Transcript of Australian 60 Minutes LL interview
Robin Lawrie
Transcript of an Australian 60 Minutes interview with Lucy
Lawless, broadcast to Australian viewers on Sunday 11 April
1999. The interview was by Charles Woolley, and included
chats on location and in the homes of Lucy Lawless, Kevin
Sorbo and producer Rob Tapert. As I’m not really interested in
Kevin and the Hercules people, I only wrote down the Lucy
and Xena parts of the interview.
Robin
Rob...@s054.aone.net.au
*********************
<Showing clips from X:WP>
Lucy Lawless: <voice over>. We’re very experimental but we
always go hard. Go hard or go home. We’re always pushing
the limits.
<on location. Village scenes, LOTS of Amazons, crew
wandering about>
Charles Woolley: Where are we exactly in time and place and
history? Where are we exactly in this village?
LL: Well we jumped time zones. We’re placing it around the
Ides of March, about the time of Caesar’s death. I think, 200
years before Christ?
CW: Oh, right.
LL: I might be wrong on that. Don’t quote me!
CW: <vo> In another life, Lucy Lawless was better known as
the actress turned TV reporter on the local version of Getaway
(Australian travel show) <they show clips of her bungy
jumping from a helicopter and caving>
CW: <vo> Moonlighting on small roles in Hercules, she was in
the right place at the right time when producers decided on a
Xena spinoff.
<scene now in LL’s home. Lucy is wearing a nice bright yellow
top, looking very nice, and showing her quite large wedding
ring >
LL: What had happened was that another girl had gotten sick,
an American actress, so it fell to me. And I got to work on the
first day, sat down in the make up chair and burst into tears
“I’m not ready for this!” And it worked out fine and eventually it
became a series, and um, yes. Life’s been awfully good to me.
<some Herc stuff here.>
CW: Are people especially proud because you’re doing it
here? You’re doing it here in your home town. Hollywood’s
come to you in a sense.
LL: Yes, I don’t know if people realise what a boon that is to us
or how incredibly lucky that is. It’s really lightning in a bottle to
get a show that’s successful, or two shows that are successful.
CW: Is it a great role? Is it fun?
LL: It’s, it’s, it’s… I happen to know that it’s the best role I’ll
ever have, because I don’t just play an arse kicking warrior
woman, I actually get to do multiple parts, and do slapstick
comedy. We even do bits of singing.
<more Herc stuff>
<Now in Lucy’s home, she puts the interviewer on some gym
equipment, and hassles him a bit. Daisy is watching from a
weights bench.>
LL: For goodness sake, bend your knees! Is that as far as your
knees go back?
CW: <vo> At home with Lucy and her 10 year old daughter
Daisy, the trouble with the superfit is that they always insist on
everyone else experiencing the pain. If you’re going to play an
super hero, you do need an exercise dungeon.
CW: This makes me feel sick <whining>
LL: Alright, get off then <in disgust, laughing> You big girl!
You big girl’s blouse! <laughing>
<more Herc stuff>
<Back home again>
CW: What are you most proud of in your stunts, in the things
you have learned to do for this show?
LL: I’ve become far more co-ordinated than I ever was. Um,
my nickname at school was “Unco”. And it’s just been an
accident, a happy accident. This job has picked up my
reflexes. It’s given me skills I’d never dreamed I’d have.
CW: What about the back flip? Can you do it?
LL: <smiling, shifting on her seat> I’d like to do it for you, but I
actually injured my pelvis a couple of weeks ago, so um, that’s
off the cards.
<stuff about the show’s distribution, conventions,
merchandising fans, websites>
<back on set>
LL: <in costume, showing off weapons> I hope you know that
one of these swords and a scabbard, like this one, went for
$31000 in America the other day. We went to this convention.
. . which I shouldn’t tell anyone about, as they keep getting
nicked (stolen), and it'’ a bit of a problem for us (the props
getting stolen).
CW: <reaching for sword> No! Can I borrow one?
LL: <dodging, handing him another sword> No, no, you can
have this one.
CW: <shaking sword ineptly> Awwwww! This is a rubber one!
LL: <sneering> ‘Cause you can’t be trusted with the real thing,
I’m afraid Charles.
<shots of shooting going on, Xena and Gabrielle holding each
other surrounded by dancing Amazons. Xena leans down to
kiss the top of Gabby’s head>
CW: <vo> Curiously enough, Xena’s cult popularity is partly
due to the support of the Gay and Lesbian community. They
find subtext and hidden meaning in the show because Xena
has a “best friend” Gabrielle, played by Renee O’Connor. The
two characters hangout together like some prehistoric Thelma
and Louise. Their relationship has inspired a new word;
“Dykon” . Dyke Icon.
<back at LL home>
LL: <sighs> Oh, well what’s really going on, is that it’s two
women travelling through society without husbands, I guess.
And that led to all sorts of speculation which we didn’t pick up
on until well into the first series when I think is was the lesbian
community in New York first hooked onto it as being
characters they could relate to. But we’re all kind of over that
now. We’re very happy for our audience to make up their
mind.
<show costume dept, prop dept behind the scenes>
<outside at LL’s home again, watching Daisy jumping on
trampoline>
LL: <smiling, watching Daisy> This is how it starts, you see…
CW: <vo> But for all the work behind the scenes, the greatest
home grown success story would have to be Lucy Lawless.
<Daisy stops jumping, to answer unheard question from CW>
Daisy: <breathless> I’ve got kids, in the next door class,
coming up to me and going “Is your mum Xena?” Yes, it is!
<wandering round LL’s back yard, pool area…>
CW: <vo> Thanks to Xena, Lucy is now listed among NZ’s
richest. She lives in a multi million dollar Georgian mansion
(Robin: it looked more like a nice, large, old brick home), in
Auckland with Rob and Daisy.
<inside home>
CW: How do you cop with “great wealth”? Because I read in
the financial papers that you’re woman No.2 in NZ.
LL: Really? <smiling> Who’s No.1?
CW: Dame Kiri ( te Kanawa. Famous NZ opera singer)
LL: Who’s No.3?
CW: I don’t know.
LL: I’m coping very well, thank you for asking.
<more Herc stuff>
<Back at home, closing bit>
LL: The only ambition worth having is to become, for a young
woman to have is to become a happy old woman, and to be
surrounded by children, and surrounded by laughter, and um,
yeah, that’s my, that’s the plan, Stan!
CW: That’s a very mature and emotionally balanced view.
LL: Well, I’ve thought about it quite a lot.
<tick tick tick tick tick tick tick>
Robin Lawrie
control.
Here's the URL if you want to find the transcript on the web.
http://www.home.aone.net.au/what4/transcript.htm
Robin
Pintele
<rob...@s054.aone.net.au> writes:
Lucy sez yet again of subtext:
>But we’re all kind of over that now. We’re very happy for our audience to make
up >their mind.
Uh huh. *All* over it. I kinda like this stock phrase. It's so disingenuous.
Thanks for the transcript(s), Robin. They liven up the place a bit.
-pintele
Brule31x63
>
>Lucy sez yet again of subtext:
>>But we’re all kind of over that now. We’re very happy for our audience to
>make
>up >their mind.
>
>Uh huh. *All* over it. I kinda like this stock phrase. It's so
>disingenuous.
>
>Thanks for the transcript(s), Robin. They liven up the place a bit.
>
>-pintele
>
>
Lucy has an interesting expression on her face when she says this --- I
recommend downloading the RealVideo from Daniel Ma's site.
I was thinking that she had a chance at a new formulation because of the
wording of the question. The interviewer asked about unresolved sexual
tension. Lucy might have innocently replied, "I'm unresolved what to say..."
<wink>
She handled the Tall Poppy questions about her wealth in this fashion.
Cleanthes
Xena with death there is always rebirth. Anubis `TBS`