By: Jeffrey Valfer
TeenNewsNet Editor

It is one of those dark fall nights. I am covering the Hamptons International Film Festival and waiting on the red carpet outside a cocktail reception to see who will be arriving.  All of a sudden bulbs start flashing and the darkness is replaced by light.  Some is replaced by the flashes, but there is Emmy Rossum wearing a teal short length dress with a V-cut in the back.  Her energy and beauty have now created its own spotlight.

As Emmy starts to enter the reception I introduce myself.  “I will be interviewing you tomorrow,” I tell her.  She politely shakes my hand and then in an instant second goes from being a star to star struck.  Emmy has just realized that two of the contestants from one of her favorite reality TV shows “Hell’s Kitchen” are chefs at the reception.  Like a young teenager meeting their idol for the first time, she yells out with much excitement an “Holy *#@” while giving her publicist her camera to take pictures.  As she finally enters the reception, she is telling anyone that will listen “don’t tell me what happened on the show as I am currently going through my recordings.” 

Maybe Emmy doesn’t want to know the outcome of “Hell’s Kitchen” before she sees it for herself, but the world is becoming more intrigued by her.  She is ending a week where she has received much press and criticism for her announcement of a relationship with Counting Crow’s lead singer Adam Duritz, who is 22 years older.  The introduction of Adam has started to distract the main purpose of her attendance at the festival.  Emmy is promoting her role in an upcoming movie Dare which is about teenagers discovering their true identity..  Additionally, she is being introduced as one of the industries rising stars. 

Fourteen hours later I am sitting on a couch at a private residence waiting to conduct my interview with her.  Emmy enters the room, still looking radiant she is holding a cup of tea.  However, as she sips her tea I see in a more tranquil setting how the increased attention has emotionally and physically taken it’s toll.  During her interview Emmy gives us a look into who she is, her role in Dare and her strong opinion on the paparazzi’s coverage of her and Adam:

TNN:    In your own words what is controversial about Dare?

Rossum:    I think it’s a pretty realistic look at what’s it like to be in your last semester of high school as a senior.  Even though I never finished high school in a conventional way, I have been around a lot of people who have.

TNN:    What attracted you to this film?

Rossum:    It was an expansion of a short film done by the same writer - director team David Brind (Writer) and Adam Salky (Director). They met in college. When I saw the film years later I heard they were making a feature length film.  I watched the short and it was done with such sensitivity and artistry and  non-exploitive in any way.  As a young actress you see so many scripts that push the envelope just to push the envelope.  This was real, really darkly comic, very sexy and sensual look at kids and their self exploration at a time when you are so confused who you are and figuring out who you are that sometimes your self exploration comes at the expense of others.

TNN:    Tell us about your character Alexa Walker?

Rossum:    I was just listening to my I-Pod the other day and the Billy Joel song came on “Vienna.”  It actually had a similar vibe to me because it’s about trying to slow down, especially in the modern day world.  With Blackberries and technology giving instant access to everything kinda gets you on a roll of moving very quickly through life.  Maybe it accentuates in our lives with traveling all the time you can really lose yourself.  That’s what the song was about to me - holding on to a connection, especially as an actress a lot of talent make the choice of going to film to film to film.  They make the choice of their whole life being about work.  For me it’s not called work, it’s called life.  So, you need to have a life and a life outside your work.  I’d be lying if I said film and acting at this time isn’t the most important part of my life.  It is important to have something that defines you so you are not defined by someone else’s  values.

TNN:    It seems at a young age, rather than trying to fit in you want to continue to expand.

Rossum:    I was raised by a single mother who is now 63.  My mom had me when she was 40.  So, I was raised by somebody who can actually be my grandmother.  That kind of value was instilled in me.  I was never allowed to watch TV as a kid.  I was able to watch a half hour - I think when I was 15.  There was always strict rules in my house.  I was sent to the Metropolitan Opera when I was 7 by my chorus teacher.  My up-bringing was kinda old school theatrical and was not influenced even by the generation below me. 

TNN:    How often do you Google yourself and how do you react to what you find?

Rossum:    The part of press that I enjoy is when you get to talk about something that really means something to you, especially with a little film like this where the budget was only one million.  And you don’t have money for car chases and you have to keep people interested in the story and the characters.  The whole part of celebrity that is really more gossipy driven, I try to keep my head under the pillow about that.

TNN:    It must get frustrating as you get more known your private life doesn’t become so private.

Rossum:   I made certain decisions, which you can read into what you want, to keep my private life private because that’s where I believe it belongs.  The more public you make your private life the harder it is for someone to take that leap of imagination to believe you as a character other than yourself.  I try to remain true to myself and the decisions I made and surround myself with people that have similar temperaments as mine.

TNN:    It seems no matter what you do someone out there is going to criticize your decisions.

Rossum:    The more you try to explain something, the more information that’s out there.  I think things will become clear to people over time and the reason you do things.  I I always had the policy that people involved in my life didn’t choose that type of life.  To bring them into the attention my job happens to bring is not fair to them.  I always kinda been a private person.  I didn’t get into this business wanting to be a movie star.  I want to be an opera singer.  I got to tall for the children costumes when I was 13.  I decided I was going to be an actress.  I tried out for Broadway before I ended up in film.  I wasn’t anyone who sought celebrity.  If I was, I’d be at a club every night not wearing underwear.

TNN:    One of your roles was playing Christine in the film re-adaption of Phantom of the Opera.  The character is one of theater’s most famous.  How did you react after you heard you were cast?

Rossum:    I thought my agents were playing a practical joke.  I felt so incredibly honored   As an actress, there is always someone your competing against, even if it’s someone going for their first audition.  Whether you are Angelina Jolie, Nicole Kidman or Renee Zellwegger you’ll always have competition.  When you really feel like you clinched something and you were right for it and worked your ass off to get that part....there is no better feeling of the sense of accomplishment then followed by the fear of being in the role and not messing it up.

TNN:    What’s next?

Rossum:    I’m just excited this movie [Dare] is coming out and I feel like I’m starting fresh and going back to my roots which is really important to me in my life and my work.

Press play below to get a sneak peek of Rossum in Dare