'Career Girls' is a surprisingly fun film

By Genevieve Wong

A new Brit flick has once invaded America. Set in London over the course of a weekend, "Career Girls" follows two young women (Katrin Cartlidge and Lynda Steadman), as they encounter a number of their college friends six years after leaving university. They cross paths with a former one-night stand, a psychology friend , an ex-roomate and numerous other close friends from college. I caught up with the stars of the incredibly cute and sassy comedy/drama after the screening. Here are some highlights of our interview:

Question: Is it true that the entire movie was pure improvisation?

Steadman: Yes, it was. We had no actual scripts, all improv. I mean for the first four months, I would tune up my character Mike (Leigh, the director) just so I could define and establish a personality for Annie. Mike is like a shrink.

Q: Being that it was all improv, did you ever feel that it was harder to focus than doing a regular acting job?

Steadman: Oh, yes, very much so. Mike has rules about actors and the crew communicating in any form. Actors are not allowed to talk to the crew because it would easily distract us and make us lose our focus.

Cartlidge: It's very unpredictable and very exciting. Since I had worked with Mike before on "Naked" I got what I expected.

Q: Prior to filming, where did you rehearse?

Cartlidge: Funny you mentioned that. Lynda and I went to a supermarket for our first rehearsal, so to speak. We were in character. I started frantically running around and just being loud while Lynda took a very reserved stance. I wanted to just (spit) in one woman's face the way Hannah would have, but I had more control than that.

Steadman: I'm surprised nobody slapped her! Luckily the people who worked in the market just laughed it off.

Q: Any funny experiences while you guys were in character?

Cartlidge: Of course. We went out to a cafe once with Mike and all of a sudden he shouted, "Get out of character!" It was just surprising, he said it out of nowhere and...

Steadman: The waitress thought she was serving entirely different people...Oh, she must have gone mad!

Q: One of the actors in the film plays a close college friend of yours and when you two reunite with him, your characters find that he has gone crazy. Was there a personal connection to this?

Cartlidge: Very much so. I had a close friend of mine who became crazy and I just couldn't understand why or how it happened.

Steadman: Where I grew up, there was this businessman. He was a very nice gentleman. When I returned home, I heard that he had gone crazy and was moved into a ward. It was such a shame.

Q: Why is this movie called "Career Girls ?" The movie doesn't discuss women and their careers at all. It's more of a trendy coming of age film.

Steadman: It's a very ironic title, but the point of the movie is not about high-powered women. It's about friendship and how it will change, whether it be your best friend or your neighbor. It happens to everyone.

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