Sunday March 15, 2009
New York, New York
By ESTHER NG
The city that never sleeps, fashion capital, shopper’s paradise – strong enough reasons to shift the playground of the Shopaholic heroine from London to the exciting Big Apple in the movie adaptation.
A SHOPAHOLIC’S dream come true. Besides being the icon of all cities, home of skyscrapers, convergence of traffic (both people and machines), New York City also has lots and lots of shops!
Enough to make it one of the world’s fashion capitals.
Which was why when producers of the much-awaited Confessions of a Shopaholic movie decided to shift the location of the story from London to the United States, there was only one city that fit the bill.
The Big Apple is indeed the choice setting of the much-loved Rebecca Bloomwood’s story of crazy shopping.
The new Disney movie, based on two of the hilarious and best-selling books by British author Sophie Kinsella, showcases the best-dressed stars since Sex and the City and The Devil Wears Prada – both incidentally are also set in New York.
At the centre of this new movie is Isla Fisher (Isla is pronounced I-lah), the up-and-coming star who plays Rebecca (Becky) and who has been compared to the legendary Lucille Ball for executing physical comedy flawlessly (watch out for the hilarious fan dance scene).
“That is the hugest compliment. I really don’t see myself anywhere near Lucille, she’s brilliant,” the down-to-earth beauty told a group of international journalists several hours before the film premiered in New York recently.
Fisher, 33, who makes her debut as a main lead character in Confessions, is best remembered as Vince Vaughn’s oversexed love interest in the 2005 Wedding Crashers, and has acted opposite Ryan Reynolds in last year’s romantic comedy Definitely, Maybe.
Since the Becky Bloomwood character was born eight years ago, she has won legions of devoted fans around the world who love the endearing and hopelessly out-of-control shopaholic.
Like the characters in Sex and Devil, clothes are a big factor. Only in Becky’s case, she goes overboard. For she lives to shop and shops to live, and whenever she gets caught in a tight spot (including having to fend off her debt collector), she lies, manipulates, improvises and wriggles herself free – only to continue shopping.
In fact, at one point in the movie – which is based on the first two novels in Kinsella’s Shopaholic series, Confessions of a Shopaholic (2000) and Shopaholic Takes Manhattan (2001) – Becky sums it up in one line – “When I shop, the world gets better. I get better.”
She eyed a job writing for her favourite fashion magazine but that didn’t work. Ironically, she lands a job as a columnist and financial adviser (gasp!) for a business magazine, under the byline “Girl in the Green Scarf”.
There is much history behind the green scarf (in the book, it is referred to as the Denny and George scarf) that Becky has gone to extraordinary lengths to acquire. Her determination to own that billowing scarf sees her splashing out an exorbitant amount for it, and of course, in the frenzy of getting more cash to pay for it, bumps into Luke Brandon (played by Hugh Dancy), her future boss and eventual love interest.
Fisher could not have been a more different person in real life.
Unlike the uncontrollable and unmanageable Becky, Fisher does not shop all that often although she makes exceptions for books and “I used to love shoes”.
“Now that I’m a mum, I don’t wear heels much now,” said the mother of a 16-month-old girl named Olive Baron Cohen, whose father is none other than British comedian Sacha Baron Cohen, or more popularly known as Borat.
Born in Oman, Fisher and her family moved to Perth when she was a young girl. At the age of nine, she appeared in commercials broadcast on Australian television.
Fisher admitted to being “completely in control” of her credit cards, saying: “I’m very sensible and practical, thanks to my parents.”
What was the last thing she bought?
“Thermal underwear because I was coming to New York,” said Fisher who lives in London.
However, she has committed the sins of a shopaholic at least once.
“I bought a completely unnecessary fish cooker, thinking it would revolutionalise my fish cooking. But you could actually just use a regular pan to cook fish!” she deadpanned.
As easy-going as she seemed, Fisher looked like the superstar she is set to become in a chic black top and short skirt during the interview.
Author and the movie’s associate producer Kinsella was all praise for the actress who played the character she created.
“Isla is a physically-gifted actress. She’s that rarity, a beautiful woman who is not afraid to make a total fool of herself.”
Renowned producer Jerry Bruckheimer agreed. “It’s exciting to see her intelligence and comedic timing in the scenes.”
So, she’s funny, practical and attractive. No, she’s also a novelist, who wrote and published two teen-themed books when she was 18.
“I enjoy writing but ultimately, I love acting. As I get older, I like to be around people; there’s something about writing and sitting alone, it feels anti-social,” Fisher said.
When she first took on the Confessions project, she knew that it would be nearly four months of working non-stop at the weirdest hours.
To her, that was a pressure in itself but once she got going, she got going.
“I was playing a character adored by millions and she was made an American unlike the book which I have read and loved. So, I tried to capture her essence, studied the nature of her denial and looked at the different ways she could shop.
“So, once we got going, we just survived the hours.”
Some of the scenes were acted out in shops full of people (who were actually actors), filmed in the wee hours of the morning when the stores were closed to the public. That’s one of the quirks of filming in the most crowded city in the world.
But even the creator of Becky’s character was forgiving of the decision to have the setting and Becky’s nationality move across the Atlantic from London.
Kinsella said: “In my mind, she’ll always be British but I have met Becky Bloomwoods from all over the world, of every nationality. What’s important is that we have her heart.”
In fact, the scribe pointed out, many of those involved were not American – from Fisher to director P.J. Hogan, both of whom are incidentally Australian.
“So, it’s really quite universal,” Kinsella added.
While Fisher herself would have preferred Becky to remain British, ultimately, it is still the essence of Becky Bloomwood which counted.
“She’s the same heart although she has a different dialect, so it’s fine.”
Asked if she thought it was a good time for a movie about a shopaholic to be released now given the sluggish economic situation worldwide, Fisher said: “It feels very topical because there is redemption at the end and the character learns a lesson.”
Fisher herself learned a lesson or two from the process of making the movie.
Taking her first lead role seriously and knowing that she would be responsible for the tone of the movie, Fisher did her own research – by attending debtors anonymous meetings to get a feel of the different styles of shopping.
“There is image shopping, bulimic shopping, collectors’ shopping, all sorts of different styles,” she noted, adding that she used this knowledge to demonstrate Becky’s appetite for shopping and how the style would change at different times. “This was to show how desperate Becky was.”
While Fisher is at ease with doing comedy, she is open to dramatic roles as well.
For her, it’ll be about the role, never mind the genre.
“Both drama and comedy are the same in that they must be kept real. Comedy is more difficult to play because I can sit and watch a really bad dramatic movie but I surely can’t sit through bad comedy,” she said.
Fisher was described by director Hogan as the best improviser since Rupert Everett.
One of her favourite scenes was when she did the outrageous dance moves which she herself pitched to Hogan who eventually agreed.
“We had three takes for that scene at 4am one day. It was so much fun doing physical comedy. I knew I’d surprised Hogan!”
Did she get to keep any of the costumes she wore on set?
“No, I wish! I felt like a princess at the beginning of filming but at the end, the clothes represented a lot of early mornings.”
And yes, she was really excited being dressed by Patricia Field, the famed designer who outfitted the girls in Sex and Devil.
And thanks to Field’s influence, after the movie Fisher became more bold with the choice of colours in her wardrobe.
She made more effort in dressing herself “but pretty soon, I got back to my old ways – jeans, T-shirts....”
After this, Fisher, who’s just done voice-overs for the animated movie Rango with Johnny Depp, is set to take on other roles although the one she is most comfortable with right now is playing the role of mother.
She enjoys being a full-time mum, adding: “I have not worked for eight months, my responsibility now is my baby.”
In fact, during the filming of Confessions, she was breast-feeding her baby, so she was very emotional and anything could set her off.
“But my daughter was with me the whole time, so that was a treat,” she acknowledged.
Any advice for the Becky Bloomwoods out there?
“Just be more frugal, look for bargains. There’s a lot of stuff in your wardrobe which can be revamped with accessories!”
Interview with Sophie Kinsella in StarMag next Sunday
‘Confessions of a Shopaholic’ opens in Malaysian cinemas on Thursday, March 26.
Related stories:
Cast in Confessions
Men behind the chick flick
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