Beauty and the Beast airs tonight, February 27, 2010 at 9/8 C on SyFy Network!

 Estella Warren plays the role of Belle in SyFy’s take on the classic, Beauty and the Beast, which is a dark twist on the morality tale of forbidden love between beautiful Belle and the feared forest Beast. As villagers are being brutally murdered and the Beast is hunted down as the one responsible for the mayhem, Belle and Beast team up to defeat the real killer, the power-hungry witch's malevolent troll.

Estella talked to MediaBlvd in an exclusive interview about her performance in the original movie, which is a dark take on the classic, and about finding love on the set with the film’s bad guy.  The beautiful and talented actress is a former model and professional athlete, and described the fun light times on the set of the film which was filmed on Australia’s Gold Coast.   

MediaBlvd> So tell us about your new project, Beauty and the Beast?

Estella> The movie is splashing on SyFy, and we’re super excited.  I think as you know, as a young child, you watch the Disney animated films of Beauty and the Beast and Snow White, and you kind of grow up wanting to be a princess. When they give you the offer to do something like that, you can’t pass it up.  For me, it was a lot of fun because it was shot in Australia and I love Australia, I shot Kanagroo Jack there.  We shot on the Gold Coast, and coming from my sports background, being a synchronized performer, there was surfing and scuba diving so we had a great time filming.  That really shows visually when you watch the movie as well.  It’s just beautifully shot, because we’re in such a great location.  I play Belle, and she’s a very kind of feisty, head strong Belle.  She’s great because it leads to a metaphor that looks aren’t everything.  The Beauty and the Beast metaphor where it’s what should be perceived.  And I think that is a message that people of all ages can still listen to and understand, and want to hear because it’s a good message.

MediaBlvd> Let’s talk about how you got involved.  Did they approach you, or did you just try out?

Estella> Yeah, they approached me and I was flattered, and said, “Absolutely, I’d love to do it!”

MediaBlvd> What is the twist in this version?  I think, as you alluded to with the animated version, Beauty and the Beast is something that’s been made into at least five movies, and the TV series.  So what is different about this take on the theme?

Estella> This is definitely a very sci fi twist for us and the viewer.  I think you are going to see a lot more blood and gore.  You’re going to see a CGI troll and green screen views, so it’s definitely an updated version.  It’s not something for kids either.  It’s definitely for your teens and up and it’s airing at 9 o’clock on Saturday.  I think it’s really fun to watch.  I think it’s a really fun movie. 

MediaBlvd> What was it like working in front of the green screens and with the CGI effects?  I know you’ve done some of that before.

Estella> The green screens I’m quite used to.  But there was a scene with a troll, that was added later.  So they put in this stuntman who was put into a big puffy troll suit, and it was really funny.  You’re supposed to be scared of this guy, but in pre-production, when we were shooting, he didn’t look very scary at all.  He kind of looked like this puffy, naked troll.  So we always got a good laugh when we did scenes with the troll.

MediaBlvd> Does redoing something like this, that has been done so many times before in different ways, add any complications to your preparation as an actor?

Estella> No, I don’t think so.  I think because it’s such a light kind of fun role to play.  Some times as an actor, you get an opportunity to do fun roles like this.  It’s like eating ice cream, it’s just fun.  There’s nothing hard about it.  I go from a project like Beauty and the Beast, where the set is really happy and light, and we’re laughing, then I get a project like Transparency in Vancouver, where  it’s about human trafficking.  So the research  in that was very depressing and heavy.  So the feeling on set reflects greatly on what the subject matter is. 

MediaBlvd> In the preview I’ve seen, it looks like you are involved in a knife fight.  Did you have to do any special training for that?

Estella> It was very fun!  Vanessa was very fun to work with and we both had a good laugh while we were doing it.  I think it looks good, I think it looks fun. 

MediaBlvd> You mentioned the CGI effects, but it also looks like there is some great makeup on the Beast.

Estella> Yeah, I felt for Victor.  He definitely had to come in much earlier than us to get his har and makeup done, and to put his prosthetics on.  He had to be careful of what he ate, and how he moved his mouth.  The area around the mouth is the most delicate part and it gets wet if there is saliva there.  But I’m no stranger to these kinds of effects.  I did Planet of the Apes, and they were in till 2 or 3 in the morning.  So you just have to be careful and cautious around them.  I think sometimes too, you forget there is a person under there.  And you’re isolated from them as well.  You have to remember to keep including them because you can get really isolated if you are in prosthetics. 

MediaBlvd> When did you actually do the shooting?  When were you filming this?

Estella> It’s almost a year ago, in Australia, on the Gold Coast. 

MediaBlvd> You mentioned how great Australia was, but I know you’ve also worked in Vancouver and LA.  How do those different locations play out for you?

Estella> Australia is one of my favorite places to shoot, A) because of the weather and how beautiful it is, but B) because of the people there.  They are very similar to Canadians, and I’m Canadian.  There is a different sense of humor and the same kind of little pubs and restaurants that are very family oriented and homey.  For me, I love to film in Australia any time.

MediaBlvd> I noticed that David Lister directed this, and he did something else with Beauty and the Beast in 2003.

Estella> I know, he has an affinity for Beauty and the Beast.  I haven’t seen his other film.  I think it’s probably better to start something fresh in your mind, but I think he really likes Beauty and the Beast.

MediaBlvd> Did that earlier work come up at all, or did everybody know that he had done that?

Estella> I don’t think everyone knew that.  I think some people did, and some people didn’t.  I think people were just excited to shoot the new version of this. 

MediaBlvd> What can you say about your co-stars?  I know you’ve mentioned a couple of them already, but was this a fun cast to work with?

Estella> Yeah, it was so much fun.  We all got along really, really well.  I ended up falling in love with Rhett Giles who is in the next room right now.  It was quite fun for me, that just never happened to me before on set, and we tried to keep it really quiet, but everybody kind of found out and knew, and it was lovely.  He wasn’t my love interest though, he was like the bad guy.

MediaBlvd> What character does he play, is he the Count?

Estella> He plays Count Rudolph.

MediaBlvd> So Belle falls in love with the Count.  We’ll have to watch for that subtext.

Estella> Belle falls in love with the bad guy.  But you haven’t seen the ending so I won’t tell you.  Well, I’ll just tell you that he turns to stone at the end.

MediaBlvd> Let’s talk about you for a minute.  How did you get your start in acting, and I know you have the modeling background and the swimming…

Estella> I was a synchronized swimmer before, and I did some modeling on the Chanel No. 5 campaign, and the director of the commercial said, “You should really be an actress.”  So I moved to LA and started acting, and was very successful very quickly.  After my first few big starts, I was like, “I think I can do this the rest of my life, I love this.” I studied with Howard Fine for a couple of years and I’ve done a lot of independents since just because it really gets you prepared.  It’s just been so much fun for me, I could do this forever.

MediaBlvd> Do you have any regrets about not going forward as a professional athlete? 

Estella> You know, with the Olympics on, it is a little bit bittersweet.  “I wish, I wish.”  But if I did that, I wouldn’t be where I am today.  Or I might not be.  And I think everything has happened in your past for a reason. 

MediaBlvd> Can you talk about what other projects you have in the works?  Where will we see you next?

Estella>  Yeah, I mentioned I just did this film that recently wrapped in Vancouver, called Transparency.  That’s with Lou Diamond Phillips and Deborah Unger.  And then I’m doing a motorcycle film called Devil’s Pride with Peter Fonda and Rosana Arquette.

MediaBlvd> It sounds like you made the right career choice.  Are you pretty happy with how things have turned out?
Estella> I’m very happy.  I think if you are an actor and you are working, you are a very happy person.  I think anybody, in this economy, who is working right now should be grateful, and I am.  I’m very grateful. 

MediaBlvd> Is there any kind of dream role, or anything you’d really like to be doing?

Estella> It’s interesting, people have asked that of me before, and I don’t know.  I think movies, where you click with the script and the people that you are going to be working with just kind of become organic.  I think my forte is drama, but I’d love to try my hand at comedy, and I do really appreciate comedic actors.