[from E! Online]

E: You mentioned fixing up your house. Are you over the buy 'em, renovate 'em, sell 'em stage now?

C: I'm in my sixth house. I like change, and I also wanted to be an architect, so it kind of fulfills that other creative side of me. I like to walk into a house and go, "Rip up the brown shag carpet and open up that wall with some French doors." Little things like that can change a place so much. I just like to see things brought up to their full potential. But I'm in a place now that I love so much, I may not move again. In that way, I've changed so much.

E: There was also a time when you didn't think you could devote yourself adequately to both a career and a relationship. You didn't do that much professionally when you were with Michael Keaton, and now that you're single, you seem to be working like crazy. Ever think you can balance the two?

C: I definitely could have the balance. I don't have it right now because I'm not in a relationship. But I know I could do it now.

E: Do you still think of yourself as the cotillion-attending, cheerleader squad-joining southern belle?

C: No. I moved away, lived in New York and L.A. and acquired this diverse group of friends. I've been exposed to a lot of different things in life.

E: So, I guess you're pretty sick of being asked whether you're as big a neat freak as Monica is.

C: I'm not going to deny it. I'm a neat person, there's no question. But I don't become obsessed with it. It may be just part of my nature, because I grew up the youngest of four kids. You have certain things that weren't hand- me-downs, and you want to keep them in order because they're yours, not from your sisters. I don't like clutter. But I don't mind being dirty, either. I just had three nieces at my house, and the place was a sty. Sure, I'd come in and straighten up, but it's not like I had to do it.

E: As long as we're talking about cleaning up, what do you think about all the furor over content ratings for TV?

C: Maybe I'm not thinking about this properly, but maybe it's not so bad. As long as they don't block the show.

E: Well, it might lead to that. Friends is one of the programs that's often accused of being too suggestive, or too downright sexy, for that matter.

C: A lot of people can handle it, but some people can't. I often don't think about it while we're in the middle of shooting, but sometimes, when I watch Friends on TV, I'll see certain things and I'll go, "Wow, I love that we actually said this on television." But I know that, say, in Alabama, there are certain things that shock. Like my father couldn't believe we did the episode about the condoms. I'm like, "Dad, it's not about saying, Everybody, go have sex. It's about saying, When you have sex--which we all do, Dad--be safe about it." Being from there, I can see their side of it. But I think it's good for people in Alabama. They need to see this stuff--this is life, this is what's happening. Let's not all be so quiet about everything.

E: Is the Friends cast really this tight on and off the set?

C: As boring as it may sound, we just totally dig each other. But we have our own lives. We don't see each other every night after work like people think. The girls see each other some, and the guys just went to Europe together. But we mainly just get along. Like I said, it's boring.

E: It certainly wasn't boring when you all decided to ask for substantial salary increases in unison last summer. It had the whole Industry buzzing.

C: It wasn't like a holdout or a holdup. Every show renegotiates; I don't know why people got so interested in talking about, "Oh, look what they're doing!" There's not a show that goes on the air that this doesn't happen with--especially when the show becomes a hit. The third season is always the time when you renegotiate. There were never any hard feelings between the producers and the actors. It's just business.

E: Such massive celebrity must have quite an impact in real life.

C: I gotta tell ya, I don't really notice anything different in my life, unless I go outside of New York or L.A. Then I really realize, "Wow, this show is popular." Maybe I can get a doctor's appointment faster or get into a restaurant easier, but other than that, I don't feel like my life has really changed. It's opened up a lot of work opportunities, and, financially, it's great. Now I can fix up my house the way I want to, as opposed to the way I know how to but don't necessarily want to. But I don't feel any different, really.

E: Can you still function normally in public?

C: Oh yeah. People look, but that's all right, I don't care. They can sneer, they can criticize, whatever; I don't even notice. My friends who are with me notice a lot more than I do.

E: Well, you certainly veered away from Monica with Scream. And you've done it again with Commandments.

C: Yeah, I don't want to do the same kinds of things in movies that we do on the show. Besides, it's hard to find stuff that's written as well as Friends in the romantic comedy field. The stories have all been done, in some form or fashion. I don't want to do something just to be in a movie. I'd rather take a small or different part and have it be interesting.

E: You've were just in Scream 2.

C: Yeah, I really enjoy playing Gale Weathers. She's larger than life; she's a real witch. It's fun just creating the look--the lip gloss, the blond hair, the clothes. But if Wes Craven and Kevin Williamson, who wrote the original, weren't involved, and if David Arquette and Neve Campbell weren't coming back, I wouldn't have agreed to do the sequel.

E: Between Scream and Ace Ventura, you've had some real success at the box office. But movies featuring the other Friends haven't fared nearly so well. Why do you think that is?

C: The problem is how they sell the things. I think The Pallbearer [with David Schwimmer] was a great movie; it just wasn't marketed right. And Jennifer was wonderful in She's the One--that definitely didn't hurt her. Lisa's playing a totally different character in the movie she's got going. I really think everybody's doing great

E: And you still enjoy doing the show after three-plus years?

C: Definitely. There are still challenges, because Monica keeps growing. She's getting really quirky and weird, and I like that. It makes it interesting.