PopSugar Interview

Reese Witherspoon joined her How Do You Know costars Owen Wilson, Paul Rudd, and Jack Nicholson yesterday for a press conference in NYC during their weekend-long junket with writer-director James L. Brooks. Reese and the boys laughed their way through the questions and answers, and she chatted about being stuck between Paul and Owen, and even revealed one particularly bad date from her past. Owen shared a unique tale about firing a machine gun with friends beneath an embassy's tennis court, while Paul and Jack likewise weighed in with funny anecdotes — read selected excerpts below, and stay tuned for more quotes!

• Reese on bad blind dates: "I had someone correct my grammar on a blind date once, and I knew in the first ten minutes that the date was over. You just don’t correct someone’s grammar! I’m from Tennessee I probably said everything wrong. I probably said ain’t or something."
• Reese on her motivations: "I’m definitely one of those people who has post-its everywhere. The six evils of the world. I really do! Desire, greed, envy. . . Try to tell myself all those things to avoid! Positive affirmations, I have to say “Judge not lest ye be judged” has guided me through life."
• Reese on being unsettled like her character: "I think it’s really interesting to play a woman who can articulate that she isn’t ready to have a family — isn’t even sure she wants to have a family! I have a lot of friends like that. I think it’s a really interesting character than can say it. And I think Jim really wrote it so beautifully, that emotional honesty of someone who is not afraid to be honest about maybe not wanting what other women want. And I think there’s a lot of women out there like that. I think it’s really interesting to play a character like that. Obviously it’s not like myself, I have two kids, a very sort of settled-down life. But it was cool to play that girl."
• Reese on being the filling in a Rudd/Wilson sandwich: "It’s a tough job, you know ladies, but someone’s got to do it! It was great. How lucky am I to work with two of the most talented, funny, attractive, hysterical men. It was weird too because — oh I could go on. . . Every time I’d do a scene with Owen, I’d get really attached to Owen. Then the day he had to leave I started crying out of nowhere!"

To read about Paul's very bad blind date and Owen's gun adventures, plus more from Reese, just read more

Jimmy Fallon stopped by NBC's day of the TCA press tour on Friday to talk about hosting the Emmys and Late Night. Pop US caught up with him at the party later that night, and couldn't help but ask about working with Robert Pattinson on Robert is Bothered. Jimmy had nothing but glowing words for the Twilight star, who caused the loudest fan screams of any guest he's had on the show. Jimmy also shared his thoughts on this week's American Idol shakeup. Here's more:

PopSugar: Can we expect to see Robert is Bothered at the Emmys?
Jimmy Fallon: Of all the bits on our show that we can do, we gave [the Academy] 10 different versions of all sorts of things we could do, to which they said these are all great, but we have to give out awards. So we have to cut it down to three bits. And Robert is Bothered was not in there. I pitched Robert is Bothered for Teen Choice Awards.
PS: How was Robert Pattinson to work with on Robert is Bothered?
JF: He was a great sport. He climbed up in the tree and did it with us. I've never heard louder screams in my life. The screams didn't compare to anyone, even when Justin Bieber has been on. He was describing his movie Remember Me and people would just not stop screaming. And I was just thinking this is so cool. What an experience. I really hope he's enjoying this ride. He's a great guy and he deserves it. He was really shy and really happy — exactly the same backstage as he is on the interview. He's a charming guy, but just really shy and I just hope he's enjoying the moment. It must be super exciting to be him.
PS: There was lots of American Idol news and rumours this week. Who are your dream judges for the show?
JF: I was thinking about this today. I can't crack the nut, I can't solve it. You can't top Simon. You need a bad guy who's right. You need an honest guy who people aren't going to like because he's too honest.
PS: Do you think they're going to be able to get it right, or should it just be the end of Idol?
JF: I don't know. I'm kind of leaning towards the second one. To be honest, I had such an amazing time watching Kelly Clarkson — that was amazing! Daughtry, I'll take that, that was great. Clay Aiken, Ruben Studdard. . . but I missed last year, and the year before that I kind of missed too. Lee Dewyze seems like a great guy and talented, Kris Allen — great guy and talented. Adam Lambert is great. I'm just kind of phasing out, but I have to add something else. This year I think what I'm most excited about is I think they're all living in a house, and they're going to film them living in a house. Now that's more my speed. I like the reality part the best.

PopUS recently sat down with Zac Efron and his onscreen little brother, Charlie Tahan, as they promoted their new movie Charlie St. Cloud. Zac, who puts in an impressive dramatic performance in the film, revealed his secret to stirring up emotions on the set. He admitted he was relieved that he avoided going head to head at the box office with his girlfriend Vanessa — her Beastly was originally scheduled to hit US cinemas at the same time. Zac also talked about his hopes for future roles and learning how to sail — watch our interview below and stay tuned for more as we get excited for Charlie St. Cloud!

This week I was lucky enough to have the chance to interview Ollie Barbieri — who plays JJ in Skins — ahead of tonight's episode, where JJ takes centre stage! In part one of my interview, Ollie gives us some thoughtful answers about his character, how the show represents real life teenagers, the fame levels of Robert Pattinson and much more!

• Are you pleased with the journey that has been written for JJ? "Very much so, I think that JJ's story is one of the most complete changes in character and a great example of some of the aspects of what happens to someone as they grow up and become more mature. By the end of the fourth series JJ is a much more well rounded person. In series 3, his story was about learning what it means to be "normal", whereas this time around, its much more about accepting and embracing the things in life which set you apart from others."
• In tonight's show JJ has a romantic storyline. How do you impress the ladies? "Personally? I don't really, It sounds really clichéd but the only thing that anyone is going to respect and admire is the ability to simply be natural and not have to put on a persona to impress people."
• Do you think the show is a good representation of teens? "I have always said that Skins must be seen first and foremost as a TV drama. Whilst the events in it can and do happen, a certain amount of exaggeration has to go on in order to make the stories fun to watch. It shows certain aspects of true teenage life, but packages them in a humorous and often larger than life way."

To read the rest of my interview with Ollie, where he describes his other castmates in three words, ponders the fame of Robert Pattinson and discusses being recognised, just read more

Yesterday I was lucky enough to spend an hour with Zac Efron! He and his castmates in Me and Orson Welles, Claire Danes and Christian McKay, talked about their new movie in a Q&A session with UK journalists alongside their director Richard Linklater. Zac looked handsome and casual in a blue t-shirt and jeans, and fiddled with a bottle top on the table while talking, he was pretty self-deprecating, as was Claire who looked gorgeous and was really funny. Look out for more from this session right here next week, but without further ado — here's part one!

Richard, finding Orson must have been the key to the movie?
R — "Yeah, doing a movie with that title, you’d better find your Orson Welles, and that was the first step. We had the book rights, we had the script and then we went to find Orson. The film gods were smiling on us when we found Christian, I think what he did here was extraordinary. It’s an ensemble, about putting on a play, about art and collaboration but I think he made his presence felt. He took up most of the room."

And once you found your Orson, it was time to find your “Me”?
R – "I was just really lucky that Zac had read the script and liked it and wanted to meet me. You know, Zac was being offered every film in town."
Z — (deadpans) "You were so lucky."
R – "It’s true! It’s never a given, and we sat down, and I was convinced about fifteen seconds in and I felt like I’d found Richard. Like I did when I found Christian. Even though Richard’s only 17 you see it through his eyes, he needed to be a leading man, he needed to go toe to toe with Welles. I just needed that quality that Zac has, that charisma and that kinda presence."

Zac, were you trying to break out from High School Musical box?
Z — "I recognised almost immediately that this was a pretty unique opportunity. I got the phone call that Rick had a script that he’d like me to read, and he wanted to have a conversation about it. And I was… so excited, I remember running home to read the script. And I read it and was pleasantly surprised that the role was pretty big. That’s not exactly what I expected. I was the “Me”, that was pretty cool. I was looking for that opportunity. Not necessarily to change my image or anything. But for a new role, that was a new challenge, and something interesting – and this was it."

To hear why Zac dropped out of Footloose, find out how his efforts to find seclusion on the Isle of Man went, and Claire's opinions on having to flirt with him, just read more

Taylor Lautner took a break from all those smart suits he's been wearing for premieres and TV appearances and benefit screenings, and wore a casual stripy top and jeans for dinner at BLT in New York City last night. I was lucky enough to meet Taylor when he was in London last week for the New Moon press conference and UK fan event and he revealed all about stunts, hobbies and taking on a female role! Check out all of the gossip from Taylor, Robert and Kristen in my series of interviews and read on to find out more from Jacob Black himself.

• On doing his own stunt work for the film:
  Taylor: "The stunt work was a lot of fun. I was really glad that I had the opportunity to do a lot more physical stuff. I'd never ridden a dirt bike before so that was kind of scary at first. I had to go through some training so I could make the five seconds of me on the dirt bike look cool. There was a lot of sequences and Chris was really open to some random ideas."
  Director Chris Weitz: "I was scared! Taylor does everything he can to endanger his life physically while shooting a movie. Frankly I was just closing my eyes and praying."
  Taylor: "He was very supportive." [laughs]
  Chris: "The only thing that he didn't do was what the insurance company refused to allow him to do."

To find out what Taylor had to say about how he spends his downtime, how he feels about the fans, and his interest in playing a female character, just read more

Robert Pattinson is back in Los Angeles ahead of New Moon's premiere tonight, bringing his promotional tour of Europe to a close. I was lucky enough to meet Robert, Kristen and Taylor when they visited London, and Rob looked gorgeous in a white shirt and suit, which he later wore to the UK fan event. I've already brought you Rob and Kristen's response to questions about their relationship, as well as the pair's revelations about their kissing scenes, and now I've got the lowdown on Rob's future music plans, what he thinks about immortality versus ageing, and the differences between working on Harry Potter and Twilight:

• On whether he's concerned Twilight will overshadow his music:
  "I want to do gigs again, and I guess the only way to do gigs is you have to get an album to silence everyone and then you can play as many gigs as you want. I really miss it. I am really afraid of being overshadowed by it. That's why I haven't done any gigs or released anything for ages. I think it does make you set your standards higher, because you need to overshadow this massive thing, so it's tough. You've got to be winning Grammys before you do another open-mic [laughs]."

There's still lots to come from all three stars, but for now, to find out what Robert had to say about immortality and the differences between Harry Potter and Twilight, read more

Kristen Stewart changed out of her sheer dress and into jeans and a t-shirt for dinner at a Spanish fish restaurant with Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner last night, after they attended the fan event in Madrid. I caught up with the trio when they were in London earlier this week, and the question on everyone's lips was what's happening between Rob and Kristen, especially after those hand holding pictures! While the pair were happy to talk about kissing scenes, their response to this particularly tricky question was somewhat different. When asked how their personal relationship affects their working relationship, Robert laughed and said "it becomes very speculative", but Kristen gave a fuller and more intriguing answer:

"Any good relationship that I've ever had with an actor has always been so emotional and personal. If you don't have that then you're just lying, and I have that with Taylor and everybody that I've ever worked with that I've ever gotten something from. You need that. It doesn't mess with you because you're better friends with someone on set and you need to be playing different characters. You're on a higher level of getting each other, and so you're more comfortable and thus more able to give a more honest performance."

Stay tuned for more gossip from all three stars, but for now, to find out what Kristen's family think of her fame, and the trio's views on the fans, read more