DEMI MOORE
Fihtin talk
With the highs of Ghost long behind her, DEMI MOORE’s recent box office successes have been as scanty as her outfits in Striptease. Time, then, for the actress to kick ass as a one-woman war
machine in GI. Jane. Words: Anwar Brett
LOVE HER OR hate her. Demi Moore has risen to the top end of the Hollywood food chain thanks to feisty career choices. None more so than 0.]. Jane. in which the 35-year- old stars as a naval intelligence officer selected to become the first woman to train for the renowned Navy SEALS. Sporting less hair than even hubby Bruce Willis, Moore makes her bid to be a rough, tough, politically correct and — she hopes — true-to-life action hero.
‘I think that I really got a taste of the training these guys do,’ she explains, now less muscled, more willowy and far hairier than on screen. ‘Obviously, we only experienced two weeks of modified training prior to the film, and then every day during the physical scenes, we were going through elements of what they go through.
When we were chided by some of the real SEALS that they were never able to wear wet suits under their uniforms, I told them they never had to do ten takes either. But these guys train for an entire year, starting with classes of 100 or 120 just for the first phase. and they’re lucky if they finish with fifteen.’
Her respect for these men seems genuine, and if you squint and turn your head to the side a bit you can detect a bit of humility too — which is not something one anticipates when meeting this most vilified of actresses. Yet she answers questions frankly and eloquently,
'Did I ever think, "I'm fucked, my career's over?". No. When people write things like that it's not personal to you. They don't know me.’ Demi Moore
conscious perhaps that 0.]. Jane has been a hit in the States. It marks another success in her other role of producer, and she would have been forgiven a quiet gloat after so much of the pre-publicity suggested the film would flop.
‘Did I ever think, “I’m fucked, my career’s over‘?",‘ she laughs. ‘No. When people write things like that it’s not personal to you. They don‘t know me, so to take it personally is a waste of time. It does hurt sometimes, it doesn’t feel nice because you‘re still a human being who’s trying to figure your life out, and to do that you haVe to make mistakes. But we don’t get very much room to do that any more.’
Whether Demi is simply a much better actress than anticipated, or whether she really
is such a level-headed, down-to-earth kind of
gal, her winning performance in interview can
10 THE LIST 7—20 Nov 1997
disorientate the interviewer. She is not quite what you expect. far more normal: but then she also gives the impression that if roused she will take no prisoners. The only certain thing to say about Ms. Moore is that she is ultra- professional. having a do-what-it-takes attitude to a job she clearly loves. and that extends from meeting the press to shaving her head for a role.
‘I truly didn‘t care how I ended tip
|ooking.' she smiles. ‘But my kids were, fascinated with my haircut. and once it was shaved it became like “show and tell" with their friends — “d‘ya want to come and see my Mom's hcad'.’". Now I‘m being badgered by my oldest daughter who wants her head shaved too.‘
GI. Jane goes on general release on Fri 14 Nov. See review on page 26.
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Performing SEAL: Demi Moore in G.l. lane