Women everywhere fell in love with Erin Kelly when she starred in Katherine Brooks’ lesbian student-teacher scandal film Loving Annabelle in 2006. I got the chance to sit down with Erin this week and get to know the girl behind that role – a young actor, writer and producer who loves her lesbian fans so much that she even ventured out to the desert for The Dinah this year to meet them.
SC: So, let’s cut right to the chase – what was it like going to Dinah this year?
EK: (laughing) It was…uh…interesting (more laughing). It was fun. I had fun. It was interesting. It was… spring break for lesbians, which, I didn’t know before…I don’t know what I thought, but that wasn’t what I had imagined.
SC: (laughing) You know, that is what they call it actually – they joke that the Dinah is “spring break for lesbians.”
EK: Oh, really? (laughing) Yeah, I didn’t know that.
SC: I’m sure you noticed while you were there that your lesbian following hasn’t waned in the few years since Loving Annabelle. What is it like having so many lesbian fans?
EK: I love it. I do. I love it. And I think just now I am really seeing how much I love it. I just started my website – www.erinkellygirl.com – and, on it, we have a section called “Ask Annabelle.” We actually just published our first letter today along with our advisor’s response as well as mine. And that’s really exciting. I love that.
SC: Are you writing from you or are you writing what you think Annabelle would tell someone to do?
EK: That’s a good question – I am actually writing it from me, even though it is called “Ask Annabelle.” I entitled it that originally because the idea was to make it from Annabelle. But, I changed my mind. And even once I decided it would be from me, I realized that the demographic of women who follow my site are fans from Loving Annabelle, so they know me as that character. So, yes, the comments are coming from me, as well as from a therapist who is working with me as a consultant for that section.
SC: How did you come up with the idea for the “Ask Annabelle” portion of your site?
EK: As soon as Loving Annabelle came out I just started getting hundreds of pieces of fan mail. And not only pieces to me about the film, but emails and letters asking “How do I tell my mom I’m gay?” and “How do I talk to my friends?” and “How do I know?” And so I wanted to be able to communicate with those fans, and this made sense.
SC: How long have you had your website?
EK: It’s fairly new – three weeks, maybe a month now. I started posting YouTube videos of myself slacklining (Note: slacklining is similar to tight-rope walking) and I thought it would be fun to have a site to keep in touch with my fans. I have a MySpace page that I am completely inept at being able to navigate around. So this site was a great way for me to keep up with people.
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SC: There’s a quote on your website that I really like: “The future has several names. For the weak, it is impossible. For the fainthearted, it is unknown. For the thoughtful and valiant, it is ideal.” Why is that quote on your biography page?
EK: Because I sort of live my life that way. My life is ideal, for me, and my circumstances are ideal. My life is what I create. And I love it.
SC: You’ve done a little writing on your site – what other kind of writing do you do?
EK: I hadn’t done blogging until this one. Not being very computer savvy, I haven’t even really read blogs. So, I’m learning right now. But I have done other writing. I’m in the process of writing a children’s book, which is one of my secret little passions. I’m obsessed with children’s books, and I’ve always wanted to write one. And I’m also co-writing a feature film project, which hopefully I’ll be able to see through fruition.
SC: Children’s books? Wow. The blogging and writing a feature film makes sense, but what inspired you to write a children’s book?
EK: I love kids, I love children’s books. I grew up in a house with no TV. As a child, that’s what I would do. I’d either look at picture books or have children’s books read to me. So many of them have fairies and goblins and fantasy elements, which are all great to feed your imagination. More so in a book than in television, you get to use your imagination.
SC: Will you be illustrating it?
EK: No, (laughing) I’m not an artist.
SC: Do you think you’ll ever write another type of book? Maybe an autobiography?
EK: Well, (laughing) the little judge inside me just said, “nah, my life’s not that interesting,” but I don’t know. At this point in my life, no. But I’m sure that the next several years will take me on some life-altering turns, so maybe let’s come back to that question in 10 or 20 years.
SC: What do you think your fans’ biggest misconception about you is?
EK: (laughs…pauses and raises her eyebrows at me)
SC: Ok, besides the obvious…
EK: (laughing again) Oh, I don’t know. I’m very vague in terms of my personal life.
SC: Ok, so without being too vague, what are you most passionate about right now?
EK: Hmmm…in life or in the industry?
SC: Both.
EK: In life, well, that would be my relationship, actually. And in the industry, I have just co-founded a production company called Rock Rose Entertainment. The industry is undoubtedly slow and somewhat unstable at the moment, and rather than getting caught up in society’s fear of lack of security and loss of jobs, I am looking at the instability as an opportunity. It’s an opportunity to truly take my career into my own hands and facilitate my own work. That alone is excitement enough, but in the last few months we already have several projects in various stages of preproduction and that is unbelievably exhilarating. I have become a triple threat, I am an actress, writer, and producer!
SC: Wow. Impressive. A lot of the filmmaking process is about trying to send a message. What did you think of the message in Loving Annabelle – the idea that love can be authentic even with a large age difference, even with an interesting power dynamic?
EK: Well, I’ll tell you a story first that is a good example of this…I just got a piece of mail from a fan a couple of days ago from who said they saw the movie in a class at school. Their teacher had wanted to show it because, in their state, a teacher had been caught having sex with a student and was then being prosecuted. This fan’s teacher, though, showed them the movie because she wanted them to have a different point of view on the situation.
SC: Wow.
EK: Yeah, I thought that was…impressive, that a teacher would choose to educate their students about that side of the story. That, for me, has always been important – the idea that any relationship is individual and you can’t judge a book by its cover. And you can’t judge something unless you’re in it, and even then you shouldn’t judge it.
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SC: What did you think of Annabelle’s character? She was so rebellious, but also really compassionate.
EK: Annabelle was so much fun creating. I can relate to her. It was fun acting in and she had a more rambunctious, outspoken side than I do…and that was fun to play. But, I do see a lot of myself in her.
SC: You worked closely with Katherine Brooks to create the character of Annabelle, right?
EK: Yeah, we worked together developing the project.
SC: Have you two maintained a relationship since Loving Annabelle?
EK: Yeah. We’re very close. It’s been great keeping up with her. We are working on a project together that we started working on just two weeks ago, so I’m excited about that. I’ve done three projects with her together already – Finding Kate, Loving Annabelle and Waking Madison.
SC: You two met in an interesting way, didn’t you?
EK: (laughing) Yeah, the classic Hollywood story that isn’t supposed to happen…
SC: Being discovered?
EK: Yeah, exactly.
SC: Well, it certainly seemed to work out for you. And right away, after doing Loving Annabelle with her, you started to get fan mail – what were some of those letters like?
EK: People were excited for the most part. A lot of people thanked me for making the movie. I think it inspired a lot of people because a lot of the mail I’ve gotten is girls saying, “Watching Loving Annabelle allowed me to embrace who I am as a lesbian and come out.” And I think Annabelle owns that empowering “this is who I am” sensibility that a younger generation can look up to.
SC: Well, I can tell you it’s a movie I made my parents watch a few years ago! Do you have plans to do a role like “Annabelle” again?
EK: Well, I’ve been asked about a Loving Annabelle sequel, and I can tell you that won’t happen. But, a lesbian role? I’m totally open to that.
SC: Is there someone you’d like to co-star?
EK: Oh – as my lesbian lovah?
SC: (laughing) Yep…
EK: Hmmm. That’s a tough one, I hadn’t thought about that.
SC: Oh, come on, no one comes to mind?
EK: Well…I do think that Shane on The L Word, as a lesbian, is hot.
SC: So, other than maybe a future lesbian role opposite Shane...kidding, kidding… what are you most excited about that you have coming up?
EK: Really, my website. I want to communicate with fans. I want to reach out. I’m really passionate about the Ask Annabelle section in particular, so if people have questions, they should write in.
