Academy Award winning actress Susan Sarandon is looking a little different these days. She is starring in Enchanted and in the upcoming film Speed Racer, both of which will appeal to family audiences, which is a big change for this controversial woman. She is quick to point out that she has done voices in Rugrats in Paris: The Movie as well as James and the Giant Peach and The Simpsons.
"You know when I did The Rocky Horror Picture Show I was making fun of every ingenue I had ever played. So I was kind of doing [the Cinderella] part in it. And it was pretty broad but you know you have to sell it and I didn't have all the trappings of something as extreme. The gal I am playing [in Enchanted] is very nasty. But I don't think I have ever been that costumed up. I never remember what I have done but I can't think of anything where I have been that completely done up," she says, then quickly remembers more. "Oh, you know what in Illuminata, John Turturro's film, I am pretty over the top and all done up as this Sarah Bernhardt-kind of person. That's pretty excessive."
Sarandon is taking different paths in her career these days. She says about Speed Racer, which is scheduled to be released around next summer, "It kind of looks like The Jetsons. I mean it is not my best look. It takes a little getting used to. I have the same hairdo I had in my eighth grade yearbook. But it is beautiful. It is very saturated color. It unfolds in a way that breaks all boundaries of structure. I can't explain it." This will definitely be a big change for the actress that is known for her dramatic roles, especially her Oscar-winning role in Dead Man Walking.
The Writer's Strike is on everyone's mind, and it's something Sarandon has her opinions about. This woman has never shied away from expressing her opinions on any matter. "I think there [are] a lot of significant issues with all the emerging technology. You know when Reagen was the head of SAG he pretty much gave up a lot," she says. "I think that was a lesson well learned because he didn't have the foresight to see where things were going so now people are being a lot more careful. And I am hoping that everybody isn't real greedy and there is some way to work it out because it should be fair. People are getting paid less and less and producers are getting more and more. There has to be some way to participate later especially for people who aren't at the very top, actors wise." And we all know how much actors make these days. Millions and millions, and the paychecks keep going up.
"You know those residual checks - they mean a lot to get those checks unexpectedly. You can't just cut that out. It is not right. Actors should be able to participate. [And] writers. So I don't know what's going to happen. I hope they have level headed people try to talk it through. I know from the last commercial strike that it was tough when you are up against corporate America."
If you think Sarandon is only taking roles in family films, rest assured. She has some very dramatic films coming out as well, with a comedy or two sprinkled in there. Regardless of her political leanings, she will always be thought of as a wonderful actress first and foremost.
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