Spoof horror flick for Rumer
As the daughter of Demi Moore and Bruce Willis, it’s no wonder Rumer Willis has the acting bug. Starring in slasher movie Sorority Row, she tells Susan Griffin what life was like growing up with famous parents, about life in LA and what mum thinks of her tattoos
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AS THE offspring of Demi Moore and Bruce Willis, it’s no wonder Rumer Willis has faced a wave of cynicism after deciding to follow in her famous parents’ footsteps. But if she’s concerned that her critics will think she’s just another party girl jumping on her parents’ celebrity coat-tails then she doesn’t show it.
“Of course, there’s always going to be this preconceived notion about what you’re like because, in general, there are cliches for a reason,” she says.
“I don’t know, people are always ... it’s just human nature to assume if you’re a young girl in Hollywood, you’re out partying every night or whatever it may be, even if you don’t.”
After a thoughtful pause, she adds: “I think, in the end, when you meet somebody or when you talk to them, I would hope at some point that might change, but I really don’t have that much control over other people’s opinions.”
Softly spoken and sporting a new shoulder-length haircut and an insanely tiny waist in a dainty Hugh Boss dress, the 21-year-old couldn’t be further than the stereotypical LA blonde. But then mum and dad were keen to keep Rumer and her two sisters, Scout, 18, and Tallulah, 15, away from the temptations of LA.
“I didn’t grow up in LA. I grew up in Idaho, so I wasn’t really around that kind of thing,” she says, and by “thing”, you can only imagine she means the sense of entitlement certain celebrity kids are known to acquire.
“Honestly, I feel it’d be so exhausting to do that, to just not be kind to people,” she says.
“When you’re on a set, just because you’re in front of the screen doesn’t make you the most important or mean that you should be treated any different. Everybody else there is doing something just as important as you, and without them, what you’re doing isn’t possible. That’s just always how I’ve looked at it.”
Born in 1988 in Kentucky, where her father was completing the film, In Country, it wasn’t long before the young Rumer had developed the acting bug.
“There was never really one defining moment,” she says.
“I grew up around it and always knew that I wanted to be a part of it, too. It looked like a fun group to get to hang out with.”
Her film debut came in 1995’s Now and Then, a film her mother starred in and produced. The following year, she appeared alongside her mum again in the film, Striptease. Taking time out to concentrate on her schoolwork, she didn’t return to the big screen until Hostage in 2005, this time alongside dad, before making her adult breakthrough in last year’s The House Bunny.
Now comes spoof horror flick Sorority Row, a remake of the 1983 slasher movie, The House on Sorority Row. In it, Rumer and her fellow glam college girls are terrorised by a mysterious killer after a prank on a sorority sister goes fatally wrong.
“It’s really good,” Rumer says, with a smile.
“Girls kick ass and you rarely see that in a horror film, especially where it’s the girls taking charge. It’s not just the men going, ‘All right, you stay here. I’ll be back with an axe and take care of it’.”
Sorority Row offers the traditional archetypes, the cool, bitchy blonde; fawning sidekick; party girl; moral compass, and Rumer’s character, Ellie, the smart one. In Hollywood, this may mean donning the requisite “geeky specs”, but also the latest fashion trends, and all the girls loved it.
“On the last night of filming, it was 4 o’clock in the morning and they let us raid the extras’ wardrobe room, which had racks and racks of clothing, so we all went home with bags of stuff.”
What she didn’t head home with were the “chicken fillets” she used to emphasise the curves she has inherited from her mum.
“I don’t know where they went. They got lost in my trailer,” she says, laughing.
“I think the worst was thinking, ‘Please don’t fall out. Please don’t fall out’.”
Any horror movie worth its reputation must deliver a bloodcurdling scream or two, and Rumer’s character was the one chosen to release them.
Taking the challenge seriously, the ever-conscientious Rumer began researching some of cinemas most celebrated screams.
“You have to practise in order to make sure it sounds real,” she says.
“I studied Neve Campbell’s scream in the Scream films. It’s like a double-toned scream, very impressive. It is a lot harder than it looks,” she says, with a grin.
While there’s no doubt she’s looking for the thumbs-up from her parents – “that’s what any kid kind of hopes for” – it’s actually her little sister’s opinion she’s most interested in “because that’s basically the demographic we’re aiming for”.
“My littlest sister, Tallulah, she’s the most opinionated of the bunch, so if she doesn’t like it, she’ll be like, ‘Ru, it was terrible’.”
For the offspring of two of Hollywood biggest names (let’s not forget Ashton Kutcher is her step-dad), Rumer seems, so far, so normal. If you’re looking for a rebellious streak, the closest you’re going to get to it is her tattoos.
“My mother thought the first one was quite morbid when she first saw it,” she says.
And as for her latest addition, she admits to getting “that little look” from her mum.
“But I think, after the first ones, she was just kind of like, ‘Oh, OK, is that a new one?’. Mum says she appreciates tattoos and she likes them; she would just never get any herself.”
Having dated model/actor Micah Alberti, Rumer says she has never been shy about approaching the other sex.
“I think I was always more intimidating than my parents ever were. I’ve always just been very forward. If there was a guy I liked, I’d be like, ‘Hey, do you want to hang out with me?’. I don’t think I ever learned how to do the whole girl, ‘Oooh, I like you’ kind of thing. I never really learned how to do that.”
But for now, her main concern is forging a career the best way she knows how. There’s already talk of a sequel to Sorority Row, which Rumer says she would “definitely be interested in”.
Before that, there’s a recurring guest role in 90210, where Rumer plays a journalist.
“Actually, I can do all my research today,” she says.
“I’m not very picky when it comes to picking whether it’s TV or whatever it may be. I love shooting on location, and I love being able to do a movie. It’s really a way to differ your fan base. I think the most important thing is to find a character that you really connect to.”
Sorority Row was released nationwide on September 9.
EXTRA TIMERumer was born on August 16, 1988, in Paducah, Kentucky.
She was named Miss Golden Globe in 2008 but had to postpone her appearance until this year due to the writers’ strike.
Her best beauty tip? “Don’t have clumpy mascara; it just looks trashy.”
Her ideal leading men include Josh Hartnett and Bradley Cooper – “He’s a pretty good-looking guy”.
Her favourite scary movie is Haunting in Connecticut.
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