How did you get the part of Mary in the film? Did you have any input to your character?

I got the part through an audition.  The original writer, Brent V. Friedman had written a great script and he lobbied really hard for me.  Unfortunately, after I was cast Cannon hired two new writers and the re-write I read on the plane ride to Isreal was really different!  I completely panicked because I had a no-nudity clause in my contract and suddenly my character, Mary who was supposed to be the, "Virgin Mary of the Future"  was having sex in every other scene.  I called my agent when I got off the plane, and she got them to re-hire Brent to do another re-write.  Unfortunately they didn't go back to the original script and he and I were disappointed with the story they chose to shoot.  Our friendship survived and I am now doing voice over for him on his MySpace show, AFTERWORLD as the voice of, "Janelle". The only "input" I had was to insist on keeping my clothes on!

What did you think about having your baby in a jar?

My "Baby in a Jar" was kind of hard to get attached to and it was hard to do all those running scenes and not feel like I was going to shake it up too much.  Now that I'm a mom, I'd be curious to find out if the baby was born with, "shaken baby syndrome".


Did you enjoy your time on set? How long were you in Israel?

I was in Isreal for 10 weeks, the last 8 of which I worked 16 hour days 6 days/week.  The amazing thing about being in Isreal that summer was I got to be up close to history makers!  I walked out of my hotel, The Dan Tel Aviv one morning and was face to face with Gorbechev!  My brother was a Fulbright scholar living in Russia and it was such a thrill to tell him about it!  A few weeks later, I was in the middle of the celebration for the election of Yitzak Rabin.  He was standing right next to me in the hotel lobby and I was so thrilled for him and the Isreali people!  They had literally announced his win moments earlier.
 
As far as working there, the crew was very tough on me. There were hair dyeing disasters and a lot of tension because Isrealis (women included) have to serve in the military so I really had to prove how tough I was.  I found out that they placed bets on whether or not I would be injured by shooting the bazooka and cry.  As you can see, I didn't even flinch and I was crouched on my tip-toes when I fired it.  I ended up getting a lot more respect after that night and many of the crew became like family to me.

What was it like working with John Ryan and Joe Lara? Good guys?

John Ryan was a living doll!  Such a kind gentleman and devoted family man.  Joe and I got along fine until we found out we were on totally opposite ends of the political spectrum.  It was the summer before the election between Clinton, Perot and Bush.  He was a huge Perot supporter and I was backing Clinton.  Our political debates got pretty nasty so we had a hard time putting those differences aside.


Do you have any fond memmories from the filming?

Lots of fond memories of some of the crew.  My hairdresser, Tzvia and I became so close, I called her "Eema" - "mother" in hebrew my other friend was a young Tzvia who was the second AD.  The stunt men were all Russian.  We got along very well, especially when my brother visited and spoke Russian with them.  Sasha, the head stunt-man had a terrible accident and I went to visit him in the emergency room after I wrapped that day.  His face and chest were smashed into the cement when a bungy-cord broke.  He was very moved that I came but I had to because they were really putting they're lives at risk to make us look good.  They were all very brave.

When was the last time you saw the film? What did you think of it?

I just TRIED to watch the film a few months ago with my two boys, ages 8 and 10.  They were really thrilled to see Mom shooting all those weapons!  But we all agreed that if I weren't in it, we wouldn't be bothering to watch it.  I really wish they wouldn't have made me do all the voice over to make my lines monotone to match Joe Lara's line readings.  It made my performance seem so bizzarre!  My sons noticed that my voice seemed weird.  They said, "That's not how you talk!".  I definitely would have stuck with the original script, it was very cool.

 
What are you up to now?
 
I just moved back to L.A. after living in New York for six years.  Both my sons have special needs, one is autistic, so I've been focused on being a good mom.  I have done some independent films, "Noise" and "Beyond the Ashes" aka "Ash Tuesday"  that I'm very proud of.  My kids both are in private, Help Group Schools so I'm looking for an agent and hoping to start acting again soon. I'm also writing a romantic comedy about my biazzare double wedding.

Many thanks to Nicole for taking the time to talk to us, and good luck in the future (we will be keeping an eye out for the "biazzare double wedding" movie).