12 GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE AUGUST 14, 1998

EVENINGS OUT

Anne Heche sets the record straight in Paradise

by Tim Nasson

Los Angeles-The past year has, undoubtedly, been the most memorable in Anne Heche's life. She has gone from talented, yet practically obscure, actress to one of today's most talked about and recognized women working in film today.

Of course, many say that her recent fame can only be attributed to her relationship with television's 'poster lesbian,' Ellen DeGeneres, but whatever the reason for her instant rise to superstardom, she seems destined to stay there for no other reason other than her talent.

The petite, five foot, three inch and waifish Heche was wearing a low cut black dress and

"Everyone needs to

understand one thing, I have a wife and I love her dearly."

sporting a safari hat when she walked into a hotel suite at the Ritz Carlton in Marina Del Rey, puffing on a half smoked cigarette.

"It's fucking freezing in here," she said, clasping her bare arms to her well-exposed chest. "Hold on a second while I call to have them turn the air conditioning off in here."

She was there to promote her second film of the summer, Return to Paradise, which opens in theaters around the country on August 14. In it she portrays Beth Eastern, a frantic young attorney desperate to save her client Lewis's life (he is on death row, in Malaysia no less) by convincing his two friends to spend three

THE CHOSEN FAMILY

Happy Hour!

After mating, the female needs your blood to...

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217

BARRY WETCHER

Attorney Beth Eastern (Anne Heche), right, is confronted by M.J. Major (Jada Pinket Smith), an aggressive journalist who threatens to break the story of Lewis McBride's imprisonment, in Return to Paradise.

years of their lives in a Malaysian prison.

Heche co-stars with two of Hollywood's hunkiest actors, Joaquin Phoenix (Lewis) and Vince Vaughn (Sherriff) whom, at the moment she has just finished working with on gay director Gus Van Sant's remake of Psycho.

When the temperature had settled, a completely relaxed and very conversational, Heche held back nothing when talking about her remarkable year gone by.

smark

"You never know if people are going to

Mosquitoes

don't care for me much

Got him! The bastard!

She gorges herself to three times her usual size before laying 150 to 250 eggs

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be comfortable or OK with an openly gay actor on screen playing a straight role," says Heche. "But," she asks, “isn't it kind of redundant? So many 'straight' actors and actresses are falling over each other to play gay roles today. It has almost become the chic thing to do."

"I'd like to hope that through my performances people forget about my sexuality,” Heche added. "The more people begin not to care about my sexuality the better it will be for the next gay actor to come out and not

by Noreen Stevens-

Her

Only the females bite and

You mean they don't actually bite, they some into your flesh with two tiny serrated styli

Why?

All I'm saying, is maybe killing mosquitoes is dubious karma if you're thinking about getting pregnant Smak

Un

oh!

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feel compelled to stay in the closet for fear of not getting any work."

Not one to mince words, Heche added, “I can't stand it when people in the media make up trash about me and or Ellen," she adds. "The rumors and nonsense that they make up about us are unbelievable. They've gone from the not so evil 'I'm pregnant' to 'Now I am straight and having an affair with Vince Vaughn.' Give me a break. The words that many people write are harmful. The stories should be laughable, but in essence [they] show how stupid and insane some writers can be."

"Everyone needs to understand one thing," Heche says, seeming eager to make an important point. "I have a wife and I love her dearly. We live together and we love each other more than anything in the world. I am an entertainer as is Ellen and we both push ourselves and strive to be the best that we can at what we do. I hope people stop writing about our sex life and start to concentrate on our acting abilities whether they like them or not. My challenge right now is to shock people with my creative ability on screen.'

Heche certainly gets the chance to try to convince the world that she is a capable actress in Return to Paradise. It is not going to be an easy sell, yet anyone who goes to the film will undoubtedly be moved beyond belief by it's powerful story of a lawyer destined to do anything to save her client.

The cast and crew of the film had to endure some unpleasant conditions in countries such as Thailand in parts of Hong Kong.

"I got sick once during filming," said Heche. "I am convinced it was malaria," she says laughing, "But the translator told me the doctor said it was only traveling flu."

Anne found at least a little comfort the few days that DeGeneres spent with her in Hong Kong while she was filming. "Ellen is great. She kept me going in Hong Kong. I am glad I had someone I knew with me. It helped make things a lot easier."

In addition to Paradise, Heche just finished filming gay director Gus Van Sant's remake of Psycho, which she says Janet Leigh and Alfred Hitchcock's daughter both gave their support to.

"Filming the shower scene was a lot of fun," she says. "I am glad that the film is in Gus's hands though. There are a lot of people who have said that it's a sin to remake Psycho, but songs and plays are remade every day. If they are done right they can be just as good or better than the original."

"Ellen doesn't like the fact that I have to get killed in "Psycho". She thinks it will give people ideas, I couldn't believe what she did

the night before I was to shoot the shower scene though. We were both home and I was upstairs taking a shower. The next thing I know is the glass shower door gets thrown open and Ellen was there screaming like a psycho at me. I had had my eyes closed and literally was scared almost to death. It was so unlike her but also very funny."

Next up for Heche? "I really want to get the role in Cabaret on Broadway," she said. "But, Sharon Stone wants it too. The good thing is that I don't think she can sing," she added with an evil grin. In addition, she will be seen in the upcoming Alan Rudolph film Trixy, where she plays an "inept security guard who is hell-bent on becoming a detective."

Heche is also writing a screenplay for the film Fierce that she will be directing this coming winter. As if that is not enough she and Ellen are always on the lookout for a perfect script that the two of them can star in together.

She will be spending the remainder part of the summer in Rockport, a quaint, romantic town on the north shore of Massachusetts while Ellen films Love Letter.

"Ellen came to Hawaii when I was filming Six Days [Seven Nights] and of course to Hong Kong," she said. "So now I can be the wife and be with her while she works," she says beaming.

"I am very happy right now,” she adds. “I pray at night and thank God that I am in such a good place right now.”

Tim Nasson is a freelance writer who can be reached at TimNasson@aol.com