Post by Miss Alice on Aug 17, 2007 18:36:52 GMT -5
::Lifetime Chats With Jami Gertz About Fighting the Odds
Lifetime: What drew you to this role?
Gertz: They sent me a CNN report on Marilyn Gambrell and No More Victims (NMV). I was very moved by the footage. After reading the script, I thought that this was a very important story that needed to be told. It's a topic that I was unaware of — you don't really think about the children of prisoners.
Lifetime: What was the most challenging part of doing this film?
Gertz: Sometimes movies gloss over things, and it was important to me that this was realistic. Going into a predominantly black and Hispanic neighborhood and having these kids accept Marilyn was a big challenge. I tried to have that come across. I wanted to show how everyone was standoffish at first and how she won them over. Hopefully I got her essence.
Lifetime: How are you and Marilyn similar?
Gertz: I have three sons, and I think we're both fierce protectors of our children. She looks at the NMV kids as all her own; they're her responsibility.
Lifetime: How you prepare for this part?
Gertz: I visited Smiley High School and spent time with the NMV kids. Also, I went into the prison with a couple of the children and saw them role-play with the prisoners. They saw themselves in these kids, realizing that they did to their children what was done to them.
Lifetime: What was it like meeting the kids in NMV?
Gertz: I was so ignorant of the fragility of their lives; just the fact that they get to school every day is astounding. They inspired me, especially when I saw them having a good time giggling with their friends. I became very friendly with the kids that I went into the prison with. We really talked. And it's not like these kids want to talk about the bad things that happened to them; they just want to be normal.
Lifetime: What do you want viewers to take away from this film?
Gertz: Hopefully this movie will help people understand that if a child is never given the tools to know how to love others and love and respect themselves, this is what happens. If we don't, the next car-jacker could be someone whose father is in prison and was a car-jacker. We've got to nip it in the bud.
Lifetime: How do you think you've been an inspiration to others?
Gertz: You never want to toot your own horn, but why not when you need money for your own horn! Two years ago I created Painted Turtle Camp in Lake Hughes, California. Each week the summer camp welcomes children with a different disease. For example, if you have a kidney transplant, every kid has a kidney transplant that week. The campers get to have that shared experience and know they're not alone. It's something I'm very proud of.
Lifetime: What's next for you?
Gertz: I completed a movie last summer that's coming out soon. It's the comedy "Lucky 13," with Doris Roberts, Jeremy Piven, Garry Marshall and Daryl Hannah.
Lifetime: Is there a role you're longing to do?
Gertz: I'm at a time in my life where I'm so filled up that I don't want more. Right now, I'm a full-time working mom with love in my life and a job that I adore. My kids and my family are number one; I enjoy them the most. So, do I think I'm missing something? I really don't, and I think that comes with age.
Source of this article :
Lifetimetv.com
Date of this item added :
2006-12-13
Lifetime: What drew you to this role?
Gertz: They sent me a CNN report on Marilyn Gambrell and No More Victims (NMV). I was very moved by the footage. After reading the script, I thought that this was a very important story that needed to be told. It's a topic that I was unaware of — you don't really think about the children of prisoners.
Lifetime: What was the most challenging part of doing this film?
Gertz: Sometimes movies gloss over things, and it was important to me that this was realistic. Going into a predominantly black and Hispanic neighborhood and having these kids accept Marilyn was a big challenge. I tried to have that come across. I wanted to show how everyone was standoffish at first and how she won them over. Hopefully I got her essence.
Lifetime: How are you and Marilyn similar?
Gertz: I have three sons, and I think we're both fierce protectors of our children. She looks at the NMV kids as all her own; they're her responsibility.
Lifetime: How you prepare for this part?
Gertz: I visited Smiley High School and spent time with the NMV kids. Also, I went into the prison with a couple of the children and saw them role-play with the prisoners. They saw themselves in these kids, realizing that they did to their children what was done to them.
Lifetime: What was it like meeting the kids in NMV?
Gertz: I was so ignorant of the fragility of their lives; just the fact that they get to school every day is astounding. They inspired me, especially when I saw them having a good time giggling with their friends. I became very friendly with the kids that I went into the prison with. We really talked. And it's not like these kids want to talk about the bad things that happened to them; they just want to be normal.
Lifetime: What do you want viewers to take away from this film?
Gertz: Hopefully this movie will help people understand that if a child is never given the tools to know how to love others and love and respect themselves, this is what happens. If we don't, the next car-jacker could be someone whose father is in prison and was a car-jacker. We've got to nip it in the bud.
Lifetime: How do you think you've been an inspiration to others?
Gertz: You never want to toot your own horn, but why not when you need money for your own horn! Two years ago I created Painted Turtle Camp in Lake Hughes, California. Each week the summer camp welcomes children with a different disease. For example, if you have a kidney transplant, every kid has a kidney transplant that week. The campers get to have that shared experience and know they're not alone. It's something I'm very proud of.
Lifetime: What's next for you?
Gertz: I completed a movie last summer that's coming out soon. It's the comedy "Lucky 13," with Doris Roberts, Jeremy Piven, Garry Marshall and Daryl Hannah.
Lifetime: Is there a role you're longing to do?
Gertz: I'm at a time in my life where I'm so filled up that I don't want more. Right now, I'm a full-time working mom with love in my life and a job that I adore. My kids and my family are number one; I enjoy them the most. So, do I think I'm missing something? I really don't, and I think that comes with age.
Source of this article :
Lifetimetv.com
Date of this item added :
2006-12-13
