Last month I tagged along with my film critic friend to an advance press screening of Snow Angels, a new film by director David Gordon Green, which stars Kate Beckinsale and Sam Rockwell. A serious and bleak story, Snow Angels focuses on three couples’ relationships, two crumbling and one budding. Amy tries her hand at drama with a supporting role as Barb Petite, co-worker and best friend of Annie (played by Beckinsale). After being completely enthralled by the film, I knew that I had to grill Amy on it. I also took this as an opportunity to ask her about her “Rabbit Rescue” short for Microsoft’s online ad campaign….

Katie (AmySedarisRocks.com): What did you think of the movie?

Amy Sedaris: I thought everyone was really good, and I couldn’t believe the incredible acting. It looked great, too. I loved the direction. I love depressing shit! Because I was involved in the movie, I knew too much. Being in the movie you are watching can spoil the whole thing. It’s hard to watch yourself and remember so much of what you did fifteen minutes before you shot the scene.

Have you read the novel by Stewart O’Nan on which the movie is based?

No, I haven’t read the book, but I will now.

Being that you’re known for your comedy, you seem like an unorthodox choice for such a bleak, serious drama. How were you cast?

I met with the director, David Gordon Green and I auditioned. I was very surprised that he asked to see me.

David Gordon Green actually sought you out?

Yeah, they called and asked me to audition.

That just seems so surprising. Do you know what made Green think to call you and ask you to come in?

Oh, I don’t know. I guess that would be a question for him*. I was surprised by that, too. I have no idea. I guess I was kind of surprised because I don’t normally get called to do stuff like that.

This is certainly the most serious role you’ve done in television or film to date. Did you find it difficult?

It was hard not to find the humor in it. My instincts are to do just that. I still didn’t have to cry or fight the rapist off of me, but I did get to find the humor in it when I saw the movie. Me trying to be serious or somewhat real on screen is funny to me.

So, when you were filming the movie, did you just pretend that you were doing a Lifetime movie or something?

Well, I just didn’t have as much fun. When you’re in the moment, and you’re there, and you’re around stuff–if you’re an improviser–you just want to go with it, and play around, and make fun of stuff, and laugh. But the energy wasn’t like that. Sometimes it was like that on the set, and I could [joke around] knowing they weren’t going to shoot it, but you just don’t play in that mindset. You don’t go on set trying to find the humor in everything. It’s just a different reality. As far as energy on the set, the people would listen to sad music and they’d be trying to stay in character.

>>CONTINUE READING….

-Two movies in which Amy makes cameo appearances come to DVD on February 12th: Dedication and Romance & Cigarettes (both are available for pre-order on Amazon). While I have yet to see Dedication, I’ve seen Amy’s part in Romance & Cigarettes and I think the film is worth checking out for her scene alone (she plays a white trash neighbor who gets involved in a fight. Hilarious).

-In other movie news: After having received quite a bit of critical acclaim at Sundance last year, Snow Angels, based on Stewart O’Nan’s novel of the same name, was bought by Warner Independent and will be released in March. It’s currently scheduled to be released in New York and LA on March 7th, the top 10 markets on March 14th and then will expand on March 21st. Amy has a supporting role in this–not just a cameo!–playing the best friend and co-worker of one of the main characters (Kate Beckinsale), and the wife of the man with whom Beckinsale’s character, Annie, is having an affair.

Snow Angels is a serious drama, so this should be quite a departure from the type of TV and film that Amy usually does! (/Film’s review says, “Amy Sedaris tries her hand at a serious drama and isn’t half bad.” Notcoming.com calls the casting of Amy “a particularly inspired choice.”)

ETA 3/3/08: I saw Snow Angels at an advance press screening with my film critic friend last week. Amy has an actual supporting role (not just a cameo), and we were both really impressed with her performance. From my friend’s review:

“Finally, in a bit of against-type casting that pays off in spades, Amy Sedaris (2006’s “Strangers with Candy”) reels back her usually comedically-inclined onscreen personas as the down-to-earth Barb, a woman trying to come to terms with both an unraveling marriage and the betrayal she experiences from best friend Annie. That Barb still sticks by Annie when the chips are down is clearly representative of Barb’s forgive-and-forget nature. This is Sedaris’ juiciest film role to date, and one that proves she is just as adept at drama as she is at comedy.”