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diversions
Griffiths on
deck
By Phil Witte
On-line Forty-Niner
After holding forth
on the superiority of Australian sports, the deficiencies
of network TV and the differences between acting and directing,
Rachel Griffiths has revealed something that really gets her
excited: Bathroom fixtures.
"I'm unnaturally looking forward to my next break, when
I'm going back to Australia and redecorating my entire house,"
she says.
"I'm addicted to the Home and Garden Network. And I'll
go to bookstores and in the next aisle, men will be looking
at those magazines going 'ooh, ahh.' I'll be in my aisle looking
at interior design magazines going, 'bathroom fixtures, ooh,
ahh."
"It's reno-porn," she says, her natural Australian
accent coming through now that she's not hiding behind a character.
Griffiths is sitting in a suite on the top floor of the Century
Plaza Hotel in Century City, holding court with a group of
reporters attending the junket for Disney's "The Rookie."
She is charming the pants off the group, even though she is
having trouble with her own (the button on the slacks of her
gray pinstripe suit keeps popping).
In "The Rookie," she plays Lori, the strong and
supportive wife of Jim Morris (Dennis Quaid), who achieves
his lifelong dream of becoming a major leaguer at age 35.
Playing the Texan woman was easy for Griffiths, who says she
saw similarities between residents of the state and those
of her native Australia.
"There's a similarity in the way they interact. Both
Texans and Australians approach people with a lack of guile.
"If you broke down at the side of the road, someone might
actually stop and help you change a tire," she says.
The fact that "The Rookie" was about baseball, the
quintessential American sport, didn't deter her from taking
the role of Lori.
"I didn't see it as simply a baseball movie," she
says. "It's about a life journey, it's a coming of age
story, a father-son story, and the story of a marriage."
She does see games as a vital part of a culture, but how those
games represent a culture is a different matter.
"In Australia, we have cricket. Americans could never
put up with that," she says. "You play for five
days and no one wins? And there's a tea break? No way.
"But your football players run around all padded-up like
a bunch of sissies. In Australia, the football players run
around in just shorts and beat up on each other."
The frequent references to Australia indicate how important
it is to the Melbourne native.
One of the main factors in her taking the role of Brenda in
HBO's "Six Feet Under" was that it filmed for only
six months a year, not the usual nine.
Having half the year to spend at home allows her to work,
see family and friends and pursue her other love, body surfing.
During her last break, she acted in two films and directed
a short of her own, "Roundabout," her second effort
behind the camera. Her first short, "Tulip," won
Best Short film at the Toronto and Palm Springs Film Festivals.
She says she is not eager to combine these two aspects of
her creative powers.
"Those are two different parts of my brain," she
says. "The acting side is the creative, volatile side
that's always prepared for a fight.
"The director side is the calmer, unemotional side that's
focused on problem solving. If I tried to do both, I'd be
afraid I'd turn into James Cameron."
Americans first became aware of Griffiths when she co-starred
in "Muriel's Wedding" with Toni Collete. Those two,
along with Cate Blanchett and Frances O'Connor represents
what Griffiths calls a renaissance of Australian actresses
in Hollywood.
Griffiths is earning some respect for herself, earning a Golden
Globe this year, when she won for best Supporting Actress
for "Six Feet Under."
The abundance of awards won by "Six Feet Under"
and other shows on HBO like "The Sopranos" and "Sex
in the City" is not due to quality, she says, but rather
due to delivery.
"It's not a matter of talent; "West Wing" and
"ER" are great shows and I'm a big fan of American
sitcoms," she says. "Dramas on commercial television
are basically toothpaste-delivery devices, and with the constant
interruptions viewers can't really connect with the characters.
"That's why on HBO, and especially in feature films,
viewers can engage on a much deeper level. At HBO, the process
is less watered down and less executive heavy."
Next up for Griffiths is "The Hard World," in which
she stars with fellow Australian Guy Pearce. She plays a moll
to Pearce's bank robber in a story based on real cases of
police corruption in Australia in the '20s.
Given her temperament and outlook toward life, you'll be much
likelier to find her winning an Oscar for directing a short
film or losing herself, chameleon-like in a challenging acting
role, rather than in a big, bloated Hollywood blockbuster.
Just don't stand too close to her if you ever find yourself
in a hardware store or bookstore in Melbourne. Standing
between her and her bathroom fixtures is not a safe place
to be.
Unless, of course, you're into reno-porn too.
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Disney
Enterprises, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
"The Rookie"
Golden
Globe-winner Rachel Griffiths plays Lorri Morris, Jim's (Dennis
Quaid) wife
in "The Rookie."
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