Prairie Miller: Is it true that you were interested in The Wedding Planner because you wanted to appear goofy in a movie?

Jennifer Lopez: Yes and no. I wanted a chance to show I'm goofy, but I wanted more of a chance to do a romantic comedy. You know, to see how that would be. But there is a side of me that's silly. I like to make jokes and to make people laugh, absolutely. So I was like, damn, I should just jump in. Like everything else, feet first and just do it.

People always told me, you can do a comedy, you'd be funny. But it's hard! Even in dramas, when you try to do just a funny line, it's like you know it's supposed to be funny and it just doesn't come out funny. You know what I mean? And sometimes you're standing there with a jackass face looking at the crew like, was that funny?

Prairie Miller: What clicked for you right from the start about your character Mary in The Wedding Planner?

Jennifer Lopez: I guess it was just where Mary was in her life, just being so focused. Like there is no other life besides her work. And I could kinda relate to that. When I signed on to star in The Wedding Planner I hadn't met Puffy yet, so I was a lot like Mary. But the big difference between Mary and me is that I'm driven from something inside me that needs for me to have a life as well.

Prairie Miller: Did they ever have doubts about you? That you're just too sexual for a part like that?

Jennifer Lopez: The director Adam Shankman said that, and a lot of other people told me that too. But then he met me and I did my best not to be sexy at all! Wait, that's not what I meant. I met with him and I could convince him I wasn't because, you know, I wasn't dressed a certain way. I was like more... conservative.
So I sat down with him and portrayed more the side of the character he needed to see. Which is what I do when I go in for an interview for a part I like. As much as you think you're dealing with creative people, they see you for what your image is out there.
You have to come in and be that character when you walk into the room. That's what one of my first acting teachers taught me. You know, don't go in there being Jennifer and then expect to flip and change, because they're not going to have that imagination. What they want to see is, Oh, there's our Mary or Jane.

Prairie Miller: Was your chemistry with Matthew McConaughey in the movie wild, or just so-so?

Jennifer Lopez: It was great. I met Matthew when he was driving from Texas to L.A. And I was in Vegas doing the Billboard Awards. He came and stopped in there, and we had dinner. I remember that Matthew had a T-shirt on that said, "What don't you understand about the word bongos?"

So I knew he would be great. And we got along fantastic from then on. He was just amazing. We just sat down and he said, all right, well let's do it. And I was like, okay, let's do it. And that was pretty much it. So it was great from then on. I just definitely wanted to do the movie with him.

Prairie Miller: The Wedding Planner is a pretty mushy story. Do you have a weakness for that kind of sentimental stuff?

Jennifer Lopez: I do. I'm very old fashioned and traditional. You know, maybe I was just born in the wrong time, but I love all things romantic. Puffy understands that. For my last birthday, he covered my hotel room floor with rose petals and had flowers and candles all over the room.

And I love the idea of spending the whole day in bed with my lover. I'm very open with my love. I'm passionate and I feel a lot, and I'm never afraid to get close to someone. I'm not afraid of love.

But I can be the silliest and goofiest as they come. I grew up in the Bronx where you would stay up late with your girlfriends, just being silly in our bedrooms, whatever. And I was always the clown.

Prairie Miller: Are other performers around you jealous because of your huge success in crossing over between music and acting?

Jennifer Lopez: [Laughing] They don't say anything.

Prairie Miller: Why is it so hard for them to cross over, and so easy for you?

Jennifer Lopez: I can only speak for myself. If anyone can figure out how to balance my celebrity and my dual careers in music and film, it's me. I don't feel frightened; I feel challenged. But from the time I was very little, it was something I would do all the time, just sing, dance and act. So it wasn't something that was fake or contrived as I got older.
I just knew that was what I wanted to do. I was going to perform as a singer; I was going to perform as a dancer, and I was, you know, going to do movies and be an actress. I was going to do it or die trying. That's what my life was.

Prairie Miller: What is J. Lo all about?

Jennifer Lopez: The songs on J. Lo are more personal than before. The songs reflect a lot of what I've witnessed my sisters and my girlfriends going through. They're about relationships, and about having a good time and not having such a good time, or partying a lot and partying too much. It's all very much my point of view.
J. Lo is also an homage to my fans. That's what fans call me on the streets, and I like it. So giving the album this title is my way of telling them that this is for them, in appreciation of their support.

Prairie Miller: Do you feel you put everything into J. Lo that you set out to do?

Jennifer Lopez: Well, I just got the brand new copy with the artwork all done, the first one yesterday. So we were just upstairs listening to it. I'm very excited. I'm just really, really excited about it. I'm happy with it. It kinda took on its own life. It's much more my point of view, my type of music than the last album.
I loved the last album, and it was one hundred percent me. But this is like me two years later, who understands a little bit more about music and understands a little bit more about making an album. I wrote a lot more. I wrote seven songs on this album. It's just much more from a place of experience, and so it feels better to me. You know what I mean?
I just love the whole thing, you know, "Love Don't Cost a Thing," which is the first single and thank God people are liking it. For me it's not even the best song on the album. I think there are five other songs that are just as good, if not better. And I expect it to have a long life. I told the record label, you better make this last because I'm not making another album for three years.

Prairie Miller: How do you feel you've changed musically between albums?

Jennifer Lopez: It's been two years since I made the first album, and a lot has happened. I just feel like I've grown, not only musically and vocally, but also emotionally as a person, and spiritually. And I think that is all reflected in this album. I guess that's why it's so close to my heart.

Prairie Miller: What was Puffy's creative input into J. Lo?

Jennifer Lopez: Puffy produced four of the tracks on the album. Those are the four songs that are collaborations between Puffy and me. And he gives me my space to work even when we work together, like with my producer and my vocal coach.

Prairie Miller: Is there anything you haven't achieved yet?

Jennifer Lopez: Yeah, a lot of stuff!

Prairie Miller: Like what?

Jennifer Lopez: Oh....everything! As an artist, I don't think I'll ever feel totally satisfied. Maybe one day I will. But right now that's not the feeling I have. I feel I want to grow as an actress and be better. I want to progress as a singer and songwriter, and produce movies and everything. So there'll be no time when I feel I've done it all. And I deal with all that by being like a perfectionist. But that's okay. And I never ask what I'm doing the next day. I don't want to know what I'm doing tomorrow. It's much too overwhelming. So I just go day by day, without knowing. I know in general, like that I'm doing "Saturday Night Live" in February. I know that. But every minute of the next ten months is scheduled.

Prairie Miller: Does the control freak in you alphabetize your spices?

Jennifer Lopez: I don't alphabetize anything. I'm not a perfectionist about stuff like that. Like in my personal life, I'm the most laid back person. But when it comes to my work, I'm a total perfectionist. Because I'm passionate about what I'm doing, and making sure it's right.

Prairie Miller: Did you ever imagine that you were going to be the superstar you are today?

Jennifer Lopez: No and yes. No, because you can never imagine doing that. It's not in your consciousness. And yes, I knew I wanted to keep going and have success, and just keep it going.

Prairie Miller: How do you deal with the celebrity life?

Jennifer Lopez: You have to develop a way to deal with it. And my way of dealing with it is to not even know what's going on. I don't know half the things they say, half the things they write, or half the rumors that are out there. I don't care. I don't care to know, and I don't ask anybody what's going on

Prairie Miller: Do you ever feel misunderstood?

Jennifer Lopez: Absolutely, yeah, I do. But you know, there's no way I can control that. I can only speak for myself, and hope people hear my words and see me on television speaking for myself. And, hopefully, they'll be able to make their own judgment. And at the end of the day, I just want my work to speak for itself.
I can control the music I make; I can control how I sing; how I dance; how I act in a movie, or how much time I put into this or that or the other. Like what I want to develop in the future. That's the only stuff I have control over.
If you think you can start controlling what image they put out there of you, you'll go nuts. A lot of times it's negative. They don't like to focus on the positive, no matter how much you do. You just have to put up like a defense mechanism as an artist, to not let the outside world come in and ruin that for you.

Prairie Miller: Have you faced any kind of prejudice against you?

Jennifer Lopez: I'd be stupid not to take into consideration that there are certain things people will not consider me for because my name is Lopez. And I know I can do any kind of role. I don't want anybody to say, Oh, she can't pull this off. So those are barriers that you have to overcome.
And that's why from the beginning I made a conscious decision to make certain choices to not ever be put in one category. You know, like this is what she does. She's a Latin actress who just does these types of roles. So I always chose things, and passed on other things because of that.

Prairie Miller: Are you going to be seeing a wedding planner yourself anytime soon?

Jennifer Lopez: Seeing a wedding planner? Oh, no. I want to be married and I want to have kids, but you have to find the right balance in your life before that can happen. Right now, my life is so focused on my career that I wouldn't be able to give my husband and children as much of me as they deserve. They would feel cheated.
But I feel that marriage and a family will happen for me organically, which means I have to let it happen naturally. I love my career. I'm passionate and I'm driven inside. But I know I will need to find a focus and have a life too.

Prairie Miller: Do you worry about Puffy and the trial?

Jennifer Lopez: You take it day by day. I have to go on. I can't sit in the house and just worry.

Prairie Miller: How did you feel about the commotion that developed from the unusual dress you wore to the Grammys last year?

Jennifer Lopez: It got a little insane and funny. But it was wonderful, in a weird kind of way.

Prairie Miller: If you knew what you know now, would you go for that look again?

Jennifer Lopez: I'd do it again in a second.