Native New Zealander Zoe Bell spent years as an accomplished stunt double for Lucy Lawless of Xena: Warrior Princess before doubling for Uma Thurman on Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill films. After establishing a rapport with the auteur, Tarantino opened the doors to her acting career by casting her as one of the leads in Death Proof, his segment of 2007's joint project with Robert Rodriguez, Grindhouse. With roles in this year's upcoming films Gamer and Whip It!, Bell was on hand at Comic-Con to promote her actioner Angel of Death, out on DVD this week, and we were able to sit down with her for a lengthy chat. Read on to discover the Kiwi's Five Favorite Films, what it was like working with Quentin Tarantino, and what it's like to transition from stunt work to acting.
The Neverending Story (1984, 83% Tomatometer)
I'll give it a shot. "Favorites" questions are my least liked questions because I've never been any good at favorites. But I'll give it a shot. I'll probably disappoint every fan out there. The ones that stick out as being my favorites, most of them are from when I was young, because movies just meant something different to me when I was a kid than what they mean to me now. They still mean a lot to me, but also it's, once you start working in the film business, your appreciation shifts.
The Neverending Story, without a doubt. I loved that movie. I thought the girl in that was hot. I thought she was so cute. I was like, "I want to be her when I grow up." Wear a necklace on my forehead and say, "Call my name, Sebastian. Call my name!" I remember, I was living on an island; we didn't have a movie theater, we just had a town hall. Every now and then they would drop a big sheet and a projection thing. We'd sit on wooden chairs. So, The Neverending Story.
Labyrinth (1986, 58% Tomatometer)
And Labyrinth. Labyrinth was sort of the same... Loved Labyrinth. I watched it again recently and had a total adult crush on David Bowie. I used to just think he was cool, and now I'm like, "Oh my God, he's so hot in that movie." So 80s and glam rock. And I think both of those movies are sort of, really so fancy, but there was something... I don't know. To me, I didn't feel like I was suspending reality. It just was like, "That's the world this movie exists in, and I want to be in it," you know what I mean? I just love both of those movies.
Stand by Me (1986, 94% Tomatometer)
I know everyone's expecting me to list off all these action movies, but Stand By Me. There's something about the relationships and the performances in that movie that I found really inspirational. And this is before I was even considering being an actor. I just found it to be one of the more true, real, honest sort of movies that really had an effect on me. I watched it a week ago and got goose bumps. Especially with the whole River Phoenix thing and how he disappears at the end. How genius is he in the movie? There's something about a movie like that that can be so effective with no gimmicks.
Lethal Weapon (1987, 90% Tomatometer)
I've got two more to go, and the ones that popped into my head are the Lethal Weapon movies! I love the Lethal Weapon movies. I know I shouldn't claim them all together but the combination of humor and action and the relationship between Glover and Gibson is just... That's the kind of stuff that I watched and was like, "I want to do that!" It never occurred to me that that meant acting. Those are the kind of movies that I could watch over and over and over and know every line and it not be a problem that I know every line; I still enjoy the effect it has on me, you know what I mean?
Pulp Fiction (1994, 96% Tomatometer)
This is going to sound ridiculous because it's going to sound like I'm doing a bunch of ass-licking but Pulp Fiction. And I shouldn't hesitate, because it's good cinema, but... I remember watching Pulp Fiction -- whatever age I was, teenage years somewhere -- and really struck at the cleverness of it and loving that you can have something as violent, but as humorous and as... I could feel -- you know, because I didn't know him as a person at that point; he was just the director -- but I could feel his brain working in the conversations in his head, and his opinions about stuff. The conversations that were like, "I've had conversations like that about why you call it a quarter pounder or a royale with cheese." It was so clever and reachable by me. And I wasn't a film buff, I wasn't sort of like a fan about any of that stuff. It just really spoke to me, it was so clever. Then I went back and watched Reservoir Dogs. I think I'd seen it before but I went back and watched it again. But yes, Pulp Fiction was definitely... Actually, it's cool that I get to say that; I'm happy to be able to say that.
Next, Bell talks about getting to know Quentin Tarantino and what being an actor means to her.
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De4ective Detectiv3 writes: on Jul 27 2009 08:17 PM Somebody is in love w/ the 80s... Props to the Labrynth shoutout, I always thought that was one movie that deserved a remake or a sequel. One thing does confuse me however, if its a neverending sequel, how the f- did they make a sequel!? (Reply to this) |
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De4ective Detectiv3 writes: on Jul 27 2009 08:18 PM correction: if its a neverending story, how did they make a sequel... (Reply to this) |
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thedownstar writes: on Jul 27 2009 08:31 PM the same way there are four "Final" Destinations; because people love redundancy. Cool that she listed Never Ending Story, any movie that has the main theme being the creation of more stories, especially fables and parables, is alright by me. (Reply to this) |
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jake l. writes: on Jul 27 2009 09:06 PM PULP FICTION, well said, she was charming in death proof, alright list, at least the godfather wasnt mentioned (Reply to this) |
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ledawg1138 writes: on Jul 27 2009 09:26 PM This woman looks like she could beat the hell out of you if you said "Good morning". Anyway, interesting list. (Reply to this) |
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sunsaz writes: on Jul 27 2009 09:39 PM Nothing wrong with an 80s movie fan. Nice to see she went outside the usual choices for these lists. (Reply to this) |
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Zach Williamson writes: on Jul 27 2009 10:29 PM In reply to this comment (#2531251) Yeah, thank god 'The Godfather' wasn't on this list. It's such a terrible movie that doesn't deserve to be on anyone's "Top 5". (Reply to this) |
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nathanpoitras writes: on Jul 27 2009 11:38 PM The Neverending Story is such a huge piece of ****, I remember being forced to sit through it back in elementary school one time, the whole time wondering what it was I had done wrong to deserve such punishment. (Reply to this) |
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jokerboy1991 writes: on Jul 28 2009 12:57 AM Good list, nostalgia for the 80's is NEVER a bad thing, even if Never Ending Story isn't very good. Bell was pretty awesome in Death Proof and she was even good in her little part on Lost. Hopefully she gets more acting gigs. (Reply to this) |
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Account writes: on Jul 28 2009 01:23 AM Nice list, i love all those movies... To be honest, shes kinda hot too. (Reply to this) |
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Satanizmo writes: on Jul 28 2009 03:19 AM Zach The Godfather a terrible movie? Seriously? No matter if its in your top 5 or not it is nowhere near "terrible", and you either trying to be cool for not liking the movie everyone's praising or you are having zero movie taste, knowledge, whatever. Hell, The Godfather won't be on my list too, but its not terrible in any way. (Reply to this) |
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Almost.Famous writes: on Jul 28 2009 04:09 AM Stand by me! One of my favorite movies of all time! First time i've seen it in anyones lists. (Reply to this) |
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rle4lunch writes: on Jul 28 2009 04:53 AM david bowie looks retarded in that movie, but whatever. the rest of her movies are pretty good. and if you were a kid when neverending story came out and you didn't like it, well, i don't think you were a kid, but an adult stuck in a child's body. (Reply to this) |
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BowieSwimmer writes: on Jul 28 2009 06:57 AM Love this woman to death, hope she's able to break out and really become a star. She's got sort of a giddy screen presence, she always makes me happy. One of my favorite discovers in all of "Grindhouse." Also, I think this list is absolutely fantastic. Awesome that she still has a love affair with 80s cinema, especially because "Neverending Story" and "Labyrinth" are AMAZING. Plus, this list is supposed to be your FAVORITE movies, not the best movies you've ever seen. Everyone has a movie they can watch over and over again, yet realize that it might not hold up very well cinematic. Well everyone SHOULD have that kind of a movie... (Reply to this) |
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kevinrnash writes: on Jul 28 2009 07:06 AM In reply to this comment (#2531345) You aren't good with sarcasm, are you? (Reply to this) |
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kevinrnash writes: on Jul 28 2009 07:07 AM In reply to this comment (#2531345) Satanizmo, You aren't good with sarcasm, are you? (Reply to this) |
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Cormacolinde writes: on Jul 28 2009 07:24 AM Wow, three of her favorite movies are some of mine too (Neverending Story, Labyrinth, Pulp Fiction). I think I'm in love. And I liked her honesty and down-to-earth style in the interview, very different from the high-brow bs'ing style we usually get from actors/actresses. (Reply to this) |
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John N. writes: on Jul 28 2009 07:46 AM Love all the picks. Where the hell is Dark Crystal, though? Far better than Neverending Story. (Reply to this) |
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Gimy writes: on Jul 28 2009 07:47 AM dudes, its called NEVER ending. not this is the end...story. final destination refers to death, not the final movie. the joke doesn't apply folks...nice try though i remember her from Death Proof but didn't realize she was Kate Hudson's butch twin. hot... (Reply to this) |
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8077 writes: on Jul 28 2009 08:13 AM I like her list, and she's hot. (Reply to this) |
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