Star Traveler
Published April 26, 2013 FoxNews.com
Watch the video of the interview with Actress Ashley Bell here.
On a recent trip to Cambodia, actress Ashley Bell got to do what tourists only dream of doing: hug an elephant.
The star of the "The Last Exorcism: Part II" traveled to Asia in her
role in "Love and Bananas" --a new documentary about the plight of Asian
elephants in captivity.
As graduate of NYU’s Tish School of the Arts, Bell isn't afraid to
embrace a variety of roles that let her strong acting chops shine. From
thrillers to action adventure, and even romantic comedies, there isn’t a
role this budding actress won’t take on. Now, she can add activist to
her resume. By helping to raise the profile of those who dedicate their
lives to rescuing elephants – from zoos, circuses, logging facilities,
and tourist attractions -- she's found a new appreciation of this part
of the world.
She says this project wasn't much of a reach, because she was always
surrounded by rescue dogs and cats growing up. But her time in Cambodia
has opened her eyes even more to the mistreatment of elephants.
Fox 411: What did you learn in your travels?
Bell: It was absolutely remarkable. People could not have been
nicer. I, unfortunately, did learn that Cambodia is going through a
very bad problem with deforestation. While we were filming the
documentary, we went up in a helicopter and filmed a lot of the rain
forest. I believe 75 percent of the rain forest is being, has been, cut
down. So in working with the Cambodian Wildlife Sanctuary, they're
looking to restore that rain forest, provide more jobs for local
villagers so they won't need to cut down trees for money. And, also to
provide a home for rescued elephants.
Fox 411: Tell us a little more about the documentary.
Bell: "Love and Bananas" --it's in its very first stage. We
got the initial filming done in Cambodia in January. And it is about
the plight of Asian elephants. These elephants have been rescued from
logging facilities as working elephants, circus performing elephants,
and also, tourist elephants. A lot of tourists, when they visit, they
offer elephant rides. And, what's important to know is, elephant rides
are abusive to elephants. It's not in an elephant's nature to be captive
and chained and ridden, as much fun as it seems, it takes a toll on the
elephants and they do suffer, and the elephants that are at the
sanctuary have actually been freed of that and are now roaming the
jungle where they're meant to be.
Fox 411: Were you aware of this cause before working on this film?
Bell: I was aware of what it took to break an elephant. You
know a wild elephant, there are no wild elephants left in Cambodia. And I
learned that when I arrived there. And to train a wild elephant, you
have to break a wild elephant. And that's a very abusive process. And
that process happens from Cambodia to the United States to zoos and
circuses all around the world. It's the same process of breaking an
elephant. And, a tool called the bull hook is used, which is used for
abuse. And at the sanctuary, that's banned. They believe that you can
guide an elephant with love and bananas. Hence the name of the
documentary, "Love and Bananas"-- and you can check it out at LoveAndBananas.com.
Fox 411: Did you do anything else besides working while in Cambodia?
Bell: This was my first time in Southeast Asia, so being
immersed in that culture was absolutely incredible. The smells, the
food, it's just, it tastes so beautiful. The fruit is so fresh. There's
no pesticides. The salads and the vegetables, I'm a vegetarian, so let
me gush about vegetables. They're organic and they're fresh and they
taste the way they're meant to. I also went on a floating village. It's
a whole village out on the water. There's a school. There's a church.
They have markets. You can have dinner on the floating village. It's
incredible. I've never seen anything like that before.
Fox 411: Do you plan on returning?
Bell: The second I left, I wanted to make it a point to go
back. To go back and visit Cambodia and also Thailand, I've heard the
people who are helping with the documentary, Save Elephant Foundation,
have a sanctuary in Thailand that I'm just dying to go visit, but I hope
to go back to Cambodia. We've filmed the first part, we're fund-raising
to now film the second part and, it's a story as big as the elephants
we're filming. I think it's going to be a couple trips, so possibly
later in the summer and then maybe after that just to see the journey
these elephants take to recovery and the rescue of new elephants.
Fox
News Entertainment Producer Ashley Dvorkin covers celebrity news, red
carpets, TV, music, and movies. Dvorkin, winner of the 2011 CMA Media
Achievement Award, is also host of "Fox 411 Country," "Star Traveler"
and "In 5."
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