Venice Magazine Article
The following article from the August 2001 issue of Venice Magazine was taken WITH PERMISSION by David from venicemag.com
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GHOST GIRL THORA BIRCH
by daniel schweiger
photography grove pashley
hair/makeup elif girgin/smashbox
location le meridien hotel
When meeting the radiant Thora Birch, it’s hard
to imagine that she harbors a dark streak. Yet there’s no other recent young actress
who’s been able to ride the wave of teen disaffection like her. In American Beauty,
Birch’s portrayal of a cheerleader rebelling against her sheltered life brought the
actress numerous awards, and showed Hollywood that she was ready to graduate into fully
adult roles. Now Thora Birch takes the step from pessimism to the tragically hip with
brilliant results in Ghost World. As Enid, Birch is the last word in sarcasm, a teenager
who views "life" after high school as open season to diss the pathetic universe
around her. With a caustic brilliance that’s worthy of Dorothy Parker on a
particularly morbid day, Enid puts up a wall of put-downs that deflect everyone but her
life-long friend Rebecca (Scarlett Johansson). Though not exactly Little Miss Sunshine,
Rebecca is cute and centered, everything that Enid wants to be, but finds impossible to
admit. Then Enid finds she just might be capable of real affection when a prank on a
sad-sack jazz collector (Steve Buscemi) turns into unexpected romance; that is if
Enid’s ennui doesn’t screw up her chance for happiness—the one thing she
dreads above all.
Decked out in the height of retro chic for Ghost
World, Birch’s transformation into Enid is something akin to Robert De Niro’s
transformation for Raging Bull. While this part might be destined to make Birch the sex
symbol of teen geekdom, there’s practically nothing left of her Hollywood star looks
in Enid. But there’s plenty of the intelligence and drive that’s let this canny
eighteen-year-old make the transition from child star to adult actor. Birch started out in
commercials with Wilford Brimley and the California Raisins, then made her feature debut
at age six in The Purple People Eater. Birch soon became one of Hollywood’s busiest
young actresses, appearing in such films as Paradise, Hocus Pocus, and Patriot Games
before playing leading roles opposite Harvey Keitel in Monkey Trouble and a polar bear in
Alaska.
Now a recent high school graduate herself, Birch is
a long way from the world of cute animals. She’s in particularly good company with
Ghost World’s director Terry Zwigoff (Crumb) and its comic creator and scriptwriter
Daniel Clowes—two men who know how cruel the world of not so-cute humans can be. And
Birch has run with the opportunity they’ve given her, dishing out Enid’s cruel
wit with panache, yet somehow making her sympathetic. It’s the kind of performance
that goes deep, a rarity for the gross-out, lame-brained world that most teen films now
unfortunately occupy. While she’s eager to discuss the exceptional Ghost World, Birch
is also happy to have left Enid’s anger behind. For an actress who’s shown an
unexpected excellence at being angry, Birch wants the world to know she’s
well-adjusted. Hopefully, she’ll have a little less angst the next time out.
Venice: Ghost World reminded me a lot of Welcome to
the Dollhouse. Both films are about social outcasts, and both movies are written and made
by men who are viewing their awful high school experience through the eyes of a teenage
girl. Did you ever sense that perspective while working with Daniel Clowes and Terry
Zwigoff on Ghost World?
Thora Birch: I kind of view Dan as being both Enid
and Rebecca. He is them, and I don’t think the experience of teenage boys is so far
removed from what the girls went through. They’re hypersensitive to a lot of things
that people normally wouldn’t pick up on. But I didn’t notice anything different
in my character just because a guy wrote her, and I didn’t notice anything different
working with Daniel or Terry as a writer or a director. We were collaborating as fellow
artists, not as older guys/younger girl.
What did you do to transform yourself into Enid?
A lot, but it wasn’t a conscious effort. I just
started becoming obsessed with Enid, and then began to see the world the way that she did.
I made comments that Enid would make. I reacted like she did. Not me.
If you met Enid, what would your reaction be to
her?
I’d think she was really interesting, but I
don’t know if Enid would like me. So, I think we’d probably have to keep our
distance from each other. I don’t think we’d click.
With all of her negativity, don’t you think
Enid creates a lot of her own problems?
I think she does to a degree. Enid has a deep fear
of becoming bored, which is very easy to do in her surroundings. So she’s constantly
looking for the "newest" thing to criticize. She’d even find a way to
criticize a flower pot in order to entertain herself.
Most of the people that Enid makes fun of
don’t seem to be asking for it. She’s the one on the attack, especially with the
acting student who always tries to have a "get together" with her.
I don’t think Enid intentionally pokes fun at
that girl personally. She’s not even taking the time to get genuinely acquainted with
her. I think it’s more of what that girl represents, which Enid thinks of as being
phony. But beyond that phoniness lies something that is real within all of us. But Enid
isn’t taking the time to zone into that. She takes one glance and reacts from her
sarcastic viewpoint. In a way, she’s being mean more for Rebecca’s sake, to get
a laugh from her friend.
That’s an interesting dynamic. You’ve
got Rebecca, who’s very attractive, and Enid, who would be anything but pretty to
most "normal" people.
The friendship appears odd, but different girls
really do have those kinds of relationships in high school.
How much of high school do you think is b.s.?
Well, I avoided it at all costs. It’s just a
tough time, and it’s unfortunate that any human being has to be a teenager. You go
crazy. But if you want to know the truth, I view junior high as being worse than high
school. Maybe it isn’t that way for guys, because they mature at a different rate.
But for girls, junior high is the worst. That’s when we’re going through our
weirdness. It must be the hormones. I think the doctors are right!
Do you think part of the problem of being a
teenage girl is that MTV is telling them how they should look and what they should like?
I think that’s an easy way to explain the
problem away. I don’t know what it is, but I don’t think it comes from getting
an influx of signals from the media.
Before Ghost World came along, did you ever act
like Enid?
Maybe I’ve mentally viewed things with
Enid’s attitude. I might even have the same kind of reaction to "perky"
people. But I wouldn’t act on it. I wouldn’t be as crass as Enid is…
Do you ever find yourself having to
"act" in your private life?
Not on the level of how I act when I’m in front
of a camera. I’ll only put on a little bit of an "act" where I’m in
the situation of telling a little white lie. But then, anyone would.
Enid is the second social outcast you’ve
played since American Beauty. Do you think you’re following a career path where
you’re avoiding "typical" teenage roles?
I just pick characters that I fall in love with for
some reason. I haven’t really given my choices any grand thought in terms of what
I’m doing with my career. But you also can’t ignore what you’re doing
career-wise. I’d like to play the "typical" parts. I just haven’t done
them yet. Maybe I’ve made a mistake because two of the characters that I’ve
played are troubled. That could be a big mistake, because everyone sees me that way, and
I’m not that way.
Ghost World is very different from your
"typical" teen films. It’s smart, and completely avoids the gross-out
comedy that’s become so prevalent. And what’s more, it shows teenagers as being
smart. Not stupid.
Teen movies only become stupid because they
don’t have enough diversity, and I want to do diverse projects. If a
"typical" teen film comes along with a good script, then I’d love to do
one.
Do you think there’s anything, or anybody
that should be dissed?
I don’t think anything springs to mind!
[laughs]
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