2009

Alors que dans quelques jours avait lieu la première du TéléFilm de Lifetime ou joue Maggie, l'actrice revient sur ce film et le roman, sur son autre rôle de détective par Lacey, sur la mode, sur le casting, elle parle aussi de Juliet et Shawn et de la saison 4.

Version Anglaise:

Maggie Lawson is best know for her role as Juliet on USA’s hit comedy PSYCH but she takes center stage this Sunday night when Killer Hair debuts on the Lifetime Movie Network, the first of two adaptations from the popular Crimes of Fashion mystery novel series that she stars in.
 
Al Norton: Were you familiar with the Crime of Fashion book series before you got involved in the movies?
 
Maggie Lawson: I actually wasn’t. I had a friend who was, I had heard of them, I just hadn’t read them. I was familiar with what they were about; I just wasn’t familiar with the actual stories. My friend, when this project came up, was like, “Oh my God!” Through other people I’ve learned how popular they are. Of course I ended up reading them and fell completely in love.
 
Al Norton: Was there any temptation not to read the books, to try to avoid being too influenced by them, or was it just great source material that you had to read?
 
Maggie Lawson: It was source material. I read the scripts first so I already had an idea of the character and the overall tone of the movies, which is sort of why I was interested in reading the books. I thought I would enjoy them but also I wanted to get another angle. That’s when I realized that from book to script, they did an amazing job capturing the energy of all of these characters. It wasn’t that different and didn’t influence or change the ideas I already had; it just added another level of understanding of who the characters are and what the story is.
 
Al Norton: That leads perfectly into me asking, what drew you to Lacey (Smithsonian, Lawson’s character)?
 
Maggie Lawson: I’m clearly drawn to detective roles anyway, and the next thing I probably noticed is the comedy; it’s really fun, and girly, and a bit dark at times. I have to admit, every little note in the script that said, “Lacey’s wearing a smart vintage suit” or “Lacey is carrying the best bag you’ve ever seen” made a part of me go, “sign me up!” I want to wear those clothes. The clothes influenced a lot (laughing).
 
Al Norton: Were you someone who was big into fashion before or were you learning on the fly?
 
Maggie Lawson: I am into fashion. I don’t really consider myself a fashionista but I definitely am a girl. I read the fashion magazines, I get ideas, I will cut out a picture of something I like. I do have to say that my wardrobe and my take on fashion has changed because of Lacey. I think she influenced me. I don’t think I brought any new ideas to the table (laughing) but I do think I have changed. I have more of an eye for color. Lacey is big into color and there was a running joke among my friends before that whenever I told them I got a new dress they’d say, “oh, is it black, white, or grey?” That’s all I wore. From where I’m sitting right now I can see into my closet and there are these reds and greens, colors I never wore before, so clearly I have been influenced. I am changing things up, adding accessories.
 
Al Norton: Was part of the deal to take the part that you got to keep some of the wardrobe?
 
Maggie Lawson: Absolutely! That was the number one point (laughing). It wasn’t money at all, it was clothes, “do I get to keep the clothes?”
 
Al Norton: Is there pressure because these movies are from a book series that has a loyal following, and the readers already have an image of Lacey in their heads?
 
Maggie Lawson: I think there is always a pressure that comes with that. You want to deliver. When you read a book you create an image in your head and however many Crime of Fashion books they’ve read, that image is set in their head. I hope I deliver on what they want. I had so much fun doing it and I hope that I held on to those things, those quirks that make you fall in love with a character when you read a book. I hope I held on to that for the audience.
 
Al Norton: You’ve got some quality co-stars in these two movies (Mary McDonnell, Mark Consuelos, Finola Hughes, Mario Cantone, Victor Webster)…
 
Maggie Lawson: Yeah! We got so lucky, it’s such a great group and everyone came to play. We had such a good time. There was never an awkward moment of thinking, “we need to bond”, it was all so natural from day one. We all had dinner together the first night and we all had very similar energies. It was like we were a gigantic puzzle where all of the pieces fit perfectly. We’re still quite close because of it.
 
Al Norton: Did knowing that Lifetime Movie Network was willing to shell out the money to pay these people to surround you make you realize how committed to the project they were?
 
Maggie Lawson: Yes. Hopefully we’ll get to do more.
 
Al Norton: I was going to ask. I mean, you’ll see how you do in the ratings…
 
Maggie Lawson: Right. Before they do anything they’ll want to see how we do. We all have our fingers crossed. Everyone would be over the moon to do more of these movies and I think that LMN would like to as well. They started something and their goal would be to finish it, otherwise why start. If we had just done one I would be worried that we might not get to do more but the fact that we did two, and that we’re introducing these new stories and new characters to the LMN audience, we’re hoping we get to keep this going.
 
Al Norton: Did you film the two movies back-to-back?
 
Maggie Lawson: We filmed them at the same time. We mostly did Killer Hair first and Hostile Makeover second but because of the common locations, like Lacey’s apartment and the salon, a couple of days overlapped. Only once did I have a panic attack; I was sitting in the make-up chair arguing about what I needed to look like and be wearing, getting confused about what story we were in the middle of (laughing). It must have been 4 in the morning and my brain was fried.
 
Al Norton: This must have been more exhausting for you not just because of the two at once but also because you’re the lead. Did you have to get yourself psyched up, no pun intended, in a different way because there was a lot more work to do?
 
Maggie Lawson: (Laughing)…Absolutely. This was a different kind of schedule for me, sure, but there was this different kind of element, too, of hair, make up and wardrobe that is its own character in the movie. I was used to maybe an hour with those things on PSYCH and this was two and a half, every day. The first couple of days I had these moments of panic. “What’s going on? Have I aged? Why do I need two and a half hours? What do they have to cover up?”
 
Then I started thinking about it and I realized I loved it. It was fabulous. This was a great part of the deal. I think it takes me four minutes to get my wardrobe on for PSYCH.
 
Al Norton: Juliet has the pantsuit of the week.
 
Maggie Lawson: You nailed it. I open my closet every day, and they’re wonderful suits and Simon our wardrobe guy does a wonderful job, and it’s the pantsuit of the week. This movie was like an event. Lacey is vintage, she loves 40′s vintage. Women just held themselves differently back then. My normal posture is probably not the best in the world but you put these clothes on and you find yourself standing differently. That was the icing on the cake. You end up with a new appreciation for women and fashion and they way it’s changed over the years. It used to be such a ritualistic event for women back then, getting dressed for the day, and it grew to be my peace, the way I got set for the day. It was every girls dream.
 
Al Norton: I know you’ve already started production on the new season of PSYCH. Was it an adjustment to go back to wearing Juliet’s outfits? You mentioned posture; have you found yourself slipping back into Lacey in some scenes?
 
Maggie Lawson: What’s interesting is that I found moments…The characters are similar in that they are both detectives, and Juliet has a super girly side that comes out if you push her buttons right, and there have been moments where I realize, “I sound like Lacey.”
 
It’s happened in the super girly moments of the script, and we’ve had a couple so far this year. Juliet is a little more commanding, walking into a crime scene and taking over, and Lacey is a little more secretive, a reporter trying to get a story. I’ve had some moments where I think, “are these lines getting blurry.” Playing Lacey has challenged me to see if I can bring new things to Juliet, see if I can give her a bit more dimension and color.
 
Al Norton: On the PSYCH season finale Sean turns Juliet down for a date with Rachel Leigh Cooke’s character. How does that translate into the new season?
 
Maggie Lawson: It’s added a new element to the Shawn-Juliet relationship for sure. The only way Shawn has really ever talked to Juliet is through flirting and he can’t do that now so they are at a loss as to how to even talk to each other. She is seeing Shawn in a whole new light and what I love about this whole new angle is that we’re really exploring them as characters, as people.
 
When you cut it down to romance, he’s just a boy and she’s just a girl, taking the detective and the psychic out of the equation. I think we see these layers that are peeled back and we see Juliet more vulnerable than we’ve seen her before. And Shawn, too. In a lot of ways we are seeing a very humanized side of him that we may have touched on before but we’re really getting into it this year. He’s getting into some heavy stuff. I think it’s added a really great new dynamic on the show. The audience loves this stuff.
 
Al Norton: I think the audience really wants the characters together but do you ever wonder how it would end up playing on screen?
 
Maggie Lawson: I think there is whole can of worms that will get opened if Shawn and Juliet ever get together. The audience knows us so well, the audience knows Shawn is fake. I think we’re going to have to be very, very careful when that does happen because if it was something real that the characters would happen to fall into, what does that mean for what he does for the department? I think if there is a day when the characters get together, and I honestly don’t know, there will be a lot of elements that will have to go into it. I think we have some time before we get to that point.

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