Nikki is the ultimate optimist. In her eyes anything is possible. All of her experiences in Cannes are processed through this basic belief system. She sees her dreams in her head and projects those dreams onto those around her. Nikki has come to Hollywood to help Alice Palmer sell her movie. But I also think she has come to experience the glamour and excitement of Hollywood in Cannes. She romanticizes everyone and everything surrounding and her and longs to be a part of it all!
I can definitely relate to Nikki. I have managed to maintain a similar innocence and faith in the business. Perhaps I am naïve but I DO believe that I will have my fairy tale Hollywood ending. I face each day with the possibility that “today it may happen” I keep my dreams alive and very close to my heart. Like Nikki, I am always looking for my window of opportunity and am willing to believe that it may come from the least expected places and people.
My impression of the Cannes film festival “wow” it’s a frenzy of people either on the outside looking in or people on the inside consumed with each other. The people on the outside are so hungry for a taste of the movie magic. It was very interesting filming in and around this energy. It allowed me to look at the people at the festival from a certain vantage point and realize that we are all searching to fill something in ourselves. Whether playing the life of the actor or spectator. It’ s still the same Hollywood dream which is always a bit elusive, almost immortal and filled with a stardust that blinds us.
Working with Henry Jaglom was a long awaited experience. I love the way he creates art. It felt very spontaneous and yet the actor has a responsibility to the story and character. I always felt a bit unknowing but I felt that Henry was a net there to catch me. It really was a “coming of age” experience for me. Working with Henry requires you to be really comfortable with yourself and have conviction in your opinions since you ARE the character you are playing. I have since gained alot of humility and have worked on defining myself so I can bring that to the world and the screen. I don’t know if I would have had these insights working on a conventionally scripted film because there it would have been filtered through someone else’s idea of a character. Henry asked me to be me and then set me in the wonderful tantalizing world of Cannes. That in itself brought things out of me and ultimately Nikki.