Drew Barrymore and Ellen Page feel the love in 'Whip It'

Ellen Page and Drew Barrymore

"Whip It" is more than a "girl power" movie. It’s more than a roller-derby movie. It’s a movie about finding yourself and finding the right group of people who’ll accept you for who you really are. It’s that journey that Drew Barrymore says she had in mind when she decided to make "Whip It," which is her directorial debut. For Barrymore, who is also a co-star and producer of "Whip It," the movie was a labor of love in every sense of the term.

"Whip It" tells the coming-of-age story of 17-year-old Bliss Cavendar (played by Ellen Page), an awkward introvert living in a small town in Texas, whose domineering mother, Brooke Cavendar (played by Marcia Gay Harden), pressures a reluctant Bliss into entering beauty contests. Unbeknownst to her parents, Bliss joins an Austin-based roller derby team (under her alter-ego derby name, Babe Ruthless) and finds that she has a real passion for the sport, which awakens a blossoming confidence in Bliss. She also finds a new group of friends with the women in her roller-derby team, which includes Smashley Simpson (played by Barrymore) and Rosa Sparks (played by Eve) — but the threat of Bliss’ parents finding out about her secret roller-derby life is also at hand.

"Whip It" had its world premiere at the 2009 Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). (The movie’s title refers to the "whip" move that Bliss’ teammates use in a roller-derby game, by grabbing Bliss’ arms and helping her propel ahead of the pack.) Here’s what Barrymore, Page and Eve had to say at a TIFF press conference held the day after the premiere, including how Barrymore handled directing her first movie, and why the cast ended up experiencing the movie’s mottos of "Be your own hero" and "Find your tribe."

Drew, you spent about three years making this film. What was it about this movie that made you want to commit such a substantial part of your life to it?

Barrymore: I wanted to tell this story because I felt it was thematically true to all of the clues that have formed me and who I am as a human being in this world — which is believing that you have to go out there and figure out who you are and fight to become that person. That you have to find the group of people; it was [the mottos] "Be your own hero" and "Find your own tribe," and that’s why we wanted to put it on the ["Whip It"] one-sheet [poster] and have it be such a message and mantra for the film. Because I don’t think that things come magically. I think that they come through sheer will and heart and determination. Every person I know that I look up to is a human being. Therefore, we’re all capable of accomplishing that for ourselves.

And I think life is about love and laughter and your friends — and hopefully trying to gain acceptance and support from you family along the way. And this [movie] was the perfect blueprint for me to put all of that into. It was a just magical aligning of the stars. These are all the things that are important to me. Here’s the story I can put it on, and have roller derby, which is such an interesting and unique backdrop and so perfectly metaphorical to all those themes.

Drew Barrymore, Ellen Page and Kristen Wiig in "Whip It"

Did you find the content of "Whip It" a tough sell?

Barrymore: I tried to make a film that was really for so many different people. Obviously, I want it to be for young girls, because I was a young girl at some point. These themes were something [like] when I watched films where I felt like filmmakers weren’t patronizing me and making me feel like I had someone to relate to and I wasn’t alone. Entertaining, heartfelt stories that inspired me: I tried to make that kind of film. That said, I love action, I love comedy. And I love the dynamics of a relationship, whether it be through your best friends, or through the people you want to work with and play with at the end of the day, or who is going to be your first love and how that’s going to form your decisions about what kind of relationship you want to have in life.

It’s also a mother/daughter love story. It’s about family. I feel like my goal was to make this film from my heart, my personal experiences, but make it for everybody — because, like [roller] derby, it is a very welcoming environment. Whatever your ethnicity or economical background or age or personal experience, I feel like I really, in all of my honest intentions, tried to make this movie for you — something that would appeal to everybody, because I like an all-ages party.

Eve, how did you make your skating looked so effortless?

Eve: Thank you. I personally went through three weeks of skate camp. That was grueling but it was amazing at the same time. Like Drew was saying, the spirit of the movie is "Be your own hero." And I think you see a lot in Ellen’s character that she has to overcome this fear of learning this game. It was the exact same for me. When I first saw that bank track, I was like, "How do you get on that? How do you get up on this thing? How do you get off?"

But it was a really great experience. I overcame a fear, once I fell for the first time. I was like, "Oh, OK. Falling’s fine." And then everyone was so encouraging. Ellen was encouraging and Drew was and we all came together. And the derby girls. Honestly, it was a really great experience.

Ellen Page in "Whip it"

Ellen, would you say this is the most physically strenuous role you’ve ever played?

Page: Yeah, in regards to the entirety of learning how do to this. I was really lucky because before [doing this movie], I had finished all the press for "Juno" and leading up to the Oscars and everything. I was in Nova Scotia, and I was like, "Why don’t I just go to L.A. and start training?" This really lovely production put me up in L.A. and spoiled me and trained for three months with this amazing derby teacher that we all had, named Axels of Evil (Alex Cohen), who’s a host on NPR. She was phenomenal.

Just like Eve said: The first time you get there, you see that bank track … Honestly, the first things you start with are getting on and getting off [the track]. And just the logistics of that are a whole new thing to learn. And it was "strenuous" and what have you, but I live for that stuff. I absolutely loved that and loved throwing my mind and my body into that. And then slowly the film started getting cast. Zoë [Bell] was skating with me and Juliette [Lewis] was coming back from Serbia, where she was on tour, to train. Drew and I started training together and Eve, and it made us all just bond and just become a complete family.

You can really feel that in the movie.

Page: I can feel that right now. Every time someone answers a question, I can’t stop smiling, because I’m just crazy about everybody.

Ellen Page at the "Whip It" press conference at the 2009 Toronto International Film Festival

Ellen, you got your big break in an Academy Award-winning script ("Juno"), so can you talk about the importance of great writing and what you liked about the "Whip It" script?

Page: The script is the foundation of whatever you’re building. It’s it, really. I mean, that’s how I choose a project. When a script come along and it makes my blood boil and makes my heart start beating, I just know that this is something that I have to do and this is a character that I need to play. And immediately, you just feel it.

This script came along, and the idea, before I even got it, I was excited. The prospect of doing a film about a girl who’s not being viciously forced into beauty pageants by an means, but she’s doing something because it’s her mother’s interest, and she wants to please her mother and have this connection with her mother. But then [Bliss] finds this new world of roller derby that she falls in love with.

And then I got the screenplay, and it was incredibly sincere. The relationships were real and whole-hearted. It didn’t treat a teenager … in a patronizing way. It was a character that was a person. It was just an exciting thing to be a part of and an exciting thing for young women, especially. And everyone, of course, but it’s nice to make a movie like this for young women.

Ellen Page and Drew Barrymore at the world premiere of "Whip It" at the 2009 Toronto International Film Festival

Drew, were there days when you were daunted by the athleticism of the sport?

Barrymore: I was. And I was obviously concerned with everybody’s safety, but in making the "Charlie’s Angels" movies, I know how exciting it is when the audience sees the real people doing the real action and the real stunts. There’s an authenticity there that you can’t really fake.

I also come from that school of "We’re here, we have trained, we’re excited to go out there and show our expertise of these skills that we fought so hard to learn. Let’s go for it!" I also went it for that "in it to win it" feeling.

What also was exciting to me was when we not only accomplished the weeks and weeks of roller derby training but then roller derby shooting was that I was able to film the nature of an intimate love story. And that’s what I thought was so appealing of that movie, because both of those things interest me on a filmmaker and an audience-member level. So I felt like I was getting the best of both worlds, actually.

Drew Barrymore and Eve at the "Whip It" press conference at the 2009 Toronto International Film Festival

Did any of you get any major injuries while doing this movie?

Eve: The first week of training, I fell on my ankle. It swelled up and it was not cute at all. But I bandaged it up and I was fine.

Barrymore: I fell on my tailbone on the concrete on the infield. It sent a feeling up my spine that I hadn’t really understood that you could have that feeling. And I learned the value of a tailbone pad. Ellen fell on her wrist at one point and had all of us terrified. But, of course, she was so strong and such a trooper, she was like, "No, I want to keep skating. I’m fine." It’s a dangerous, dangerous sport. But knock on every piece wood on the planet, everyone ended up with small injuries rather than large. It was amazing.

Ellen, you seem so poised and confident for your age. How did you connect to your Bliss character, who was very awkward and insecure?

Page: [She says jokingly] This [confidence] is obviously an act. I’m obviously very good at pulling the wool over people’s eyes. [She says seriously] I, of course, have moments where I’m incredibly lost. I think it’s something we can easily relate to when we’re all just figuring out who we are. And there’s so much media saturation about what a girl is supposed to be and what a boy is supposed to be and what we’re supposed to like and not like and what we’re supposed to buy and what we’re supposed to look like and all of these things. It’s easy to get completely lost and confused about what path we’re supposed to go on. And I think the key is just learning to be present and learning to be grounded and just being excited.

Juliette Lewis (pictured at far left) and Ellen Page (center) in "Whip it"

Did any of you get any negative comments, like from family members or anyone else, about how roller derby isn’t ladylike?

Barrymore: I don’t have any family, so I have my friends, which is why I believe in [the motto] "Find your tribe." All I knew is that when people didn’t know about the sport, they were completely bowled over when they were introduced to it, because it is such an eclectic, [non]judgmental, inviting, athletic, capable world with incredible exhibitionism and artistry in these women’s names and their alter egos, and what they do is so phenomenal.

And for the people who did know this sport, they were so happy that light was being brought to it. I thought it was a refreshing backdrop for a sports movie because it’s new revelation that’s cropping up around the country with these amazing leagues that are forming. There’s no longer this long tradition of "it was real, it was staged." It’s not only not [un]ladylike, but women have found something that brings out such an incredible quality and capability and character in them. And that’s why people are flocking to it [roller derby]. So it’s quite the opposite [of unladylike].

Eve: I agree. Even my mother was excited. She hated my tattoos, but she was excited about the roller derby.

Ellen Page and Drew Barrymore at the Los Angeles premiere of "Whip It"

How much of your on-screen bonding had to do with your bonding off screen?

Page: We just had so much fun. We shot most of the movie in Michigan, and we did shoot in Austin as well. I love Detroit and Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti. We were really busy and worked really hard. But, of course, we went out a couple of times and had a lot of fun. Some karaoke. It’s so amazing to shoot a film with a group of people where there’s not a single bad apple or someone being too precious or needing their hand held. It was an amazing group of people and we had such a good time together.

Drew, you’ve accomplished so much in the entertainment business. Is there anything else you’d like to tackle that you haven’t done yet?

Barrymore: I love filmmaking. I’ve been wanting to direct my whole life. I finally found the project. I’d finally spent enough years as a producer learning what it’s going to entail to be the best filmmaker I possible can [be], logistically, technically and responsibly. But I was at a place in my life where I was able to balance a story that was about coming into who you are but also understanding what the adult perspective was on all of that and trying to bridge those two stories together.

I will always love acting. I will always love producing. Now, I’m able to be a director, so I just think it’s a matter of having the fortune to be able to do all those things in one [project]. It’s an amazing balance act, but it is so wonderful when you can cohesively not only share your vision and focus on it and own it and control but that you can also control the atmosphere on set and make sure that they’re the most inspiring and wonderful and joyful and productive places to be. So I feel like I found my place after years of trying to get there.

Not to take anything away from the film, but does anyone have any comment on Patrick Swayze, who passed away yesterday?

Eve: Obviously, it’s very sad. Blessings to his family and friends.

Alia Shawkat and Ellen Page in "Whip It"

How did any of the "Whip It" cast with less acting experience than Drew feel about her being not only a co-star but also about her being the director?

Page: I guess it’s one of those things when you’re working and filming a movie, you’re not consciously going, "Oh, this is Drew Barrymore directing her first movie." She’s a director. And she worked tirelessly, like I’ve never seen someone work. Here’s a woman who’s in pre-production to shoot her first feature film that had this massive action element to it, and on top of that is training to be a roller-derby star, and on top of that is being available to a massive ensemble cast.

And then you’re shooting a movie and Drew gave her energy to everybody all the time in a way that was so inspiring, so crazy, that it was absolutely mind-blowing. She was available all he time, she was emotionally available, which I think came from being an actor. When you were shooting something, she would go there with you in a sense that she would be so present with whatever it was that you were doing, that it made getting there that much easier, because you were just in this zone with her. And she never fell out of that zone. When you’re a director, you literally do not stop working. Just phenomenal.

Kristen Wiig, Drew Barrymore, Zoë Bell, Eve, Ellen Page, Andrew Wilson and Krissy Krash in "Whip It"

Drew, out of all the characters in this movie, which one do you relate to the most in real life?

Barrymore: Obviously, most importantly, Ellen’s character, because I felt like I could put so much of myself in her. And I was fortunate enough that I was able to get the first and only person that I wanted to do this movie [role]. I asked her to do it before she did "Juno." I knew that she was going to be the hero that would take us through this journey. I related to her battling with her mom, not seeing eye to eye on what their futures should be. Luckily, in our [movie], it comes together in an honest way, where it’s not tied up and perfect, but there’s going to be some honesty and respect and acceptance. We can only hope that we have that with our families.

I related to every character. Every single aspect of it was personal to me. And just on a fun, humorous level, I loved getting to play Smashley Simpson, who’s a hippie with anger issues, because I totally have that. It was super-fun to play her. I would love to be like [she says in a spaced-out voice], "Yeah, man, it’s totally cool," and then get out there and do kick-ass sports, like wrestle with other women. It’s the funniest dichotomy. [She laughs.]

Drew, since you worked with Patrick Swayze in "Donnie Darko," what do you think the world lost with his passing?

Barrymore: I feel like I’m the wrong person to answer that because I feel it’s such a personal thing for the people who are close to him. I met him when I was 7 years old. He was the nicest man that one could ever, ever know. He was a hero to us all, from "The Outsiders" to all the wonderful films that he made. He was a pleasure to work with in "Donnie Darko." I’m actually finding about this news [of Patrick Swayze’s death] right now in this conference. So I’m in a bit of a shell-shocked state about it myself. But I think Eve said it best, which is, "Our blessings are with the people around him that knew him and loved him the best."

Drew Barrymore at the "Whip It" press conference at the 2009 Toronto International Film Festival

Drew, what kind of movie do you want to direct next?

Barrymore: It’s an interesting question. I have no idea what I’m going to do next in that capacity of a director, what the story will be, what the tone will be. But I do know that I’m so excited that the joy that I wanted to come from this movie, as well as the emotional moments and the characters and the tones, I greedily wanted this mixed bag of tones and emotions and colors. From small, intimate scenes to big championship derby games to love stories and friendships. I wanted that where music could really help translate the story as well.

All I can think about is the present. I’m so interested in what the future will bring. I think Ellen said it so well. I heard this Q&A with Danny Boyle where someone said, "Why do you pick the scripts that you do? Why do you pick the projects that you do?" And he himself has such an eclectic range of work, and I always find that very sexy. Range is sexy. What he said was so revelatory because he had put into words what I’ve always agreed and felt — and what Ellen was conveying earlier — he forgot how difficult filmmaking was when he was reading the story in front of him and where he could start to visualize how he would bring it to life. All of the uphill battles and the difficulties and the hurdles that you have to overcome in the filmmaking process, in order for that joy to come through, or whatever is right for the tone of that story.

And this is not his quote, but I fell in love with the idea of his amnesia of it is a difficult undertaking to make films. And you never want that feeling to come through. You want the joy and the intentions of when you first read [the script] of "I know how to bring it to life. This is the piggy bank that I want to break all over the floor. This is the thing that I’ve been wanting to inject everything into and then explode out there … with everyone else watching it." So that’s what I think.

Drew Barrymore and Ellen Page in the October 2009 issue of Marie Claire

Drew, can you comment on that recent Marie Claire magazine photo of you and Ellen Page kissing each other on the lips? And can you talk about the power of female friendships?

Barrymore: We’re just lovable puppy dogs and we have affection and are fun and frolicky. People can read into it what they want. I just find that delicious and funny. I think of this group of people what Ellen said: You really get to have a cast that becomes as close as we became, and after the fact, continue our friendships and relationship — and how empowering it is to make a film about finding your tribe and actually having those people becoming your tribe. You go off into the sunset and it’s not like, "Oh, that was fun. I guess I’ll see you someday."

We worked so hard to bring so much heart and honesty, work on the performances and characters, that we developed a natural chemistry that none of us wanted to let go of. Let that kiss be emblematic of all of us going, "We found some awesome friends here and this party continues." And that is a rare and beautiful thing on a film.

Drew Barrymore on the set of "Whip It"

Drew, what was the most important thing you learned as a director on "Whip It" that you’ll take with you in any other project that you’ll direct?

Barrymore: I just think the most important thing that I knew going into it and that I will carry on into my next experience is that no matter what, when you’d do anything to take a day off, when you would do anything to go out with everybody at the end of the day out to dinner, you really just have to give up everything and put it to the side and work a 20-hour day. And be storyboarded and shot listed and so ultimately be prepared and so in tune with every department head you’re working with and be so absolutely diligent and responsible — because then you’re able to have the fun that you’re able to have, because you’re not in fear mode … You’ve crossed every "t" and dotted every "i."

Being someone who is so prepared going into it that everything that’s being thrown at you is sort of a joy, because you have the answers to the questions and you’ve been able to figure out how to carve out time so that you can film moments of natural joy when you get out there.

Drew, what kind of impact do you think "Whip It" will have on the sport of roller derby?

Barrymore: I only hope a positive one, because we stayed so authentic to it. This [movie] was written by a derby girl. Our choreographer is an amazing derby girl. And I worked with her on the emotional scenes and making sure that those were as relevant as celebrating the sport itself. It’s a movie with a lot of different tones. But I think it’s going to do great things fro the sport, especially because we celebrate it. We stay so true to the rules of it. We show how athletically capable you have to be in order to do this sport. It’s a celebratory, fun sport. So my hopes are for the best.

Photo credits: Photos # 1, 5, 6, 8: AP. Photos # 4, 11: Carla Hay. Photo #12: Marie Claire. All other photos: Fox Searchlight Pictures.