NEW YORK -- It's her Party and she can leave if she wants to.

For the past six years, Neve Campbell has starred as Julia Salinger on Fox's popular youth soap opera Party of Five.

Fox has announced the cancellation of the ongoing loves and losses of the Salinger children who were left orphans after their parents were killed in a car accident.

Campbell has announced two years ago that she would not renew her contract when it expired this season.

"There were definitely discussions, especially when Scott Wolf (who plays her older brother Bailey) said he would be willing to return for a specified number of episodes in a final season," says Campbell.

"I can see Fox's point of view. They wanted to draw the story to a close instead of just ending it. I feel no guilt because everyone knew my decision was to leave."

Campbell says she is both sad and relieved Party of Five has run its course.

"I've spent more time with Julia these past six years than I have with myself. I'm sad to say goodbye to her because I had such fun doing the shows. Party of Five has been my family for six years. It's the whole reason I came to Los Angeles in the first place."

Campbell, who was born in Guelph, Ont., trained to be a ballerina and, at age 15, became the youngest cast member of the Toronto production of Phantom of the Opera.

In 1994, when she had just turned 20, Campbell won the role of Julia Salinger and relocated to L.A.

At the time, she was engaged to Jeff Colt, another struggling Toronto actor.

They married in 1995.

He joined her in L.A., but the marriage lasted less than three years.

At the time of the breakup, Campbell acknowledged her celebrity was a major issue in their relationship.

She not only had a hit TV series, but had completed the first two of the Scream movies.

Ironically, Campbell is putting both of these franchises to sleep at the same time.

The Scream movies and Party of Five are both history.

"That's definitely a relief. I'm at a place in my career where I want to do other things. Neither the Scream movies nor Party of Five was inspiring me any more."

Campbell says she became so bored filming Party of Five these past three years, she took up a new hobby each season.

"One year I studied oil painting. The next it was guitar and, this past year, I started learning Spanish from tapes. I loved that so much I now have a Spanish tutor."

In the outrageous farce Drowning Mona that opens Friday, Campbell plays Danny DeVito's daughter.

He is the town policeman investigating the suspicious death of the town harridan, played by Bette Midler.

"I had great fun choosing the worst clothes I could find and making my hair look like a rat's nest.

"After a while it got to be a contest with the cast members to see who looked the most ridiculous.

"Poor Casey Affleck (who plays her finance) insists his blond surfer wig upstages everyone, but Jamie Lee Curtis insists she looks more hideous than all of us combined.

"The moment I read Drowning Mona I knew I had to be in it. It's most wonderfully ridiculous murder mystery I've ever read.

"It provided me with my first real character role.

"I've done comedy before, but nothing this broad and outrageous."

Campbell shocked many people in the industry when she turned down the lead in the dance movie Center Stage.

Knowing her dance background, the producers approach Campbell immediately.

"I have been developing my own dance movie for the past three years. I would have had to abandon it if I had done Center Stage.

"I don't feel I can do two big dance movies.

"Jennifer Jason Leigh's mother Barbara Turner is polishing the newest version of the script. Hopefully we'll be able to shoot in the fall."

Campbell is determined to make her dance film. It would be the fulfilment of a dream.

"From the time I was a child, my only dream was to dance with the National Ballet of Canada."

She realized that dream at age 12 when she was accepted as a student at the National Ballet school.

Two years later she left because "the pressure proved too great.

"Dancing is still where my heart is. I have a little dance studio in my house."

Campbell is set to star in Alan Rudolph's next film Investigating Sex with Nick Nolte.


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