Exclusive: Red Carpet Interview And Photos With Michelle Monaghan

By Katey Rich: 2008-04-25 09:15:50

For my first red carpet premiere of the Tribeca Film Festival, I got to cram behind a police barrier with a bunch of journalists, a horde of photographers to my right shouting things like "Give us an over the shoulder shot! It's springtime! People want to see fashions!" My position away from the photographers meant it was tough to get photos, but I did get to chat with several of the stars and the director of Trucker, the feature debut from writer-director James Mottern. Michelle Monaghan (Gone Baby Gone, the upcoming Made of Honor) stars as a truck driver who loves her carefree life, until her estranged son shows up and forces her to make some tough decisions. Joey Lauren Adams, who was at the premiere, also stars, as does 12-year-old Jimmy Bennett, who plays Monaghan's son.

Check out my photo gallery from the event, or read my interview with Michelle Monaghan below. Later today we'll also have words from director Mottern and Bennett, who flashes a mean set of devil horns. In the gallery you can also find images of Trucker co-stars Joey Lauren Adams and Brandon Hanson, as well as Friday Night Lights star Zach Gilford, who was just showing support for a movie he likes.

What was the most important thing you learned at truck driving school?
To pull the emergency brake, really. If you don’t pull the emergency brake, that’s trouble!

Did you learn a lot from the people there with you? One of the most extraordinary things about the whole process of finding the character, spending time with these women who had been truck drivers for 30 years. I went on short hauls with them. These people are [seen with] a lot of misperceptions. A lot of people think they’re uneducated. They’re incredibly educated. They’re free spirits, and they love the open road, and it was important for me not to misrepresent them.

Did you surprise people when you told them you were doing the role?
I guess! I don’t know. I certainly surprised myself. I knew that I really wanted to take a smaller film, and I didn’t know if I’d really be able to drive a truck. I guess I really surprised myself to do that. I love that balance, of having big movies and small movies.

Did you make this after doing Gone Baby Gone and The Heartbreak Kid?
I actually started this about a month after Gone Baby Gone.

Is it hard to switch back and forth between talking about this and Made of Honor?
Yeah, yeah, they’re totally different! See, that’s great. They were both so much fun to shoot—just different, you know. That’s the great thing about acting. You get to have all these different experiences, and they’re amazing. The best job in the whole world.

You had such a great character in Gone Baby Gone, and again in Trucker you’re playing a tough female character. Strong roles for women are hard to find—how do you do it?
Honest to God, I’m really just looking for roles. These are just roles that I identify with. I don’t necessarily seek them out. It’s just what I read and I respond to. These roles are not one-dimensional. They’re multi-dimensional, they’re real women, and those are the roles that I [like].

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