She's the Man Interview

I've seen this interview reprinted somewhere (can't remember where) but I didn't realize they were being interviewed by kids.

Here's the text in case the link disappears:

Interviewed by Becca Weinstein, Sammy Creath and Lauren Creath

(Becca and Sammy are 15 and in 10th grade at Redwood HS, Lauren is 13 and in 8th grade at Hall MS)

Becca Weinstein, Sammy Creath and Lauren Creath, teen journalists with Kids Pic’s, had the exciting privilege to interview Amanda Bynes, Channing Tatum, Laura Ramsey and Robert Hoffman. They were in town promoting their new film “She’s the Man”, which opens in theaters Friday March 17th. They were super friendly and engaging with us, and had fun answering our questions.

Becca: We saw “She’s the Man” last week and really enjoyed it. What did you like about the script and what made you want to do this movie?

Amanda: I thought it would be fun to play a boy, and a great opportunity for comedy, because I love doing comedy.

Channing: I liked the ‘sensitive jock thing’ that my character had. It was interesting to show a ‘real’ introspective of a guy who knows he’s insecure, but tries to be cool, and is not. I also liked the idea of working with Amanda. I knew it would be good and funny.

Laura: I was attracted to the story line revolving around Shakespeare. I thought that would give it more class and be more interesting than just another teen movie.

Robert: As soon as I read the script, I knew I liked it and my character. He is quirky, crazy and funny and that’s the kind of material I’m drawn to.

Sammy: There were so many great scenes. What was your favorite scene to film?

Amanda: Every scene was fun in it’s own way. But I’ll say the lab scenes, when we were in school. The sets were really cool, and that’s when I was starting to get into the guy character. It was a blast!

Channing: For me it was the spider scene. It was very late at night when we shot it and we were starting to crack-up at anything. We had a great time. We could even hear the guys at the monitor laughing, and that inspired us.

Laura: Mine was the fight scene. I had a lot of fun getting down and dirty, punching and yelling with 3 girls in the bathroom.

Robert: Whenever I get a chance to do improvisation, I love it. There was a point when I was playing goalie, and out of nowhere, I decided that I was a ‘Ninja’ goalie. I had fun acting and was really happy that scene made it into the film.

Becca: How did you prepare for your roles?

Amanda: I went to different malls to watch guys, but since I’ve seen guys my whole life, it didn’t teach me anything. I think everyone has many different characters in their head, and play them at different times throughout the day depending on where we are or who we are with…we just do. So I tried to tap into that and focus on the guy thing.

Channing: I coached in LA, but I think all characters come from experiences that you’ve had. Mine were remembering all the comfortable times in my life and trying to be cool, when you’re not.

Laura: Since a big part of the theme was Shakespeare, we watched the “Twelfth Night”, and talked about how it related to our movie and the characters. For me, it helped me to understand Olivia. Also, connecting with everyone and getting comfortable was great, because when we got on the set, things came easily. I wasn’t nervous and felt relaxed.

Robert: I knew what was going to be really fun about Justin, and that was that I could play myself, but be as arrogant, careless and mean as possible. That was fun because you don’t usually do that on a daily basis. That was how I approached it.

Lauren: Amanda, how did you make your hair look like a boy?

Amanda: They had very talented people doing that. They wrapped my hair in a wig, and gave me sideburns & thicker eyebrows to complete the look.

Sammy: Your ‘guy look’ was great in the movie. What was it like playing a boy? And did you get to do improvisation with your script?

Amanda: It was a wonderful experience. I got to go for it. It was such a great role and much more interesting than just playing a normal girl. And yes, the director and I had the same sense of humor, so I didn’t hold anything back. We are the type of actors that don’t just read what’s on the page. Everyone here has a strong personality and all made their part richer and better.

Becca: Channing, have you ever had a hard time talking to girls like your character did in the movie?

Channing: Yes…I am not a witty person, so I found my niche in being a dork. Then all of the sudden, it became easy to be myself, and that taught me how to interact with the female gender. But, I never really knew how to talk to girls, especially when I got nervous.

Sammy: Have any of you ever played soccer before? What was training like?

Amanda: I might have played during recess for fun, but I was never into sports. I should not have been out there! I should never be allowed to play with these people, and they were all so nice. If I couldn’t get it, they’d say, “Hey, over here”, and helped me out.

Channing: In high school, I was a really good football player. Our soccer team needed some athletes, so I played for 2 years. But, I didn’t learn half as much as I have learned with these guys in Vancouver who helped us on the field.

Laura: I had a TV show called “The Days” where I got to play soccer. I learned a couple of moves there.

Robert: Not really, but we had 3 weeks of training with these talented soccer players that were great at working with people who didn’t have experience. They had patience with us and knew how to get us to do what we were supposed to do.

Becca: What were your high school experiences like?

Amanda: Because of my acting career, I was only at school one week out of every month. I had a great time when I was there. I went to an all girl’s school. We didn’t have a football team. Girls at an all girl’s school get feisty, because there are no guys…there can be a lot of tension. But, I was working on “All That”, so I had a group of funny kids around all the time who I related to more.

Channing: I did not enjoy high school, but I did like the comradre of friends but I was not a good student. I have learned so much more now that I am not in school. I think people learn differently at their own pace when things aren’t controlling them.

Laura: I loved high school, but for the wrong reasons…for the parties and friends. I was getting into trouble and wasn’t very good with homework, but I graduated.

Robert: I am not afraid to say that I don’t like high school and didn’t go to high school, but have a diploma, because I had a really cool tutor. I knew early on what I wanted to do and what I would never do, and I would never apply what the knowledge of what an ‘invertebrate’ is to my life! So I ditched school. I believe that if you have a passion at a young age, you should go for it. There is nothing wrong with moving on with your life and not wasting time.

Sammy: When did each of you decide that you wanted to become actors?

Amanda: I would go see my sister do plays and memorize everything. Then I started doing plays. From there, I did a stand-up comedy camp at the Comedy Store in Los Angeles. I started getting better and some producers from “All That” saw me when I was 10 years old and liked me.

Channing: I always loved movies, but didn’t really know if I could act. Then one day I said, “I can do this, I got it”. That’s how it was for me.

Laura: Since I was born, I always wanted to be an actress. I remember working in a nursing home for old people and talking with them about it, and they said, “Honey, you’ve got to just go do it, or you are going to be an old woman, and you’ll be miserable if you don’t try. So I had to try, and knew I had a great family to fall back on you if it didn’t work. I am happy to say that so far everything is good and I am working as an actress.

Lauren: Do you prefer TV or movies, and what makes them different?

Amanda: As long as people hire me and have good material, I feel lucky doing either. They are different. On a TV sitcom, you’re working Monday – Thursday on one script, and then Friday you film. On a movie, there is a much higher energy. The more I work, I feel fortunate that I get to be choosier. Because, it’s not about the money, it’s about making movies that speak to you.

Laura: Also, on TV you play the same person the whole time and that can get really boring. On a movie, you get to play totally different characters and be creative, like dye your hair or get fake piercings. That’s fun!