TRANSCRIPT (Melanie's Romance Chat, February 10th, 2000, 9PM EST)

OneWorldLive:Welcome to the OneWorldLive chat with Melanie Griffith. How do you keep romance in your relationship alive? Chat with Melanie Griffith and share your secrets to romance. How are you tonight Melanie?
Melanie: I'm great, how are you? I'm here in Mexico, and just preparing for Valentine's Day.
guest-manolis_varnas: Melanie, first I'd like to say that you are one of the best actresses in Hollywood. I loved all your movies. My question is how do you plan to spend Valentine's Day, and do you believe there is still romance in our days?
Melanie: Thank you for the compliment! How I'm going to spend Valentine's Day? Antonio and I are in Mexico, and we just looked at a beautiful hacienda that we will be in on that day. That's all I'm going to say about that! As far as keeping romance alive, I think that sometimes you have to get very mysterious in your relationship. It depends on how long you've been in a relationship I think, how you keep your romance alive.
guest-JoAnn: Melanie, what's your advice to bring more romance into a long standing relationship?
Melanie: I think a long standing relationship is the most difficult, because we get into set patterns, and you pretty much know the other person and what the other person's likes and dislikes are. So, I think you have to use your imagination, and come up with something that is totally abnormal for your life; something that you have never done, and would never think of doing, but just try it! That's really all I can say, because I don't know the specifics of your relationship. But I would say be bold and try something new.
guest-alex: Greeting from LA Melanie! What is your idea of a romantic Valentine's Day?
Melanie: My idea of a romantic Valentine's Day would be to be surprised. Like one time, Antonio sent me flowers seven days in a row before Valentine's Day, and on each card there was a snippet of a poem each day for seven days in a row. That was really beautiful. But now with Valentine's Day, I just kind of like to stay home.
guest-Yana: What's your most romantic place or city in the world?
Melanie: Venice, Italy. Antonio and I have been there twice, and that's the one place in the world that really hasn't changed in centuries, except that the boats are faster. But there's something about Venice that is really romantic, and really other-worldly, almost.
guest-Keggie: Melanie what can make your heart melt every time?
Melanie: When my husband calls me Rubia. guest-Robin: Love your website!! Will your contests ever be available for us 'poor' Canadian fans?
Melanie: Yes, coming up in the future we'll be expanding to international. :-) Thank you for visiting us, and keep coming back to http://www.oneworldlive.com/
ProudMomof7: We have a 7 month old baby and I need to spark up our love life. Any romantic suggestions?
Melanie: If you have a baby sitter, when your husband comes home, he could find rose petals leading to your bedroom, with a note saying "follow the petals." Then you should prepare whatever you feel that he would love. Let him have you to himself for a while without the baby wanting you or needing you. Also, you can have candles all over the bedroom, really beautiful and romantic. Dinner in bed, and maybe appetizers - whatever you want to happen, you can plan to have it. Whether you want to be there waiting for him, however!
guest-Robin: Just want to let you know how much your body of work has meant to me. You are truly a genius!! "Crazy in Alabama" was breathtaking, and both you and Antonio should be very proud. Congratulations on the well deserved Golden Globe nomination for RKO 281. If they had proper categories for supporting players in television, you would have won. Either way, the nomination was a victory for you and your fans!!
Melanie: guest-Robin, that is sweet. Thank you so much! I hope I can keep making good movies for you. Thank you for the compliment about "Crazy in Alabama."
guest-Cathina: Did you consider any other careers besides acting, and if so, why did you choose acting instead of the others?
Melanie: When I was in college (which I was only in for six months), I was vacillating between studying psychiatry or philosophy. I didn't want to be a psychiatrist or anything like that. I wanted to see how humans behaved, and why. With acting, I get to do that too. I get to figure out what it's like to be somebody else. And now, I'm the Managing Director of an internet company, so I'm doing something different.
The reason that the girls and I started this community on the internet, OneWorldLive.com, is because we wanted to create a place where people could go and enjoy themselves and give part of whatever they do in our world to charity. So hopefully, whatever we do will help someone who needs it badly, and that is the reason that I got involved.
guest-Balky: What would be the most romantic way I should ask my girlfriend to marry me?
Melanie: Wow! I wish I knew what your situation was. I would say, if you're near a beach, to take a walk at sunset. Someplace that you think is really beautiful, get down on one knee, and ask her to marry you. And have a nice ring! If you're not near a beach, maybe get a big thing of balloons, and then you can tie the ring to the end of one of the strings, and maybe put a card with it, and ask the question with the card. And then hand her the whole bunch of balloons.
guest-Ophelia: Is it equally important to be friends as well as romantic?
Melanie: Absolutely! I think that if you're not friends, you won't end up staying together.
guest-Jena: Melanie, I am learning Castellano too for myself and my fiancé from Argentina. Has Spanish been a romantic part in your relationship?
Melanie: Spanish has been a romantic part of our relationship. I can speak Spanish now, but I would say I probably speak it like a five year old. But when Antonio speaks Spanish, it makes me melt.
guest-LEILANI: My husband is not romantic. What can I do to maybe help him along?
Melanie: I would say get very mysterious. Don't let him see you naked, don't be very comfortable in front of him, pretend that you're strangers still, or just getting to know each other. And it might take a while, but he might start wondering, where did my wife go? I hope!
guest-Deena108: How do you pick your acting projects?
Melanie: I read scripts, and when I read a script that really moves me, then I take it. If it's not offered to me, then I go on an interview, and try and get the job. But I pick it by what the story is. I pick them. :-)
Sep191998: I am stuck for a unique gift for my boyfriend - what do you suggest?
Melanie: Wow, I wish I knew what your boyfriend was like. I would say do something that is the opposite of what you normally do. Get him something that he would love, but you wouldn't particularly like. Or, get a ring and write something on the inside; something that means something between you, like maybe a song, or your initials, or something like that. If you can tell me more about you, then I can be more specific.
guest-manolis_varnas: Melanie I admire you a lot as an actress. You are very pretty and very talented. My question is what was the most beautiful romantic gift you ever got on Valentine's Day?
Melanie: I got a really romantic dinner alone with Antonio that he arranged. That was just very special.
guest-Robin: Has there ever been any talk of a sequel to "Working Girl"? I think that would be a terrific movie, if Mike Nichols could get the original cast back together.
Melanie: Yeah, I think that would be terrific too. I imagine Tess would be like Martha Stewart. She would obviously be on Wall Street, probably in Mergers and Acquisitions, but she would be the CEO of the company. But, I don't think that there's any possibility of the original cast getting back together. I don't think, but you never know.
guest-spot88: What actor has been your greatest influence?
Melanie: Wow.....I would have to say Paul Newman because I made a movie with him when I was 17, and then I made another movie with him about six years ago. He's been a dear friend and I just admire him so much. I guess because I am fortunate enough to know him personally and to have worked with him, that's why I admire him so much.
guest-Gloria: What is the single most romantic thing you have ever had happen to you ?
Melanie: When Antonio proposed to me, that was the most romantic. It's difficult to answer that, because my husband is very romantic, so there's romance with us all the time. I'm very lucky. guest-Robin: Are there any other film projects that you could share with us here today?
Melanie: I have one coming out that's going to be called "Forever Lulu" where I play a manic-depressive. It's with Patrick Swayze. Antonio and my production company, Green Moon, produced it, so it's our baby. I have another one coming out that was really fun, and I think it's going to be really great. I saw a bit of it, and it's called "Cecil B. Demented." John Waters directed it, and it's really wild and crazy, but I think it will be the best of John Waters.

Oh, and there's another one we produced, called "Tart" with Dominique Swains who was with me in Lolita (she was Lolita), and Brad Renfro, and Bijou Phillips. We produced that, and I did a cameo in it. And then another one we produced was called "The Body" that Antonio stars in, and it's really a beautiful story. He plays a Catholic priest in Jerusalem, and he's called there because an archeologist, played by Olivia Williams, finds what she believes are the bones of Christ. The story is about what would happen if that were true.
ProudMomof7: What is the most romantic movie to cuddle up with a loved one with?
Melanie: Maybe "Doctor Zhivago". I don't know, there are so many movies now. I would say "Doctor Zhivago" or "It's A Wonderful Life", not that it's sexy or anything, but it's very loving.
guest-spot88: What is your ideal romantic evening?
Melanie: I would say the anticipation of going out to a romantic dinner, and getting all dressed up, and wearing beautiful clothes, and something beautiful underneath. Going out, whether it's by yourselves or with a bunch of people, and then putting the children to bed and kissing them goodnight, and knowing that you are then able to be alone together. Then doing what you feel like doing.
guest-Ophelia: What is the most romantic gift that YOU have ever given?
Melanie: I gave Antonio a Porsche. I don't know if that's romantic. You know what? I'll have to think about that one, and I'll get back to you.
guest-dale: Do you think men are more romantic than women? I know I'm far more romantic than my girlfriend.
Melanie: Wow, what a lucky girl she is! I would say yeah, I think guys are very romantic, but there are women out there who are very romantic, and maybe you just need to find one.
guest-adamchant: What did you think about being in the movie "Roar" and working with your mom?
Melanie: Oh my God, did you see that movie??? Well, I grew up with all of the lions - we got our first lion when I was thirteen - and it was probably the most expensive family film ever done. It took us four years to make the whole thing, because of various disasters, whether it was flood, fire, or some kind of injury to someone. We still have all of the lions; my mother still has 72 cats. You can access the ranch - it's called Shambala - through OneWorldLive.com in the "Make a Difference" section.
guest-Keggie: What is your favorite, most soothing scented candle?
Melanie: Vanilla. A vanilla candle by Manuel Kanoba called "Brun D'Or".
guest-manolis_varnas: Melanie you have done so many beautiful movies and played very interesting characters. What would you say was the most romantic film you ever did?
Melanie: Probably "Shining Through" with Michael Douglas. The story was very romantic and set in World War II. It was a matter of life and death, and love conquers all, and it was very corny! But it was beautiful.
guest-luna: Hi Melanie - you're super! Is love all you expected as a child, a young girl, and what surprises you most about love?
Melanie: Love is more than I expected as a young girl. I think what surprises me the most about love, probably because I have children, is not just the ability to receive it, but the ability and the desire to give it.
guest-melissa: What do you most like about the time you spend in Spain?
Melanie: I love the people. I love the food. The first time I went there I gained ten pounds in two weeks. And the gazpacho! I love the gazpacho. I love the land, and the history of Spain. It is so old. It's amazing, and the culture is very family based, and I find it very loving and wonderful there.
guest-shakespeare: Melanie, have you done any stage works and do you plan to do any theatre in the future?
Melanie: I did stage work in New York, in 1981, when I was studying with Stella Adler. I got hired for a play, but I got fired! Because I was ten minutes late, three times, I got fired. Last year on Valentine's Day, I did something called "The Vagina Monologues" at the Old Vic, which is one of the oldest theaters in London, with Cate Blanchett. That was my first stage performance, other than doing the Golden Globes or the Oscars, and the feeling was amazing. So I do want to do more stage; I'm just trying to find a job. I'm just waiting for the right opportunity to come along.
guest-spot88: What type of student were you in high school?
Melanie: I went to a Catholic girls' high school and I questioned everything, therefore I was in trouble a lot. But I graduated when I was 16, because I skipped a grade, and I got by really well in school.
guest-denny: What does "the goddess in you" mean?
Melanie: It means the inner self of a woman. Because I believe that every woman is a goddess inside. And she should feel that way, and be treated that way, at least for ten minutes every day.
guest-dale: Do you like to cook? What's your favorite food?
Melanie: Yes, I do like to cook. I love to make pastas, soups, and steaks. Ribs. My favorite food, personally, is a great chopped salad.
guest-persian_87: What is your biggest thrill about being an actor?
Melanie: My biggest thrill is when somebody is really moved by a movie that I've been in, or when someone comes up to me on the street and says "Thank you for that performance, it really changed my life." That means SO much.
guest-ceilidh: Melanie, do you have plans for directing a movie in the future?
Melanie: Not in the near future. Right now, I'm enjoying producing movies. But a director's job is enormous. It's enough to watch my husband go through it. It isn't something that I think I could really handle now. Maybe when I'm older.
guest-Deb1: Would you like your children to be actors? What would you like for their futures?
Melanie: I wouldn't wish acting upon any child. If my kids want to be actors, I do encourage them. One of my children, Dakota, is sort of leaning that way. I am encouraging her to wait until after college, because I think with acting you need another profession to fall back on, because it's very tough and very competitive and very painful sometimes. People think it's very glamorous, and it's all easy and wonderful, but it's not. But so far, Dakota is the only one of my children who wants to go there. Alexander, my son who's 14, is very smart, and he doesn't want to go there. And Stella is only three, so she has not voiced what she wants to be yet.
guest-LEILANI: You seem to be enjoying your life and family. What would you say is the best part of your life right now?
Melanie: The best part is when I have my husband and my children all together. We just moved into a new house that's very old - it was built in 1926. My son is in boarding school now, and my daughter Dakota is going to school in San Francisco with her father, so when I get them all together, which is like twice a month, it's wonderful. But being with Antonio makes everything perfect.
guest-SeattleDave: Melanie, if there was one thing you could go back and change, what would it be?
Melanie: I would have gone through four years of college. That's what I would change.
OneWorldLive: We are just about out of time. Do you have any last advice you want to leave with us tonight Melanie?
Melanie: I think that everybody should be really kind to everybody else. A perfect example of how beautiful our world can be is what happened on New Year's this year. I thought it was amazing how everyone loved each other, and was beautiful and happy. I think we should strive to keep the world that way. Thank you for chatting with me, and I hope that you'll come back to OneWorldLive.com because we intend to make a difference. Lots of love, bye!
OneWorldLive: Thank you for chatting with Melanie. We hope you swapped some fabulous romance secrets - don't keep these for yourself! Check back soon to Melanie's official website at www.melaniegriffith.com for all upcoming chats, promotions and charity involvement. Also, be sure to visit www.oneworldlive.com for your chance to win $25,0000 in cash. Good Night!
OneWorldLive: This chat has been a production of Talk City, Inc. in association with oneworldlive.com

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