‘THIS SUCKS. WHAT AM | DOING? B-MOVIES AND TV SHOWS'
Miles Fielder meets Eva Mendes the beautiful, funny and ambitious star of Training Day, Hitch and now Ghost Rider and finds a serious actress on the rise.
side from wanting to work with wild man Nicolas (‘agc and being a self-confessed freak. liva Mendes‘ motivation for playing a cartoon damsel-in—distress in the camp comic book adaptation Ghost Rider is seeing Latino women being fairly represented on the big screen. The 32-year-old (‘uban- American actress (whose first name is pronounced Ava) explains: ‘In the comic. my character Roxanna is blond. blue-eyed and voluptuous. I thought I‘d given ‘em one out of three with the cleavage. An American girl is no longer just a blond-haired. blue-eyed girl. I‘m an American girl. Unless a role calls for a specifically Caucasian girl. it‘s unfair that we‘re not considered for more things. I don't want to be the typical hot Latino girl.‘ Mendes was born in Miami and grew up in l.os Angeles. where she studied acting and secured an agent
after a family friend took publicity snaps of her. Her
first film appearance. in l‘)‘)8‘s ('lzildren oft/re ('orn V: Fields of 'lerror. didn‘t bode well for a serious acting career. But a small role as Den/cl Washington‘s girlfriend in the highly regarded corrupt cop thriller 'l'ruining Day opened doors for her.
‘That opened everything.‘ Mendes says. 'Right before that l was thinking. “This sucks. What am I doing‘.’ B- movies and TV shows." Then I did 'I'raining Day and something clicked. l was only in two small scenes. but there is no such thing as a small part. You can shine.’
Mendes subsequently shone in Robert Rodiguex‘s cultish tortilla western Once Upon a Time in ll/Iexieo. (‘arl Franklin‘s clever modern noir ()ul of'l'ime. and the liarrelly brothers‘ sweet twin comedy Stuck on You. The
latter film was followed by two more comedies. the Will Smith rom-com Hire/1 and the yet-to-bc-seen l’l/(‘iIdU/l Baker Story. made by Owen and Luke Wilson. which set Mendes up as a screen beauty with a game sense of humour.
Ghost Rider notwithstanding. Mendes would now like to concentrate on serious roles. To that end. she‘s just finished the New York crime drama We Own the Night. in which she appears alongside acting heavyweights Robert l)uvall. Joaquin Phoenix and Mark Wahlberg. ‘My first real dramatic role.‘ she says. ‘The most difficult l‘ve ever done. and the most gratifying. It was very dark.
'l loved doing Ghost Rider because it allows me to do movies that are a bit edgier. I'd love to do a film with Mike Leigh. or with Pedro Almodovar. That‘s my taste. You‘d be surprised at the stuff I say no to. because it would be harder to get my foot in the door with these other directors. I could be working on a lot more. but why would I want to if it‘s not going to get me to the next level. I produced a film last year called Life! It‘s a very small film la satire about a television network filmed as a mocktunentaryl. but I‘m hoping people will catch on that I don‘t just want to be an accessory. Why can‘t I use my sexualin and be a serious actress‘."
No reason at all. All part. no doubt. of the grand plan of seeing Latino women being fairly represented on the big screen.
Ghost Rider is on general release from Fri 2 Mar. See Also Released, page 42.
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THE BEST FILM & DVD RELEASES
>1< After the Wedding Danish duo Susanne Bier and Anders Thomas Jensen (Open Hearts, Brothers) serve up a full on tearjerker with this melodramatic tale of fathers, daughters and death. Take some tissue. See review, page 42. Cinewor/d Renfrew Street, Glasgow from Fri 9 Mar
>i< A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints Vibrant and inventive adaptation by Dito Montiel of his own cult book about life and poverty in Astoria, New York in the 19808. Robert Downey Jr. Shia LaBeouf and Martin Compston star. See review, page 40 and interview in index. Cameo, Edinburgh and selected release from Fri 2 Mar.
The Good German Steven Soderbergh’s oddball experiment in cinema in which he uses only filmmaking techniques available to post war filmmakers to tell a noirish tale from the same period is better than we deserve. See review, page 41 . Selected release from Fri 9 Mar.
>l< Cinema China Massive, superb season of Chinese films old, new, classic and cult. There will be special events, live soundtracks and UK premieres- a-plenty. Miss it at your peril. Filmhouse, Edinburgh from Fri 9 Mar.
>l< Science of Sleep Michel Gondry’s likeably surreal French comedy. Selected release.
>I< Letters from lwo Jima The superior second part of Clint Eastwood’s WWII cycle is a film of tender benevolence. See review. General release.
>i< Margaret Tait: Selected Films Great Orkney-based experimental filmmaker finally gets a decent DVD box set. Out now (Lux).
1- if) Mitt 2007 THE LIST 39