Close-Up: Lauren German
Posted by Rob Ortenzi on 31-Aug-07 @ 11:15 AM
If you didn't watch UPN long enough to see the quickly canceled Sex, Love & Secrets or couldn't haul your dupa to Park City, Utah, this year to overdose on independent cinema at the Sundance Film Festival, there's a good chance you might not be familiar with LAUREN GERMAN. However, we're betting that won't last for long.INTERVIEW: Keith Lincoln Fans of horror movies know that being a main character means you're typically the most attractive and, therefore, the last to die. But Eli Roth isn't your typical horror director. What can we expect from the character you play in Hostel: Part II? Beth is a very East Coast, upper-class collegiate girl. She decides to study abroad with her friend Whitney [Bijou Phillips]. They're studying over in Rome and they start [going] out of town every couple weekends, so she's a very adventurous, sharp, cool girl. [She's] taking advantage of being in Europe and having the opportunity to travel like any college girl would. You also played a small role as "Teenage Girl" in the remake of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, so you're fairly well-versed in the horror genre. That movie had one of the most outrageously violent opening scenes ever. How did you pull that off? It was a real Glock that was used, so I put it in my mouth and pulled the trigger, which was incredibly nerve racking. There was a tiny, tiny metal pipe attached that pumps an incredibly strong puff of air that blows my cheeks out. We shot that, but they made an exact replica of me from my shoulders up [and pulled] a small camera through the mouth, out of the back of the head, through the bullet hole in the back of the van and then 300 feet out into a cornfield. I remember thinking how badly I wanted the part and my audition was embarrassing because whatever meltdown I had in the van, I had to have in a small room in front of just a few people. And then I show up to start shooting, and there are tons of people and cameras and lights watching me. Either way, that part was difficult to do. Did you keep the bust of your head? No! I don't know where it went. But I would see various cast members humping it, so I don't know if I even want it. I remember one day looking over and seeing [co-star] Eric Balfour going to town on my replica. They should put some of that footage in a blooper reel. [Laughs.] If they even have one. How would you compare the atmosphere on the sets of each horror flick? Eli is a very light person. Even if we're shooting something that is seemingly intense, he counterbalances that with his attitude. It can get very serious very quickly when you're hurting each other or watching people get hurt. You subconsciously react to those sights, and Eli would keep that in mind and try to make things a bit easier. In that aspect he was very different from [The Texas Chainsaw Massacre director] Marcus [Nispel]. I remember in [that movie] when I was sitting in the van ready to do the first take, Marcus was screaming passionately, ready to shoot. He was extremely serious. But horror film or not, directors are serious in their own right. Obviously being in a horror film is different from watching one, but was there ever a moment in Hostel: Part II when you were scared to death and weren't acting? Oh, yeah, absolutely. The most scared I was on set was when I watched Heather Matarazzo shoot her torture scene. She had asked me to come and just kind of be there. Her scene is extremely intense, more so than my own character's. But after that shot, I had the worst nightmares I've ever had. And I haven't had a nightmare in years. It was very difficult to watch. But when I'm shooting my own [scenes], you just get into the moment and it kind of acts itself. You've come a long way since your first role on the TV series Sex, Love And Secrets, where you played a celebrity journalist opposite Denise Richards. Hmmm.... It wasn't that long ago. Is it hard to remember or do you not want to remember? I did work on that show, but I didn't enjoy myself too much. It's just that you do what you love when you work in acting, and hopefully you get to enjoy yourself every step of the way. But that was very difficult to be a part of. Denise Richards was an exception. She was wonderful. But as far as other people, I can't really go into it any more. It just wasn't the right time to be there. Out of everything I've done that was my least favorite. So what upcoming films of yours should we keep on our radar? I just got back from the SXSW Film Festival where another one of my films was premiering called Love And Mary, which was written and directed by Elizabeth Harrison. But I couldn't stay in town long enough to go catch any bands. The film premiere was too time consuming. Last thing: Which was more terrifying-working with dangerous Europeans in Hostel: Part II, or working with Mandy Moore in A Walk To Remember? Neither! None of the above. This is a Scantron question, right? Mandy Moore is an absolute angel. [She's] made of sugar and breakaway glass. You can try to get me to talk about her, but not a single negative word will ever come up! ALT CHEAT SHEET After graduating from Orange County High School of the Arts, aspiring actress Lauren German made a bloody splash in the opening scene of 2003's remake of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre; more recently, she's been snagging screen time in indie flicks like It Is Fine. Everything Is Fine!, Love And Mary and the long-awaited Germs docu-drama What We Do Is Secret. This month, German stars in Hostel: Part II, a cinematic caveat for anyone looking to stay at a Slovakian hostel any time soon. THE UNIVERSAL LANGUAGE Apparently, iPods are the new teacup Chihuahua because everyone in L.A. has one. But in the case of actress Lauren German, the girl's got three, all of varying sizes. "I have the Shuffle, then the tiniest one, the Nano. And then I have a regular-sized one." As she talks to us from the phone in her L.A. digs, she turns up the volume on one of her many MP3 players and blasts Sam Cooke's "A Change Is Gonna Come," insisting "this song takes me to the moon. "Other than [Cooke], I've been into a mix of bands like Nina Simone, the Platters, Buddy Guy and the new Black Rebel Motorcycle Club [Baby 81]." Doesn't get more eclectic than that. -Keith Lincoln |
