by Terry Keefe
I originally interviewed Ione Skye for Venice Magazine, where this article appeared five years ago. The interview was primarily for Fever Pitch, the Farrelly Brothers film in which she had a supporting role, but we also spoke about Say Anything and River's Edge, the latter of which was one of my favorite films as a teenager. I have only included the portions about her earlier films here.
Our culture has become so coarse that I'm not sure River's Edge would shock audiences today, the way it did back in 1986. Directed by Tim Hunter, the plot centers around a group of slacker teenagers in the Pacific Northwest who bond together, under the direction of a manic Crispin Glover, to cover up the murder of a female friend by another of their group. None of the rest of the gang actually are guilty of the murder, but Glover becomes obsessed with the idea that it is their small group of youth against the world and that it is a moral imperative to stick together. The film featured an early starring role for Keanu Reeves, as well as the debut of Ione. It was also one of the mid-80s comeback films for Dennis Hopper, after Blue Velvet.
Ione would, of course, also star as Diane Court opposite John Cusack's Lloyd Dobbler in Cameron Crowe's Say Anything in 1989, and a generation fell in love with her.
The daughter of musician Donovan, Skye was born in the U.K. but spent most of her formative years in Los Angeles where she lived with her mother, Enid Karl. In addition to her acting work, she's also dabbled in writing and directing, making a number of short films with friends Zoe Cassavetes, Sofia Coppola, and her brother Donovan Leitch.
I can't write about Ione without mentioning that she was terrific in David Fincher's Zodiac, as a young mother who, along with her baby, is picked up for a ride by the Zodiac Killer, after her car breaks down. Zodiac came out after this interview was completed.
We met at the Coffee Bean on Sunset Blvd in 2005.
Let's go back a bit to when acting first started to break for you. Prior to filming River's Edge, you briefly went to Hollywood High.
Ione Skye: It sort of propelled me into acting in the weirdest way. I was rebellious and not doing so well. I had left my private school, and I was interested in dancing. So I was dancing at Hollywood High because they have this great magnet program. But I was sort of hanging out with kind of the wrong kids. [laughs] I had auditioned for River's Edge, the first movie I was in, and I was 15. I think part of what pushes people to get what they want is an ambition, and sometimes that ambition is running away from your life. I remember sitting on the steps of the school thinking, "Get me out of here. God, please let me get this part so I can get out of high school." And I never went back.
Were you and the other cast members aware of how unique River's Edge was when you were shooting it?
We were. We were up on it. I was really into Crispin Glover's whole thing. I think most of us knew that it would be a very realistic look at teen ennui. Because I totally felt like that -- that something bad could happen, and you're kind of at the funny point where your parents aren't really protecting you anymore, but you're not really able to properly take care of yourself either. So bad things might happen, and you might not have a genuine reaction anymore. I totally felt that was very much what being a teenager was like.
What was the audience reaction to the first screening of River's Edge?
We were laughing. We thought it was so funny. But people were quiet in the audience. They were shocked. They were almost angry. People would say, "What was up with Crispin Glover? He was terrible." I was like, "Terrible?!" It's the only movie of mine which I can watch objectively and really enjoy. I can't watch Say Anything that way.
Have you watched it recently?
We did the DVD commentary thing, so I watched it then. But when I watch it, I'm there, back on the set, dealing with everything I was going through. I can't just sit back and watch it.
Tell us more about the experience of making Say Anything.
It was intense. It was really hard to get the role. We had to work hard to get John Cusack involved, because he was so fearful of doing another teen movie. In some ways the experience wasn't so great, but in some ways it was amazing. I'm always into the [Director of Photography] and Laszlo Kovacs was the DP and he was great. I knew it was a big studio film and that was very exciting. I was aware of where I was. But at the same time, I was kind of gaining weight, and they were like, "Watch what you eat," and then they hired an acting coach [for me] at one point. And I felt that John and Joan Cusack were so brilliant and funny, and that I was the straight man. So I had a lot of insecurities doing that film. But John Cusack and I, although we never dated romantically, we fell in love in a friendship way. And I think you can see that.
How did your life change when Say Anything came out? For better and for worse?
I did a big publicity tour when it came out, which was great. But I was still a teenager. My mom was around all the time and it's hard when you're a teenager and you have that single mother syndrome. My mother wasn't managing me or anything, but there's a syndrome that happens. And my mom is probably at the very small end of it. She was nothing like certain mothers you hear about with the single mother/acting daughter thing. But still, mothers and daughters shouldn't be hanging out that much at that age anyway, I think. So I was in a mood and we were in a limo leaving New York and I was sort of having a mood swing. We were fighting. I look out the window and my mom taps me to show me that there's a line around the block, and it's for Say Anything. So that was good. But sadly, that's the point where I could have really taken off, and instead I chose to kind of shut doors. I still continued to work a bit, but I was starting to fall in love with my ex-husband, Adam (Horovitz of the Beastie Boys). I don't know if it was just destructive teenage sort of behavior, or if I just wanted to go on tour with the Beastie Boys. [laughs] So it changed my life, but I didn't really take the ball. I'm probably making it sound dismal, but it wasn't!
Were you also getting typecast a bit as the smart, wholesome girl?
Well, before Say Anything, I did a couple of different movies. They weren't that big. I did this movie, A Night in the Life of Jimmy Reardon, where I was a bitch. Also, Gas, Food Lodging and River's Edge were more the kind of rebellious person that I was really like. So Say Anything was kind of a stretch.
Gas, Food Lodging was, in fact, a major image change for you in a lot of people's eyes.
I felt so in the zone on that movie. Whereas, on Say Anything, that was not the case. In Gas, Food Lodging I just felt totally confident. I love Allison Anders. She's this unique mother figure. Very intense and warm. She's loved by everyone. You can go very deep with the relationship with her.
Do you feel like you had a show biz family upbringing, or was it not like that at all?
I didn't grow up with my dad, so it wasn't show biz from him. But my mom knew a lot of people. It was L.A. in the '80s. It was this sort of chic, gay, English crowd. There were musicians and actors. Although I am Jewish, I didn't "grow up in Beverly Hills with the Jewish producer father," which is nice because I didn't have a sheltered upbringing. I had a very expansive, creative upbringing, instead of going to Beverly High, although at the time I thought that would be the greatest thing in the world.
You're now also a mother. How old is your daughter?
She's three. She's going to go to Beverly High and have the sheltered life. [laughs] No, I'm kidding.
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