The Planet sits down with CSI star Jorja Fox

Monday, June 11, 2007

By Ben Cannon

JACKSON, WY - Jackson Hole Film Festival - The Jackson Hole Film Festival party at Q Roadhouse Saturday night marked the last big hurrah of the soirees organized around the festival. Just before hundreds of revelers arrived to imbibe in food and drink and watch Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Stars, Planet Jackson Hole had a chance to walk across Q’s grassy lawn and sit down with noted television actress Jorja Fox.

Fox got her break on the hit NBC show “ER” playing Dr. Maggie Doyle. For the last seven years, she has appeared as Sarah Sidle on “CSI,” CBS’s flagship drama about forensic criminal investigators. Amid speculation that Fox is poised to leave the show (a rumor about which she is tight-lipped), the L.A.-based actress who has worked in independent film and founded a theater production company reflects on Jackson Hole, the future of film, vegetarianism and using her favorite spice.

Planet Jackson Hole: So, have you been to Jackson before?

Jorja Fox: The first time I stayed at the hostel. The second time I came I camped. I’ve been coming on and off for 12 years, and how cool is it that here I am, at this amazing festival, being invited to come, and you actually thought “Oh, alright. I’ll interview her.” It’s such an honor for me, I feel so honored because I have the deepest respect for this place.

PJH: How do you feel about Steve Guttenberg? Do you know him?

JF: [laughs] Personally, no. I hear he’s a nice guy, though.

PJH: You do live in L.A. now, right?

JF: Yes, and proudly I must say. Coming from New York City, I couldn’t really say that before. I love L.A. and feel really lucky to live there. You’re a native after you’ve been there three years, by the way.

PJH: That’s not the case in Wyoming. How do you describe your upbringing? Was it all-American? A little eccentric?

JF: I would definitely say I had an eccentric upbringing. I’m first generation American. My parents were from Montreal. I was born in New York City, but grew up in a very small town in central Florida. Kind of urban meets Bible Belt.    

PJH: Did your parents encourage you toward the arts?

JF: Yeah, I was really lucky that way. My parents were a bit older. They were in the Depression. My dad was in WWII. My grandmother was in the house as well, and they were all extremely supportive. My mom wanted to be a painter, my dad wanted to be a writer, and my grandmother wanted to be a ballerina. But they had to put those ideas aside for more practical things like jobs…

PJH: I hear that you’re thinking about leaving [CBS’s hit show] “CSI.”

JF: All I can say is they don’t call it a cliffhanger for nothing. So, everybody’s just going to have to tune in in September and see what happens to poor Sarah Sidle, who’s in a bit of a bind right now.

PJH: What are you most interested in doing next?

JF: For the most part my heart has been very much with “CSI.” I’ve been doing it for seven years, and it’s been kind of hard to do anything but “CSI,” but I’m very grateful when I say that. If something’s going to consume you for seven years of your life, for me I feel very lucky it was “CSI,” so I would love to be a producer when I grow up, and help people get their stories told. Probably not on TV, but maybe in the documentary film world, feature film world. I have a little theatre company in LA. We put up original plays.

PJH: Are you a regular on the film festival circuit?

JF: Not at all. For me, I feel somewhat uncomfortable going to a film festival if I don’t have a real reason to go. I love film and L.A. has a great film festival and I go to
as many films there as I can. And I have been to Sundance with a film a couple of times. And I’ve been here and I was invited to be a juror at the event. The moment Jackson called, it wouldn’t have mattered what you guys wanted, I would have been here with bells on.

PJH:  So what’s your official role here, then?

JF: I’m a judge for the Global Insight category. I was really hoping there was going to be at least a couple of clunkers in the category, and there really is not, so it’s going to be a difficult decision.

PHJ: How many films have you watched so far?

JF: Eleven total.

PJH: Both short and feature length?

JF: Yeah, which was an interesting combination. About four shorts and the rest feature films. But the four shorts, you see, are so compelling that I see why they are in that category. I think they’re hoping these are films people really would come out and see.

It might sound kind of hokey, but things are happening, and if you’re paying taxes then you are paying for them to happen, so why not go and see the movie and be sure of what is happening, if you know what I mean. There is a film right now about torture and it’s extremely profound, something I feel strongly about, and I think every American should see it so they know where their tax dollars are going.

PJH: What trend or recurring theme do you see in a lot of these films that interests you?

JF: I think the programming at this festival is really magnificent, and I think the organizers did a phenomenal job of bringing in different films – some of them very thought-provoking. I also think the action sports category is off-the-hook and exhilarating. There are some deep messages in that, but also you want the thrill of life.

For me, the most exciting thing happening right now in a lot of independent film in general is the Internet and the accessibility of people all over the world to get a camera and make a movie. I mean, every film here is a miracle. It’s really hard to make a documentary or a feature and find the funding and take two or three years out of your life and make it happen. That to me is the most awesome thing about being here: the miracle of every piece of film that is here and the fact that these people did it and the fact that we’re going to get together and build a community for a couple of days and see the films and talk about them and get to meet each other and talk about projects. That’s really cool.

But in the larger picture, a kid from podunk Louisiana can get his hands on some equipment and make a film, and I think that is exhilarating.

PJH: Final question: How do you as an animal activist and vegetarian, reconcile yourself with Wyoming, a place associated with game hunting and red meat consumption?

JF: I have no issues with Wyoming whatsoever on that. I think, first and foremost for me, it’s about conservation and environmentalism, and people just being aware. For me the vegetarianism is all interplayed and interwoven in the environmental idea. So in L.A., even where we have smog and population and overcrowding, [living as a vegetarian] is a really easy thing to do. If I was starving to death in the Arctic Circle, that might be a different story. It’s a way I like to live my life, and I’m a pacifist, and it’s another way to be a pacifist.

PJH: What if, God forbid, you find yourself stranded in some rugged, remote place like the soccer team from the book and movie “Alive,” and you have to resort to cannibalism. But, your favorite spice is on-hand. Would you use that spice or sauce or whatever, or would you be ascetic about the whole ordeal and not use it?

JF: Would I use the spice, of course I would! [Laughs]

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The Planet sits down with CSI star Jorja Fox | Planet JH News Article: General News

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