Lady Di
09-18-2006, 05:30 PM
...TEACH LIFE LESSONS IN GRIDIRON GANG
The actor and musician send a word to kids on the street about coping and surviving
The number one film this weekend, GRIDIRON GANG, is based on a true story about troubled teens who were given a chance to pour their aggression, talent, and need to belong into football instead of ending up on the streets.
Starring Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and Xzinbit as coaches of that team. iF MAGAZINE caught up with both stars while they were doing a press tour in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.
iF MAGAZINE: We are here in beautiful Cabo San Lucas, is Mexico an important market for you?
THE ROCK: It’s super important to tour and meet your fans all over the World. Mexico is a growing market and it’s great to be here, to meet the people and promote our film.
XZIBIT: I agree. On top of that, the film is about kids from different racial horizons and therefore I think people in Mexico can identify with the movie and get it. They can understand the message.
iF: Speaking of messages, this movie is shocking with its statistics about how many young people are in trouble with the law today?
THE ROCK: You bet, as an average you have over 170,000 young people, minors, in various correctional facilities waiting to be rehabilitated in our society. When they come out of these centers more than 70% of them either end up in jail or…dead!
XZIBIT: We have a real problem on our hands and this movie shows only one of them. We live in a world where it’s tougher and tougher for a young adult to figure out his life and get a job and get a future. So many kids today are raising themselves. Their parents struggle with 2 or 3 jobs to pay the rent and so they turn to the life of gangs because they have no other choice.
iF: Do you remember at what point you made a choice that made your life take off?
THE ROCK: Well, for me it was when I was very young and I had many runs with the Law. I ended up in jail one too many times and then I realized I was hurting myself and the people I loved the most. So I really decided to quit all the bad things I was involved with and turn to pro wrestling. I got my big break when I became the Rock, when Dwayne Johnson became a wrestler.
XZIBIT: Man, same thing with me. You know, without music and my writing I’m not sure where I would be today. And I’m so lucky compared to so many people out there that I got a break, a big break.
iF: The movie is very emotional, especially when you’re a parent like me, because you really never know how your kid will turn out…how was the emotional content for you?
THE ROCK: Yeah, you really never know how your kids are going to grow up. Are they going to do the same mistakes that you did or listen to what you’re saying about it? There are so many distractions out there that it seems very hard for them to focus and find themselves.
XZIBIT: All you can do is try to be there for them as much as possible. It’s impossible to really control everything. You have to have faith in the whole enterprise of parenting. You need to trust your kids and they need to trust you. It takes time…time and lots of love, man!
iF: How was it to make a movie that is based on a real life experience, more of a documentary?
THE ROCK: Well, you know, the fact that it’s all based on real people and real events make it even more emotional and hard to watch at times. But I hope that because of this sense of reality that people are going to get it and learn from it. You know, it’s entertainment and you want to help people forget their problems but sometimes it’s also good to see a movie that makes you think, that makes you stop and want to change things. It’s also a good thing to show that cops can help people and that they are not just here to put people behind bars.
XZIBIT: I was impressed by the documentary. You know, looking at the real kids doing the training and looking how some of them became better people, some others went to jail and then a few died. This is always really emotional to make a movie based on real life.
Seen hrere (http://www.ifmagazine.com/feature.asp?article=1668)
The actor and musician send a word to kids on the street about coping and surviving
The number one film this weekend, GRIDIRON GANG, is based on a true story about troubled teens who were given a chance to pour their aggression, talent, and need to belong into football instead of ending up on the streets.
Starring Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and Xzinbit as coaches of that team. iF MAGAZINE caught up with both stars while they were doing a press tour in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.
iF MAGAZINE: We are here in beautiful Cabo San Lucas, is Mexico an important market for you?
THE ROCK: It’s super important to tour and meet your fans all over the World. Mexico is a growing market and it’s great to be here, to meet the people and promote our film.
XZIBIT: I agree. On top of that, the film is about kids from different racial horizons and therefore I think people in Mexico can identify with the movie and get it. They can understand the message.
iF: Speaking of messages, this movie is shocking with its statistics about how many young people are in trouble with the law today?
THE ROCK: You bet, as an average you have over 170,000 young people, minors, in various correctional facilities waiting to be rehabilitated in our society. When they come out of these centers more than 70% of them either end up in jail or…dead!
XZIBIT: We have a real problem on our hands and this movie shows only one of them. We live in a world where it’s tougher and tougher for a young adult to figure out his life and get a job and get a future. So many kids today are raising themselves. Their parents struggle with 2 or 3 jobs to pay the rent and so they turn to the life of gangs because they have no other choice.
iF: Do you remember at what point you made a choice that made your life take off?
THE ROCK: Well, for me it was when I was very young and I had many runs with the Law. I ended up in jail one too many times and then I realized I was hurting myself and the people I loved the most. So I really decided to quit all the bad things I was involved with and turn to pro wrestling. I got my big break when I became the Rock, when Dwayne Johnson became a wrestler.
XZIBIT: Man, same thing with me. You know, without music and my writing I’m not sure where I would be today. And I’m so lucky compared to so many people out there that I got a break, a big break.
iF: The movie is very emotional, especially when you’re a parent like me, because you really never know how your kid will turn out…how was the emotional content for you?
THE ROCK: Yeah, you really never know how your kids are going to grow up. Are they going to do the same mistakes that you did or listen to what you’re saying about it? There are so many distractions out there that it seems very hard for them to focus and find themselves.
XZIBIT: All you can do is try to be there for them as much as possible. It’s impossible to really control everything. You have to have faith in the whole enterprise of parenting. You need to trust your kids and they need to trust you. It takes time…time and lots of love, man!
iF: How was it to make a movie that is based on a real life experience, more of a documentary?
THE ROCK: Well, you know, the fact that it’s all based on real people and real events make it even more emotional and hard to watch at times. But I hope that because of this sense of reality that people are going to get it and learn from it. You know, it’s entertainment and you want to help people forget their problems but sometimes it’s also good to see a movie that makes you think, that makes you stop and want to change things. It’s also a good thing to show that cops can help people and that they are not just here to put people behind bars.
XZIBIT: I was impressed by the documentary. You know, looking at the real kids doing the training and looking how some of them became better people, some others went to jail and then a few died. This is always really emotional to make a movie based on real life.
Seen hrere (http://www.ifmagazine.com/feature.asp?article=1668)