interview

INTERVIEW: Gisele on "Taxi"

By Thomas Chau in New York City

My friend Ruben (who’s Columbian) once said that Brazilian women were the most attractive group of girls from South America. I don’t know that many Brazilian girls but if they look half as beautiful as Ms. Gisele Bundchen, then I would think he’s right.

Gisele goes from fashion to film in this week’s “Taxi,” opening in limited release on Wednesday and wide on Friday. The 24-year-old supermodel has graced the covers of over 200 magazines, including the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition and also represents high power fashion companies such as Dolce & Gabbana and Victoria’s Secret.

In “Taxi,” Gisele plays Vanessa, one of four beautiful female bank robbers who are hitting New York City banks stronger than any male counterpart. Jimmy Fallon plays Washburn, a bumbling New York City cop who simply can’t drive. He runs into Belle (Queen Latifah), a NYC Taxi driver who, well, let’s just say has a really heavy right foot.

At a towering hotel overlooking Central Park, we recently had the chance to talk to Gisele in New York as she talked about her first movie role.

Q: I’m assuming you’ve received movie offers in the past before. Why did you choose this one to be your film debut?

GISELE: Number one, I’m a workaholic so I’ve been doing my job for a long time. I never really thought about being an actress. I’ve always been a bit scared as well because the thing about models becoming actresses and all that stuff so I was never taking anything seriously. I was just like, “Whatever. I don’t care about this.” But then, [producer] Luc Besson was pretty insistent and he kept calling my agent at IMG. He just he just needed a bank robber with an accent and that she would only work two weeks. At the beginning, I was like, I’m not so sure I want to do this but he kept calling and I said you know what? I’m going to do this. I’m going to have fun. I read the script and thought it was funny and that I wouldn’t have the responsibility of carrying the movie. It wasn’t like I was taking myself so seriously and said, “Now, I’m going to be an actress and I’m doing a Shakespeare movie.” I am doing a comedy and I’m not carrying it by myself. I’m just going to have fun so I said why not? I had a blast. I was very pleased because it was a different experience.

Q: Do you think you want to do more acting now?

GISELE: I think it was very exciting. It’s definitely something different than before. I don’t think I’m going to quit modeling to become an actress. I can’t even do that because I have contracts. I definitely enjoyed it. I believe in taking chances and living life. Sometimes, doors open sometimes doors close. You just have to figure out which [way] you’re going to take and always ask for the one with the challenge. That’s the way to live your life to the fullest.

Q: While you were filming, did you have problems with the paparazzi?

GISELE: Oh yeah. They always are nightmare people. They’re always bugging. They did get some pictures of me. It’s so stupid. But everyone on the set was really nice and really protective of me. So I was pretty lucky. It made me feel really comfortable.

Q: Have you gotten used to that? When you see yourself in the tabloids, do you just go “Eh, whatever”?

GISELE: I don’t think anybody likes to see themselves in the tabloids besides a couple of people which I’m not going to mention. (Laughs) But I’m definitely not one of those people. I’m a very private person. I like staying home and doing my own stuff. I hate people invading my privacy. I hate talking about my private life. I think it’s very disrespectful and they should have a law against that. Because you can’t even live your life. They make up so many lies about your life too. What are they writing about me now? It’s crazy. It’s a huge money making business I guess and they’re not going to start.

Q: How did you like the scene where you frisk Jennifer Esposito? It was long…

GISELE: Of course it was long! They were probably like, “What are audiences going to like? What are men going to like?” (Laughs) “Two girls touching themselves? Great. It would be perfect, let’s do that.” Actually, I was a bit nervous. In the beginning I was like “Ummm” but afterwards I was just going to go for it. I’m never going to do it again, frisk another woman, so I said I might as well do it now.

Q: Well it’s not Gisele, it’s the character…

GISELE: Exactly. Gisele would never do that, believe me. I love men way too much!

Credit: cinecon.com