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Subject:  Translated: July 7, 2005 Arena interview of Ivana Visnjic |
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Author: Lion-Storm |
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Date Posted: 18:02:01 08/12/05 Fri Here is the July 7, 2005 Arena, Issue No. 2325 article that I had professionally translated by the folks at translation.net. - Nancy ---------------- I DON'T WANT TO LIVE IN CROATIA BECAUSE OF THE GOSSIP In an Arena exclusive, Goran Visnjic’s wife describes, for the first time, how she and her famous husband live in Los Angeles, why they have no children yet, and when her father Tonci Vrdoljak will walk her down the aisle. Written By: Katarina Dundjer Photos by: Ozren Drobnjak We met with a pleasant, smiling ceramics designer Ivana Visnjic, who arrived right on time, last week at the Gornji Rad in Zagreb. The thirty-five-year-old spouse of popular actor Goran Visnjic and daughter of well-known director Antun Vrdoljak, accompanied by her charming dog Luigi, told us about herself, her plans, her life with Goran and about her day-to-day life in Hollywood. She had arrived in Croatia about ten days before with a gift — a bottle of Tonci's favorite California white wine — Kendall Jackson; she had come to visit her father for his birthday party and for the Vladimir Nazor awards ceremony. KD: So, do the Visnjics live the typical Hollywood life in Hollywood? IV: Not at all! People would be surprised if they came to Los Angeles. Life there is completely unlike it is here, and is less interesting and glamorous than people think. Things are good for me in Los Angeles, but I miss our easy-going ways, and I especially miss my family and good, old friends. In any case, it’s nicer in Europe. KD: So for at least the next two months, most of which you will spend in Croatia, you'll be visiting your family. What are your summer plans? IV: In the next few days, we will be traveling to Hvar, near Jelse. We'll be spending about a week with some good friends; along the way, we’ll also visit the house we recently bought near Starigrad on Hvar. KD: You bought a house on Hvar!? Why there, of all places? IV: Yes, a small, old house in poor condition that we'll gradually fix up. We chose Hvar, because it’s my favorite island, and we wanted to have something of our own in our country as well. KD: And what are your personal and business plans? Do you ever plan to return home? Photo Caption: The Visnjics enjoyed themselves in Rome during a recent break, and Ivana admits they are seriously thinking of moving there. Photo Caption: “There is a rumor circulating that I am capricious and spoiled. Anyone who wants to can smear me.” IV: I would be happy to leave America, but this depends to a great extent on Goran's business engagements. For now, we are sure we'll be in America for another one or two years, since Goran recently signed another contract with the producers of ER. However, I wouldn't want to return to Croatia forever, and we are seriously thinking of moving to Rome, a city we love. It's incredibly beautiful, with wonderful architecture, and the people are more carefree and relaxed. We feel at home there, because the mentality is similar to ours. KD: Why don't you want to live in Croatia? IV: I don’t want anybody to take this the wrong way, but our people here can unfortunately often drive a person crazy. We have experienced many good things here in our homeland, but there’s too much trouble for us here. After all, I’m only the spouse of a public figure, and can’t defend myself adequately against outside attack, like my husband or another public figure can. I hear stories about myself that have no connection with reality. For example, there is a rumor circulating that I am capricious, domineering, and spoiled. And more along those same lines. Anyone who wants can smear me however they want. I don't like intrigue and gossip, I like having clear accounts with people I know, and I haven't the faintest idea how to respond to those I don't know at all. I think that's got to get to you a bit when it happens. KD: Who's attacking you? IV: Well, for example, when I'm walking down the street and someone I've never seen before starts insulting me. This happens to me more than Goran, most frequently in Zagreb or Dubrovnik. I've never had this happen in Sibenik. Or I’ll go into a cafe with a friend to have a coffee, and I’ll hear comments behind me like “Look at her, how beautiful she is!” It's also interesting that I've never heard things like this from the lips of a pretty woman. In the beginning, I found it shocking, but I'm not as sensitive now. These people are probably having bad days, and think they can vent their problems on me. Not because I have patience with other people’s bad days, but because my husband and father are well-known people. I did not choose a job where I was in public, and I had never wanted to do anything of the sort. KD: Aren’t you afraid that something similar will happen to you in Italy, especially if Goran becomes more popular on a worldwide level (and it certainly looks like that will happen to him)? IV: I don’t think so, because Italians are a bit different, and there we won’t feel the weight of the environment here. In LA, they hound you if you're Brad Pitt, for example. But if you’re a foreigner living a peaceful family life, media, fans, and especially random people on the street don’t drool over you. As far as that goes, I’ve always had good experiences in America. Whenever women ask Goran to have their picture taken with him or to get an autograph, they have always politely turned to me and asked if it was okay with me. My only bad experience was in San Pedro, a city with lots of Croatian immigrants. There, I once had a Croatian woman literally poke me and 'order' Goran to wait until she came back with her daughter. Goran grabbed me by the hand, and shouted, “Let's run!” I've never gone back to San Pedro, even though they have two competing Croatian clubs, since they can’t stand one another. KD: San Pedro supposedly has lots of stores with Croatian products, right? Figure Caption: Ivana considers young actress Scarlett Johansson one of the most beautiful women in the world. Figure Caption: She likes Nicole Kidman as a person, and says that Tom Cruise isn’t as short as people think. Figure Caption: The engagement ring was covered in snow. KD: How did Goran propose to you? IV: He took me to a store and bought me an engagement ring, which was lost forever one winter when we were in Washington with the cast of ER. We were throwing snowballs at each other, and a snowball knocked my wedding ring and engagement ring off my finger, they flew off, and into the city sewer through a grate. (Workers found the wedding ring, but not the engagement ring the next morning.) Yes, but there are more stores of that type in Los Angeles as well. I know of one Croatian cafe where you can get shashlik. And no, that’s not my favorite food. KD: And for Goran? IV: No! We rarely eat meat. Our repertoire generally includes fish, other seafood, and pasta in a million different ways. We prefer to eat at home, and I like to cook. Goran almost always comes home during a break in filming for lunch. KD: So you like to cook, and you like to eat? IV: Yes, and that's no exaggeration. I’m the kind of person who really eats well for breakfast, and then forgets that food exists. KD: Is this the secret to your slender figure? IV: I’d say that, other than the fact that I like 'slow food', my slender figure comes from genetic predisposition. That is, everyone in my family is thin, and I am even smaller and lighter. Even now, my mother, after giving birth to four children, has no excess weight. I admit that I’m sometimes angry when people say that I have an eating disorder simply because I am not overweight. I only eat when I’m hungry, and don’t eat like I’m filling a truck. KD: And does Goran go into the kitchen with a cookbook in his hand? IV: No, that’s not his area. In our house, his duty is to take out the trash. Although I think he could get by if he needed to. KD: Do you go out to restaurants? IV: We have two favorite places we like to go out to, one is a sushi bar, and the other is Italian—Madeo. The food is wonderful, and the owner is an old Italian woman who comes out from the kitchen with a camera every time we go there, and has always wanted to have her picture taken with Dr. Luka Kovac. But we like our own world best of all, and we both like our own cooking best of all, nibble a bit and talk far into the night. Trust me, Zagreb jet-setters would die of boredom in California if they were Goran Visnjic's wife. KD: What do you do while Goran is on the set? IV: I volunteer with an animal protection group that rescues cats and dogs from the pound and finds homes for them. It sometimes seems like I was meant to care for animals. Even as a little girl, I was always bringing home homeless animals. Even now, my mother has three dogs that I was able to have her adopt. Even my Louis was a shelter puppy that I fell in love with and kept. This volunteer job takes up a lot of time, and it is frequently unpleasant, because there are many injured animals that unfortunately sometimes die. In addition to this preoccupation, I’m studying at a nearby art academy that I enrolled in to master the art of oil painting on plates, rather than for a diploma. I like it there because it’s a small group of students. And since the academy is nearby, I can go home during the break to cook lunch and walk the dogs, and then return to class. KD: What area and what kind of house do you live in? IV: In Sherman Oaks, a beautiful and peaceful, but not luxurious in any sense, area near the studio where ER is filmed. The houses are large, family-oriented, and non-pretentious, and our neighbors are wonderful people. Our house is Spanish-style, and I furnished it with beautiful, original Mexican furniture. KD: How do you keep it up, does anyone help you? IV: I have a woman who comes in to clean once a week, and now, while we are on travel, she watches our cats Rika and Momi. Right after we moved in, we had an assistant, but now we do everything ourselves. The house isn’t all that big, but I have a fairly large, beautiful garden that I’m proud of. I will miss my old house after we move in September. KD: You’re moving? Where to? IV: We’re moving to West Hollywood, into another beautiful house, but only because almost all of our friends live near there. LA is an enormous city, and everything is so far apart. Sometimes it takes an entire day just to meet a friend for coffee. KD: Who are your friends? IV: Without exception, they are all simple, normal people from different ethnic groups and different walks of life, as well as Goran's colleagues from ER. Photo Caption: “Zagreb jet-setters would die of boredom in California.” KD: What do you find especially nice about LA, and what will you miss the least when you return to Europe? IV: The best thing about America is that all services are available 24 hours a day, and that everything happens fast, and on time. We will not miss their traffic, which is catastrophically bad. Because of frequent earthquakes, Los Angeles is a city without a subway, so that everyone, from age 16 to the very old, is forced to drive a car. Even if they drive slow, and don't use turn signals. And it’s not at all unusual to see old women behind the wheel as the most normal thing. The one good thing is that fuel is cheap, and the roads are good, so I enjoyed driving there. KD: What do you drive? IV: A small sports car, a Volkswagen Cabrio with a Tiptronica manual/automatic switch and turbine. KD: Your spouse often says he’s lucky you have an excellent understanding of his job, since you're a child who grew up around the film industry. Does he ask for your advice when approving roles? IV: He likes to ask for advice, and all in all, I think we are in good agreement. Moreover, I am his severest critic. However, like any other person, he is not happy to hear criticism directed at him, but he accepts it and realizes that it is well-intended and constructive. For example, I can tell you that he filmed two additional takes of a scene for the film and series “Long Dark Night” as a result of my criticism. My father was a bit angry with me, but everything turned out okay. Looking at the dailies, I didn’t like how he played a key, powerful argument scene with his partner Katarina Bistrrovic, a brilliant actress, just prior to his capture. This happened to them because of the stressful pace of work, and I knew they could do much better. They decided to do it over, but the next possible opening that everyone had available was a few months later, because Goran had to return to ER. After reshooting, this time excellently, the editors noticed his hair had grown too much relative to the preceding frame. A third, successful shoot for this scene once again required several months (to arrange), and an entire year passed from my criticism to correction of the mistake. KD: In your opinion, is there a role that Goran has played best, which showed his gifts to his best advantage? IV: I think that his biggest, best, most demanding role was in fact in “Long Dark Night.” To me, he was also sweet in one minor film, “Faithful Wife.” All he did was smile, and I love it when he smiles. KD: You are supposedly a great fan of Nicole Kidman: Does she look just as beautiful and refined in person? IV: She is a beautiful woman, person, and actress. I have had the opportunity to get to know her. She’s sweet, nice, and not as cold as many think. She is an unusual combination, a very tall but graceful woman. Tom Cruise isn’t really that short. I would like for him to play opposite Nicole again so he doesn’t have to slouch. Because he is 195 centimeters tall, he always has to hunch his shoulders so that he won’t be so tall next to most of the short Americans. And, by the way, as far as beauty is concerned, I’d say the young Scarlett Johansson is one of the most beautiful women I’ve ever seen. KD: Where do you get your clothes and do you like to wear signature wardrobes. IV: I get them wherever I find them, and I’m not hung up on signatures. On the other hand, the dress I wore to the Vladimir Nazor awards was by an 'unknown' designer. I would never, for example, buy a Gucci dress for several thousand dollars and then wear it once or twice. There are brilliant, young designers who are still unknown. As the spouse of a successful actor, I get signature wardrobes for premiers, promotions, and other similar events for each particular event, and then return them, or such wardrobes are given to me. Those clothes aren’t purchased, and our people (here in Croatia) don’t realize that. The world fashion industry is dying to provide such 'benefits' to well-known persons and their immediate families. KD: You have worn Katy Balogh designs for a long time now. IV: Not that long, because she is one of those who doesn’t understand that you can’t promote expensive items for free. KD: What do you think of Croatian women’s style? IV: I would just say that a woman can dress well, even with little money, and only a small number of completely unknown girls and women dress well and have good style. Unfortunately, many of our women, it seems, have only heard of Fendi, Gucci, etc., and for those horribly ugly, and in Croatia at least, almost always fake Louis Vuitton bags. I will never understand it. KD: Your father recently said that you were planning to spend most of next year in Croatia. Does that mean you are planning to have a baby? IV: Nooooo! I must admit that I am terrified of that, and that I haven’t yet felt the maternal instinct. I’m not one of those people who plans to have her first child at 40, but a child isn’t a plaything, you need to get it to stand on its feet and make a person out of it in every respect, and to tell the truth, I don’t think I’m ready for that yet. KD: Does Goran have the fatherly instinct? IV: We are 'in the same film' as far as that issue is concerned. We know that it is wonderful to have children; we love our nieces and other relatives. I like to see the connection between them, and how they play together, but I’m afraid my child would be isolated in America. I’m not ruling out motherhood — maybe that will happen after we permanently return to this side of the Atlantic. KD: What does your family say about this? IV: Since so many people were bombarding us with this every day, we did once, for a short time, work on having a baby. And then I told myself that I wouldn’t have a child just because someone was expecting that of me. KD: It is interesting that you two 'secretly' married in Santa Barbara in 1999 after being together for two years. Was this a Las Vegas style wedding, and who were your best man/maid of honor? IV: We only got married in America so that the newspapers and paparazzi wouldn’t be after us. I never wanted to make a big deal out of my wedding, but also didn’t want a scene in Vegas with 'Elvis' as best man. Our friends, Australian Croat Vili Kraljevic and American Candace Duke were our witnesses. KD: When did your parents know that you had gotten married? IV: The first time we saw each other, they saw our new photographs. My father stopped in front of one of them and said, “So, Ivana, you got married!” KD: At about that same time, the media carried announcements of a large, traditional wedding in Croatia. Will that ever happen? IV: There will never be a large, traditional wedding with 500 guests. Marriage is a serious thing to Goran and me, and vows of marriage are an intimate act. You can be with someone for ten years and not want to take that final step. Marriage is a special bond, but does not consist solely of romance. For both of us, this is the first time we have decided to spend our whole lives with someone, if God grants it, of course. That is something for us alone. But for my father, I would also like to get married in a Croatian church, where I know he would like to walk me to the altar, and that would mean a lot to him. I will do that one day in the presence of our families and brothers alone. It’s not important where, just that we’re able to bring the Vrdoljaks and Visnices together, and that no one other than us find out about it. Photo Caption: “I volunteer with an animal protection group. Even my Louis was a shelter puppy that I fell in love with and kept.” - Nancy ---------------- Duga Mracna Noc episode summaries at: http://www.freewebs.com/goranvisnjic/index.htm [ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ] |
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| Re: Translated: July 7, 2005 Arena interview of Ivana Visnjic | Kay | 18:30:19 08/13/05 Sat |