| By Fred Topel
In Theaters Now
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So they’re making a movie about a guy who pretends to be mentally challenged so he can get into the Special Olympics. They need somebody to be the girl he falls for, but she thinks he’s really mentally challenged. A lot of actresses may have hung up the phone at the pitch for The Ringer, let alone read the script but their loss was Katherine Heigl’s gain.
“Obviously when they first told me about it and sent me the script, I was a bit offended,” Heigl admitted. “Then I read the script and realized nobody was trying to make a mean, spiteful movie. Then I felt excited about it because I love funny, heartwarming films.”
Many Special Olympic athletes costar in the film, getting to show their prowess in the creative field as well as the athletic one. “It was really no different than working with any actor I’ve worked with. There’s a big misconception that you have to behave differently. There are a lot of assumption that goes on that is wrong. They were just as funny, witty, flawed and wonderful as everybody else involved in the project. It was a little intimidating at first because I wasn’t sure how I was supposed to behave and I think that that’s natural and I think that’s what everybody feels like initially if they are not educated on this subject. I haven’t been around anyone with any sort of disability so it was a great learning experience for me to learn that ultimately, at a very base level, we are all human beings and there is no need to stereotype, put people in boxes or assume anything about anyone because everybody’s pros and cons, strengths and weaknesses and personalities are different. Everybody is handicapped on some level, some are just more obvious.”
Heigl’s character is a volunteer for the Special Olympics. She’d never attended the actual event, so making the movie was as close as she’d ever gotten. “We met with some volunteers and people who work with the Special Olympics and got to know what the process is and what goes on and what the job entails. Then after we shot a lot of those scenes, it was like I had been there. It was really exciting. The air was filled with festivity, competition, sportsmanship. It was really fun. I’d love to actually go and watch a real one.”
Athletically speaking, Heigl does not play any sports, but finds herself oddly involved when watching them. “I get competitive about stupid things. I’m not into sports really. I don’t watch them on TV but the other day my boyfriend sang the National Anthem at a King’s game so I went and then I get weirdly competitive and I don’t know why. I have no attachment to hockey as a sport or the Kings as a team. But there I am getting really aggressive at the game so I try and avoid it because I don’t like myself then.”
Heigl shot The Ringer before landing the pilot to Grey’s Anatomy, but she says she would have still made the movie after her TV success, assuming it would fit into a hiatus. “I love funny movies. It’s my all time goal to basically find a funny book like a funny, chick book, and produce it. The 40 Year Old Virgin, Wedding Crashers, those are sort of male driven. I think they’re wonderful, they’re funny and I love those actors but I’d like to do something like Kate Hudson in How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days. I thought she nailed that and was hilarious. So there are so many comedic women who need a shot to really carry those kind of movies.”
Now that Grey’s Anatomy is a bona fide hit, it’s hard to imagine there was ever any doubt. But so many series come and go, you just never know. “I think we got very lucky with our time slot. I think we happened to fill a certain space in this demographic that we appeal to. It’s a nice mix of something between Sex And The City and Friends. There’s a lot going on. It’s a big cast. And I think initially it was more a medical drama when we did the pilot and it has morphed more into a relationship – and I don’t mean sexually – but along the terms of friendships, the loves, the hates, the fear of dealing with dying patients, whatever. It’s become more about their personal story, their emotional stories, than simply a medical show. I think we filled a need.”
Unfortunately, working on the show for a year has made Heigl a bit of a hypochondriac. “I really had to let go of some stuff. I would read a script at the table reading and I have 9 out of 10 of these symptoms. Do I need to get a CAT scan, what’s going on? So I had to really just shake it off. Paranoia was starting to run deep. I could give myself something from worrying about it.”
Luckily, the cast and crew are so close that they take care of each other. “It’s just a really fun set. We work really long hours, but most of the time we’re pretty jovial and happy. Most of the time we’re messing shots up because we’re laughing too much and it’s hard on the crew because they’re tired and you feel really bad but you can’t stop. As soon as you put the pressure on yourself to stop laughing, you laugh more. So it’s weird. Maybe I need to see a coach about that, a trick to help me stop it.”
The Ringer is now playing and Grey’s Anatomy airs Sunday nights on ABC. |
