Kim Basinger: Kim Confidential

Q: Who do you think said, "What can be more meaningless than making movies in the 1990s?"?

A: Sounds just like Alec. "What could be more meaningless ... ?" What day did you get him on? Wow. See, we are very different.

Q: How do you get along with all of Alec's family?

A: Great. Love his mom, his sisters, his brothers. We don't see a lot of each other, but I love it when we do.

Q: Do you have a favorite brother-in-law?

A: I talk more to Stephen. I'm crazy about him. He and Alec are on the phone much more often than any other members of his family other than his mom.

Q: What about with your own family? Last time we talked you said you hadn't spoken with your brother Mick in three years.

A: Let's just leave it like this: it's a very sad situation. The subject of Braselton [the town Basinger and a group of investors bought and have since sold] did a lot of harm within my family. Period.

Q: Did Mick drive from Florida to North Carolina to see you and you wouldn't talk to him?

A: It was in the best interest of everyone that I not talk to him at the time about what he wanted to talk to me about. Let me repeat this again so you hear me very loud and clear: all of this has been a terrible thing with my family.

Q: The New York Times reported that a lot of your small creditors hadn't been paid because of your bankruptcy declaration. Didn't you threaten to sue The Times?

A: I was never going to sue The Times. This happened two years ago. All of a sudden you wake up one morning and you see yourself with a big picture, and a story by a journalist writing about nothing she knew anything about. I mean, who am I to belong in the business section? My lawyers wanted to sue them, but this was another time when Kim chose to say, "Go away." You can't fight that barrage of negativity. I'm a hugely positive person. All of the negativity that's been around me has given me more to give. All these trials and tribulations are nothing but: OK, I think you can do this. And you get over that hump. You get cuts and scrapes, but guess what?--they clear up. I've always conducted my life that way. The Braselton situation probably did more harm in my life than anything that I can think of. I thought my being in the public eye would help get the town going and raise money, but I left it in the hands of other people and it just went downhill from there.

Q: We haven't yet talked about another big scrape you had to deal with, that lawsuit over Boxing Helena. What have you learned from the experience?

A: What I know now and what I knew then, you don't learn that in any classroom.

Q: What did you get out of it in the end that makes you positive rather than negative?

A: I'm stronger, clearer and happier because of it. I let go of a lot of faults and ambitions. It was all about my will, my agenda--and I learned to take my hands off the control panel.

Q: Did it make you cynical at all?

A: No. I don't have that in me. I consider everything I've been through just a gift, I really do. I wouldn't trade anything, no matter how good or bad or difficult. I'm the luckiest girl in the world as far as I'm concerned.

Q: You were shocked at what people said about you before this lawsuit--how much worse did it get after?

A: The media did what the media does. In retrospect, I think it was my inability to be fair with the media. I was incapable of representing myself in the manner I should have at the time. I've conquered major fears this past year through things I care about, like my animal organizations. But I think at that time I was incapable of explaining myself.

Q: How bizarre did the trial actually get for you?

A: If people knew the story behind this! It was like Night Court. One morning during the trial there was the cast of L.A. Law exiting the judge's chambers--I'm thinking, "Oh, are we going to be on the series now?" One day during the lunch break we were asked by the judge to come to someone's baby shower in the next courtroom. Here I've got a serious case on my hands and they're asking me to come to baby showers. But we sat there and they took pictures. It was all so inappropriate. I was Alice in Wonderland.

Q: In the end, what did it wind up costing you?

A: It cost a lot of money. A lot of money.

Q: Have you ever considered writing a book about your life?

A: People have asked me left and right about writing a book just about the trial. But why go there? The American public has to be so sick of courtrooms--

Q: Alec said there is no justice for people like you in this country. Do you agree?

A: Not just because of my case. My God! Who wouldn't have questions about the judicial system in this country? I love Al Pacino in ...And Justice for All because many times in our lives we feel like, "No, you're out of order!" It's been out of order.

Q: You mean you think O.J.'s guilty?

A: Oh God, do we have to? I feel really sorry for all the people connected with that trial.

Q: What's your take on the Paula Jones vs. Clinton case?

A: I don't know the specifics and don't want to know them. I wonder why one would want to come forth with any of this. Everybody has skeletons in his closet. Why wouldn't she have spoken up sooner rather than later? Why didn't she announce it the next day? Coming now out of the woodwork for what? Money? Five minutes of fame? I don't know this woman or what she went through and I don't care! OK?

Q: Have you met Clinton?

A: Yes. He's very attractive. But I've never been in awe of many people. And I live with a politician in my house. I think Clinton's cool. He seems like a regular person to me. I'd love to sit down and just talk to him.

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