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AE: Do you think the fact that this film is being made with such a major distributor and these actors reflects progress in terms of the acceptance of lesbian characters and issues in mainstream films? Could it have been made five years ago?
AR: I do think the fact that the film is being made with a studio and with these actors reflects progress. The response to the script was really overwhelming. Screen Gems greenlit it right away, and we were barraged with actresses who wanted to be in the movie. The actresses I met with were generally not that worried about playing a gay character; they wanted to know how the relationship would be treated (i.e. is there nudity, etc.).

I don't think this movie could have been made five years ago.

AE: Did you have a hard time casting the film, and what drew you to casting Brewster as the villain?
AR: The D.E.B.S. were very easy to cast. Devon and Megan were perfect for the roles, and I'd worked with Jill before and I think she's a genius. The difficult thing was finding an Amy and Lucy that fit together as a couple--I read tons and tons of people trying to find the right combo. Then I met Sarah and Jordana and everything fell into place.

AE: The cast of the movie is more racially diverse than most Hollywood films; was that intentional on your part, or just how it worked out?
AR: That's just how it worked out. It's important to me to have a racially diverse cast, but I honestly didn't try on this one, it just happened.

AE: This is your first feature film as a director; what was the experience like? Anything you’ve found particularly surprising so far? Challenging? Disappointing?
AR: The experience has been amazing. I've been wanting/trying to do this my whole life, so to actually have the opportunity is totally mindblowing for me. I just wrapped the film 5 days ago, so I haven't really had time to process the experience. I'll let you know in a couple of weeks. In general, pre-production was very stressful, and production was a blast.

AE: Anything you would do differently in making the short or the feature film if you could do it over again?
AR: No.

AE: You wrote for the upcoming Showtime series The L Word for a brief time; what was that experience like, especially compared to writing for film?
AR: Writing for The L Word was a really intense, fun experience. It's totally different than writing for film, by yourself. Ilene (the show's creator) and Showtime were really interested in mining the reality of lesbian lives, so you'd sit around for hours in a room and tell stories about your life or your friends or people you'd heard about. It was like being paid to attend a really fun dinner party. For me, it was the first time I'd written realism (I'm always writing overblown situations and hi-concept comic book stuff), which I enjoyed very much.

AE: What do you like about The L Word, and how do you think the lesbian characters on the show will be different from those on other television shows?
AR: I think The L Word will be amazing. I had to take a hiatus from the show to direct D.E.B.S., so I'm not sure how the show has evolved since I left. But no matter what, it will be amazing. Because it's never been done. The characters will be different because lesbian characters on mainstream shows always have being gay as their defining characteristic, and that's where this show starts. So, the real challenge is, what else is interesting about them? I can't wait to see it.

AE: This kind of all-lesbian series has never been done before on TV; what was the most difficult aspect of writing that kind of show? The most fun?
AR: The most difficult part is that since it has never been done, you feel an enormous pressure/responsibility to represent everybody, which is impossible. So you know you're going to get all these upset letters because you didn't do this thing, or didn't include this person--but ultimately, the only task is to create an entertaining television show. The most fun is the people.

AE: Any other projects in the pipeline yet after D.E.B.S. is finished?
AR: I still haven't had time to do my laundry. Then I'll probably start on D.E.B.S. 2: Pink Thunder.

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