THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, September 14, 1996 TAG: 9609130067
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MAL VINCENT, ENTERTAINMENT WRITER
LENGTH: 86 lines
THE THEATER owners of America chose Cameron Diaz as their 1996 ``star of tomorrow'' at its recent convention.
``Tomorrow'' becomes ``today'' this week when the dewy blonde arrives in two widely differing roles on local screens - a one-two punch that suggests that she is, in spite of outward appearances, more than just the latest blonde.
In ``She's the One,'' she plays Heather, the heartbreaker who comes between two brothers. One brother is leaving his wife over her. The other had an affair with her years before - and he's never quite gotten over it. In ``Feeling Minnesota,'' she plays Freddie, a semi-bimbo who dreams of escaping her small-town Minnesota life and going to Las Vegas. She's about to marry the geekish Vincent D'Onofrio when she runs off with his vagabond brother (Keanu Reeves), who has just gotten out of jail.
The two vastly different roles should dispel the belief that Cameron Diaz is just another pretty face.
``It's very nice of the theater owners to name me,'' Diaz said as she sat for an interview in New York. ``But I don't think it's in writing - and I don't think it guarantees anything.
``The majority of moviegoers who know me, let's face it, know me as the babe in `The Mask.' I'm recognized by a lot of little boys. They're so cute. They never can look me in the face. They're Jim Carrey fans. I was just the girl in that movie.''
Though she's just 23, Diaz is not new to the Hollywood game, or to working for a living. A resident of Long Beach, she was noticed by a fashion photographer at a Hollywood party at age 16. While her high school classmates were worrying about sophomore English exams, she was flying off to Japan, Morocco and Paris for photo shoots.
``I was making a good living, but I wasn't really in the top echelon of models,'' she said. ``I wasn't really eager to make the switch to acting. I had no interest in going to acting school for years, but I do like storytelling.''
She admits that her role in ``The Mask'' was just glamorous decoration but she claims it was not so easy to play. ``I'm usually the loud one. For this, I had to learn to be the straight woman to Jim. Playing a scene with him is like being in a tornado. I wouldn't be quite so reflective, but my job was just to be the girl who drives Jim Carrey to mania. It was a job.''
She then turned down all the blond bombshell roles that came along. Her first role after ``The Mask'' was a small, independent movie called ``The Last Supper,'' a movie that drew attention locally at the Naro, and suggested that she was not only willing, but capable, of holding her own in an ensemble cast.
She actively sought the role in ``Losing Minnesota.''
``I didn't fully understand that girl, Freddie, and I wanted to get inside her mind. She's a girl who dreams a lot - phony dreams - as if getting to Las Vegas would be the solution to all her problems. But I liked the fact that all the men in the movie regard her as some kind of bimbo but she proves to be smarter than any of them.''
She describes co-star Keanu Reeves as ``sweet and supportive.''
Her real-life boyfriend, though, is actor Matt Dillon whom she says ``knows, as well as anyone I know, how to handle the celebrity thing. He's friendly to people but sends them signals to keep their distance. I need to learn how to do that.''
She sought ``She's the One'' because she is a big fan of writer-director Edward Burns' first film, ``The Brothers McMullen.'' `` `She's the One' is a script that had me laughing out loud as I read it,'' she said. ``But I didn't think the character of Heather was complete. She's unsympathetic and cold. The role has to be played with a rather cool exterior but I think the audience should care about how she'll end up. I talked with Ed about it, and he agreed to add a little dimension to her.''
To thoroughly cement the fact that 1996 is her year, she's completed two other movies that will be released by year's end.
She plays Harvey Keitel's wife in a thriller called ``Head Above Water'' and opposite Julia Roberts in ``My Best Friend's Wedding.''
``Working with Julia reminded me that I wouldn't really want the degree of fame she has. How, possibly, does anything in life prepare you for that kind of life? I mean, she has no privacy. She can't go out. She's like a prisoner. I felt very sorry for Jim (Carrey). During the filming of `The Mask,' it happened. `Ace Ventura' came out and, suddenly, he can never be a real person again. They say it's just a game you need to learn, and to play, but my life is not a game.
``I want to be successful enough to get good work, but I don't want other people running my life. The really scary thing is that everything I've worked for can be taken away by people who don't care.'' ILLUSTRATION: FINE LINE FEATURES
Cameron Diaz, here in ``Feeling Minnesota,'' also stars in ``She's
the One.''
KEYWORDS: INTERVIEW by CNB