Kirsten Dunst: Spidey’s Girl with a Mona Lisa Smile

The moment she walked into the tent at the Culver Studio in Culver City, California, three weeks ago for Columbia Pictures’ new blockbuster Spider-Man 2 (grossing P30 million nationwide when it opened in the Philippines last Wednesday, June 30, P23.1 million of which was in Mega Manila), Kirsten Dunst was wearing a Mona Lisa smile, very much like in her recent starrer with Julia Stiles and Maggie Gyllenhaal, sister of Kirsten’s boyfriend Jake Gyllenhaal (of The Day After Tomorrow).

She’s very friendly, forever smiling (and sometimes giggling), just like her Spider-Man leading man Tobey Maguire (put "on the spot" in last week’s Conversations).

When she learned that I flew more than 12 hours direct flight (on Philippine Airlines) from Manila, she looked incredulous.

"Since you came from that far," she said, "I should give you a good interview."

And she did (during the TV one-on-one and, later, the round-table interview).

A trivia: What do Kirsten Dunst and Ricky Martin have in common?

You could never have guessed it: They are both nicknamed Kiki.

"I got it back in 1989 when I did New York Stories (for Woody Allen)," recalled Kirsten in a magazine interview. "I was only 7 then. I played a character working at Kiki’s Delivery Service. Since then, they’ve been calling me Kiki."

Like Tobey, Kirsten started acting at a tender age. Her showbiz career was kicked off by a baby doll commercial. After that uncredited role in New York Stories, Kirsten did Bonfire with the Vanities (with Bruce Willis and Melanie Griffith), followed by High and the telemovie Darkness Before Dawn, and then by Star Trek: The Next Generation (in the recurring role of Hedril), in 1994 by Interview with The Vampire (as the youngest vampire, with Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt), Little Women (with Wynona Ryder), Greedy (with Kirk Douglas), Jumanji (with Robin Williams), Wag the Dog (with Robert De Niro and Dustin Hoffman), Small Soldiers, Mona Lisa Smile, Crazy/Beautiful and The Virgin Suicides, movie-directorial debut of Sofia Coppola (Lost in Translation).

Then came Spider-Man 1 where she initiated the lovable Mary Jane Watson character, the girl who has eyes for every other guy but poor Peter Parker, played with such sensitivity by Tobey Maguire who almost begged off from doing Spider-Man 2 because of a nagging backache. Eyed to replace him was Jake Gyllenhaal.

Would it have made any difference to you if Jake played Spider-Man?

"Oh, yeah, it would. I mean, Tobey is Spider-Man; he’s the quintessential Peter Parker. It wouldn’t have been good to replace him; it would have been distracting."

Distracting?

"Jake asked me how I would feel about it and I told him I would have been uncomfortable. Had Jake done it, it would have put a lot of emphasis on our relationship when it came time to do a press junket like this and it wouldn’t have been fun talking about the movie at all." (Note: Jake’s parents are director Stephen Gyllenhaal, 54, and screenwriter Naomi Foner, 58. Jamie Lee Curtis is his godmother. The Gyllenhaal’s family friends include Paul Newman who gave the teenage Jake driving lessons on the racetrack.)

Why not?

"Just deflecting questions about our relationship would be, you know... So I’m happy that Tobey did it."

You seem to enjoy playing Mary Jane (MJ), Spidey’s girlfriend, to the hilt. What’s the fun part of it?

"First, I have to point out that without MJ, you don’t really have the heart of the film – you know, the emotional side of the movie. I think the relationships are what complete the movie. What makes it so successful is that people are moved especially by the relationship between Peter Parker/Spider-Man and MJ. Playing the ‘emotional’ part, the romantic angle, of the story is a lot of fun."

And what’s the hard part? Did you do some of your stunts? Did you, uh, fly?

"I didn’t fly in this movie. The hardest part was keeping your energy up because in a movie like this, which is so technical, you could be doing take after take after take or sitting there for hours because, you know, one chair didn’t blow up right. You know what I mean? There are so many other elements, so many people working on one shot, that each shot could take so long that keeping your energy up and keeping it alive is hard because you get sleepy sometimes."

In this movie, Spider-Man is running after a new nemesis, Dr. Otto "Doc Ock" Octavius (the multi-tentacled scientist played with glee by Alfred Molina of Frida fame). If you were Spider-Man in real life, who would you run after?

"Who would I run after? What do you mean? Like if I were a villain?"

Yes. Who would be the real-life "Doc Ock" you would run after?

"Oh, I see." (Thinks awhile) "Well... I don’t know." (Eyes suddenly lighting up). "Oh, yes, maybe George W. Bush?" (Followed by laughter)

Aren’t you voting for him?

"I don’t think so."

By the way, how did you feel in that scene in Spider-Man 1 showing you and an upside-down Tobey kissing in the rain?

"Actually, it was really not so much fun to shoot. It was very cold that night and not so romantic because Tobey could hardly breathe. Well, it felt like I was giving him CPR (Cardio-Pulmonary Resuscitation)."

Was it suffocating for both of you?

"It was, I think, for Tobey but not for me."

And you two even won an MTV Best Kiss Award for it.

"Yeah. Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!"

How relevant do you think is the "good triumphing over evil" theme of Spider-Man relevant to today’s realities?

"I don’t think it’s so black-and-white; there are so many other complications and a movie like this is just that – fun."

How different is MJ here from she was in Spider-Man 1?

"She has grown up a lot I think from the first movie and she’s a much stronger lady now, definitely not as naive as she used to be. Now, she’s the one driving Peter to talk about the relationship; she’s really the active one. She’s very independent."

Just like you are. You just moved to your own place recently, didn’t you?

"Oh, yes, I have my own home now. My parents have come to terms with the reality that I’m growing up and they have to let me go."

How have you decorated your new home so far?

"I haven’t really totally decorated it yet. I bought some paintings. I have no furniture but I do have a couch and table. I picked a lot of things but I haven’t bought them yet."

Spider-Man 2 producer Avi Arad described you as "a modern woman." Do you see yourself that way?

"I’m still trying to figure it out for myself. I’m only 22."

In what sense are you like MJ?

"Well, like her, I like to scream a little bit when I’m in peril. What woman doesn’t, anyway?"

In this movie, you and Harry Osborn (again played by James Franco of the telemovie James Dean) have such an elaborate (abortive) wedding. How do you envision your own wedding in real life, if and when?

"I used to want all that when I was a little girl – you know, a beautiful wedding gown, the works! But as I grew up, I realized more and more that, for example, all my birthday parties were like those of other people. So, I just would rather have a small wedding, something simple and quiet."

Aside from MJ and others that you’ve done, what other roles would you like to play?

"There’s no specific role that I would like to play. It’s always the story and the director that make me decide whether to do a movie or not. It’s usually the work that I’ve seen of them that makes me know that they’re going to do something interesting. You see, you can have a good script that can be turned into a complete crap by a bad director."

I’ve seen a picture of you with a dog in a magazine.

"Oh, that’s Jake’s dog. But it’s good to rescue dogs."

You love animals?

"Yes, I do. I have a pet cat. His name is Silky."

You’ve been so busy since you were small. Don’t you ever find time to enjoy life?

"Yeah, it’s true. I’ve been working a lot. There was a time when I was doing movies back-to-back. I guess I have to take a break sometime soon, just being away without anybody bothering me. But so far, no complaints. I’m not perfect but I guess I’ve been making the right choices. I’m happy with the person I’m becoming."

If you had a child, would you encourage him to join showbiz as early as you did?

"I guess I wouldn’t. I’d like him to enjoy being a kid, go to high school and if there’s something he wants to do later, even being an actor, I’d just support him."

You and your mom are close, just like friends.

"Growing up with my mom was just marvelous. She was enjoying it with me, especially when I was a kid doing movies. But now, it’s like, all I really like doing is doing scenes and going home. You know what I mean?"

Do you enjoy being treated like a star?

"I don’t think so. Not really. A lot of people make things such a big deal and they like to baby you and, you know... They give you such a special treatment that it’s just so ridiculous to me."

What are you like away from work? Do you pamper yourself?

"Pamper myself? I don’t... not much, anyway. I get facials every now and then and that’s about it."

How else would you like to pamper yourself?

"Oh, I’d like to go away, maybe to an island, and spend my time sitting with a drink on the beach. It must be wonderful."

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