'Golden Girl'

Interview in 'Teen' / November 1995

We met up with Anna Chlumsky who stars as Christina Ricci's unlikely pal in

Universal Pictures' 'Gold Diggers': The Secret of Bear Mountain. She 'fessed

up about (what else!) friends - on camera, off the set and at school.

Do you have a best friend?

Actually, I have a couple of best friends. One friend I've known since we

were two years old, another since the sixth grade and another I met at high

school. I also have a friend who is an adult. I met him while I was doing a

play in Chicago, and he's 23 years old. He just moved to Los Angeles, so we

only talk every few weeks.

How do you maintain your friendships, especially when you're away?

Luckily, I love to write and talk on the phone. I also invite friends to

visit me when I'm on location. It's fun because I get to show them around

and they get to meet celebrities.

What is your favorite way to spend a day off with a friend?

I like to go to a Cubs or a White Sox game - I like to watch, not play! - or

do something all day long like go to an amusement park.

Do you ever feel left out or like you've missed something when you call your

friends from a movie location? Stuff must happen to your friends while

you're away.

Yes! I'll be on the phone with them and they'll tell me something that

happened. Like last year I missed the first day of high school because I was

filming 'Gold Diggers'. I missed the whole first month, so when I came back

everyone was used to it and I was like 'What do I do?'

Are your friends at school used to the idea of going to school with a

celebrity?

In the beginning people went nuts. They would say, "She's in 'My girl',

she's in 'My Girl'." But then they got used to it. Some people would tease

me, but they're not my friends. They don't know me.

How about people on the set? Does the pressure of making a movie make it

harder to get to know people?

There isn't really any pressure at all. You're with these people for a long

time, so if you don't get along, then where are you? It's funny because on

each movie I seem to make friends with different departements, like sound or

lights. It was great, because on 'My Girl 2' a lot of the same people worked

on it. So it was like a big reunion.

Have you kept in touch with any one person you've worked with on a movie?

My mom calls a few of them, but mostly I keep in touch over the holidays.

You should see my Christmas card list!

Did you draw on your own experiences with friends while preparing for your

role as Jody?

Yes. I would imagine one of my friends in the place of Christina Ricci's

character, Beth. I would think, "What would I do if this was Joy and she

needed my help?"

Did you and Christina Ricci become friends?

Yeah, we're friends. They would put us together a lot for certain subjects

during school, so we became friends.

Do you think you'll have a reunion with the people you met on 'Gold Diggers:

The Secret of Bear Mountain'?

No! I already did one sequel, and that's enough! Anyway, the ending of the

movie wouldn't really be good for one.

What's next?

Well, I have a few things I'm thinking about, but nothing is for sure, so I

can't say anything. I don't think I'll start a new movie until the summer.

so it looks like I will get to stay this whole year at school!