Jamie Lee Curtis Has Never Worked Hard a Day in Her Life

December 2, 2019 12:25 PM

The actress on addiction, beauty standards, famous parents, writing kids’ books, and her encounters with Bette Davis.

Also for anyone else who immediately went to Google that picture of Christopher Guest

posted by Etrigan (29 comments total)

Aww, she came up with the "make good choices" line! I use that on my kids daily.
posted by The corpse in the library at 12:36 PM on December 2, 2019 [8 favorites]

To be fair, he does look pretty good in that picture. We use the 'good choices' like frequently around here, too.
posted by jquinby at 12:51 PM on December 2, 2019 [1 favorite]

I am in the faction that reads wikipedia synopses of horror movies prior to watching. I take the added step, however, of never actually watching the movie.
posted by q*ben at 1:14 PM on December 2, 2019 [34 favorites]

same, q*ben. I have seen Halloween though.

aside: one of my favorite dumb little throwaway jokes in an Achewood strip is the notion of a celebrity cookbook written by Jamie Lee Curtis entitled Cooking for Guests
posted by dismas at 1:16 PM on December 2, 2019 [8 favorites]

I love her, she just seems so down to earth. Her photo shoot in her underwear was one of the earliest push-backs to the damaging way women are portrayed in the media. I don't remember anyone getting that real before, just to show what a sham it all was.
posted by Serene Empress Dork at 1:26 PM on December 2, 2019 [12 favorites]

It's kind of refreshing that she doesn't have any pretense that her success is self-made as many other scions have. But who is the bigger psychopath -- the horror movie serial killer, or the entitled audience member looking at her phone (or, in the day, using a flashlight) in a movie theater?
posted by knoyers at 1:33 PM on December 2, 2019 [1 favorite]

They pay money—good, after-tax money—to go and buy expensive bad popcorn and sugar drinks just to sit there to be tortured by a filmmaker.

OK, that. Yes. I could be friends with her.
posted by droplet at 1:46 PM on December 2, 2019 [14 favorites]

But who is the bigger psychopath -- the horror movie serial killer, or the entitled audience member looking at her phone (or, in the day, using a flashlight) in a movie theater

and I sat in the back row by myself.

So I'm gonna vote for the killer.
posted by Etrigan at 1:47 PM on December 2, 2019 [5 favorites]

Her "leg up" story reminds me of a lot of the stories I hear on Gilbert Gottfried's podcast. So many successful actors with long careers freely admit that their initial success was a fluke.
posted by zzazazz at 2:08 PM on December 2, 2019 [2 favorites]

No! I am the anti-mystery girl. I don’t like horror films.

I scare easily—I have since I was a child. Loud noises scare me, suspense music scares me.

This resonated. I am not quite as bad as this -- I can watch mystery movies for the most part without problem. But I often say to people who want to watch horror movies or want to know if I've seen a particular horror movie "Oh, no, I don't like scary movies. They scare me."
posted by jacquilynne at 2:17 PM on December 2, 2019 [3 favorites]

Ms. Curtis is a treasure, and I believed I had a crush on her for many years - until I realized that with Wanda and Willa, what I was reallly in love with was a the sharply written John Cleese-disguised-as-an-American-woman personas he crafted for her. A bit like Dr. Wilson with Amber Volakis vs Dr. House.

Why yes I do indeed read philosophy, yet I just don't understand it. Don't call me stupid.
posted by zaixfeep at 2:21 PM on December 2, 2019 [5 favorites]

She sounds lovely. I especially appreciate the bit about recognizing that when the lead for Halloween came down to her and another unknown, unaccomplished young actresss, the one whose parents were Hollywood royalty would get the part, if for no other reason than it will get the film a bit of press upon release.

So many successful actors with long careers freely admit that their initial success was a fluke.

Which makes the ones who tenaciously insist the opposite (e.g., Jerry Seinfeld) all the more nauseating.
posted by skewed at 2:22 PM on December 2, 2019 [7 favorites]

I love her, unapologetically. She held her own (and then some) in A Fish Called Wanda in ways that I think most comic actresses couldn't, and it wasn't even surprising because she did it before way back during Trading Places.

And I hate how bad and unconscionably hateful True Lies is, because wow she was great in it, too.
posted by Mchelly at 2:45 PM on December 2, 2019 [11 favorites]

My favourite thing about Jamie Lee Curtis is that her son is a pretty good gamer, and so if he's competing she'll go in cosplay. Or just for shits and giggles.
posted by Merus at 2:46 PM on December 2, 2019 [12 favorites]

I love her because she is very candid about her addictions and program of recovery. She's really just a human and would be the first to say so.
posted by waving at 6:05 PM on December 2, 2019 [3 favorites]

That was a really good interview, thanks.
posted by evilDoug at 8:01 PM on December 2, 2019

I don't often say this kind of thing, but I'd like to have brunch with Jamie Lee Curtis. Just once. She seems delightful and fascinating and at a good stage of life.
posted by hippybear at 8:33 PM on December 2, 2019

Wait -- why, upon reconsideration, do we now hate True Lies? I think I missed a memo.
posted by mtVessel at 9:39 PM on December 2, 2019

Last tiime I watched it I was struck not only by the blatant, cartoony islamophobia, but how horribly cruel and sadistic the treatment of her character receives.
posted by drewbage1847 at 9:58 PM on December 2, 2019 [9 favorites]

While it played as humorous at the time, even at the time it was recognized (and it continues to be even more so with the passage of time) that the treatment of Curtis' character in True Lies is... problematic.
posted by hippybear at 10:08 PM on December 2, 2019 [7 favorites]

Wait -- why, upon reconsideration, do we now hate True Lies? I think I missed a memo.
posted by mtVessel

Like Network, it was a wacky outrageous cartoonish satire until one day (9/11 for Lies and Fox News for Network) when it became horribly plausible.

Curtis' nude scenes never made me uncomfortable (and I believe I've seen all of them) but dear lord how I cringed like a shamed dog at her bikini-clad pole dancing scene in Lies. I doubly cringed when I later read somewhere she enjoyed doing the scene and found it funny.
posted by zaixfeep at 11:04 PM on December 2, 2019

Let's not forget Activia Yogurt.
posted by zaixfeep at 11:09 PM on December 2, 2019

Upon refreshing the page, yep, what hippybear and drewbage1847 said, in big bold blinking text.
posted by zaixfeep at 11:21 PM on December 2, 2019

She was recently in my hometown, for a film shoot, and came across a local guy who feeds homeless folks. She was interested enough to take the time to find out about it and give a link on her page to their site. Good deeds all around.
posted by mightshould at 3:51 AM on December 3, 2019 [7 favorites]

This was a really good interview, and got my morning off to a great start. Thanks for posting!
posted by Sparky Buttons at 4:36 AM on December 3, 2019

I called Jenny Eagan, the costume designer, and I sent her a picture of my friend Patti Röckenwagner.

Jamie Lee Curtis is exactly the person you'd expect to have a friend named Röckenwagner.

Seriously, I'm passing that one to my pianist & guitarist kids as the name of their soon-to-be classical/thrash band.
posted by martin q blank at 7:44 AM on December 3, 2019 [4 favorites]

And then it was between me and one other woman, whose name I know but I will never say publicly with regards to the audition for the Laurie Strode role in Halloween.

Wikipedia seems to solve that one pretty easily, it was June Lockhart's daughter.
posted by e1c at 1:08 PM on December 3, 2019

Wikipedia seems to solve that one pretty easily, it was June Lockhart's daughter.

According to Anne Lockhart’s website:

A popular rumor is that Anne turned down the role of "Laurie Strode" in John Carpenter's 1978 thriller Halloween, which was later cast for Jamie Lee Curtis. Mr. Carpenter says that he wanted her for the role, but that she turned it down. Anne does not remember being being contacted by John Carpenter, nor being offered the role. It is possible that one of her agents turned it down on her behalf without telling her.

posted by Etrigan at 4:53 PM on December 3, 2019

Here for Jamie Lee Curtis casually dropping a Cole Porter reference in an interview swelligant iggy pop
posted by The Whelk at 9:10 PM on December 3, 2019