Drew Barrymore: The Latest Drew Stories

She's only 28, but Drew Barrymore has already lived through several phases, her latest being megaproducer--she has Charlies Angels: Full Throttle and Duplex coming up next. Here she discusses her lucky career streak and brings us up to date on all things Drew--the new guy in her life, the friendship she's trying to start with ex Tom Green, the fondness she feels for George Clooney, the advice she'd give Winona Ryder and the way she currently feels about her breasts.

_____________________________________________________________

Drew Barrymore is one of Hollywood's leading role models. Some may argue she couldn't possibly be, considering she was an alcoholic at age nine, a drug addict by age 12, and has already been married and divorced twice (to restaurateur Jeremy Thomas and comedian Tom Green). But that's precisely why she is a role model. Barrymore has not only survived her personal hurdles, she has become a big success story, managing to thrive as both an actress and a producer. Few other stars have made a big deal of their production companies the way Drew has. Her Flower Films has already rolled out a number of hits, starting with Never Been Kissed and then delivering a huge splash with Charlie's Angels, which has grossed more than $250 million worldwide. In addition, she continues to expand her range by taking daring turns in challenging fare, like George Clooney's Confessions of a Dangerous Mind and the upcoming black comedy Duplex, in which she costars with Ben Stiller. Her biggest success to date, however, may come this summer with the release of the highly anticipated Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle, which reteams Barrymore with Lucy Liu and Cameron Diaz.

I meet Barrymore in her Charlie's Angels trailer in mid-December. She was supposed to be done earlier this month, but the film is running over, so she has to figure how the costs of a month extension add up. She's also working on the script for a remake of Barbarella, is tinkering with a film version of the novel A Confederacy of Dunces and is scheduling meetings with Adam Sandler over Fifty First Kisses. Add this to the fact that she has a new boyfriend and hundreds of holiday presents to wrap.

LAWRENCE GROBEL: This is a cozy trailer, but what's with all these huge dictionaries in boxes?

DREW BARRYMORE: They're Christmas presents. I do a theme every year. One year it was record players, this year it's dictionaries. They're all vintage. I love old things.

Q: What about old bands, like the Beatles?

A: Every month I pick a different Beatles song--right now I'm back on "It's Only Love." Whatever dilemma you're going through, if you put on a Beatles song, they will answer it. I also love that you can make love to their songs.

Q: Who's comparable to the Beatles for you today?

A: I love Beck. What he's doing today is what the Beatles did back then, which is to explore every genre of music.

Q: You also like to explore. You just came off the quirky Confessions of a Dangerous Mind and soon you'll be starring in the black comedy Duplex, where you and Ben Stiller attempt to murder an old woman for her house. How funny is Stiller?

A: Very.

Q: Is he as amazing as Adam Sandier, whom you've called the most amazing person in the world?

A: Adam is amazing. He just came to visit. I'm really close with him. We shared an incredible experience together. We traveled the world for The Wedding Singer, and we became really good friends. My relationship with him is unique and profound. Ben and I are just getting to know each other.

Q: Was Duplex much of a stretch for you?

A: Not in the way that you would think. I had a hard time with my character because she's very uptight, very yuppie-ish, and she dresses very conservatively. I wanted sex and rock 'n' roll in my life so desperately, I couldn't take her turtlenecks anymore. I wanted to kill her! She's just very tickety-boo--that's what my [Flower Films] partner Nan's mom used to say. It means organized and logical. I'm not like that. I don't have an outfit that matches, I don't have a thing that's in place anywhere. I'm trying as I get older to get a better system, but it's just a disaster.

Q: Fifty First Kisses will team you again with Sandler. Is this about first kisses?

A: Yes. It's a great love story. It's about how do you make love stay and how do you fall in love every day?

Q: Let's talk about that. By my researched count, you've had 10 men in your life: James Walters, Phedon Papamichael, Jeremy Thomas, Val Kilmer, Eric Erlandson, Luke Wilson, Jeremy Davies, Tom Green, Alec Pure, Joel Shearer.

A: Not Val Kilmer. Jeremy Davies is a friend. Alec Pure and Joel Shearer, friends.

Q: So that leaves six men in your life?

A: Those are my major relationships, yeah.

Q: Was your marriage to Jeremy Thomas a mistake?

A: Life lesson learned. Both of my marriages have taught me the same lesson twice over really harsh: listen to your instincts. Don't be a people pleaser.

Q: Why are so many Hollywood relationships doomed?

A: The pressures of outside opinion can affect someone in a relationship, though it shouldn't. It doesn't affect me, but that's a problem for people. People care about what people say about them, they care about press, they care-that things are being exploited. That's a logical thing that comes with the job. You can't battle against it or you will torture yourself.

Q: Are you capable of love?

A: I'm very capable of love. I probably said I wasn't when I was heartbroken. Every time I get my heart broken I think that love, doesn't exist.

Q: Are you in a relationship now?

A: I am seeing somebody.

Q: Want to name him or keep it quiet?

A: Keep it quiet.

Q: Is he in the business?

A: No! He's in a business, but not my business.

Q: Is he older than you?

A: No, he's younger than me.

Q: Of the six major relationships in your life, how many times did men break your heart, and how many times did you break your man's heart?

A: Half and half.

Q: What do you look for in a man?

A: Consistency.

Q: How do you explain consistency?

A: Someone who's able to make plans and keep them. When a person doesn't have a stable family in their life, they come from a fearful place where they're searching for that stability. When people come from a stable family, they feel a sense of independence. So when two of those types of people come together, they have very different mentalities: one is, "Hey, my family has always been around, they always will be and people stay." Those who haven't been in families think: "Everybody leaves." That's been a big part of something that I have to personally overcome. When I was in my early twenties I started to realize that it wasn't through another person that I was going to find that stability. That it was actually going to have to come from myself. If I could be my best friend, if I could be the one person who could make myself feel that I would never leave myself, then maybe I would gain a sense of strength. I wouldn't place that need on a man.

Pages: 1 2 3