Hello Sarah. Is Escape From Planet Earth your first animated movie?
I think it’s the first full-length theatrical release. I don’t recall any more, to be honest. I’ve probably done short-form voice stuff before.

And this is your third space-themed movie.
It is? Remind me.

Well, there was Flight of the Navigator, and then Mars Attacks!
Ah, yes, you’re right. I seem to be drawn to the genre, even though I don’t even remember that I am.

In some ways, would you see this as the completion of a trilogy?
Oh my God, I love that you’re looking at it with such a scholarly approach. Yes! Let’s pretend that that’s exactly why I did it. That’s so smart. Yes, I have been seeking out that last film to complete the trilogy. Only the Guardian would have cracked this.

Your character in this film is called Kira Supernova. Is that the best-named character you’ve ever played?
Most assuredly. Absolutely. Inarguably.

I was looking at your IMDb page this morning …
Ah. I have one?

Yes, and I noticed that many of the characters you played before 1993 don’t have surnames, but all the ones you’ve played since do. Was that a conscious decision on your part?
Is that right? Do you think that is something my agents negotiated on my behalf? You are noticing, discerning, mining things that nobody else ever has. If I ever, ever, ever write a book about my life, you will certainly be the author. Nobody has ever spent this amount of time thinking about my career. Including me!

Do you believe in aliens?
No.

So you’re saying that mankind is essentially alone in the universe.
Well, I don’t think we’re alone in the universe. But I don’t think aliens are how we have experienced them thus far on screen. We discovered that there may have been water elsewhere, and that was a massive and important discovery in the world of science, right? This suggests that something benefited from the water. But whether they wear funny outfits and they’re clever and they say snarky things to each other and have wonderfully big sweet eyes? That, I’m dubious about. But I do enjoy the storytelling here on Earth.

Even though your character in this new film gets left behind by her husband, despite being incredibly smart?
I think she has made some decisions, and she speaks to a way that maybe other women feel, you know? She’s left behind, and she’s maybe conflicted about those choices. And she becomes defensive. Do you choose work over family? I think that’s a position that a lot of women find themselves in. I think, a little bit, this film tries to talk about what it’s like to remove yourself from your professional workplace and work from home as a parent (5). It’s sweet, it’s nicely done.

How many times today have you been asked about Sex and the City 3?
Three times today. I’m batting a thousand. What’s that in cricket? If you’re batting a thousand in American baseball, what would the analogy be for cricket?

I dunno. Hitting a six? That sounds a lot less impressive than hitting a thousand, to be honest.
Those six must mean so much more. So, OK, I’m hitting a six. Out of three interviews, Sex and the City has been uttered three times.

I’m not going to ask you about it. I just wanted to know if you were tired of talking about it.
I’m fine with it. It’s all right. It’s hardly a burden. I would rather be asked about that than countless other things. That was an enormously important, wonderful part of my life and to suggest that it’s burdensome in some way for people to enquire about a third movie? To be resentful or annoyed about that would be such a waste of someone’s time. I’m very fine with it. I’m OK.

Last question. Your character in Flight of the Navigator was a big fan of Twisted Sister. I listened to them as a direct consequence of that, and they were rubbish. Do you have to apologise to a lot of people for this?
Holy moly. I don’t. You’re the first person. Once again, your approach to this interview … I’m gobsmacked. Nobody has ever mentioned it. I have long since forgotten that my character had an opinion one way or the other, and I don’t know that I’ve heard enough of Twisted Sister to myself have an opinion.

OK, then. Thanks for your time.
Hey, I want more time with you in the future. I want to start each day with you.

Source – The Guardian