Jodie Foster

By Sean Chavel in Los Angeles

Jodie Foster takes her time in between roles, preferring to work under a brand of excellence before conceding to hastiness. She is a mother of two now, and likes to develop projects at her own Egg Productions, where she is trying to get Flora Plum off the ground as well as other dreamed but unspecified projects. But she jumped on the chance to sweat through David Fincher’s latest thriller Panic Room, replacing the originally cast Nicole Kidman about three weeks into filming when she suffered a knee injury. The actress talks about the thrill of working with the highly meticulous director and about other choices she has made in her career that has along the way garnered two Academy Awards (the best actress trophy recipient for The Accused in 1988 and The Silence of the Lambs in 1991). Not bad for an actress that originally premiered as the Coppertone cover baby.

Actresses sometimes have reservations on playing victimized characters. Do you have a problem tackling roles like that? I don’t know anybody that has a problem with playing things like this. Let me just say this. Drama is about dramatic things happening to people. Whether it be a man or woman in this case it wouldn’t matter. It’s about how the character works through diversity. I think what people probably - women especially - get upset about is where women are portrayed as passive victims. They are usually not the center of the story. They are usually saved by someone else. [Beat] They’re props. Children as well usually fall into that character. A child is abducted so the main character has an interesting thing to do, like save the kid. A hero as a structural forum is specifically goes through a dramatic situation not of his making in order to prevail at the end.

You couldn’t work on The Game with David Fincher, but did you look forward to working with him? [Smiles] I tracked him down for The Game. I was so interested in him as a director. I really wanted to work with him. We kept in touch after all these years. I know a lot of people who worked with him. His first [assistant director] is my first A.D. His casting person has cast a movie for me as well.

You were sold on the Panic Room script pretty quick. You signed onto the movie in about three days, wasn’t it? Yeah, I had read the script before anybody was involved. And I was interested what David Fincher was up to, and I found out he was doing that script.

What’s it like being a director yourself on working on a film with somebody like Fincher? I think it’s a good thing for David, because he’s such a technical director. It’s really important to him to have actors that are very experienced and that know how to accommodate the camera and understand how films are made. He’s not the kind of director that could work with a first-time actor or a second-time actor. That would be a bad mix.

Does being a director yourself give you a different perspective with working with directors? Yeah, I think so. I think you’re just more respectful to them. I think you want to serve them more, because you know how hard it is to make movies. Most importantly, you know how films are cut. You know what the elements are that they need. Usually when directors give you a note - he may give you acting notes about a line - but mostly it is about accommodating his cutting and style.

Jodie, you’ve been in front of the camera you’re entire life. You’re very selective with the roles you choose. Do you look for looking for a strong director or other criteria? Yeah, now more than ever I really look forward to working with very experienced and interesting directors. Because selfishly I like to stand behind them and go, ‘Wow! How did they do that?’ That just keeps me going.

Now that Hannibal has come and gone, do you believe it was a wise decision to pass on it? Well, I was busy because I was shooting Flora Plum and The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys. So I had two movies I was involved with when Hannibal would have been shooting.

Tell me about how it was going to the set and facing Fincher’s meticulous work habits? I knew that about him, though. That’s how I knew I was the right actress for him because I love that stuff. There’s a lot of stuff I’m not good at like improvisation. I’m just bad at it. You get me in a corner and you say, ‘Think of something.’ And I’m like arghhh! I’m not a good quick-witted writer.

What gives you a greater validation, acting or directing? I love directing… I like acting…. But I have to admit that my goal now is really about directing.

Speaking of things you’re good at, how is motherhood going? Yeah, it’s going good. It’s great.

Does it affect your professional choices? No, no. I mean, yeah. I probably work less because I don’t want to be constantly working. I think I end up choosing movies that I love. If I’m going to make a sacrifice and make a commitment like that, I want to make sure it’s something I’m very passionate about.

As a high-profile celebrity have you ever entertained the though of having your own panic room? No, no. It’s just not me. I’m not much of a paranoid. [Beat] Anyway, I think what the message of the movie is… is don’t get a panic room!