INTERVIEWS

a walk on the wild side
Dolly Magazine August 2002 Issue #382

A Walk To Remember isn't your usual teen movie. There are no gross gags, just a sweet love story. We spoke to the stars, Mandy Moore and Shane West.

mandy's big movie

This is a pretty intense film, especially for a teen movie. How did you handle the dramatic scenes and sad storyline?
For some reason it wasn't hard to get there, it was hard to get out. It really messed me up and it would ruin the rest of my day. I would go home at two in the afternoon and be in this frame of mind, it was so upsetting and so troubling. When I cry and get really upset, I get these big red rashes around my eyes. I get really upset and can't control myself, and that's what happened when we were doing one particular scene. I didn't want Shane to talk to me, I didn't want anyone to talk to me. I was in my own world, I had never been that upset before. It was really horrible.

To get to that point, did you make yourself think about really sad stuff?
I guess I just thought of scenarios. I put myself in my character Jamie's shoes and went, my god, this is someone who's so innocent and would never hurt anybody, no matter how badly they treated her. Yet for someone to turn around and hurt her for absolutely no reason, how would she feel about that - especially with everything else that's going on in her life? She's struggling with stuff that no-one really knows about, which was hard and made me really upset.

Do you think a lot of girls relate to her?
I think that they relate to her on on-hand, but also want to be more like her than they are right now. That's how I feel. She's consistent throughout the whole movie, and every other character in the story changed around her. They become better people, I think, because of her.

What were you like in high school? Were you in any cliques?
I think I was where Jamie was. I don't think Jamie is in the "geek" crowd. But she's definitely not in the popular crowd, and that's kind of how I was. I rode that fine line in-between both of them.

Do people treat you differently as a brunette?
Yeah, there is a big difference. People ask, "Don't you feel a little more anonymous as a brunette?" I don't feel any more anonymous, I actually like it better. But people do treat you differently, and I think as a blonde I didn't have more fun. I have a lot more fun being brunette. My boyfriend at the time told me that I looked more intelligent as a brunette, and I was like, "So when I go back to blonde, I'm not gonna look as intelligent? What does that mean?"

Do you remember your first kiss?
I was pretty young. I was playing a game called truth or date. I think I was in the fifth grade. I was like 11, and I kissed this boy and then we were boyfriend and girlfriend. But being together consisted of going out in a group of like 10 other people, and it was really cute. I actually just saw him four or five days ago when I went home. We're still friends. That's the way to get a kiss, man! You hook your girlfriends up with all the info. You're like, "All right, I wanna kiss that boy, so if any of you guys the chance in truth or dare you gotta dare me to kiss him."

Are you worried about being compared to Britney Spears since you've both made movies now?
Not at all. They're two completely different movies, the characters are two completely different people and we're two completely different people. I'm secure enough with what I did, and I'm secure enough and proud enough of my work. So, no, I don't let that bother me. Anyway, good for her. I'm pretty sure her movie was successful, and she deserves it. She works hard.

In the movie, you had a wish list of things you wanted to accomplish. Do you have a wish list in real life?
I have a list, but it's constantly being edited and revised. There are so many things I want to do - I want to learn how to speak French fluently. I want to go to college and study journalism, ironically. I want to continue touring around the world, not necessarily performing, but that would be nice, too. Just travelling to places that I've always wanted to go to.

Do you ever want to take a few days off and just be a normal teenager?
You know what? For the most part, no. I know that I've missed out on a lot of the social aspects of school, but I've gained so much that I couldn't have possibly learned in a text book. I honestly have had the opportunity of a lifetime, and I wouldn't swap that for anything.

all about shane

Did you know much about Mandy before this movie?
I knew of her. I knew that she was a pop singer, but I didn't really know her songs. I'm more of a rock 'n' roll guy. But you know, she was a doll, she was great. I was really hoping she didn't have this diva-type of attitude, but ended up being quite the opposite. She was completely unaffected, she was very cool and very sweet. But we were really awkward the first few days. I was going a bad time with an ex-girlfriend, and she was trying to do her thing and get into character. We didn't get truly close until probably the fifth of sixth day.

Why did you want to play Landon?
The way Landon's character developed. I was basically playing two different characters. Being the conceited, cool guy in the beginning, and then being able to drop that facade and be real, that definitely drew me to the script. I'm kind of in-between his two personalities in the movie. I was never as intense as he was. I was nicknamed the hopeless romantic in high school, so the second half of the movie was kind of familiar.

Landon does some pretty romantic things in the movie. What's the most romantic thing you've ever done for a girl?
I don't know if this is one of the most romantic things I've ever done, but with a girl that I'm kind of seeing right now, we went on a snowboarding trip. I'd never snowboarded before and she had tons of times, so for her it was a big thrill just to see me willing to take that chance. I've never skateboarded or surfed or anything like that. That was very cool for me/

Have you ever had to ask a girl's dad for permission to date her, like in the movie?
No, but I have suddenly had to meet the dad after maybe dating the person for a couple of weeks. I've had some chance meeting with the dad when I really didn't want to meet him that quickly. But parents have generally liked me. I'm very mellow and easy to get along with. And I want the person that I'm seeing to meet my parents because I want them to like her.

What was your first date like?
It was kind of crazy. I wouldn't say miserable, but it was a little strange. It was about as simple as you can get. I haven't gotten my licence, so I was driven to my date. She met me at a movie, we saw the movie together and we actually kissed. It was kind of like my first real kiss. We bumped teeth, which was very embarrassing. And then she was nice enough to point it out to me, which was even more embarrassing.

Has dating changed since you've become a celebrity?
It's still kind of new for me; it hasn't really changed my life. My first girlfriend was Rachael Leigh Cook, but when I dated her she had just started She's All That, so she was recognised sometimes. I'm not noticed all the time, but I'm recognised sometimes.

Have any girls you dated had to watch your on-screen kissing scenes?
I was seeing someone when I did Whatever It Takes, and I had a kissing scene at the very end of the movie. She got a little bit jealous. When I did Get Over It, I was single. And during A Walk To Remember, I was single, too.

Were you in the popular or geeky group during high school?
I did of did both. From the fifth to 10th grade I only had a couple of friends and I was basically in the unpopular group. But coming into the 11th grade I suddenly befriended some people that were in the popular group, and I kind of joined that at the tail end of high school. So I guess I got to see both. In the 12th grade I basically did my own thing,

You had some pretty dramatic scenes in the movie. How did you handle them?
It was kind of funny, because there was one scene where I go up to my dad and I say thanks and I break out and cry. That was probably one of the most difficult things I've ever done. Mandy and I at that point were very close and had a great, special bond. Basically, I looked at it as if it were Mandy dying of cancer and what could I do to help her.

Were you excited that one of your band's songs made it onto the soundtrack?
I was very excited when I heard that. We're called Average Joe, but that's gonna change. We've been together for about a year and a half. We've been playing around LA and have a pretty decent following.