Gina Gershon: 'The Facts Are the Road Map, and You Build Your Character From There'

There's also a certain campiness associated with these films. Is that something that you spot in them, that draws you to them?

Again, the only campy thing I've done is Showgirls. I think that would fall under the category of what you're talking about. Bye Bye Birdie, I wish it were more campy. I love camp. I wish Everything She Ever Wanted were more camp, but it's not. People go for the seriousness. I just think maybe you're getting your words mixed up, that's all.

I don't know, I think it has a very campy quality in parts. You wanted more?

I tried to inject as much as I can. I wish it had more. I think she's an eccentric character; maybe that's what your calling "camp"? I mean, if John Waters had directed it, it would have been reallycamp, which would have been really camp. That would have been genius. But everything that's there was kind of in the book. When something's campy, it kind of winks at the audience. For me, I made that character in Showgirls as campy as I could just because I think she had fun with that. It was the world she was in. But with Everything She Ever Wanted, it was weirdly just her life and the way she saw it. I think she was full of life and excessive in her behavior, but it wasn't to be campy. She liked to be noticed, but I think that was part of her pathology of needing more attention. It's a subtle difference, but it's a big difference.

What about Love Ranch, which I guess is kind of in limbo right now? Where does your character fall in the spectrum between Helen Mirren and Bai Ling?

And Joe Pesci! It was more like Helen Mirren and Joe Pesci. Bai Ling. That was bizarre. I don't know what's happening with that, but I wish it would come out. They keep telling me it's coming out, but I have no idea. I play Helen Mirren's best friend; she's kind of the head prostitute at the brothel. It's a really interesting story, because it's basically the birth of legalized prostitution during the '70s -- one of my favorite time periods, just aesthetically. I thought it was great-looking. And it was another true story. The true stories are really compelling to me.

Why?

Well, truth is stranger than fiction. If you make it up, people would be like, "Nobody would ever believe this." But no -- it actually happened. You can get away with facts. If Pat Allanson's story wasn't true, we'd be poking so many holes in it: "Really? There's no way." And yet, allegedly, it did. You can't sit there and argue. The facts are the road map, and you build your character from there.

Of course you're back on Broadway now as well. What does the stage do for you creatively that movies and TV don't, and vice versa?

It's an interesting thing, because there's nothing like live theater and performing in front of a live audience. But at the same time I really enjoy the intimacy of film. I had done Boeing Boeing last year, which was a ball. We really had a great time. We won best revival, and it was a show I loved doing. But I had no intention of coming back to Broadway. I think Broadway is a great exercise, and it's really artistically satisfying because you can flesh out your character. You can go through the whole show without any editing or anything like that. But at the same time, it's exhausting. Doing eight shows a week is not for the timid. So initially I said I didn't want to do another show for a while, but Bye Bye Birdie... I don't know. I just had a soft spot for it. It was the first show I'd ever done, when I was 14. And it was such a different kind of part. It's fun to sing and dance with a big orchestra behind you. Let's be honest, you know? But I'm definitely planning to go back to film and television after this. It takes a lot out of you.

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