Anna Faris Once Felt Terrible After Being Accused of Mocking Cameron Diaz in ‘Lost in Translation’
Actor Anna Faris had a role in the 2003 feature Lost in Translation where she played the mentally shallow actor Kelly. But many felt that the Kelly character was a dig against The Mask star Cameron Diaz.
Faris would later discover these reports and offer her own feelings on the matter.
Anna Faris felt her work was finally recognized after starring in ‘Lost in Translation’
Faris was once mostly known as the talented comedic star of the popular Scary Movie franchise. But she felt starring in 2003’s Lost in Translation provided the opportunity to show her range as an actor.
“There are studio heads and people in this industry who have never seen Scary Movie. Even though a lot of the younger generation is familiar with me, a lot of important people didn’t know me,” she once said according to Contact Music. “These people have now seen [Lost in Translation] and it feels really good to have people know my work a little more.”
In a resurfaced interview with BBC, Faris further clarified that she didn’t regret her time in the Scary Movie franchise. It was just that Lost in Translation’s acclaim might have made her a more credible actor in the eyes of others.
“When Scary Movie came out, I was very naïve and thought it would make everything easier for me in terms of succeeding in this industry,” she continued. “But it’s true, they have given me a career. I had nothing before this, and I feel really fortunate that I’m one of the few young actresses in Hollywood who is involved in comedy. But Lost In Translation has definitely given me more of a legitimacy because it has been so critically acclaimed, which is unfair I think.”
How Anna Faris reacted to claims that she was parodying Cameron Diaz with her ‘Lost in Translation’ performance
Speculation soon emerged that Coppola was taking a shot at Cameron Diaz, and using Faris’ character to do it. Audiences felt that Faris’ ditzy portrayal of actor Kelly in Translation was an intentional slight against the Bad Teacher star. But when Faris heard about this rumor, she was shocked.
“I don’t know exactly where it started, but pretty soon everyone was asking me if I was parodying Cameron Diaz. I felt terrible, because first of all Sofia [Coppola, writer-director] never mentioned her. We had talked about a couple of actresses, nothing too specific, and certainly not Cameron,” Faris said.
But in her opinion, she didn’t think Coppola had Diaz in mind when developing the film. Faris even wanted to make amends with Diaz for any possible misunderstanding.
“I wanted to apologise to her but I guess I never got the chance,” Faris said.
Sofia Coppola once addressed whether or not she was mocking Cameron Diaz with ‘Lost in Translation’
Eventually, Translation director Coppola would personally address the persistent rumor herself. Although Coppola did draw inspiration for her ditzy Kelly character, the source for Kelly wasn’t just one person.
“The character of the actress was based on a bunch of people—just that type. I could probably name eight people that she was based on, just that bubbly, extroverted blonde that you see on talk shows. It was the opposite of the Scarlett character, where I was feeling very introverted and didn’t know what I was doing,” she once explained to Daily Beast.
