'American Werewolf's' Delpy chats about life and acting

Delpy in a scene from her new film, "An American Werewolf in Paris''

January 2, 1998
Web posted at: 2:19 p.m. EST (1919 GMT)

By Steve Hochman

LOS ANGELES -- The Parisian part of "An American Werewolf in Paris" came naturally to Julie Delpy -- she was born and raised in the City of Light. A favorite in European cinema ("White," "Europa Europa"), in recent years she has also become a fixture in American movies ("Before Sunrise," "Killing Zoe").

Now, 27-year-old Delpy is moving ahead as a writer and director with "Blah Blah Blah" and "Tell Me." She took a break recently to talk about her accent, her hobbies and her career.

AC-CENT-TCHU-ATE: "I'm closer and closer to a real American accent. It's important for getting roles. I can be the girl next door -- of course, in movies, the girl next door is never French."

XENOPHOBIA: "You go to a bar in Los Angeles or New York and meet people from all over the world. But I see a movie set in New York and there's not one non-American. Go anywhere and half the people speak in accents, but none in movies."

CINEPHILE: "I see a movie almost every day. One out now that's terrific is 'Bad Boy Bubby' from Australia. I saw it two years ago and liked it -- weird, dark movie. Really out there."

Full Movie Trailer 1 min. 45 sec VXtreme streaming video Scene from the movie 3.2MB/47 sec./240x180 1.7MB/47 sec./160x120 QuickTime movie

HEY, LADY!: "It's not true anymore -- people are not Jerry Lewis fans in France. I'm always on the side of Jerry Lewis, even if the French aren't anymore."

NETWORKING: "I know a lot of people through acting, though sometimes that makes it tougher. People have this vision of this cute, sexy thing in a tight dress, but that's not really me. I can wear a tight dress, but not all the time."

UP NEXT: "I really want to do 'Miss Julie,' based on a (Strindberg) play. Lizzie Borden is directing it. Hopefully, I'll direct one part (of a film that) Laurie Parker is producing, with three 30-minute stories each done by a woman -- me, Lizzie Borden and Alison Maclean, who did 'Crush.'"

NEW DIRECTIONS: "There are so many great directors, but I'd really like to work with Gus Van Sant one day, and Woody Allen, and also Lars Von Trier of 'Breaking the Waves.'"

RE-DIRECTIONS: "I'm planning to work with Roger Avary again next year, who has wonderful projects in the works. He did 'Killing Zoe,' which was great for me, and of course he won an Oscar for co-writing 'Pulp Fiction.'"

TALENT WATCH: "I worked with Richmond Arquette and he's really good. And Brad Hunt did an amazing job in 'Dream With the Fishes.' And Ben Affleck, who writes too, is very good."

AGE-OLD QUESTIONS: "Men (in starring roles) keep getting older, but their girlfriends in the movies are always 19. We're going to make that change. From now on, all my (on- screen) romantic partners are going to be under 22!"

(c) 1998, Steve Hochman. Distributed by Los Angeles Times Syndicate

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  • An American Werewolf in Paris

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