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Show: THE BIZ
Guest: Elizabeth Regen DAVID HAFFENREFFER, CNNfn ANCHOR, THE BIZ: Well big-screen star Whoopi Goldberg`s self-titled small screen project currently airs on NBC on Tuesdays. Whoopi plays an opinionated hotelier who has no shortage of comments for her brother`s white girlfriend Rita. Elizabeth Regen plays the role of Rita and she joins us now.Welcome to the program. ELIZABETH REGEN, ACTRESS, WHOOPI: Hi, David. How are you? HAFFENREFFER: Congratulations on your successes with the program because it has—at one point NBC was even plugging it into the holes of shows that they were pulling off the air like Couples during the ratings period, sweeps month. Are you surprised by the success? REGEN: No. I always believed in the project. I think it`s really funny. I love Whoopi and I think we`re different. I don`t think we`re like anything else that`s on TV right now. So I`m really excited about it but I`m not so surprised. HAFFENREFFER: Tell me a little about Rita. REGEN: Well, I like to say that Rita`s culturally confused. I`ve been asked many times what`s it like to play a white girl who thinks she`s black? And I don`t necessarily think she thinks she`s black. I think she`s more a product of the hip-hop culture. So I think she`s from the world of music and poetry and art and food and all kinds of different things but she`s a riot to play. Yes, she`s really crazy. HAFFENREFFER: You`re a lifelong New Yorker. REGEN: Yes. HAFFENREFFER: The show is shot here in New York. Tell me a little bit about—and it`s supposed to be taking place it New York, as well. So tell me a little bit about the proximity of Rita`s character to your own real-life persona. REGEN: She`s not that far away from me, believe it or not. I always say, if you saw my high school yearbook picture, you would know that I am Rita. Having grown up here you`re around so many different cultures and people and families of different ethnicity that you adapt. So I`m not that far from her. HAFFENREFFER: Whoopi`s character`s name is Mavis Rae and she was a one-hit wonder of sorts, her character. She had a big-selling song at one point, but now she owns and operates a hotel here in New York City. Tell me a little bit about her character because she`s all over you in the show because you are the girlfriend of her brother. REGEN: Right. Well she hopes to start her career up in the Nappy Dugout, which is the bar lounge of the hotel. And I really want to be friends with her, just like any, I guess, sister-in-law to be. And she just doesn`t think I know who the hell I am. So she constantly is questioning me and Rita has fun with it. She has fun with Mavis` character but, also, she really does want to fit in. HAFFENREFFER: But she doesn`t give you an inch during the show. REGEN: No, nothing. No. HAFFENREFFER: Is there a sense that—does the brother do more to help or hurt the situation. REGEN: I think he hurts. I think—because she`s just as hostile with him. He`s unemployed. He used to work for Enron and so it`s really hard for him to get a job right now. So he`s not paying any rent. And not only is he living there but I`m sort of living there, too. So for Mavis, it`s a problem. HAFFENREFFER: Have you learned anything from Whoopi Goldberg, either from acting abilities or a perspective on life? REGEN: Oh, absolutely. She`s so approachable and humble. She just has shown me that it`s best just to be you. Just to be who you are and invest in your talents and show the best of you and that`s what`s going to get you ahead. HAFFENREFFER: I saw an interview not too long ago, and I forget where it was exactly, but it was the entire cast being walked around the set into the different rooms and whatnot and that was my sense is that everybody seemed to be so humble and seemed so real. She must have had some hand in casting the show because she was casting other people who seemed very base and real. REGEN: Absolutely. We`re all family people. She`s has her daughter and her grandchildren and Wren, who is my boyfriend, has his wife and three children. Omid, who plays the handyman, has his wife and three children and I have my husband and a daughter. So we`re all just really family people who are working together but we have a great time. It`s so much fun. We`re all really funny and we`re sort of like our own family now. HAFFENREFFER: What would you like to do with yourself down the road? REGEN: Oh, I`d love to see the show go on and on and on because I love Whoopi and I love the character of Rita. But I`ve done some independent film and some other stuff in film, so I guess I`d like to do some of that, too. HAFFENREFFER: Does it change in your mind how you approach this character because the show`s being shot here in New York? Obviously most shows of sitcom sorts are not done in New York at all. REGEN: I want to be here. I`m from here. I grew up here. My whole family, extended and not, are here. My friends, my life. I was in L.A. for six months and I`d rather be here. So this is just a blessing. HAFFENREFFER: Well, we appreciate you stopping by today and also thank you for bringing your 2-year-old daughter because she`s very cute. REGEN: Thanks, David. HAFFENREFFER: It`s nice to see you. REGEN: Thank you. To order a video of this transcript, please call 888-cnnfn-01 or use our secure online order form located at www.fdch.com |
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