Paging Rummy Epson
At 22, Emmy Rossum stars in “Dragonball: Evolution,” the live-action take on the famous Japanese cartoon; it opens April 10. She has appeared in “The Phantom of the Opera” and “Poseidon” and is a singer as well; her 2007 album, “Inside Out,” was released by Geffen Records.
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Do people ever mess up and call you, like, Rummy Epson?
In school they used to call me Emmy Possum. I prefer Emmy Awesome. I mean, Emmy isn’t that common of a name. My real name is actually Emmanuelle. But I go by Emmy because it’s easy for people to pronounce.
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How in the world did you end up at Perez Hilton’s birthday party the other night?
We had some friends in common. He’s a nice guy, actually! He invited me to his birthday dinner the night before. He’s very funny.
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So he’s not evil, mean and frightening?
Not to me, at least. Knock wood!
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That’s beautiful.
Really, I think it’s for entertainment reasons. Entertainment has stretched in different ways for people to express themselves -- people are expanding, your favorite musicians are on Twitter. Even Gerry Butler, from “Phantom of the Opera” and “300,” is on Twitter! It’s a different world. There’s a big sense of immediacy in journalism and entertainment too.
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How will you join this brave new world?
I’m somewhat involved with all of it. But I don’t know, we were down in Mexico shooting “Dragonball,” and I didn’t have Internet or BlackBerry during the day. There’s almost a sense of calm you get.
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When you were a little girl, by which I mean, littler girl, as you are very young, did you ever dream that you would star in a movie as the inventor of Dragon Radar?
I used to watch the kids cartoon on the weekends! So I was familiar with the universe. I never read the manga or saw the anime, so when I auditioned, I started watching the shows online and watched a lot of the anime as well. It’s interesting when you’re taking a character from anime, which in my opinion is one of the most human forms of entertainment. I got to shoot five guns and drive a motorcycle and dye half my hair blue. It was so fun to be out of corsets.
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But you do have anime eyes, so that is handy.
People tell me that. I don’t know if that means that I’m bug-eyed?
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No! So the April Details magazine shoot of you has been out for a while now. Do you feel OK with it?
Am I OK with it? Yeah, I really was excited to shoot with the photographer. I feel OK with myself, and I’m not being inappropriate for my age. They made me feel so comfortable. It’s not really a sexy shoot. It’s sexual. Though I was confused as to why I was holding a trumpet.
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That is very strange.
I know. But I thought: artistic value! It’s like trusting a director -- you have to trust your photographer. They’re the captain of the ship.
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That’s wise, usually.
Unless the captain’s headed for an iceberg. Usually they’re not! It’s interesting working with different directors -- working on “Poseidon” was different from working on “Dare” this summer, which was a million-dollar budget indie we shot in Philly.
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Your two movies this year are very different.
That’s what excites me. When I was little I wanted to be so many different things.
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Hmm. But next time someone wants to photograph you, maybe have your people negotiate them into publishing a poem by you instead.
Why, do you think I should be doing something more intellectual? Did they offend you?
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Ack! No! You just look so young. And I suppose I’m not your mother, though maybe I think I am.
No, no, and my family’s pretty liberal. They’re not really involved in my decision-making there.
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That’s interesting. How was that transition?
It’s something every teenager goes through, separating from their parents. It’s kind of liberating and exciting and making your own decisions and deciding what’s right for you in your life. And exploring! And understanding you’re not always going to make the right decisions. You’re going to have some missteps. Life is not a straight shot up! As long as you do what you believe is best, going with the best intentions, and trying to be an honest, kind, good artist, then hopefully you’ll make the right choices. I like the pictures.
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OK, so, speaking of adult choices, why did you just go to ICM from CAA?
Yeah, I think this interview is kind of supposed to be about “Dragonball.” I was at CAA for 10 years, and I kind of just wanted to try something different.
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