Hi my name is Sunil Chamund and I'm a British fan of MMPR. Although we are far behind America, we do have something here that no one else does. His name is Mr. Motivator and he's a most annoying man. What follows now is an interview with Amy Jo Johnson. It is first worth noting that I am writing this interview exactly as it was printed in Anime FX and although we all know that Bryan Forbes is in fact Bryan Spicer this is how it was in the magazine. Also ADR stands for Audio Dialogue Replacement - a process by which voices are replaced on the programme with new dialogue recorded in a dubbing theater. Hope you enjoy, Sunil. AN INTERVIEW WITH AMY JO JOHNSON ANIME FX February edition page 44 title: SURRENDERING THE PINK In the interests of world peace and harmony and following on from issue 8's interview with Mr. Susumu Yohikawa, AFX presents an interview with the newly de-rangered Kimberley, aka Amy Jo Johnson. It was a chance to get some real in-depth commentary on life at the other end of the production scale, and so, after brushing up his American, our staff translator hunted her down after a California audition, where she's getting used to life without the protection of Zordon... AFX- How did you get into acting? I was born up in Cape Cod in Massachusetts, I was a gymnast which was, like, a really big help in Power Rangers, then I went off to NY city where I studied at Lee Strasberg's Academy for 1 year and a half. Then I got in a car and went out to LA. It was a real spur of the moment thing. I stayed there for 2 months, hated it. AFX- Huh? Well, it's totally different from New York. Like in New York you don't need a car, the energy's totally different. Anyway I went home for 2 weeks, then changed my mind, went back again, and within a week I had the job on Power Rangers, from an audition with Haim Saban... AFX- How much are you like Kimberley? Well y'know, when we first started I did the pilot and the first few episodes, they made her really materialistic, they wanted her blonde... AFX- Urgh! Totally, they wanted a valley girl, but I changed that. AFX- You did? Gradually. Well, y'know, I play the guitar, and we had her playing the guitar in one episode. I'm a gymnast, she's a gymnast... AFX- Wasn't she a gymnast originally? Well, yeah, but...well y'know, I changed her. I mean, I HATE pink! AFX- Oops, I have to ask, what is your favourite... Purple. AFX- Purple? Purple. AFX- Rita Repulsa's secret love child? Totally. AFX- Power Rangers The Movie. I believe it was your first film role, and also Bryan Forbes' first film as director? What was it like for you? It was very, very different. I mean we got to spend 2 and a half months in Australia, which was great for me. Bryan Forbes was a great director to work with. I got to work with Paul Freeman (Ivan Ooze). AFX- The Raiders of the lost Ark guy? Yeah, he is an AMAZING actor. I learned a lot just from being on the set. But, like, it was much harder work, spending two and a half months on one REALLY BIG episode. Like, in the TV series, we only do 4 little episodes in 2 weeks. And the hours are longer y'know. But I'm off it now. AFX- Excuse me? I got off the show a month ago. I mean, I'll be on it 'til Christmas, but I've finished. They've got a new Pink Ranger, she's from Australia and she's really great, kind of like Olivia Newton-John, y'know? And I've done another film, Suzy Keel with Shelley Long, so I've done another movie. AFX- You don't have to answer this but did you go or were you pushed? Oh hey, I'm outta there. I can say what I want. I mean, I wanted to leave. It was good fun and I don't regret doing it at all. I mean it was a great start, and I was really lucky to get a part just a week after getting to the west coast. But, you know... AFX- How would you explain the success of Power Rangers? They really have been an amazing worldwide phenomenon? Oh... kids, y'know, they're really funny. But I mean Power Rangers has got everything that they look for in ashow. It's got Dinosaurs, monsters, real kids they can relate to bright colours. AFX- do you think it has far to go? Well... kids don't relly care. I mean there's been cast changes and all, but I'll be on re-runs FOREVER. AFX- Were there any protests about the lineup changes. Or is it like Menudo, where they just chuck 'em out when they get too old? Oh yeah! I mean, first season the Green Ranger leaves, but the kids went mad, so they bring him back. I mean we had mothers calling up saying, "My little boy won't come out of his room." God! AFX- And when you left? Oh...they don't know i've gone yet, but when they do... AFX- I wnat to bring you back to Haim Saban, and his involvement with other Japanese shows. You know he did a POWER RANGERS pilot 8 years ago but no one was interested? Oh yeah, I mean I grew up on that stuff when I was a kid. And you know, shuki Levy, his partner, he's a song writer, and he wrote, like, the Inspector Gadget song and the Smurfs and stuff. AFX- And are you a fan of it now? What? Inspector Gadget and the Smurfs? AFX- No! I mean things like Robotech, Astro Boy, Speed Racer...they're Japanese too... Oh yeah sure. But i don't watch much TV these days. I don't have time. I'll read a book or play guitar or something. AFX- I want to ask you about the Japanese footage. I get this feeling you had more fun doing the dubbing than you did filming the American bits. Oh man! It's just like a Godzilla movie! Even though it's mainly American footage now, we still have to do ADR because those are stunt doubles doing all the stuff. And some of them are actually the original Japanese stunt guys from the Japanese serials, y'know, like, er, Jee...er...Jaw...what is it? Je... AFX- ZYURANGER? Right. AFX- What do you plan to do now it's over? Is it back to TV or on to films? I'd like to do films as the primary thing. I mean I WOULD do TV, there's a lot of good TV, but there's a lot of bad TV, but you know, I'll do anything to get me on the path to where I want to go. Something with longevity. you know, if you want to be famous, you can be famous for something, but a longlasting career is harder. I mean, my idols are people like Jodie Foster, Holly hunter, Sally Fields. AFX- Would you consider going into directing, like Jodie Foster? I wanna write, I play guitar. i've just done a demo tape. Who knows? AFX- Finally, what advice do you have for anyone interested in following in your footsteps? I've just been to college and talked about the same thing. I wanted to be an actress since I was like, 7, I love the art of it, the passion of it. If you have a passion for the art of it, you can do anything you wanna do. But it's not easy, it's tough, and you've gotta love it and love your art. you can't say to someone go to this college or do that course, because everyone finds thir own steps. it's a fate luck kinda thing. I feel very lucky. i saved all my money. I was smart.