Video:Michelle Rodriguez Interview - Battle: Los Angeles

Transcript:Michelle Rodriguez Interview - Battle: Los Angeles

Rebecca Murray from About.com Hollywood Movies at the LA Premiere of Columbia Pictures' Battle: Los Angeles.

Michelle Rodriguez - 'Cpl. Santos' in Battle: Los Angeles

You, of course, are playing an action hero because this is what you do. This is the type of role you like. Why don't we see more women in this movie doing that?

Michelle Rodriguez: "Because maybe girls are like, 'Why should we do that when the guys can do that and get all dirty? I'm not going to ruin my makeup.' No, I don't know why girls don't do it. I don't get it. But I'm a tomboy. I grew up a tomboy, but I know a lot of girly girls. You know, it's just not their thing. You know what I mean? It's not fun for them."

But we need to see more strong women.

Michelle Rodriguez: "I think there is a misconception of what a strong woman is. There is like a power that a woman can have with her Cleopatra energy, exuding sex and manipulating that facet of herself. Then you have the mother who unconditionally loves, and that's a strength in and of itself. You know what I mean? A woman can kill for her kid. It's no joke. I don't mess with mothers. And then you have the warrior princess, the tomboy girl who just likes to be independent, doesn't live for a man and wants to do her own thing. I respect all the powers that women have to offer. I'm a matriarch that way."

What do you think is going to draw audiences into this movie and what sets it apart from other alien films?

Michelle Rodriguez: "The ride. You feel like you're in it. The perspective is unique that way. It's kind of like a first-man shooter. I don't know if you game or not. If you don't game, for those of you who don't, it's like you're a member of the platoon. The perspective, the camera is always in this moving position, in this frantic... You feel like you are a character, you know?"

How important was it for you to have Jonathan Liebesman film in that style to make it more gritty, to make it more real?

Michelle Rodriguez: "I wouldn't have done it otherwise because, you know, I feel like that's really what dragged me into the movie. He showed me the short that was shot using Aaron Eckhart that actually got the funds to build the movie, to make the movie, that sold Sony on it - and sold me too. And it was the perspective. It was the way that he shot it. It looked very documentarian-esque. It wasn't this, 'Let's shoot the sky and then put a whole bunch of blasted aliens in it.' And then, 'Let's shoot the icons of Los Angeles, California and blow them up.' Anybody can do that, you know what I mean? But he focused more so on this kind of like unique perspective that's more seen in war movies, intimate war movies like Black Hawk Down or films such as that. And I think that that really helped out a lot, just with the idea. And then also I asked about the reveal of aliens, and that's the biggest thing. So when he showed me the statues and he showed me how he planned on revealing them, where it would be shadows throughout and if we do get to see the aliens, it's going to be these intimate moments where it feels realistic. And that's what the whole thing that sold me is like more about the emotion than backstory."

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