Saturday, May 5, 2007
Philadelphia, PA
Loews Hotel
By Jacky
|
|
myFandoms.com/L-word.com
had the pleasure of interviewing Diane Gaidry and Erin Kelly,
stars of the Katherine Brooks film, Loving Annabelle.
A break-out indie hit of 2006, the movie is quickly becoming
a lesbian classic, along the lines of Desert Hearts
and The Incredibly True Adventures of Two Girls in Love.
Four of us from the two sites had the pleasure of chatting
with Diane and Erin over breakfast and then
|
beyond, as we explored the whys and what ifs of Loving Annabelle
and chatted about what’s next for both of them. Representing
the sites: Jacky, her partner Kathy, Jo (Jobadge), and her partner,
Jill (beaker). Jill and Jobadge were the photographers for the interview.
myFandoms: First, let me tell you that almost all of these
questions come from fans from www.myFandoms.com
and www.L-word.com, though many are
from Jo and Jill! We’ll have questions for you both, and questions
for each of you. So with that, let’s jump to the most talked
about topic of the movie—the ending. What are your thoughts
on the ending?
Erin: I liked the ending, and I didn’t like
the alternative ending. Because life isn’t fair, so the ending
is pretty close to how real life would be--especially if it was
a male teacher, not a female teacher.
Diane: Some people have said
they don’t like the ending because it’s sad, but
to me it’s open ended; you don’t know what’s
going to happen. I think the ending is really beautiful because
I don’t see it as an ending. I see it as two people
who fell in love. I like to think that Simone went to South
America, and Annabelle followed her there…
myFandoms: That’s fan fiction. That’s
your story for Simone and Annabelle.
Diane: Oh, right! I see!
|
|
myFandoms: If the film were 20 minutes longer, which parts
of the story would you like to have seen go deeper? i.e., Simone's
relationship with Mother Emaculata, Erin's relationship with her
mother, Simone and Amanda's relationship, or maybe even a 15 minute
love scene ending with them walking hand in hand on the beach together.
Erin: Sex. 20 minutes of more sex. (laughter)
Diane: Sex…but in South America. They would
go to South America and have lots of sex. (lots of laugher)
myFandoms: For both of you: Do you think Simone and Annabelle
would've developed a lasting relationship? If so, why? On what would
it have been based?
Diane: I’ve heard of students and teachers
who have gotten together and then gotten married. And they (Simone
and Annabelle) have a bond…I think that they would be close
… but Annabelle’s 17. She’s got her whole life
ahead of her. I think she loves Simone, but you know…
Erin: I think that the relationship opened up
an experience of love for both of them, and that’s what they
walked away with—having had the experience of being loved
and loving someone else, but no, I don’t think they end up
together….(lots of groans, Jobadge is crushed, Jill looks
at her watch and mockingly threatens to leave!)…NO! I
mean of course they do…they live happily ever after! (laughter
from the group)
Diane: Having lots of sex in South America (more
laughter).
Diane (serious): I think whoever Simone is with
after this, she can have a full life now because a part of her as
been opened up and reclaimed. She has herself again, the part she
put away after Amanda died.
myFandoms: One of my favorite things to look for, when
re-watching the movie, is to try to figure out when the flirtation
turned to love—for each of them. What do you think? When did
it turn serious for Simone and for Annabelle?
Erin: Well, how it was directed was from the very
second I saw her, when outside smoking a cigarette, was like a stalker.
They had to change it in the editing and take out a lot because
I was coming across as this huge predator. Katherine wanted to make
it not so obvious. They show us in the very beginning that Annabelle
was pursuing Simone from Day 1.
myFandoms: Pursuing, as in love, from Day 1?
Erin: No, at first it wasn’t love.
myFandoms: So when did it turn, for Annabelle, from “I’ve
got the hots” to some deeper emotion hat led to being in love
with Simone?
Jobadge: Don’t you think it was really at
Spring Break, when they spent the time at the beach?
|
|
Erin: I think
it was even before that—when Simone gives her the book…
Did they take out where I read the quote on the rock?
(Editorial note: The scene Erin is referring to was cut from
the final film. It’s on the DVD in the deleted scenes
section. The quote on the rock is the same as the one in the
book, with the letters “S and A” drawn inside
a heart).
|
Erin: Because when we shot that,
in my head, that was the moment that it went from being lust to something
more serious for Annabelle.
myFandoms: So how about for Simone? When did Simone fall
in love?
Diane: I don’t think Simone is thinking
of Annabelle in that way. She’s thinking of her as her student—until
Spring Break. Then, she begins to fight those feelings that are
beginning to come up. And certainly when she sees Annabelle on the
stairs with Colins, she has an appreciation of Annabelle as a person,
not just a student. More and more, she sees Annabelle as a whole
person. But I guess it’s at the beach house the feelings really
come forward.
myFandoms: I think we see a lot of Annabelle being such
a compassionate person. She’s sensitive to Colins and befriends
her, possibly in spite of Cat’s attitude towards her, she’s
compassionate towards Kristen and her problems…it’s
important, right from the start, to see her as nurturing and caring,
and we see how that would be attractive to Simone.
NEXT >>
|
