“LOOPER” directed by Rian Johnson
Larry Greenberg says: I know I am going to love this film either way but are there any comedic moments in the non-stop, sci-fi time travel action?
Ken Jeong
Larry Greenberg says: You’re cooler than Buckaroo Banzai. I read that your comedy career took off when Brandon Tartikoff saw you perform in New Orleans. Another reader, Fred Plunkett, Jr., who is from New Orleans, thinks that it was Bud Friedman who told you that you’ve got what it takes. Care to settle the debate by sharing who it is you credit with telling you to head for Hollywood?
Ken Jeong: Yes, sir. It was a standup comedy contest in New Orleans called “The Big Easy Laff-Off,” and the judges of the contest were both Bud Friedman, the founder of The Improv, and Brandon Tartikoff, the former President of NBC and ex-Chairman of Paramount Pictures. I won the competition and got to perform at The Improv in Los Angeles. This was fifteen years ago. When I finished my residency in New Orleans, I went to L.A. where I would work as a doctor during the day, and then at night I would actually go to The Improv and do standup, all the while kind of cultivating my comedy resume.
“The Hangover Part II” Interview
with Kam Williams
Headline: The Funniest Doctor in America Makes a House Call
The son of Korean immigrants, Ken Jeong was born in Detroit on June 15, 1969 but raised in Greensboro, North Carolina. He graduated from high school there at the age of 16 after playing violin in the orchestra and being elected to the student council. Next, he attended Duke University, earning a bachelor’s degree before studying medicine at the University of North Carolina.
However, while completing his residency in New Orleans, Dr. Jeong was moonlighting as a standup comedian, and he moved to L.A. after winning “The Big Easy Laff-Off.” He has since delivered unforgettable performances in such movies as The Kims of Comedy, Knocked Up, Pineapple Express, Couples Retreat and The Hangover.
On TV, he’s appeared in a number of series and currently enjoys the recurring role of angry Spanish teacher Señor Chang on the NBC sitcom “Community.” He has also done a number of television specials, most recently hosting this year’s Billboard Awards.
As for his private life, Ken’s wife, Tran, is a physician, too, and they have twin daughters, Alexa and Zooey. Here, he talks about reprising his role as the flamboyant Mr. Chow in The Hangover Part II.
Kam Williams: Hi Dr. Jeong. I’m honored to have this opportunity.
Ken Jeong: Oh, thank you for interviewing me. How’re you doing, Kam?
KW: Just great, thanks. I told my readers I’d be interviewing you and they sent in a lot of questions, so I’d like to get right to them. Ken Emerson says: I have been one of your biggest fans ever since I saw you climb naked out of the trunk of the car in The Hangover. What do I have to do to get an autographed picture of you?
KJ: [Laughs] Just forward his request to my publicist and I’d be very happy to send a picture to him. Absolutely!
KW: How did you enjoy shooting The Hangover Part II over in Thailand?
KJ: I loved it! It was just great. Being invited to go back to the big dance for the sequel to the movie that made my career was like a dream come true for me. It was an amazing opportunity to revisit the character that put me on the map and to revisit with family. These guys are my favorite crew to work with. I just had a blast!
KW: All the biggest laughs this go-round revolve around your character.
KJ: [Chuckles] Thank you. That’s very kind of you.
KW: Larry Greenberg says: You’re cooler than Buckaroo Banzai. I read that your comedy career took off when Brandon Tartikoff saw you perform in New Orleans. Another reader, Fred Plunkett, Jr., who is from New Orleans, thinks that it was Bud Friedman who told you that you’ve got what it takes. Care to settle the debate by sharing who it is you credit with telling you to head for Hollywood?
KJ: Yes, sir. It was a standup comedy contest in New Orleans called “The Big Easy Laff-Off,” and the judges of the contest were both Bud Friedman, the founder of The Improv, and Brandon Tartikoff, the former President of NBC and ex-Chairman of Paramount Pictures. I won the competition and got to perform at The Improv in Los Angeles. This was fifteen years ago. When I finished my residency in New Orleans, I went to L.A. where I would work as a doctor during the day, and then at night I would actually go to The Improv and do standup, all the while kind of cultivating my comedy resume.
KW: Fred remembers seeing you perform with the Brown Improv group, which just celebrated their 17th year anniversary in New Orleans. He wants to know whether you still keep in touch with any members of the troupe.
KJ: Of course! That was the improv group I worked with every Saturday for three years while I was doing my residency. I credit Brown with really helping me find my comedic voice. And there are many talented actors and comedians I worked with there who I still keep in touch with today. I look back upon Brown as my training ground, my Second City, if you will.
KW: Fred also reminisces about catching you at True Brew Café on Open Mic Night. Does that ring a bell?
KJ: Yes! True Brew was a great venue located in New Orleans’ business district. It was a place where they had standup comedy once a week. It was great because it gave me an opportunity to develop my act. I have very, very fond memories of New Orleans.
KW: Will Cooper says: Given the number of years you invested in becoming a doctor, from med school to residency, before switching careers, do you ever wish you had spent that time pursuing your comedy career?
KJ: That’s a great question. My answer is, no. I’m real glad I studied medicine. I truly believe that without my medical background, I wouldn’t have the career I have right now. Medicine really matured me as a person because, as a physician, you’re obviously dealing with life and death issues, issues much more serious than what we’re talking about in entertainment. You can’t get more serious than life and death. And if you can handle that, you can handle anything. So, to me, to have the discipline in comedy to always do the best you can, is a work ethic I credit as coming from my being a physician. And I apply it all the time in my work as an actor.
KW: Harriet Pakula Teweles asks: Have you ever had to treat someone who became ill on the set?
KJ: Yeah, when I was doing All about Steve with Sandra Bullock and Bradley Cooper. We were shooting in 105-degree weather, and I remember catching one of the extras who was just about to collapse from heat exhaustion and taking them to the medic. So, yeah, I get asked medical advice all the time and, being a doctor, I don’t mind. It’s par for the course for me.
KW: Judyth Piazza says: You have been very successful. What key quality do you believe all successful people share?
KJ: Working hard. There’s really no substitute for working hard. I think that’s my biggest talent. There are always people who are funnier and more talented than I am, but I don’t take anything for granted and I commit myself 100% to each of my roles.
KW: Like when you climbed out of the car trunk naked in The Hangover. Was those your private parts or were you wearing a prosthetic?
KJ: That was all me. In fact, it was my idea, my initiative, to come out naked.
KW: Did you do any improv in The Hangover Part II?
KJ: Not as much. The script was so good that you didn’t need to improvise that much. Since the script for the second was funnier than the first, I found it easier to do, because I really couldn’t top any of the lines already written on the page for Mr. Chow. It was one of my easiest jobs, creatively.
KW: Tommy Russell, actor and former medical student, wants to know how long it took before you really felt like you achieved some regular success in the entertainment world.
KJ: I think Knocked Up was my biggest break. Up until then I was still working at my day job as a physician. That first movie really opened the doors for me, and it gave me the confidence to pursue acting full-time. [Director] Judd Apatow basically discovered me at an audition. That movie really changed my life in so many ways. And it led to The Hangover which changed my life yet again.
KW: Congratulations on doing a great job hosting the Billboard Awards.
KJ: Thank you.
KW: Do you see it as an audition for the Oscars?
KJ: Oh, no, no, no. To me it was just an honor to host my first awards show, and to have a chance to do an opening number, to show my love of music, to demonstrate some musical ability that maybe people were unaware, and to rub elbows with some of the best musicians and biggest stars on the planet… Nicki Minaj… Lady Gaga… Keith Urban… I had the best seat in the house. It was pretty amazing!
KW: Lastly, is there any question no one ever asks you, that you wish someone would?
KJ: Not really. I think I’ve been asked just about every question under the sun. I’m just really honored that people are even interested in asking me questions. Keep ‘em coming!
KW: Thanks again for the time, Ken, and best of luck with the film.
KJ: Thanks, Kam. Take care.
To see a trailer for The Hangover Part II, visit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aKacS3nYXdE&feature=fvst
To see Ken Jeong’s opening number on the Billboard Awards on May 22nd, visit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8OrtTkKAJc
Kevin Costner
Director Larry Greenberg says: “Black or White touches on how alcoholism and addiction impact parenting. Is this an issue that you feel needs more attention?”
Kevin Costner: “Well, obviously, you were able to see the movie, Larry, and for that I’m grateful. The hope is that, if the movie
did touch you, you’ll continue to tell other people about it. But alcohol, used in any excess, is always going to put a veil over how we behave… clouding our judgment… and affecting our ability to love and to be responsible. And certainly, in this instance, it’s pretty clear that what was driving the drinking was the loss of the love of his life, his wife, and the loss of his child seven years earlier. The discussion of alcohol, and where he is in terms of it, is pretty unique in this film, because at one point he suggests that maybe he isn’t an alcoholic, but just an angry person. And that clouds his judgment when he’s backed into a corner. Also, the movie deals with addictions on both sides, which makes it very balanced and enjoyable to watch.”
Lawrence R. Greenberg
Lawrence R. Greenberg, PMP founded Poni TV after a conversation with Quentin Tarantino where he was told “you can direct a movie at any age”. Greenberg has experience as a director, producer, camera operator, DP, lighting director, actor, and editor. He works as director for a live TV talk show, as writer/director for a zombie sketch comedy show and has produced commercials for TV, Internet, and industrial use. Greenberg has posed interview questions to stars including Nicolas Cage, Morgan Freeman, Robert Duvall, and M. Night Shyamalan. He teaches chroma key at Princeton Digital Media Center and works in a number of production capacities for Poni TV, ADP films, and Princeton Community Television. Read more
Leila Jean Davis on the banks of the Delaware River in New Hope. PA
Lenny Kravitz
Lawrence R. Greenberg’s Question:
Larry Greenberg says, he would love to love to see a movie about Romeo Blue. Is there any chance of that happening?
Lenny Kravitz: Hmmm… That’s interesting, you know. I haven’t thought about that, but it’s interesting, because it was a different persona, a different person, as far as I’m concerned. I haven’t thought about making a music film, but if I did, that would be a very interesting idea.
Kam Williams: Romeo Blue was an important phase you went through in getting you back to yourself.
LK: Yes, I was being somebody else. It was a part of me. I had an emotional attachment to this character, but it wasn’t me. I didn’t know whether being this half-black, half-white guy named Lenny Kravitz could work. That may sound really strange, but in essence, that’s how I felt. But then I woke up one day, and realized Romeo Blue wasn’t me. It was a part of me, but it wasn’t me. At that point, I accepted myself, my name and my background for who I am, and then everything began to flow.
KW: Do you ever feel pressure to identify yourself as black or white, or Jewish or Christian?
LK: No, my mother always told me to embrace both sides of my background. And she also taught me one very useful thing when I was going to first grade. She said, “You’re Bahamian and African-American on one side, and Russian-Jewish on the other. You’re no more one than the other, and it’s beautiful that you have all this. It makes your life all the more rich. But society will see you only as black.” I can’t remember how I felt at the time that she told me that, but later on in life I was like, “Wow!” because that’s exactly how it was. They don’t care that you’re mixed. They see you as one color.
KW: And although you understood that the world saw you that way, you didn’t allow yourself to be pigeonholed and marginalized.
LK: I’ve lived my life dealing with everybody. And that’s how it’s always been for me.
The Full Interview…
Lenny Kravitz
The “Precious” Interview
with Kam Williams
Headline: Let Lenny Rule
Leonard Albert Kravitz was born in New York City on May 26, 1964 to actress Roxie Roker, and Sy Kravitz, a news producer at NBC-TV. An only child, Lenny was raised on the Upper East Side of Manhattan until the family moved to Los Angeles when his late mother landed the role of Helen on the television sitcom “The Jeffersons.”
He developed a love of music at an early age, playing both drums and guitar by the time he was 5. After dropping out of Beverly Hills High School at the age of 15, Lenny straightened his hair and donned blue contact lenses to create a new persona, Romeo Blue. But he only hit it big after going natural and back to his real name and irises for the release of his debut album, “Let Love Rule.” A 4-time Grammy-winner, Lenny’s hits include “Let Love Rule,” “Fly Away” and “American Woman,” to name a few.
He and his ex-wife, Cosby kid Lisa Bonet, have one daughter, Zoe, an aspiring actress whose next flick, Twelve, will be released in the Fall. Here, Lenny talks about making his acting debut in Precious, where he played John, an empathetic nurse who befriends the beleaguered title character.
Kam Williams: Hey, Lenny, thanks for the time. What interested you in playing John?
Lenny Kravitz: Well, first of all, I thought it was a great story. Then the fact that Lee’s a great director and I’m a fan of his movies. He makes dynamic films. And the script was great. I also liked Nurse John, who was really the only positive male character in the film, concerning Precious. Even though it’s only a short visit they have together, she sort of starts to come alive at that point.
KW: Did you enjoy making the film?
LK: It was a great experience. Obviously it was my first film, but you never know when you read a script, what it’s going to be like, even if you know who’s been cast. And I can say that it’s the same for making music videos or doing other projects.
KW: What did you think of the finished product?
LK: It came out so amazing! It was far more than I had imagined.
KW: How was it working with such a talented cast, Mo’Nique, Gabby Sidibe, Mariah Carey, Paula Patton, Sherri Shepherd, etcetera?
LK: Well, my scenes were primarily with Gabby and the young girls, so I really didn’t see anybody else. But working with Gabby, I realized immediately that she was amazingly talented. I could tell just by the way she’d get into the role. We’d be sitting around talking and laughing, but when Lee would say, “Okay, it’s time to get ready to shoot the scene,” she would transform at the snap of a finger as soon as Lee said, “Action!” She’d suddenly be in agony, or crying or in some deep, emotional state.” And I’d be thinking, “Wow! This girl is really incredible.” You never know where you’re going to find a great actor. Just yesterday, I was watching an interview with Martin Scorcese concerning Raging Bull, which is one of my favorite films, and he was talking about how he’d worked with a lot of guys who weren’t quote-unquote “actors,” like Joe Pesce and Frank Vincent. Scorcese was very smart in the way that he cast, because you don’t know where you’re going to find the right person who can carry a role and summon that emotion you’re looking for.
KW: Would you describe Lee as a hands-on director?
LK: Extremely! And I enjoyed that, because when I’m making my music, I’m writing it, I’m producing it, I’m playing all the instruments, I’m performing. It’s my own world where I do what I feel, and nobody tells me anything. So, I found it a really refreshing change of pace to suddenly be completely directed. It was a type of collaboration that I don’t normally have. He told me how to walk, how to do this, how to do that. Yet, at the same time, he’ll give you room to breathe, once he’s established what he wants from you. For instance, take the scene in the hospital where I’m initially sitting with Precious, smacking my lips while I’m eating that fruit salad, and her girlfriends are all talking trash. That whole scene was improvised. At first, we followed our dialogue, but we weren’t feeling it. Lee came into the room, and ripped those pages out of the script. He said, “This is what I want. I need for you to take me from A to B to C, but just make it up. Now, just go!” We did, and he loved it. But then the 7 of us had to remember what we’d just made up in order to repeat it 4 or 5 more times from different camera angles. For me, it was a lot of fun. It still was like making music, the way I interpreted it. It’s all rhythm, it’s all musical, so it was intense, but really great working with Lee.
KW: Laz Lyles noticed that you’re slated to make a movie with Ash Baron-Cohen [cousin of Sacha] called Novella.
LK: I don’t know what’s going on with that, actually. But the next film I’ll be doing is another one with Lee called Selma, in which I’ll be playing Andrew Young.
KW:: Laz wants to know if you intend to pursue more acting roles, or if you’ll just be playing it by ear?
LK: I’m playing it by ear although, although it’s a good time for me to pursue acting, I suppose since I’m enjoying having another medium in which to express myself. I’ve been getting a great response to my work. I’m sure great scripts are hard to find, but I’m definitely open, and waiting to see what comes my way.
KW: Children’s book author Irene Smalls asks, what musical heights do you still want to reach? What motivates the music you create and governs it development?
LK: What motivates it is life. Life is everything. Life influences my music and brings it forth. Life is always changing, so I’m always hearing new music. It’s the way I document my life. I feel like my best work is in front of me. I’m in the studio now, and I’m having an amazing time making this new album. It’s something I can’t help.
KW: The new album is called “Negrophilia.” Is there some sort of theme running through all the songs?
LK: It’s not written as a concept album, and the whole album isn’t finished yet, but I’m sure there will be some kind of thread, because it just works out that way. I liked the title and what the word means. I was living in Paris last year, where there’s a great appreciation of many different aspects of African culture and of black culture. The music… the art… whatever… And I kind of went with that.
KW: This wasn’t your first time living in Paris, though.
LK: No, I went to Paris in 1989 when the Americans didn’t quite know what to do with me at first. Now, all those years later, it’s kind of the same story. Not the same scenario, but kind of the same story.
KW: Larry Greenberg says, he would love to love to see a movie about Romeo Blue. Is there any chance of that happening?
LK: Hmmm… That’s interesting, you know. I haven’t thought about that, but it’s interesting, because it was a different persona, a different person, as far as I’m concerned. I haven’t thought about making a music film, but if I did, that would be a very interesting idea.
KW: Romeo Blue was an important phase you went through in getting you back to yourself.
LK: Yes, I was being somebody else. It was a part of me. I had an emotional attachment to this character, but it wasn’t me. I didn’t know whether being this half-black, half-white guy named Lenny Kravitz could work. That may sound really strange, but in essence, that’s how I felt. But then I woke up one day, and realized Romeo Blue wasn’t me. It was a part of me, but it wasn’t me. At that point, I accepted myself, my name and my background for who I am, and then everything began to flow.
KW: Do you ever feel pressure to identify yourself as black or white, or Jewish or Christian?
LK: No, my mother always told me to embrace both sides of my background. And she also taught me one very useful thing when I was going to first grade. She said, “You’re Bahamian and African-American on one side, and Russian-Jewish on the other. You’re no more one than the other, and it’s beautiful that you have all this. It makes your life all the more rich. But society will see you only as black.” I can’t remember how I felt at the time that she told me that, but later on in life I was like, “Wow!” because that’s exactly how it was. They don’t care that you’re mixed. They see you as one color.
KW: And although you understood that the world saw you that way, you didn’t allow yourself to be pigeonholed and marginalized.
LK: I’ve lived my life dealing with everybody. And that’s how it’s always been for me.
KW: Tommy Russell asks, do you think Obama will end up having a very successful Presidency like Reagan, bad at the beginning, revered by the end, or will he lack enough of an economic rebound to earn a second term?
LK: I think it’s too early to say, but I certainly hope that he will win re-election. Beyond his having made history as the first African-American president, I hope that he gets re-elected for what he does while in office, not for his skin color. I certainly believe he has the capacity.
KW: The Columbus Short question: Are you happy?
LK: Very! Extremely!
KW: The Tasha Smith question: Are you ever afraid?
LK: Yes, but I’m working on canceling that out completely.
KW: The Teri Emerson question: When was the last time you had a good laugh?
LK: Last night.
KW: The bookworm Troy Johnson question: What was the last book you read?
LK: It’s a book that my mom had called “Black Poets.”
KW: The music maven Heather Covington question: What’s the last song you listened to?
LK: One of mine I’m working on called “Love Casino.”
KW: When you look in the mirror, what do you see?
LK: Oh, wow… Wow! Honestly, today, I saw my mother.
KW: I know you’re related to Al Roker. We grew up in the same neighborhood and went to the same grammar school.
LK: Oh, you grew up in St. Albans? I used to go there almost every weekend. In fact, after I was born at St. John’s hospital in Bed-Stuy, I went straight to my godmother’s house in St. Albans. Yeah man, I know St. Albans real well.
KW: What’s your favorite dish to cook?
LK: I have a lot of them I guess right now it’s lamb chops. I been eating a little meat lately.
KW: The Ling-Ju Yen question: What is your earliest childhood memory?
LK: Me being in my grandmother’s yard in Brooklyn. I must have been about 3. I had this red balloon. I let go of it, and it went up into the sky and just kept going and going. I completely flipped out, because I didn’t understand why.
KW: Thanks again for the interview, Lenny, and best f luck with the new album and the acting.
LK: Thank you.
To see the video for American Woman, visit:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Z_fsdWYXMA
To see a trailer for Precious, visit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b5FYahzVU44
Lens from a disposable camera
I put a plastic lens from a disposable camera on my Sony a7sii and took a few photos here in New Hope, PA USA
Lillian McEwen
Larry Greenberg asks: When you talk about sharing porno and multiple sex partners with Clarence Thomas, are these things inherently wrong or is it just the hypocrisy that makes them an issue?
Lillian McEwen: The fact that I wasn’t parented and went to a Catholic school resulted in my realizing that there is huge difference between right and wrong. Also, for some reason, I don’t share the same inhibitions of people who have been parented. I’ve gone through life just doing what seems natural to me. I’ve tried really, really hard to take pleasure in something that’s fairly simple whenever I can. I’ve never attached moralistic terms to sexual acts or preferences, unless they harmed someone. [Laughs] It never occurred to me when I wrote the book that my sex life was unusual at all. To the degree that you can eliminate stifling masks, you’ll lead a more honest life, you’ll be more content in life, and it’ll be easier for you to go through life. And conversely, the more you firmly affix that mask to your face and convolute your own values to conform, the more confused and crazier you’ll get. [LOL]
The whole interview with Kam Williams…
Lillian McEwen
The “D.C. Unmasked & Undressed” Interview
with Kam Williams
Headline: Clarence Thomas’ Ex Expounds on Steamy Memoir Vindicating Anita Hill
Retired Justice Lillian McEwen was born, raised and educated in Washington, D.C. Her stellar legal career there spanned several decades, including stints as a prosecutor, Capitol Hill staff counsel, criminal defense attorney, law professor and federal judge. Judge McEwen recently published her memoir,“D.C. Unmasked & Undressed,” a steamy tell-all chronicling her sexually-adventurous private life, paying particular attention to her longtime relationship with a prominent colleague, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.
In the process, McEwen belatedly resurrects the reputation of Anita Hill by offering proof that the disgraced law professor was telling the truth 20 years ago when she testified against Thomas during his controversial confirmation hearings.
Kam Williams: Hello, Your Honor, thanks for the interview. How are you?
Lillian McEwen: Hi Kam. I’m good.
KW: How’d you like my review of the book?
LE: [Chuckles] My PR guy loved it, and we both thank you.
KW: That sounds like you had some issues with it, but I have so many questions from readers, I better get right to them rather than pursue that line of questioning. Harriet Pakula Teweles asks: ‘What’s it all about Lillie?’ Why now? Why not then, when Dr. Hill needed your support in her testimony against Clarence Thomas?
LE: I was counsel to the Senate Judiciary Committee under Joe Biden, so I knew pretty much what the process was. What happens when people make offers to testify, the committee’s role is to advise and consent as part of its Constitutional mandate. Typically, these letters are anonymous, and they’re taken to the nominee who then has a choice of withdrawing their name from nomination or otherwise risk having that person testify against you at the hearing. Quite frankly, the reason that I didn’t come forward at the time that Clarence’s name was before the committee was because I knew from my experience on Capitol Hill that it really wouldn’t make any difference. What happens is that the party in power will nominate whomever they want. In Clarence’s case, he was nominated, of course, as a result of our having a Republican president. And neither Joe Biden nor any of the other Democratic senators wanted to risk being labeled as racist or thought of as being against a black nominee after Clarence played the race card.
KW: That leads me to a question from Kola Boof: Why didn’t you go to the media back then when the case was such a media circus? We all know that the Democrat males were just as sexist and fearful as the Republicans of sexual harassment being taken seriously. So, they all, as men, took Clarence’s side. Lillian, your story would have gotten Clarence dismissed because having a person of your stature speak up at that time in the heat of it would have been too damaging.
LE: Because it wouldn’t have made any difference whether I went to the media or not. But most importantly, Clarence and I had a conversation before he was nominated in which he informed me that it was his desire that I always say “No comment!” and not give any interviews at all. I regarded that wish as something I pretty much owed him as a friend and as someone who cared about him. My hope was that he would have a conscience and be compassionate while on the bench of the Supreme Court.
KW: With legal minds who might have approached Thurgood Marshall’s greatness, why did you stand by and let someone be appointed who will be remembered for less rather than more of what Justice Marshall represented in this court’s history.
LE: First of all, I had no power to prevent him from being appointed. I didn’t have a vote. And secondly, I hoped that he would transform himself back into a person who did the right thing. Besides, there were many other witnesses available to the Senate Judiciary Committee. But I did write a note to Senator Biden around the time of the hearing him reminding him that I had had a close relationship with Clarence Thomas. I would have appeared, had I been subpoenaed to testify.
KW: Attorney Bernadette Beekman asks: Why didn’t you approach Anita Hill to support her
allegations in her time of need? Were you afraid of possible repercussions respecting your career?
LE: There were other individuals who had worked with Clarence who were willing to testify at the confirmation hearings. So, I wasn’t the only one who could have corroborated Anita Hill’s testimony. Furthermore, long before the nomination, I was utterly convinced that she and Clarence had had a sexual relationship.
KW: Why so?
LE: There came a time during his tenure as Chairman of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) that he began to complain vociferously about the behavior of Anita Hill at the office. He would whine about it every day. He even asked me on several occasions to come to the office to wait for him, because “Anita Hill has to see that I have another woman in my life now. It has to be made plain to her that we don’t have the same type of relationship we once had.”
KW: So, do you think Anita testified out of bitterness as a woman scorned?
LE: I think it’s more complicated than that. I think Anita Hill never imagined that she would be the only person testifying against the man who had given her her job, who had been at her beck and call, and who had made sure that she was a successful attorney.
KW: Have you had any contact with her?
LE: No, other than being introduced to her when Clarence became Chairman of the EEOC, and the times when I went sat around the office to send her a message for him. [Chuckles]
KW: Have you considered leaving a message on her answering machine like Clarence’s wife, Ginny, did last fall?
LE: That’s never occurred to me.
KW: Bernadette asks: do you respect his intellect?
LE: When I left him, Clarence said he was envious and resentful of my ability to read for pleasure. It had been obvious to me that he had no real intellectual curiosity whatsoever and that the material he had to handle at the EEOC was fairly difficult for him to handle. At that time, he was making speeches all over the country in support of the Republican agenda, and he always employed a speechwriter to help him. It was very difficult for him to process, focus on or to grasp complex ideas. This was a man who prided himself on his perceiving the world in very stark terms.
KW: In your opinion, is he arrogant or racist?
LE: As you quoted rather courageously in your review, one of his favorite sayings (“[N-words] and flies, I do despise. The more I see [N-words], the more I like flies.”) is a chant that racist white people used to say while sitting on their porches to frighten and intimidate black people passing by on the sidewalk. I regard that as self-hating, and a legacy of slavery.
KW: Children’s book author Irene Smalls asks: Did you ever consider Clarence Thomas as a future husband and father of your children?
LE: No, he had already had a vasectomy, and I had no interest in getting remarried or having more children.
KW: Irene also asks: Do you think that Clarence Thomas’ choice of a white wife reflects his politics or his looking upon Black women as lesser than?
LE: Something I learned while socializing with Clarence was that black Republican men generally had white wives, almost as if it was a litmus test, a way of assuring white men that they could be counted on to be consistent politically.
KW: Irene’s final question is: Do you have any regrets over being silent for so long?
LE: I always felt like I was on a precipice, as if I would be punished if I said anything negative about him. I was also in great fear of how people would view me in respect to hurting him or how they might judge my behavior as immoral. I was in fear because I felt that if I tarnished his image, I would be hurt in return.
KW:
LE: Regarding the first question — I never thought of anything we did as freaky. “D.C. Unmasked and Undressed” does, however, describe in great detail sexual encounters with four different women who shared our bed. Clarence contributed two and I contributed two. The book also describes in detail the “see and be-seen” atmosphere at Plato’s Retreat. This was my lifestyle and this was my world before I met him. I enthusiastically introduced him to these adventures. One of the reasons I eventually left him was my assumption that Clarence’s new false religiosity and courtship of the new Evangelical Christian wing of the Republican Party would eliminate sexual activity or adventures in the future. I was not insatiable, but I knew what I wanted from the relationship. As far as the freakiest thing he ever wanted to do to me –I never regarded any request Clarence made or any activity we engaged in as freaky, but I do not recall saying no to any suggestion he made, either. Sex was just good, clean fun and an important part of my life before and after Clarence, as I attempt to make clear throughout my memoir.
KW: Yale Grad Tommy Russell: Ms. McEwen. First, I want to say thank you! Kudos to you for being such a brave woman as to share so much of your sexual history. We still live in a very Puritanical society when it comes to being open and honest about our sexual lives. We have great difficulty sharing our experiences, desires, and what we consider “normative” with others, even with family/friends let alone strangers. My first question: What do you think the reason was for Sen. Biden, now Vice President, to disallow your voice in the Senate confirmation hearings? Did he feel pressure from Republicans in the administration and Congress not to keep up the pressure? Or was it deeper and darker?
LE: I wasn’t prevented from testifying at all. I simply reminded Joe Biden of the fact that Clarence and I had been close for several years, and that members of his staff knew him.
KW: Tommy’s second question is: Where do we go from here? Do you think this will open up a larger dialogue about sexual mores in our society or do you think your book and its message of openness and honesty will be panned as liberal, wackado-nonsense as I imagine it may?
LE: [LOL] It is my hope that my memoir might help some people imagine that their lives could be different. Perhaps, by honestly relating a truthful narrative, my book will illustrate a possible way of going through the world that is not harmful and which is consistent and compatible with being sane, normal and successful. You may not like this life or think there’s something wrong with it, but you cannot deny the fact that I have lived this life. If the book explodes some myths, then it is valuable as a narrative and as a way of looking at the world that you might never have thought possible.
KW: Larry Greenberg asks: When you talk about sharing porno and multiple sex partners with Clarence Thomas, are these things inherently wrong or is it just the hypocrisy that makes them an issue?
LE: The fact that I wasn’t parented and went to a Catholic school resulted in my realizing that there is huge difference between right and wrong. Also, for some reason, I don’t share the same inhibitions of people who have been parented. I’ve gone through life just doing what seems natural to me. I’ve tried really, really hard to take pleasure in something that’s fairly simple whenever I can. I’ve never attached moralistic terms to sexual acts or preferences, unless they harmed someone. [Laughs] It never occurred to me when I wrote the book that my sex life was unusual at all. To the degree that you can eliminate stifling masks, you’ll lead a more honest life, you’ll be more content in life, and it’ll be easier for you to go through life. And conversely, the more you firmly affix that mask to your face and convolute your own values to conform, the more confused and crazier you’ll get. [LOL]
KW: Peter Keough: Ask her what’s really going on under that robe. And why she thinks Justice Thomas has hardly said one word since being on the court.
LE: Five years ago, Clarence stopped asking questions during oral arguments, and has taken to criticizing his fellow justices for wasting time grandstanding. I believe that another reason he’s quiet is because he’s had to overcome his Geechee roots. He often lapses back into Geechee way of pronouncing words and an ungrammatical sentence structure, which is embarrassing to him. He is fundamentally a very shy person, and is very sensitive about any criticism about his manner of speaking. And it would be a great source of embarrassment if leveled in the context of a Supreme Court argument.
KW: Editor/Legist Patricia Turnier asks: What message do you want the readers to take away from your book?
LE: An appreciation for truth-telling. I tried to communicate that it’s really important for us to go through life guiding our behavior and standards based not only on knowledge and reason but on the pleasures and serendipity of life. I don’t know whether I’ve achieved that, but I gave it my best shot.
KW: Will Cooper asks: What’s the real reason you wait so long to come out with these accusations? Are you having financial problems and so you’re suddenly making these accusations because you need the money?
LE: I didn’t write the book to make money, but because I needed to evaluate what was going with my own self with respect to the world. When I finished writing it, a huge weight was lifted from my shoulders. This was before I got a PR person, an agent or a publisher. It was important to me to get my own life down on paper in my own words. I never thought about how much money I could make from it, because I retired in 2007 and have an income for the rest of my life, thanks to your tax dollars. [Chuckles]
KW: Will continues: Why didn’t any of these revelations come out over the past 20+ years, given the amount of digging and scrutiny that Clarence Thomas has
received? Why didn’t any other people who saw you at these places ever said
anything during Thomas’ hearings or over the past 20 years?
LE: There are dozens of people who are aware of the events that are described in my book. And I actually expected some of them to come forward at any minute and to reveal these matters, and it might happen next week.
KW: Will persists with: How could you be the only one holding this secret if much of it was done in somewhat public places? Does this mean there are hundreds of other people out there who know the same information but are just remaining silent?
LE: It’s certainly something that the participants knew about. I’m not talking about 1-on-1 experiences. [Laughs]
KW: Was Clarence discreet when you two went to a public sex palace like Plato’s Retreat?
LE: He would put his real name on the list.
KW: Was he the head of the EEOC at the time?
LE: For much of it, yes. [LOL]
KW: When you went to Plato’s Retreat, was that your idea or his?
LE: I pulled him there. I had already lived my life that way well before I met him, and had been involved in threesomes for several years. Without realizing it, I had a totally different view from the majority of Americans of what human sexuality should look like.
KW: Aren’t you afraid of any retaliation from Thomas in the way of a defamation of character or libel lawsuit?
LE: The best defense against any accusation like that is truth. The general rule is, as long as you’re telling the truth, they’re wasting a lot of time and energy coming after you. And there’s nothing in my memoir that is not true.
KW: Do you think the Ginny Thomas phone call to Anita Hill last fall is what interested publishers in your book?
LE: Yes, that’s correct. That call by Ginny Thomas was the catalyst. Otherwise, it might have just stayed in the closet for some time longer. I wasn’t yet comfortable approaching publishers myself, because of the nature of the book.
KW: Do you think your memoir will be made into a movie?
LE: I think that would be great. I wouldn’t say “No.”
KW: Is there any question no one ever asks you, that you wish someone would?
LE: No.
KW: The Tasha Smith question: Are you ever afraid?
LE: I had always been terrified that somebody would talk to the press or find some film footage of me from Plato’s Retreat. But now that the book is out, I have a completely different view of my relationship with Clarence. It’s liberating and almost funny to see people’s reactions. It’s almost like a different chapter of my life has been opened for me. I’m not really accustomed to it yet, but there isn’t any part of it that says “Be scared!”
KW: Did you have sex with other people besides Clarence at Plato’s?
LE: I’m pretty sure that’s true. But he liked to watch and to be watched.
KW: In the book, you said that he was so popular at the porn shop that the clerks would call to let him know when they got a new shipment of his favorite stuff. What did he have a taste for?
LE: His preferences were for large penises, ejaculation scenes with men erupting like volcanoes, and also huge breasts on obese women. It bored me to tears, personally, but it was extremely important to him.
KW: The Columbus Short question: Are you happy?
LE: Happiness is overrated. I would call myself content at this point in my life.
KW: The Teri Emerson question: When was the last time you had a good laugh?
LE: [LOL] I fell on the floor hearing Joan Rivers tell this joke: “My vagina is like Newark, New Jersey. Men know where it’s located, but they don’t want to visit.”
KW: Why did you find it so funny?. Did it resonate with you in some way?
LE: [Chuckles] Yeah, it really did.
KW: But I would guess that a lot of friends and acquaintances might like to relate to you in a new way after reading all the lurid revelations in this book.
LE: No, they want to stay as far away from me as possible. I imagine I’m going to lose a lot of friends over the book. I already have.
KW: What is your guiltiest pleasure?
LE: Watching black and white movies on TCM, the Turner Classic Movie Channel, at night.
KW: The bookworm Troy Johnson question: What was the last book you read?
LE: I’m reading two at once, “On Human Nature” by Edward O. Wilson [http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0674016386/ref=nosim/thslfofire-20] and “Are You There, Vodka? It’s Me, Chelsea” by Chelsea Handler.
[http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1416596364/ref=nosim/thslfofire-20]
KW: The music maven Heather Covington question: What have you been listening to lately?
LE: I like Mozart, Frank Sinatra, and some of the rap artists.
KW: What is your favorite dish to cook?
LE: I love crispy duck.
KW: The Uduak Oduok question: Who is your favorite clothes designer?
LE: Prada.
KW: When you look in the mirror, what do you see?
LE: I’m always surprised, because the older I get, the more I look like my mother. But I’m always hoping that it’s somebody else, because I’ve always wanted to be a brown or dark-skinned black woman, to match what I feel like inside.
KW: If you could have one wish instantly granted, what would that be for?
LE: It certainly would be to remove evil from the world.
KW: The Ling-Ju Yen question: What is your earliest childhood memory?
LE: Playing in the back yard at about two or three years-old, being pushed by my brothers in a red wagon.
KW: The Flex Alexander question: How do you get through the tough times?
LE: By reading books and listening to music to remind myself that the future is going to be very different from what is happening right then.
KW: The Rudy Lewis question: Who’s at the top of your hero list?
LE: Martin Luther King, a man who spoke for all of humanity.
KW: What has been the biggest obstacle you have had to overcome?
LE: My two parents who were not only physically abusive, but also verbally, mentally and emotionally abusive. I almost did not survive my childhood, and two of my siblings were destroyed right in front of my eyes by them.
KW: The Dr. Cornel West question: What price are you willing to pay for a cause that is bigger than your own self interest?
LE: I would give my life.
KW: The Taboo question: What’s the best thing about being a parent?
LE: Learning what love is like. I had no clue what it truly meant to love another human being until my daughter was born.
KW: What advice do you have for anyone who wants to follow in your footsteps?
LE: Read, so that you can figure out how to reason your way out of situations. Secondly, don’t compromise. Don’t do something for a living that you know you’re not suited for, that’s not going to bring you happiness or challenge you. And don’t stay in a relationship that’s not allowing you to be the way you want to be.
KW: The Zane Question: Do you have any regrets?
LE: Regret is the most futile of human emotions. I really mean that.
KW: The Tavis Smiley question: How do you want to be remembered?
LE: As a person who told the truth about a life that was unusual and important in certain respects. And as a person who showed that Clarence should have withdrawn his name from the nomination process. Of course, he wouldn’t have been able to reward his friends and punish his enemies as he is now able to do sitting on the Supreme Court bench.
KW: Thanks again for the time, Your Honor, and best of luck with the book.
LE: Thank you, Kam, my pleasure.
To order a copy of D.C. Unmasked & Undressed, visit:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0982000995/ref=nosim/thslfofire-20
To order a copy of D.C. Unmasked & Undressed, visit:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0982000995/ref=nosim/thslfofire-20
Lou Gossett, Jr.
Lawrence R. Greenberg’s Question:
Kam Williams: Larry Greenberg says: Most of your roles have been serious but you’ve also appeared on several TV sitcoms, and supplied the voice of Sergeant Angryman on “Family Guy” and you’ve even hosted “Saturday Night Live.” How do you feel about doing some more comedy?
Lou Gossett, Jr.: I love comedy. I look forward to doing some more. I enjoy telling jokes in real life.
The Full Interview…
Lou Gossett, Jr.
“The Grace Card” Interview
with Kam Williams
Headline: A Chat between a Journalist and a Gentleman
Louis Cameron Gossett, Jr. was born in Coney Island, Brooklyn on May 27, 1936 to Helen Rebecca Wray, a nurse, and Lou, Sr. a Pullman porter. Lou’sstellar career started in 1953 while he was still in high school, when he landed a role in the Broadway production of Take a Giant Step.
One of a select group of actors to win both an Academy and Emmy Award, he is best known for his Oscar-winning performance as a gunnery sergeant in the film classic, An Officer and a Gentleman and for his Emmy-winning portrayal of the character Fiddler in the historic TV-miniseries “Roots.”
In 2006, Lou decided to devote his energies to fighting social ills, so he founded the Eracism Foundation, a nonprofit designed to create a “conscious offensive against racism, violence and ignorance.” Toward that end, the organization has sponsored programs focused on youth mentoring, anti-gang violence initiatives, and diversity sensitivity training sessions at its Shamba Centers.
Last year, Lou published his aptly entitled autobiography, “An Actor and a Gentleman.” Here, he talks about his new movie, “The Grace Card,” a faith-based tale of reconciliation and redemption.
Kam Williams: Thanks for the time, Lou. I’m very honored to have this opportunity to speak with you.
Lou Gossett, Jr.: Hey, Kam, what’s going on?
KW: I have a lot of questions for you from fans, starting with “Realtor to the Stars” Jimmy Bayan who knows you from the Wells Fargo branch next to the Marmalade Cafe in Malibu.
LG: Right.
KW: Jimmy says that he’s spoken to you about your Eracism Foundation on a number of occasions, and he hopes that you’ll talk about it during the interview.
LG: Absolutely!
KW: But first, I have to ask you what interested you in The Grace Card?
LG: Actually, The Grace Card’s aim is the same as that of the foundation, the elimination of racism. How synergistic and opportune is that? It seems to me that if we can create a society where racism just can’t thrive, it’ll go away. My concept is to teach children everything from self-respect to respect for elders and the opposite sex to a dress code to how to conduct themselves and how to live in harmony with the planet. When you start teaching kids these things at a young age, even before they start school, it sticks. It’s our responsibility to teach our children and to prepare them for the next level, just like Jews do in temples and synagogues. That’s not happening right now, and you don’t see it onscreen often. But The Grace Card is a perfect example of what I’m talking about. The magic word is “forgiveness.” And from forgiveness comes healing. We have to do the best that we can, with God’s help, to clean up our act, and to eliminate the negatives which prevent us from seeing the “Sunlight of the Spirit,” and then let the kids copy that. They have nothing to copy right now. Some of the decisions they’re making are antisocial and illegal. The culture currently glorifies womanizing, drinking, using drugs, bling-bling, and making babies they don’t take responsibility for. And it has them believing that that sort of behavior makes them a man. It’s irrational. It’s coming from a society that’s not healthy. Consequently, this generation is a lost generation. But you can’t blame them, because that’s all they know. When they look for role models to pattern their lives after, all that’s available to them is what they find on TV, in the movies and in the rap videos. My foundation is showing them another way. If minority kids think they can’t make it, it is our responsibility to help prepare them for the opportunity to be full-blown Americans right now. But they have to do it with grace and forgiveness, not with anger and resentment. In my program, they practice that from a young age, including morality and concern for our fellow human beings. We’re talking about the uplifting of America. The bottom line is that we need to be more responsible for ourselves and for each other. Every child should have shelter, healthcare, education and clothing. We all need each other to survive. That’s the reality.
KW: Editor/Legist Patricia Turnier asks: What has the feedback been like about your lovely autobiography?
LG: It’s amazing, when I visit churches and schools to speak about the book and about the work that I just discussed, the audience is like a sea of bobble-head dolls. Everybody agrees that we have to take the responsibility for ourselves and for raising, mentoring and teaching our children so they have appropriate role models to imitate. That’s the natural function, and the way it used to be. It seems like we abandoned our responsibilities when times got hard.
KW: Patricia also says: I was stunned when I once heard you say that despite the fact you received an Oscar, it took you a year and a half to find another interesting movie to work on and that you never made more than one million dollars for a picture.
LG: I still haven’t.
KW: She asks, what advice do you have for aspiring minority actors or actresses to negotiate the optimal movie deal?
LG: The optimal movie deal depends on how important you are. You need to get some performances onscreen to prove your worth, so that there’s an advantage when you negotiate. That’s when leverage comes into play. If you know that you have a name that’s bankable, then you can get some money for yourself.
KW: Dante Lee, author of “Black Business Secrets,” asks: Is it important for an actor to also be an entrepreneur?
LG: Oh, it’s absolutely necessary. It’s very important for each successive generation to push the envelope further than the previous one.
KW: Attorney Tim Plunkett asks: Did you really fly in the fighter jet in Iron Eagle?
LG: I did. I knew Tom Cruise had lost his lunch when they put him in the cockpit. And I was warned by the Israeli Air Force, which has the best-trained pilots in the world, not to eat, because they fly like darts. So, I didn’t have any breakfast. After we landed, I felt kind of woozy when I climbed out of the plane. After I assured everyone that I felt fine, I walked fifty yards to my dressing room, closed the door behind me, and lost my meal from the night before. Nobody knew. That ride was exciting but, boy, you have to be in shape for that one. I’d never do it again.
KW: Children’s book author Irene Smalls asks: What makes you get up in the morning with a smile on your face?
LG: Meditation and prayer. I have a checklist for the beginning of the day, and another one for the end of the day. It’s also very nice to be this age and to wake up every morning with something to learn. School is never out. There’s always something new to learn.
KW: Irene also asks: What is the one skill an actor must have to be successful today?
LG: First of all, an actor’s aspiration has to be the art, not the job. Then he has to be relatively naked to be able to take onto himself aspects of the character and to make everything look like it’s happening for the first time. Easy to say, hard to do, but that’s the aspiration. I never want to see an actor acting. I want to see him being.
KW: FSU grad Laz Lyles asks: Do you still get anxious when starting a new project?
LG: I always do, because I never think I know enough. That’s the impetus to prepare thoroughly and then to trust.
KW: Attorney Bernadette Beekman observes that you’re playing a role with religious significance. She asks: Are you now more religious than when you were younger. Is your faith stronger?
LG: My faith is stronger. There’s more spirituality, and that inside job, that character builder is essential because it’s priceless. They can take all the material things, but nobody can take your spirituality away from you. And faith is most important when things appear to be down.
KW: Harriet Pakula Teweles asks: How did you arrive at the name “Shamba” for your Eracism Foundation Centers. Can you speak to the origin and meaning of the word and to its special significance in your choice?
LG: ”Shamba” comes from Azim, a friend born in Kenya, who’s on the board of directors of the foundation. ”Shamba” is a Swahili word meaning farm. That’s a place where you plant seeds which yield fruit. So, Shamba Centers are where you plant seeds in the minds of children and all people really about how to live better.
KW: Harriet also asks: How do the roles you and other African-Ameican actors play in the movies and on TV contribute to Eracism’s conscious offensive against racism and violence–and how do these roles conflict with those goals?
LG: I certainly don’t do anything conflicting with those goals any more. And I don’t think I’ve done any in the past either. I pick and choose those roles which educate, uplift and entertain. By way of example, Iron Eagle, An Officer and a Gentleman, The Choirboys and Enemy Mine are all uplifting, informational, educational movies. I wouldn’t play a villain unless the film’s overall message is positive. There’s a responsibility not only to entertain but to educate and to pick roles carefully, especially after you’ve become famous. I’m not going to exploit my audience.
KW: Larry Greenberg says: Most of your roles have been serious but you’ve also appeared on several TV sitcoms, and supplied the voice of Sergeant Angryman on “Family Guy” and you’ve even hosted “Saturday Night Live.” How do you feel about doing some more comedy?
LG: I love comedy. I look forward to doing some more. I enjoy telling jokes in real life.
KW: Patricia asks: What needs to be done in Hollywood to create more non-stereotypical roles of substance?
LG: It’s happening, even though you don’t see much diversity among this year’s Oscar nominees. They did wonderful jobs, but diversity is essential, otherwise Hollywood will lose its fan base slowly but surely, if audiences don’t see representation that they can identify with.
KW: Is there any question no one ever asks you, that you wish someone would?
LG: Yeah, Would you like a hundred million dollars? Nobody’s ever asked me that.
KW: The Tasha Smith question: Are you ever afraid?
LG: I’m always afraid. But I have a philosophy: Where there’s no fear, there’s no faith. When fear comes up, I have to pray to turn that fear into faith.
KW: The Columbus Short question: Are you happy?
LG: I’m very content and spiritually happy. And very, very grateful.
KW: The Teri Emerson question: When was the last time you had a good laugh?
LG: About ten minutes ago.
KW: What is your guiltiest pleasure?
LG: Chocolate!
KW: What is your favorite dish to cook?
LG: I like lamb chops when they come from a farm where they don’t put chemicals in the meat. But my favorite dish is always whatever’s the freshest fish I can find. And I love all fruit. I think eating food from the ocean, from the ground and from the trees are the keys to a long life. That stuff was put on this planet for us to thrive on.
KW: The bookworm Troy Johnson question: What was the last book you read?
LG: The Audacity of Hope. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0307455874/ref=nosim/thslfofire-20
KW: The music maven Heather Covington question: What are you listening to on your iPod?
LG: I like Michael Franks, a great, great poet who turned to music. I like him.
KW: The Uduak Oduok question: Who is your favorite clothes designer?
LG: Me. I have a new line coming out in about six months called Afro Fusion. I hate ties, so I created a suit similar to the Nehru that doesn’t need one.
KW: When you look in the mirror, what do you see?
LG: An ugly Negro! [LOL]
KW: If you could have one wish instantly granted, what would that be for?
LG: 100% optimum health: physically, mentally and spiritually.
KW: The Ling-Ju Yen question: What is your earliest childhood memory?
LG: I can remember screaming at the feeling of oxygen rushing into my lungs for the first time at birth.
KW: I recently interviewed your cousin, the actor Robert Gossett about his TV show, The Closer. How close were the two of you during childhood?
LG: Very. Our fathers were brothers. We fought over the turkey drumstick on Thanksgiving. I was raised with a whole lot of cousins.
KW: The Flex Alexander question: How do you get through the tough times?
LG: With the faith that they’re going to get better. And they do.
KW: The Rudy Lewis question: Who’s at the top of your hero list?
LG: Sidney Poitier. I wish I saw more of him nowadays. But he was very influential in my life, especially on my acting.
KW: He was the first African-American actor to win an Oscar. You were the second.
LG: Well, actually, I was the first African-American actor to win one. Sidney’s Bahamian.
KW: I forgot that. What was it like the night you won?
LG: I didn’t believe it when they opened the envelope. My agent had to poke me in the ribs and say, “They said your name!”
KW: What has been the biggest obstacle you have had to overcome?
LG: Drugs and alcohol, and they’re overcome on a daily basis.
KW: I won’t mention any names but I got an email from someone who knows you from a 12-Step program.
LG: My 12-Step group has given me the keys to the kingdom. It makes us the Chosen People, when we really adhere to a self-help philosophy that makes us heal. So, a negative has been turned into a great positive. Our noses are to the spiritual grindstone. Everybody on this planet needs some sort of guidance from a higher power in order to uplift their lives. And now we’ve become the ones who humbly help others.
KW: What advice do you have for anyone who wants to follow in your footsteps?
LG: There’s no such thing as impossible. Don’t follow so much in my footsteps. Just go for it!
KW: The Dulé Hill question. To what do you attribute your success?
LG: God runs it all. That’s my filling station. And I have to do the right thing with the message.
KW: The Dr. Cornel West question: What price are you willing to pay for a cause that is bigger than your own self interest?
LG: The price I want to pay is my life. But because my life is devoted to it, I don’t have to pay with it.
KW: The Tavis Smiley question: How do you want to be remembered?
LG: As the first bald, African-American in movies. [Laughs] No, I don’t know. I’d just like to be remembered.
KW: Thanks again, Lou, and I hope to speak to you later this year when your next faith-based film, The Lamp, is released.
LG: I look forward to it, Kam.
To order a copy of Lou’s autobiography, “An Actor and a Gentleman,” visit:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0470574712/ref=nosim/thslfofire-20
To see a trailer for The Grace Card, visit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lvbwb87FDic
Ludacris
Lawrence R. Greenberg’s Question:
KW: Loony Larry Greenberg asks: What do you think of the Amish?
Ludacris: [LOL] Oh man, like I said, I don’t discriminate. I love ‘em. I respect everybody’s faith and culture.
The Full Interview…
Ludacris
The “Gamer” Interview
with Kam Williams
Headline: Luda, by Word of Mouf
Christopher Brian Bridges was born on September 11, 1977 in Champaign, Illinois where he began rapping at the age of 9 and formed his first musical group a few years later. While in his teens, his family moved to Atlanta where he attended Banneker High School before majoring in music management at Georgia State University.
He later worked at a local radio station as DJ Chris Lova Lova until adopting the alias Ludacris to perform on Timbaland’s track “Phat Rabbit.” He subsequently launched his own career in 2000 with the release of the album “Back for the First time,” following that up a year later with “Word of Mouf,” and the rest is history.
The six-time Grammy-winner is not only a hip-hop icon, but also an entrepreneur, philanthropist, restaurateur, pitchman, columnist, and of course a gifted actor. He parlayed appearances on the NBC drama “Law and Order SVU” into major motion pictures roles in such hits as the Academy Award Best Picture-winning Crash and the critically-acclaimed Hustle & Flow.
As partners with Chef Chris Yeo in Straits Restaurant, Ludacrisoffers Thai/Singaporean cuisine in the heart of downtown Atlanta. Plus, he has a couple of online ventures: WeMix.com, a social networking site aimed at showcasing and developing artists, and Myghetto.com, which serves as a MySpace for the hood.
Keenly aware of the less fortunate, Luda established the LudacrisFoundation which is already in its seventh year of operation. Thus far, the non-profit organization has donated over a million dollars to organizations that assist underprivileged children. The Foundation’s aim is to help kids help themselves by using music and the arts to inspire them to develop goals and then work to achieve them.
Here, Ludacris discusses all of the above, as well as his new film Gamer, a sci-fi adventure co-starring Gerard Butler, Kyra Sedgwick, Terry Crews and Amber Valletta.
Ludacris: What up, Kam?
Kam Williams: Hey, Luda, thanks so much for the time.
L: No doubt, man.
KW: So, what interested you in Gamer?
L: Man, in picking movies, I always look at all the elements before making a choice, from reading the script to seeing who else is in it to who produced it to who’s directing. The opportunity to work with Gerard Butler was definitely a plus. I’ve been a fan of his especially because of the movie 300. And I also wanted to work with the guys who wrote and were directing it, Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor.
KW: Yeah, they made Crank which was quite impressive, a non-stop, adrenaline-fueled, roller coaster ride.
L: Exactly. I made my decision based on that. In addition, I loved the role they had for me, because I never want to be typecast. I love playing all sorts of different roles.
KW: How would you describe your character, Humanz Brother?
L: I play the leader of a resistance group that’s totally against putting computer chips in human beings’ brains because I think that’ll lead to the taking over of mankind, period. So, I’m all about trying to get rid of this technology, so we can live peacefully.
KW: Do you think a scenario like this has a chance of becoming a reality someday?
L: Man, you never know. The possibilities are definitely limitless when it comes to technology like this. We all embrace technology, but sometimes you have to be careful.
KW: How’d you get along with the other members of the cast?
L: I loved working with this cast, especially with Gerard Butler. That’s how I study and try to become a better actor. He’s extremely serious and focused.
KW: How do you divide your time between making music and making movies?
L: It’s hard, man, but you just gotta focus on one thing at a time. I give whichever I’m doing 100% of my attention.
KW: Is there any truth to the rumor that comedian Katt Williams is your cousin?
L: [Laughs] No, but that is my homey, though. Katt Williams is one thug. That’s like my brother.
KW: Is there any question no one ever asks you, that you wish someone would?
L: Man, over the past ten years, I believe I’ve been asked every question you could possibly ask. So, off the top of my head I can’t think of anything that hasn’t been asked.
KW: The Tasha Smith question: Are you ever afraid?
L: I’m sure we’re all fearful of something. I’m afraid of God. You have to be fearful of Him.
KW: The Columbus Short question: Are you happy?
L: [Chuckles] I am definitely happy, man. Of course, I wouldn’t say I’m always happy. I don’t think anyone is. But for the most part, I’m living out my dream. I’m doing what I have to do. My family’s taken care of. I’m financially straight. So, damn right, I’m extremely happy.
KW: The Laz Alonso question: How can your fans help you?
L: Hey man, my fans already help me by supporting the things I do, and just by understanding my changing and continued growth. So, the true fans are already helping me out there.
KW: The bookworm Troy Johnson question: What was the last book you read?
L: I’m actually reading a book right now, “How to Win Friends and Influence People.” [http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0671027034?ie=UTF8&tag=thslfofire-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0671027034]
KW: The Dale Carnegie classic. Music maven Heather Covington asks: What music are you listening to right now?
L: A lot of different music. I have a Battle of the Sexes album coming out soon, so I have to listen to all these unreleased tracks so that we make sure we pick from the best of them to give to the true fans who support us.
KW: What’s the biggest obstacle you have had to overcome in life?
L: All the people who told me I couldn’t make it, and individuals who were trying to step in the way of my becoming who I am.
KW: The Rudy Lewis question: Who’s at the top of your hero list?
L: Martin Luther King, Malcolm X and Mr. Barack Obama.
KW: How did you feel a year ago when President Obama said he was listening to you on his iPod?
L: I really appreciated that.
KW: Have you spoken to him since he became President?
L: That’s confidential information.
KW: What is your favorite dish to cook?
L: Tacos. That’s about the only thing I know how to cook.
KW: The Flex Alexander question: How do you get through the tough times?
L: By realizing that I’m extremely blessed and extremely fortunate and that it can’t be that damn bad.
KW: When you look in the mirror, what do you see?
L: I see a multifaceted Negro, an entrepre-Negro.
KW: One of your biggest fans, Hajar from Queens asks: Is it true you like big women? She says she hopes so.
L: I don’t discriminate: big, small, skinny, tall, short, it doesn’t matter.
KW: Hajar also wants to know when your next album is coming out.
L: It should be out towards the end of the year. If not, it’s coming out on Valentine’s Day of 2010.
KW: Leon Marquis wants to know if it’s true that you’re going to star in The Richard Pryor Story.
L: I wouldn’t say that it’s untrue, but nothing is confirmed yet.
KW: Lester Chisholm asks, how can hip-hop artists assist young and old transcend obstacles on whatever path they are on?
L: By embracing the new, by not being stubborn, and by being open to new artists.
KW: Loony Larry Greenberg asks: What do you think of the Amish?
L: [LOL] Oh man, like I said, I don’t discriminate. I love ‘em. I respect everybody’s faith and culture.
KW: How do you want to be remembered?
L: As a multifaceted individual and as an entrepre-Negro.
KW: Film director Hisani Dubose was really blown away by your acting skills. She wonders whether you’ve been studying your craft?
L: I always study my craft. I’m passionate about what I do, so you have to study.
KW: Tony Noel asks, what images and roles do you see for yourself in the future?
L: As far as movies are concerned, I would have to say a diversity. But only time will tell.
KW: Marcia Evans asks whether you’re still involved with AIDS awareness?
L: Yes, we’re still doing things through the Ludacris Foundation.
KW: She was also wondering how you’re enjoying your joint venture as co-owner of Straits Restaurant?
L: I’m loving it, man. Coincidentally, we have a private dinner there tonight as we speak. We’re coming up on our two-year anniversary, so I’m feeling good.
KW: Marcia asks whether you’ve mended fences with Oprah?
L: Oprah called me when my dad passed, and offered her condolences, so I would say we are on good terms.
KW: Hey, brother, let me say I’m sorry about you losing your father.
L: Thank you, man.
KW: Marcia points out that you were doing charity work in South Africa. Are you planning to do anything musically over there?
L: Yeah, when I was there we did a couple of things with some African artists. And we’re still looking into trying to build a label over there and putting out some music. So, I’m definitely involved somewhat.
KW: Thanks again for the interview, Luda, and best of luck with Gamer and your many other ventures.
L: I greatly appreciate it, my friend. Thank you very much.
To see a trailer for Gamer, visit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ubYTIazskQ