Meet another girl/teen in our club who likes the same movie favorites as you do. To write her, click on the link to join the penpal club!

	any age 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
	A Star Wars Movie Epics like Titanic Something Scary Anything Disney Anything Funny Romance Action Films Comedies Historicals Animal flicks

• The voices of Monsters Inc.
• Drew Barrymore
• Joey Fatone
• Lance Bass/Emanuelle Chriqui
• Max Keeble and Friends
• Jennifer Aniston
• Leelee Sobieski
• Reese Witherspoon
• Ming-Na
• Haley Joel Osment
• Sean Hayes(Mr. Tinkles)
• Kirsten Dunst
• Eddie Murphy
• Kerry Washington Julianne Moore
• The Ladies of Atlantis
• Cameron Diaz
• Shannyn Sossamon
• Heath Ledger
• Backstreet Boys
• Leonardo DiCaprio
• Celine Dion
• Hanson
• Enrique Iglesias
• Sarah McLachlan         and Lilith Fair
• 'N'Sync
• Will Smith
  • Wild Wild West
  • Bagger Vance
• Spice Girls
• Britney Spears
• Justin Timberlake
• Oprah Winfrey
• Youngstown

Updated 12/03/01
We're Hangin' With....

The Cast of: OCEAN'S 11

The All-Star Interview!

AGW got to talk with the all-star cast, director and producer of the crime caper film Ocean's 11. (PG-13). At the end of a long interview day in a Los Angeles hotel, everyone was informal and punchy. We got more jokes than answers to our questions but it was fun.

Let's set the scene: Matt Damon, wearing a black sweater, told us about practicing for his role as a pickpocket. Andy Garcia, all business-like in a suit and tie, discussed his part as the "bad guy" casino owner in the film. George Clooney, who was late but dapper in a black suit and white shirt, poked fun at everything. Julia Roberts, looking very young in belly jeans and white tee, flashed her great smile and appeared comfortable as the only girl in the "pack". Brad Pitt, wearing a blue shirt that matched his eyes, was very open and warm. He stayed afterwards to sign autographs, pose for pictures and answer additional questions. Old timer Jerry Weintraub produced the original Ocean's 11 film which starred "Rat Pack" members Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr. and other bigtime '60's stars. Director Steven Soderbergh, won an Oscar for directing Julia in the recent Erin Brockovich. As they all trickled into the room…..

Andy: Have you been (waiting) here long?

Us: Yeah!

Matt Damon: It's George. He won't shut up. We've been done and sitting around too.

Jerry: Can somebody get Clooney!

Matt: Everybody get up and leave.

Andy: Nobody was late to the set. If you are, Steven (Soderbergh) will be off doing another scene.

AGW: Matt, did you practice any slight of hand or take a "how to pick a pocket" course?

Matt: I was in Paris doing another movie and there were so many pick pockets in Paris, I was going to have my friend go on the train and I was going to 'hidden camera' him. I figured it would only take about an hour before someone tried to pick his pocket. But after talking to Steven we decided to talk to a couple of cops in Chicago about it. What worked for that (pick pocket) shot was the guy whose pocket I picked was the prop guy for Steven.

AGW: What were the pros and cons of filming in Las Vegas?

Matt: I can't see a downside to it. It's for me, about the group of people that you're with. That determines how much value the experience is going to have in your life. If you get a good group of people like this….Julia had said that the best time she ever had on a movie was Erin Brockovich and she was out in the desert in Bakersfield (California) and never had more fun. I think that speaks to the atmosphere Steven creates on a film.

At this point George Clooney runs into the room and takes his seat. Everybody cheers.

Jerry: As for working in Las Vegas, they were very helpful to us there at the hotels. It's a set you couldn't create in Hollywood, all these magnificent hotels. We got everything we wanted. It gave the actors a feeling of really robbing these casinos. Nobody knows how much money George and Matt won but it was a great deal.

George: Hey, I lost! I'm not a big gambler though.

AGW: A lot of actors say they love to work with Steven Soderbergh. George, what is it about this director?

George: (Kidding) First of all, you feel sorry for the guy because he can't get work. He's on his last legs. Look, you just want to work with the best directors you can, period.

AGW: Andy, talk about your bad guy character, the casino owner.

Andy: The script was very well written and there was a strong indication who this guy was. He had this empire he'd created. I had to bring out qualities you could dislike because you want to be rooting for George's character and the 11 guys. It was great to play a part in the actual place so when I'd go on the set, this is my casino. I'd look around and we'd see extras but beyond that, the casino was functioning. It was an actor's dream. To play the character in the real environment.

AGW: What did you do in Las Vegas?

Andy: I personally never gambled while I was there. I like to play blackjack here and there but it was odd. I never sat down at a table. I guess I was delusional enough to think that it was my casino. Why would I sit down at my own table?

George: You guys know me well enough to know that I'm a method actor. (jokes) I spent years training for the carousing that I had to do in this film to be prepared for it.

Matt: George called me six months before the movie and said we gotta start on our research.

George: So we go to Las Vegas.

AGW: For Matt: how do you make the transition from playing the lead to
co-starring with all these big actors?

Matt: It's not really a transition, that's the thing. At the end of the day, I want to look back on movies that I did when I'm older and be proud of them. This is one of those movies where the script was really tight and really well written by Ted Griffin.
Steven Soderbergh was directing it. It wasn't rocket science to say for any of us to say, Let's be a part of an ensemble. It's going to be a good movie, it's going to be fun, it's going to be entertaining, it's going to be special. And we'll be proud of it when we're done.

AGW: How much did you guys look at the old Rat Pack 1960's stars to influence you?

George: The movie is such a re-imagining of (the original film) that (all) it has in common is that it's called Ocean's 11. That Danny Ocean gets 11 people to knock over a few casinos but that's kind of it. If you enjoyed that movie, it's because it was fun to watch (those guys) and knowing that they had a fun time making it, but we needed more than that going into this one and the script needed to be tighter. (Those guys) we're just the coolest guys ever. We never once said, this is like Sammy and Frank and Dean. This was a whole other movie unto itself. But we're never going to be as cool as those guys.

AGW: You guys are known as nice guys in show business. Is it harder to be nice?

George: I don't know. Go to the nice guys here.

Andy: Why does that have to affect anything? People who have to do
something that's in the limelight and that brings a certain amount of celebrity does not give you permission to be a (jerk). The most important thing in life is how you conduct yourself and that's the biggest legacy you leave behind for your children and for your friends who outlive you to speak about you. That's what it's all about. Your work is secondary.

AGW: Jerry, would you liken putting together this cast to Danny Ocean's task collecting his 11?

Jerry: This thing came together because of George. We got the script done, sent it over to George and Steven, and it didn't take 24 hours before they both came back and said, we're going to do this. George said to me, 'Jerry, this has to be an ensemble piece. We gotta get all big stars. You're never going to be able to afford everybody so I'll take a cut and I won't ask for a penny in perks except what you get'.

Matt: (jokingly to George) It was you, Judas.

George: (teasing) Actually, that's what we told them. I took full cut.

Andy: The reality is that we get paid an extraordinary amount of money for something that we would do for free. For us to take a pay cut to do this, is completely overblown. A pay cut is still an extraordinary amount of money and we're blessed to have it and privileged to get paid that kind of money. People don't make that kind of money in an entire lifetime. Generations of families don't get to make that kind of money.

AGW: Hollywood has a fascination with heists and robbers. Why is that?

Matt: I don't think it's strictly for Hollywood. I just think it's a universal
fascination with the heist and the con and how it's done. It's explained at the end how it's done so it keeps the audience interested for the whole time. Anything from The Sting, all those movies, I've always just loved them.

George: The best heist movies are when you're robbing a casino, everybody here's given money to that casino, so you're like 'Go get it back'! It's the Robin Hood sort of world. It's a much easier world to rob from than the others.

Matt: I think the (film's) poster says that "In any other town they'd be the bad guys".

At this point, Julia Roberts, Brad Pitt and Steven Soderbergh joined us. Julia stops to grab a soda out of an ice bucket and wipe off her face with a wet towel.

AGW: Did you stay at the Bellagio Hotel while you were filming? How long were you there for and what did you do in your down time?

Julia: We did stay at the Bellagio.

Brad: They were very kind to us.

Steven: We were there six weeks

Brad: Is that all?

Julia: I think I was there for 3 or 2

AGW: In that time did you take in any attractions?

Julia: I saw "O". But you know, we were just there on The Mexican and we were near there on Erin Brockovich. We traveled there. We went there on weekends from Barstow. So everything seems to take me near Vegas. So I've seen it all. The rollercoasters...

Brad: We had good fun in Vegas.

AGW: Brad, what took you so long to do a guest appearance on "Friends".

Julia: Just be glad he did it. Don't say "what took you so long."

Brad: It was self promotion for Spy Game [Laughs] No. I so love the show very much. Even long before I met my wife (Jennifer Aniston). It makes me happy, the show. But I had a great time doing it with these guys. And in these (tough) times, entertainment, I am believing to be very important.

AGW: Brad, most of your characters have odd little quirks and in this movie, you like to eat a lot. Was that your idea?

Brad: It wasn't an idea...

Steven: He just ate a lot.

AGW: Julia, you've said that you would do just about anything for Steven Soderbergh. Why is that?

Steven: Do you want me to answer that?

Julia: Or (you should) leave the room... [laughs] I just really love Steven. I think he has a very deep respect and appreciation for movies and a great story told well. And I think that, in conjunction with his own intelligence and having to contractually hire the handicapped when it comes to acting is a good combination. I have kind of reckless abandon when it comes to my job and he has precision. I think those two things together work most of the time.

Steven: Believe me there are actors I won't work with by reputation. People talk and directors know not to lie to each other because if you do you have just (messed up) somebody for a year and a half, because you basically allowed them to have a bad experience. So I pick my cast very carefully.

AGW: Julia. This is an all guy cast. I am wondering what it was like to be the only girl.

Julia: It was nice to be the only girl. I thought it would be a more, kind
of queenly experience, something that never happened to me in high school. But it wasn't like that. I t was more like high school. [Laughs] No, seriously, it was fun. I just knew that come what may that would be my distinction. I would forever be "the girl."

AGW: You were very glamorous in this film. Do you like glamming up?

Julia: It all looks fun and Malibu Barbie when you start, but it is a nightmare. It is so much pressure to live up to a dress that is so specific and glamorous.

Steven: Actually her first scene, coming down the stairs, we reshot because the first dress we thought wasn't enough. Not that it had to be ornate.

Julia: It was gray. [Steven] said I looked like a really (hot) seventh grade school teacher.

AGW: Brad, it seems me that for such a big star, you are still always surprising people. Like you do a role in Snatch and people are like, "Oh my God, Brad Pitt was great. Where did that come from?" [Very loud laughter]

Julia: I want that on a T-shirt!

AGW: I mean, is it more that you are fighting [for respect] in Hollywood?

Brad: The leading man thing had been done and been done really well a million times by some really great actors, and I guess it just sometimes is more fun to go the other way. I mean the great thing about my "baggage" is as limiting as it may seem is that it also sets me up for that kind of surprise when you do good.

Julia: I can't believe he answered you.

AGW: What's with the end credit that says "introducing Julia Roberts?"

Steven: Well there are a lot of people out there who don't know Julia. And I'm gonna reach both of them.

AGW: Julia, can you talk a little bit about life pre-Oscar and life post-Oscar? And my follow-up question is if you had to pick one of the gentlemen in this movie to help you move, who would you pick?

Julia: Bernie Mac (plays Frank Catton in the film). That's who I would get to help me move. And the only change in my life is that shortly after the Oscars I had to go work with these mooks and I've never been the same.

AGW: Brad, when you are regarded as the hottie you are, does it make it twice as hard for you to be taken seriously as an actor?

Brad: I've given up on being taken seriously. I'm just going and doing what is interesting to me. Seriously.