Jennifer Aniston may not have the best luck when it comes to finding Mr. Right, but her co-star in the upcoming comedy “The Switch”, Juliette Lewis, seems to think the 41-year-old starlet is pretty close to perfect.

“Jen was simply a piece of heaven,” Lewis recently told Pop Tarts while stripping down to her underwear and busily trying on the new Fall/winter 2010 collection at the G-Star Raw showroom in Los Angeles. “Just a real girls’ girl – really down to earth, funny and absolutely wonderful. I play her best friend and I am kind of daffy, but we just had a natural affinity for each other.” But Aniston’s not Lewis’ only co-star with whom she remains friendly. She opened up about her co-stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Johnny Depp, with whom she starred in the 1993 hit “What’s Eating Gilbert Grape.”

“Leo I’ve seen from time to time, it’s funny because when you share an experience with people like that – I feel like we went to boot camp together or high school, like we grew up together,” Lewis said. “I remember working on ‘Gilbert Grape,’ and I was older than him by like, one year but it was such a big deal, like I was so grown-up. Johnny Depp I haven’t seen in a long time, and then Brad (Pitt, ex-fiancee and co-star in ‘Kalifornia’) and I run into each other on and off and we say hello and that is really nice.”

The 36-year-old Oscar nominee has certainly explored an array of wild and troublesome behaviors over the years (she was arrested for driving illegally at 15 and again at 16 for sneaking into clubs, wore cornrows in her hair to the Academy Awards, went to rehab in her early twenties to kick a drug and alcohol addiction in which she turned to Scientology for help and even groped new mom Cate Blanchett at the Cannes Film Festival in 2008).

But in spite of all that, Lewis felt it most important to clear up any misconceptions that she has a short fuse.

“I don’t have an explosive temper, people seem to think that – maybe somewhere lives the lion in my cage,” she continued. “But I’m actually kind of goofy.”

And while not many celebs would consciously choose to step away from Hollywood (not to mention give interviews in their underwear), this self-confessed “freak” is certainly a rare exception.

“I’m doing movies again, I hadn’t done a movie in 5 years, which was a really big deal for me and it was very deliberate,” Lewis added. “Because when I started music I meant it so it wasn’t just ‘Oh let me do a show on the weekend.’ For me it was embarking on this spiritual rock and roll journey, I didn’t know if I would succeed or not. I’m still an underground artist, a little freak artist – but music is my livelihood now, so I only make for the sheer love and obsession of the projects. I’m not making movies to cultivate a career which is a very liberating.”

Source: FOXNews.com

UNIQUE: “I … like something that’s always a little amiss,” Juliette Lewis says. (Stuart Pettican)

LA Times bring us with an amazing interview with Juliette, done on backstage at the Greek Theatre. Read some excerpts:

Backstage at the Greek Theatre, Juliette Lewis is one hot mess. After opening for the Pretenders and Cat Power, the singer-actress’ dark, choppy hair clings damply to her neck; smeared glitter eye shadow sparkles on her cheeks; and the toe of one boot (black with vaguely Victorian gold buttons up the sides) is held together with tape. The centerpiece of her ensemble — a red, single-sleeved romper made of metallic Lycra and sequins with a regal plume of feathers at one shoulder — looks like the result of a collision between Mötley Crüe and the Moulin Rouge.

It’s hard to say who, exactly, she most resembles: the pout and smudged eyeliner are pure Mick Jagger, the feathers are a bit Brian Eno and Lewis herself name-checks Mad Max. One thing for sure: She looks like a rock star should.

“I finally got a real stylist!”

You can read the full interview here at LA Times

Captures are on the way, as too pictures of last Juliette’s appearances.

Captures added:

Television » Talk Shows: The Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson – September 07, 2009 – Screencaptures

On a sweltering summer evening at New York’s Central Park SummerStage, actress turned musician Juliette Lewis bounces onto the stage dripping in multicolored sequins and issues a strict order: “I’m going to give you energy, you’re going to give some back, and then we’re going to double it, triple it!”

The star of Natural Born Killers and Cape Fear (which earned her an Oscar nomination) seems to approach music with the same fearlessness she brings to the screen, unleashing stage performances that are raw, kinetic, frenzied, possessed. She currently shares a touring bill with Cat Power and The Pretenders, and opens each show by riling up the audience, even if it takes jumping into the crowd or taunting the quiet ones in the bleachers. In contrast to the long line of famous Hollywood actors who have tackled music careers only to end up limping away in humiliated defeat, Ms. Lewis has been going strong for six years—touring relentlessly during that time—and she fully intends to stay.

Not that she’s abandoning Hollywood, mind you. Lewis has wrapped two films this year, including Whip It, directed by Drew Barrymore, and Mark Ruffalo’s directorial debut, Sympathy for Delicious. She is also set to star alongside Hilary Swank in the drama Betty Anne Waters, and with Jennifer Aniston in the romantic comedy The Baster. Her sophomore album, Terra Incognita, comes out on September 1, and she plans to promote it by taking her own solo show on the road.

VF Daily caught up with Lewis backstage at Central Park to discuss footlights and spotlight, Bowie and Barrymore, and more.

There are so many famous Hollywood actors who have gone into music unsuccessfully. What sets you apart?

I am independent to the core. I started this by finding a group, putting it together. There was no management conglomerate, no major label. I put my own money into it initially. For two years you don’t make any money! It was a really scary time because I was pulling the plug on my main source of income … all I’ve known for 15 years. That’s also the “terra incognita,” going into the land of the unknown. The only way I was going to know if the music was going to succeed was if I went for broke. I’ve got to tour as hard and as completely as any young band would.

Were you worried about what people were going to think?

No. I was so focused on the practicality of making this happen, and taking care of myself. I can’t afford to cancel a show—there is a magnifying glass, they’ll think you’re a diva. I’ve canceled one show in six years and that was because I had bronchitis. I always knew I’d cut my teeth by going out into the Wild West, the unknown, to find my believers. I didn’t think about naysayers … being an actress and playing the roles I’ve done, I’ve always been an outsider, the odd one.

How do you transition between singing for large audiences and acting on intimate sets? Does one influence the other?

I hadn’t done movies in four years [when I started], but because of being on the road I feel more vital as an artist, that I have more to offer, more vigor. I feel more adventurous and out of my head.

How much did your singing in Natural Born Killers and Strange Days influence your choice to go into rock ’n’ roll?

Any time I had to sing, I felt very precious about it. I knew I was keeping this secret. When singing a capella in the jail cell in Natural Born Killers, I was very nervous because I was letting the bird out of the cage. Strange Days reminded me, “You better get to it. You’re ignoring something.”

Which musicians inspired you to go for it?

I’m drawn to unique forces like Iggy Pop, David Bowie, and Mick Jagger. There was a time, like in the late 70s, when you could mix mediums all the time. I’m drawn to artists that I feel I have a kinship with. Grace Jones, she’s one of the biggest, and Tina Turner, Patti Smith—the people who understand sound and vision and the whole relationship to it.

Speaking of strong female voices, you just finished filming Whip It, which features a predominantly female cast and a female director [Drew Barrymore]. What was that like?

It was amazing. There are not many female stories [being told]. We all trained really hard—a month to two months. We would wake up and do yoga, strength training, and then four hours of roller derby. There was such gorgeous camaraderie on the set. That’s the spirit of Drew. She creates that environment. I play a baddie in the film, which was difficult because I’m not a bully.

What’s it like right now working on an all-female tour?

It’s been a love fest all around. The first night of the tour, I was watching Chrissie [Hynde of The Pretenders] from the side of the stage just beaming like a kid on Christmas! She gives me a future. You look at her, and you see an artist in all her power. I don’t see age or sex. I see an artist that is a force of nature.

Would you ever want to merge your two professions by playing a famous musician on film?

I have this idea … I want to do a Fellini-esque or Terry Gilliam style surrealistic rock ’n’ roll fantasy. That would be my ideal.

What about, say, playing Janis Joplin?

It’s tricky playing a real person. The thing about film is it’s a very technical medium, it hinges on a good script, an amazing filmmaker, money … I don’t have a dying necessity to mix the two. Of all the people I’d want to play, sure Janis, or Patti Smith, but Patti Smith is not into that idea. I met her.

Did you run that idea by her?

Yeah, she’s not, uh, you know … that’s very hard …

O.K., since you have a lot of films coming out, was there any particular character that you related to in the same way you relate to your music?

No, that’s just me. [Music] has nothing to do with any roles I’ve done.

So you never have any crossover when you go into a role?

Music I do! Not mine. I can tell you every kind of music I was listening to during roles … Natural Born Killers, I was listening to Jimi Hendrix, [the songs] “Killing Floor” and “Voodoo Child.” For Cape Fear I listened to all of the torch singers, Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holliday, women full of longing and torment. I did a play in London, [Sam Shepard's] Fool for Love, and I would listen to Pink Floyd and Chet Baker, anything to make me full of sobbing.

If you could bring your album to life in a few words, who or what is it?

It’s a little pixie in a Mad Max world. Contradictions!

Source: Vanity Fair
By: Andi Teran

Is it hard to switch gears straight from doing a movie to doing music?

It used to be, but now I find that songwriting and acting, drama, they feed each other. I’m a better actress because I’m a songwriter, and I’m a better songwriter because I work with drama and emotion. Yesterday I played an alcoholic, downtrodden, forty year old – they aged me with makeup. That was intense, but I love it. When you make movies, it seems pretty darn relaxed after you’ve toured on a bus or a van for two years. I’ve toured in a van, so I know that a bus is a luxury.

How did you go about putting together the band, and can you talk a little bit about how this project differs from your previous musical project?

This band I got with a friend named Chris Watkins who I wrote most of my record with who I’ve known for about 9 years. We just sat down after I was touring for 2 years and started writing, it was like the key to unlock these songs that had been sitting there dormant. I wrote a song called “Hard Loving Woman” that was just a sentence until I worked with Chris, and then we wrote it in 15 minutes. I didn’t know that we’d be in a band, I was just writing a record. I wanted to challenge myself to write deeper melodies, to use the guitar more as an atmospheric instrument rather than just producing muscular rhythm. It’s different colors, but it’s all very much me. I just wrote a record I wanted to write – haunting songs, slow songs, fucking angst-ridden songs, this is all of it.

What are some of your personal goals as a musician and what are the goals for the band as a band?

I made it another Juliette and the project, because when I’m collaborating with three or more people, I name it for the sound, so it’s Juliette and the new romantic, but not the old romantic, the new romantic. It’s innocence and decay, and dreaming and despair. We could wind up writing another record as a band, I’m kind of loving the way we sound together.
People have so many preconceived notions because I come from film.
They think I have a house in Aspen, that I have dwarves carrying my luggage on a red carpet

How did you first get involved in music? How did we get to this point?

When I was about 9, I took piano lessons. I was a constant daydreamer, I lived in my imagination. For a long time called myself an emotionalist – I’d like to think I made the word up, but I’m sure I didn’t. I took piano, but I quit that. I quit everything because I was terrible with teachers. I got very successful with acting, and that sort of took me away from music.

Before I turned thirty, I was like ‘Fuck this, I gotta start a band. It’s now or never. I never want to be 50 looking back, thinking oh, shit, it would have been fun if I’d explored a songwriting journey, so I started a band. That was 5 years ago. When I started the band, it was all about fighting my fear. I used to be scared of crowds, and of the new and untried.

Are there any unique challenges you face because of your existing career?

Oh, yeah. I’m like the bearded lady, the Cyclops, the curiosity factor, the circus freak. It started with when the Licks we went on the Warped Tour, which was the first tour I went on. Not only was I an actress doing music, I was also a female playing very male-dominated rock ‘n’ roll, and I was one of the only female-fronted bands out of 60. I was the underdog of underdogs there, but it’s always been my perverse pleasure, I’ve always felt like an outsider.

Are there any things in particular you’re looking forward to about playing in Ausitn during SXSW?

Oh my gosh, so many things. Just sharing the stage at Emo’s with the Circle Jerks and Echo and the Bunnymen is a thrill. I’m really curious to see whose going to show up and check us out. I’m playing mostly new songs, and I’m just into the whole adventure of it. I hope to see some other acts when I’m there. I heard Devo is playing – I wrote down some other guys I want to see.

Juliette and the New Romantiques will be playing the SXSW showcase tonight at Emo’s. They will also be performing at several other parties and events through March 21. For a full listing, go to the band’s MySpace page.

Source: austinist.com

Citing a desire to strike out in new directions, Lewis disbanded the group in 2009, forming the New Romantiques soon after. The resulting album, “Terra Incognita,” produced by The Mars Volta’s Omar Rodriguez-Lopez, is exhilarating and exhausting — spacey, Latin-tinged, tribal, grungy, droney, occasionally bluesy and even, just for a second, a little country. The sonic variance, though, is anchored by Lewis’ gravelly, brazen yowl, which sounds like Patti Smith one minute and Kim Deal the next. Billboard caught up with Lewis by phone when she was in central Italy in the middle of a European tour.

Billboard: Where are you right now?

Juliette Lewis: Napoli. I’ve never been here. It’s a time-table Rubik’s Cube lining up press, but touring’s great … It’s an endurance test on the senses. Yesterday was a 12-hour airport extravaganza. It was like serving prison time, but my band and I are so goofy, and we joke around and it’s fine. We did it all on four hours’ sleep — but it’s so great: You get onstage, you push yourself to the limit.

Billboard: The first noticeable thing about “Terra Incognita” is that it covers an incredible amount of sonic ground.

Lewis: It’s a smorgasbord. It’s filled with sonic contrast, and the sonic contrast represents human and my contradictions. I always call myself an emotionalist. I feel. When I wrote this album I felt disillusioned and optimistic. I felt innocent and vulnerable as much as I felt cynical and strong.

That’s my emotional context, so the sonic contrast of (the record) fit. The heavy bottom — the drum sounds are so f—ing meaty — anchors it, and the guitar textures accentuate the story. Omar was the perfect producer for that.

Billboard: Rodriguez-Lopez has said he’s meticulous and hard to work with. What was your experience like?

Lewis: He’s not that way with me. With his own stuff he cracks the whip in a very particular way. He’s a conductor, he’s a mad conductor. He literally conducts with his hands and his mouth — he beatboxes it. But in this case I was the artist, so I was hard to deal with. Not really!

Our union, though, was a match made in heaven. He’s much more versed in music and he’s a bit of a genius, but we speak similarly because he hears riffs and to him it’s connected to everything else — to the stars and people and cinema.

Billboard: So how did the recording process work then?

Lewis: I would talk my wacky language to him and he’d interpret it to the drummer. I’d say, “I want it to sound like Zeus woke up from a nap and he’s pissed and there’s an opening in the clouds and he starts handing out lightning bolts,” which is crazy, but that’s how I hear the rhythm. And Omar, he whispers some things to the drummer, and that’s exactly what it sounds like. It really encouraged the songwriter within me.

Billboard: Do your acting and songwriting come from the same place?

Lewis: They’re interrelated. It’s like a painter who’s painting with oil, then you decide, “I’m only going to make junk art.” You’re still an artist, your medium is different. Now I work with sounds but I still connect with that center. It’s all a sense of surrender and an attempt to connect.

Acting is me, but music is even more me. It’s everything. It’s the bitch’s brew. It’s my past self, present and future, and then my imagination. Being an actor is like being a bass player, one of the component parts to the collective hole.

Billboard: And so fronting the New Romantiques is like being the writer-director?

Lewis: Yeah, it’s the writer-director and … (laughs) I don’t know if the metaphor fully translates, but yeah, the writer and director — and the emotionalist.

news.yahoo.com

What sort of fears do you face?
Starting a rock ’n’ roll band at the age of 30 and pursuing my love of musical expression, not knowing how the fuck I was going to do it, where I would begin, what kind of music I would even do. It’s like
renegade filmmakers who never went to art school. It’s really about finding your voice.

Did you have any sort of formal acting training?
I took three little classes when I was 11 with this lady in her backyard. The third time I went to her door, a person told me she died. So I never went back to class after that.

From whom did you learn the most?
I learned from Oliver Stone that I am my own worst enemy. One time, I was putting myself down on set, saying stuff like, Why should we do the take again? I suck. And then he said, “Juliette, nobody wants to hear that shit.” He basically told me to knock it off, and from that day forth, I’ve never again voiced that kind of negativity.

The Interview is long so click here to read more

And they’re not waiting to check out the latest Harry Potter book.

Tonight in Morecambe, one of Hollywood’s finest will be performing live and it’s without a doubt the hottest ticket in town.

Announced only a fortnight ago, the ‘Get it Loud in Libraries’ gig will see A-Lister Juliette Lewis (known for her roles in Natural Born Killers and Cape Fear) perform on the humble library stage.
Arriving at the venue, Juliette shows few signs of her celebrity status, happily posing for photographs before being whisked off for a sound check.

Such is the rock ‘n’ roll life. Juliette has barely touched down on Morecambe soil after a gruelling journey from America, when she’s thrust into the media spotlight.

“I’ve been thinking about this show for weeks actually,” she enthuses.
“Just the idea of having a rock ‘n’ show in a library is very funny. I love it. And this library’s really beautiful.”

Having ‘prepared herself’ by watching online clips of Lancaster Library’s ‘Get it Loud’ gigs, Juliette is eager to take to the stage later.

“I saw a film of one of these gigs and it sounded incredible, “she explained.

“That’s what you want to know as a musician – that it’s gonna sound good.

“The sound is pretty massive. It’s bigger and more rocking than some little rock clubs.”

But, believe it or not, it’s not the only ‘unusual’ location that Juliette has played in.

“You wouldn’t believe where I’ve played – I’ve played a casino, on a boat in Amsterdam, even a lunch cafeteria in a school.
“I love doing anything new and untried because that’s what I’ve been doing on this little rock and roll journey.

“I really love all these peculiar places – it’s one of my favourite aspects of touring.”

That said, she’s quick to admit she hasn’t set foot inside a library for “a very long time”, let alone performed in one.
“I can’t even remember when I checked a book out of a library,” she says.
“Recently, I picked my mum up from a library – but I was only in the parking lot. That doesn’t count.

“I hope libraries are not a dying medium, because it’s kind of nice.”
With new album, ‘Terra Incognita’ out in September this year, Juliette is keen to give fans in Morecambe a taster of her material and makes it clear her musical career is no hobby.

“I think after five years, three records and touring the globe three or four times, you could say I’m very serious about this.

“The music is a very personal endeavour in that I oversee everything, from the cover art of the albums, leading my band and the lyrics. It’s very fulfilling.

“Now, when I do movies I’m like: ‘phew’ – and it gets kind of boring very quickly.

“For the first couple of weeks I’m like: ‘wow, this is easy breezy’ and I can sort of relax, as I’m not the boss, or making business decisions.

“But I love the whole process (of making music) and I love writing the songs. ‘Terra Incognita’ is a proper record. The sounds are a bit different – the guitar’s more atmospheric and strange and it’s less straight up rock and roll. I’m kind of happy with the set.”
It’s certainly clear Juliette’s raring to go.

“I’m expecting to turn everybody into 10-year-olds (tonight), where they wanna rip the books off the shelves – but we’re not going to.”

Playing to a relatively small crowd in a tiny seaside resort is undoubtedly a far cry from Juliette’s star studded life, but it’s clear from the off that she’s very much looking forward to the show.

“(I love) that connection with people. It’s really special and deep and I think music is spiritual – I love it.”

Such is Juliette’s commitment to the band, she’s even had to turn down the odd film role.

“At the very beginning I did (turn down roles) a lot, as I wanted to tour like any young band would tour.

“I only had Christmas and a couple of weekends off, but I was happy to do that.

“I made movies for 15 years, you know. I have done some movies recently, but I really wanted to take care of the music and the band and find my audience.”

For now, though, Juliette’s audience is right here in Morecambe and by the look of things, she couldn’t have hoped for a better one.

When she arrives on stage just before 9pm (following a fantastic support set by Brighton’s Telegraphs), Juliette’s all smiles as she’s greeted by her adoring fans.

Sporting skin-tight trousers, silver top and black fingerless gloves, she swaggers about the stage, leaping into the throng, high-fiving the audience and planting kisses on unsuspecting fans.

“Has anyone played here before?” she asks.

“Only me? That’s what I like to hear!”

Joking that we’re ‘in detention’, Juliette shouts: “I think we all got a bit misty-eyed up here, but we put some energy back into these books” before thanking Morecambe for their hospitality.

“Thanks for having me! I love the name, Morecambe. It sounds Medieval, right?”

Later, Juliette and her band stick around to sign autographs and pose for photos.

Nineteen-year-old Lizzy Nicholson and 23-year-old Jenny Woodhouse have been manning Juliette’s merchandise stall.

“It was a really good gig,” says Lizzy, “It’s a shame some people missed it because it was amazing!”

Jenny adds: “It was really energetic and everyone was enjoying themselves. It was so fun.”

David Crossley from Ulverston was one of the lucky few to be kissed by Juliette. “Did you see that?,” he asks.

“It was amazing, fully exhilarating. I’m going to marry the bass player and stalk the band to Italy.”

Stewart Parsons, organiser of Get it Loud in Libraries is thrilled with the night.

“Juliette Lewis delivered glamour, class and great rock ‘n’ roll that showcased what Get it Loud is all about”, he beams.

“It’s all about giving people in a library a great time and making libraries irresistible.”

Source: www.thevisitor.co.uk