Hitch (2005)
Der Date Doktor
Interview with Amber Valletta
The former supermodel Amber Valetta came first in touch with the movie business as one of the many model girlfriends Leonardo DiCaprio used to date. Now that she is officially bored - or simply too old for it - she joins the great many women before her that tried to switch from the catwalks of Paris to the movie sets in Hollywood. Amber had her first major role as the neighbour who freaks out Michelle Pfeiffer quite a bit in What Lies Beneath. Her biggest role is coming up as the female lead in the sequel to The Transporter. She told me a little about that too. Otherwise the convinced vegetarian happily shared her dating experiences and nibbled some fruits. Questions about Leo were of course a big no no for me.
Just like her co-Star Mendes Amber was also wearing one of these baker boy caps. They seemed to be the latest in fashion not only for the girls since Daniel Day-Lewis and Kevin Spacey were also spotted wearing them in Berlin. In spite of her exotic name, Amber Valletta looks more like someone from the land of crispbread. But she is an all American Girl. Since she was cut off at the press conference for Hitch the day before I asked her first to finish up, what she wanted to say but could't because of external circumstances.
Amber found the soft spot
OutNow.CH (ON): Now is your chance to finish what you wanted to say on stage during the press conference yesterday. Would you go out with a guy like Albert from the movie?
Amber Valletta (AV): Yeah. My crew cut me yesterday. But what I was saying is that I could absolutely fall in love with Albert. I definitively have a soft spot for Kevin (James). Albert loves her. Their are both goofballs. They just look different.
ON: But he only knows her from the board meetings.
AV: But he sees what she wants. Of course he is competing against twelve other men. But he has charme and humour. If you can be funny it means your intelligent. Your brain is working fast. You love life. You have this "joy de vie" which makes you interesting to talk to.
ON: You have a ring so you have found your perfect match?
Albert on the board
AV: I did. It takes a lot of work. And it doesn't mean that I don't have my crushes and my fantasies. I am sure he does too. But we are really honest. And we are really committed to our relationship. And we are working on it. We have a family. We have a son and two dogs. You know there is something that happens when you found someone that you really love and that really loves you. You look at them and you just go: "Wow! This is so profound." And other times I can't even remember that. I'm like: "You driving me crazy. Leave me alone!"
ON: What was your first date like with him?
AV: Our parents set us up. We met in a store with our families in a chance meeting. He knew my stepdad because he played volleyball with him when he was a teenager. Then I got in the car and I was all sweating. I'm like: "Oh my good this guy is so cute." It was love at first sight. So my dad goes home and he talked to my husband's mum. They haven't talked in years and he made a date for us. My whole family from that moment on conspired to try and make this work.
ON: Wasn't that a strange feeling for you because every one wants you to be with him?
Amber earlier
AV: No it wasn't like that. It was really cute. They made the date and then they let it go. He came to pick me up and my parents where there and I was hiding. Because I couldn't remember I had to make sure he wasn't a dork. What if I made a mistake. Because I saw him for just a few minutes. So I hid underneath the staircase - this is like a movie - and I look and he came in and was so handsome. My aunt was hiding with me and was like: "He's HOT!"
ON: How old were you?
AV: It was five years ago. 25. I am a kid. I'll always be a girl at heart.
ON: Would you have taken the service of a date doctor when you were younger? Even if you are such a beautiful woman?
AV: I think people make a really big assumption about how people look. I do it too. If I think somebody looks dangerous that means they are going to be mean. I don't see what other people see. I feel just as inadequate as everybody else. I have fucked up so many dates. Excuse my mouth. I royally screwed things up. I remember being carried out of a party once because I was so drunk. I had my pants split up at the back. My breast was coming out. And my dad was caring me and I puked all the way back in the taxi. Luckily I've been seeing my date for a while. But still, that was not very attractive.
ON: When you are with Albert in the movie, the people around you say: How does a beautiful women like her end up with the ugly guy?
Covergirl Amber
AV: He is not ugly! The ridiculous thing is that if he would be skinny nobody would say that. He does look nerdy. The first time you see him with the mustard on his shirt and the nerdy glasses he does look like a nerd. But when he has to sit in the office he's in a beautiful suit. He's got new glasses. He changed his hair. He looks handsome! Part of that is that Kevin brought the physical comedy to the movie. Which makes you also feel like he's inadequate. But that is partially why my character is interesting because you see that she is just as inadequate. Some of it does have to do with the way we dress. If the character would be like the elephant man, then you would go: "Shit. What does she see in him?" This isn't that far. My mum was with a man that was so not attractive to me. He was so overweight, he was balding. But he had so much charisma she said, it was the most sensual man she has ever been with. And he was interesting. He was an interesting man in his mind. And it is in the mind and the heart where we meet. It's not on the body. Because the body will change.
ON: You have a son which is now four. When he will start dating do you think you are going to give him advice or an opinion on the girls he is bringing into the house?
AV: I am sure I will. I am definitely very passionate as you can tell. I am not a firm believer in pushing things on people. What I say is what I feel. I don't belive that you have to agree with me. So I parent my son the same way. I try not to irrupt in his life even if he's only four years old. Unless he is going to hurt himself or someone around him or the animals. I don't interfere in his play or his imagination. I hope that I can be loving and accepting and let him make his mistakes. But beforehand by the way I am as a woman, by the way my husband treats me he will see how to treat a woman. He will see the kind of woman he likes. It's inevitable. We are what we see. We are products of our surroundings. But I am sure I am going to be opinionated. Gosh, if at twelve years old there is girls calling on the phone, I am definitively saying: "No, Auden is not here. Call back in five years."
ON: As a wrap-up I'm goingt to tell you some words and you just say, what pops into mind first.
"Modeling ist boring"
ON: Dates
AV: Love
ON: Love
AV: Sex
ON: Children
AV: Husband
ON: Will Smith
AV: Hot
ON: Modeling
AV: Boring
ON: Switzerland
AV: Interesting. (She laughs.) I like that! That's fun! Or Clocks.
ON: Can you tell us a little on the Transporter Sequel?
AV: Yeah. Kidnapping. Drama. I am the mother who tries to find her son and the love interest of Jason Statham. (She whispers that).
