Caffeinated Clint
In “The Joneses”, TV heartthrob David Duchovny and screen goddess Demi Moore play the heads of a seemingly perfect family that have actually been covertly placed in the neighborhood to market goods to the local residents. Ashley Hillard caught up with Duchovny and Moore at the film’s Los Angeles Press Day.
Q: Demi, do you feel like the Joneses, with everyone always wanting to know what you’re wearing?
Demi: It was very relatable, when I read the script. You’re absolutely right. People send things to us, in hopes of us being seen with it or photographed with it. That is, in fact, stealth marketing. What was so brilliant in Derrick’s script was that he took what we all could relate to and brought it right outside of the box, but not so far that you don’t stop and say, “That’s actually really quite possible.”
Q: What influences what you buy?
David: I like to see what Demi is wearing. No. I think we’re all affected and influenced by what we see. Growing up, I probably wanted to look like that basketball player, Walt Frazier, so I dressed like a pimp from the ’70s, and that’s back in style now, which is good. I think we all choose our style from the ether and whatever is out there.
Demi: There’s nothing wrong with having a desire to want nice things. It’s when we place that as a measure of the value of ourselves that it goes askew. Or, in the case of the film, it goes to the point of leveraging your entire life.
Q: Demi, with your millions of Twitter followers, you recently helped save a life on Twitter. Do you feel like you have a social obligation to influence and help people?
Demi: I feel like, when you’re given a platform to have a voice, that just naturally comes with responsibility. To say that I saved a life is pretty huge. Although it’s in the virtual world, my response was just a human response. What’s amazing about the use of social media is the ability to put out a call to action, and the enormous response and people’s desire to care. It really does show that we have a collective consciousness and that we do care about what another, as we see such destruction amongst humanity. It’s a powerful tool and you need to find ways to inspire, education, entertain and, most importantly, just find a way to connect with one another.
Q: Did this make you re-evaluate your own consumerism or shopping habits to reduce the consumption?
Demi: I feel like I have the fortune of privilege, particularly as it relates to my children. I always try to keep a positive perspective on what’s valuable and the importance of restricting that immediate gratification and, most importantly, that who you are isn’t the stuff you have.
Q: David, you’ve done a lot of voice-overs for commercials. Is that preferable to you, as opposed to being on camera to push a product?
David: Probably. I’m not sure why I have a prejudice against appearing with the product. I don’t know. I’ve only really done dog food. There’s not a lot of call for me to be out there, really. To see Luke Wilson out there recently, that’s very different to see an actor of some renown taking on a full campaign like that. Perhaps things are changing in that way as well.
Q: What do you enjoy about that sort of job?
David: I like the fact that you don’t have to put on make-up or sit in hair. It’s challenging to try to create a character just with your voice. I enjoy trying to figure out the best way to compliment the picture and not overpower it.
Q: Do you get a lot of people asking if that was you?
David: Yeah, especially during the Westminster dog show.
Q: The public has a certain image of the celebrity lifestyle. What is the reality for you?
Demi: It’s different for each person.
David: I think it’s very similar to anybody else’s. Maybe there are more things, more clothes and nicer cars, but the life is the same and the problems are the same.
Demi: The needs and the wants are the same.
Q: Demi, you’re such a role model and inspiration for women, with the way you live and how amazing you look. How do you feel about that? Is there a secret to looking so great? And, is there a pressure to always look so good?
Demi: I don’t know if there is any particular secret, but laughter and smiling are one of the best antidotes to aging that you could possibly have. I think of myself as still being about five. Maybe that’s why my Twitter picture is of me at five. That’s how I feel. I’m honored if I can inspire somebody else. I’m just still trying to figure it all out about myself.
Q: What were the most important aspects for you, in keeping these characters believable?
David: What Demi and I did with Derrick, when we first sat down, was realize that the “love story” in the center of this very complicated movie that has a lot of different strands of reality floating through it was important to pull off, and yet we didn’t have much, in terms of screen time together, to do that. The preparation, for me, was very much in tandem with Demi. When we separated it out, it was maybe 18 pages, and yet this was a love story. How are you going to do that in 18 pages? So, that was really our focus.
Q: Will there be bonus footage for the DVD release?
David: I don’t know if we shot anything we didn’t use.
Demi: Pretty much everything we shot is there.
David: Derrick would shoot us on our way back and forth from the trailer.
Demi: We had limited time and money.
Q: Was there anything you were ever in awe of and wanted to have, when you were younger?
Demi: I remember the banana seat bicycle. That was like, “Wow!” That was a big one.
David: It was sneakers, for me.
Demi: From the movie, I’ll be waiting for Toto to be sending us all a complimentary toilet.
Q: Demi, it seems as though you’re very selective about the movies you appear in now. What is your selection process?
Demi: You just want good material. You want to do something good and interesting, like The Joneses. From the moment I read the script, I thought this was just smart, thought-provoking, relevant and entertaining. I didn’t know Derrick. We all just want to find good, smart and funny material and, hopefully, work with people that you have a great time with. At the end of our lives, what we’re going to remember is the experiences that we share with one another, and not the stuff.
Q: Do you have a sense that, whatever you choose, your fans will still love you and that you’ll be a legend to them? How do you reflect on the movies of yours that have stood the test of time?
Demi: I don’t know. When you’re living, I certainly don’t ever think of myself as a legend. No matter what, throughout a career, if you’re fortunate to have one that spans a long time, there’s going to be some crap mixed in with the good stuff. You just hope that you’ve been true to yourself with the overall effort. At the end of the day, I hope that what I leave behind has been authentic and honest and, in some way, I can keep trying to give back more than I’ve been given.
Q: What do you have coming up?
Demi: In July, I’m going to do a film with Miley Cyrus and the director Lisa Azuelos. It’s a remake of a French film, by the same director, that is fantastic, called LOL: Laughing Out Loud. I’m really excited about that.
Q: Have you met Miley Cyrus yet? Are your daughters excited about you working with her?
Demi: I think they definitely admire the work she does. We actually met in person, for the first time, yesterday. We had spoken before.
Q: What did you think?
Demi: She’s great. I think she’s extremely talented. This role is going to be really good for her, and I think she’s going to do an amazing job. She clearly comes from a really solid family, which really shows.
Q: Do you play her mother?
Demi: Yeah, I play her mother.
Q: David, when do you go back to work on Californication? What’s in store for Hank Moody?
David: Well, last year, we left Hank going to jail. Last year was a decent, but it’s a comedy too, so we went about as far down as we could, in terms of keeping this a comedic show. We’re not trying to be a drama. So now, I think this year is going to be about rising up, and using that as the low point.
Q: What parts of Hank Moody, that we haven’t seen, do you still want to dig into?
David: For me, every season is always new with a new set of guest stars, which is really refreshing for all of us. Last year, we had Kathleen Turner and Peter Gallagher. This year, we’re going to have some new people as well. For me, when approaching Hank, what I always like is for him to have a worthy adversary. He’s a malcontent. He’s always arguing with people and, when he’s arguing with people that can’t argue back, or aren’t strong adversaries, I see it as bullying and I don’t like it as much. When he has somebody like the self-help guru in the second year, I like that very much because he’s actually fighting for something, rather than just destroying things.
Q: Can you name-drop any of the guest stars?
David: We don’t really know. I would tell you, but we haven’t gotten anybody yet.
Q: What are the roles that you’d be casting?
David: Hank’s lawyer is one. And, there’s a famous Hollywood actress.
Q: Do you worry about topping the outrageousness of it, each season?
David: I don’t, but I’m sure the writers do. It’s tough. It’s hard. There’s only so much puke.
Q: How many more seasons do you see doing that show for?
David: I don’t know. It’s such a pleasure to do because it’s almost like a vacation, especially now that I’m living in New York. I get to come out to L.A. and shoot it for three months and, unlike The X-Files, it’s not a 10 and a half-month schedule, so I really like doing it. I think it will get canceled before I get tired of it. Cable doesn’t have to go that long because the economics of it are different from free TV. I would hope we’d do six seasons of 12 episodes each.
Q: Do you know when the new season will premiere?
David: No, but I think it must be in September. We’re going to start shooting on the 19th, so we’re about to start.
