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Interview With Gina Gershon

Actor Gina Gershon has played lesbian/bisexual characters not once, not twice, but in three major roles: half-naked, all-evil bisexual dancer Cristal Conners in Showgirls (1995); sexy butch ex-con Corky in Bound (1995); and tattooed rocker Jacki in Prey for Rock & Roll (2003). If that’s not enough to make her a bona fide lesbian icon, she also counts Ellen DeGeneres as a friend.

Last month, Gershon released a new CD, In Search of Cleo, a collection of songs telling the true story of the loss, search and recovery of her cat, Cleo.

Gina, are you sure you’re not a lesbian?

With the exception of “Watch Over Me,” which was written by out producer and musician Linda Perry, the songs were all written or co-written by Gershon. They are not merely about her cat Cleo, however. Gershon means the collection to be a metaphor about losing and searching for love.

Beginning Oct. 7, she will be performing songs from In Search of Cleo live at New York’s The Box. She took time out from rehearsals to talk to AfterEllen.com about writing songs, cats, Corky and how Prince tried to change her name.

AfterEllen.com: Thanks for taking the time to talk with us. Gina Gershon: Thank you. Now, why are you called AfterEllen? Like Ellen DeGeneres?

AE: Yeah. Although we love her, it’s not about Ellen, though. Our Editor in Chief, Sarah Warn, chose the name because when Ellen came out, it was a watershed moment in lesbian visibility. GG: Like, before it was “B.E.,” then it was “A.E.”?

AE: [Laughs.] Exactly. GG: [Ellen’s] actually mentioned in In Search of Cleo. I haven’t told her yet.

AE: How does she fit into it? GG: You know, I’m friends with Ellen. And when my cat was lost for two months, I was a little bit of a wreck. I was doing anything and everything [to find him]. And Ellen said to me, “You’ve got to talk to Sonya.” And I said, “Who’s Sonya?” And she said, “Sonya, the animal psychic.”

AE: No. GG:Ellen hooked me up with Sonya, who, by the way, is super, super genius; the best psychic I’ve ever spoken to. Have you ever seen her show on TV?

AE: Can’t say I have, but I’ve heard of it. GG: Yeah. She really is gifted. I’m telling you, the stuff she was telling me was unbelievable.

AE: Like what? About where Cleo might be? GG: Not only where Cleo might be, but seeing the world through Cleo’s eyes – telling me everything that Cleo knew about me and what he had been through [with] me up until that point. And it was mind-blowing.

AE: And an inspiration to write songs? GG:I have a tendency to write music when I’m sad, and I had gone through a really bad breakup, and close friends and family had died. It was just a really intense period, and then my cat went missing. You know I thought, “Oh my God.”

I never originally was going to marry these two ideas. But [while] writing the music, I was in this very strange space and dealing with death and breakups and bad relationships, and Sonya explained all of those [things] but through my cat’s eyes, through his point of view. It was really trippy.

AE: I can’t believe you’re telling me Ellen turned you onto Sonya the pet psychic. GG:Well, I guess Sonya helped Ellen with her cat. When she moved, her cat was depressed or something. Sonya told her stuff about her cat that was absolutely true and about the kitty condo that she’d left behind. And Ellen was like: “Listen. You have to speak to this woman. She’s amazing.” And Sonya really, truly was.

AE: OK then. GG: Yeah.

AE: How did Cleo go missing in the first place? GG: I had a really nutty assistant who took him, while I was gone, to a dog groomer. She wrapped him in a blanket and my cat was thinking, “Oh my God, this woman is going to kill me or something.” He jumped out of the blanket and ran away. He was far enough from my house that he didn’t know how to get back.

I was in Europe and when I came back, I asked, “Where’s my cat?” And she says, “Weelll…” The cat had been missing for days, and she never called to tell me. AE: Which river is that assistant floating in now? GG: [Laughs.] I never heard from her again.

AE: Well, I’m glad Sonya was able to help. GG: She was very helpful. [Laughs.] Anyway. When you said “Ellen,” I was like, “Oh, funny we keep talking about her.” Um, so, what else would you like to know?

AE: Nothing they’ll let me print, so let’s just talk about your show. GG:This really is my first record, the first thing I’ve written everything [for] except for one song. I think people are going to be surprised. It’s not really rock and roll, this album. At the end of the day, In Search of Cleo is a parable for looking for love and trying to find your right person.

AE: It’s been a while since you’ve done anything musical. I remember when you did Cabaret. GG: My first professional shows were all music or dance. And then I kind of stopped because I wanted to be a quote-unquote serious actress. I went back and I did Cabaret on Broadway. And the musical director kept looking at me and going: “You actually sing. You’re a singer.”

I kind of forgot I loved doing [that]. And I had many different opportunities to do music. Prince wanted me to do Purple Rain years ago. He flew me out there and he’s changing my name, and for some reason, I backed out of that.

AE: What did he want to change your name to? GG: Gheena. He goes, “I think I’m going to call you Gheena.” I said, “Gheena Gershon?” And he said: “No. Just Gheena.” At that moment I knew this was going to be weird. I was so young. I was like, “I want to go to college!”

AE: It could have been worse. He could have said, “I think I’m going to call you Apolongheenia.” GG: Yeah. It just didn’t seem right. But looking back, who knows where I would have been now.

AE: Two words: Vanity 6. I think you made the right rock-and-roll choice. GG: I did Prey for Rock & Roll.

AE: Great movie. I think it’s ground zero for the trend of girls calling each other “dude.” GG: Really? AE: Yeah. I think so. GG: Dude! [Laughs.] That’s good. I’m glad. I really love that movie, and I wish it had gotten a bigger release. They really screwed that one up.

AE: There’s always an afterlife on DVD. I’m sure that helps. GG: Yeah. It’s hard to find — it’s always out.

AE: Do you think writing songs is harder than acting? GG:Sometimes it’s easier, and sometimes it’s harder. For Prey for Rock & Roll, I went on tour — that’s when I started writing songs. I saw Linda Perry — we were singing at the same [event] and I said: “Dude. I want to write with you. You’re awesome.” She said, “Yeah, I bet.” She thought I was talking s— [until] I started writing with her. She was the first person I started seriously writing with.

[For In Search of Cleo] she wrote “Watch Over Me.” She said, “Here’s your single.” I love that song. She’s such a genius, and she’s so generous. And she ended up producing “Fountain of Ladies.” We did that on my birthday night as an impromptu song.

AE: Who are your musical influences? GG: My uncle was a jazz musician. I grew up going to jazz rehearsals all the time. [As] a little kid, I’d basically space out and fall asleep. I think, weirdly enough, in “Pretty Girls on Prozac” and “Cracks of Sin,” that stuff kind of snuck in there. But I have many influences, from Ruth Brown to Patsy Cline to Tom Waits to Elvis Costello. AE: So, you’re doing In Search of Cleo live all this month in New York? GG: I didn’t really want to get in a van and tour. I like the idea of sitting down and having drinking theater.

AE: As opposed to dinner theater, gotcha. That’s funny. I think wherever there’s drinking, there’s theater. GG: I want to do drinking theater, ’cause I figure whoever likes to drink, especially tequila, will like my music. I always like people to be a little bit tipsy, because they’re that much more forgiving.

AE: [Laughs.] The band does seem to get better as the night goes on. GG: [Laughs.] Exactly.

AE: I saw you playing the mouth harp on your autobiographical “Born in the Valley” MySpace video. You’re really good. GG: Thank you. Actually, that’s the best instrument I play.

AE: Maybe you should insure your lips. GG: [Laughs.] Exactly.

AE: They’re a commodity that need to be protected. GG: Listen, if someone wants to insure them… or do I have to do that? Or does someone else do it?

AE: Tina Turner’s legs were insured for a million dollars as a promotion, and I think J. Lo has insurance on her booty. GG: Maybe a lipstick contract or something? They could do it.

AE: Perfect. You know you’re a huge lesbian icon. GG: Oh, isn’t that sad.

AE: Being a cat lover only cements your status. GG: I know. I was going to originally [call the show] In Search of Cleo: A True Story of a Girl Who Lost More Than Just Her [pauses] Cat. [Laughter.] I couldn’t say “pussy” because I have a children’s book out right now [Camp Creepy Time], and my [co-author] brother had a fit.

He said, “You can’t go there because it will get in the way of [the] kids’ book selling.” So I say, A True Story of a Girl Who Lost More Than Just Her Cat, and I figure the real savvy ones get it.

AE: Gina, you know when you’re old, you’ll be the world’s hottest Crazy Cat Lady. GG:I know. People are really going to think I’m nuts after the show. You know it’s one thing I haven’t quite figured out. In acting, I’m a character actress. But this is really my story and people are, I think, going think I’m insane. Oh well.

AE: You know, we did a “Top 15 Hottest Butches” list on AfterEllen.com, and Corky came in second. GG: Second? Who came in first?

AE: Chloe Sevigny’s character from If These Walls Could Talk 2. GG: Oh f— that. I want to be number one. I want to be the number one butch.

AE: Trust me, you’re the number one butch to a lot of women. A lot. GG: That’s good.

AE: Do you think there will ever be a Bound sequel? GG: I would love to do it. If they wrote it and said “Do it,” I’d do it in a second.

AE: Nothing in the works? GG: No. Nothing.

AE: What if Cristal from Showgirls and Corky from Bound were a couple? GG: Aaagh. Too much talk.

AE: I think of Corky as a bottom. GG: Oh. Well, you fantasize about her any way you like. I would never see her that way. They’re both too controlling.

AE: I don’t know. She did anything and everything Violet wanted her to do. GG: Cristal would kill Corky. She would just would mutilate her. Corky is actually really vulnerable and sensitive, I think. And I think Cristal is just a little bit of a monster.

AE: Yeah, but that’s why I like Cristal. But you’re right, she would just eat Corky up and spit her out. GG: Yeah. Corky might have to kill her in self-defense.

For more on Gina Gershon’s latest album, visit her official website.

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