O'Shea Jackson, better known as rapper/actor Ice Cube, is at it again. His latest movie, Friday After Next, is set to come out this Friday (God, that's confusing). The movie wasn't so good, but it gave me an excuse to interview Cube, so it could have been worse.
I'm really a sports writer, and you're a Lakers fan...is it fair for Shaq to play against Shawn Bradley?
Hell no, but it's funny. That shit's real funny. [Bradley] just wants to get his two fouls real quick and get outta there. You ever seen that? Every time he plays Shaq, he's on the bench before you know it. I think I saw him cryin' once...
You've been in some, uh, interesting films. Is there one that your friends bust your balls over?
Yeah, my boys get on me pretty good about Ghost of Mars. I get Ghost of Mars all the time. And that African movie...what was the name? Shit, what was the name?
I dunno. Are you talking about the one with the big-ass snake?
Nah, that was Anaconda. That was my cheesy movie...Damn, what was the name of that movie?...It wasn't good. I don't think I've done my best work yet. There are movies that I've done that I like. Boyz in the Hood, that one was my first, so it's special, like your first child. And the first Friday, but I don't have a favorite part that I've played because I don't think I've played it yet. People ask me why I haven't done anything real serious--the opportunities haven't been there. You have to have the opportunity to do something real; you can't just do it because you want to.
You played Sergeant Elgin in Three Kings. And now Iraq looks like a problem again...
That's crazy, over there. It's tough because, do you go and get it over with, or do you sit back and be peaceful but wonder if that's gonna hurt you in the end? That's a hard decision. I'm not sure what I'd do if it was up to me. I think Sergeant Elgin, he'd be down for whatever. He'd fight; I think he'd fight.
This is your third Friday film. There's been lots of smoking scenes. Are you actually smoking in any of them? I don't smoke, of course. Just curious.
Weed? Hell yeah, but not in all of them. We could only smoke in certain spots. You gotta figure out which spots, that's up to you. I'm not gonna tell you. Just check us out, it's pretty clear. You gotta ask what setting they could smoke in; we couldn't just fire one up everywhere we went. But we tried.
Whatever happened to the NWA reunion idea? Wasn't Snoop supposed to sub for Eazy?
Business is what happened. We're still trying to do it, but everyone knows it's gonna be big money, so the record companies are fighting each other. Yella is ready, and me and Dre are ready, but it's getting they record fools to get shit together, you know? But Dre is producing my next album. We're gonna start in January. Hopefully.
I grew up listening to you and Dre. Do you miss that? You know, rhyming full time?
Absolutely. I just got off a tour with West Side Connection. That was fun. Man, going out onstage, being in front of the crowd, there ain't nothing like it. That's instant gratification. Hearing them cheer you and screamin' your name, just the look they get when I start into one of their favorites, there ain't nothing like it. But I love putting movies together. It's like a marathon, or like climbing a mountain. You start going, and you never think you're gonna finish, but you get to where you're going, you get up to the top there and look down and say, damn, look how far I got. --John Gonzalez
Folked Up
Of all the easy targets we at the Dallas Observer have fired upon over the years, the duo of Jack O'Neill and Cary Pierce (better known in the SMU orientation guide as Jackopierce) has taken the most hits. For example: "It's quite possibly the whitest record Dallas has ever produced," we said of 1992's Woman as Salvation, "making James Taylor sound like Ice Cube in comparison." There are many, many more. The boys broke up a few years ago, however, and took all our fun away. O'Neill moved to New York to do theater and such, and Pierce, bless him, keeps putting out solo albums (which, incidentally, he was hard-selling from the stage when he played at a recent wedding).
Now they're back together for two shows at the Gypsy Tea Room on November 22 and 23 (the latter date is sold out, but a handful of tickets remain for the first gig, available at Starcat), and we thought we'd let them take a few shots at us. For some reason, they declined.
Which Observer comparison did you hate more: Garfunkel & Garfunkel or Oates & Oates?
Cary Pierce: I love 'em all. I think they're hilarious. All bands you compare us to are multiplatinum, extremely successful and I'm fans of them. So I think it's great. It's all great.
Aren't you a little bit mad at us?
Dude, I think it's an honor. When you're ragging on some band and you say, "Well, it's not as bad as Jackopierce, but it's pretty bad," or something, I think it's hilarious...Plus, I've had fun of it. It seems like you guys rank on a lot of the commercially successful, viable bands. I mean, you guys do what you do. I think [Robert] Wilonsky told us once to our face, "Dude, look, I print controversial shit. If I don't, nobody reads my paper. Who cares? They don't care. They don't wanna hear fluff. They wanna hear the edge. They want some bite." [Wilonsky responds: I never said that, nor would I ever say that. I believe my exact words were, "Please, for the love of God, stop already."] And I'm, like, you know what? Cool. Have fun with us. Because, I mean, we put our chins out there, man.
Which Observer comparison did you hate more: Messina & Messina or Oates & Oates?
Jack O'Neill: Can't say I hated it. And I was never sure who Messina was. As for Oates: Little-known fact that in the H&O classic "Leave Me Alone (I'm a Family Man)," he penned the tag line, "And my bark is much worse than my bite." What else can I say? --Zac Crain
Holiday Graft Guide
Most of the freebies around here consist of crap CDs (Bluegrass Tribute to the Who, anyone?) and movie tie-in T-shirts (we've got plenty left for Scary Movie 2), but 'round the holidays, movie studios and their promotional partners like to play Santa. Here are but a few of the goodies to come down our chimney this season, as well as what they're selling for on eBay. Hey, make a bid to Full Frontal; all proceeds will go to charity, by which we do not mean Full Frontal.
The Crocodile Hunter Wild Rescue Wrestling Croc It came with a DVD of the movie, which isn't worth half as much as this stuffed toy, which measures 3 feet and roars when you squeeze its belly. Selling for $19.95 on eBay, with a buy-it-now option going for $32. What a croc.
Santa Clause 2 Christmas Lights Sure to light up any house, assuming 20 bulbs will do, this promotional item contains multicolored lights bearing the Santa Clause 2 logo. Selling for between $9.95 and $24.99, making them slightly more valuable than a lump of Tim Allen's coal.
Thelma & Louise Conair Cord-Keeper You, too, can own the hair dryer Brad Pitt used...or not. A tie-in with the T&L special-edition DVD, this special-edition Conair isn't yet available online, which means we set the price.
Barbershop Wahl Metro Hair Clippers MGM Home Video sent these clippers, which retail for $19.95, and included the soundtrack to the Ice Cube pic, but forgot to send the DVD. That's cool. We gots the bootleg.
The Bernie Mac Show Ashtray Perfect for that lovingly abusive "father" in the house, this Fox promo's selling for $9.95 at the online auction site.
Girls Club Travel Mug We didn't find this online--then again, you won't find David E. Kelley's show on Fox, since it's already been canceled. We're giving this away.
