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Hangin' With Archives
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AnnaSophia Robb:Dakota Fanning, Watch Out!by Lynn B.
After a Hollywood agent spotted young AnnaSophia (she insists we use her whole name!) in her native Denver, Colorado, her career was launched in 2002. The actress was in a few national commercials then was chosen by director Wayne Wang to play the beloved India Opal Buloni in “Winn Dixie”. Dynamic Ms. Robb has also completed filming on Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory opposite no less than Johnny Depp whom she says is “such a great guy”. Dressed in white with a bright colored, gauze, beaded blouse over a tank, the actress, entered our interview room in Beverly Hills accompanied by her mom and Winn Dixie himself.. the adorable Picardy Shepherd named Leico who was one of two matched hounds playing the title pup. Turns out “Dixie” is no mutt. The breed is quite rare and is found mostly in France. As we chatted, the cute dog seemed to hang on AnnaSophia’s every word, tilting his head in a beyond cute way that drew lots of “awwww’s” from journalists. AGW: Did you go through a formal audition process for this? AnnaSophia: It was about a three month process.(Introduces her mom). I had the audition in July. About a week later, I had another audition with the casting agent and the director Wayne Wang. Then, about two weeks later, I had another audition with the producers and director and casting agent. Then I went home and they called me about a week later and said ‘can you come to Louisiana for a screen test?’ So, I went out there and I was a little anxious when I came back. And, about two days later, they called me and said ‘can you come to Louisiana for three months in four days. So, it’s like ‘okay, wow!’ I screamed, I was so excited. AGW: What do you think of the small-town life portrayed in the film? AnnaSophia: I think it’s good for three months but more than three months I think it’s kind of boring. AGW: What were you missing the most? AnnaSophia: Well, I’m kind of an urban girl. I like big cities. I like New York. I like London. I like L.A. I like people. I get lonely, really, really easily. But, I think it was good. It was very different and I think that’s good. AGW: Do you like dogs? AnnaSophia: I do. I love dogs. They’re one of my favorite animals. AGW: Did you have to give this dog a lot of commands? Did he listen to you? AnnaSophia: We really bonded. There were two dogs and I bonded to both of them. Mark (the trainer) was off camera making him do stuff but I could make Leico do stuff. He’s a little excited today. He’s seen some little birds outside the window and got excited about that. AGW: What was the hardest thing for you to do with the dog? AnnaSophia; For me, just watching when the dog goes crazy during the thunderstorm. Wayne wanted him to jump onto the table between this big gap and through a window and that was very hard because the dogs kept slipping and sliding. He finally got them to do that. Just watching that was hard. But me and the dog, it was probably when Winn Dixie runs away because we couldn’t get him out of his kennel. He liked his kennel too much. AGW: How much time did you have to bond?
AGW: (We ask Mark the trainer) How territorial is this breed (Picardy shepherd) and are you encouraging families to run out and buy this type of dog? Mark: Not necessarily territorial. They can be a one family dog. They’re an okay pet. You have to look out for the protective side of them a little bit. They can be a little stubborn. Other than that they are a pretty good pet but they’re very hard to find. AGW: There is a big party scene in the rain. What was it like shooting that? AnnaSophia: We were shooting it in December and we were shooting night scenes so it go quite cold but everybody else was from L.A. and they were all freezing and I’m from Colorado so I was wearing a skirt and short sleeves and I was okay. It was okay but, it was funny, when we were shooting some of the scenes it was supposed to be a warm summer rain and you could see your breath. AGW: How many times did you have to dry off and get wet again? AnnaSophia: That was a hard scene to shoot. It was about two or three times. But they had different shots so we had to do it a couple of times so everybody had to re-do their hair and get dressed. AGW: Do you have pets at home? AnnaSophia: Yes. I have a Maltipoo. It’s a Maltese and a Poodle mix. AGW: You worked with some incredible actors on this film. Did you know about their work before doing this? AnnaSophia: Well, I think I did. I knew who Jeff Daniels was. I had seen Dumb and Dumber but that doesn’t really count. I knew about Dave Matthews because my parents listen to his CD but I don’t think Eva Marie (Saint) or Cicely (Tyson). They’re a little bit of an older generation and I wasn’t born when they were getting really big. But, I had seen On the Waterfront (Eva Marie’s Oscar-winning performance with Marlon Brando). AGW: Do you admire Dakota Fanning’s career or any other actresses? AnnaSophia: She’s actually younger than me which is kind of weird. She’s a wonderful actress. I really admire her. I’m thankful that I got to work with her little sister (Elle). But, I’d like to meet her one day. I saw I Am Sam and she was wonderful in that. She was six or seven when she did that and it was quite interesting but I really look up to Nicole Kidman and Meryl Streep because the younger actors have had good careers but I don’t think our generation has had enough experience to really be looked up to. AGW: Your director has said that you were fearless. Do you think you are? Will you take on anything? AnnaSophia: I think so. I’ll do anything as long as it’s good and down to earth and it’s not really crazy. AGW: Can you see yourself doing a movie like Spy Kids? AnnaSophia: I love funny movies but I think I want to be in more serious movies than just kid movies. I want to have a deeper character. I want to be able to have parents watch it and enjoy it and not just kids. AGW: Do you share any qualities with Opal? Are you that open with people when you meet them? AnnaSophia: I think I am. I love meeting people. It’s one of my favorite things to do. I like meeting nice people like you. But I think Opal is very welcoming and she listens to people. She doesn’t just try to like cut them off or say ‘well, this is what I think’. She tries to be kind to them and I’d like to think of myself like that. AGW: What made you, at age three, want to become an actress? AnnaSophia: I think you should ask my mom. (Mom says:) She always, always wanted to be an actress. How she knew what one was, I don’t know but she’d be very dramatic ‘Mommy, let’s pretend’. She’d see kids on television and say “I want to be on TV’. We just kind of ignored it for a long time and finally, she got very, very persistent about it so we found her an agent an they recommended acting classes and the L.A. agent came in. AGW: No community theater? Mom: Her school is really active with choir and plays. AnnaSophia: And, in my church, I did a lot of singing and in the Summer I do theater classes. Mom: And she was in the Rocky Mountain Children’s Choir. And a lot of theater classes and workshops in the summer. AGW: Are you moving down here now? Mom: We’re still based in Denver for the time being. TeenHollywood; Who was the most fun person on set? AnnaSophia: That’s a tough one. Everybody was very different. Funny, like cracking jokes? AGW: Just, when the camera was off, who was fun to hang out with? AnnaSophia: I think everyone but jokes wise, Dave Matthews. Being just really warm and grandma-like, Eva-Marie. Being very friendly and just being a friend Cicely and Jeff just feels like a friend. He’s dad-like too. AGW: What was it like on the set of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory? AnnaSophia: It was a lot of fun. Everyone was so great. I loved all the British accents because we shot in London. It felt like a family because we were there for half a year and all the sets were very big and real. AGW: How did they turn you blue and blow you up? AnnaSophia: Well, that’s kind of a secret. I eat the gum. I did prosthetics and then I was fourteen feet up in the air. AGW: Was it fun to play a mean character in that? You play Violet Beauregarde. AnnaSophia: It was. It was the total opposite from Opal but I liked to play a brat because it was kind of fun playing mean but then, of course you need to change back to your real self. You don’t want to be mean or cruel. AGW: How cool is Johnny Depp? AnnaSophia: He’s such a great guy. He’s really down to earth and just wonderful; a wonderful human being and he talks to you, not like one of those people who go off to their trailers and hides. I’ve never worked with anybody like that but he hangs around with you and he talks about his kids which, as a kid, makes me feel comfortable. AGW: How is your director on “Charlie” Tim Burton? How does he work with you? AnnaSophia: (getting really excited) He’s wonderful! I think he’s the best of everybody. He has such an imagination and it’s so cool. He has all these ideas and then he puts them in and you’re in this set with his imagination. It’s him. It feels like you’re actually in his mind and I think that’s very cool. AGW: Where did he find the Oompa Loompas? AnnaSophia: L.A. in secret places. (laughter)
Pictures of AnnaSophia courtesty of and copyright 20th Century Fox Pictures of Winn Dixie copyright Lynn Barker |
 
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Pretty,
blonde, 11-year-old AnnaSophia Robb would never say anything as ungracious
as our headline but, with her debut in the film version of the mega-popular
children’s book Because of Winn Dixie, the young actress
shows acting chops that make her eligible to join Ms. Fanning in filling
“adorable young girl…who can act” spots. 
(AnnaSophia
looks at the dog as if asking him and dog tilts his head)