He has a great physique, and his personality and humor are really laid-back. It's funny because I'm such good friends with Ron Perlman, and when he was in costume, I was always flirtatious, hanging onto Hellboy, touching him, holding and kissing him. When he'd take off his makeup at the end of the day, I'd be like, "Oh hey, old buddy, put your costume back on."

Q15

PLAYBOY: A guy could get scorched being around your Hellboy character. Who should stay clear of you in real life?
BLAIR: People who abuse animals or children or who throw cigarettes out in the canyons and paparazzi who take pictures of me at six in the morning when my face is still bloated from sleeping. Please, it takes a village to get me ready. Can't you wait until the village has put my face on?

Q16

PLAYBOY: The four years since Hellboy opened have been especially eventful for you, including a marriage and subsequent divorce from Ahmet Zappa, a relationship with actor and model Matthew Felker and a reported rehab stay. Do you think those life experiences informed your performance in Hellboy II?
BLAIR: I was having a much harder time when we shot the first one, going through a terrible breakup and feeling like crying every day. It was appropriate that I played Liz as wounded. In this new one Liz is more confident and, of course, not only older but ready to be in a relationship. I learned a lot in my marriage, and I remain friends with Ahmet. I'm so glad I married him, and I'm so glad I divorced him, because he turned out to be such a wonderful friend after the marriage. I didn't know someone could remain so loving after a certain type of loving was gone. I'll probably be single for a very long time, because I don't want to get into something lightly. I can't repeat former patterns. I admit I know nothing. It's scary.

Q17

PLAYBOY: Do you want to say anything about the 2007 press reports that said you spent a month at the Promises rehab facility in Malibu?
BLAIR: It was written about, but it's something I'm not prepared to talk about.

Q18

PLAYBOY: How big of a bummer is it to have to see a famous ex in a magazine or on TV, dating someone new?
BLAIR: It's very difficult. I pray I don't run into my ex-boyfriends around town. I wish they'd move back to where they came from in the Midwest or someplace. I don't want to see them on billboards or in magazines. It's heartbreaking. I'm very sensitive, and it's hard for me.

Q19

PLAYBOY: What is the most absurd thing the tabloid press has printed about you lately?
BLAIR: That Kevin Federline and I were dating. People were asking me about it. [laughs] Oh yeah, it's going really well. We're really happy. I'm pregnant. Seriously, that was strange. We had exchanged phone numbers at some place, but we didn't even see each other on the night in question. Weird.

Q20

PLAYBOY: You're about to co-star with Molly Shannon on an American TV version of Kath & Kim, the hit Australian comedy series about a dysfunctional mother-daughter relationship.
BLAIR: I have long hair for the show, and I feel like a Mormon. Talk about Goth-looking. Thank God I play a brat who says whatever she wants, isn't the friendliest girl, is juvenile and dresses like she's 13 -- in unicorn hoodies, tight jeans and Ugg boots. It's a real comedy, very funny, but a little daunting because everyone's so up in arms that we're going to ruin an Australian show. That's fine. I'm best as the underdog.

[[INTERVIEWS]] Selma Blair - The Pocker House

SELMA TAKES NEW RISK AS ABUSIVE MOM
EXCLUSIVE Selma Blair, The Poker House Interview by Paul Fischer

Selma Blair is one of those actors who rarely repeats herself. On the small screen she played the spoiled teenager in the US version of the Australian sitcom Kath and Kim, and prior to that reprised her fiery role of Liz in Hellboy II. Now she returns to Indie film territory as a drugged out abusive mother in Lori Petty's feature debut, The Poker House, a tough and damaged character. Blair talked to Paul Fischer in this exclusive interview.


QUESTION: So, clearly this was a character that must have spoken to you when you read your script.

SELMA BLAIR: I did. I read the script, and I thought it was beautifully written. And I thought-I love playing characters that have really fallen apart. You know, in ways. I really enjoy that. That's what I think is kind of one of my strengths. [LAUGHTER] And my weakness, you know? As an actress. But-so, this is a woman that fully lost her way, and was so filled with-you know, rage and hate and victim-complex, that there was no way she was probably going to be likable. But, you know, I don't think, really, one is, when they're so gone with drugs and alcohol. I think this is a very honest look at it.


QUESTION: Very strung out, very intense character. What do you do to - or, how difficult is it for you to identify with a woman like this? I don't think you've played a Mom before. I don't even remember if you've played a mother before.

SELMA BLAIR: I might have played a Mom, little bits and pieces where the kid wasn't much of a focus, and as a young Mom, or who knows, you know? But this is the first time playing a Mom who is, essentially, not a Mom at all. I mean, there was nothing maternal about the woman. It was too painful for my character to look at her children, after how damaged she was, and how far she had already come with-with being such a painful experience in their lives. So, my character really-I was just always trying to push the pain away, and numb out and numb out. And it just left me spewing more hate. And wanting to be sexy to make money, and to feel good about myself. It was really refreshing to get to play a character that walks differently, and is really, really ugly at that period in her life.


QUESTION: How important is it for you to take risks as an actress?

SELMA BLAIR: I think it's always important. To stretch your mind and your muscles, and how people perceive you. I mean, people might not agree with me. You know, I think some people think, "Oh, God, couldn't you have stuck to one thing so we'd know who you are? You know, and ever decide if we like you or dislike you. But I don't even know what kind of films you're doing. It's all over the place. But that's important to me. You know, I'm an actress. I'm not a personality. And I want to be a really good actress. So, I think all these experiences-and ones that people don't want to take, because they don't want to be so unlikeable. Well, you know, my hand's up. I'll take it. You know? It's the role. I don't-I'm not in this to be liked. I mean, it's to tell people stories.


QUESTION: Did you try to do any research on this woman? I mean, did you try to meet any recovering addicts?

SELMA BLAIR: No. I mean, God knows, I have enough of that in my life. You know. I mean, my life is filled with people that have completely screwed up and gotten back together and haven't, and-you know, everyone has had such major screw-ups. Almost everyone that I know. So it was easy to go to that place. And I know plenty of people, you know, that are in the midst of major, major drug use, that have abandoned their lives. And it's heartbreaking. But, you know, I didn't meet Lori's mother, who it's based on. And so I was a little nervous, but Lori kept me in check. And - but her mother-she has a great relationship with her mother now. You know, her mother's one of the biggest supporters of this film, and as a fan, and loves it, and wishes she had a bigger part in the movie. You know, she can really look out of this-- you know, a time in life that everything went wrong. So, they've all recovered now.


QUESTION: Now, what's happening with you next? I mean, I take it Kath and Kim is gone.

SELMA BLAIR: Yeah. Kath and Kim is buried. Although you can get it on DVD, I hear.


QUESTION: Was that a learning experience for you?

SELMA BLAIR: It was a real learning experience, and I'm glad we got our season out of it. And it was kind of, in a lot of ways, my goodbye to playing a teenager. You know, it was this arrested development, vapid young woman I'm playing. And for me, that role was a real stretch. To let go of my vanity, to play Kim on this Technicolor show on a network, where you have so many cooks in the kitchen kind of messing with a creative process, if you're not used to that medium. It was a real challenge for me, and I'm glad I had that experience. And I'm glad I'm getting to flit around on film again.


QUESTION: What are you doing next?

SELMA BLAIR: I'm shooting a film called Columbus Circle, that George Gallo wrote and is directing. He wrote Middlemen, and directed Middlemen, that was just at Cannes with Luke Wilson and Giovanni Ribisi, and that's an amazing film. I loved it. So I saw that film, and was very eager to do this one. And so we're shooting it right now, in LA. I play an heiress who's a shut-in. A complete shut-in, in her apartment.


QUESTION: And do you think there'll be another Hellboy?

SELMA BLAIR: I wish there would be another Hellboy, but I don't know. I don't see it, and Guillermo's busy for the next four years doing hobbit movies. And-you know, I just don't know. But I would love to. You know, the second Hellboy really paved the way for an amazing third one, and I feel like the characters are owed it. But, you know, that's not how this world works.


QUESTION: What else would you like to do besides acting? I mean, do you want to direct or produce?

SELMA BLAIR: I would love to produce, I would love to direct. But honestly, I don't know if I have the confidence right yet. I really would love to get a place where I feel safe with my career. But maybe one never feels safe until you take a chance, and break out of the mold, and make things happen. But I really want to write. Writing is the one that I feel a calling for the most.


The Poker House
Starring: Selma Blair, Bokeem Woodbine, David Alan Grier
Director: Lori Petty

[[MEDIA-VIDEO]] The Inside Reel: Selma Blair and Director Lori Petty 'The Poker House'

Selma Blair




Lori Petty

[[MEDIA-VIDEO]] Behind The Scene: 'The Poker House'

[[CANDIDS]] Selma Blair fringante et pétillante... Pourquoi tant de bonne humeur ?

Cela fait dix ans que Selma Blair s'est fait remarquer dans l'adaptation très libre des Liaisons dangereuses, le film Sexe Intentions. Aujourd'hui, à 37 ans, elle garde le même air mutin et l'oeil toujours aussi pétillant.

Serait-ce parce que sa carrière brille de mille feux ? Certes, elle enflamme Hellboy mais à la télévision, sa prestation dans la série comique Kath & Kim ne fait pas l'unanimité. La vraie raison qui explique sa bonne humeur communicative réside dans... l'amour !

Depuis quelques mois, elle fréquente son jeune partenaire Mikey Day - il a 28 ans. Nous les avons récemment vus dans les rues de Los Angeles gais comme des pinsons avec le sympathique Woofy de mademoiselle. Le 18 juillet et comme vous pouvez le voir sur nos photos, elle n'est pas avec son chevalier charmant et pourtant. L'homme de sa vie est dans son coeur quelles que soient les situations et permet à Selma de voir la vie en rose 24h/24 !

Notons que sa robe noire particulièrement bien coupée, dôtée de fines bretelles grises et ses escarpins Louboutin gris à imprimé python contribuent à son look chic et à sa mine choc !


SY

link

[[CANDIDS]] Selma Blair, son chéri et son Woofy : Quoi de plus pour être heureux ?

Selma Blair s'enflamme, au cinéma dans Hellboy et dans la vie avec sa nouvelle idylle. Depuis quelques mois, elle est amoureuse d'un jeune homme, Mikey Day, qui a peut-être huit ans de moins qu'elle mais avec qui elle se sent très bien.

Agée de 37 ans, elle s'éloigne de la quarantaine avec son nouveau chéri et son petit toutou tellement chou. Habillée d'une robe légère et blanche, elle arpente ce 18 juillet les rues de Los angeles joyeusement en écoutant les plaisanteries de son homme. A ses pieds, elle porte des spartiates en peau de serpent, chacun ses goûts mais nous nous concentrerons plutôt sur sa tunique. Que ce soit au restaurant, en balade ou à Miami, ils sont complices et coquins !

Le couple s'est formé sur les plateaux de tournage de la série comique Kath & Kim, remake américain d'une sitcom australienne. Les critiques ne sont pas très tendres avec la version US à qui on reproche de ne pas être très drôle. Qu'importe pour Selma et Mikey, le joli tandem cathodique et amoureux vit d'amour et promenade !

link

[[INTERVIEWS]] Selma Blair on "The Pocker House"

by Sheila Roberts

We caught up with the talented and sexy Selma Blair at the Los Angeles press day for her new film, The Poker House, a poignant gritty film set in small town Iowa and directed by Lori Petty. One of today’s most exciting and versatile actresses, Selma first gained our attention for her performance in Cruel Intentions, a youthful retelling of the classic novel Les Liaisons Dangereuses. Hit the jump to read the full interview.

Selma starred for two seasons as the title character in the WB’s Zoe and then appeared in the hit comedy, Legally Blonde opposite Reese Witherspoon. She then starred opposite Cameron Diaz and Christina Applegate in The Sweetest Thing and in two independent films that garnered her much critical acclaim: Dana Lustig’s Kill Me Later and Todd Solodnz’s controversial Storytelling.

Selma starred in Guillermo del Toro’s Hellboy and Hellboy 2: The Golden Army. She also appeared in John Waters’ A Dirty Shame. Her other recent film credits include Paul Weitz’s In Good Company opposite Topher Grace, Marcos Siega’s Pretty Persuasion, and Thomas Sigel’s The Big Empty opposite Elias Koteas.

Most recently, she co-starred opposite Greg Kinnear and Morgan Freeman in Robert Benton’s Feast of Love, opposite Antonio Banderas, Meg Ryan and Colin Hanks in My Mom’s New Boyfriend, and starred in Ed Burns’ Purple Violets. Her upcoming films include Happy Together with Dermot Mulroney and Hope Davis. Selma also stars alongside Molly Shannon and John Michael Higgins in NBC’s “Kim and Kim,” a U.S. version of the popular British TV series.

In her new film, The Poker House, Selma plays Sarah, a strung out mother who struggles against desperation and poverty to raise three young daughters (Jennifer Lawrence, Sophia Bairley, Chloe Grace Moretz) with a pimp father (Bokeem Woodbine) in a home overrun by gamblers, thieves and johns.

Selma Blair is a terrific actress and we really appreciated her time. Here’s what she had to tell us:

Well just be thankful you didn’t have to get into Sarah make-up today.

SELMA BLAIR: I could have used it. I liked that make-up.

Why? Other than the fact you’re totally unrecognizable.

BLAIR: Maybe that’s why I liked it. That makes your job so much easier to play someone. Those scenes where I’m looking in the mirror, it’s just like I can’t even see myself so it helps to not look like yourself when you’re playing a character that won’t look at themselves. That made it blissfully easy and working with Lori. I liked her make-up. I liked it. I like whenever you can have the help of something that can be a little bit bigger than the average character you get to play.

Does that change things as soon as you see when the make-up is done? You might already have had an idea and then you go in a different direction?

BLAIR: Yeah. Unfortunately for me, I also realized the last day of shooting that I have a great idea for this character. (Laughs) I was like, “Oh my God, it took me this long to get there.” But hopefully, live and learn and it won’t be such a slow process from here.

Did you dye your hair or was that a wig?

BLAIR: I had my hair blonde at the time. It was a wig but in the front it was my hair and the back. I do that a lot in movies. You know, I wear it like a fall. But yeah, I had my hair blonde at the time. Very light blonde.

What were some of those ideas that you had for the character later in the process?

BLAIR: Well I didn’t so much for that character, thank God, because it was such a short process. I think I worked on that film four days so I didn’t have time to say “Oh my God, I’m doing it all wrong.” And also, Lori was so instrumental in making sure that I felt right on with it at the start. She would tell me if there was something she wanted more of right away. I love that dialogue with directors. Sometimes they don’t do it because they want to be so respectful, like “Oh I won’t want to tell the actor or even give them a line reading.” I’m like no, no, anything to engage just helps you do it because in film we don’t have rehearsal time. We don’t have anything. We get the script. The first time you say the lines is in front of a camera. It’s practically an audition and hopefully you’re more prepared that that, than just an audition. Yeah, I like to engage in anything on set with the director or the actors and Lori was great about that. But yeah, no, other films, definitely. I’ve watched them and afterwards said, “Oh God! I have a great idea for this character. Much better choice I can make.”

Is that when you call the director and producer and say “Sequel. Sequel.”

BLAIR: (Laughs) No, that’s when I call them and say “Sorry. Sorry.” There’s a film I’m shooting right now that I really thought would be very different and I thought I was going to really play this gorgeous femme fatale that was completely out of touch with reality but at the same time was really the strong woman and give me two days alone with this character and oh God, she’s shattered. She looks like a femme fatale that went through the washing machine and I like it that way. I really love the characters that fall apart.

Is this character in Columbus Circle?

BLAIR: Yeah. She’s written this old timey heiress who lives…and her dialogue is very kind of Lauren Bacall. It’s evolved into something kind of twitchy and weird that has a very nice Ava Gardner wig on. (Laughs)

What was your first reaction to this material when it was presented to you?

BLAIR: I loved it. It was a quick decision. They said “Here’s the script. Lori Petty.” Love Lori Petty. Didn’t know her. Loved her. “We need an answer by tomorrow and it’s going to go shoot in a week in Illinois.” So I read it and, of course, I wanted to be on board. Anyone that’s going to pour their heart out in such a poetic and honest way without fear, without apology and without judgment. She doesn’t even judge her mother and her mother’s her biggest supporter now and wishes she were in the film more, like I’ve said. which I think is very funny. It was a special experience. I was on board right away.

Did you meet Lori’s mom in the process of making the film?

BLAIR: No. I didn’t. She wasn’t there when we were shooting. She was at a screening I was at but I didn’t see her. She’ll be there on Saturday. I’m going this Saturday for the Q&A.

Do you think if you’d met her first that it would have impacted your interpretation of the character at all?

BLAIR: Yeah, it might have because she’s a very different woman now. She’s a successful business woman and has been. (Laughs) Not a ‘has been’. She has been a successful business woman so I didn’t want to smarten her up. I’m afraid if I would have seen her in that way I would have added elements in that. No, this is a woman that’s really messed up right now. Let’s just show it. It doesn’t have to be sugar coated. She is *the* worst mom at this point. It’s bad. I didn’t want to take her mannerisms. She’s a much more controlled person now.

What was the biggest challenge you faced creating that character?

BLAIR: I don’t know it there were any. Maybe there was. It happened too quickly so I didn’t think about it. I know that there were moments maybe I was afraid it’s over the top. I’ve also said Lori was very “No, it’s not.” My instinct was it could have even been bigger. It could have been but I didn’t want to throw the whole balance off the film. The film is actually kind of quiet so if I’m completely tearing up the joint, it would have been like whoa! I mean, a character that is that lost in their life, you have carte blanche to be as big as you want but you have to have respect for the film so you stop. But [with] Lori, it was a really easy process. Once I got that hair on and those nails, I really enjoyed it. I wasn’t scared of it the way I am by some other characters.

Was your own upbringing considerably more idyllic than this movie?

BLAIR: I dare say. It was just as colorful in a strange way but we had a functioning family. I had two good meals a day and I went to grade schools and I was a well dressed, appropriate child. But no, there’s plenty to draw on and I’ll have to wait until my mother is dead to tell that story. (Laughs)

Hopefully it’s more of a comedy.

BLAIR: Because she will not forgive me. Yeah, if we mean…yeah, well, I’ll stop there. (Laughs) I love my mom very much. I want her to love me too.

You have such powerful scenes and interaction with Jennifer Lawrence. How was it working with Jennifer and the process of the two of you together in some of the pivotal scenes?

BLAIR: She was such a sweet, vulnerable and also really capable girl as this character, and the scenes that I have where I’m kicking her and stuff, yeah, that felt good. I liked that. (Laughs) It was really good to bully. It’s like all those things I had as a kid where all the people would bully me and I’m like I see how monsters are created. There’s like a certain satisfaction and knowing you’re in a safe area obviously, that you’re both in on it. Thank God. There’s nothing about me that wants to bully a child. It was surprisingly fun to kick around. I threw those kicks in. She didn’t see them coming (laughs) and I kept doing it each take, more and more, because I really wanted her to cry. I really wanted this character to cry because I was just thinking as my character. When I’m a miserable person, I push other people’s buttons to make them more miserable than me. I have on some of my worst days. So that was kind of my character, you know, every time I was in front of the camera, so yeah, I would just torture her. That scene in the bathtub, she was heartbreaking, and when I was doing my whole monologue which was going on for a while, I’d just look over at her and I’d just burst into tears and I couldn’t because my character wouldn’t cry. I would cry as Selma but my character wouldn’t cry for her in the bathtub. She’d cry for my make-up smear and the make-up and I’ve got to go out there. My character cries at all the things she lost. It’s not what she has in that bathtub. She’s not seeing that. That was a hard day because she’s such a vulnerable, beautiful young girl.

Was the kitchen scene filmed on that same day also?

BLAIR: No, it was the next day. She was really great in that scene.

How was Lori’s directorial process for you? You’ve worked with so many different directors. Does she go through it sequentially or does she break it out for you?

BLAIR: I think we actually went in order for my character. You know, I worked so few days. And so I think she went in order which was really kind of her so I could find those little moments if there were glimmers of love for my child, which I did have while shooting it, whether it came out or not. But I quickly shut them off and threw hate in her face instead because I didn’t want to feel that as that character. I can’t even remember what Lori did because it was really seamless. She just made me feel really comfortable. Sometimes she’d tell me to go off. I mean, not so much me because I’ve been around a bit more, but to Jennifer. She was like “What are you doing? Get off in your corner. Get off there.” She was always keeping her in that space of a child and these quiet moments for her and protecting Jennifer on set so she wasn’t distracted by Doritos and things like that. She just created an environment on set that was safe for everyone to play a big game of pretend and not ruin their own little psyche in it. We’re all just figuring it out. It’s such a tiny film.

Your choices in films are very diverse - from The Poker House and Storytelling to Hellboy. What goes into a choice when you’re picking a role? Is there anything specific that you look for?

BLAIR: No, I’m just all over the place. Sometimes it’s the director, sometimes there’s like two words in that script and I’m like “I want to say those words!” The whole rest of the script might be hogwash but you’re like, “I have one scene where I get to do this and it’s going to be fun.” No, now I have to probably be a little more careful. Probably if I’m lucky enough to have a career in this for a long time I imagine I’ll stick around that way doing completely insane, silly comedy and then something that might wound people a little bit more. I hope. I like that balance.

Seeing Lori go behind the camera and tell her own story, did that inspire you in any way. Do you have a story you want to tell? Do you want to direct ?

BLAIR: I do want to direct. I want to write more than I want to direct. I’m a bit afraid to write. My own experiences are I really honor people’s secrets and I’ve been a holder of a lot of secrets in my life and I wouldn’t want to betray them but at the same time they make up my life and they make an incredibly good story. I’m really torn on how to protect, how to really get far enough away but keep an essence of that without ever really betraying the people who’ve entrusted me with some of their things. I do, I do want to write. Hopefully, I will.

Did you see Lori struggle with any of that while she was making the movie or was she just so embracing of those secrets?

BLAIR: She was focused and they weren’t secrets any more and, like I said, she had her mother’s support and that was probably the one that you’d have to be afraid of offending the most because that was really unflattering light. But no, she was there. She was on board. She didn’t feel bad. None of us felt bad for doing it. I felt a little nervous when her mom was at one of the screenings. I said something really thoughtless on the microphone in the front. I was like “…and portraying such a horrible, hateful woman…” and I just meant within the script’s context. I don’t know her mother and her mother’s in the audience somewhere and afterwards I was like “Oooh, oooh, I messed up so bad. I gotta be more thoughtful.” I know nothing of her mother other than just in this dramatic moment. I think I did that in a few interviews about her mom. She’s not someone to be trifled with. I need to shut up.

Well, for you, it’s the character instead of the person.

BLAIR: Yeah, it’s the character. I never met her so I didn’t think of it and I didn’t want to meet her because I would have tried to make it nicer probably so she wouldn’t be mad at me.

You seem comfortable re-watching and reviewing your own work. Was there something you enjoyed most as a viewer watching this movie? I mean, aside from the scenes where you get to bully children.

BLAIR: I just really enjoyed - not having anything to do with me - I really enjoyed the girls. I really enjoyed watching how much Jennifer’s character really seemed to love her sisters and that was…you just don’t ever see it anymore. You always see everyone pitted against each other - children and popularity contests and all this stuff and all the modern stuff we see on TV, so I really loved this old fashioned love story between sisters. I really did enjoy that scene in the bathroom where my character is talking to Jennifer and Jennifer is so trying to reach out for love and this person just won’t see it. I think that was a beautiful moment for two characters.

What do you think is the secret to Lori being a survivor? This kind of situation could have broken another person.

BLAIR: I don’t know. I think probably that she’s such an amazingly creative person. She’s played a million roles. I mean, she’s played strung out hookers, she’s played physicists, she’s played everything and she’s such an adept [actor]. She can really tune into these characters. I think that probably might have. I can only conjecture. I don’t know. I think she’s a really honest person and I think she expresses herself to her mother, to her sisters and friends. She has a network of people that love her. This woman makes you love her. Lori is a really, really lovable person and really generous.

What do you think is the ultimate message that you would like to see the audience take home with them from this film?

BLAIR: I don’t know. Ask Lori that, she wrote it. These children survived and, especially the one that this most horrible thing happened to, she flourished and she will flourish and there will be setbacks and things. It really is a great survival story and love story of the sisters and also, by knowing that it’s based on really true events, and maybe even knowing that this mother, the one that seemed like she’d never return to the land of the living and caring, that she is and she supports this film and she supports Lori’s truth of how she wanted to tell it and that to me is one characteristic of a great mother that will let you tell your life the way you want to even if it involves you in a really, really unflattering way. There’s a lot of redemption in that and people do horrible things but you can choose to change and they all seem to.

Can you talk a little bit about working with Todd Solondz and what that was like?

BLAIR: I love Todd. Forever I will consider him to be one of my dearest friends even though we don’t speak very much right now. He is a very private man and he’s a very special man. I think he says what he wants through his work. I don’t think he wants his own opinions and blathering on, not that he’s one to blather, but I think things can be more special if you just let it be. His writing is so succinct. His things are so darkly comedic and I find to be very true even though some people are like, “Oh my God, that’s ridiculous. That sarcasm is crazy.” “Are you kidding? That’s a funny day in the life.” I mean, that’s real to me. I get it. He’s the kind of guy that doesn’t even want to walk around with a plastic shopping bag. He doesn’t want people to see his tuna sandwich. It’s too much information. I understand and I wish I could be more like him but I’m an actress that needs to try and sell herself or sell the story she’s telling or whatever. So, here I am, blathering on and you don’t want to see any of my movies because it’s fucking boring. I’m fucking boring you all. (Laughs) So he has the right idea. I’ve never done any good by talking to you all. (Laughs) Really. I’m not saying your jobs are useless. I’m saying there’s people that can do it more eloquently and that don’t need to. I wish I could just go to work and could be good at it and learn and tell better stories instead of telling how I’m trying to tell a better story.

Obviously the words speak for themselves, but I’m just curious as a front seat person who’s been on the set with him if you had any insight into what his process is as a director?

BLAIR: He was just very specific and it was such a perfect and controlled environment. I’ve never loved being on a set so much as I did on Todd’s and then Lori’s was kind of a second to that. I love him so much. I’m not trying to be cheeky with you, like “You know why. The work speaks for itself.” I also don’t ever want to betray him. He’s someone that doesn’t want to give out information about him so I guess… I know you say it as a fan and as a journalist and not at all as gossip or anything but then I’m like, “Oh, he doesn’t like to talk about it. I’d better shut up. What do I know?” And I haven’t even worked with him in six years so for me to start talking about him…

Is it tough this selling side of your job and being asked to do these things?

BLAIR: You want to do them because you want people to see the movie and I love Lori and I want people to see her movie. I want all success for her. There are some performances you’re proud of and you want to show them and then other parts, it’s like “Oh, this is the paying part of the job.” I get it. I do get it. I’m not trying to be an ungrateful little twat, but you know, I’m really not the most eloquent speaker in these and I’ll say off color things and get myself in trouble. It’s like I just wish I didn’t have any personality that went along with acting. I wish I could just go act.

But that would be a different interview.

BLAIR: (Laughs) Well, for whom I don’t know. Things in print look a lot more serious than you intend them.

You said you watch a performance and there’s things you’d like to incorporate. Do you feel in Hellboy 2 there were things that you incorporated from the first movie that you really wanted to do when you were given a second chance to do another film?

BLAIR: It was really tricky on Hellboy 2 for me because it was a completely different character. In Hellboy 1, she was so damaged and had all this baggage and was like a 12-year-old with her best buddy. She was going to make this decision that they would have this really sweet kiss at the end. I’m not watering the movie down to that but my character was this sweet, awkward, kind of Gothic weird thing and then in the second one she was a woman and it was important and that was really difficult. Maybe it’s difficult for me to play women. I’m so used to playing … not like it’s easier for me to play men … I’m saying I really had the majority of my career as playing an adolescent or pre-adolescent or woman-child. So, when I actually have a role that’s just a strong, capable woman that is supporting and loving her man and also dealing with pregnancy and all these things inside, the movie is such a grand thing so it’s all lovely being a part of it, more than lovely. I love those movies. You know, it was a very different character. I couldn’t bring much from the first one to it because she had let that go. She had to, to function.

Has there been any discussion on your end about a third one?

BLAIR: No.

Get on the phone!

BLAIR: (Laughs) I would love to. I love those people.

Do you keep up with the comics since the movie has exploded into this huge thing now?

BLAIR: No, I’m not like a meltdown buying them whenever a new one comes out. I couldn’t even get my action figure. I had to get one sent to me from Universal. I went to the store. I was so embarrassed trying to buy your own action figure.

It is Universal. That is the problem right there.

BLAIR: They did send me some. I actually have three incarnations of my action figure - ‘on fire’ Liz, ‘really burning with fire’ Blue Liz, and then ‘regular’ Liz.

Is that odd for you going into a store and seeing a doll of yourself?

BLAIR: Oh, I love it. I just love it. I have no shame. Everyone else is like “Oh, it’s weird.” I’m like, “No, it’s not weird.” Oh my God, I wish I could give it to all my friends. I love it. That was a thrill. And she’s so petite. Her thighs didn’t touch the way mine do. (Laughs) She looked taller. Yeah, I loved it.

When you’re looking at the doll at the store, has anybody approached you and said “Oh, that’s you!” and they’re trying to….nothing?

BLAIR: No.

Why don’t you take it off the shelf and display it next to you?

BLAIR: They knew who I was when I went in the store. I was like “Got any dolls that are like me?” And they were all sold out. I was like, “I know it’s so embarrassing but you only get a doll made once in a life, if that.” So, I’m going to go in. I have no shame.

That’s a good thing that they were sold out already.

BLAIR: I know. Right?

Well as long as you have merchandising rights.

BLAIR: Oh, puleez! Do you think I’m George Lucas and Harrison Ford? My God, no! I can’t even get a doll. Forget the merchandising rights. No, that was a thrill though. I have no shame. Oh my God.

Are you still finding that balance between the bigger, more commercial projects and then these kind of more interesting films where you can immerse yourself into the character and explore more?

BLAIR: I guess I’ll always go back and forth. There is a really light, joyous side to me that can tap into some really over the top comedy stuff. I love the physical comedy. I love all that and then I really love the stuff that’s the grey matter in our minds. Hopefully we’ll get a chance to do both. Hopefully I’ll get a chance to continue working…if I shut up (Laughs).

I think fans are more interested in what you have to say than you give yourself credit for. So, with that in mind, can you talk about the plot of the film that you have coming up next, Columbus Circle? How does your character in that fit in?

BLAIR: I play a reclusive heiress who’s been a shut-in for 17 years in her Columbus Circle apartment in New York. She’s been really damaged and there’s a murder than happens across the hallway and the police start coming around and they start to question her. She has one confidante in her life played by Beau Bridges and he was a friend of her fathers who helps support me in this seclusion. I have tons of money and so I order everything online which explains the really snazzy wardrobe. (Laughs) It’s a thriller and I don’t want to give too much away. Hopefully, it works and it will be worth telling. A couple moves across the hallway into the murdered woman’s apartment and brings me out of my shell and lures me into this. It’s the con in me, maybe. (Laughs)

With a script like that, which sounds like a mystery thriller that has a lot of twists and turns, are you good at figuring out the ending before you get to it?

BLAIR: No, no, I’m pretty lazy in the brain. I just keep reading. I don’t really think about it. This one actually surprised me. It was a good script but I think the way I’m playing it, I’ve changed the whole ending. I’ve got to tell those directors. (Laughs) It’s for real. I have too much chemistry with the girl, with Amy Smart, so now we look like we’re a couple. The whole character has changed. (Laughs) The whole thing. It’s so funny. The director takes me aside and says, “You guys have a lot of chemistry in these scenes.” So I was like, “It’s so weird.” She’s a reclusive shut-in that falls in love with the girl…that’s too much. (Laughs) I’ve ruined this film.

Ben Kingsley has said in the past that it’s much more difficult to play a drunk character with the choreography in terms of re-shooting and getting back in character. Did you find that to be true shooting Sarah?

BLAIR: Well, shooting Sarah, it was such a short time and we moved so quickly so yes, I imagine if it were to be a much longer shoot and you have to stay true to continuity while you’re also still kind of free falling with a character that’s drunk, because who knows what comes out when you have the liberty of being drunk, so yeah, I imagine what Sir Ben Kingsley says is…I can imagine. But with this one, we’d just do a couple takes so there wasn’t a ton to repeat but I was conscious of it. You have a continuity person coming up to you saying, “Okay. You stumbled here. You picked this up and turned it around in your glass.” And it is kind of difficult to have to match things when you’re free associating and free falling. Thank God the shoot was so short so it wasn’t that challenging.

I always look forward to seeing what you’re going to do when you’re doing a public event, when you’re on a red carpet or something because you seem to have fun with your fashion. Can you talk about your approach to personal style? Does it differ in your everyday life from what it is when you’re doing a big public event?

BLAIR: I think for a while I really tried to impress my mother when I’d get gussied up for a red carpet event. I hold her in the highest esteem and how she would put herself together and how she wanted her children put together with very classic fashion sensibilities so I really honored her with that and felt much more comfortable when I’d go out and just felt very appropriate for the event, because what comes out of my mouth isn’t always appropriate so I feel like you have to have a balance, like you can’t scare people away too much. But yeah, in my own life, I run the gamut from completely immature, kind of punk clothing even though I’m not punk but I do love some of the fun of that even though I’m probably far too old to wear it, but I guess a punk would say, “Fuck off! It doesn’t matter.” (Laughs) So, no apologies there. You know, I just wear everything. I mean, as a child I would dress in costume a lot. Every day was a different style at school and my mom thought I was crazy but I enjoyed it and no one ever gave me any flack for it. But no, I almost completely wear a gown one day and then wear a whole equestrian outfit the next day with the boots and the crop. I mean, ludicrous. But it was really fun and I think if you’re well meaning, the clothing is really, really fun. I like to be a little more conservative in my ‘going out’ life.

“The Poker House” opens in theaters on July 17th.