Mary-kate And Ashley Olsen Interviews
The Olsens First Major Theatrical Release
Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen hope their audience will follow them as they transition to the big screen with the comedy, “New York Minute.” The Olsens chose “New York Minute” as their coming-of-age theatrical project because, as Mary-Kate puts it, “The script has everything we wanted in our first film - action, comedy and heart.” Olsen fans will get to see the sisters play twins – naturally – who are dramatically different. One’s fastidious, organized and driven (Ashley as ‘Jane’), the others a rebel who wants nothing more than to succeed as a rock star (Mary-Kate as ‘Roxy’). Though they march to the beat of very different drummers, the two learn they have to work together in order to achieve their individual goals.
Since starring on the TV sitcom “Full House,” the Olsen sisters have built a hugely successful corporation, which includes a home video series, fashion line, children’s book collection, and other items marketed under the mary-kateandashley brand name. With their move to feature films, the Olsens are out to add to their massive fan base, now made up primarily of adolescent girls who follow their every step.
INTERVIEW WITH MARY-KATE AND ASHLEY OLSEN:
Did you have any anxiety about making “New York Minute” your first big theatrical release?
ASHLEY OLSEN: Right now, we are hoping that it does well and we’re hoping that people like it. We were nervous in the beginning – or excited – that it was going to turn out the way we wanted it to. Some of the reactions we’ve gotten have been really positive and that’s always a good thing. But you don’t really know until it comes out.
MARY-KATE OLSEN: Even if it doesn’t do well in the box office or whatever the case is, we have come out of this movie with so much more knowledge. We’ve learned so much doing this movie. We’ve played producers almost our entire lives in everything else we’ve created. But when working on a feature and even dealing with something like Warner Bros. or another production company, or other details that you can worry about – we definitely learned a lot.
How do you juggle three hours of school a day with producing and starring in this movie?
ASHLEY OLSEN: (Laughing) You know, we’ve been doing it for a really long time, since “Full House.” Obviously school has always been a number one priority or I’m sure we would have been home schooled or something by now. But we still go to a regular school. When we’re not working, we still go to a regular school. We have cell phones and we have a lot of people who help us. We’re constantly in contact with everyone.
MARY-KATE OLSEN: But, you know, doing a movie, everybody knows that we are in and we are out. From the time we get there to the time we leave, they definitely do it where school is every 15 minutes. We get 15 minutes of time in school then we’re taken out – even if we’re taking a test. So that does get very difficult. But when they are changing a light [on the set] or something, we have to get our school in.
The production notes say that these characters are exaggerated versions of each of you.
ASHLEY OLSEN: They are not really exaggerated at all.
MARY-KATE OLSEN: They are extreme characters.
ASHLEY OLSEN: I think we were just attracted to the different characters. I could probably find just as many qualities in Roxy as I can in Jane that I can identify with.
What characteristics do you identify with from the characters?
ASHLEY OLSEN: I could [identify with] having fun like Roxy. And of course, everybody probably has that quality. You’re uptight or stressed about something and being very driven. They are both very driven characters in the movie, just driven toward things. I think you could find different things. I’m not a germaphobe and I’m not that organized. It’s an extreme character.
Are you a bad driver?
ASHLEY OLSEN: I think I’m a pretty good driver.
MARY-KATE OLSEN: It depends if I’m on the phone or not.
Few young actors are as commercially successfully as you two. Do you ever pinch yourselves?
MARY-KATE OLSEN: Of course.
ASHLEY OLSEN: Of course. We do realize how lucky we are. This is so amazing. This just doesn’t happen. But we’ve also worked very hard for it, as well. It’s not like we’ve just been along for the ride. We’ve been working constantly, in school constantly, and we’ve never given up. And not because of any other reason other than we just want to succeed in certain things. That’s kind of our mindset.
The Stars of "New York Minute"
Besides just picking out hot guys, what qualities did you look for in your "New York Minute" leading men?
ASHLEY OLSEN: They both have a fan base of their own from different TV shows and that was obviously a plus. They both looked the part – and they are both nice guys.
MARY-KATE OLSEN: I think both the studio and Dennie Gordon [the director] had ideas of who they kind of saw, and we totally agreed.
ASHLEY OLSEN: But with the casting in general, we kind of just made a wish list and went after those characters. We just went after them and a lot of them said yes – and some of them said no. But we’re very fortunate to have the cast we [had].
How’d it feel to run around New York in a towel?
ASHLEY OLSEN: It was a little stressful. I don’t really remember that time; we were kind of thrown out there.
MARY-KATE OLSEN: I mean, we were so tucked and pinned and stitched and taped that nothing was going to happen, but it was very crazy. We had no clue what was going on and nobody was organized. How can you be organized when you’re in Times Square? It’s like, “Run across the street. Now go to that light.” We’re like, “The light’s red! The cars are coming. Tell them to stop!”
Did you have to learn a lot of new skills for this movie?"
ASHLEY OLSEN: We did. I’ve never really had to learn Chinese before. I just had to memorize it and hopefully it ends up turning out. It sounded right, I guess. But yeah, I had to learn how to drive through cones backwards and do a 180 and drive off. Things that I never thought I would have to learn before.
MARY-KATE OLSEN: For me, I learned how to play the drums. When we were in pre-production, when we were still in LA, I had a couple of drum lessons and then some in Toronto. I got the one beat down and that was it. Then, you know, I’m walking around the set and learning how to twirl my sticks the whole time because Roxy is always twirling sticks. I had everyone else on the set obsessed with trying to do it. Everybody was trying to do it (laughing).
And you had to drive a stick shift?
MARY-KATE OLSEN: I tried so hard. I thought I had it down when we were both practicing.
ASHLEY OLSEN: We had an easier car to use [during practice] and then you get in the car and it doesn’t move.
MARY-KATE OLSEN: The seat wouldn’t go close enough to the wheel, but the wheel was too close and my legs weren’t long enough. Then also you have to push the clutch in all the way in order for it not to stall. You know, I couldn’t even turn on the car. I couldn’t get it to go. And then I couldn’t get it to stop. It was not good (laughing).
How tough was it to handle the transition to a feature film, and to handle the romantic storyline?
MARY-KATE OLSEN: Well for us the romance wasn’t as much of a deal as, I think, something that would attract another part of the audience. Every single way that we found of pulling in more of an audience – broadening the audience – like picking Eugene Levy… We love him. We are huge, huge fans.
ASHLEY OLSEN: Having characters in there that someone can relate to and someone can enjoy, whether it’s us or Eugene or the cute boys, to find that place where the whole family can [enjoy it.]
What was your favorite thing to wear in “New York Minute?”
MARY-KATE OLSEN: I would have to say the robe. And the only reason I say that is because everything else either had heels or…
Was it tough running around in those?
MARY-KATE OLSEN: Oh, you don’t even know. My feet would be dented.
ASHLEY OLSEN: Let me think. I liked a couple of the ‘bling’ outfits. I thought they were fun and funny. I liked the Beyonce look.
Did you ever go through that period where you wished you could just be an average kid and not have to deal with the media and decision making and all that comes with being famous?
MARY-KATE OLSEN: Yeah, but since we were younger we knew that this was a full-time thing.
ASHLEY OLSEN: We were never forced to do anything. I think that the ‘not wanting to do it’ is when you are forced to do something. We’ve always been fortunate enough to say no to certain things and to schedule certain times…
MARY-KATE OLSEN: We were always surrounded by people who knew us very well and cared about us.
ASHLEY OLSEN: So we were never forced to do anything. Everything was always a lot of fun. We always got the dances off or the birthday parties. We always made sure that those important dates that were important to us, that we had the opportunity to experience them.
Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen on College and Future Plans
You two are starting school in the fall in New York and you just filmed this movie there. Are you excited to go back?
ASHLEY OLSEN: We’ve always loved New York City. We kind of grew up there as well as doing a lot of work there. A lot of our friends are there and they are actually at the same school. They are really enjoying themselves. I just think it’s a new experience and it’s a completely different culture than LA. It’s completely different. I love that you can go to a restaurant late at night that doesn’t close at 10. You can go to museums; you can go for a walk in the park. You can do so many different things. I’m excited for that other experience.
Are there projects you’d like to do separately?
MARY-KATE OLSEN: We’ve read scripts and I think right now we are just focusing in on school. You know, obviously, I think we have the same goals in mind. We are not planning on just all of a sudden taking a film and separating. Hopefully one day she can direct me in something, or I will direct her. Or we’ll produce a movie under our company’s name. You know what? Maybe we will do things separately.
ASHLEY OLSEN: You can’t really do twin movies forever.
Have you two played tricks on each other’s boyfriends in the past?
ASHLEY OLSEN: Sometimes I’ll answer the phone and pretend to be her. Sometimes they get tricked.
MARY-KATE OLSEN: We are very different and especially when you know us, there’s no way.
What do you do for fun?
ASHLEY OLSEN: I like to relax by taking a yoga class. That’s also exercise, I guess. When I’m home, I hang out with friends and go to school.
MARY-KATE OLSEN: Any time that we have time to take off, we love being home.
