Demi Moore: More, More, Moore

Q: Okay, so Meg Ryan was originally going to do The Butcher's Wife and, around town, the dozen or so women who are on Hollywood's short list were mentioned for the roles you won in A Few Good Men and Indecent Proposal. Have you read for roles that you didn't get?

A: My career has been very slow, not a flashy thing. A long time of chipping away. I've been around for a long time and people have seen me kind of grow along the way. For whatever reason, I've ended up working with a lot of first-time directors, a lot of them really talented. But to help me grow, I want to work with people much more experienced than me. So to answer your question, it's a role that I got, but I had to read for Indecent Proposal, too. Adrian saw everyone. He sees everyone on every movie. [Laughing] Since I was 15 years old and read for Foxes, he's turned me down on every other movie--except 9 1/2 Weeks, which I didn't read for--that he's done. I didn't want to read for Indecent Proposal at all because when I read the first script, I said, "Ecccchhh, who cares?" Later, from my agent, I heard that the script had really changed and I read it and said, "Is it too late?" I knew they were coming down to the wire on casting. So, I had this very cursory meeting with Adrian.

Q: Knowing how you prepare for a photo shoot, did you do it up for your meeting with Lyne?

A: [Laughing] You know, I did. I wore an Armani jacket over velvet stretch leggings with a ribbed, long-sleeve, tight-fitting T-shirt. We started talking and he finally got around to asking me, very gingerly, if I would read. I said I would, but that I wouldn't be put on tape and I wouldn't test. That's where I draw my line. Look, it's always nicer if you don't have to read, but I don't mind. It makes me know that I've really earned the part, if I get it and, in a sense, I get an opportunity to see what I'm going to do with the part.

Q: You don't get much romance in A Few Good Men, but Indecent Proposal is another thing altogether. How would you rate Woody Harrelson and Robert Redford as Romeos?

A: Adrian feels the love scene that Woody and I have is probably one of the hottest he's ever seen. To me, it's the worst stuff you have to do. Woody is one of Bruce's friends and I met him five years ago. I mean, he's been to my house and played with the kids! He said, "It's hard to think of you in an attractive way; you're my friend's wife." At the same time, there's a natural comfort built in because we know each other, just our physical rapport. But you know what? At one point I asked the crew when we were shooting the scene, "Is this as embarrassing for you as it is for me?" They said, "Absolutely."

Q: Is Redford a good kisser?

A: Adrian was very curious about that, too. I don't really think about that. All I think about is, "Is this good for the scene?" When it was going on, I was thinking, "I'll put my hand here. I'll turn this way... " Obviously, if his kisses were really bad, I would know. I can't say either Woody or Bob were bad.

Q: Will Indecent Proposal, which sounds like the dark side of Honeymoon in Vegas, show us you and Redford in the sex scene we prayed we wouldn't have to watch in the earlier movie between Sarah Jessica Parker and James Caan?

A: So far, it's going to be left to the imagination, because I don't know if we could ever do anything that could live up to what people might imagine. Honeymoon in Vegas was a broad comedy; this is a morality play. In the first script for this movie, the Redford character was an ugly, stereotypical user, the rich guy without morals, values or ethics. In the rewrite, he became a handsome, charming guy to whom challenging someone else's morals is a game. Then, he falls in love with someone he can't have. It's much more multilayered.

Q: Is it a turnon playing a woman who is offered $1 million for one night of companionship?

A: [Laughter] All I thought was, "Oh, my God, what am I going to do? I'd better look like something someone would pay that much for." I only felt paranoid, not flattered.

Q: How "out there" have you gotten to land a role you wanted?

A: Well, I wouldn't put on a cat suit, if that's what you mean.

Q: Did you want to do Batman Returns?

A: Oh, I wanted it. I kept saying, "I can get in shape, I can." I really wanted Basic Instinct, too, but Paul Verhoeven wouldn't even see me for the part. And I was even blonde at the time. Sharon Stone was really great in it. What struck me about that character was that it was a woman in control of her life, however sick it was. So many times in movies where there's blatant sex, it's as if it's being done to the woman. The sexiest moment in Basic Instinct, the one that reminded me how much I had wanted that part, was the interrogation scene where Sharon Stone parted her legs. I thought, "Great!" I guess in comparison to a lot of people in this country, I never even question whether something's pornographic or offensive. I loved the power of that moment.

Q: Any other stories about parts you've missed?

A: The most "out there" I've gone to get a film was for Sleepless in Seattle. Someone got me a copy of the script and I loved it. Whatever part of my fucked-up psychology it has to do with, I don't like to put myself out there like this, but I called the head of TriStar and said, "I want to do this!" I don't like feeling that vulnerable. Sometimes, roles I've wanted have floated right by me, and I've thought: things that are meant to be are meant to be. Anyway, on Sleepless in Seattle, they were very nice, respectful, pleasant, all that kind of stuff they all do, but, obviously, I got rejected. They wanted Meg Ryan.

Q: What's next on the Demi agenda?

A: The Demi agenda, huh? Well, Libby, I hope, though I'm not producing that. I have a project from a true story about a New York social worker, a middle-class Jewish girl, who does incredible work with multicultural kids from the worst sections of the Bronx to kids from Park Avenue. It's kind of like Fame meets Stand and Deliver.

Q: You're talking like a producer now.

A: [Laughing] Well, I am one. I'm developing a three-part movie with Turner [Network Television] about abortion and the difficulty of the choice. It's called If These Walls Could Talk. Besides producing it, I'm actually considering directing it. That's a big proposition. When I saw Jodie Foster's film, I thought, "This is her first film! I could never do that," and when I saw Bob Roberts the other night, oh, my God, it was so great. Maybe doing a little piece like mine might be a good way to break the ice.

Q: Imagine that 20 years from now, you come across the entry for Demi Moore in an encyclopedia of movie stars. What does it say?

A: What I hope for is, "a real diverse, full body of work that shows growth." Work that could be looked on as courageous.

Stephen Rebello is one of our contributing editors.

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