by
Malinda Lo
, Managing Editor
July 28, 2008
Mary-Louise Parker first caught the eyes of lesbian/bisexual viewers in
the 1991 film Fried Green Tomatoes when she played Ruth Jamison, the
femme who stole the heart of tomboy Idgie Threadgoode (Mary Stuart Masterson). Although
the film version de-gayed much of the Fannie Flagg novel it was based on,
Parker and Masterson still managed to convey their characters' love and
attraction to each other, making the film a lesbian classic.
Parker (left) and Masterson in Fried Green Tomatoes
Since then,
Parker has appeared in many films, including most recently The Spiderwick
Chronicles and The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert
Ford. She has also signed on to the independent film Les Passages,
where her character falls for a woman played by Julie Delpy. On television, the
Emmy and Golden Globe-winning Parker has starred in the HBO miniseries Angels
in America, NBC's The West Wing and Showtime's Weeds,
which is currently in its fourth season.
Last week
during the TCA press tour in Los Angeles, she chatted briefly with
AfterEllen.com about the status of Les Passages, the de-gaying of Fried
Green Tomatoes, and a fun new web video in which she gives advice to her
lesbian friend on how to pick up girls.
Parker at the TCA press tour
Photo credit: David Livingston/Getty Images
AfterEllen.com: Can you tell me a little about the role you'll be
playing in Les Passages?
Mary-Louise Parker: Oh, you know, that doesn't have funding!
AE: So it's sort of stuck right now?
MLP: Yeah, I want to
do that movie, but it doesn't have funding, so it's not imminent. Someone needs
to fund it. I would be happy to do it, but it's not funded.
AE: Do you think it's ever going to get off the ground?
MLP: I don't know. I
would hope so, because I would like to do a French-speaking movie.
AE: Can you tell me anything about the character that you would be
playing if it gets funded?
MLP: Well … I think the writers don't want me to speak about it yet because they're
still rewriting it. It's not shrouded in mystery or anything [laughs], but … it's hard because they haven't been able to get money for it. So
hopefully they'll get money for it and we'll be able to talk about it one day
'cause it'll be happening, but it's not [right now].
AE: Ever since Fried Green
Tomatoes, obviously, you've
had a ton of lesbian fans.
MLP: Right on.
AE: Is there anything you want to say to your fans?
MLP: You know, I love my
lesbian fans. And I just did this little webisode — my girlfriend Cat [Davis] and I — she's gay, and it's
all about me helping her pick up girls, 'cause I'm her wingman. … So she's gonna put it on YouTube at some point. Hopefully it'll be
out there. … It's me helping her pick up girls 'cause she's like a
lesbian who can't pick up girls. I'm helping her as a straight woman showing
her how to pick up girls.
AE: Did you give her any special tips?
MLP: Yeah, I'm like:
"Watch. Get in the van. Are you gay? Get in the van."
AE: So you're very direct — that's the tip that you give her.
MLP: Yeah, I'm just like,
"Be nice to women, that's what they want."
AE: That's true.
MLP: Yeah, and you know I
love my lesbian fan base.
AE: Well, they love you [laughs].
MLP: It's true, I have a
soft spot. It's true.
Parker as Nancy Botwin in Weeds
AE: Do you ever wish — I know this is a long time ago, but do you ever wish the story line on Fried Green Tomatoes was a little bit more —
MLP: Yes! Well, in some
ways I do. I tried to make it a little bit more articulated at the time, but
they didn't really want to go that way. And in some ways I wish that
it was, and then in some ways I think maybe the audience wouldn't have gone
there, so I don't know — I have very mixed feelings about it. Because I tried — I really tried to push it at the time, and they didn't want to go there
with me.
AE: Who didn't want to go there?
MLP: [emphatically] No
one.
AE: Not even your co-star?
MLP: Oh no, Mary Stuart
did, Fannie Flagg did, but not the director, not the producer, nobody else.
AE: Wow, OK.
MLP: But I was really
trying to push it, and they were like [shakes head].
AE: Times have changed, I guess.
MLP: Yeah, for sure.
Mary-Louise Parker currently stars in Weeds, which airs Monday
nights at 10 p.m. ET on Showtime.