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|  Beauty is in the eyes of Christina Ricci
Quote:
The actress, who plays a pig-faced girl in the modern fable 'Penelope,' talks about the importance of appearance in Hollywood.
By BARRY KOLTNOW
The Orange County Register
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In a hotel suite with two people in it – one a bald, aging journalist and the other a beautiful young actress with big, spectacularly expressive eyes – there is only one who thinks he looks good in a mirror.
Although she is clearly not the bald, aging journalist, Christina Ricci apparently has a few beauty issues.
"I think I'm more attractive in person than in pictures," the outspoken actress said matter-of-factly with the kind of candor that has become her trademark. "Luckily, I've been around a long time and I've broken through. I've been accepted by Hollywood. But if some young actress who looked like me was just coming up, she'd really have some problems.
"What is held up as beautiful in our society is very specific," she added, "and it's not me."
Using that bit of stark self-criticism as a starting point, it is not difficult to understand why Ricci identified with the title role in "Penelope," a modern fable about a girl who is cursed with a pig-snout. The curse can only be broken if she finds true love, which is near-impossible because her parents have turned her into a recluse in an attempt to protect her from the world's prying eyes and cruel taunts.
The film, which opens Feb. 29, was produced by Reese Witherspoon, who also stars in the movie as a free spirit who befriends the human curiosity.
"I love the message in the movie, which is a gentle reminder, particularly to young girls, not to get crippled by your insecurities," Ricci said. "People should be who they are. People should see the beauty in themselves. It's all about self-love and self-acceptance."
Ricci, 28, said those were lessons she also had to learn, even though she has been a respected movie actress since she was 9, portraying Cher's daughter in the 1990 film "Mermaids." Her real breakthrough role as a child actress came a year later in "The Addams Family," and continued in the sequel "Addams Family Values" and in the family film "Casper." She made the successful leap to adult roles in the 1997 film "The Ice Storm."
"I had times in my life when insecurities prevented me from fully experiencing my life," she explained. "If you hate yourself, it impacts everything in your life. You could be standing in the Louvre, but if you hate yourself, that's all you think about. It doesn't matter that these beautiful paintings are right in front of you.
"As a teenager, I used to read stuff written about me, and no one ever considered me beautiful. Even now, no one ever calls me beautiful. They called me quirky then, and they call me quirky now. But I never let that adversely affect my career. The kind of actress you are is influenced by everything about you, including your physicality, and if I was going to be considered quirky, then I was going to pursue a quirky career.
"Some people have told me that my choices in roles are odd or risky, but I've never seen it that way. I have an odd view of the world, so my choices seem entirely normal to me."
Producer Jennifer Simpson begs to differ.
Simpson, president of Witherspoon's production company Type A Films, said Ricci is "unbelievably courageous" to take on a role like this.
"Reese and I have always been huge fans of Christina's. There is something so magical about her on screen. And her choice of roles has always been brave. This one, in particular, is very brave. If you told most actresses that you were planning to put a pig's nose on them, they would have fled."
Director Mark Palansky said he saw courage in Ricci's performance as well, but he discovered a level of professionalism in her that stunned him.
"She and I are about the same age, but she has been a professional actor for almost two decades. I can't tell you what I was doing 20 years ago, except that it was probably the same thing most 8-year-olds are doing. Christina has been a pro so long, and it showed every day on the set. She understands what the camera sees. She understands how it works. She knows exactly where it is at all times.
"People in this business are always trying to tell you that they couldn't imagine anyone else for a particular role. Well, in this case, it's true. She was perfect for Penelope. The character wears a scarf in parts of the movie, and Christina's eyes are the most amazing eyes in Hollywood. Her eyes literally animated Penelope."
Born in Santa Monica, Ricci grew up with her mother in Montclair, N.J., after her parents divorced. At 8, she already was showing the type of talent and toughness that would serve her well over the next 18 years.
In fact, she confirmed part of the Christina Ricci legend that has followed her, particularly on the Internet, from those early years.
According to the legend, the year before she was discovered by a talent agent and cast in the "Mermaids" role, she was still in elementary school. She already was very interested in acting and was about to appear in a school Christmas play. The lead role belonged to a boy in her class, but she wanted it. And she eventually got it – although her means were a little less-than-honorable.
We'll let Christina tell the story:
"Yes, that story is 100 percent true," she said as she held her head in her hands in mock shame. "It was an original play created by our music teacher. We were re-enacting the 12 days of Christmas, and I felt that I should be the lead. I remember thinking that they were all doing it wrong, and that I knew how to do this so much better. But the role was written for a boy.
"I kept my mouth shut for a long time, and stayed back in the chorus, waiting for the teacher to realize his mistake and make me the lead. When that didn't happen, I fell back on Plan B."
Plan B, as Ricci recalls it, involved teasing the boy so much that he was moved to retaliate. As soon as he hit her, he was thrown out of the play, and young, sweet, innocent Christina got the lead role.
"I was an evil genius even at that age," she said, smiling. "And I've been paying for it karmically ever since."
Bad karma notwithstanding, Ricci has done well in a lengthy career that seems to be still on the rise. Her last role was opposite Samuel L. Jackson in the controversial film "Black Snake Moan," in which she spent the better part of the movie in her underwear chained to the wall, and her next film is the summer blockbuster "Speed Racer," written and directed by the mysterious Wachowski brothers ("The Matrix").
The film, which opens May 9, is a live-action adaptation of the 1960s Japanese cartoon series. Ricci plays Trixie, one of the racers.
"Although that film seems so different than 'Penelope,' I consider them similar in that I find both coming from a position of strong moral fiber, and I find both empowering to women. That's important to me. Young girls get such negative messages from the media, and I want to give them some positive messages for a change."
| I'm kinda like that. Especially the first paragraph, as I think the same way. Love the explanation of getting the part as well!  link
These were also on the site, credit to original capper/poster.     
Well if Miss Ricci is reading this: You're beautiful, gorgeous, stuning, sexy, amazingly attractive! And a brilliant actress. There I said it. |
02-28-2008, 03:15 PM
Yup! I am!
