March 13, 2000

by Veronica Mixon

"I was working seven days a week. If you watch 'Scream,' I was wearing a black wig over my blonde hair for my role as Ellen Rash. I was really tired - and I had matching zits," Campbell joked.

Neve Campbell

In "Drowning Mona," she plays Casey Affleck's supportive fiancée who celebrates upon hearing that the curmudgeon Mona (Midler) is dead. When her dad, the local sheriff (DeVito) discovers foul play, Ellen suspects her live-in boyfriend but she stands by her man. Ellen is a sweet, naïve, unglamorous young woman who dresses out of K-Mart and Campbell relished the chance to distance herself from her two best known alter-egos. Of course, that's understandable but why is such a famous actress working so hard?

"I want to keep myself creatively inspired. I want to challenge myself and learn and I can't do that just doing one project," she explained. "So, it's important for me to do films."

Although shooting "Scream 3" was a scheduling challenge for her and "Friends" co-star, Courtney Cox Arquette, it didn't hurt their performances or the public's enormous interest. Opening weekend, "Scream 3" broke all records by shaking up sleepy February with a huge $45 million box office.

"The first time we did the film, it was like shooting at summer camp because we were in wine country around Santa Rosa and driving through cow pastures to get to location each morning. We knew it was a fun script but we didn't know if people would be interested in seeing a film like this, again. They hadn't been around for a while," Campbell said. "I've had so much fun. It's a relief because I'm not going to do it again.

"The same is true of 'Party of Five.' It has been fantastic for my career. It's the reason I came to the states; the reason I got famous and it's a way I can exercise my acting muscles every day. It's been my family. It's bittersweet because I'm sad to say goodbye but I'm excited by the new time in my life."

A native of Ontario, Canada, Campbell began her training as a dancer and made her debut in the Toronto production of Andrew Lloyd Webber's "Phantom of the Opera." She was first seen in this country in the Canadian series, "Catwalk," about an urban, multi-racial rock band and then cast in the cult-hit, "The Craft." During her hiatus from television, she made "54," "Three to Tango," lent her voice to Kiara in "The Lion King II: Simba's Pride" and made a huge splash as a sexy bad girl in a triangular romance in "Wild Thing."

"They took a lot of points out of my contract because I didn't appear nude. I'm not closed to nudity but, I really try not to do it," says Campbell, who has kissed a number of women as well as men. "If I feel it's for box office draw as oppose to the art of the film, then I don't want to do it."

Nevertheless, her next film will be a slightly provocative look at the Surrealists in the 1920s in "Investigating Sex" with Nick Nolte and directed by Alan Rudolph. She's also developing projects with her brother and working with "Georgia" director, Barbara Turner on a ballet movie. Campbell was injured during her dance years and disgusted by the politics of the National Canadian Company. She feels that her own insight can lend authenticity to a story about ambition, pressure and politics of a company.

Considering how busy and how very focused Campbell is about her career, one is naturally curious about her life away from the set. It's rumored that she's been dating John Cusack but she remains quiet about that. "It's hard to have a personal life. It's really heard but it's definitely something I want to focus on," she admits. "I spend time with friends and family and loved ones to stay grounded."

And, what was it like to meet the original 'Queen of Scream,' "Halloween's" star, Jamie Lee Curtis when she reported on the set of "Drowning Mona."

"The first day, Jamie said, 'I want my crown back.'" She laughs. "OK, you can have it back."