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One of the world’s brightest and most beautiful women,
Isabella Rossellini is also one of its most enthusiastic animalrights
activists, a Nature Conservancy advocate—and star
of a new insect-themed documentary series,
Green Porno.
by Lucinda Rosenfeld • photographs by Robert Ascroft for Artistrepinc.com
ISABELLA ROSSELLINI could spend all her time relaxing poolside
on the Côte d’Azur and no one would think less of her. But instead, the
legendary screen siren-turned-filmmaker has been working overtime, dressing
up in creepy-crawler costumes that look like they were borrowed from an
elementary school play, and, what’s more, simulating sex acts with giant paper
cutouts of fireflies, spiders, snails, and worms. The impetus behind such kinky
activities? Green Porno, a series of eight eye-popping and informative short
films about the mating habits of insects and other creatures, made in conjunction
with the Sundance Channel. In her debut behind the lens, Rossellini even
directed three of the installments and codirected the others.
When not making movies, the star of Blue Velvet and the upcoming film The
Accidental Husband has also been busy saving the planet—she’s even been
honored for her work with the Nature Conservancy, which protects the shores
and shellfish of Long Island, and for her efforts in raising dogs for the blind.
We caught up with her at her beautiful Bellport home and talked about
bugs, bulbs, and, of course, the birds and the bees.
HAMPTONS: How did you come to be interested in the mating habits
of insects?
ISABELLA ROSSELLINI: I was always interested—since I was a child,
really—in animal behavior, in their sexuality, in how they raise their babies,
and in what they eat. I’m a bird watcher. The Sundance Channel, with
whom I was already working, contacted me a few months ago and said they
were doing an experiment with web/mobile communication and would like
to produce short films [for that purpose], no longer than two minutes each.
It was an opportunity to use my personal knowledge and interest in nature.
I knew insects have these very odd ways of mating, and I thought it might be
fun to do a series of films that illustrated that.
H: Of all the creatures you depict in Green Porno, which one do you
relate to the most?
IR: I don’t really relate to the insects; it’s the variety that interests me. I
can’t say I’d prefer being a hermaphrodite [such as an earthworm or snail]
to something else.
H: It’s interesting that you chose to play the male insect in all the
shorts. How did you make this casting choice?
IR: It was not a conscious decision. Halfway through filming, I realized that
I was often playing the male. The first one we shot was the spider. The
female is four or five times bigger than the male. She also stays put, so it was
easier to do a paper cutout of her. Often the male is the one who moves.
Later, I realized it was funnier to play the male.
H: Your teenage son, Roberto, plays another of the male bees. What
was it like to share the stage with him and, in particular, to “compete”
with him for the attention of the future queen bee?
IR: It was fun. Roberto enjoys being with me, and I with him, and he was
curious about filmmaking. His friends played the other male bees.
| The complete article appears on page 70 in the Spring 2008 issue of Hamptons. SUBSCRIBE NOW and get Hamptons delivered direct. |
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