Cameron Diaz:

Fiona Grows Up

by Lynn B

In Shrek the Third, feisty ogre Fiona leads a rescue and becomes a mom. Lots of changes. Cameron Diaz, who voices the green gal, has gone through her own changes since the last Shrek film came out. Her much-publicized break-up with Justin Timberlake has evidently resulted in the two superstars finding a comfort level since they shared friendly cheek kisses at the Shrek the Third premiere.

We met with the newly streaky blonde Cameron at the W Hotel in Westwood, Ca. recently and, although we are about the same height, she towered over us in very high gold heels. The star looked very trim in black top with ¾ length sleeves, slim black pants and this girl knows how to accessorize! Big chunky gold cuff with matching big gold ring, large gold hoop earrings and a pretty gold chain necklace. When Cameron gets comfy, she puts her feet up in her chair so let’s curl up and chat….

AGW: When did you find out there would be a third film?

Cameron: I don’t recall. I think it’s just sort of been like this i.v. that’s been in my arm, kind of like this lifeline….

AGW: So, you were happy to return? You like the story for this one?

Cameron: Definitely. I’m so happy to be a part of it because of the integrity of the film; the message that it puts out every time. [In Shrek 3], the princesses don’t just sit around and wait to be rescued. They go out and take care [of it]. If you want this, go and get it. You can’t wait for somebody to do it for you. That’s a message for everyone. It’s putting that out into the world, I’m honored to be a part of that, I want to be a part of that. Plus the fact that you know that they’re going to take that technology [even further].

AGW: So, what have you learned over the process of voice-recording 3 films?

Cameron: Well, [laughs] I’ve learned how to act with a podium. [Laughs] I’ve learned about my character. In a live action film, you live with the script and you spend a lot of time with it and you get to say the words often, and you get to deal with how your character fits into the entire story. With this process, it’s very isolating. You don’t get the script and you don’t get the character. I’ve actually learned a lot about Fiona, doing three movies with her.

AGW: What is the one quality Fiona has that you like most?

Cameron: I like that she’s the anchor to all these crazy characters that swarm around in this tribe called Shrek. She’s like the straight man. She’s the glue and she kind of guides it through. She’s the arrow that’s been shot and everything else is sort of traveling with her. Fiona is somebody who I really respect. I want to protect her. Even though she’s an animated character, kids look at it as though it’s real.

AGW: Were you delighted when you read the script and found that the princesses do a little Charlie’s Angels butt kicking? Was that something you suggested, or they just did that?

Cameron: No, they just did that. I had no idea. I was like, ‘Really?’ I love how they’re just ripping off their sleeves, and I love when the ugly stepsister has got that tattoo. It’s brilliant. And the great thing is how they deliver that. They deliver that message with humor, they deliver it in the best possible way, and they turn the traditional fairy book princess on its ear.

AGW: They don’t need to be rescued, they’re going to do the rescuing.

Cameron: Yeah, they hit so many different levels, in delivering that message and it’s fun, it’s really fun, I love it.

AGW: Are the filmmakers open to your suggestions about Fiona? Do you remember any that stuck?

Cameron: Yeah. The first Shrek I had no idea what I was doing, and I didn’t know Fiona at all, I had no idea who she was, I didn’t know what context she fit into the story. And now I do, I look out for her in a totally different way. The only thing I can think of is after Fiona and Shrek got married there was a slight nag that started to happen that I was not so keen on. I was like, ‘She cannot be a nag.’ She was a little bit selfish about how she expected Shrek to show up for her, and I just didn’t feel it was fair to him. She knows Shrek, she knows his weaknesses, she knows it’s hard for him to be out of the swamp and be in the kingdom, and she can’t expect him to show up for her every single time. In that scene where they have to get dressed up, that was [written like] ‘Come on Shrek, do this,’ we turned it into like, ‘Please do this, I know it’s hard for you, but please can you do it?’ Not, ‘I can’t believe you’re not going to do this for me.’ So, I brought that.

AGW: Do you believe in happily ever after or is that just a myth?

Cameron: Well, it depends on what your idea of happily ever after is. I think everybody has a different idea. I believe in happily ever after. I’ve never seen it written in a book, I’ve never seen any princess act it out for me, but I definitely have a happily ever after. If it ended today, it’s happily ever after. Somebody asked me the other day, ‘How come you’re always so smiley?’ I’m like, ‘Duh, because I’m grateful for everything that I have in my life, I have no reason not to be smiling. I have like the best life ever.’

AGW: Do you ever look at your finished performance and think, ‘oh, I could have done that better’?

Cameron: I think that I’m a perfectionist. When I see anything that I’ve done up on the screen I’m always like, ‘oh, now I know I could have done so much better’, but in particular with this movie, you’re not working with the other person, and so when you see their performance, you go, ‘oh, okay that’s how they did it. That’s what they were doing. If I’d known that’s how they were doing it…,’ but that’s where you put your trust in the director. You know that wouldn’t get up on the screen unless it’s what he knew worked with the other actor’s performance. He felt that it was appropriate and fit in together. So in this, as in any film, that’s why the director’s the most important thing.

AGW: Did you have a favorite fairy tale princess as a child?

Cameron: You know, I didn’t have one. I just didn’t watch the fairy tales. I had Barbies because every girl does, but I always wanted to cut their hair (laughs). I did like Cinderella because I did like the idea of the glass slipper. I liked that slipper.

AGW: So who is your favorite character in the film?

Cameron: My favorite is the Gingerbread Man. I fell in love with him in the first one (she goes into Gingerbread Man voice) ‘No, no, not my gumdrop buttons’! I was like, ‘I love you’.

AGW: Do you think voice actors should get an Oscar for the best voice performance?

Cameron: I think it’s appropriate that there is a category for animation but the animators are, in fact, the actors in these movies. They are the ones. No matter what I do with my voice, it’s not going to reach the audience the same way until they’ve done all the animation. I’ve seen it where Fiona and Shrek look at each other, and it’s not fully animated, and the moment isn’t there. And then, when it’s fully animated, you go, ‘Oh, my God, that was so touching,’ and it’s because the animators have fully realized that moment, created it with these two characters, and they’ve animated it. So, really, they’re the actors. I could not take any credit for the acting done. I provide the voice, but they do the acting.

AGW: Don’t you have to use a lot more imagination when doing the voice acting?

Cameron: There is a liberty that we can take. You can make the stupid, crazy faces. We don’t get to see the animation. The world hasn’t been created around us yet so we can’t look at it and go, ‘Oh, that’s what Far, Far Away looks like.’ I never saw what Far, Far Away looked like, until the second film was finished. They explained it to us. They said, ‘There’s going to be a Rodeo Drive’. You’ve got to imagine it. But that’s part of our job. We can always come back and redo it. I’ve gone in and redone the lines to send it in another direction, and then, they just reanimate it.

AGW: What are you working on now?

Cameron: I’m working on my hair color right at the moment. [She fluffs up her streaky blonde hair]. I just went in for highlights, and . . . [Laughs] Just teasing. I am waiting to see exactly what I’ll be doing. I’m hoping one of the few things that I’m looking at will be sticking on the wall for the summer. So we’ll see.

AGW: Are you going to be returning to Charlie’s Angels? There’s word out that McG’s doing another one.

Cameron: Not that I know of. Is he? Really? Wow! I’ve gotta call him up and see what’s going on. Maybe I’m not going to do it. [mock sad voice] They don’t want me. No, I haven’t spoken to anybody about that.

AGW: Any thoughts you are willing to share on Justin Timberlake’s performance in Shrek the Third? [Note: Justin is the voice of Artie] Any idea why he was cast?

Cameron: I think he’s fantastic. I think Jeffrey [Katzenberg, studio head] had a crush on him for a really long time [she laughs]. You remember in the first Shrek, there was this ‘Sir Justin’ poster over Fiona’s bed? I had nothing to do with that. That was something that Jeffrey had in his mind for a while. But it’s great. It’s fun. It’s appropriate.

AGW: Are you already signed up for Shrek 4?

Cameron: I’m in it. I’m there. I’ll buy a ticket!

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