WT: Did you suffer culture shock when you moved from Iowa to Los Angeles?
TF: Completely! It was a whole different planet! First of all, it took three hours to drive a quarter of a mile down Ventura boulevard, which I was used to being able to drive across the state of Iowa in…Second of all, there were more men on diets and in the gym here than in the Midwest, which was a little weird. Also, the whole vernacular switch from ‘pop’ to ‘soda’ took me a while. I also was expecting LA to be more of a party town, I think most people in the Midwest associate LA with fast living and drugs and a naughty lifestyle – and then I started meeting people out here and they were pretty chill and mellow and in AA.
WT: What do you like best about living in LA? Worst?*
TF: I love the whole show business scene. I love the hustle and unpredictability and excitement of the town. I love the diversity of the culture and the crashing opinions and modes of art and creativity.I love being able to surf…I don’t like the pollution, but I try to do something about it through Oceana and Project Save Our Surf. I like Rite-Aid, but I am concerned about Jack In The Box. Is it tasty? Yes. Is it wrong? Who knows?
WT: Did filming “Irene in Time†affect your relationship with your father? If so, how?
TF: No, my dad and I have a wonderful relationship unlike my character’s father. My Dad and I go bass fishing together, bike trips (Ragbrai in Iowa-the crème de la crème of bike trips), fix cars, and can talk about anything together.
I think he liked the last 8 mm home movie clips of himself all buff and in a swimsuit in the eighties and lifting me up that we used in the movie…I found some of our family stock footage and snuck that into ‘Irene’ without him knowing about it, I think it boosted his ego and some of the women at the DGA Premiere were sweet talking him.
I sat next to my Dad at the premiere and at the end of the movie we held hands and hugged, and both got a little sappy. We’re lucky to be such a great father – daughter team and to have each other, and we got to just sit and acknowledge that at that moment…
WT: What did you get your dad for Father’s Day? Did he like it? *
TF: I bought a couple acres of land and built a cabin right next to my parent’s cabin in Wisconsin. I’ve been going there since I was a kid, and it’s our home base, and a dream of my dad’s to have our little hideaway up north together.
WT: What was the best Westside location you shot in for either “Irene in Time†or are shooting in for “Queen of the Lot?â€
TF: Zack Norman’s house for ‘Hollywood Dreams’ and ‘Queen of the Lot’. That man has the best, craziest, fantastic taste in all of Los Angeles. He will stop at nothing when it comes to hanging up art and what he considers to be ‘art’. Nothing. And that’s a good thing. He pushes all the boundaries. He actually hung up a mold of his wife’s tush he did for her birthday above his fireplace. It’s beautiful.
WT: Do you have any plans to return to stage work? If so, what are they?*
TF: I’m currently in rehearsals for John Ford Noonan’s ‘A Coupla White Chicks Sitting Around Talking’ with my favorite brilliant theatre director Gary Imhoff and delicious actress Beege Barkette…We’re opening at the Edgemar in October, and we’re having a ball with the play. I finally get an excuse to wear acrylic nails and a push up bra, and I’m stoked.
WT: I imagine that after doing several films with Jaglom that you have developed a short hand with him and the crew. Does this make it harder or easier to work with other directors?
TF: It makes it easier – I think the work on a Jaglom film is intense and fast and furious, and you learn to get in what you can as quickly as you can with a huge load of mental preparation at times, and sometimes no preparation at all. It makes you ready for anything that comes your way. So when I make other films, I don’t get as surprised or blindsided by anything (knock on wood). I do have to say I love working with DP Hanania Baer, who shot both ‘Irene’ and ‘Queen of the Lot’, and he creates beautiful poetry in his shots, and there’s a lovely safety and relaxation to knowing he’s behind the camera.
Working with Henry is like going to Disneyland. It’s a whole experience unto itself, and there’s nothing like it. And it’s hard to really describe it to anyone that hasn’t been there. You just strap yourself in and go on the ride. He’s a master; The Walt Disney of Independent Films.
Irene in Time is currently playing at AMC Loews Broadway 4
1441 Third Street Promenade, (888) 262-4386
