Drew Barrymore on Whip It

Your upcoming directorial debut, Whip It, is about a roller derby. Why?
I relate to a theme of it: women who have not only an alter ego but a capability. I love these women who totally have day jobs – they’re nurses and librarians and waitresses.

And then they get the s**t beaten out of them at night.
Yeah – what I love about the sport is that it’s real and high stakes. And by the way, it’s scary as s**t to do. I wouldn’t have guessed that the firs film I directed would have a sports element, but then again it doesn’t surprise me, because I love girls getting to do what boys do.

And you totally love having bloody snot hanging out of your nose, don’t you? I do, I do, I love it! And I love when [women] get to be women and not feel like they have to become a man in order to play in a man’s world.

So how was it bossing people around?
[Laughs] Well, I’ve always found that I tend to rebel against authority. I wanted to throw myself in there so I could really go through what the girls were going through. I didn’t want to be that guy who said, ‘Just get in there.’ I hate that – I hate dictatorship, I hate hierarchy, I hate sidelines.

You had some very real-looking bruises on your arms.
Holy s**t. Well, we also had female fi ght club. We discovered at a bar one night that I defi nitely have that, like, feisty little boy inside of me, and when I drink he comes out.

How is it not being director again, with Going the Distance?
It’s hard to go back, I have to say. But I’m very collaborative with my director. I wanted to do it, because I love doing comedy. And what am I gonna do, become serious guy, like, master dramatic director thespian boring f**ker? No! I wanna f**king do a f**king comedy. I’m f**king always gonna do comedy, I love it.

So you’ll hop back and forth between acting and directing?
For sure. I have plans, and directing is a two- to three-year minimum venture. And now I’m gonna find the thing that makes me wanna go again for another two years. It becomes a deep, deep relationship. Unfortunately, a lot of your other relationships fall by the wayside because you have to give so much dedication to it.

Speaking of relationships, what’s up with you and Justin Long these days? We’re friends, and we love each other, and that’s all we know. [Laughs]

And you’re doing a movie about long-distance relationships.
I know! And it’s great because we can bring so much personal emotion to it, and yet we don’t want to be defined by anyone, because we don’t define ourselves. We can bring a lot of honesty to this thing.

And it hasn’t been hard working together?
No, we love it. I have high hopes for the film; we’re giving our best to it.

Read our review of Whip It here.