Current:Home > BackPamela Anderson on her 'Last Showgirl' dream role: 'I have nothing to lose'-LoTradeCoin
Pamela Anderson on her 'Last Showgirl' dream role: 'I have nothing to lose'
View Date:2024-12-23 23:51:49
TORONTO – Pamela Anderson’s dream character has been three decades in the making.
And that’s about how long Shelley, the role the former “Baywatch” star plays in director Gia Coppola’s ensemble drama “The Last Showgirl,” has been performing in the Las Vegas attraction “Le Razzle Dazzle.” The show's shutdown, and Shelley’s emotional reckoning, gives Anderson the kind of weighty part she had been ready and willing to play.
“I think I've been getting ready my whole life for this role,” Anderson, 57, said at a Q&A event after the “Last Showgirl” premiere at Toronto International Film Festival on Friday.
“It's the first time I ever read a good script, first of all. I never had a script given to me that was coherent,” added Anderson, a former Playboy Playmate whose filmography includes “Barb Wire” and “Raw Justice.” “So I was like, I’m really wanting to do this. I've never felt that strongly about something.” And when Coppola offered the role, she was in: “I have nothing to lose. I'm just going to do it.”
Join our Watch Party!Sign up to receive USA TODAY's movie and TV recommendations right in your inbox
Need a break? Play the USA TODAY Daily Crossword Puzzle.
In “The Last Showgirl,” Shelley faces a life change for the first time in forever, and Anderson gets to show her mettle playing an aging showgirl going out for auditions alongside much younger dancers. And there’s a lot of emotion to mine, too, as Shelley reconnects with her estranged 22-year-old daughter Hannah (Billie Lourd).
But Shelley’s not the only one figuring out an uncertain future. So is her best friend, ex-showgirl and cocktail waitress Annette (Jamie Lee Curtis), as well as the “Razzle Dazzle” stage manager (Dave Bautista) and her young co-workers (Brenda Song and Kiernan Shipka).
“It's a hard life wherever you go. And in Vegas it's a really hard life,” said Curtis, who cried after seeing the film for the first time. “It is a movie about going after your dreams. But of course, the dreams become a really harsh reality. And for women, it's a really harsh reality that men don't have as much.
“Annette is simply your portal into what ends up happening. And a spray tan helps.”
'Last Showgirl' helped Billie Lourd better understand her mom, Carrie Fisher
“The Last Showgirl,” which filmed in just 18 days, came at the right time and meant to a lot to various cast members. Bautista remembered that around eight years ago, he was “in a tough place with my career because I was getting offered a lot of action roles, kind of roles that you would easily picture me in.” Searching for “meaningful stuff” led him to meeting Coppola and ultimately getting cast.
Song was also at a career “crossroads” until her agent called her about the movie “when I was sitting in the parking lot at Costco," she said. “It just all came together and I'm just so proud of everyone and I'm still happy to be here.”
Lourd definitely took the movie to heart, speaking to Coppola about the relationship between her mom Carrie Fisher and her grandma Debbie Reynolds.
“Getting to play this character was extremely cathartic for me because it felt like Shelley was my grandma and I got to be my mom,” Lourd said. “And I got to understand my mom on a deeper level than I ever had.
“It was a beautiful experience and to get to do that with Pamela was an absolute gift. She is a wonderful mother in real life and was a wonderful mother to me on this film, and I feel so lucky.”
veryGood! (465)
Related
- Early Black Friday Deals: 70% Off Apple, Dyson, Tarte, Barefoot Dreams, Le Creuset & More + Free Shipping
- Alaska woman sentenced to 99 years in murder-for-hire killing of friend
- House Homeland chairman announces retirement a day after leading Mayorkas’ impeachment
- Alaska woman sentenced to 99 years in murder-for-hire killing of friend
- Tony Todd, star of 'Candyman,' 'Final Destination,' dies at 69
- People's Choice Awards host Simu Liu promises to 'punch up': 'It's not about slandering'
- Artist says he'll destroy $45M worth of Rembrandt, Picasso and Warhol masterpieces if Julian Assange dies in prison
- Tinder, Hinge and other dating apps encourage ‘compulsive’ use, lawsuit claims
- The Cowboys, claiming to be 'all in' prior to Dak Prescott's injury, are in a rare spot: Irrelevance
- Best Red Lipsticks for Valentine's Day, Date Night, and Beyond
Ranking
- Jenn Tran's Ex Devin Strader Throws Shade At Her DWTS Partner Sasha Farber Amid Romance Rumors
- Power outages hit Boston transit system during morning rush hour, stranding thousands
- New Mexico’s Democrat-led House rejects proposal for paid family and medical leave
- Here’s the latest on the investigation into the shooting at Joel Osteen’s megachurch
- Who will be in the top 12? Our College Football Playoff ranking projection
- Bridgerton's Nicola Coughlin Teases Love Triangle in Steamy Season 3 Update
- Get a Keurig Mini on Sale for Just $59 and Stop Overpaying for Coffee From a Barista
- Hiker discovers rare 2,800-year-old amulet in Israel
Recommendation
-
Climate Advocacy Groups Say They’re Ready for Trump 2.0
-
Avalanche kills 1 backcountry skier, leaves 2 others with head injuries in Alaska
-
Journalists turn to picket lines as the news business ails
-
Jason Kelce tells Travis he 'crossed the line' on the Andy Reid bump during Super Bowl
-
Joan says 'Yes!' to 'Golden Bachelorette' finale fantasy beach proposal. Who did she pick?
-
Artist says he'll destroy $45M worth of Rembrandt, Picasso and Warhol masterpieces if Julian Assange dies in prison
-
Notre Dame football announces Shamrock Series return to Yankee Stadium for 2024 vs. Army
-
Putin says Russia prefers Biden to Trump because he’s ‘more experienced and predictable’