Actresses Go Behind The Camera For Tribeca

Eva Mendes, Julia Stiles And Julie Delpy Present New Films

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NEW YORK, April 30, 2007 | by Judy Faber

(CBS)  The classic Hollywood cliché of an actor saying, "All I really want to do is direct," holds true for some of the filmmakers at this year's Tribeca Film Festival.

Julia Stiles and Julie Delpy spoke about the process of filmmaking at the Tribeca Talks panel "Bringing Home The Bacon" on Friday, and Eva Mendes sat down with WCBS-TV reporter Katie McGee to talk about her experience as an executive producer.

"I did the job of editor; I went to the mailbox and sent it to festivals. (I did) a little bit of everything," Delpy said about her film "Two Days In Paris."

The feature-length comedy follows French photographer Marion (Delpy) and her boyfriend Jack (Adam Goldberg) as they try to rekindle their relationship on a trip to Europe.

In addition to starring in and editing the film, Delpy wrote the script, directed, co-produced and even wrote the movie's original music.

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Photos: A Stellar Weekend At Tribeca

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"I really enjoyed the whole process all the way through. It's really tough, but really, really great," she said. "I'm a control freak. If you redo an apartment, you don't want to leave the people redoing the apartment alone, because you know they're going to put the toilet inside your living room. It's exactly the same with movies."

Stiles wrote and directed "Raving," a short film about a young woman (Zooey Deschanel) and a lonely older man (Bill Irwin) whose lives are changed after a chance meeting on a New York street. Stiles said making the film was a real learning experience for her.

"I learned a lot about acting," she said. "I learned a lot about editing and post production stuff that I didn't have a clue about before."

Mendes is executive producer and star of "Live!," a mockumentary about a high-powered television executive who creates a reality show where contestants compete for $5 million in a real game of Russian roulette. The film also stars Emmy-winner Andre Braugher ("Thief"), David Krumholtz ("Numb3rs), and Jeffrey Dean Morgan ("Grey's Anatomy").

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Video: WCBS-TV's Katie McGee Talks To Eva Mendes

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"(It's about) how this woman has become so blinded by ambition that she'll do whatever it takes to get to No. 1," she told McGee. "She'll sleep with people, she'll manipulate, she'll kill - well, indirectly kill."

Producing "Live!" gave Mendes a chance to create a film that is a personal statement.

"For me, I am personally making fun of this," said Mendes. "It's my way of saying I don't agree with going this far, with this mindlessness, and doing anything for ratings."

By Judy Faber
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