Drew Barrymore rolls into Boston with 'Whip It'

Actress-turned-director Drew Barrymore, rolling into Boston on Wednesday, Sept. 9 to promote her directorial debut following a crew of roller-derby hellraisers in the indie flick "Whip It," met with local teens and college students at the Artists for Humanity EpiCenter located at 100 West Second Street in South Boston.

Barrymore, who also stars in the flick as "Smashley Simpson" and filmed “Fever Pitch” in Boston with "Whip It" co-star Jimmy Fallon in 2004, topped off her evening in the Hub at the AMC Loews Boston Common where she unveiled her girl-power movie to the masses.

"I've been working and dreaming in this world of cinema my whole life and while I dropped out of school, I've become a student of life," she says in her first Q&A as a film director.

"I've gone to museums. I've studied bands. I like photography. I've worked with filmmakers who have taught me so much. I've put everything in this piggy bank and I've been looking for a venue to take that piggy bank and break it on the floor," Barrymore adds.

"Whip It" stars "Juno's" Ellen Page as "Bliss Cavendar" turned "Babe Ruthless," a rebellious Texas teen who throws in her small town beauty pageant crown for the rowdy world of roller derby. Marcia Gay Harden plays Bliss’ disapproving mother, while Barrymore, Kristen "Maggie Mayhem" Wiig and Juliette "Iron Maven" Lewis play roller-derby stars.

Barrymore, wearing a Madewell plaid number and a two-tone black-dipped hairdo, says she enjoyed playing roller-derby diva "Smashley Simpson," or a character she calls "a hippie with anger issues." However, stepping up behind the camera was a dream come true.

"I always knew that I wanted to direct," she says. "I remember handing Steven Spielberg scripts at the age of six."

Barrymore continues, "I want to do what the boys do."

"Whip It" rolls into theaters on Friday, Oct. 2. Also, click here for details on Artists for Humanity.

--Copyrighted photos by Ryan Miner, Beantown Photo