Inside Movies & DVD with Drew McWeeny

Watch: Olivia Wilde is on the prowl in 'The Change-Up'

Plus a quick check-in on where they are with the 'TRON' sequel

By Drew McWeeny Wednesday, Aug 3, 2011 2:45 AM

In the past year, I think I've ended up interviewing Olivia Wilde three times now.

There are worse things to be paid for, all things considered.

The thing about spending an afternoon at a press event is that you end up seeing these people in their down moments, when they're not projecting their public persona for the camera, and occasionally you get a not-so-flattering look at the way people really behave. Other times, someone comes across as entirely unaffected, and you realize they're very grounded. That's Wilde. She's very comfortable with the process at this point, and she doesn't seem to be terribly high-maintenance, hanging out during breaks in the same green room where the press was gathered.

She's one of those people who I wish I could discuss something besides movies with, the great frustration of these press events. Obviously, you need to be on-point during the conversations and try to keep things related to their work, but she's such a sharp conversationalist that it would be nice to see what else interests her and what else keeps her engaged.

Her role in "The Change-Up" is interesting because she's almost like the antithesis of the "girl" in most romantic comedies. She's shallow, she's interested in someone almost exclusively for their physical attributes, and at the end of the film, she does not appear to have grown or changed in any way, and it's nice to see someone like her play that part. She's an unrepentant leech, and Ryan Reynolds is the target of her aggression.

I think his job is better than mine.

"The Change-Up" is in theaters this Friday.