INT: Emmy Rossum

Poseidon
star Emmy Rossum is no stranger to disaster. Two years ago, she successfully
fought off global warming in Roland Emmerich’s climate-change epic THE DAY
AFTER TOMORROW. In POSEIDON,
she must once again deal with Mother Nature’s fury as she fights to find her
way off of a sinking ship tossed asunder by a giant “rogue” wave.
But Emmy doesn’t just do disaster. A former opera singer, she got a chance
to show off her classically-trained pipes in the big-screen version of
Andrew Lloyd Webber’s THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA. The next logical step for
Emmy? A musical disaster film. Come on

Hollywood

, make it happen! Last week the perpetually perky actress stopped by the
Regent Beverly Wilshire Hotel to talk about POSEIDON. Check it out.

Emmy Rossum

Why
did you want to do another disaster movie?

I’ve
always really admired Wolfgang Petersen. Films like The Perfect Storm, Das
Boot. This is like Das Big Boot. I’m always really impressed by how he
blends that kind of action thriller suspense with character and with emotion
and what real people go through in these kinds of situations. And he sent me
this script and called me about it right after the tsunami problems. And it
just really hit home for me because I’d been watching it on the news every
day. It really moved me because of that and realizing how the everyday
quarrels and petty arguments that you have with your parents or the people
that you love don’t really matter. Especially when you’re in these kinds
of situations, the only thing that matters is being with the people that you
love and being strong. And I was really impressed by a character who
wasn’t really the damsel in distress which a lot of the times the girls
are like whimpering in the corner. She’s pretty courageous for a
19-year-old girl in this kind of situation.

Did
the experience of making Day After Tomorrow help you in terms of stunts?

I
thought it would but going into it I really couldn’t anticipate how
difficult it was going to be. It was really the toughest thing I think
I’ve ever done, movie or otherwise in my life. It was the most physically
difficult thing I’ve ever done, to have to learn how to scuba dive and
free dive. Kurt Russell got pneumonia, Josh Lucas broke 10 tendons in his
right hand, Mia was in the hospital with a concussion, the kid had a
concussion. It was a pretty intense shoot. I was pretty much like purple
from the neck down with bruises. Every time everyone would fall, it’d be
like, “Man down, cut!”

It was
a crazy time but it was a lot of fun and it gave me an opportunity to do
things and experience things and conquer fears that I never would have done.
I mean, our first day of training they introduced me to this contraption
called the Cage of Death. I was like, “Can’t we call it the Cage of
Life? I don’t know. A little more optimism here?”
(The Cage of Death) was this plexiglass cube that they would sink
over my head very slowly and I would have to gasp for my last breath. I’d
basically sit under water until I had no air left and then give them the
sign and they’d raise it up until after I was basically half done.

Why
was that?

Training
to build your lung capacity. And also for you to conquer your own panic. You
realize that when you’re in situations and shooting really 20 feet
underwater in enclosed spaces, I mean, they wanted us to be like little Navy
SEALS. But as a girl, I had to show the guys that girls are tough too.

Your
character was pretty tough.

She’s
a pretty feisty, opinionated kind of girl, which was fun to play. I think I
am getting less shy as I get older so maybe I’m getting a little bit more
like her. My parents aren’t in the business. My dad’s a banker and my
mom’s a photographer and they’re divorced and I’ve pretty much grown
up with my mom. So I guess because neither of them are in the business and
I’ve always done everything a kind of unconventional way. I mean, I
started singing at the opera when I was seven after my music teacher sent me
over there from school, and became an actress when I was 12 after I got too
tall for the children’s costumes at the opera. It all just has kind of
snowballed from there and as long as I continue to do my education, my
parents supported me. But the things that I am conventional with are like my
normal life. Things I’m unconventional with are like my schooling and the
kind of work that I do.

Did
you study any of the characters from the original film?

You
know, I’ve never seen the original. I hadn’t seen it and I didn’t want
to be influenced by the original material. I think I’m making a habit of
that because I didn’t see the original Phantom of the Opera either. But
no, I just looked at news footage of the people who survived the tsunamis
and the hurricanes and things like that. I tried to base the experiences on
that and find a real level and somebody in particular whose voice I heard in
a recording in a disaster I could identify with and gave me the key into the
character.

How
do you mean you’re getting less shy?

With
boys I think. I used to be scared to ask a guy out and now I’m not.

Did
you bond with or learn from the older actors on the Poseidon set?

Yes.
Kurt definitely. I mean, I felt like a lot of our scenes are together and
the relationship between our characters is quite tumultuous and I felt like
I really learned a lot from his ability to improvise. Especially in a
situation like this where the emotional intensity is so high and some of the
dialogue that’s written on the page just doesn’t seem right so he really
took his character from the inside out as did I as well. And just tried to
make it as real and in the moment and spontaneous as possible.

How
did Wolfgang Petersen keep things light on the set?

He’s
probably one of my favorite people that I’ve ever worked for. He’s
probably the kindest when you really get to know him. He’s a bit shy. But
when you do get to know him, he’s so kind and really very funny. He kept
the mood light by encouraging everyone to be really close. I know Josh Lucas
barbecued every day outside his trailer and Kurt was always ordering sushi
and everyone was always having friends over to the set.

It was
a very warm atmosphere and there was a lot of laughter if you can believe it
in between surfacing and going back under. Just sometimes noticing how
ludicrous our job is at some points. You’re 20 feet underwater dodging
bodies right and left. It’s kind of unbelievable. And I would say
Wolfgang, you must have talked about his soup so far. His 11 o’clock soup,
which is quite famous. Did they tell you every soup has sausage in it?
It’s chicken noodle with sausage, miso soup with sausage, clam chowder
with sausage, gumbo with sausage, cream of asparagus with sausage. Every
soup has sausage in it and if it doesn’t, it doesn’t get a very good
rating.

Did
you ever feel like someone might die on the film?

At
moments, yeah, but I just pretty much held onto Kurt the whole time and he
just kept saying, “It’s gonna be okay, it’s gonna be okay.” So he
was kind of my father figure on set which was nice. But yeah, there were
moments that were really scary but once you realize that panic and fear is
so much just in your head, you can just pretty much put it out of your
mind.

How
is your singing career going?

Really
well. I just signed a record deal with Geffen and I’m recording my first
solo record which is pop actually, but not bubble gum. It’s much more like
David Grey, Sarah McLachlan, Annie Lennox which is really exciting because
I’m writing a lot of it – all of the lyrics, actually – and I’m
collaborating on the music with Glen Ballard, who’s a really great record
producer. So I’m really
excited about that. We’re doing that right now and I think it’s a great
opportunity because I don’t really live my life in the media spotlight and
people don’t know that much really about me or what I think. So I’ve
spent really time becoming other characters and viewing films that way. So I
think this is an opportunity for me to kind of talk a little bit from my
heart.

You
won’t put your film career on home while you pursue music?

No.

Are
there difficulties shifting your voice from opera to pop?

No,
not at all because the first film I did was called Songcatcher and it was
about country music and I ended up doing a song with Dolly Parton. So I’ve
actually found that my classical foundation and just keeping your voice
healthy in that way doesn’t mean that you have to sing obviously in that
kind of classical way. It just means that you keep yourself healthy and you
never lose your voice.

Would
you like to do another musical?

Yeah.
Definitely at some point. It was the perfect blend of things for me. I mean,
if it was the right thing, if it was going to be totally different, probably
contemporary but nothing that’s come by my desk right now that I’m
really into.

Why
have you been able to stay out of the spotlight?

You
know, I live in New York and it’s a lot easier because of that. There are
paparazzi there and tabloids that sometimes follow me around, but I don’t
date celebrities really or I try not to and all my friends are the same ones
I’ve had since before I was an actress so that’s how I know that I can
trust them. And I don’t really run with that kind of LA young Hollywood
party scene. It’s just not my thing.

Are
you still in college?

Yes, I
am. I’m playing hooky right now. But I do plan to go back at some point
but right now, I have to kind of go with the momentum that I have of working
on the record and the films. I’m still learning, reading all the time and
traveling. I’m going to China this summer so I’m pretty excited.

How
many semesters would you have left?

Most.
[Laughs]

What’s
next for you?

I’m
working on my record and then I don’t know. I’ll probably go back to
school a little bit and I’m really picky about films. I only like to do
things that really come along. Sean Penn and Clint Eastwood have told me a
lot that I shouldn’t feel that I need to be in the limelight or the
spotlight all the time, that I should just- – a career is about longevity as
shown in their careers. So I really want to only do the best things and work
with the best people and that’s what I strive to do.

Questions? Comments?
Manifestos? Send them to me at [email protected].