Jack Black sat down with Street earlier this month at the Four Seasons to discuss his new movie, School of Rock, working with kids and his musical career.
Street: How did you come to work with director Mike White?
Jack Black: I met Mike White a long time ago. We were neighbors and then I was in Orange County, which he wrote. I had an awesome time on that. Then he said, "Hey man, I'm thinking about writing a movie for you." He told me the basic idea, and I said, "That sounds amazing. Yeah, will you write that for me? For real? I wanna do it." A few months later he showed it to me, and I loved it. That's how I got in. I didn't know it was going to turn into a monster. You know, become the juggernaut feel-good hit of the summer. But here we are.
How does it feel to be the big star? You are carrying this movie by yourself.
I know. It's weird. There was a poster there with my crazy, ugly grill. It's cool, you know. It's weird driving down the street and you see yourself on a bus or something. At the same time you get a little worried like, "Oh no, am I not going to be able to walk down the street anymore?" But part of me always kind of wants that.
You mentioned Orange County. All of the funniest parts of that movie were in the trailer, like your parts, and then they didn't make it into the movie. What happened?
[Laughs.] Well the truth is with Orange County, that funny stuff in the commercials on MTV, we shot that later on video, just to have funny commercials that didn't give away the movie, and yeah, they ended up really funny.
Those were the best parts of the movie.
You're like, "What happened to the funny parts in the trailer?" That didn't happen with this, the trailer is all from the movie. So there won't be any of that.
Were the kids cool?
The kids were super cool. Yeah.
Did they actually play the instruments in the movie?
Yes, they did. They were actually better than me, which is embarrassing to admit. I didn't start playing until I was 23, and these kids are ten years old and they're really great, especially the kid that plays lead guitar.
In the movie you try to reach these kids through rock and roll music. Do you feel like you had much influence on them?
No, not really. I tried. I gave Robert [Tsai, who played Lawrence] a Radiohead CD and said, "You know, you might like this. Check it out." I don't think they really took my suggestions. I think it was more of a fun experience for us all to hang out, and joke around, and do stupid dances, and make up ridiculous songs, and secret handshakes, and we played this really weird game called Sticks. It's kind of a math game. [Shows us how to play sticks.]
Is that something you guys made up?
No, it was Robert. He brought it from his brain. I don't know where he learned it. I think it might be a game Chinese kids play. I don't know.
I wouldn't know.
Yeah, but everyone was obsessed with it.
Did you take part in the music for the movie at all?
I was definitely in there working on all the music because I am extra sensitive to it because I have some music happening in my other career. So I was like, "If any of the music sucks, especially the stuff I have to sing, that's going to be really disastrous." So, I had a lot to say about the music that was in it. I wrote all the songs in the classroom. The song in the finale, Mike wrote the lyrics, and I saw this band that opened for The Strokes. They were called The Mooney Suzuki. They were really funny, and high energy rock and I was like, "Oh man would you guys try to write this song?" and they did it. And then, they did a little cameo in the movie.
So are you planning anything musically with your brother any time soon?
Do you mean KG? Of Tenacious D?
Yeah.
Not really my brother. I did say he's my brother in that song for dramatic effect.
He could be your brother.
He's my bro, not my brother. But yeah, we wrote a movie, Tenacious D in the Pick of Destiny, it's called. We'll do that, and then there'll be a soundtrack to that movie. So that'll be the second record.
How did you get involved with the Cusack clan?
John Cusack was involved with the Actors Gang Theatre Company that I was in, and then he started his own in Chicago called the New Criminals. So I would see him around every once in a while when he would come to L.A. to visit and he saw Tenacious D perform and he offered me the part in High Fidelity. So that was that.
And then Joan was in School of Rock.
Joan, yeah. Joan is always in. She could be in anything she wants; she's so funny. Did you see Adams Family Values?
Yeah.
She's great. Great.
Who are your favorite people to work with?
Steven Frears from High Fidelity, my favorite director probably. Tim Robbins. I worked with him on all the movies he directed -- I had little parts. Who else? ... Richard Linklater. Those are probably my favorite three.
Review
The concept of Jack Black creating something special with a pack of cute fifth-graders is jarring. Yet, thanks to the comedian's whiplash antics and a few other surprising performances, School of Rock doesn't nauseate.
Dewey Finn (Black) has just been kicked out of his band and faces getting kicked out of his apartment if he can't cough up funds to appease his roommate (Mike White) Ned's girlfriend. So, in true free-loading style, Finn intercepts one of Ned's substitute teacher offers.
Although the movie recycles the old substitute-turned-miracle-worker cliche, Black makes for quite a different species of miracle worker -- the kind who, instead of carting self-esteem and similar nonsense, maniacally molds the kids into a full-fledged rock band. Finn's interaction with the students is golden as he prepares the precocious bunch to contend at Battle of the Bands, where he hopes to out-rock his old band. Black's performance, enriched by those of Joan Cusack as the tightly-wound Principal Mullins and the impressively relatable kids, takes the sappiness out of the best PG-13 on the block. -- Kun Jia
