More D.E.B.S.: Meagan Good and Jill Ritchie

School uniforms with plaid skirts that you roll up until they are as short as you can get away with. Sound familiar to some of you? Actresses Meagan Good and Jill Ritchie had fun with the costumes, the props and their relationship in the action comedy film D.E.B.S.

In the film, Meagan plays the in-charge, wanna-be leader and Jill, the clumsy novice hoping to "get her stripes" as a permanent part of the spy squad. In person, both young women are take-charge types with plenty to say about this film, their upcoming films and what they want in life and in Hollywood. You know Meagan from Eve's Bayou, You Got Served and Biker Boyz and will soon see Jill as Lindsay Lohan's sidekick in Herbie: Fully Loaded. Jill gives us the scoop on Lindsay on the set. Meagan talks about doing a music video with 50 Cent.

For our sit-down at Beverly Hills' Avalon Hotel, the girls were style conscious. Jill wore a pink knit, long-sleeved sweater that rested off one shoulder and Meagan, in brown suit jacket over a white camisole, had big honkin' hoop earrings. The girls had no problem talking about the fun they had making D.E.B.S.

TeenHollywood: Jill, you were in the short 11 minute film that was expanded for this movie. Did your character change from one film to the next?

Jill: My character didn't change at all actually. I developed the character in the short, and then in the film I was able to really just have more screen time to do that character. The plot was the same, so the film was just a longer version of it.

TeenHollywood: Did either of you girls have superwoman fantasies growing up?

Meagan: I wanted to be Catwoman. Definitely.

Jill: I loved Wonder Woman, and I think because of the success of Wonder Woman and Charlie's Angels and stuff like that, every young girl says, 'Oh, wouldn't it be fun.'

TeenHollywood: Meagan, you had a giant gun in this movie. Bigger than the other girls had. Why was that?

Meagan: That was the way it was written. Max [her character] was kind of borderline psychotic, always the first one to pull her gun, the leader of the D.E.B.S. She's just like that you know. Actually, when I first saw the guns I knew they were going to be heavy, but I was determined to hold them anyway no matter how long, or how many hours, I was determined to learn how to shoot them.

TeenHollywood: And did you?

Meagan: Well, once the guy saw how small I was, he was like, 'You know, you're kind of small, do you want smaller guns?' I was like, 'No, no, I want the big guns.' He was like, 'Alright, it's kind of heavy.' And he put it in my hand and I was like, 'No it's not' (her hand drops down showing how heavy it was). And then I learned how to shoot it and it was a lot of fun. By the time we were shooting I was using it off the side of the camera as weights for my arms in between shots.

TeenHollywood: Jill, were you comfortable with the guns?

Jill: It was my first time using guns in a film and it's a little scary because you are told that it has blanks in it and when you shoot it, it gives you the same kickback I guess you would have even if you were shooting a real bullet. It really kind of jolts you. So for me the struggle was trying to make it look real, like I was used to it, because I think a couple of shots, Angela [Robinson, the director] was like, 'Cut. Jill, you were squinting.' I was like (demonstrates squinting), and she was like, 'You can't look like that.' That was kind of a struggle for me. I don't think I'll be going to the range any time soon, and I don't know if I'll be getting offers to shoot guns.

TeenHollywood: Meagan, you were in Biker Boyz and You Got Served, how does it feel to be able to be the one who's creating the action rather than "the girl" reacting to something?

Meagan: It's definitely fun-er. Just the whole aspect of the stunts that we had to learn and shooting the guns, and wearing the outfits, the camaraderie, it just was a good experience overall and I just liked the fact of us four just beating people up. It was fun.

TeenHollywood: Did you guys do a lot of training for that?

Jill: A little, but not a lot. We had a couple of classes with some kung fu guys.

Meagan: There were these little boys that could run up a wall and flip over, that was interesting. We were like, 'Call the stunt double.'

TeenHollywood: Jill, is it more challenging or more fun to be the dorky girl or the ultra-sexy girl?

Jill: I think the more like dorky, quirky girl, is maybe more in my nature and is what comes easier to me. I actually think that sexiness just comes through. I love watching Cameron Diaz, she doesn't seem too aware of how pretty she's always looking, and I find that really attractive. Or like Jennifer Aniston on "Friends", so I would hope that my sexiness can come through that. I think what's sexy is what you're doing most naturally, to try to be sexy and pout your lips or do your hair, isn't as sexy, for me at least.

TeenHollywood: You got a guy in the film anyway.

Jill: (smiling) Yeah. I did get a guy.

TeenHollywood: You're in Herbie Fully Loaded now. Who do you play in that film?

Jill: I play this character named Charisma, who is a friend to Lindsay Lohan's character, and I just kind of give her some words of wisdom in her drama in the movie, and Charisma is a name that says it all, bubbly, fun.

TeenHollywood: There were all these reports that Lindsay was partying and showing up late, what was your experience working with her?

Jill: She was absolutely fine. I think the camera loves her, I think she is a star, I think she's great at what she does, and she's a natural, so I don't know what all that stuff is about, I don't really personally try to pay attention to it, when I'm wrapped I go home and do my own thing and I never really discussed Lindsay's personal life with her. It's challenging working on a big budget film where the media is so interested in the star's personal life. I think it was hard for Angela [the director] at times too. We just wanted to do our jobs. So that was a totally different experience than D.E.B.S for me, but she was fine.

TeenHollywood: Meagan, did you have to learn how to roller skate for Roll Bounce, the 1970's roller rink movie that hasn't been released yet?

Meagan: No, July 1st. Yeah, because I roller bladed (as a kid). I started out roller skating, and then roller blades became the new, hot thing, and I forgot how to roller skate, and I did bust my you-know-what a couple of times on set. But, all-in-all it was fun re-learning it, but I definitely prefer roller blades.

TeenHollywood: How cold was it on the D.E.B.S. set with those short, short skirts?

Jill: They had these big robes and slippers, which anytime they'd say, 'Cut,' they'd throw over you.

Meagan: Devon [Aoki] was the funniest though. She'd be somewhere in a little corner with both her feet completely up, tucked into a little ball (demonstrates) rolling back and forth, waiting to shoot. I was like, 'How did you get in that position, and where's your jacket?' And she'd be totally cool just waiting for the next shot.

TeenHollywood: At one point, all the D.E.B.S. are sitting on swings very high up in the air. Was that weird or scary?

Jill: No, because we had spotters and big mats below us in case we fell. If one person had to go to the bathroom, we'd all have to go down.

TeenHollywood: How did you get up there?

Meagan: You'd sit in the chair at the bottom and they'd wind us all the way up, and then when you need touch-ups it was kind of like, 'Here's your lip gloss' (indicates someone throwing it up to them – and her catching it) 'I got it.'

TeenHollywood: What were the challenges of the CGI work on the film?

Meagan: It was a little bit weird. Like sitting at the table eating and there's supposed to be this big screen and us watching Lucy Diamond, and here we are just sitting looking into mid-air. It was so hard to do for all of us to look at the same spot and there was nothing there.

Jill: It's always interesting to see the movie when it's finished, how those things come out, especially with action. So much of it is done in different ways while you're shooting it and faked, so when you see it in a movie you're like 'wow. It looks great' and you have no idea when you're shooting it. Do I look retarded or what? We were all really impressed.

TeenHollywood: The movie is PG-13 and contains the romance of two girls. Who do you think this movie is made for?

Jill: I hope it doesn't just get put into a box. I think there's more to it. A 12-year-old girl could go see the film and say, 'that's great. I want to be like Lucy' [enjoy the adventure] and another person who is older could see it and could feel for the love story. I think the love story is pretty amazing and more importantly, being between two girls is great. You have to conquer a lot of hurdles to get to the best part of love. It's not always easy. Sometimes you don't have any control over who you are going to fall in love with and maybe your parents don't want you to be with that person. I think it says a lot about finding out who you are.

Meagan: And follow your heart, a girl should be who she is not just who she's in love with. Just be honest and true to yourself. If your friends around you love you, they'll wish you the best and want only what's going to make you happy.

TeenHollywood: How did you maintain all the relationships between your two characters?

Meagan: I think we became very comfortable with each other on set and in rehearsals, really quickly. And, a lot of it was just natural as far as the character stuff we had to do like me being mean to her (Jill). It really wasn't that hard because Angela knew exactly what she wanted. She knew what every character would or wouldn't do from head to toe, inside out.

Jill: You start to just trust her. There are moments when you are like 'was that too much?' And she's like 'No, no, no. It's perfect, it's great. Trust me'.

TeenHollywood: Meagan, are you worried about being stuck playing a high school-age girl forever?

Meagan: Right now, I feel like I'm not in a rush. I have the rest of my life to be an adult. I'm 23. While I can still play high school, teenage stuff, I'll still do it. I'd like to do both. But, inevitably, I will be playing an adult. In Roll Bounce, I reverted back to playing sixteen which was really interesting to me. I'm appreciative either way it goes.

TeenHollywood: Meagan, what is your upcoming film Backwater about?

Meagan: Backwater is a horror movie from the makers of Scream and I Know What You Did Last Summer and my character's grandmother is a Voo Doo priestess and I kind of grew up in the whole Voo Doo thing, kind of an outcast. It's also with Jonathan Jackson, Agnes Bruckner, Melanie Griffin. It's a really good cast. These snakes that are used in ceremonies when people are possessed by demons, are kept in this cage that is buried in this burial ground. My grandmother finds out that they are going to turn the burial ground into a mill so she goes to dig up the snakes and take them to a safer place.

TeenHollywood: Don't tell me. She never makes it, right?

Meagan: Yeah. In the process, she gets into a car accident and a guy jumps over the bridge to try and save her and he dives into the car. He gets locked in the car with the snakes. They attack him and now he's possessed by the evil of countless souls.

TeenHollywood: Sounds creepy. Did you have to work with the snakes yourself?

Meagan: No, I didn't but I'm not afraid of snakes. I'm petrified of spiders. I would never do Arachnophobia. It would never happen.

TeenHollywood: Was being in a horror movie a different kind of challenge for you?

Meagan: Spiritually, the whole Voo Doo thing was a little difficult for me. I just don't believe in different Gods and all this Voo Doo stuff. But, I came to know that Voo Doo isn't actually evil like a lot of people think it is. It's not as negative as people think it is. Overall, it was really fun. The characters are really weird and kind of out there.

TeenHollywood: Okay, fashion time. Personally, what do you two like to wear?

Jill: I'm most comfortable in jeans. That's what I would go for with a cute top. I know it's a cliché to say 'I'm a jeans and t-shirt girl' but that's what I'm comfortable in.

Meagan: I love jeans. I love hippy stuff like thin t-shirts, scarves, flip flops. Love hats. That's my number one. I always wear hats. I'm surprised I'm not wearing one today. Big earrings, lots of bangles.

TeenHollywood: What kind of music do you like?

Meagan: I like Gwen Stefani's album right now. But I grew up liking White Snake, Pat Benetar, Arrowsmith and stuff like that.

Jill: I love rap and hip-hop. I love Jay-Z, 50 Cent.

TeenHollywood: Meagan, weren't you in a 50 Cent video?

Meagan: They called me and said 'will you play his young wife in the video?' and I was like 'sure, why not? He's a really good artist'. I went to do the video and it was really embarrassing because my best friend went with me and she was like 'yeah, we were all singin' in the car and Meagan was stuffed into the back seat and she couldn't roll the window down. She's like, 'I can't take it'. Then we put on 50 Cent and she got out of the car and said 'I'll walk home'. And she told him that story! He laughed and said 'I like you a lot more now'. After that we were buddies.

TeenHollywood: What about a sequel to this film?

Meagan: It's mildly being discussed.

Jill: Yeah, I would love to do it. Overseas with a bigger budget.

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Lynn Barker is a Hollywood-based entertainment journalist and produced screenwriter.