INTERVIEWS

Jason Biggs [(Film) Loser]
Interviewed by Film 2000 with Jonathan Ross http://www.bbc.co.uk

Can you tell me a little bit more about your character in "Loser"?
I play Paul, who comes from a small town and goes to New York for college. When he gets there he's completely out of place. He dresses differently from everybody else, and talks differently from everybody else, and that's really just because of where he's from. But his room mates brand him a loser, and he's kind of an outsider. He falls for this girl called Dora (played by Mena Suvari) and they become friends and it goes from there. 
Can you tell me a little bit more about the relationship between Paul and Dora?
Paul for the first time while he's at college finds hope and confidence. Dora befriends him and he falls for her, but she is having an affair with one of her professors so it's an interesting triangle. In each other the two of them find hope and confidence.

Was Amy Heckerling the right director for the film? 
She still has an amazing grasp on youth culture. She just gets it. She is like Peter Pan, just refusing to grow up. I think the reason she is so successful at it is because she likes to hear what we have to say. The reason she has got such a grasp on youth culture is because she gets it from us. She wants us to voice our opinions and tell her what's cool and what's not.

It's quite a dark view of college life, where Dora is working in the bar and sleeping in the station at night. Is it a realistic version of American student life?
College for a lot of people seems less and less likely now. To actually support themselves is becoming so expensive that the idea of Mena's character in the film, having to work nights and end up sleeping in the student centre or train station is not that uncommon.

Do you think there's been quite a rise in teen movies spurred on by the success of "American Pie"?
Absolutely, and I think "American Pie" was kind of spurred on by the success of "Scream", which kind of started this new trend of youth oriented films. For every successful teen film you probably have five to ten unsuccessful films, but as long as one works, people will just keep making them. The bottom line is that younger audiences are the most popular right now. They are the ones that are paying to go and see the movies. They are the biggest audience and we are going to cater to that market.

Do you have a plan for how you'll evolve your career from being a teen movie star?
I like to think that we have taken the first step in that plan, and that is to play older characters, and also different kinds of dramatic roles. I have a film coming out called "Saving Silverman" in which I play a guy who's about to get married to an evil woman. Another film I have coming out is a serious drama called "Prozac Nation" which is a complete change for me. I would like to try and break the mould of the teen comedy. I hope that with those two films I'll do that.