Eva exposes reality of celebrity culture

11:23am Thursday 18th September 2008

Eva Mendes returns to the big screen in Live! a mockumentary about an ambitious reality TV show.

She discusses why she thinks people want to be famous and why she’s not bowing to Hollywood pressure to be super skinny Hollywood may be awash with botox, boob jobs and face lifts, but not every actress is caving into the pressure to be surgically enhanced and stick-thin.

In fact, despite being nicknamed ‘Bugsy’ when she was growing up because of her prominent teeth, Eva Mendes is more than happy in her own skin.

“I’m definitely not a stick figure,” she says frankly.

“I’ve always maintained the weight I’ve wanted to maintain. I make my own rules. I decided when I first started that I wasn’t going to change for anybody.”

“I feel like people respect you - especially men - more in this industry, when you’re not the vision of perfection, yet you’re your own vision, your own kind of unique individual.”

Society’s growing lust for fame and notoriety is one of the themes of Eva’s new film Live!, in which she plays a television executive under pressure to bring her network bigger ratings.

The character, Katy, hits on the idea of the ultimate reality show. It features six contestants playing Russian roulette with a revolver.

Five of its six chambers are loaded with bullets and during the show the cylinder is randomly turned, with the six firing the gun at their heads until one is killed.

"It's a film which comments on this reality TV culture we're all in," Eva explains.

"My character is one of these women who is very hungry but she's also been hired to bring her network to No. 1.

“So I actually admire her for having the balls to step up in a man's world. I know as a female, I’ve certainly had to struggle to keep my head above water in a man's world and to prevail, while still keeping my dignity and femininity intact.

“A lot of women are going to be able to relate to her in a sense, even if she goes a little further than most of us would."

Eva says she hopes the film will get audiences thinking.

“What we’re left with is a really thought provoking film. 'Is that right?', 'Is that disgusting?', 'It is disgusting but is it freedom of speech?' There are so many questions that pop up. I don’t have any answers.

“It ends up very open ended and I like that, because it lets the audience decide what’s right or wrong.”

Certainly, Live! explores a pretty extreme version of a Big Brother-style show, but even Eva can’t explain why so many people these days want their 15 minutes of fame.

“I guess it appeals to every one of us,” she says hesitantly. “Maybe it's just that little bit of excitement that they need. They're not getting it in their marriage or their job, so why not get it from TV or the internet?"

Living in Los Angeles, Eva tries not to embrace her own fame too much. She has managed to lead a fairly low-key existence, working her way up through Hollywood with films like Hitch, Once Upon A Time in Mexico and, more recently, We Own the Night with Joaquin Phoenix and Mark Wahlberg.