| The shooting schedule’s
contretemps notwithstanding, Heigl has developed a tolerance for the role’s physical
obligations. It’s the emotional stuff that’s pretty exacting. "For me, the
way I perform, I really work myself up into a state and that can be very tiring,"
notes the actress, "— especially with this graveyard scene! I’m supposed to
be very frightened, I don’t know whether I’m going to be dead in two minutes.
We’re shooting it so many days in a row, and I have to react to all the death and
blood I’ve seen already. I haven’t really had any experience in my life that I
can relate blood and gore to, but I’ve had death and tragedy in my life, so I have to
recall all that and bring it into my character as Jade. When things happen like that in my
life, I don’t think "Oh great! I’ll be able to use this in my acting!"
but sometimes I do use it. It’s not fun, though, I dredge it all up and, for me,
it’s very familiar – I can remember those feelings very precisely. My biggest
fear with that is overacting but, for this type of thing, a lot of it has to be [a bit
over-the-top]." 
Even though Heigl doesn’t have a list of favorite horror movies to draw upon, she
admits that JAWS terrified her as a child. "I wouldn’t go in the water for
years!" she recounts. In regard to the current crop of genre films, Heigl professes
an admiration for Wes Craven’s SCREAM and its sequel. She relates the ideal
environment for screening a scary movie: "O went to see I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST
SUMMER in the theatre alone. I like seeing movies alone. I’m kind of a loser that
way, I guess [laughs]. I was totally frightened by it, and then when I saw it later on
video, it wasn’t as scary. I saw SCREAM 2 and was totally freaked-out by it. I think
that’s what movies are all about. They get to the core of people and really shake
things up."
Interview and article by Paul
Wardle |
