Malone discusses work on new film 'Saved!'
'...I almost don't want to be a teenager in this business...'
Colin Kutch
Daily Staff Writer
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Taking puffs from a cigarette and blowing smoke out the window of her Ritz-Carlton hotel room in San Francisco, the Hollywood veteran of more than a dozen movies said she is aware of the perils of teen celebrity.
"There are two things that are extremely marketable in this business, and that's youth and sexuality," she said. "Being 19 years old, it's a really scary thing because they just want to sell, sell, sell."
In a group interview promoting her new film "Saved!" which is scheduled to be released May 28, Malone was barefoot, had her hair in a ponytail and wore a casual T-shirt and pants. She sat down on the rug while journalists sat on the couch and she answered questions about her life in Hollywood.
When the opportunity to film the teen dramatic comedy "Saved!" came along four years ago, the script's honest portrayal of teens struck a nerve with Malone. She said it's rare in a youth-oriented movie for actors to confront dramatic situations such as homosexuality, pregnancy and religion without making a mockery of teenage life.
"With what teen films have become in the marketplace, I almost don't want to be a teenager in this business because it is so easily marketable," she said.
"Saved!" endured two major delays before filming began in the fall of 2002.
Earlier attempts at making the movie failed because actors pulled out at the last minute and director/co-writer Brian Dannelly lost financing.
"That's the world of independent film," she said. "I still have scripts that I read when I was 12 years old that I'm like, 'What's going on with this? Has anything happened?' It's seven years down the line and people are still trying to make their films."
Malone said maintaining a level head is important to her as an actress. With her younger sister in mind, Malone feels obligated to stay true to who she is.
"I would never want her to see anything on the screen that's false because she looks up to me," she said. "She can't help but not to because I'm taller than her."
Malone was born in Lake Tahoe, then moved to Las Vegas when she was 9.
After moving to Los Angeles to pursue acting, Malone quickly began making a name for herself in "Contact" with Jodie Foster, "Stepmom" with Julia Roberts and "Donnie Darko" with Jake Gyllenhaal.
She moved back to Lake Tahoe a year and a half ago.
"I've spent almost seven years off and on in L.A. and I'm over the whole experience," she said.
Malone said she wants to take more roles that connect with her on an emotional level. She takes pride in being able to make her own choices and to say "no" to scripts she doesn't like.
"I've never had the, 'I want to do this, I want to do a comedy, I want a role where I do drugs.' It's never like that," she said. "I just try to have my agent send me everything there is to read out there and if it's truthful and honest and makes me laugh and makes me cry, then sign me up because those are the most beautiful moments I have in life."
