Kari Wuhrer Chat - 23 Aug 00

Kari Wuhrer Chat at AT&T Community Port on August 23, 2000

Welcome to the AT&T WorldNet^Ž Community Port chat event. Tonight we're speaking with Kari Wuhrer, the MTV vixen turned feature film star!

MODERATOR: Welcome to the AT&T WorldNet^Ž Community Port Chat, Kari Wuhrer. We're very excited to have you here today. How are you doing?

SPEAKER_Kari Wuhrer: I am so, so, so good! This has been a crazy week so far...but I love every minute of it.

MODERATOR: Let's start with some personal questions from our user El Duque -

El Duque: Where did you grow up? What kinds of things did you do for fun when growing up?

SPEAKER_Kari Wuhrer: I grew up on a small planet just east of New York City. It's called Connecticut. I'm pretty sure it's still there.

SPEAKER_Kari Wuhrer: I played in punk rock bands. I dressed like a crazy chick and got beat up in school. I had a slip-and-slide I loved. Oh yeah...I tormented my little brother too.

YankeeDoodle: Did you go to college and if so what was your degree?

SPEAKER_Kari Wuhrer: I went to NYU with Kristen Johnson. I never graduated, but I studied film and drama. I went to Columbia for a while and Marymount-Manhattan College -- an all-girls school on 74th street.

MODERATOR: As a follow-up to Connecticut -

cobra427: Kari what town in connecticut are you from, I am from Bridgeport?

SPEAKER_Kari Wuhrer: Brookfield.

MODERATOR: XS-pain has an interesting question -

XS-pain: Where can I get a life size stand-up of you to add to my collection of other people?

SPEAKER_Kari Wuhrer: Try your local 7-Eleven. I'm the 7-Eleven Angel. All the stores got life-size standup cutouts of me. Either that or eBay. Some people were selling them there. I haven't quite made it to the Santa Monica pier yet.

XS-pain: What do you think of the MTV of today campared to when you were there?

SPEAKER_Kari Wuhrer: When I was there...it was still mainly music. Remote Control was the first alternative programming that they had.

SPEAKER_Kari Wuhrer: Now, either I'm just an old lady or everyone is tuned into VH1.

MODERATOR: Speaking of MTV's Remote Control -

YankeeDoodle: How did you like the show Remote Control?

SPEAKER_Kari Wuhrer: Loved it. It was the time of my life. Ahh...the youth.

YankeeDoodle: How did you get a job with MTV?

SPEAKER_Kari Wuhrer: I just went in after class one day and auditioned. It was my 21st birthday.

SPEAKER_Kari Wuhrer: I had to improv with Ken and Colin and that was it. And the rest is history. It really, really worked. Me and the boys really clicked. Sometimes when you audition...you get a feeling like you know you got the job -- that was one of them.

MODERATOR: Moving on to your present career -

mlmk: im a big fan and im wondering is there any truth to the rumors of a new sliders show or movie in the near future thank you

SPEAKER_Kari Wuhrer: mlmk...Ummm....NO.

SPEAKER_Kari Wuhrer: There will be no Sliders movie. I believe we have buried the timer. I just think that everyone that the show belongs to have dissipated. If they came and asked, I'd be really into it if the cast wanted to do it.

SPEAKER_Kari Wuhrer: I just don't know where we'd take the show from here. I think it's just over.

MODERATOR: Going back to Remote Control -

MustHaveTheRemote: I loved you on Remote Control...wasn't Colin Quinn on that show? Do you think he's funny on SNL?

SPEAKER_Kari Wuhrer: Oh yeah. I think Colin Quinn is so, so smart and a little bit tragic. I've always loved his sense of humor.

MustHaveTheRemote: Who was your role model when you were growing up? Do you have one now?

SPEAKER_Kari Wuhrer: I get asked that a lot. Sadly, I don't think I really had one. I read a lot and so maybe it was Ayn Rand. Maybe it was Natalie Wood, but I was a very introspective child and I built my value system through experiences (mistakes, successes) and taking in life as it came. I think I did pretty well, but it took 30 years to feel that way.

SPEAKER_Kari Wuhrer: Cat Stevens was a very big influence on my life, both spiritually and musically. To this day, his music still grounds me.

SPEAKER_Kari Wuhrer: I had an acting teacher as well, who is now passed, thanks to the great airlines. She was on the plane that crashed in Scotland. She gave me tools to build my self-confidence and I'll never forget her.

SPEAKER_Kari Wuhrer: My heart, my own instincts and my personal truths are what I listen to and where I go when I need to find the way, the answer of the example. This is how I make my choices. Sounds corny. Sounds new-age. But it's the only way for me to be certain that I'm taking full responsibility for ME.There's nobody else to blame for me. If I'm as true as I can be, then I can't blame myself either.

MODERATOR: Speaking of music -

I Love Kari: what was it like to finally complete your life long dream of producing an album?

SPEAKER_Kari Wuhrer: Going back to that question...I also have a few girlfriends that show me how to make failures into successes. They help me to see that there's nothing to fear by taking risks and taking chances in your life...with love, change, etc.

SPEAKER_Kari Wuhrer: Now, for this question....Man, it felt great, but it feels better now. Coming to terms with the final product and feeling proud of the process of making it, even if the end-result isn't what I wanted. Now I can stand behind my work because I was disciplined. I was in a very difficult time in my life and I still completed it. That's a pretty good feeling.

I Love Kari: Is your music modeled after anyone on particular?

SPEAKER_Kari Wuhrer: Nope.

SPEAKER_Kari Wuhrer: I think we're all influenced as musicians, by people, bands, music we've listened to, but I don't aspire to be like other artists. I just write what I feel and sing how I want. That's why I'm not in the big race for major label commercial success. I just music to be the way that it is when I make it.

MODERATOR: On to a more personal note -

I Love Kari: What do you like to do in your free time?

SPEAKER_Kari Wuhrer: Play my guitar, surf the Net, watch The Simpsons, write in my journal. Free time is very rare. It's really never free, it always has a price...like guilt. When I'm not doing something productive, I feel like I'm wasting time.

SPEAKER_Kari Wuhrer: I can't just play my guitar. I have to write a song. I can't just watch TV...that's for sure.

CP_HostTonya: What is the craziest thing you have ever done?

SPEAKER_Kari Wuhrer: I got married.

SPEAKER_Kari Wuhrer: Although I learned a lot.

SPEAKER_Kari Wuhrer: I've taken off my clothes and jumped in swimming pools at public parties. It's not very smart to build that kind of reputation, but it's very fun.

MIguy: are you still married?

SPEAKER_Kari Wuhrer: No way, Jose.

MustHaveTheRemote: ....do you want to get married and have kids.....with me?

SPEAKER_Kari Wuhrer: LOL

SPEAKER_Kari Wuhrer: Send in your resume and I'll put you in the interview folder.

SPEAKER_Kari Wuhrer: I do want to have kids. Maybe not the married part. I'd like a partner. I want to start there. Whether or not the kids or marriage comes first doesn't matter, I would like to start with a partner.

SPEAKER_Kari Wuhrer: What society dictates affects me like it effects everyone else. I'd rather find the person I want to be with and let nature take its course from there.

MODERATOR: Our users are curious to know the answer to this question -

MIguy: do you still jump into pools with no clothes on?

SPEAKER_Kari Wuhrer: Well....admittedly and semi-unfortunately...Yes. But not as often as I used to. Maybe every few months I'll regress.

MODERATOR: On to a more serious note -

MustHaveTheRemote: How has fame changed your life?

SPEAKER_Kari Wuhrer: Still waiting, baby.

SPEAKER_Kari Wuhrer: I don't really have "fame." I still have my privacy. The other night, the LA Police Dept. didn't book it in, instead they brought it over to my house. That's great...it saved me a trip to the police station. Little things like that are great. Sometimes people are nicer to me, but I don't have any hassles yet, if ever.

MODERATOR: Speaking of fame -

YankeeDoodle: What kind of other stars have you met?

SPEAKER_Kari Wuhrer: I've had the good fortune of working with several amazing people....

SPEAKER_Kari Wuhrer: I worked with Jack Nicholson and Sean Penn in The Crossing Guard. Two of the biggest and two of my favorites. I've met every rock star I want to meet because of MTV and bad dating choices. If I want to meet someone, I can pretty much do it. A lot of my friends are established artists. By virtue of being in the business, I meet a lot. Most of my friends and the best friends I have, are not in the business at all. I have the best of both worlds.

SPEAKER_Kari Wuhrer: It was amazing, really unbelievable to work with Nicholson and Sean Penn. I thought I was dreaming.

MODERATOR: Back to music -

I Love Kari: Musically - who would you like to work with in the future?

SPEAKER_Kari Wuhrer: That's a good one. I think it would be really, really fun to do a song with Smashmouth. We talked about it a little bit at one time and it sounded intriguing.

SPEAKER_Kari Wuhrer: Cat Stevens, if he ever played again, would be great. Sinead O'Connor, it would be amazing to write something with her. Although she's very introspective and personal in her work, so she'd never go for something like that.

SPEAKER_Kari Wuhrer: Maybe the band Cake. They'd be fun.

SPEAKER_Kari Wuhrer: David Bowie. Maybe we could come up with our album...like Ziggy Stardust. We'd wear platform, sparkley wigs, he could be the girl and I could be the guy. Something to rival the B-52's.

SPEAKER_Kari Wuhrer: There are a lot dead people. I had a dream the other night that I was playing standup bass with Jeff Buckley and my friend Scotty Choc (great band called The Sound of Urchin -- their record comes out next month).

SPEAKER_Kari Wuhrer: Me, Billie Holliday and Janis Joplin.

SPEAKER_Kari Wuhrer: Bonham on drums, Hendrix on guitar and McCartney on bass...I'd be on standup bass. It would be killer.

MODERATOR: Speaking of stars you met -

El Duque: What is Jason Priestly like in real life?

SPEAKER_Kari Wuhrer: I love, love, love Jason Priestley...aka...nicest, coolest, funniest, sweetest guy in the world. His energy is infectious. He's creative. He listens very well...that's a good skill.

SPEAKER_Kari Wuhrer: Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye, which Jason is directing, is a remake of a 1942 Fox film called Moon Tide of the film noir genre.

SPEAKER_Kari Wuhrer: Fox went into their vault and found old movies to make. Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye is a new version of Moon Tide. It's dark, it takes place in Hollywood and I play a MTV VJ. It's how my life would have been, had I been less connected to my value system. Even though I have defied, I've never thrown it away entirely.

SPEAKER_Kari Wuhrer: The show is on tomorrow night at 8pm/7pm Central on Fox!

MODERATOR: Speaking of movies -

El Duque: What is it like to work on a movie? How different is it from your MTV days?

SPEAKER_Kari Wuhrer: MTV...I'm an exaggerated form of myself. In films, I'm playing characters, which takes reserarch, discipline and focus to make it seemless. It's hard work

SPEAKER_Kari Wuhrer: MTV is hard because you have to keep your energy up, but it's pretty much show up, work and leave. With films, you live with it for the duration of the project.

MIguy: What is your fav movie?

SPEAKER_Kari Wuhrer: Harold and Maude -- a Hal Ashby film. It was in the early 70's with Ruth Gordon and Bud Cort. Incidentally, Cat Stevens did the whole soundtrack. It's just a great black comedy. I love it. It's a classic.

CP_HostTonya: What are some of your future projects you're working on?

SPEAKER_Kari Wuhrer: I'm starting a film next week called Do it for Uncle Manny. It's a comedy feature. I believe Rodney Dangerfield will be playing Uncle Manny. I think the script is funny. Right now, I really need the schedule and the discipline of making a film.

SPEAKER_Kari Wuhrer: There's a lot on my plate right now, but nothing I can talk about.

SPEAKER_Kari Wuhrer: WAIT...I did have a song from my record..."There's a Drug"...air on primetime on the W.B. It was in a pivotal scene on the new show Young Americans.

MODERATOR: Here's a few random questions from users -

JOEDOE: where do you hang out in la or ny

SPEAKER_Kari Wuhrer: When I go out...it's usually down the street from my house, across from the Scientology Celebrity Center. I sometimes go to the Whiskey Bar in West Hollywood or I go bowling.

MIguy: did you ever date tommy lee?

SPEAKER_Kari Wuhrer: No, but look what I passed-up. Whoa baby!

XS-pain: which of the three stooges running for president would you vote for?

SPEAKER_Kari Wuhrer: Shemp!

SPEAKER_Kari Wuhrer: Elusive and mysterious.

MustHaveTheRemote: If I told you that you had a beautiful body...would you hold it against me?

SPEAKER_Kari Wuhrer: How dare you!

SPEAKER_Kari Wuhrer: LOL

SPEAKER_Kari Wuhrer: ....flatter me so.

MODERATOR: El Duque has an interesting question -

El Duque: Are you upset or embarrassed that people have naked pics of you all over the net?

SPEAKER_Kari Wuhrer: Umm....No, but maybe their mothers are.

I Love Kari: Do you have any beauty secrets for us? How do you stay some beautiful?

SPEAKER_Kari Wuhrer: Oh gosh. It's all that clean living...ha ha ha.

SPEAKER_Kari Wuhrer: It's plenty of water, plenty of sex and my 3 cats. They keep me in love.

El Duque: What is the craziest thing you have ever recieved from a fan?

SPEAKER_Kari Wuhrer: Acknowledgement. It amazes me every day that there are people who appreciate my work (or whatever). I am so appreciative. It blows my mind.

El Duque: What is the scariest thing oyu have ever gottn from a fan?

SPEAKER_Kari Wuhrer: I got 5 or 6 letters per day from a fan who was related to the Gambino crime family. That was pretty scary. He was in his 30's, but sent me his prom picture, to show me what he looked like. It was pretty scary. He had pet names for me like "My Little Mall" or "Bride To Be."

MODERATOR: Backtracking to stars you met -

Flats: Have you ever met Tom Cruise?

SPEAKER_Kari Wuhrer: No, but I stood next to him once on a red carpet. It was a film premiere. I was surprised at how tall I felt.

Flats: What has been the greatest accomplishment in your life so far?

SPEAKER_Kari Wuhrer: Personally, my last relationship showed me how strong, confident, honest and loving I've become. I'm really proud of that one.

SPEAKER_Kari Wuhrer: Professionally, just the fact that I'm still doing it after years of rejections, years of unrequited encouragement and spinning my wheels.

SPEAKER_Kari Wuhrer: Every day that I wake up with the passion still intact, it's a pretty decent accomplishment.

SPEAKER_Kari Wuhrer: Everything I have, I earned and acquired myself. From my house and material things to my record, my films...it's all mine because I've earned it. Nobody handed me anything. I never had the high-powered team to get me the job. I've really had to work hard and earn it. It's something I daily overlook, but reflecting on it now, I could define myself as successful.

MODERATOR: Well, we have time for one more question this evening!

Flats: If there is one thing that you could change about yourself what would it be?

SPEAKER_Kari Wuhrer: I would be less of an "avoider." Most people would not believe this, but I'm a loner in a way. I'm starting to do better in social situations, but I overcompensate. Little things like returning phone calls or taking responsibility for parking tickets, I tend to push off and not confront. I'm really working on that. I'd really like to change that. That ... and perfect eyesight.

MODERATOR: Well, we're almost out of time for this chat event, Kari. Do you have any final comments you'd like to share with us?

SPEAKER_Kari Wuhrer: I want to tell everyone who has supported me over the years that there's no way I can thank you. It means so much to me. Sometimes, to the point where it feels surreal. I can barely believe it. I want to say thank you. Hopefully I can step up to the plate on a bigger scale and get myself out there, so people who want to see my work can have access to it. It's really humbling, as opposed to ego-boosting, to speak with people who "get it." That's why I do the occasional sci-fi convention or chats like this.

SPEAKER_Kari Wuhrer: Thanks for the questions. I'll be in Toronto this weekend for the convention up there, for anyone who's in that area.

SPEAKER_Kari Wuhrer: Thanks.

MODERATOR: Thanks very much for sharing your knowledge and expertise with us, Kari -- this has been an extremely interesting chat. Also, I'd like to thank all the users who attended and participated in the chat event; we hope to see you again soon!

MODERATOR: Folks, if you missed part of this chat event, you'll be able to view the complete transcript under the link at http://cpchat.home.att.net/calendar.html#chat_transcripts within the next day or so. Be sure to come back tomorrow at 9PM EST, in the Celebrity Chat Room for the Chat with USA Basketball Men's Senior National Team coach Rudy Tomjanovich!

MODERATOR: Thanks again folks. Have a good night! This chat event and transcript is Copyright Š 2000 AT&T WorldNet^Ž.

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