Green Becomes Her

Did you get any embarrassing paper cuts?
[Laughs  Generally, I destroy my partners because they're very fragile.

Words like "erection," "penis," and "vagina" seem to roll off your tongue as if you were a sailor. Are you always so sexually candid?
I take advantage of a puritanical streak in America. I know I can make people gasp and giggle just by saying "vagina." But I don't really do it to scandalize people. I want my films to make people laugh and then say, "Oh, I didn't know that about nature."

You portrayed one of Truman Capote's "swans," Marella Agnelli, in 2006's Infamous. Do you have a similarly special gay friend?
I had a very close friend who died about 10 years ago, unfortunately, of AIDS. I was married twice, so I called him my "third husband." And I do have a "fourth husband" now in Paris named Jean-Paul Scarpitta. He's sort of my gay confidant. There's nothing for companionship like a gay guy is to a woman.

Which of your projects do gay fans respond to the most?
Death Becomes Her! [Laughs] Because it's like female impersonation, in a way. I also think Green Porno could have a gay following. We're thinking about creating some Green Porno costumes for Halloween. Someone said, "Well, maybe for children." I said, "No, not for children. For the gay Halloween parade in the West Village!"

What's the closest thing you've found to that magic elixir for everlasting youth in Death Becomes Her?
I wish I had a happier answer than, "Don't drink, don't smoke, eat well, and exercise," but unfortunately, that's the truth.

Have you ever played a lesbian role?
No. But if I did, my first choice for a love interest would definitely be Kate Winslet, because I admire her and her choice of work. She never plays a baby; she's always a woman, and I love that. Lately, though, I always play Jewish mothers. I don't know why. There's a film out now, Two Lovers, and it's my fourth time playing a Jewish mother.