TORONTO (AP):

Drew Barrymore chose a real balancing act for her directing debut. She does it on wheels, directing and acting alongside Juno co-star Ellen Page in Whip It, a rowdy tale of roller-derby women.

Barrymore had never put on skates before shooting the movie, spending a month alongside castmates learning the ropes in a roller-derby boot camp.

Her training as a director has been going on for years, since she began producing movies in the 1990s, her credits including her Charlie's Angels adventures and her Adam Sandler romance 50 First Dates.

the big test

Once they acquired the rights to roller-derby player Shauna Cross' book Whip It, Barrymore and producing partner Nancy Juvonen began casting about for a director. Before long, Barrymore realised this was the one she had to direct herself.

"I've been producing for 15 years, and it's all been preparing for the big test. I really care so much about what I do, and I love film-making so much. I love every detail and every aspect of it," Barrymore, 34, said in an interview at the Toronto International Film Festival, where Whip It premiered in advance of its October 2 theatrical release.

"I think slow and steady wins the race too. I didn't need to direct when I was 21. I wanted to produce and learn about the film-making process and understand every element going into it, so that by the time I did direct, I was as knowledgeable and well prepared as possible."

natural skater

Whip It stars Page as Texas teen Bliss Cavendar, who follows the path of her mom (Marcia Gay Harden), a former beauty queen overseeing her daughter's rise on the pageant circuit.

On a whim, Bliss tries out for a cellar-dweller roller-derby team, discovering she's a natural skater and soon leading her squad on an underdog quest for the local league championship. Kristen Wiig, singer Eve, stuntwoman Zoe Bell and Barrymore co-star as some of Page's teammates, with Juliette Lewis cast as her nemesis, the star of the league's top team.