Interview with a mermaid

I thought the new mermaid movie, "Aquamarine" was not just adorable but also wise, and I was lucky enough to get a chance to interview the mermaid herself, the delightful Sara Paxton:

What’s on your ipod?

It's really random! I really like the Rolling Stones, he Beatles, the Doors, but I also like rap -- 50 cent, The Game, people like Natalie Imbrulia...

In the movie, you play a mermaid who is befriended by two girls who are just getting out of middle school. What was it like working with younger girls who are not as experienced as you are?

They’re both very mature and they've both been working in the industry for a long time. Sometimes I would forget there was an age difference. I would ask JoJo [Joanna 'JoJo' Levesque] for advice. I felt like we were kind of on the same wavelength because even though I was older in the movie I was seeing the world through a child’s eyes, and they had to lead me and be the adult.

This was director Elizabeth Allen's first feature film. What was it like to work with her?

She is really amazing! She’s not only really talented and I liked her opinions about the movie but she is but so great to get along with. It was like working with one of the girls. She speaks my language. And I was so buzzed that I got to work with her and be in her first film. The producer and one of the screenwriters were also women so it was a very female environment and I think that really helped the movie.

I agree -- I think that is particularly evident in the way the movie ends.
Yes, it takes you down a different path, but it’s a unique ending that still leaves you happy. I hope people leave the theater feeling touched and inspired.

The book by Alice Hoffman has a very different tone. Did you read it?
Yes I did! One of the main differences between the book and the movie is that she never gets legs in the book. That works when you’re reading but doesn’t work on screen.

What was the biggest physical challenge in making the movie?
The tail! It took 2½ hours to get into it and then I couldn’t go to the bathroom or move and was stuck in it all day, even have my lunch break in it. Then when I did take it off, my whole body was wrinkly. Luckily there were more leg days than tail days.

What did you do to try to move like a mermaid?
Luckily, since it was my dream since I was a little girl to be a mermaid I’ve been practicing all my life. "Little Mermaid" and "Splash" were my favorite movies and I am so lucky I actually got to live out my dream. I had pretended and practiced so much when I was little that when I got started in the movie people paused and said, "How did she get it so fast?"

What's next for you?
It's a crazy year! I just got a part in the new Rebecca Romijn show "Pepper Dennis" and I was nominated for an Emmy for Darcy's Wild Life. And I'm graduating from high school and hope to start college in the fall at USC.