In anticipation of the June 23rd release of CONFESSIONS OF A SHOPAHOLIC on Blu-ray and DVD, we present you with this Isla Fisher Q&A! What was her most ridiculous purchase? Did she really request 5” stilettos for the character of Rebecca? Find out these answers and more!
QUESTION: Are you a Shopaholic?
ISLA FISHER: No I am not a Shopaholic, I don’t shop very well at all. I tend to buy things which end up not being quite right – whether it is a clothing item that does not match anything in my wardrobe, or some cooking apparatus that is utterly useless. I am just not that good at it.
QUESTION: Are you an impulse buyer?
ISLA FISHER: I usually go into a store with a mission. My idea of a fun thing to do would not be to go to a mall and shopping.
QUESTION: In what way did you identify with the character in “Confessions of a Shopaholic”?
ISLA FISHER: I identified with her in the sense that I would like to think that I am optimistic and energetic like she is. I would also like to think that I have a big heart, like Rebecca has. I don’t need to always identify with all the characteristics of my character, sometimes it is the differences that help you to lose your inhibitions when you are performing.
QUESTION: How did you make Becky so funny?
ISLA FISHER: Becky can be a goofball and very funny and I have always felt comfortable tapping into my inner idiot. I have a side of me that doesn’t care. I really enjoy physical comedy, thinking of an idea and pitching it to the director. For example there is one scene in the movie in which I do a fan dance with Hugh. I thought of that years ago, I always imagined how funny it would be to have a scene in a movie where a girl seduces a guy by dancing. She thinks she is really sexy but actually she is repulsive. So I went to PJ and suggested it to him and he said ‘oh I always have a dance in my movies, ok let’s do it.’
QUESTION: How tricky was it to do the scene when you dive across the boardroom table?
ISLA FISHER: The scene was quite well planned…where my knees were going to go, where the props are…it was very specific. I slid safely and I wore kneepads. I made it look more dramatic than it was.
QUESTION: Were you surprised to be cast in a Jerry Bruckheimer film?
ISLA FISHER: Absolutely! I was very proud and excited to be on the list of actresses who were considered and to get the opportunity to meet with Jerry Bruckheimer. Being a fan of the books, this was a dream role. I didn’t have to audition. I took a meeting and at the time I was five months pregnant. I just met with Jerry Bruckheimer and the director, PJ Hogan and we discussed the character and they asked me a lot of questions about the script and the comedy. I came up with some ideas and pitched some jokes. Then I got the call that they had chosen me and I couldn’t believe it! It was a terrifying feeling. When you audition you are chosen because they have seen that you are right for the part but when you just get offered a job like this – which is something that has not happened to me before – you think…Oh gosh, what if they are wrong and I mess it up!
QUESTION: Jerry describes you as the next Lucille Ball, what is like getting compliments like that?
ISLA FISHER: That is very nice of Jerry to say that and also slightly terrifying to fill those shoes. But wow, I love her, she is very funny and fantastic. I grew up watching “I Love Lucy.
QUESTION: How soon after our baby did you do the film?
ISLA FISHER: Four and a half months. Jerry hired a personal trainer for me. He wanted me to work out every day but I said no way and got him down to three times a week. I used to pretend that I was working out on the days he was not coming to the house. My daughter was on the set and I was breast-feeding every three hours. PJ Hogan had his three-year-old daughter on set. So there was a total family vibe.
QUESTION: You seemed to have no trouble with the American accent for “Confessions of a Shopaholic”?
ISLA FISHER: I was given a dialect coach on the film, which was a great luxury.
QUESTION: Have you ever bought something and then later on thought you had made a ridiculous purchase?
ISLA FISHER: I very rarely go to hardware store but once I am there I see all sorts of things that I never knew existed and then I convince myself that I need them. Whether it is a drill, or a pot of very cool, neon pink paint, which I am never going to put anywhere! Then I buy all the brushes. Or I might see a little shovel and think that I might get into gardening. There is something about a hardware store because it seems so different.
QUESTION: What was your favorite outfit in “Confessions of a Shopaholic”?
ISLA FISHER: I liked the purple dress that Rebecca wears on the TV show – I thought it was classy. But I am not too into fashion because I am more of a jeans and T-shirt girl. Thanks to Patricia Field I have become more confident about the way I dress. But I am more comfortable in trainers or Ugg boots.
QUESTION: Is it true you requested five-inch stilettos for this part?
ISLA FISHER: I did. I thought there's something funny about a Shopaholic impractically buying ridiculously high heels and tottering throughout the stores. I thought it would be amusing. But it was less amusing, of course, when I was actually doing it! Walking in them was tricky but they were so great for the character. They put her off balance and Rebecca is off balance because she doesn’t have a sense of who she is. At the start of the movie she does not know where she is going to end up.
QUESTION: Did your feet ache at the end of each day?
ISLA FISHER: Yes! My feet ached constantly, they really did! In my every day life I would not wear shoes like those.
