Especially to finally be able to make a movie that her parents can see. Hence her moody but modest female cartoonish stint in the high carb animated feature, Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs. Anna dropped by to spout all these sweet nothings in this NYC candy store press encounter, including doing the newlywed thing, as well as more binging type of indulgences like chips, donuts and especially In-N-Out Burgers. And exactly what a salty savory kinda gal, not to mention geek reversal, may be.

ANNA FARIS: I hope you’re easy on me!

Oh, not to worry! And congratulations, didn’t you just get married this summer?

AF: Um…Yes, I did. And I’m super-happy. It’s been a great summer.

So what are your guilty pleasures when it comes to the candy all around us in this candy store?

AF: Oh, my indulgence, sweet-wise, like definitely donuts. But I’m definitely a little bit of a salty savory kinda gal. Chips. Chips are trouble! I raided the mini-bar last night at the hotel!

But at one point, when the cheeseburgers were falling from the sky, they got us In-N-Out Burgers. Because they wanted us to talk with our mouths full. And it was a great excuse to eat an In-N-Out Burger, I’ll tell ya!

So how did you get into character for animation?

AF: Um…They showed me a drawing of the character before I started recording, and that’s pretty much all I had. But it was amazing. We worked for about a year. And it was pretty incredible to see it all come to life.

But we all thought it was going to be easy, basically. And it is incredibly challenging. And when they asked me to do this movie, I was so excited. It was a book that I loved as a child. So I was really honored to be asked to do it.

I did some voice work early on in Seattle, when I was growing up. And I loved the idea of doing it again. And it’s finally a movie that I’ve done, that I think people can…see! I guess. My parents are happy!

Did you relate to this movie in terms of geek reversal, and bringing the geekiness out of you?

AF: Yeah, I was a geek in high school. I used to wear a Christmas tree sequined skirt as a cape. And now I’m…comfortable enough to talk about it! And I was really into bugs. I still do love bumblebees, and bees in general. Honeybees, not carnivorous bees!

But I managed to capture the queen bumblebee, when she was just leaving her nest in the winter. And they were a little drowsy at that point, so I was able to capture her. And I attempted to make a bumblebee hive. But she died. That’s pretty geeky, I think!

Bummer. How old were you?

AF: Probably a little too old! Like fourteen or fifteen.

This is a movie about food, so what is your relationship with food?

AF: As far as food goes, my mom is an incredible cook. And cooking is probably my most favorite hobby and pastime. And of course I love to try new things. If I wasn’t an actress, I would like to be a food critic, a restaurant critic. We’ll see how that goes!

How did you relate to your character Sam, and the theme of this movie, which is all about food?

AF: As far as my character, I think she suppresses her intelligence a little bit, because she feels pressured by society. Whether it’s through her work, or being a woman, to play an assertive role. And she finally sort of lets her guard down, and is accepted for, you know, who she really is.

I do think there’s also a really interesting idea of excessiveness, and that what we wish for in indulgence and excessiveness, can be quite harmful. Which I think is kind of appropriate for this time.

How did you first get started in show business?

AF: I was nine. And I did an Arthur Miller play called Danger Memory, in the Seattle Repertory Theater. And I got paid two hundred fifty dollars, I think. Which was huge. I felt like I was rolling in the dough. I think I’m still living off that! And I went out and bought a piano phone.

What’s that?

AF: A phone where the keys were..you know! But it was pretty awesome, and cool. Yeah.

What was it like doing Comi-Con?

AF: I had never been to Comi-Con before, and I had a fantastic time. And what surprised me about it, is how happy everybody is there. I mean, they’ve been looking forward to this all year.

And so you’re in an environment that is for the most part really supportive, and joyous. And I can relate to the idea of escaping through a character. So that was really cool, to see all these people doing the same thing.

From Newsblaze

How did you develop your character? Did you get a chance to go back in and do more voiceover work once you saw the renderings?
They showed us a drawing of our character before we started recording, and that was all we had. They wrote pretty specific characters, so it wasn’t a huge search [to find her]. We worked for about a year and went back in to tweak all the animation. It was pretty incredible to see it all come to life.

What do you find appealing about voice acting that is different than being in front of the camera?
It is incredibly challenging. They asked me to do this movie, and I was so excited because it was a book that I grew up with. I felt really honored to be asked to do what I love doing. I did some voice work early on in Seattle when I was growing up, and I loved the idea of doing it again. It’s finally a movie that I’ve done that people under 10 can see. My parents are happy.

Do you recall your first acting job?
I was nine and did an Arthur Miller play called Danger: Memory! at the Seattle Repertory Theatre. I got paid $250, which was huge. I was rolling in the dough. I think I’m still living off of that. Then I went out and bought a piano phone. It was pretty awesome.

What was Comic-Con like this past summer?
I had never been to Comic-Con before, and I had a fantastic time. I mean, it’s a show. What surprised me was how happy everybody is there. They’re looking forward to this all year, so you’re in an environment that for the most part is really supportive and really joyous. I can relate to the idea of escaping through a character, so it was really cool to see all of these people doing the same thing.

What message did you get from making this film, and what message do you want the audience to get from seeing it?
For me, there are a number of themes and messages in the movie. As far as my character, she suppresses her intelligence a little bit because she feels pressure by society, whether it’s through her work or being a woman, to play a certain kind of role. Through meeting Flint [Lockwood] she finally lets her guard down and is accepted for who she really is. I also think there’s a really entertaining idea about excessiveness and what we wish for, how indulgence and excessiveness can be quite harmful, which I think is appropriate for this time.

What is your relationship with food like?
My mom is an incredible cook, and cooking is probably my favorite hobby and pastime. I love to try new things. If I wasn’t an actress I would like to be a restaurant critic. We’ll see how that goes.

The protagonist of this movie is an inventor. Have you ever attempted to invent something?
I wasn’t too mechanical – I’m still not – but I was really into bugs, and I still do love bumblebees and bees in general. Honey bees, not carnivorous bees. I managed to capture the queen bumblebee when she just left her nest in the winter. They’re a little drowsy at that point, so I was able to capture her and attempted to make a bumblebee hive, but she died. That’s pretty geeky, I think. I was 14 or 15 years old.

As we’re doing a junket in a candy store, what are your favorite sweets?
My indulgence sweet-wise is definitely donuts. I’m definitely a bit of a salty, savory kind of gal. Chips are trouble. I raided the mini-bar in my hotel.

Did any dialogue from this film stick with you?
We did a session together for when the cheeseburgers were falling [out of the sky], and they actually got us In-N-Out burgers. They wanted us to talk with our mouths full, and it was a great excuse to eat an In-N-Out burger.

Your role is a reversal of a lot of Hollywood stereotypes where the geeky girl is transformed into somebody more chic. Did you relate to the idea of bringing your geekiness out?
Bill [Hader] and I talked a little bit about this. We were both geeks in high school. I used to wear a Christmas tree skirt as a cape. [laughs] Now I’m comfortable enough to talk about it.

From Attention Deficit Delirium

During the film’s press day, I had the opportunity to interview co-stars Anna Faris and Bill Hader about the making of the film.

Q: Did either of you read the book before or after the film?

Anna Faris: Yes, as kids. It was really great to see it come to life like this.

Bill Hader: Yeah, before the movie. We were big fans growing up.

Q: We asked the directors why they had selected you to play the roles?

Anna: Hey! What are you saying? (laughter)

Bill: We were the cheapest actors. Everyone else was too expensive.

Q: During the film, how much ad-libbing were you allowed to do?

Anna: We talked about this. We really didn’t do a ton. You’re saying one line over and over again. Actually, you’re pretty constricted in some ways in terms of ad-libbing.

Bill: It’s not like you do a full scene. It’s like you say “Hey guys, what’s going on? HEY guys, what’s going on? Hey GUYS, what’s going on?” You know what I mean?

Q: How do you get your inspiration because you guys are doing it by yourselves, right?

Anna: It’s hard. We were lucky enough to have meetings (with the directors). That gave us a good sense on how we were playing the roles. We’d have to be told “She’s really frustrated right now.” or “This is the scene where she goes into anaphalactic shock and there’s a peanut brittle cave and you lower a licorice rope” (laughter)

Q: Does it get really exhausting?

Anna: That was the most surprising element.

Bill: We were both not prepared for that at all.

Q: Which is harder for you, voice acting or motion pictures?

Bill: Voice acting is really tough, because your whole performance is channelled into your voice. I would do something and add all this physicality to it and they would go “It looks great what you’re doing in front of us, but the voice is not…. could you put that energy you used in your body into your voice. So, that was difficult.

Anna: I think the exact same thing. They would film us doing it and use our gestures and whatever we put into the characters movement, they used. You’re giving a full performance, but you’re alone for the most part. So, you have nothing to react to.

Q: Were you in the sound booth with Mr. T or Bruce Campbell?

Bill: No. Anna got to meet Mr. T.

Anna: It was one of the highlights. He was coming in as i was leaving. You could hear him from a mile away. Someone introduced me to Mr. T and he grabbed me and bear hugged me and picked me up and said “This is so awesome. Isn’t this awesome?” I said “Yes, Mr. T. This is awesome.” I’ve never met anyone more enthusiastic in my life and it was just incredible.

Q: The role that Sam plays, how do you think it’ll inspire young girls who see this film?

Anna: Oh, I hope that it does. it’s interesting how girls go from nerd to ‘cool’ and ‘hot’, and this is a flip of that and I think she’s adorable both ways. it would be awesome some girls let their inner nerd out. When i was a kid, I was really into bugs and wanted to get into biology. But it wasn’t one of the ‘coolest’ things.

Bill: If the biologists knew you were into biology, or you could’ve been a biologist, they’d be so ticked off and go “Aww man”.

Q: What do you guys have coming up?

Anna: I have “Alvin & The Chipmunks: The Squeakquel”.

Bill: I just finished a movie called “Paul” and we’re going to do the new season of “SNL” coming up.

From the Examiner

Faris is starring in Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, in theaters September 18, an animated spectacle based on the beloved children’s book by Judi and Ron Barrett.

Meatballs also stars SNL’s Bill Hader as an inventor who seeks to create a device that turns water into food for his island-town that is surviving only on sardines. Faris’ weather reporter arrives on the island for another story and explosively becomes part of the food falling from the sky story.

Faris is widely known for her priceless comic timing in the Scary Movie films, The House Bunny and starring opposite some of Hollywood’s hottest funnymen including Ryan Reynolds in Just Friends and Seth Rogan in April’s Observe and Report.

The Cloudy with a Chance of Meatball star recently wed sweetheart Chris Pratt July 9 and with her star ever-rising, the forecast for Faris is blindingly sunny.
Anna FarisFaris’ firsts

SheKnows: First of all, congratulations on your wedding.

Anna Faris: Oh, thank you!

SheKnows: When actors discover they want to act very young as you did, what was it about performing that first appealed to you?

Anna Faris: When I was six, my mom enrolled me in an acting class. I loved it. Most kids were into swimming or soccer and I just loved acting. There never was any pressure to do it. See, I was really short! It was my identity that I was the short girl. I think out of that I needed to find a way to express myself. Also, in many ways too I was terrible at public speaking — but, through escaping in a character…

SheKnows: …that gave you more confidence to do it.

Anna Faris: Totally! Plus, I worked with adult actors. That was really big for me to be surrounded by adults hearing them complain about, I don’t know, adult things (laughs). It was really fun for me. I didn’t have too many friends. I really cherish those memories.

SheKnows: You have the most impeccable comic timing…

Anna Faris: Oh my God, thank you.

SheKnows: You do, like a Lucile Ball for the modern era.

Anna Faris: That is so nice of you…

Anna gets animated

SheKnows: Now in Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, how was it difficult to perform in your usual manner without having the benefit of utilizing your physical frame?

Anna Faris and Bill Hader in Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs

Anna Faris: It was hard. My character isn’t really that funny in this one. I wanted to make her frustrated. The voice acting job is so much harder. It was so difficult. I’d come home every night exhausted. I figured, it’s a voice-over gig, it’ll be easy. I would do another one in a minute, but I would go into it knowing it’s difficult. It’s work.

SheKnows: Did I see you are in the Chipmunks Squeakquel?

Anna Faris: Yes!

SheKnows: It’s the perfect name…

Anna Faris: I laugh every time I see it. I don’t know what I’m going to do at the junket for that one.

SheKnows: Are you live action or animated on that?

Anna Faris: I’m a Chipette with Amy Poehler and Christina Applegate — it’s the best!

SheKnows: The best Chipettes ever!

Anna Faris: Thank you!

SheKnows: Was the Squeakquel challenging, but in a different way than Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs?

Anna Faris: Yes! Because you have to record your voice really slow because they speed it up. (Slowly) You have to be very persistent in your speech. You have to say everything mor slowly, but at the same time you have to be in a character that is hyper. It is very difficult. What I’ve seen so far looks incredible and witty too.

Faris films instant classics

Faris in BrokebackSheKnows: I wanted to ask about a couple of directors you’ve worked with, first, Ang Lee with Brokeback Mountain. What was it like to be a part of that masterpiece?

Anna Faris: That was amazing. That was also terrifying (laughs). I auditioned for the Anne Hathaway role.

SheKnows: No kidding…

Anna Faris: Yeah, and then they offered me the other role. I’d do anything to work with Ang Lee. I flew up to Calgary and the first shot, we started with me. I’m with Jake Gyllenhaal and Ang started with my coverage. We just have done the line about 15 times. I thought, “I’m doing this all wrong. Oh my God I’m ruining the movie.” (Laughs) Jake just told me that is how Ang does it. It was really a special film to be a part of.

SheKnows: Now what about working with Sophia Coppola on Lost in Translation.

Faris in Lost in TranslationAnna Faris: I was thrilled. I couldn’t believe I got that role. I auditioned for it six months before I got it. Meanwhile, all my friends had auditioned for it. I’m like, “hello?!” But, I got it (laughs). Sophia’s a very focused director. Where Sophia was incredibly soft spoken, Ang Lee was much more vocal. It’s interesting. Those are two great directors to compare (laughs).
Meatballs mania

SheKnows: Well, thank you. Now, speaking of directors, Chris Miller and Phil Lord from Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, those two seem like a zany pair to work with, especially on an animated film.

Anna Faris: I’ve never really know what to expect from directors. They’re so funny – so witty. Working with them was awesome. You can tell that they’ve worked in comedy TV (How I Met Your Mother) in how they are so on with their timing.

SheKnows: Before the screening, I saw Jason Siegel outside the theater waiting to say hi and I think that speaks volumes about the people Phil and Chris are that their former star dropped by to support their directorial debut.

Anna Faris: He did! That’s so cool. Yeah, they are just a joy because they’ve love for what they do is so transparent. You get excited about what you’re doing just being around them.

SheKnows: Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs is such a fun film…

Anna Faris: Isn’t it so quirky? I just love it. I really admire Chris and Phil for the vision that they have to maintain to create a film like Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs.

Anna Faris at Comic-Con in July

SheKnows: We saw it at the 3-D IMAX premiere and I have to say it is like watching art. Visually, stunning.

Anna Faris: That’s so cool! Thank you for saying that.
Anna’s expectations

SheKnows: I really did! Now, your character is quite smart but has to dumb herself down because of her job as a “bubbly” weather reporter. Now, have you experienced that yourself here in Hollywood?

Anna Faris: You know, I have. But, I think it’s fun to have people underestimate you (laughs). I’ve kind of had that my whole life — I’d say, it’s an advantage. People may have certain opinions about you by looking at you or from their perception of you, but the act of surprising them with intelligence, talent and wit is quite fun.

From She Knows

You can watch the entire interview below!

You can preview the feature by clicking on the thumbnail to the right! Don’t forget to pick up your copy if you’re in Australia! If you’re not in Australia, you can order a copy of the magazine from www.filmink.com.au.

Nobody can debate Anna Faris’ status as a movie star, but few may realize the subtleties of a career that began with Scary Movie and its three riotous sequels. However, the thirty-one-year old Seattle native has carefully navigated a variety of projects over the years that buck the archetypical, brainless female roles dominating contemporary Hollywood cinema. In The House Bunny, she confronts and deconstructs those stereotypes as Shelley Darlington, a doll-faced Playboy Mansion reject whose narrow outlook on life expands when she becomes the unlikely house mother for a sorority of social rejects (including one played by Superbad’s Emma Stone).

Although Shelley seems utterly vapid (an accusation she frequently mistakes for a compliment), the character turns out to be quite perceptive under the surface. The performance ought to be viewed alongside Faris’ remarkable transition into the dazed and confused pot smoker Jane F. in Gregg Araki’s woefully underseen Smiley Face. Faris’ out-of-place goofiness works in a variety of offbeat scenarios, from The House Bunny to the Scary Movie quartet. She spoke to Premiere about the motives behind those performances, the genesis of The House Bunny, and her “deliciously awful” future role opposite Seth Rogen.

Was it hard to get Playboy interested in this project?
No. We gave the script to them right after [Adam Sandler's production company] Happy Madison and Sony were onboard. They agreed immediately and were incredibly supportive. We spent a week and a half shooting there, and it was very satisfying.

Did the magazine finance any of the film?
No, they didn’t — not that I know of. I’ve been asked a few times if I know anything about producing, and I don’t, really. I got the executive producer credit because I created the idea and sold it to the studios. I was involved in some of the decision making, but most of the time they were just like, “Oh, that actress doesn’t know what she’s talking about.” I’m still working my way up on the producing side of things.

Where did the idea come from?
I came up with it a couple of years ago. It was a specific character I had been thinking about. What happens when you’re living a very surreal Hollywood life and it’s time to move on? Do you become a lawyer? Work at Starbucks? Marry somebody wealthy? I brought the idea to the writers of Legally Blond, they wrote the script, and we pitched it together. I’d never done anything like that before.

How much contact did you have with Adam Sandler?
Adam had produced The Hot Chick, so he was really involved. We pitched [The House Bunny] to him and he was like, “Let’s do it.” When you’re Adam Sandler and you say that kind of thing, it really happens. He was on set and wrote a lot of jokes. He’s a really hardworking guy.

Were you a sorority girl?
No, I lived in a dorm off-campus. Looking back, I wish I had joined a sorority. I probably would have been much happier. I couldn’t figure out what my social group was. I was the different girl.

Speaking of different, do you think Smiley Face eventually found its audience?
I don’t know. It’s so gratifying to me when people love that movie, because it was definitely a passion project for me, and so much fun to make. I’m not sure where it is on people’s radar. I don’t even know if it’s really out there. I guess it’s at Blockbuster. I did win a Stony Award. I have my High Times bong on top of my mantle, and I love it. It’s the only award I’ve ever won.

Well, it does display your range, especially when you compare it to The House Bunny. In that film, one of the sorority girls refers to your Playboy bunny character as “an archaically superficial model of the male fantasy.” That’s the exact opposite of the bumbling stoner you play in Smiley Face, Jane F.
It’s hard to play undefined characters, when it’s just the straight girl who’s supposed to be charming all the time, and she’s just the bounce board for the guy who’s supposed to be crazy — the man child. It’s much easier to play somebody specific.

Was there a point when your career started taking off that you realized the movie business pressures women to take certain kinds of roles?
It’s not so much that it pushes you into taking on certain roles; it’s just that it’ll give out and hire somebody that’s easy. For me, it was, “Oh, I’m not getting a chance to play the roles I want to play,” which are funny characters, whether it’s Jane F., Shelley, or my loud, obnoxious character in Just Friends. [The House Bunny] was an opportunity for me to take a little bit more control, and get a little bit more proactive in my career. This is a big, broad, commercial kind of movie that has wide appeal — unlike Smiley Face. It’s necessary to do all these different kinds of projects.

There is one similarity between Jane F. and Shelley: Both lack the ability to be romantic.
It was unbelievable to play a character with no love interests besides weed and her mattress [in Smiley Face]. That was so liberating for me. It’s very rare for a young actress to go there. With Shelley, I didn’t want to make a romantic comedy out of [The House Bunny]. I wanted to make it about the journey of this young woman. I always imagined that when she was at the Playboy Mansion, she was very used to a certain kind of guy who was there for a certain agenda — just to freak with the girls, flirt, get attention. I think Shelley’s a little smarter than everyone else does, but that’s just me. I guess we didn’t show that very well, because everyone thinks she’s the dumbest character in the whole film. It’s not that she’s just plain dumb; it’s just that she has never thought of herself as anything but that. When she gets the chance to date somebody who’s not a part of that world, she’s completely clueless. I didn’t want Shelley to be savvy. I wanted her savvyness to be so silly.

Since you’re so particular about your choices, what’s distinctive about the characters in your upcoming projects?
In Kids in America, I play a girl named Wendy, and she’s Topher Grace’s character’s twin. She’s really smart and very sassy, brassy — really fun to play. You’re always expected to play somebody that the audience needs to fall in love with. That’s exhausting and a little boring. She’s not that kind of girl. That was great, because I have a romance in the movie that’s ultimately really sad. My character gets wrapped up with the guy who was the high school jock. My character in Observe and Report is so deliciously awful. She’s really tacky. She works at a make-up counter, she’s really self-important and has long nails. I don’t mean to make pessimistic judgments on my own characters, but she’s just awful: catty, bitchy, unimaginative. She thinks that everything she says is hysterical, and that every guy is in love with her.

Your costar in Observe and Report is Seth Rogen, whose character in Knocked Up contrasted with Katherine Heigl’s character in such a way that people accused the movie of being sexist. Are you prepared to field those allegations?
Oh god, no. [laughs] I don’t know what to comment about that. I’ve played both mean characters and the better alternatives. In the future, I’m trying to develop my own projects and have a little bit of my own region of comedy to think about that.

What’s your role in Frequently Asked Questions About Time Travel?
I’m a time traveler. I don’t know what the deal with that movie is. I hope I don’t get totally cut out of it. It’s a smaller role. I guess I couldn’t get cut out, because I’m a pretty big part of the plot, but my character isn’t as specific as some of the other roles I’ve played. Playing somebody specific makes everything so much easier.

Do you think there’s going to be another Scary Movie?
You know, I always feel like I’m the last person to know. The last time I was on IMDb, it said that I was doing Scary Movie 5. Nobody told me. Somebody also wrote on the message board that one of my boobs was bigger than the other. I never thought of that. So I’ve made a vow to not ever look myself up. No good can come of it. I loved doing those movies. I feel like each one was such an education. Going from being a lazy college student to working twelve hours a day was a good experience for me. I’m proud of the fact that I got to be a part of a franchise. I had just graduated college, and I told my roommate I had just been cast in this comedy with the Wayans brothers. She said, “That’s so weird, because you’re not funny.” I said, “I know I’m not funny. I’m probably going to get fired.” My whole family was a little shocked.

From Premiere.com

Leave it to actress Anna Faris to find herself sitting at home wondering what exactly happens to a Playboy Playmate after she peaks and has to move out of Hugh Hefner’s mansion. Faris, 31, turned her passing thought into her latest film, The House Bunny, and both stars and co-produces in the life-after-Playmate comedy.

“The Bunnies are so beautiful, and I am so awkward,” said Faris, who claimed that growing up she was really short, wore braces, read a lot, and didn’t have many friends in high school. Even her costume gave her some less than fabulous flashbacks. “I had a very complicated bra they had to outfit me in!” Faris revealed.

Faris describes her character Shelley Darlington as “really optimistic… She’s a kind-hearted girl with a heart of gold,” and admits in many ways Shelley is a lot like her. “I don’t know if I am as optimistic as she is, but there were times where I had to ask: ‘Am I as dumb as she is? I might be!’”

The reality is Faris is anything but dumb. Here’s what she had to say:

To get into character was there any method acting involved in this role?
There was A LOT of working out and three hours of hair and makeup every day, which I guess the Bunnies have to do too. I was wearing all those sexy outfits, and after a while I started to feel sexier. I think it was the gift that this movie gave me, amongst other things. I started to feel like a sexier person, which was really cool. I never felt that way before, so that was really nice.

Are you anticipating any feminist groups raising a ruckus?
Oh god, I just hope they don’t ask me anything. No, I should maybe worry about that and have something intellectual prepared to say. I wanted it to be clear that my character, while she is pressuring the girls to look sexy and impress guys, that we recognize that her priorities are skewed and not necessarily the correct priorities. I think this is an empowering story of women realizing that they really don’t need the approval of guys.

Did the Bunnies have any lessons they taught you?
They are really poised. I felt like I learned that. We would walk into parties where they were very poised, very graceful, very friendly, warm, and charming. Even when guys are groping them, pinching their tail, and acting inappropriate, they were always poised. I thought that was pretty impressive.

So someone could pinch your tail and you could maintain your composure?
You’re supposed to say [smiling while feigning a sweet voice and giving a little curtsy], “Please don’t touch my tail.”

Had you been to the Playboy Mansion before filming?
No, I hadn’t, so it was completely just a trip for me to be shooting up there and with Hef. The rainbow pajama collection was just amazing.

Now will you have a lifelong invitation to the mansion?
That’s what they say, but I bet they are going to forget about me.

What’s going on with your Linda Lovelace biopic?
It hasn’t, umm, well…I am not sure where it is in development right now. It’s something I am really interested in. It’s a really great script. The status is sort of all over the place.

You just finished shooting Observe and Report with Seth Rogan. How was working with him?
He is awesome. We had a great time. It’s cool how he does so much improv, which is really fun and keeps you on your toes. Their style of filmmaking is very loose and laidback. It’s all about the characters and really developing them. That was great for me and a lot of fun.

Did you discover any inherent improv skills?
No. I think it’s more like, if you have a really strong sense of who the character is, then you can get away with doing some improv. If you don’t, then it’s sometimes its like, “Oh! That was sad!” It’s interesting. I was taught when doing movies not to do improv at all. Like with Scary Movie, we didn’t improv at all. We stuck to the script. For me, improv was something that was really scary. You are really putting yourself out there, but I love it. It’s really fun.

Wait, so the Wayans school of thought is to not do improv? Who knew?
Well, the thing about the Wayans is they did improvise, there was some improvisation, but the Zuckers, David Zucker just doesn’t. He likes to stick to the script. He says, “Pretend it is a dramatic movie!”

How was it to try your hand at producing?
I didn’t really have much power as producer, but it felt really good to be a part of the process from the inception.

Do you think you’ll stick to comedies or branch out to more dramatic film roles?
I’d love to, but I really like comedy right now. It’s funny I never did comedy before. I was always doing dramatic work as a kid. I never did comedy.

From Premiere.com

To hear Anna Faris speak is to realize that playing dumb is more complicated than it looks. The actress, cool and slender as the bottle of water she’s drinking, is in a Hollywood bar, talking about why she’s scornful of monologues and how all acting is about human interaction. “The script isn’t as important as what actors do together,” she says. “It’s the dynamic between people.”

There’s a pause. Faris feels obliged to explain the origins of her theory. “Everyone in my family is a sociologist,” she says. “My brother, my dad, one of my grandfathers—everybody.” She knows that as she’s saying this you’re probably thinking about her goofier onscreen exploits, like the scene in Scary Movie 4 in which a green hand emerges from behind her to shave her armpits.

Faris’ career has been built on such golden cinematic moments (a fifth Scary Movie is on the way) in masterpieces like Smiley Face, in which she plays a stoner who fries cannabis in butter for breakfast, and Just Friends, in which she’s a pop diva who sets her private jet on fire by leaving the tinfoil on her microwave dinner. In The House Bunny, out this month, Faris, 31, portrays a Playboy Bunny who gets booted from the mansion and ends up in a sorority house—as they like to say in Hollywood, The Battleship Potemkin it’s not.

“You watch some of Anna’s movies and you think, hmm. Kinda wacky, right?” says Luke Wilson, Faris’ costar in My Super Ex-Girlfriend. “Turns out she’s sharp as a tack and really has her shit together.” Faris majored in English at the University of Washington, and her acting chops have impressed Sofia Coppola, who cast her in Lost in Translation, and Ang Lee, who put her in Brokeback Mountain. As she says, “That version of me onscreen? It’s me at work.”

It was Faris who cooked up the premise for The House Bunny and who was savvy enough to enlist the writers from Legally Blonde to get it on the page. Then she pitched the project to Adam Sandler’s production company. Within three months, she was shooting at the mansion with Hef, having added a lead role and a producing credit to her résumé. “Anna’s relentless on the cell phone,” says Colin Hanks, who costars in The House Bunny. “She’s a player.”

What you see onscreen, though, is what you see in person: long, blond curls that frame enormous blue eyes in a way that makes her a dead ringer for Goldie Hawn in her spacey prime. Not that Faris remembers the image. As a kid growing up in a small town north of Seattle, she was forbidden to watch television and movies. “My brother and I ran around in the woods or we made up plays. It was all a little sheltered,” she says. For a long time, Faris was a wallflower.

“I felt like the girl that guys befriended to get close to my beautiful girlfriends,” she says. “When I finally did start to feel attractive, I went overboard. I started dressing in these tiny schoolgirl outfits. I liked getting attention, but I think I was expressing anger by showing my body. That’s why I didn’t have a lot of girlfriends in college.”

Faris, who divorced actor Ben Indra earlier this year, is now “seeing someone great,” disclosing only that he’s an actor. “I caught him the other night at a bar having a conversation with two girls,” she says. “I called him and he admitted it. I was annoyed at first, but then I realized, it’s cool. Most guys wouldn’t have answered the phone—and he deserves to feel attractive. So good for him . . . the fucker.”

That little kicker is telling, since comic timing is as much a part of her success as looks are. “It confuses people if you do comedy and you’re sexy, but I like to play with that,” she says. “We’re not programmed to think that pretty women can have interesting ideas.”

Now Faris is hanging with the coolest young comic minds in town—Seth Rogen (whom she’s starring opposite in Observe and Report, due next year), Judd Apatow, and company. They’re the sort of friends Faris knows she can learn from as she strives for career longevity. “To me, the one to watch is Betty White,” Faris says. “The woman’s been doing comedy for more than 60 years. I’d take some of that action.”