Oceans Two: Catherine Zeta-Jones and Brad Pitt

You want big stars? We got 'um! Catherine Zeta -Jones gets around. We first went ‘who is that totally gorgeous woman?' when we saw her in The Mask of Zorro. She's married to older but hot Michael Douglas, won an Oscar for her part in singin'-dancin' Chicago and co-starred with Ocean's Eleven alum George Clooney in the snippy romantic comedy Intolerable Cruelty. Now she's movin' in on George and his gang of slick thieves as a hot Euro-cop in Ocean's Twelve. This time the gorgeous brunette is paired up with another hottie, Brad Pitt. The cop and thief combo assures that some sparks are gonna fly!

We got to chat with most of the Ocean's Twelve actors recently in Palm Desert, California (right next to Palm Springs). Julia Roberts was excused cuz, duh, she's expecting twins soon! Update: *This interview was conducted earlier this month. Roberts gave birth to Hazel Patricia Moder and Phinnaeus Walter Moder Sunday morning the 28th at a Southern California hospital. Looking particularly fresh and young, Catherine bounced into our interview room wearing jeans, black leotard top with a cute gold lame shrug accented with a pink ribbon closing. Brad was a hunky vision in brown shirt and matching jacket. Brad and gang are big kidders. Take everything he says with a wink. Catherine is more straightforward but fun. Jude Law had just been named People's Sexiest Man Alive, a title Brad once held. Was he upset? Brad: I think Matt [Damon] was more shaken by it. I think he campaigned hard, put up a good fight and I think it was toughest on him, but I think if he keeps applying himself like he has been this year, we'll see some greatness from him. George and I started a class, as former sexiest men alive and we're working with the youngin'. Jude's at the top of his class immediately. It was obvious to us that he was a natural so we had great hopes for that. Man of the year. But if you want to write in, write in ballots help.

TeenHollywood: This time you guys seemed more relaxed and comfortable with each other.

Brad: I'd like to call it work but it was pretty much automatic for us. First of all, there's a very low level of maturity amongst all the guys there so that helps. We bonded very quickly. Then we got the beautiful women to make us look better but it's pretty automatic.

TeenHollywood: You guys are huge jokers. Were there any jokes played on Catherine?

Brad: I think the biggest joke was on Catherine because she actually thought we were making a movie. (laugh). Being the new kid, nobody told her because she was up running lines and breaking down her character.

Catherine: I thought there was a personality clash and that the guys didn't like me because I didn't have any pranks. I have been informed that one can take up to three years to complete. I have known George Clooney for two so I'm looking over my shoulder for the next year.

Brad: Just know it's coming and don't lose any sleep over it. It will happen eventually and that's just the way it is.

TeenHollywood: The last film was Las Vegas. This one has a lot of cool international locales. Do you know how the idea for it came about?

Brad: The secret for this film was actually hatched in Italy when we were doing the press tour for the first one. Our last stop was Italy and we were at our favorite restaurant, the Boulanaise and we were eating some beautiful Buffalo mozzarella and Steven [Soderbergh] said ‘I've got an idea for the second one'. It was all from being on our European trip that culminated in Italy.

TeenHollywood: How do you two approach your on-screen relationship as a couple? Was it fun together?

Brad: It's pretty well fleshed out in the script. We were just excited to get Catherine first of all because she brings this great elegance to it and a lot of the film was going to be focused on her on her own and she was going to have to carry the thing. For us specifically, it was just pretty natural wasn't it? [Catherine agrees]. The great thing about Catherine is there is this great beauty and elegance but at the same time, she'll drink anyone under the table. So it was pretty much automatic as well.

Catherine: [laughs] There's obviously a history with these two characters. We wanted to make the two different from Danny and Tess. She's loving this guy so much and having been ceremoniously dumped by him and then the relationship sort of comes together and she's ironically after these guys and knows the love of her life is probably one of the biggest thieves around. Brad was so easy to work with. I bet I'm hated by women around the world for having to kiss this guy. My husband would say to me `What are you doing today honey' and I'd say `Oh, I'm kissing Brad on a bridge' (laugh). The next day `Oh I'm kissing Brad in the car or someplace'. It was a tough job, but someone had to do it. We had a lot of fun. I'd love to do another movie with him in a different connotation.

Brad: I'm thinking musical.

Catherine: I think so. He can dance.

Brad: Interpretative dance is kind of my specialty. I haven't unleashed it on the world yet. But what I liked about this was he's trying to get this woman back. She's pissed off and hates me and for good reason but this is what he wants. It's her and whatever it takes, he's going to figure it out and take his punches as they come. So that was the fun of it for me.

TeenHollywood: Brad, are you interested in doing some producing or other things behind the camera as well as acting? I know you're very interested in architecture as well.

Brad: I'm dabbling in other arenas, attempting some production myself. Yeah, I enjoy it very, very much.

TeenHollywood: Catherine, you are such a beautiful woman.[She mouths 'thank you']. Do you have any insecurities?

Catherine: Yeah, I'm a regular woman. So I always have some type of insecurities. I'm always asking my husband if my butt is too big (laughter). Oh yeah, I can see good things and feel good about them, but there are also other things that I have insecurities over.

TeenHollywood: How was shooting in Europe in comparison to Vegas?

Brad: I'm not sure how to answer that; just the antithesis of each other as far as culture and lack of culture, I guess. Bright neon and everything new versus history and ancient things. Just the patina of the old cities lead to a completely different feel and I guess, a completely different visual feel to the film.

TeenHollywood: Catherine, how did they convince you to do the film?

Catherine: I worked with George and Steve Soderbergh on Traffic and so on with Julia and I knew that Ocean's Twelve was going to be starting up soon and I didn't think for one minute that it was going to be anyone other than the characters that were formed already. So when I got the call from Jerry and Steven, I took a look at the script and signed on.

TeenHollywood: Catherine, your character is interesting and complicated. How did you enjoy bringing her to life?

Catherine: She has the blood of the best thief in the world and she hates [Ocean's Eleven] and hasn't seen her father and is bitter over lost love. Yeah there's a lot to play with. It's hard loving someone so much and then hating them so much and wanting to nail their asses so much. And it was nice that I was in Europe being European. I was very proud to make a speech at the Hague. It felt very official. It was very good to know that Europol agents wear red leather to work. When I was researching the character, I didn't think I'd be wearing red leather. It really helped me in my characterization. [Brad's laughing].

TeenHollywood: Catherine, were you intimidated by the wacky humor of your co-stars or did you get with it?

Catherine: I don't know about my humor, but god, we have a good laugh when we hang out and the guys are funny and it's just contagious. I'm intimidated every day I go on the stage and every day I go on a movie set. It's terrifying and I always want to reshoot the first day or the first week. When meeting these guys all together for the first time, it's such a powerful force. But it was just easy and simple and they welcomed me in with open arms. I had to leave my prissy girlyness at the door, just join in and it was great. Once the ice was broken, I jumped right in.

TeenHollywood: Did you form some bonds that will last in your personal life?

Catherine: Yeah. New relationships were formed on this movie. George invited me to his house once and he said very few people take him up on it. And I arrived with my two kids and my nanny and my husband (knock knock), “We're here!” I guess, you could do that with George; he's very gracious, a really good friend, funny to boot. If I could be part of the gang, I'm all for it.

TeenHollywood: Did you give Julia any advice on motherhood?

Catherine: No, but it was just nice seeing somebody having that experience for the first time. It reminded me of how ecstatically excited I was and how every day was so different. Then I told her the classic thing my mother told me. ‘You enjoy it now. When they're babies, enjoy every moment. It gets better and better. I just hope it all goes really well for her and she'll have two healthy children.

TeenHollywood: Brad, are you hyper critical about your work?

Brad: I'm critical, but I think it's a healthy criticism. What could I make better in the future, what did I miss on that day maybe but also what works and it's a constant study in film and acting. It's just a constant study and most of the time I find there's not a right answer, it's just different directions that can all get you to the same end result in a way.

©TeenHollywood, 8 December 2004