LOS ANGELES - When "he" becomes "she" in a script, Sigourney Weaver sometimes gets the call. And so far, the movie sex changes have worked out well.
Originally, her Ripley role in Ridley Scott's Alien was written for a male lead. So was her xenobotanist physician Grace Augustine in James Cameron's Avatar. Her latest part in the action thriller, Abduction, was initially written for a man, as well.
In the movie, which opened Sept. 23, Weaver plays Dr. Bennett, a therapist and handler for Taylor Lautner's Nathan. He's a teen who comes to the shock of realization that he's living somebody else's life. When he's on the verge of exposing the real story, a team of killers strike, forcing him to hit the road. But it doesn't take him long to figure out he has to track down his biological father in order to survive, and find out the truth in the process. With Nathan on his quest is a friend (Lily Collins), one of the few people he can trust.
Besides Weaver, the John Singleton-directed movie is spiked with veterans, including Alfred Molina, Maria Bello and Jason Isaacs. Only the Oscar-honoured actress was assigned a role originally meant for the opposite sex, though.
"And I am not insulted at all, but I guess that's because I have been in years of therapy," said Weaver during an interview promoting Abduction at a Beverly Hills hotel.
In fact, she takes the role reversal as a compliment, and she always has.
"I think, when (writers are) putting a script together, they actually aren't thinking about the chemistry," she said. "I actually prefer the purity of a part that's written for a man, because I find that when it's written for a woman - usually by a man - it will always have some stupid breakdown scene, or some stupid thing that would never really happen.
"As a feminist, I go, 'Yes, we're taking over.' It's good, because women are playing these roles in real life, and I'm very happy to represent women in these other kinds of roles, even if they're villains."
She also enjoyed the company she was keeping on the Abduction set in and around Pittsburgh last year. She called Lautner "a bundle of energy" who is bound to have "a long career." And Singleton, according to Weaver, "is a student of film who really knows his stuff, which impressed me, because I have never taken a film course in my life."
She wasn't even concerned about her low-profile, though pivotal, part, in Abduction. "We decided that I wouldn't show much or give anything away."
Indeed, size doesn't matter these days. She's been the star of the Alien franchise and had top billing for most of her career. But she's finding a new energy in co-starring roles. "I love to mix it up."
That's exactly what the actress has done over the last few years. She's part of the ensemble cast in the L.A. police corruption expose, Ramparts, which is tentatively set for release later in the year. Opening early in 2012, Red Lights has her playing a debunker of paranormal activity investigating a world-renowned psychic played by Robert De Niro. Next April, Weaver can be seen co-starring with Bruce Willis as undercover socialites in the action drama, The Cold Light of Day.
"And in Vamps, I am an unrepentant vampire," said Weaver of the Amy Heckerling movie due out later in 2012.
And don't tell the actress that co-starring parts are easier. "People say, 'But this is a small part.' I don't believe that, and I think that they are much harder to do, because you don't have the whole movie to get the job done."
For instance, there was her small but key role as Dana in two Ghostbusters movies. Speaking of which, what's the status of Ghostbusters III? "I was hoping you could tell me," said Weaver, who hasn't read the Dan Aykroyd script.
However, she was told by Ghostbusters III producer and director Ivan Reitman that Dana's infant son Oscar has grown up to be a Ghostbuster in the new movie.
What Weaver knows for sure is that she refuses to do the third one if Bill Murray backs out. "I don't think it works without Bill."
Most agree. So all involved are waiting for the elusive Murray to make a decision before the film can move forward. It's all riding on him. "And I bet Bill's loving that," she said.
Meanwhile, Cameron's Avatar sequels will be filmed back to back, but not for a few years. Her involvement might be a moot point, anyway. Her character was eliminated at the conclusion.
"That's an interpretation," she said. "You saw something happen to me, but as (Cameron) says, 'In science fiction, no one ever dies.'''
Originally, her Ripley role in Ridley Scott's Alien was written for a male lead. So was her xenobotanist physician Grace Augustine in James Cameron's Avatar. Her latest part in the action thriller, Abduction, was initially written for a man, as well.
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| Actor Sigourney Weaver attends the premiere of Lionsgate Films’ “Abduction” at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre on September 15 in Hollywood, California |
Besides Weaver, the John Singleton-directed movie is spiked with veterans, including Alfred Molina, Maria Bello and Jason Isaacs. Only the Oscar-honoured actress was assigned a role originally meant for the opposite sex, though.
"And I am not insulted at all, but I guess that's because I have been in years of therapy," said Weaver during an interview promoting Abduction at a Beverly Hills hotel.
In fact, she takes the role reversal as a compliment, and she always has.
"I think, when (writers are) putting a script together, they actually aren't thinking about the chemistry," she said. "I actually prefer the purity of a part that's written for a man, because I find that when it's written for a woman - usually by a man - it will always have some stupid breakdown scene, or some stupid thing that would never really happen.
"As a feminist, I go, 'Yes, we're taking over.' It's good, because women are playing these roles in real life, and I'm very happy to represent women in these other kinds of roles, even if they're villains."
She also enjoyed the company she was keeping on the Abduction set in and around Pittsburgh last year. She called Lautner "a bundle of energy" who is bound to have "a long career." And Singleton, according to Weaver, "is a student of film who really knows his stuff, which impressed me, because I have never taken a film course in my life."
She wasn't even concerned about her low-profile, though pivotal, part, in Abduction. "We decided that I wouldn't show much or give anything away."
Indeed, size doesn't matter these days. She's been the star of the Alien franchise and had top billing for most of her career. But she's finding a new energy in co-starring roles. "I love to mix it up."
That's exactly what the actress has done over the last few years. She's part of the ensemble cast in the L.A. police corruption expose, Ramparts, which is tentatively set for release later in the year. Opening early in 2012, Red Lights has her playing a debunker of paranormal activity investigating a world-renowned psychic played by Robert De Niro. Next April, Weaver can be seen co-starring with Bruce Willis as undercover socialites in the action drama, The Cold Light of Day.
"And in Vamps, I am an unrepentant vampire," said Weaver of the Amy Heckerling movie due out later in 2012.
And don't tell the actress that co-starring parts are easier. "People say, 'But this is a small part.' I don't believe that, and I think that they are much harder to do, because you don't have the whole movie to get the job done."
For instance, there was her small but key role as Dana in two Ghostbusters movies. Speaking of which, what's the status of Ghostbusters III? "I was hoping you could tell me," said Weaver, who hasn't read the Dan Aykroyd script.
However, she was told by Ghostbusters III producer and director Ivan Reitman that Dana's infant son Oscar has grown up to be a Ghostbuster in the new movie.
What Weaver knows for sure is that she refuses to do the third one if Bill Murray backs out. "I don't think it works without Bill."
Most agree. So all involved are waiting for the elusive Murray to make a decision before the film can move forward. It's all riding on him. "And I bet Bill's loving that," she said.
Meanwhile, Cameron's Avatar sequels will be filmed back to back, but not for a few years. Her involvement might be a moot point, anyway. Her character was eliminated at the conclusion.
"That's an interpretation," she said. "You saw something happen to me, but as (Cameron) says, 'In science fiction, no one ever dies.'''
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