Nominate for Leighton in the MTV Movie Awards!!
B E S T V I L L A I N
B E S T F E M A L E B R E A K O U T S T A R
The Roommate will also be available on DVD/Blu-Ray May 17.
Lux Woman interview translated! Thanks to Mary and Hanna.
Summary: Complimentary of her co-stars, like always, and met up with Sofia Coppola again!
Leighton Meester is almost asleep on what I think is a chaise lounge (it wasn't, but the tiny actress did everything possible to make it seem that way.) It's 7PM in November when I finally meet her, exhausted, but available, at the Springfield room of the Hotel Sheraton, in Lisbon. "Don't forget to keep warm," she'll tell me, kindly, on the way out, knowing I'll let myself be seduced by the city's polar wind. But half an hour earlier, and before the ice has been broken, the atmosphere is heavy, as if there's no oxygen in the room (it's what happens when half a dozen bodyguards from the entourage decide to linger during the interview, the journalist better not break protocol or even the marble-like silence.) Despite being awake since four in the morning, the only person in a good mood and keeping things civil is precisely the young Leighton Meester. "Where would you like to leave the recorder, here on top of my leg?" Clumsy, I ended up leaving the device where I could, on the arm of the chair. With only 24 years of life and a few hours of sleep, Leighton remains youthful and curious, and prepares to speak about her movies, her tv shows, her songs and, of course, the state of her hair, the reason behind this European excursion kindly organized by Herbal Essences.
You've been in Europe for a few days already. How have the countries from the old continent been treating your hair?
[Laughs] They've been treating it well. I've been to Spain, Italy, England. And now I just got to Lisbon. I can't complain. They've all been delightful.
[As an accredited journalist from LuxWoman, I nominate Leighton Meester for European Goodwill Ambassador, now!]
Leighton Meester is springlike, and a breath of fresh air in these late nights of our winter. But it wasn't always this easy, it wasn't always this simple, and it won't always be this transparent. In 1986, the story was entirely different: Leighton was born while both of her parents were serving a ten year sentence for drug trafficking. The girl ended up living with her grandmother for 16 months of a life that truly started from nothing. I refused sensationalist inquiring and sought out a few flowers from her childhood.
What is the first childhood memory you have of your parents?
If I think about it, I think I remember a lot from my childhood. I remember touching a lamp shaped like a shell. I must've been two. I remember my brother kicking me out of the room when he was playing with his He-Man. I remember touching my dad's skin while he shaved...
Leighton lived in Florida for eleven years and moved up to New York to meet an agent who believed in her beauty and inexplicable talent. She brought her mom and one of her brothers (the other one stayed with their dad). As a teen, she was already a model for Wilhelmina. She'd end up meeting a neophyte by the name of Sofia Coppola, then just a photographer. "I think I was 11, in New York, when I met her. But I ran into her again in a photoshoot in Los Angeles, when I was around 14. Years ago I made a video with a friend of hers and Sofia Coppola showed up for the shoot. It was crazy. Since Sofia designs for Louis Vuitton, we had a lot to catch up on! [laughs]" It's paternalistic to think Leighton wouldn't have been mature enough to appreciate the depth of Lost in Translation at the time of its peak or even remember that the name of The Virgin Suicides, the Lisbon sisters, matched the perfect memory of this late afternoon in Lisbon. But: "I loved the fact Bill Murray finally had a dramatic role. No explosions or gunshots, but silence. Earlier this year I made a similar movie, filled with silent and thoughtful moments." I ask her if she means The Oranges, with Hugh Laurie, which will only be in theaters in 2011. In it, Leighton once again acts alongside the House actor, with whom she flirted in two episodes of the show.
When you met Hugh Laurie, did you tell him: "You again?"?
That was exactly it [laughs]. He's fun, charming and adorable. The movie is about a delicate subject. Two neighboring families in New York. I'm the daughter of one of the couples, and I get involved with a fifty year old man, a father of two. It's complicated for everyone. Moral of the story? Everything has to change, even if some things get broken.
It's very cold outside, but the conversation heats up. I know Leighton's 37 handlers want me to hurry up so they can take her out to dinner, perhaps to Bica do Sapato or Pap'Açorda. The idea, therefore, is to squeeze a polyphonic career in another (decreasing) ten minutes of conversation. We only need to speak about everything. After all, many careers have been built and undone within two years of this Facebook generation. In 2008, Leighton was only Blair Waldorf on Gossip Girl, then she released a pop album, Love Is a Drug, and this year she ended up in the renowned Country Strong, where she also sings and turns Gwyneth Paltrow into a karaoke star. Today, Leighton is in Portugal because she is the spokesperson for Herbal Essences, and tomorrow she'll be the face of Vera Wang for 2011. Two years that could've filled a time capsule and impressed God. But Leighton says her mother, screenwriter and editor, is still her role model. "She writes everything and about everything. Screenplays, books, she's the editor of a magazine in Georgia..." An inspiration? "I think so. When I was young, I loved to write. I got into a creative writing contest in 4th grade and I still read a lot, but that doesn't have anything to do with writing." Of course not. Writing requires time, and time is a rare luxury in the misused days of late. Leighton tells me that the only way to keep her private life private is to be private. And "work 26 hours a day. No interviews." The fact she currently lives in New York helps the camouflage. "The kind of fame people find interesting is always for the wrong reasons. I'm only interested in working. I don't even have a Facebook page." I ask: when did you think the success might be too much for you? "Too much? I'll tell you tomorrow. I hope it never happens. I don't want to stop feeling inspired or challenged. I want to stay uncomfortable. If I get too comfortable in my position, it means I'm not having fun anymore. I never get upset. People who get upset are the upsetting ones."
THE TRUTH ABOUT FASHION
"Before I started working on Gossip Girl, my friends said I dressed like a homeless person, I wore unwashed shirts with holes. And of course I had no money. These days I'm less interested in designers than in fashion as self-expression. For my first Vera Wang shoot, they made a dress exclusively for me. Too good to be true! Herbal Essences' virtue is tied with how we express ourselves and I think that's beautiful. In other words, I keep my style by dressing exactly how I want, with no restrictions. And of course you know how to wear something new every day..."
HOW DOES SHE COMPOSE?
"I start by playing a few chords on the guitar and listening to them on record. Then I sing the melody. Random sounds, nothing meaningful, and I see sentences or words come out of that nonsense. Most of the time that's what makes it to the song. And the song always reflects what's in my heart. It can start as a la-la-la, but it ends up being therapeutic to me. I don't practice in front of the mirror, but I've done karaoke."
WHERE CAN WE FIND HER?
"A few years ago, I managed to spend Christmas and New Year's in Paris. It snowed, I went shopping, I went to nice restaurants. And, above it all, I had no work. Of course I still love London. It's the ideal city for shopping, and I have family there. In October, I've been to Barcelona, to a friend's wedding. Lots of fun. It's amazing how Europe is different. I shot Monte Carlo in Budapest, and I wrote a lot. While we were shooting a scene on the Eiffel Tower, I came up with some lyrics for a song and started to compose right there. La-la-la, Tu-tu-tu. An experience like that is only possible when you're far from home. At home we always have dishes, furniture and shoes. While traveling I only had one suitcase for three months!"
Fader - The Temper Trap
Tie You Down - Shaimus
ABC’s - K’Naan
City On Fire - Jump Jump Dance Dance
Red Light - Ellis
Walk On - Moufette
Clockwork - Drew Smith
The Gaze You Gave - Abbey
Modern Eyes - Simon Lewicki, Chris Carter and Sidh Solanki
Higher - Dekoder and Jump Jump Dance Dance
We Are The People - Empire of the Sun
Devil’s Island - Mike Bloom
Crimson And Clover - Tommy James and The Shondelles
Melting Inside - Digital Noise Academy
The Story I Heard - Blind Pilot
Surrender - Digital Daggers
Let Go - Shaimus
Secret Things - Ken Andrews
The Focus - X5
Dragon - Feersum Ennjin
Houses - Great Northern
Mirrors - C’mon
--
Here's a sample:
Click to view