In Her Own Words: Chatting with Brittany Murphy About "Little Black Book"

At one time or another, most entertainment journalists have participated in at least one "roundtable interview" with a celebrity. As the name indicates, the writers sit at a round or rectangular table, directing questions to the celebrity talent at the end of the table.

On July 18, 2004, I was invited to a series of roundtable interviews with the cast of "Little Black Book," a romantic comedy starring Brittany Murphy. In light of all the speculation surrounding her death on December 21, 2009, I went back to my archives and listened to my digital recording of that roundtable interview from 2004. The voice on the recording was of a bright, twenty-something actress whose star was rising, and that's how I'd like to remember Brittany Murphy.

Brittany Murphy was a two-fisted caffeine drinker

When Ms. Murphy arrived at our table, she was all smiles, but she was carrying a cup of Starbucks coffee in one hand and a can of Red Bull in the other. "This looks very wrong, but I am using one or the other," she said, laughing.

"The only non-Spanish person in the entire Spanish class"

When greeted by a French-speaking journalist at the table, Brittany Murphy responded beautifully in his native language. "I always have wanted to speak French my entire life and my mom took French in school. She went to French class, learned French," she said.

Unfortunately, Murphy was living in California while in high school, where she said the Spanish-speaking population was huge. "I was very encouraged to take Spanish, but the problem was that I looked Spanish when I was in high school and I didn't realize that people in public high school in California took Spanish for an easy 'A.' So, I was the only non-Spanish person in the entire Spanish class that didn't learn a lick of Spanish. I didn't learn French, but I can speak Pig Latin," Murphy said, laughing.

"Little Black Book" deals with issues of trust

Murphy was talking to us that July day about "Little Black Book," her latest film which dealt with issues of trust. Murphy plays Stacy, a woman deeply in love with her boyfriend Derek (Ron Livingston). When she gets access to his Palm Pilot, however, she discovers photos and contact information from several of his former girlfriends.

Nervous and upset, Stacy goes on a quest to meet these women, discover what Derek's current connection is with them and why they broke up in the first place. "I ask questions; I like to know. I think knowledge is power. So I love knowing information, but if you ask a question, you have to be prepared for what the answer is," Murphy said, describing her own relationships. "That's the most important thing-you can't just go ahead and ask and then be mad at somebody. I know a lot of people who do that, which is pretty unfortunate. If you ask, please be prepared."

Murphy also said that Stacy is very real. "She's smart, she's cool, and I know I've met her before. There's a piece of her in everyone. She's the most relatable character I've ever played, but she just goes too far," she said.

"I'm listening to Holly Hunter-I apologize"

Murphy seemed distracted for a moment, but explained that she was listening to her co-star Holly Hunter at a nearby table. "You can't help but hear Holly Hunter's voice over a crowded room. I heard her say 'Overtly Evil' while I was talking to you," she said, laughing.

"Little Black Book" deals with miscommunication, which is why it was oddly appropriate that Brittany Murphy never received the script before meeting with executives over at Revolution Studios. "I went into a general meeting with Todd Garner and then Joe Roth came in, who is the president of the company," she said.

Murphy said she had no idea she was going in for an interview about "Little Black Book." "They were pretty much offering me a movie, depending upon the meeting, and I didn't know anything about it, nor did anyone else. It was a bit of a communicational mishap. I remember saying to Joe 'I'm kind of at a standstill right now. I think right now I want to make an album; I don't want to make a picture right now because it was my 31^st film.'"

After subsequent meetings, teleconferences and rewrites, Brittany Murphy said she received an impressive new script, one that contained a lot of her own quirks and mannerisms. It also contained a musical element in the form of Carly Simon. "Originally, it was Judy Garland, and I recorded a couple of Judy songs and then it became Carly, very fortunately."

Brittany Murphy could finally become a singing star after her death

To make "Little Black Book," Murphy had to put her own singing career on hold for about a year-and-a-half. "When the press for this finishes and it is released in the US, I'm going to take that time, at least three weeks, before I start the next film. I'm going to go to a different state and just record," Murphy said.

With her busy schedule providing the voice of Luanne Platter on "King of the Hill" and appearing in high profile roles in such films as "Sin City" and "Happy Feet," however, Murphy kept putting her singing ambitions on hold. The website Inthemix.com has reported, though, that tracks from her unreleased debut album may be released in the coming months. Brittany Murphy may have left us, but her voice remains behind as a tribute to her talents.

Resources:

Inthemix.com, "Brittany Murphy's Oakenfold produced album to see the light of day?"