Penelope Wilhern (Christina Ricci), born to wealthy socialites (Catherine O’Hara and Robert E. Grant), is afflicted by the Wilhern spell that can only be broken when she finds love.  Hidden away in her family’s estate, the lonely girl meets a string of suitors in her parent’s futile attempt to break the curse.  Each eligible bachelor is enamored with Penelope and her sizable dowry … until her curse is revealed.

Lemon (Peter Dinklage), a mischievous and eager tabloid reporter wants a photograph of the mysterious Penelope and hires Max (James McAvoy) to pose as a prospective suitor to get the shot.  The handsome down-on-his luck gambler finds himself falling for Penelope, but not wanting to disappoint her or to expose his surreptitious ways, he decides to disappear.

Fed up by his latest betrayal and determined to live life on her own terms, Penelope breaks free from her family and ventures into the world alone.  She finds adventure and Annie, her first friend (Reese Witherspoon) and becomes the person she was meant to be.

Anyway, awhile back they held a press day and I was able to participate in a roundtable interview with Christina. She talked about making the movie, the prosthetics, why the role was important to her, and of course we talked about “Speed Racer.”

As usual, if you’d like to hear the audio from the interview, you can click here for the MP3. And if you want to know more on “Penelope,” here are some movie clips and the trailer. Again, “Penelope” opens this Friday.

Question: When did you go blond?

Christina Ricci: A month or two ago? They cut it for Speed Racer into like a big stream bob then dyed it black. Then I thought it would be a little bit easier to grow out if it wasn’t black. When it was like that it was Louise Brooks. It was a little intense. I don’t need to see this much of my face, ever.

Q: The film finally to be coming out?

Christina Ricci: It’s great. It’s great. I really have loved this movie from the beginning and I just thought it’s a really valuable movie to have out there in the marketplace for people to see and sort of get the message of.

Q Why did the date keep sliding?

CR: I don’t know.

Q: Why do people judge each other for the way they look?

CR: Physical attraction? I don’t know. Don’t they say it’s some kind of biological imperative kind of thing? I’ve heard you are looking for the immune system that will fill in the blanks in yours. There is some other biological one I’ve heard somewhere. I’m not sure. Also, you are supposed to be attracted to your parents. That happens. Somebody finds a father figure or a mother figure.

Q: Behind the mirror though?

CR: Well, I think she does have a big nose. It is an abnormality and I think that it would be something you would definitely have to get past. So I don’t blame them for their initial reaction being a bit shocked or startled. I don’t think they have to run screaming, but I definitely think it’s proven with James’ character that once he does talk to her and he does get to know her and they do click, they do respond to each other on an emotional level. But then when he sees her it is something he’s taken aback by, but literally sees her and see what she’s probably had to deal with for her whole life and all that stuff, and you can tell in that scene, which is beautifully played by James because you get the feeling what he’s thinking about, oh god, she’s had to deal with this forever, and thinking about who she is in spite of it and all that stuff. But I mean, we are all very superficial.

Q: Did you wear the nose off set?

CR: I would go in my trailer and sometimes I’d be about to walk out to the Sock Shop and then realize that I had my nose on and I wasn’t allowed to leave.

Q: How did you like wearing it?

CR: I got used to it, but I had this rule that I couldn’t touch it or acknowledge it until 4 in the afternoon or 3 hours before wrap because if I started at the beginning of the day I would just be irritated by it all day, but if I waited until then it was only 3 hours of me being like, oh, get this thing off of me!

Q: The makeup process?

CR: Initially they did a face cast. And then Scott, who did the prosthetic, he’s just started building and working on the noses and prosthetics and had to make them look the most seamless. And he does that work while I’m not around, and I just come to set and they do one. They just glue it on your face. I fell asleep a lot. We had a couple different noses that they tested at one point. Mark and Scott had this really hideous, awfully unattractive snout that they wanted. And then there was this really cute Miss Piggy snout. All the girls were like, oh no, we should have that one. And so we ended up meeting somewhere in the middle.

Q: The most important message in the film?

CR: I think for me the most important message is to not allow your insecurities and the criticism that other people put on you to cripple you and to keep you from living your life. Penelope is literally trapped in a house because she’s ugly. And what better metaphor for people not going out and enjoying life or seeing amazing things or going to the beach because you think you are fat or something. People are not experiencing life because they are so insecure that they are literally crippled and trapped. So for me I think that’s a huge message in it that I think people need to learn a little bit earlier. That would be a great thing to teach your children. And also, the message in the movie in the end is self-acceptance. And she ends up loving herself. She ends up appreciating all the qualities that make her who she is, and not attaching anything negative to, it is what it is. And it only has to be negative if you let it be.

Q: What does this teach you about love?

CR: I think it’s the first time she’s really liked anyone who’s been in there. I think he’s very soulful and she hasn’t seen a lot of men like that and mostly they are superficial, and he’s mysterious to her. And I think in the end she doesn’t understand that his look is, not sympathetic, because he doesn’t feel sorry for her, but more empathetic. And when he won’t marry her, he has honesty. That love is honest.

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