LOVE IS IN THE AIR
Jennifer Love Hewitt's new film isn't Party time

It seems that 19 year-old "Love" has been in front of the camera her whole life. At two years old, she was grabbing the spotlight in her hometown of Killeen, Texas when she took to the mike for a Mother's Day brunch. Short plays in her garage and driveway followed. By nine years old, she had persuaded her speech-therapist mom Pat -- "my best friend" -- to move to Hollywood. Her nonstop career began with the Disney Channel's Kids Incorporated. What's Love got to do with it? Everything!

In her relatively brief career, Hewitt has conquered almost every medium. There's her recent TV commercials and print ads. There's music too. Jennifer has released three CDs and even sings in her latest feature film, I Still Know What You Did Last Summer, the sequel to the hugely successful teen thriller, I Know What You Did Last Summer, which earned her a 1998 Blockbuster Entertainment Award as Favorite Female Newcomer in a film. Recently, Hewitt starred in Can't Hardly Wait, a teen ensemble comedy. There's television, too. Since landing her star-making role in 1995, Hewitt has played wholesome Sarah Reeves on the Golden Globe-winning drama series Party of Five, for which she was honored with a 1997 Hollywood Reporter Young Star Award nomination as Best Actress in a Television Drama Series. Hewitt and her character have become so popular that Fox is planning on a Party of Five spin-off. "It doesn't have a name and I don't know much about it," admits Hewitt, "but I'm excited about playing Sarah in her own show." Never underestimate the power of Love -- she'll be portraying Audrey Hepburn in an ABC-TV biography. "She's just my idol," says Hewitt smiling. "Such class and elegance. I only hope people don't remember me after the movie and just what Audrey Hepburn stood for -- then I know I've done my job well."

With a super-charged performance schedule, Hewitt has managed a bi-coastal relationship of a few months with MTV VJ Carson Daly (recently named one of PEOPLE's 12 Sexy Men). "It's great," is all she will comment on her latest love interest (already a seasoned professional when dealing with the press). Solidifying her star status, Love just bought her first home -- a five-bedroom house in the San Fernando Valley that she shares with her mom. The home is just a stone's throw from her older brother Todd and his wife, Michelle. But Jennifer is not taken with her star quality that has been rumored to command $5 million per picture. "I like being a role model to young girls. I only hope I live up to it."

Hewitt recently spoke with PEOPLE Online's Bonnie Siegler about her new film, her proposed TV series and plans to portray her idol, Audrey Hepburn, in a TV movie.

Why do you think this genre of film is so popular and what is it that makes this film in particular better or different?
Horror films would not be this popular unless for [screenwriter] Kevin Williamson. He did a remarkable thing by giving horror films a facelift, if you will. He took something that was always fun and scary and made it a bit more unpredictable. Kevin added a lot of wit, charm and intelligence to this genre. So it becomes not so much how bloody a film is, but how much you can distract the audience and then jolt them into terror. I think horror films have done a great thing for the entertainment industry, in general. First it has allowed teenage actors to play teenagers -- it's not 40-year-olds playing teens. It gives a great deal back to the teenage community who go and see these films.

How do the two "Summer" movies differ?
They are two completely different movies. The first one did what it had to do, which was set up for a second film. The second one is much more psychotic, horrific, nastier, bloodier -- every term you could use to sound bad. It picks up after all this other stuff has happened in Julie's life. The movie takes more of a chance because a lot of it takes place in her head.

Was it a tough choice to do a sequel when you have so many other choices right now?
Absolutely not. I found out the first weekend the original film came out that we were doing a sequel. They called me on a Sunday and said we're thinking about doing a sequel. Writers were put together, I read it and I was honored to be in it. When we were filming it, I knew it was going to be a good movie, and when I saw it last night, I had no idea how good it was going to turn out. I was scared.

This film's conclusion obviously sets it up for yet another sequel. Do you fear the market will become saturated, as it did in the '80s?
There is no doubt in my mind that horror movies will start to fade quickly. The entertainment industry is just that way. People get a taste for something, they love it and eat it up. They saturate the marketplace with them and then are ready to move on, which is fine. There are wide selections of movies. I don't know if they are going to make a third one. You know, as much as you make movies because you hope people are going to see them, it's just as much that you try not to think about that when making one. To me, if the third one was good, I think people will go see it.

Do you think horror movies work on different levels for people?
I think it's a fun thing and for the average teenage guy, it's a great first date movie. You're guaranteed to get the cuddling. I know -- I was grabbing on to people last night. I think horror movies right now do a great thing for teenage girls, which is that this is the first run of horror movies that empowered women the way they do. As much as it is about the scantily clad girl running through rooms and going through wrong doors, it's also about strong female characters taking charge and not always depending upon the guy to step in and fix things for them.

You've had two of these successful movies. Do you think you'll pull a Neve Campbell and do a Wild Things to switch directions?
I'm happy in being the girl-next-door. The Gidget thing works for me. [My character] Julie was sort of sexy in her own way. I'm much more a fan of that. I saw Wild Things and I'm a big fan of Neve but it's not the kind of movie I would do. I don't do things I don't feel comfortable in and I wouldn't feel comfortable with nudity. It's just not me. When I do a role, people have to believe me in it. I'll probably stay the good girl for awhile.

How was working with your co-actors like Brandy?
The movie would not have been done so well without every actor in the movie pulling their weight. Everybody stepped [up] to the plate and did an amazing job. We worked really hard together. It was a tough shoot. Being in the rain, in Mexico, was really tough, but everyone was so brave and so great.

Can you talk about the Party of Five spin-off?
Sure. I don't know much about it yet. There's not a lot to say. I'm going to be playing Sarah again. I know that I go to New York. We're filming the pilot in January, but I don't know the name of it, the storyline or too much. It's just kind of all happening. I'm a little nervous but I'm up for the challenge. I'm excited about it. I think I'd be more nervous if I had to go out there and play a character I've never done, but I've played Sarah for four years now so she's pretty good people. So as long as I can fit her into a new setting, new people and all that stuff, I think I'll be OK.

And you'll be playing Audrey Hepburn in a TV movie?
Audrey Hepburn has always been one of my favorite people and I'd always had a dream to play her. I was at a meeting for something else and they asked me what my dream role would be and I said it would be to play Audrey Hepburn one day. They called me back two days later and asked if I'd really like to play Audrey Hepburn and I laughed. But they were serious and I was floored.

Why did you admire her so much?
Just her class. Elegance and class are things that have become special. I don't think we see that kind of elegance and class in people every single day. She was just different. I'm reading about her life now and just the way she handled things was great. She had no idea how wonderful she was. Though I never met her, I feel like I have by learning about her life.

You've talked a lot about being a positive role model. But people do criticize horror movies for being a bad influence on kids. How do you answer these critics?
When I think of a role model and why people say I am one, I think mostly of Sarah, my character every week on Party of Five. I try really hard in interviews not to put on a fake front. I try really hard to make sure I'm somebody they can look up to. I try to put thoughts together that will say something to somebody or touch somebody. And I also think with horror films aren't what they used to be. Julie is a great person. Julie is funny, powerful, smart, strong, weak, vulnerable -- everything that a human is supposed to be. And a role model needs to be really human.
-- BONNIE SIEGLER