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There's a new Katie article from NY Daily News online. Thanks to Emily for pointing it out. A 'First' for Katie HOLLYWOOD — The gossip-mongers had just reported that "Dawson's Creek" star Katie Holmes had told her fiance, actor Chris Klein, "I need more space," and thus they were splitting up. Turns out they were discussing buying a house. "People talk about you, and what can you do?" Holmes, 25, shrugs. "It's like high school times one thousand." The celebrity spotlight also shines on her character in "First Daughter," opening tomorrow. Playing President Michael Keaton's only child, she has to cope with Secret Servicemen guarding her college dorm room, reporters chasing her around campus and students more interested in her title than who she is. "Being in the public eye can be isolating," Holmes says. "It's hard to make friends easily. That's why I'm always on the phone with my family, trying not to think about my image. "Part of being the youngest [of four] is that I was born with the courage to stand out because everyone else had done it already," she says. "I had to find something different." Holmes' image is squeaky clean, though she protests that it's not wholly accurate. She grew up in Toledo, Ohio, the daughter of a lawyer and a homemaker, snagged her first movie, "The Ice Storm," while still in high school, and then landed on "Dawson's Creek." As Joey Potter, the lovelorn tomboy and best friend of James Van Der Beek's Dawson Leery, Holmes spent six years in Wilmington, N.C., where the show was shot. Their very teenage relationship formed the emotional hook of the popular series. "It was very difficult for me to leave Wilmington, to have my little glass bubble burst and move on," she says. "I hate change. On the other hand, it was refreshing to play someone else." That someone else is the President's daughter — poised and awkward, obedient and defiant, gullible and wise. "Kate is still accessible to young girls, but she's truly a woman," says her "First Daughter" director, Forest Whitaker. "She's someone people care about and want to follow. She's not afraid to make fun of herself, and she has good comic timing." The movie gives Holmes a chance to play an American princess, complete with beautiful dresses, ballroom dancing and happy endings. But it's also a topical story, she says. "With all the attention on Chelsea Clinton and the Bush girls, it's a great background for the coming of age of a young girl," she says "But this is much more of a girl's journey toward independence than 'First Daughter Goes to College.'" Holmes, who got engaged to Klein last Christmas, has already taken that journey. "I didn't have the experience of going to college," she says. "But for six years on 'Dawson's Creek,' I was in a high-pressure situation by myself, without having family around. That caused me to be less dependent on others." Holmes soon decided to be the good girl. "Fame came so quickly to the four of us ['Dawson's Creek' colleagues Michelle Williams, Van Der Beek and Joshua Jackson]," she says. "At first, we all resisted the idea of being role models, but young people watched us and looked up to us." Holmes says there could be a "Dawson's Creek" reunion movie someday, but she would like to go to her high school's 10-year reunion first. "I'm aware that some people may still be watching," she says, "but I just try to be a happy person. Fame doesn't really change you. It brings out who you are." Holmes plays a good girl again in the upcoming prequel "Batman Begins," opposite Christian Bale. "My character works in the District Attorney's office and was Bruce Wayne's good friend growing up," she says. Holmes won't say whether she has a wedding date set. The longer the delay, she knows, the more room for speculation. But her other priority, having moved to Los Angeles, is staying grounded. "Fame and adoration can be addicting," she says. "I like people to like me, so I have to really watch that. I call my mom a lot."
Thanks to Beth for sending us a new Katie interview courtesy of MTV.com. In "First Daughter," Samantha Mackenzie (Katie Holmes) just wants what a lot of high school grads want — to go away to college and start her own life. But when your dad is the president, it's hard to avoid the media's prying eyes and even harder to find true love. Luckily, Holmes managed to ditch her Secret Service detail long enough to answer a few questions from MTV News' Kelly Marino. MTV: Your character seems to take a lot of risks in this movie. Is that something you can relate to in your own life? Are you a risk taker? Katie Holmes: Definitely. I think part of being in this business is you have to be one who takes risks. When you're signing on to different projects, you never know really what you're getting into, and you just have to sort of close your eyes and jump and make the best of it and hope for the best. Sam is definitely a risk taker to not only go to college, but go to college 3,000 miles away from her parents and try really hard to immerse herself in this different world and really present herself as a normal person and not walk around like she's any more important, and that's a huge risk. I mean, that's sort of taking down all of your defenses. MTV: In the movie, it's hard for your character to find people who are real with her because she's the president's daughter. As a celebrity, is it hard for you to find people who are real with you? Holmes: Well, I surround myself with my really good, good friends that I've known for a long time and my family, and I'm not quick to really let too many people into my life. And part of that is just because I travel a lot. I'm never really in any one place [for very long], but I think as you get older, you become a bit wiser and your instincts sort of take over. Unfortunately, Sam is at such a young age and so innocent and naive and used to just being around people that are protecting her, so she really has no filter system and no way of realizing that people may be taking advantage of her. MTV: Did you have to do any research for the part? Holmes: I studied as much material as they have on the daughters, and I watched a lot of tapes of inside the White House and different tours and things. Talked to Secret Service men who couldn't really tell you much. [She laughs.] They could tell you a little bit, but it's fun to try and get them to slip. That's about all. MTV: So they didn't have any interesting stories to tell you? Holmes: No, nothing. They couldn't even tell me how many men were on Chelsea [Clinton]'s detail at Stanford. MTV: So were you able to gain any insight into what goes on in, say, the lives of the Bush twins or the Kerry sisters? Do you feel like you have a better understanding? Holmes: Well, I guess what I realized playing this part is that, you know, as an actor or musician or that kind of celebrity, you can to a certain extent control the amount that you put out there — the amount of publicity — and you can sort of stay away from the public's eye. But for a president's daughter in college, it's like, what are you gonna do? How do you have friends and enjoy a college experience when you have paparazzi everywhere and people talking. There's just so much pressure. MTV: There's a lot of emphasis on getting young people to vote this year. What do you think of that? Holmes: Well, I just think in general it's so important to just be aware and knowledgeable about what is happening in the world and in politics and how things are being affected, and to realize that you can make a difference and your vote does matter and to not just sit back and not vote. I don't think [that's] very respectable; it's our country and we should have pride. MTV: Moving away from politics, what can you tell us about your next movie, "Batman Begins"? Holmes: It's coming out in the summertime, and I can't really tell you too much about the story, but I think Christian Bale makes an amazing Batman. MTV: In "First Daughter," you worked with Michael Keaton, who played Batman in Tim Burton's 1989 "Batman" movie. Did he give you any pointers for "Batman Begins"? Holmes: Well, I didn't even know I was going to be auditioning for "Batman" when I worked with Michael Keaton. I mean, he told me some stories, you know, just in general, about his experience, but it was like, "That's so wild." I can't believe I'm in this movie. |
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