"The Hollywood Reporter" current issue with Jodie Forster

At the world premiere of Jodie Foster’s The Beaver that she both directs and stars, Ms. Foster found herself nose-deep in questions about her co-star, Mel Gibson to the SXSW Film Festival entourage.

“Jodie, what’s your favorite alcoholic beverage?” was one tabloid reporter’s inquiry.

“I just have to ask everybody, can you see a film and appreciate the artist for his work?” Foster told The Hollywood Reporter. “And if anything, I think anybody who comes to see the film and understands Mel’s extraordinary performance in the movie can’t go away untouched by his humanity.”

Then the nimble Jodie sidestepped and segued into her movie’s theme regarding a man fighting his depression through a sock puppet.

“If there’s a message to the movie,” Foster said, “it’s that you don’t have to be alone. The truth is that the great remedy for that is connection.”

Interview and video at www.hollywoodreporter.com