Lady Di
09-16-2006, 11:37 AM
The Gridiron Gang co-star talks about rapping with The Rock and seeking success without pimping his career.
by Todd Gilchrist
September 15, 2006 - Rappers often get a bad rap (no pun intended) when it comes to acting. For the most part, these are guys who have established themselves as tough guys and gangsters, so when time comes to reveal sensitivity, warmth or humor, they're generally raked over the coals by critics and dismissed by fans who don't want to see their favorite stars act fragile.
Xzibit has been defying expectations for more than a decade now. After establishing a prodigious music career in the late 1990s, the rapper (real name: Alvin Joiner) slowly moved into acting, focusing on comedy and drama roles that would challenge his talent but not transform him into something he's not. Subsequently, he became the host of MTV's hugely successful show Pimp My Ride, which introduced him as the unexpected benefactor who transforms teens' jalopies into jet-setting supercars. His latest role is the assistant coach to The Rock in Gridiron Gang, which retells the true-life story of a youth detention counselor who inspires his charges by establishing a football program.
IGN recently spoke to Xzibit at the press day for Gridiron Gang, where he talked about his own upbringing, and about seeking success as an actor one role at a time.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
IGN: How did you get involved in this project?
Xzibit: The studio approached me and then the Stanleys approached me and gave me the documentary first. When I watched the documentary, I pride myself on being a tough guy, but it moved me. I was tearing up. It was a complete and real story and I was attracted to it. It wasn't a money thing. It wasn't 'it's a Rock thing'. It was a real story compared to the other films I've been working on because film isn't my forte.
IGN: Is your character a composite or a real guy?
Xzibit: A real guy. He was there last night [at the screening].
IGN: How much time did you spend with him?
Xzibit: He came to the set and I got to meet him while we were at the actual facility but we spent five or six days on set throughout the entire film. It grew from there. We just spoke briefly last night. I think it's overwhelming for a real person to see his life portrayed in a major motion picture when he wasn't trying to do that. He didn't invite himself. Somebody saw his action. It's a little overwhelming for him I think.
IGN: Did you pimp any of the kids' rides?
Xzibit: No (laughs). None of that. That's a separate world man. Please don't bring that into this one.
IGN: Nobody asked?
Xzibit: No. I think everybody understood what we had to do in this movie and it had nothing to do with that. That's what I do on the side. I think what was important was portraying these guys in the light they deserve. And, really taking their genuine feelings and the overextending that they did for these kids and doing it justice on the screen.
IGN: Did you talk to the young actors or give them any advice?
Xzibit: No. A lot of these guys, it was their first time in front of a camera. Some of them had a little experience but I think what really kept them together was [director] Phil [Joanou]. Phil did something unorthodox in the filmmaking process. He would take the dailies, go home with everything, stay up all night probably and cut these scenes together as we finished them. Then, during lunch the next day, he would come and show us what he had cut with music and everything. It was like 'Wow, we did that yesterday'. He would show us how the movie was coming together as we were making it and the kids could see why he kept asking them to do it over and why he needed them to stop messing around on set. It was intense. I think Phil was the child wrangler in this whole scenario. He was great.
IGN: Did you make a conscious choice to do something less conventional for a rapper making a transition to film, or to play a redeeming character rather than a gangster?
Xzibit: No. My projects usually evolve from me turning down a lot of stuff. I'm in a unique position in that my career in music is not over and I have other television things and ventures I can get into. So, it's like I can be very selective when it comes to movie roles. I'm not feeding my kid off movie roles so it's easy for me to say 'no' to things but it's important for me to have this presence and I know it's easy to stereotype and pigeonhole certain people that come from a certain genre but I can do more than a lot of people expect. Underestimation has been one of the key factors in my career. As I progress, I have respect for the craft also. So, if I'm going to step into that role, I'm going to make sure that I'm not going to piss you guys off by biting off more than I can chew (laughs). I don't want it to be like watching nails on a chalkboard. But I really want to take my time and make sure that the roles that I take are meaningful and have some kind of backbone to them and have some sort of transition and they have to show some chops. It's easy for me to pick up a gun and have that image. It's the fastest way for you to identify, but what I force the studios to do is to challenge me. Put me in a position that is not easy for me to tackle and not easy for me to be seen as because I do this for a living. As long as those are the parameters, I'm goin' for it.
IGN: You mentioned a kid. How are you raising him or her to stick to the straight and narrow and not end up like some of these kids in the movie?
Xzibit: I do have a son. He's eleven years old. First of all, a lot of these kids who end up in these facilities and these problematic situations come from broken homes or homes that don't have father figures or mother figures but I do talk very intensely to my son. There's no rule book or guide book on parenting but what I found is if I hold his attention and the information that he gets is corrected and he comes and asks me for the information instead of listening to his friends, I've found that's the biggest way to make sure that I keep him straight. He can come home and say a word, 'Dad, what does this mean'? And I'll cringe inside 'oh my God, who told you that?' But, then it's up to me to make sure he hears the right information, the right terminology because this may be a slang word or something else. I'm his hero so as long as he keeps coming to me for that information, he'll be all right. He'll have something to balance and argue against, [like] 'no, that don't sound right cuz pop said this and I know my pops is straight'.
IGN: What about your own upbringing?
Xzibit: Well, my father was a marine so you know how that is (laughs). My mom passed at an early age. I was nine and he got remarried and that was a little rough. The stepfamily arrangement was rough but they were both educators. The one thing that was important in my household was education so when I was in trouble, read a book. When I wasn't in trouble, read a book, when I'm done with the chores, read a book. Can I watch TV? Read a book, then you can watch TV.
IGN: If you did get in trouble as a kid, what was the worst that you remember?
Xzibit: I was very angry when my mom passed so I acted out a lot of that. I was getting caught with firearms. I was in the street and I was rebelling against what my father was trying to teach me because I was just angry and didn't want to listen to anybody. It wasn't until life's lessons start teaching you on your own. Your parents can only take you so far then when you're eighteen, the state takes over [laughs].
IGN: What made you change then?
Xzibit: I think it was a conscious decision. I've never been to prison. I've been to jail but never prison. I don't like being in holding tanks. I don't like being in shackles. I'm a smarter guy than that. I can figure something out to do better with my time. There was a natural decision to not want to have to deal with the consequences of that type of behavior. One of the problems with young black men in our country today is immediate gratification. They don't understand what it means to work and persevere through something in order to obtain a goal. It's hard because nobody has ever taught us that. We don't come from families where you have family businesses, accounts, trust funds. We don't come from that. We come from 'okay, this is a struggle for whatever it is then you start your struggle'. That's what you have to look forward to. So immediate gratification and wanting to be competitive and seeing what other people have and not having it over decades. Not seeing your father have it or his father none of that. Immediate gratification is a lot more attractive than going to college and getting a job. That's going to take too long. I'll be dead before I get anything. So it's a vicious cycle.
IGN: Do you use your music to get that message out to kids?
Xzibit: Of course. There's more kids listening to hip hop music than know the pledge of allegiance; more kids who know who all the rappers are than the people who legislate and run their country. I mean, we are the taste makers. They'll listen to me before they'll listen to Bush and that's a problem.
IGN: Before you met the Rock, did you have any preconceptions about him and what was he like once you started working with him?
Xzibit: Once I met the Rock, he's a professional. We have similar backgrounds because we come from two different genres and we're now doing the filmmaking process. I think that he has benefited from the same kind of underestimation that I have. He came in and nobody bothered him and now he's a leading man. I think working with him just reaffirmed the fact that you can be a real, down-to-earth humble guy and still make leeway in this industry.
IGN: Are you still involved with Pimp My Ride?
Xzibit: Yes. We've got two seasons in the can. Been trying to get a third one. The show is in a hundred and some countries.
IGN: You use Xzibit as your credit in this movie. Didn't you want to use your real name as an actor?
Xzibit: Everybody does that. Chris 'Ludacris' something, something, something or something. Just Xzibit. You know who it is. Make it simple for you. If you really want to know my real name, get on the website (laughs).
IGN: How did you invent your name?
Xzibit: I wrote it myself when I was thirteen years old.
IGN: Did you go through a couple of different names?
Xzibit: Yes I did. I like these questions. Okay, check this out. My real name is Alvin so when I first started writing I was MCA. It was simple, right. Then I started looking on the back of a couple of records. Oh, that's the name of a damn record company. Then it was MC this MC that. So then I said, 'okay, Exhibit A', because I've got a big mouth and everybody can hear what I'm saying. I use to battle on the concourse and what not but, after a while, I just started using it over and over and dropped the "A". I used to spell it with an "E", then I let Ebonics kick in and used the "X" and the "Z" and you know, the rest is history.
IGN: What's next for you?
Xzibit: I haven't really entertained any other movie roles until this one came along. I think there's something to be said about this film and how it's going to be perceived and how it's a step up from other projects I've been working on and I'd rather let Hollywood get a taste of this instead of just putting me in Scary Movie 5 because where do you go after this. You don't just throw me up in the next movie because with this film I put asses in the seats. I like to do things with some story or some background.
It was two pages long and this forum has a character limit. Go here (http://filmforce.ign.com/articles/733/733040p1.html) to read the rest.
by Todd Gilchrist
September 15, 2006 - Rappers often get a bad rap (no pun intended) when it comes to acting. For the most part, these are guys who have established themselves as tough guys and gangsters, so when time comes to reveal sensitivity, warmth or humor, they're generally raked over the coals by critics and dismissed by fans who don't want to see their favorite stars act fragile.
Xzibit has been defying expectations for more than a decade now. After establishing a prodigious music career in the late 1990s, the rapper (real name: Alvin Joiner) slowly moved into acting, focusing on comedy and drama roles that would challenge his talent but not transform him into something he's not. Subsequently, he became the host of MTV's hugely successful show Pimp My Ride, which introduced him as the unexpected benefactor who transforms teens' jalopies into jet-setting supercars. His latest role is the assistant coach to The Rock in Gridiron Gang, which retells the true-life story of a youth detention counselor who inspires his charges by establishing a football program.
IGN recently spoke to Xzibit at the press day for Gridiron Gang, where he talked about his own upbringing, and about seeking success as an actor one role at a time.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
IGN: How did you get involved in this project?
Xzibit: The studio approached me and then the Stanleys approached me and gave me the documentary first. When I watched the documentary, I pride myself on being a tough guy, but it moved me. I was tearing up. It was a complete and real story and I was attracted to it. It wasn't a money thing. It wasn't 'it's a Rock thing'. It was a real story compared to the other films I've been working on because film isn't my forte.
IGN: Is your character a composite or a real guy?
Xzibit: A real guy. He was there last night [at the screening].
IGN: How much time did you spend with him?
Xzibit: He came to the set and I got to meet him while we were at the actual facility but we spent five or six days on set throughout the entire film. It grew from there. We just spoke briefly last night. I think it's overwhelming for a real person to see his life portrayed in a major motion picture when he wasn't trying to do that. He didn't invite himself. Somebody saw his action. It's a little overwhelming for him I think.
IGN: Did you pimp any of the kids' rides?
Xzibit: No (laughs). None of that. That's a separate world man. Please don't bring that into this one.
IGN: Nobody asked?
Xzibit: No. I think everybody understood what we had to do in this movie and it had nothing to do with that. That's what I do on the side. I think what was important was portraying these guys in the light they deserve. And, really taking their genuine feelings and the overextending that they did for these kids and doing it justice on the screen.
IGN: Did you talk to the young actors or give them any advice?
Xzibit: No. A lot of these guys, it was their first time in front of a camera. Some of them had a little experience but I think what really kept them together was [director] Phil [Joanou]. Phil did something unorthodox in the filmmaking process. He would take the dailies, go home with everything, stay up all night probably and cut these scenes together as we finished them. Then, during lunch the next day, he would come and show us what he had cut with music and everything. It was like 'Wow, we did that yesterday'. He would show us how the movie was coming together as we were making it and the kids could see why he kept asking them to do it over and why he needed them to stop messing around on set. It was intense. I think Phil was the child wrangler in this whole scenario. He was great.
IGN: Did you make a conscious choice to do something less conventional for a rapper making a transition to film, or to play a redeeming character rather than a gangster?
Xzibit: No. My projects usually evolve from me turning down a lot of stuff. I'm in a unique position in that my career in music is not over and I have other television things and ventures I can get into. So, it's like I can be very selective when it comes to movie roles. I'm not feeding my kid off movie roles so it's easy for me to say 'no' to things but it's important for me to have this presence and I know it's easy to stereotype and pigeonhole certain people that come from a certain genre but I can do more than a lot of people expect. Underestimation has been one of the key factors in my career. As I progress, I have respect for the craft also. So, if I'm going to step into that role, I'm going to make sure that I'm not going to piss you guys off by biting off more than I can chew (laughs). I don't want it to be like watching nails on a chalkboard. But I really want to take my time and make sure that the roles that I take are meaningful and have some kind of backbone to them and have some sort of transition and they have to show some chops. It's easy for me to pick up a gun and have that image. It's the fastest way for you to identify, but what I force the studios to do is to challenge me. Put me in a position that is not easy for me to tackle and not easy for me to be seen as because I do this for a living. As long as those are the parameters, I'm goin' for it.
IGN: You mentioned a kid. How are you raising him or her to stick to the straight and narrow and not end up like some of these kids in the movie?
Xzibit: I do have a son. He's eleven years old. First of all, a lot of these kids who end up in these facilities and these problematic situations come from broken homes or homes that don't have father figures or mother figures but I do talk very intensely to my son. There's no rule book or guide book on parenting but what I found is if I hold his attention and the information that he gets is corrected and he comes and asks me for the information instead of listening to his friends, I've found that's the biggest way to make sure that I keep him straight. He can come home and say a word, 'Dad, what does this mean'? And I'll cringe inside 'oh my God, who told you that?' But, then it's up to me to make sure he hears the right information, the right terminology because this may be a slang word or something else. I'm his hero so as long as he keeps coming to me for that information, he'll be all right. He'll have something to balance and argue against, [like] 'no, that don't sound right cuz pop said this and I know my pops is straight'.
IGN: What about your own upbringing?
Xzibit: Well, my father was a marine so you know how that is (laughs). My mom passed at an early age. I was nine and he got remarried and that was a little rough. The stepfamily arrangement was rough but they were both educators. The one thing that was important in my household was education so when I was in trouble, read a book. When I wasn't in trouble, read a book, when I'm done with the chores, read a book. Can I watch TV? Read a book, then you can watch TV.
IGN: If you did get in trouble as a kid, what was the worst that you remember?
Xzibit: I was very angry when my mom passed so I acted out a lot of that. I was getting caught with firearms. I was in the street and I was rebelling against what my father was trying to teach me because I was just angry and didn't want to listen to anybody. It wasn't until life's lessons start teaching you on your own. Your parents can only take you so far then when you're eighteen, the state takes over [laughs].
IGN: What made you change then?
Xzibit: I think it was a conscious decision. I've never been to prison. I've been to jail but never prison. I don't like being in holding tanks. I don't like being in shackles. I'm a smarter guy than that. I can figure something out to do better with my time. There was a natural decision to not want to have to deal with the consequences of that type of behavior. One of the problems with young black men in our country today is immediate gratification. They don't understand what it means to work and persevere through something in order to obtain a goal. It's hard because nobody has ever taught us that. We don't come from families where you have family businesses, accounts, trust funds. We don't come from that. We come from 'okay, this is a struggle for whatever it is then you start your struggle'. That's what you have to look forward to. So immediate gratification and wanting to be competitive and seeing what other people have and not having it over decades. Not seeing your father have it or his father none of that. Immediate gratification is a lot more attractive than going to college and getting a job. That's going to take too long. I'll be dead before I get anything. So it's a vicious cycle.
IGN: Do you use your music to get that message out to kids?
Xzibit: Of course. There's more kids listening to hip hop music than know the pledge of allegiance; more kids who know who all the rappers are than the people who legislate and run their country. I mean, we are the taste makers. They'll listen to me before they'll listen to Bush and that's a problem.
IGN: Before you met the Rock, did you have any preconceptions about him and what was he like once you started working with him?
Xzibit: Once I met the Rock, he's a professional. We have similar backgrounds because we come from two different genres and we're now doing the filmmaking process. I think that he has benefited from the same kind of underestimation that I have. He came in and nobody bothered him and now he's a leading man. I think working with him just reaffirmed the fact that you can be a real, down-to-earth humble guy and still make leeway in this industry.
IGN: Are you still involved with Pimp My Ride?
Xzibit: Yes. We've got two seasons in the can. Been trying to get a third one. The show is in a hundred and some countries.
IGN: You use Xzibit as your credit in this movie. Didn't you want to use your real name as an actor?
Xzibit: Everybody does that. Chris 'Ludacris' something, something, something or something. Just Xzibit. You know who it is. Make it simple for you. If you really want to know my real name, get on the website (laughs).
IGN: How did you invent your name?
Xzibit: I wrote it myself when I was thirteen years old.
IGN: Did you go through a couple of different names?
Xzibit: Yes I did. I like these questions. Okay, check this out. My real name is Alvin so when I first started writing I was MCA. It was simple, right. Then I started looking on the back of a couple of records. Oh, that's the name of a damn record company. Then it was MC this MC that. So then I said, 'okay, Exhibit A', because I've got a big mouth and everybody can hear what I'm saying. I use to battle on the concourse and what not but, after a while, I just started using it over and over and dropped the "A". I used to spell it with an "E", then I let Ebonics kick in and used the "X" and the "Z" and you know, the rest is history.
IGN: What's next for you?
Xzibit: I haven't really entertained any other movie roles until this one came along. I think there's something to be said about this film and how it's going to be perceived and how it's a step up from other projects I've been working on and I'd rather let Hollywood get a taste of this instead of just putting me in Scary Movie 5 because where do you go after this. You don't just throw me up in the next movie because with this film I put asses in the seats. I like to do things with some story or some background.
It was two pages long and this forum has a character limit. Go here (http://filmforce.ign.com/articles/733/733040p1.html) to read the rest.