E3 2009: Blast EIC falls in love…
Blast (Boston's online magazine) recently interviewed Eliza at the E3 summit about WET; the interview is posted below, it's a good read. 
Blast got to chat with the one and only Eliza Dushku, star of the new Bethesda Softworks action title Wet.
Let’s get this out of the way right now: Eliza Dushku is so cool. She gives a firm handshake. She talks to everyone around her, even the burly security guard. And she gets really into watching people play her game.
Anyways, on with the beans we got her to spill.
BLAST: Is this your first video game?
ELIZA DUSHKU: No. I was in Buffy and and then the Yakuza game.
BLAST: What do you think of Wet so far?
ED: I’m into it, and I have a friend that came down to test out the game. He’s 14. His name is Kyle. He says it’s really good and I trust him.
BLAST: Is there a big difference between doing a video game voiceover and a movie voiceover and then just plain acting?
ED: Um. It depends. It’s just a whole different — it’s you, but it’s not. It’s kind of like for this video game I didn’t do all the body muscle stuff. I knew she already sort of had a rhythm, and I felt in a way more like I was getting into her established character and trying to find the right fit, you know what I mean, to give her.
I actually decided that I should smoke a few cigarettes each time we did it. My friend was like “your voice is so low,” and I was like “yeah that’s the cigarettes.” I quit smoking, but I was like “eh, it’s for work.”
BLAST: Have you had a chance to play through Wet and see yourself in action?
ED: Just a little bit. It’s awesome and I love, you know, that Tarantino, “Kill Bill” look to it — the whole 70s, grainy, the music. I think its really sexy. It’s sexy and it’s exciting and she’s a real working class Lara Croft, Jack Daniels-confident, tough, hard as nails, she’s international. She’s in Hong Hong and the UK, and she’s going wherever she needs to go to take care of business.
Stars give their mothers the gifts of time, love
Eliza posted a heads up on her official twitter, so here's the answer.
Bad economy or not, celebrities say their favorite gifts to give — and get — for Mother's Day come without a price tag. USA TODAY checks in on how the stars will toast Mom this weekend.
Eliza Dushku: "My mom and I are going to be in Africa this Mother's Day. We're going to be in Uganda. So this Mother's Day, I'm giving my mother an amazing bottle of fresh, clean water! We're going to be traveling together, and she always taught me that the biggest gift you can give somebody is your time and listening and hearing stories. And we do a lot of that, and that's what counts and what's meaningful to us."
Source: USA Today
USA Today interview & outtakes
Thanks to Truefan, I came across an interview with Eliza from USA Today, originally posted back in February. The interview is posted below and the outtakes are available in the gallery, a preview of which is to your right; the gallery link is below, enjoy!
Gallery Link
- From 2009 > USA Today
Eliza Dushku of 'Dollhouse' is doing it for herself
It's rare that Eliza Dushku gets to be, well, Eliza Dushku.
But on this particular Thursday afternoon, dressed in a pair of yoga pants, eating Trader Joe's chili out of the can and hanging out at home with her two dogs, she's at her most comfortable.
"Look," she says, holding her cellphone in an outstretched hand, "my nephew was born today! So cute? They usually don't look that cute when they're a few hours old, right?"
The actress perches in front of her laptop to finish buying a plane ticket to Boston so she can visit the newest member of her clan. She was able to dip into her hometown the next week to coo with the new baby after making talk-show rounds to chat up her latest project, Dollhouse (Friday, 9 ET/PT), a new series on Fox.
The Boston-born actress, 28, who has been in the Hollywood game since she was 10 years old, is calling the shots and doing everything on her terms. Her first priority? Putting more deeply complex stories about women on television.
For ‘Dollhouse’ on Fox, the set is one of the stars
There's an article at Los Angeles Times about the Dollhouse set and it's an interesting read; an extract is posted below, it also features two new images of Eliza on the set so I've added those to the gallery. Happy reading!
"We were so keyed up and when Joss decided to scrap the pilot, we started to wonder, 'What did we do wrong? What didn't we achieve?' " production designer Stuart Blatt said. "But second chances are sometimes very refreshing."
Blatt, who worked on "Angel," says the "Dollhouse" set is the largest he's built in his 20-year career. Before settling on a design, Whedon pored over architecture books, focusing on traditional and modern Asian building styles and elegant spas. Much of his inspiration came from "Thai Style" by Luca Invernizzi Tettoni and William Warren and "Architecture in China" by Philip Jodidio.
"It's not normal for other producers to be so prepared, but it's normal with Joss," Blatt said. "We looked through everything, weeded out some ideas and came up with this world-class spa that's sealed off from the rest of the world and has a minimalist Japanese feel to it. Joss knows exactly what he wants, but at the same time, he's flexible and he allows you to surprise him."
New Interviews Online
There are several new interviews online with Eliza, discussing the newly released Nobel Son and upcoming Dollhouse. One of which, confirms in further detail, Eliza's upcoming plans -- her new production company with her brother -- following a possible hiatus from Dollhouse after the 13th episode has aired; links to the interviews are below with extracts under the cut -- happy reading, but do be aware that there are some (small) spoilers regarding the show!
• CraveOnline
• MoviesOnline
• TV Guide
• SCI FI Wire
Dushku’s True Calling
Jennifer Lopez wasn't the only celeb who staggered to the finish line of the Nautica Malibu Triathlon over the weekend. Running, biking, and swimming alongside JLo was Watertown's own Eliza Dushku, who turned on the afterburners at the end and left Marc Anthony's significant other in the dust. Dushku, a former smoker who'd never competed in a triathlon, finished third in the women's celebrity division, behind Malibu, Calif., mayor Pamela Conley Ulich and "The Bold and the Beautiful" actress Heather Tom. (Lopez finished fifth.) Dushku completed the half-mile ocean swim, 18-mile bike route, and 4-mile run in 2 hours and 22 minutes. "My whole family and most of my friends thought I was totally nuts when I signed up last week without any training," the actress wrote us in an e-mail yesterday. "It was pure adrenaline and making up for long lost time." (Other celebs taking part in the fund-raiser for Children's Hospital included "Baywatch" beefcake and Plymouth native David Chokachi, and actors William H. Macy, Jon Cryer, Scott Foley, and Matthew McConaughey.) As for "Dollhouse," Dushku's much-anticipated new show with "Buffy" creator Joss Whedon, the actress reports all's well. " 'Dollhouse' is NOT in danger/suffering," she wrote. "We, the network, and FOX all are PSYCHED for the next episode . . . It's beyond dope."
Source: The Boston Globe
She’s quite a Doll
Gingerly navigating the Santa Monica Pier in her heels, Eliza Dushku was the belle of the ball Monday promoting Fox's new season at the Television Critics Association press tour. But before the Watertown native began talking about her new show "Dollhouse," she gave a shout-out to the NBA champs. "I'm thrilled about my Celtics!" she said. "It was so fun throwing it all in the faces of the Laker fans." Dushku was likewise delighted to talk up "Dollhouse" creator Joss Whedon, with whom she worked on "Buffy the Vampire Slayer." In the new series, Dushku plays Echo, a member of a group of "Dolls" who are programmed with different personalities for different missions and then have their memories wiped clean. It doesn't premiere until January, but buzz is already building. "It's incredible," Dushku said, referring to the response to each new Internet teaser and casting notice. "It's a testament to how unbelievably groundbreaking Joss has been in his career and in television, and the way he gets women and the way he gets people."
Source: The Boston Globe
Fewer Breaks Affect Dollhouse
Writer-producer Joss Whedon told SCIFI Wire that he hadn't yet considered how his upcoming Fox SF series Dollhouse will be affected by the network's decision to air episodes with far fewer commercials and in-house promos than most shows.
Dollhouse and J.J. Abrams' in-the-works Fringe are both part of Fox's Remote-Free TV experiment, which is designed to deter viewers from reaching for the remote control.
One unforeseen consequence: Producers will need to deliver extra minutes in each episode for its initial broadcast, then cut those minutes for the episode's reruns, which will presumably carry more commercial interruptions.
"That's a good point," Whedon said when asked about it in New York last week at Fox's upfront presentation to advertisers. "They didn't bring up the repeats. But we have always had to cut out a couple of minutes for repeats. That's always been the way. I don't really deal with that that much. But they've also said, 'We want longer versions for the DVD.' So, ultimately, I tend to shoot long. Our shows tend to go long. Some come in short. It will happen. But generally they go long. So this just means a little less heartache in the editing room."