Anna Faris in The House Bunny Courtesy of Sony

Read Premiere's red carpet report from the NYC screening of The House Bunny.

Nobody can debate Anna Faris' status as a movie star, but few may realize the subtleties of a career that began with Scary Movie and its three riotous sequels. However, the thirty-one-year old Seattle native has carefully navigated a variety of projects over the years that buck the archetypical, brainless female roles dominating contemporary Hollywood cinema. In The House Bunny, she confronts and deconstructs those stereotypes as Shelley Darlington, a doll-faced Playboy Mansion reject whose narrow outlook on life expands when she becomes the unlikely house mother for a sorority of social rejects (including one played by Superbad's Emma Stone).

Although Shelley seems utterly vapid (an accusation she frequently mistakes for a compliment), the character turns out to be quite perceptive under the surface. The performance ought to be viewed alongside Faris' remarkable transition into the dazed and confused pot smoker Jane F. in Gregg Araki's woefully underseen Smiley Face. Faris' out-of-place goofiness works in a variety of offbeat scenarios, from The House Bunny to the Scary Movie quartet. She spoke to Premiere about the motives behind those performances, the genesis of The House Bunny, and her "deliciously awful" future role opposite Seth Rogen.

Was it hard to get Playboy interested in this project?
No. We gave the script to them right after [Adam Sandler's production company] Happy Madison and Sony were onboard. They agreed immediately and were incredibly supportive. We spent a week and a half shooting there, and it was very satisfying.

Did the magazine finance any of the film?
No, they didn't — not that I know of. I've been asked a few times if I know anything about producing, and I don't, really. I got the executive producer credit because I created the idea and sold it to the studios. I was involved in some of the decision making, but most of the time they were just like, "Oh, that actress doesn't know what she's talking about." I'm still working my way up on the producing side of things.

Where did the idea come from?
I came up with it a couple of years ago. It was a specific character I had been thinking about. What happens when you're living a very surreal Hollywood life and it's time to move on? Do you become a lawyer? Work at Starbucks? Marry somebody wealthy? I brought the idea to the writers of Legally Blond, they wrote the script, and we pitched it together. I'd never done anything like that before.

How much contact did you have with Adam Sandler?
Adam had produced The Hot Chick, so he was really involved. We pitched [The House Bunny] to him and he was like, "Let's do it." When you're Adam Sandler and you say that kind of thing, it really happens. He was on set and wrote a lot of jokes. He's a really hardworking guy.

Were you a sorority girl?
No, I lived in a dorm off-campus. Looking back, I wish I had joined a sorority. I probably would have been much happier. I couldn't figure out what my social group was. I was the different girl.

Speaking of different, do you think Smiley Face eventually found its audience?
I don't know. It's so gratifying to me when people love that movie, because it was definitely a passion project for me, and so much fun to make. I'm not sure where it is on people's radar. I don't even know if it's really out there. I guess it's at Blockbuster. I did win a Stony Award. I have my High Times bong on top of my mantle, and I love it. It's the only award I've ever won.