Employee of the Month star Jessica Simpson talks exclusively to Blockbuster about her hit romantic comedy.
Stunning blonde pop queen Jessica Simpson shot to movie stardom playing delicious Daisy Duke, of the sexy Southern drawl and skimpy signature hotpants, in comedy adventure
The Dukes of Hazzard. Now she's back with that all-important second film, romantic comedy Employee of the Month.
"A second movie is always a harder decision than the first," says Simpson, "because people have already made their minds up about you as an actress. I think you have more to prove in the second movie and more to show.
"I was probably 15 pages in to the screenplay when I called Lions Gate and was like, 'I'm totally sold. I want to be a part of this movie. It's fun. It's a great character for me, it's a great cast, and I just know it's going to be a good part.' I play a cashier, and there's this whole rivalry between other employees to get into bed with me."
"Jessica is just amazing," gushes co-star
Dane Cook. "She's one of those people where what you see is what you get, and she brings that to the role."
"Zak made me so completely comfortable on set," says Simpson, returning the love. "I've never had to have a love interest in front the cameras before unless I was shooting a reality TV programme. I was a little nervous beforehand hoping that there would be some sort of chemistry, and that I could make it believable to the audience. I'm a huge romantic comedy fan and I was hoping that like
Julia Roberts,
Meg Ryan and
Reese Witherspoon, I could convince the audience that I really loved the guy."
Simpson is equally upbeat about co-star
Dax Shepard. "He's a doll. I can't even say his name without giggling. Dax is very smart and he can make the entire room fall on the floor laughing just by being completely random and saying some off the wall stuff which you cant help but laugh at. He's perfect for his character."
As for working with director
Greg Coolidge, "...he invested a lot of heart, a lot of energy and a lot of love into this project. After our first meeting I wanted to do it because of his vision. I knew it would be easy and that he would be able to deal with any kind of personality that came his way."
Confident in the knowledge she was in good hands, Jessica spent most of the production laughing. Turns out, when you make a comedy, there are lots of funny people hanging around. "These guys really respect each other and that's nice, and the fact that they all laugh at each other is great because if you're a comedian it's hard to make another comedian laugh - you have to win them over and I think when everyone is won over on a set that makes for a great atmosphere."
Dutifully promoting the film she's so proud of, Simpson has nothing but good things to say about her second movie. "If you have a really tough day, see Employee of the Month because there's laugh after laugh and you're going to be wetting your pants! There are some really clever laughs, but it has a heart too. It makes you say, 'Aahhhh, that's a really great movie.' I love to come out of a movie and say that. I think that's what you'll say after you see Employee of the Month. 'Aahhhhh, that's a really great movie!'"