8 Questions for Isabella Rossellini

From the NYT Magazine:

How often do you think of your parents, Ingrid Bergman and Roberto Rossellini, who were not exactly obscure movie people? Every day.

When did you last watch “Casablanca”? I think it was 2003, the 60th anniversary of “Casablanca.” They had a screening at Lincoln Center. It’s not so hard to watch “Casablanca,” because I wasn’t even born. But it’s very difficult to see “Autumn Sonata” because that is the mother that I remember.

... I loved modeling. I absolutely loved it. I was so happy to get the cover of Vogue — 23 times. I keep each copy. I made more money as a model than as an actress or as a filmmaker. In monetary terms, beauty pays more than anything.

If Isabella Rossellini can’t find a date, what woman can?

I don't think I've ever "got" Isabella Rossellini—maybe Blue Velvet traumatized me in ways I am still recovering from?—and I've always wanted to, if only because of her mother. It's not that I dislike her at all (she's certainly talented), but I am simply unable to connect with her persona. I'm not even sure what it is. Maybe that's simply because her career has been so sporadic and idiosyncratic. We are talking about a woman who, with Lena Olin, had a recurring role on Alias, and guest-starred as Jack's wife on 30 Rock.

But I like this interview. Unlike most "8 Questions" from the Times Magazine, there's real spontaneity and humor here, or at least a serviceable illusion of them, a fact made all the more remarkable given the tonal shift from something like the devastating eloquence of the first two quotations. "That is the mother I remember." Imagine that prospect, for a moment: what if the mother you remembered was the mother of Autumn Sonata? Heresy or not, I don't care for Bergman at all, but even I have to admit that move is amazing (Woody's September helped me see), and even if I persisted in my dislike of the movie, she is nothing less than lacerating, as an actress and certainly as a character. Last year's Oscar baiting Rachel Getting Married was only mediocre (sorry, Anne), but it was worth watching if only to see Debra Winger do her best Ingrid Bergman.

Debra Winger! What an actress. Whatever happened to her? Forget Paris is one of the most underrated rom-coms ever.