the apple of apple's eye: ellen feiss her pc crashed, she made
the switch, and now sheÕs famous. meet the internetÕs latest it
girl.

By Zachary Frechette Ellen Feiss is a lot like most 15-year-olds,
with one notable exception: Some guy in Holland is wearing a
T-shirt with her face on it right now. Actually, a lot of people
are wearing that shirt with her picture or drinking coffee from a
similarly themed mug purchased on one of EllenÕs numerous fan
sites. After appearing in a ÒSwitchÓ ad for Apple computer
(www.apple.com/switch/ads), Feiss quickly became an Internet
celebrity, spawning stories in newspapers from coast to coast and
sparking discussion in chat rooms across the world. There was
even a look-alike contest held outside Amsterdam, although most
of the entrants were men. Some have argued she seems a bit too,
um, light-headed in her commercial, but that hasnÕt stopped Leno
and Letterman from trying to book her (actually, it probably
helped). As a sophomore in high school, Ellen still isnÕt quite
sure what to make of her 15 minutes, but between meetings with
her agent and MTV executives, she took some time to answer
questions for Post-.

How did you get involved with the Apple switch campaign in the
first place? ItÕs kind of a funny story. IÕm friends with the son
of the director, Errol Morris. IÕm friends with his son Hamilton.
I went with him after school, him and two of my friends. We
didnÕt think we were going to make ads; we were just going to get
the free set food. So we go there, and theyÕre like, ÒWe need a
couple more people, so I guess the three of you can make ads.Ó So
we all made ads, and me and HamiltonÕs got picked. I had no idea
I was going to do it until I got there.

Is the story you told true? Oh yeah, itÕs definitely true.

What was the paper about? It was about Chinatown, and the
formation of Chinatowns in America. I lost like three pages of
it; it was terrible. It was a really, really good paper.

Did Apple compensate you for the commercial at all? IÕm not
actually sure how much I got paid because it was in installments,
and the whole contract was dealt with by my parents, so IÕm not
actually sure. Oh, and I got an iPod. ItÕs like the coolest thing
ever.

What was the initial response of your friends and family to the
commercial? They all freaked out. I called my dad while I was at
the set because I had to get him to say that he was my guardian
and it was OK for me to do it, and he didnÕt believe me that I
was going to do it. So they all freaked out when they found out I
got the ad.

Did you get a lot of phone calls after it aired? Yeah, a lot of
old camp friends, actually.

When did you start getting the sense you were becoming a
celebrity beyond the commercial itself? I was on vacation in
Arizona this summer, and when I left everything was fine. It was
kind of like, ÒOh this is cool, IÕm in a commercial,Ó but thatÕs
it. And so we left. When we get back two weeks later, itÕs like a
bombard, it was so big. I have like 20 messages on the answering
machine from different people telling me about this, random
people like people who work with my parents and all these other
people. I get back and IÕm in The New York Times, and IÕm in the
L.A. Times, and Letterman wants me on his show, Leno wants me on
his show. IÕm like, ÒI just got back from vacation!Ó ItÕs funny
because I get back, and the New York Times is like, ÒEllen is
unreachable for comment because sheÕs supposedly on vacation,Ó
and I was like, ÒHow do they even know this?Ó It was really kind
of scary, actually, a little overwhelming at first.

So do you have any interest in doing Leno or Letterman? I was
offered to, but I decided not to because I thought it wouldnÕt be
so much ÒWho are you, Ellen Feiss?Ó It would be more like, ÒAre
you a stoner?Ó blah blah blah. I did get other offers besides
that that IÕm getting into. MTV wants to talk to me. TheyÕre
doing a pilot on me. The guyÕs going to come to my house in two
weeks and interview me, and then show it to the CEO of MTV. I got
a lot of crazy offers. I thought if I went on Letterman, it would
be like I go on Letterman, and then I go on ÒRegis and Kelly,Ó
and then I go on Channel 5 News, and then it would kind of fizzle
out pathetically. MTVÕs a little cooler.

Any idea what the MTV show would be about? No, he has no idea. He
just said he liked the ads and said I was a cute kid.

Do you think this has the potential to jump-start a career in
entertainment? I donÕt know. I also got a call from the Farrelly
Brothers. They were like, ÒYou know we really like your ad,Ó so
they wrote down my name or something. I have an agent now. This
guy writes me down Ñ the producer of all the Farrelly brothers
movies Ñ and heÕs like this kid is whatever whatever, this ad is
pretty funny, so he writes my name down and heÕs trying to get in
contact with my agent. Since I didnÕt have an agent at that point
É well itÕs a kind of confusing story, but anyway, they wanted me
to be in one of their movies, but since they found out how old I
was they donÕt think I can be in one. Supposedly, though, my
agent is Òfloating my image,Ó quote unquote. I donÕt know what
the hell that means.

So have you made a bunch of new friends at school? No, it isnÕt
that weird. I get a lot of really obvious comments from people
like ÒDid you know that there are mugs with your face on them?Ó
and IÕm like, ÒNo I didnÕt; why donÕt you tell me about that?Ó
Just comments like that. ItÕs like, ÒThanks for telling me about
that.Ó

Are you OK with all the Web sites, and people walking around
wearing your face on their T-shirts? Oh, whatever, I think itÕs
kind of funny. These people donÕt have lives. I donÕt know, it
was kind of bizarre at first. I went to my Web site but I decided
not to read any of the comments because I thought it would be too
weird. I heard about some of them, though, so I was like,
ÒWeeell, IÕm not going to read those.Ó

Did you hear about the look-alike contest in Holland? I did! I
saw the pictures, too. It was really funny.

Did you have a favorite picture? The toothless old man was hands
down the best, but no one actually looked anything like me.

Has Apple tried to contact you since all this happened? They
contacted me to supposedly advise me. They were like, ÒWe donÕt
really want you to take this anywhere,Ó but I decided to get an
agent anyway. I went to Macworld in July. It seems like the kind
of thing where if youÕre not in the biz É. I thought it was the
most boring thing. I got shuttled down to New York, and I got VIP
seating, and I was like, ÒWow, IÕm at the Oscars or something,Ó
but then I was like, ÒNo, IÕm at Macworld.Ó I met Steve Jobs. He
called me by my first name Ñ clever, huh? It was brief.

Do you have a favorite switch ad besides your own? Probably
Hamilton, just because I know him, and I saw him make it. It was
so funny. Me and Hamilton have decided that our new nemesis is
Jeremiah Cohick. HeÕs our age, and heÕs trying to steal our
limelight! We decided we donÕt like him. WeÕre out to get him.

Does it bother you at all that some of your fame might be related
to your perceived state of sobriety in the commercial? It doesnÕt
really bother me. I do admit to looking pretty out of it in that
commercial Ñ I think I look horrible. It was after school, but I
was the last person to make the commercial, so by the time I made
it it was like 10, so I was really tired. The funny thing was, I
was on drugs! I was on Benedryl, my allergy medication, so I was
really out of it anyway. ThatÕs why my eyes were all red, because
I have seasonal allergies. But no one believes me.

Do you feel any connection to the Dell dude? No, none whatsoever.
That guyÕs a doofus. I get a lot of ÒWhat if you guys had kids?Ó
And IÕm like, ÒWhat if we had kids?Ó Why would you ask that? What
a weird question. TheyÕd probably be blond.

zach frechette Õ04 forgot to ask if ellen knows janie porcheÕs
phone number.