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Anime fx - February 1995 Back to
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Surrending the pink Anime fx chat February 1995 Page 44 AFX How did you get into acting? Amy Jo Johnson I was born up in Cape Cod in Massachusetts, I was a gymnast which was, like, a really big help in Power Rangers, then I went off to NY city where I studied at Lee Strasberg's Academy for 1 year and a half. Then I got in a car and went out to LA. It was a real spur of the moment thing. I stayed there for 2 months, hated it. AFX Huh? Amy Jo Johnson Well, it's totally different from New York. Like in New York you don't need a car, the energy's totally different. Anyway I went home for 2 weeks, then changed my mind, went back again, and within a week I had the job on Power Rangers, from an audition with Haim Saban... AFX How much are you like Kimberly? Amy Jo Johnson Well y'know, when we first started I did the pilot and the first few episodes, they made her really materialistic, they wanted her blonde... AFX Urgh! Amy Jo Johnson Totally, they wanted a valley girl, but I changed that. AFX You did? Amy Jo Johnson Gradually. Well, y'know, I play the guitar, and we had her playing the guitar in one episode. I'm a gymnast, she's a gymnast... AFX Wasn't she a gymnast originally? Amy Jo Johnson Well, yeah, but...well y'know, I changed her. I mean, I HATE pink! AFX Oops, I have to ask, what is your favourite... Amy Jo Johnson Purple. AFX Purple? Amy Jo Johnson Purple. AFX Rita Repulsa's secret love child? Amy Jo Johnson Totally. AFX Power Rangers The Movie. I believe it was your first film role, and also Bryan Forbes' [Bryan Spicer] first film as director? What was it like for you? Amy Jo Johnson It was very, very different. I mean we got to spend 2 and a half months in Australia, which was great for me. Bryan Forbes [Bryan Spicer] was a great director to work with. I got to work with Paul Freeman (Ivan Ooze). AFX The Raiders of the lost Ark guy? Amy Jo Johnson Yeah, he is an amazing actor. I learned a lot just from being on the set. But, like, it was much harder work, spending two and a half months on one REALLY BIG episode. Like, in the TV series, we only do 4 little episodes in 2 weeks. And the hours are longer y'know. But I'm off it now. AFX Excuse me? Amy Jo Johnson I got off the show a month ago. I mean, I'll be on it 'til Christmas, but I've finished. They've got a new Pink Ranger, she's from Australia and she's really great, kind of like Olivia Newton-John, y'know? And I've done another film, Susie-Q with Shelley Long, so I've done another movie. AFX You don't have to answer this but did you go or were you pushed? Amy Jo Johnson Oh hey, I'm outta there. I can say what I want. I mean, I wanted to leave. It was good fun and I don't regret doing it at all. I mean it was a great start, and I was really lucky to get a part just a week after getting to the west coast. But, you know... AFX How would you explain the success of Power Rangers? They really have been an amazing worldwide phenomenon. Amy Jo Johnson Oh... kids, y'know, they're really funny. But I mean Power Rangers has got everything that they look for in a show. It's got dinosaurs, monsters, real kids they can relate to bright colours. AFX Do you think it has far to go? Amy Jo Johnson Well... kids don't really care. I mean there's been cast changes and all, but I'll be on re-runs forever. AFX Were there any protests about the lineup changes. Or is it like Menudo, where they just chuck 'em out when they get too old? Amy Jo Johnson Oh yeah! I mean, first season the Green Ranger leaves, but the kids went mad, so they bring him back. I mean we had mothers calling up saying: "My little boy won't come out of his room". Wow! AFX And when you left? Amy Jo Johnson Oh...they don't know I've gone yet, but when they do... AFX I want to bring you back to Haim Saban, and his involvement with other Japanese shows. Amy Jo Johnson You know he did a Power Rangers pilot 8 years ago but no one was interested? Oh yeah, I mean I grew up on that stuff when I was a kid. And you know, Shuki Levy, his partner, he's a song writer, and he wrote, like, the Inspector Gadget song and the Smurfs and stuff. AFX And are you a fan of it now? Amy Jo Johnson What? Inspector Gadget and the Smurfs? AFX No! I mean things like Robotech, Astro Boy, Speed Racer...they're Japanese too... Amy Jo Johnson Oh yeah sure. But I don't watch much TV these days. I don't have time. I'll read a book or play guitar or something. AFX I want to ask you about the Japanese footage. I get this feeling you had more fun doing the dubbing than you did filming the American bits. Amy Jo Johnson Oh man! It's just like a Godzilla movie! Even though it's mainly American footage now, we still have to do ADR [Audio Dialogue Replacement] because those are stunt doubles doing all the stuff. And some of them are actually the original Japanese stunt guys from the Japanese serials, y'know, like, er, Jee...er...Jaw...what is it? Je... AFX ZYURANGER? Amy Jo Johnson Right. AFX What do you plan to do now it's over? Is it back to TV or on to films? Amy Jo Johnson I'd like to do films as the primary thing. I mean I WOULD do TV, there's a lot of good TV, but there's a lot of bad TV. But you know, I'll do anything to get me on the path to where I want to go. Something with longevity. you know, if you want to be famous, you can be famous for something, but a longlasting career is harder. I mean, my idols are people like Jodie Foster, Holly hunter, Sally Field. AFX Would you consider going into directing, like Jodie Foster? Amy Jo Johnson I wanna write, I play guitar. I've just done a demo tape. Who knows? AFX Finally, what advice do you have for anyone interested in following in your footsteps? Amy Jo Johnson I've just been to college and talked about the same thing. I wanted to be an actress since I was like, 7. I love the art of it, the passion of it. If you have a passion for the art of it, you can do anything you wanna do. But it's not easy, it's tough, and you've gotta love it and love your art. You can't say to someone go to this college or do that course, because everyone finds thir own steps. It's a fate luck kinda thing. I feel very lucky. I saved all my money. I was smart. |
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