Ashton Kutcher and Amanda Peet talk about something A Lot Like Love

Desperate for a little nookie at the box office this weekend? Do you want to nuzzle the shoulder of your honey while laughing snot into his new angora sweeter? Then you can’t go wrong with Ashton Kutcher and Amanda Peet’s new Romantic Comedy A Lot Like Love. It’s a seven-year courtship that sees Cupid missing the heart by just a few inches every time. Will these two lovers ever realize they’re meant for each other? Will our own frustrations cause us to climb up into that screen and yell, “Get on with it already?” Does a duck crap in a swimming pool?

Yup.

The movie, utilizing an authentic feel for the mid-nineties, sets itself up seven years in the past. Oliver Martin (Kutcher) catches the eye of Emily Friehl just before boarding an airplane. They end up joining the mile high club mid-flight, and this starts a dating chain reaction that lasts a small eternity. As the two newly acquainted friends get to know each other, they are rudely interrupted by lengthy stretches of life moments that keep them apart for longer than we, as an audience, can almost handle.

A Lot Like Love is actually one of Ashton Kutcher’s best films to date. Here, the kid shows an entirely different side of himself. He’s quiet, almost dignified. The film is a step in the right direction for him as a performer, and if it hadn’t stuck to the rules so crucially, it could have been a neo-classic in the Rom-Com genre. Amanda Peet’s not that bad either. Together, they make an engaging screen couple that will have every little girl in the audience swooning “Moon River”...

These two gracious, beautiful stars recently gathered at the Four Seasons for a communal Press Conference. They discussed everything under the sun, and more. Here, for the first time, is the full length AUDIO INTERVIEW from their openly candid discussion...

javascript:;|CLICK HERE FOR THE ASHTON KUTCHER & AMANDA PEET PRESS CONFERENCE AUDIO INTERVIEW

(Here are some excerpts from the aforementioned interview...)

Q: Why did you want to work with Amanda Peet on this film?

KUTCHER: We actually read another actress in Los Angeles. This was last minute.

PEET: You read 20 people. You can tell the truth.

KUTCHER: No. We read one other actresses and the chemistry wasn't right. We were searching for the right person. We wanted someone who could be vulnerable, but also funny. I've seen Amanda and she's really, really funny. She's beautiful and funny and able to be vulnerable.

Q: Did you identify with the characters?

PEET: I grew up in New York and I went through a big kind of...I don't know if I'd call it a Goth phase. I was a hipster kind of artsy person, but I wasn't really. I was really kind of a prude in high school and I did my homework and I went to college. I was pretty normal. But I identified with her 'I'm a special, artsy, tough girl' kind of thing.

Q: What was shooting the nude scene like?

KUTCHER: I like being nude as often I can. As much as I can be nude I try to be nude. No. It's really not that great for me. For other people, I like them being nude, but not me so much. It's this awkward thing and you're completely exposed. I had to wear this banana thong. It was a little awkward.

PEET: We were about halfway through the shoot when we had to do that.

KUTCHER: I think that we were both so insecure about ourselves that we weren't really looking at anyone else. We were on a soundstage. We weren't actually outside. I think that kind of helped because it's a little bit more private.

Q: Have either of you had sex on an airplane?

KUTCHER: I've done it in another movie. I don't know why, but for some reason people fancy me having sex on airplanes. I was really comfortable with that. I tried it once. I didn't actually get into the restroom. We were both sitting there, and it was weird trying to get two people in there. There was a moron convention going on around the bathroom door. So there was no opportune moment. It was like, 'Everyone just go to sleep on the plane!' No one would go to sleep.

Q: Do you believe in “Love at First Sight?”

PEET: I certainly don't believe in love at first sight. I definitely believe in a lot of chemistry and lust at first sight. I think that love is something that takes work. As you can see in the movie, I think that timing is everything. People have to be ready and open and I think that's sort of what the movie is about.

Q: Was this a unique character for you to be playing?

KUTCHER: Well, yes. Every character that I do, I try to make different. I'm just not successful most of the time. I think every character is unique in it's own way. I mean; just watch 'Calendar Girls' and looking at what he did that. Knowing that I was working with people who had more experience in a different way, and who were better than I am...Your game rises, it gets elevated to everyone else's.

Q: How would you describe the appeal of this character?

KUTCHER: I think the appeal of Oliver is, he's relatable. I think that guys in general feel like they have to attain a certain personal status in their mind before they can be in a relationship like, 'I'm not who I am yet. But I'm going to be who I am as soon as I get this and this and this. Then I don't have to worry about trading up.' It's like, 'Right now I'm at this level and so I can get this kind of girl. And then when I get here I'm going to trade up and so why even go through it. Just wait until I get there.' The truth is that you're never there, but you're always there. I think that's a very relatable place for guys.

Q: How much of this character is you?

KUTCHER: There is a definite separation from your character. It's not you. The only thing that you're really bringing is your sense of memory and your physicality.

Q: What’s the craziest thing you’ve done for love?

KUTCHER: You go first, I'm thinking.

PEET: I've thrown pebbles at someone's window. I've gone after them or made a move when I knew that I'm going to announce I love them, like when they've moved on or when there's another woman in the picture.

KUTCHER: Boy, have I done some things. I don't know if I've done things that have been crazy or absurd. I think that I've put some great effort into certain situations to impress. But I wouldn't call any of that crazy because I think that those are like the greatest things that we get to do in life. For me, one of the craziest things was that I was in Canada shooting a film and had started a relationship with someone, a long distance one with someone back in the states, and I flew in to Los Angeles for thirty minutes to see a person and then flew back out to Canada. I had a 30-minute window where I could see them. And they weren't there. They showed up with about fifteen minutes to go. And then I had my 15 minutes and I was gone.

Q: Did you actually get Punk’d by John Edwards?

KUTCHER: Well, it was sort of a Punk, but it sort of wasn't because it was real. I was campaigning in Minnesota and we were flying back to Iowa I think to do another thing. I was riding on his Air Force One jet that they have with all the press in the back of the plane and John has his cushy area in front and the secret service is there. We were getting off of the plane and it was very, very strict with luggage checks and things, and they were actually checking luggage on the tarmac. And one of the secret service guys goes, 'Go ahead.' So I get on the plane and one of the secret service guys comes up to me and says, 'Is that your gray bag out there?' I said, 'Yeah.' He said, 'Is there any need for you to be carrying a firearm?' I said, 'No.' I immediately began going, 'I was speaking at an engagement and so I haven't had my bag.' He said, 'Well, you weren't hunting or anything like that?' I said, 'Why would I be hunting?!' He said, 'Well, we're going to have to detonate your bag on the runway.' I was like, 'Are you kidding?' I was like, 'Detonate it! I'm not trying to kill anyone, I promise. Detonate it. Do it! Please. I don't want it on the plane either.' Then they were like, 'You just got Punk'd.' I was like, 'That's not even fair. You're like actual Secret Service. You're not an actor. That doesn't count.' But they had a video camera taping it from the press place in the back. I'm trying to confiscate the videotape.

-The End-