As Lucy Diamond, the lesbian criminal mastermind who knows firsthand that “love is harder than crime,” Jordana Brewster makes being bad look good in out filmmaker Angela Robinson’s wicked funny D.E.B.S. However, when Lucy and perfect scoring spy Amy (Sara Foster), who is out to prevent Lucy from committing further evil deeds, meet face to face, the concept of handcuffs take on a whole new, erotic meaning. Kitschy and wacky and sexy and silly, D.E.B.S. takes lesbian cinema to a whole new height of hilarity. Brewster, who some will recognize from her film roles in The Faculty and The Fast and The Furious, among others, gives Lucy her delightful and distinctive sparkle.
AfterEllen.com: Had you seen Angela Robinson’s original short film version of D.E.B.S.? Jordana Brewster: I did. I read the script first and then I met Angela and then I saw the short. I had seen it before we started shooting.
AE: Did that have any effect on your taking a role in the feature-length version? JB: I really liked the campiness of it. I liked the humor a lot. I just wanted to make sure the love scene was a little less graphic (smiles) in the film, which it was, as Angela assured me it would be since she was going for a PG13 (rating). I would have done it anyway, because I really liked Angela and I loved the script.
AE: Playing super-spies and criminal masterminds with humor at a time when the country is at war–how important is it to have escapist comedies such as D.E.B.S. at a time such as this? JB: Angela has said that she makes unabashedly, feel-good, fuzzy movies, which is what it is. If you leave the theater without a smile on your face, then you’re really a curmudgeon (laughs). I think escapism is really important. Yes, I think movies should illuminate and teach, but that’s for a certain genre. For this genre it should be a hundred percent entertainment, which is what it is.
AE: Lucy “can hold the whole world hostage, but is scared of going on a blind date.” How do you feel about blind dates? JB: I will not go on a blind date. Ever! I’m the exact same way. I went to an all-girls school and then I started working when I was fifteen, so I’m not very socially apt when it comes to dating.
AE: To get to Amy (Sara Foster), Lucy penetrates a force field and scales the side of a building. Have you ever been so strongly attracted to someone that you would do something similar? JB: You feel like you would, I guess, during the infatuation stage. So, yeah, I can relate to that.
AE: Amy is writing a paper on Lucy for one of her classes and is genuinely excited about meeting her face to face. Have you ever had a similar experience in which you came face to face with someone that you admired in the same way? JB: Oscar night is a ridiculous night where you go to these parties and you see everyone that you’ve ever wanted to work with and admire. It’s so surreal, but I think you’d have a heart attack if you ever allowed yourself to absorb it all. You kind of just float through it like a dream.
AE: At the heart of D.E.B.S. is a stylish “collegiate lesbian fling.” What is it about college life that encourages this kind of youthful indiscretion? JB: I think that unless you grew up in New York or Chicago or Los Angeles, you’re sheltered. You’re at home, your parents are watching what you’re doing, your friends are probably a little narrow-minded, or it’s cliquey and kids are really mean to each other. So, as soon as you have that independence, you can just explore who you are.
AE: Did you do any special preparation for your on-screen kiss with Sara Foster that you might have done differently for any other on-screen kiss? JB: No. I think it justified a couple of wine coolers (laughs), but we probably would have had a couple of wine coolers anyway (laughs). That was the only thing we did. It’s just the same. The real issue there is having to kiss in front of the DP (director of photography), the make-up artist, the AD (assistant director), the director. That’s the most mortifying aspect, not really kissing a girl.
AE: Are you prepared to become a lesbian sex symbol after D.E.B.S. opens in theaters across the country? JB: I would love nothing more. Honestly? I want there to be a cult following for this movie. Why not? I would love that. I think it would be great if people dressed as D.E.B.S. for Halloween. I think it would be wonderful if that happens.
AE: In light of the good working relationship that you had with Angela, do you foresee working with her again in the future? JB: I’d be honored to work with her again. I just hope that she doesn’t change. I was observing her at the premiere and she’s so happy and so grateful. She just directed a huge Disney movie, Herbie: Fully Loaded, and she still has not changed. She’s so cool. I really hope that Hollywood doesn’t change her in any way.
AE: Do you have any interest in getting behind the camera? JB: Directing? No. I feel like directing is an innate talent. I’m producing, yes. I already have a production company called J Squared and we’re working on two projects. That’s fun, to edit the script and work with the line producer and get involved in every other facet of making the movie.
AE: What about writing a screenplay? JB: No, that’s another creative thing where I feel like you have to be good at it from the get go.
AE: Are you interested in doing any stage work? JB: I would. I’m petrified, understandably, right now. And also, after taking four years off for college, I can’t really take time off and not focus on my film career yet. But in the future, that would be great.
AE: Are there any recently finished or upcoming film projects about which you are especially excited? JB: Yeah. I finished a project last summer called Nearing Grace, which is probably going to be at the Los Angeles Film Festival and TriBeCa. It’s a coming of age story set in the seventies. The one I’m most excited about is Annapolis, which was directed by Justin Lin and it’s with James Franco and Tyrese.
