Were you spoofing Cameron Diaz in particular?

No, that had never, ever occurred to me. There was another actress that I was sort of inspired by, that I had heard some stories about, and when Sofia and I talked about it, we talked about a couple of people, but Cameron's name was never mentioned. I think it's so odd that people have picked up on this and sort of gotten that impression. But no. I feel awful that people thought that I was making fun of her, because I really like her. I don't know her, but I really like her as a comedic actress.

So she hasn't gotten in touch with you and said, "Hey!"?

No. [Laughs ruefully.] I feel really awful.

Can you tell me who some of the other actresses are that you based your portrayal on?

I always imagined someone who was really successful at a young, young age, like as a child, and who grew up in the business, grew up famous and successful and just lives on a different plane. Is totally in her little insulated bubble.

Why do you think people see Cameron Diaz in your portrayal?

Maybe it's because she's animated and friendly. I don't know, actually. Whenever I've heard her speak she actually comes off as really funny and certainly not ridiculous like Kelly is.

So a lot of the role was improvised?

Yeah, I think all the stuff in the press junket was improv. And a lot of the stuff when we're having drinks. But Sofia came up with the anorexic father and a lot of that stuff when you first meet my character, when she says [to Giovanni Ribisi's character], "You're my favorite photographer."

Have the actresses that you've spoofed in the "Scary Movies" -- Neve Campbell and Jennifer Love Hewitt -- ever contacted you about your take on them?

Yeah. Jennifer Love Hewitt sent me a huge bouquet of flowers and I met her a while later and she said, "I never laughed so hard." She was really kind and gracious and friendly. Neve Campbell, I've never run into her, but I imagine people can't really take it too seriously or get too offended because they are such goofy movies. I just hope people understand that we're not spoofing other people's acting. It's just the characters and the dramatic elements of these horror movies.

I noticed you were dubbed an It girl a few months back by W magazine. How does that feel?

Well, it feels great, I guess. But there is this weird flavor-of-the-month thing here in Hollywood that I don't quite get. It seems like a lot of young actors become really popular really fast without quite earning it or deserving it or having quite yet proved themselves. So I think that element is really weird, that someone's the talk of the town and then they're cast in all these movies and then maybe are faced later on with a declining career because the popularity came on so fast and strong. I really like the idea of coming up slow and just trying to do good work and good movies and just continuing to chug along.

Are you starting to get offered roles, as opposed to having to audition for them?

Well, I was just offered this bit on "Friends" -- I'm doing three episodes -- and that was one of the first things I've ever been offered. It's already a pretty scary experience because I've never done that kind of live TV before and also working with these enormously successful people on their turf. So I was really nervous. I was like, "How can they know how I'm going to play this character?"

What's the character that you're playing?

I don't know how much I can say about it. All I can say is that I'm involved in Monica and Chandler's storyline.

Your 27th birthday is coming up in a few weeks. Are you pleased with where you are?

Oh my gosh! Yeah. I was able to buy a house because of "Scary Movie 3." It feels great. It's also really scary because actresses come and go. It seems like there's a much shorter time span for actresses but, yeah, I just can't believe how fortunate I've been.

What are you hoping to do next?

I go back and forth between being very picky and fussy about projects and feeling very desperate about wanting to get to work. So I don't know. I think if I want to get into dramatic film, I'll have to go the independent route because I don't know how much studios are looking at me and saying, "Oh yeah, let's put her in a drama." So I think I'll have to prove myself.

Regina Hall -- who's also a "Scary Movie" veteran -- we want to do a buddy comedy like the men do, something less broad, not necessarily action-oriented, but I think the time is right for female buddy comedy. We want to be like Richard Pryor and Gene Wilder, Mel Gibson and Danny Glover. We want to produce and create a lot of our own projects like a lot of male comedians do. We want to do a lot of stuff.

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