Five Questions:Food makes Faris sunny and pleasant

Anna Faris doesn’t want it to be cloudy with a chance of meatballs. Try cloudy with a chance of Dunkin’ Donuts or Krispy Kremes.

“My indulgences are always sweets,” says Faris. “I would ask for it be cloudy with a chance of doughnuts. But I must caution that I’m a bit of a salty/savory gal. I wouldn’t mind if it was raining cookies and then later potato chips, but chips are always trouble.

“You can’t just eat a few,” she says. “I raided the mini-bar last night at the hotel. The empty bag of chips is the proof.”

Faris lends her voice to the character of Sam Sparks in the new animated film, “Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs.” The movie is based on the 1982 best-selling book by Judi and Ron Barrett, and also stars the voices of Bill Hader, Neil Patrick Harris and Andy Samberg in the story of an inventor who builds a contraption that turns water into different foods. Then the thing goes out of control and starts shooting spaghetti tornados and meatballs raining from the sky. (Do we hear a brownie hailstorm in the future? Pretty please?)

1 What was your inspiration during the scene where burgers rain from the sky?

The director got us In and Out burgers. They wanted us to talk with our mouths full. It was a great excuse to eat an In and Out burger without feeling guilty about it because I was required to eat one for work. No one can argue with that fact.

2 How did you get into character for animation?

Basically, I was shown a drawing of the character before I started recording and that’s pretty much all I had. But it was amazing because I worked on this for about a year. The great part of animation is that it isn’t about your hair or clothes or makeup. You get to record and then watch this story come to life. I did just think it would be easy, but it was incredibly challenging.

3 You’re so good at light comedy. Who are your inspirations?

I grew up watching all of the great female comedians and wanted to be like all of them. I would sit for hours watching “I Love Lucy” wishing I could be like her, but then I’d watch really old movies with greats like Judy Holliday and Carole Lombard. I loved watching Betty White and Goldie Hawn. Even though I was this kid, I would sit there and think, “Maybe someday I could be in a movie with some of these women — the ones who were alive.

4 When you were younger, did you think you had a chance in this business?

I started as young as many of the audience members for this movie. I was 9 when I did an Arthur Miller play called “Danger Memory” at the Seattle Repertory Theatre. I even got paid $250, which was all the money in the world to me. I was rolling in the dough and I might still be using that money to pay bills. Actually, I do have to confess that I used that movie to buy a phone that looked like a piano. You had to press the keys to dial. It was the coolest thing in the world.

5 Congratulations on your marriage this summer.

I did get married and I’m super-happy. It’s been a great summer. I’m cooking for my new husband, which has always been my favorite hobby and pastime. Of course, I love to try out new things on him. In fact, if I wasn’t an actress, I would like to be a food critic or a restaurant critic. We’ll just see how it goes in Hollywood with the movie business.

From Chicago Sun Times