MAKING WHOOPI
Q: Was it easy to slip back into the habit? A: Yeah. I mean, this is not a hard movie to make. Definitely not yet. This is a little bit lighter and fluffier and fine. Just fine. It didn't require a whole lot of hassle on my part.
Q: Haven't you said that you were less comfortable with the singing than with the acting? A: I don't like singing. I've never liked singing. But having sung in the last one and in Sarafina! and several other projects, it wasn't that big a deal. I just wanted to make sure it was done right. You have all these great kids and great voices, some a little different from the nuns'. So it was trying to get people to slow down and explain more to me.
Q: What had to be explained? A: What the story was. Just to get an idea of what we were going to do.
Q: Are you saying the script wasn't really fleshed out when you started? WG: Yeah.
A: How did that kind of uncertainty affect you? Wasn't that tough on you? Q: No. If someone's going to give you the freedom to make it for yourself, that's great. And if not, you have to ask: 'What do you want me to do here? Help me get it.' And I've learned how to do that a little bit differently now than I did the last time I made this movie.
A: How do you think people find you to work with? WG: I'm tough to work with. I have these high goals and I expect everyone I'm working with to shoot for the same goals. Just make the best possible movie. Check your ego at the door and let's get to work.
Q: After the first movie you were quite vocal about your unhappiness. Was it just the money that wooed you back, or were more promises made? A: No, it was the money. This came about a year before we started shooting. This was a year in the making, this deal. We were shooting Made in America when they made the offer. And I said: 'No! Uh uh! Nay! Nyet! Nada!' And every time I said it they upped the money. If I had known, think of what I could have made. Initially, yeah, that's what it was because there was no script, there was no story, there was nothing. The nuns weren't even in it at that time when they were talking about it. And I said: 'How are you going to do that?' You know, make Sister Act 2 and have no nuns in it. Their reaction was: 'Who are you to ask these questions?' Q: Did it wind up being a more pleasurable experience this time around? A: I don't know. I don't know yet how I've thought about it because I haven't had a break to think about it. I went from Sister Act to Karina Karina to here - literally - within the space of six days. You finish Sister Act and six days later you're on the set of Karina Karina in 1950s drag. And then you finish, and they go: 'Hey! The movie's opening. You're going to talk about it. OK, you owe us.' Q: At what point in your life did you decide to be a performer? A: It was always there - one of those things that was kind of born into me. And that's what my mum says, she knew the day she met me that there was an actor in me.
Q: What was your first performance before an audience? A: 'I'm a little teapot, short and stout. When you tip me over it all pours out. I'm a little teapot, short and stout.' Q: And you brought down the house.
A: Yes, because I wouldn't get off the stage. I kept going and going, like the Energizer [battery] bunny.
Q: What are you looking forward to this year? A: I'm looking forward to a continued good time. You know? I'm a lucky woman, I've a great life. I dress well. I come and go as I please. No complaints.
Q: How does it feel knowing you're going to transmit to people a really good message with this film? A: I hope that that's the case. I hope the fact that I'm who I am and live as I live does that as well. My big hope is that we can actually survive as individuals and have our own opinions and still interact. This is my big goal for my life - to remind people how to interact on a one-on-one basis. Which was what my show was all about. That long-lost talk show.
Q: If you had the chance would you do it again? A: Only under those circumstances. Only if I could make sure that it was about talking and listening. I really want to re-learn to listen. I'm not only afraid that we've lost our sense of humour but also our ability to listen, and I miss that.
Q: For those of us who have never been the targets of tabloid attacks, how bad does that get? A: It gets pretty bad. I don't care if you don't like what I say. You know what I mean? I don't care. But I would rather you have the full facts to know why you don't like what I say. I don't think you should be able to take my stuff out of context and saythat's what it is without someone holding you accountable. If I accuse you of something in a court of law, you have the right to face me. But in the media, you can write anonymously and I have no right to find out who you are. You can use anonymous sourcesand I don't get to face them. And I don't think that's fair.
