[IMG:L]It’s been a wild couple of years in the spotlight for Katie Holmes. The one-time teen TV cutie and rising movie ingénue was thrust into the media spotlight when she entered into a high-octane courtship with one of the biggest movie stars on the planet, who’d also courted more than a little criticism when he hopped on Oprah’s couch proclaiming his love for her.
But now, happily settled into life as Mrs. Tom Cruise and mom to Suri, who’s vying with Shiloh Jolie-Pitt as the world’s most famous toddler, Katie’s back on the big screen, costarring in the femme-centric heist comedy Mad Money opposite Diane Keaton and Queen Latifah, and telling Hollywood.com all about her new life as a working mom.
“It’s particularly interesting to see Katie,” said Keaton, “because of who she fell in love with and what the ramifications are of all that attention and how you handle it and how you live that life that she’s living.”
Hollywood.com: There are a lot of strong women involved in Mad Money: Diane Keaton, Queen Latifah and director Callie Khouri. What was the result of all that female energy on the set?
Katie Holmes: I learned so much. We talked about things, had great conversations about so many different things. These women are so talented and dynamic and we were talking about movies and film and the movies coming out and we talked about architecture and interior design and fashion and clothing lines and music and makeup and bras [laughs] and kids and raising kids and being daughters. It was like a women’s fest!
[IMG:R]HW: We haven’t seen you in this kind part–Jackie’s not your typical girl next door, a leading man’s girlfriend, or a femme fatale. And she’s the source of a lot of comedy in the film…
KH: I was very interested in playing Jackie. She was very different from any other role I’ve played and I was sort of enthralled by her sense of adventure. She was carefree, but she had this intelligence about her–or maybe she didn’t. She was very abstract in a way and there was a lot to create with her. You could read this role and a million ideas would come to mind. I liked her physicality. I liked the dancing. She was odd and I liked that. She is a kind of forgotten soul, like, “Oh, there’s that girl who everybody thinks is weird and doesn’t talk to you.”
HW: How’s your family life and motherhood experience right now?
KH: It’s great. We had a great holiday and we had a big family celebration with my whole family and Tom‘s whole family. It’s nice to check in around that time of year and see everyone feeling good.
HW: You seem to have come out on the other side of the media whirlwind you went through a while back in fine shape.
KH: Well, I never though that it was a whirlwind. It was a lot of attention all at once and I had never had that attention obviously, but I always knew that when I met Tom and it was like “Okay, when? Sure. Yeah. Right on. Let’s do it.” So I’ve always felt very comfortable and happy with everything. You learn more and more everyday and then when you have a child it feels like you’re reading an encyclopedia a day and you’re always behind because children grow so fast and they’re so magical. She’s so magical. So things are good.
[IMG:R]HW: How was our first experience as a working mom?
KH: It was very exciting. I felt that before children I was so into myself, because I had no one else to be into. I just had to take care of me. How can you not be? [Motherhood] divides things. It puts boundaries in your life in a very good way. You know, “Okay, this is work and I have to be done by this time because I’m not going to be around for this.” It really organizes things–and I really like organization.
HW: How did Suri take to all the new doting “aunts and uncles” on the movie set when you brought her to work?
KH: She really likes movie sets. It’s the second movie set that she was on and she loved the hair and makeup trailer.
HW: We’ve heard stories of paparazzi falling out of trees near the set when you were filming. Are you able to find anything humorous in that kind of over-the-top media attention?
KH: I wouldn’t call it humorous. But it’s just there. I don’t know. It’s sort of like, “Do we have paparazzi, or do we not have paparazzi?” If you have them, you know how to handle it and if you don’t then okay, but it’s not yea or nay. It’s just like, “Okay, what’s on the agenda today?”
[IMG:R]HW: That must be a far cry from what your life was like when you first came to Los Angeles to make it in Hollywood!
KH: I came with my mom when I was 16 to do a million auditions that composed pilot season. It was amazing of my parents to let me–this girl from Ohio. I went to a modeling and talent convention and I got a manager there and then they said to come out. My mom and I came out after my dad made sure that it was all okay and came and checked everything out. We were at The Oakwood Apartments [in Burbank]. We came in January–and I think of this every January–because I packed all of my shorts and t-shirts because I was from Northwest Ohio and I thought “California! I’m going to get so tan!” We froze [laughs]! I learned how to drive in Los Angeles. My mom drove me but we got lost so many times that I now know how to get everywhere. And I know every shopping center everywhere because that’s what we did. What else do you do? You don’t audition all day.
HW: Queen Latifah is a huge Dawson’s’ Creek fan. Did she bug you with a zillion questions about Joey?
KH: She did not. And she could have, so it’s very nice of her [not to].
