Interview articles from March 2003

Interview archives from March 2003

Letters.(Letter to the Editor)
March 1, 2003... NEXT SEASON'S GREETINGS? Dear Interview, Of all the incredible Bruce Weber portraits in your incredible "New Catchers in the Rye" portfolio [February 2003] the one that I love the most is the brother-sister shot of Jake arid Maggie...

Herb Ritts. (Tribute).(photographer, Interview)(Brief Article)(Obituary)
March 1, 2003... Just last Thanksgiving, Herb Ritts, a contributing photographer for Interview for 22 years, visited our offices in New York while in from his home in California. We spent a wonderful afternoon, having a great gab and making lists of subjects...

Keira Knightley: this new actress scores a goal with her first lead role. (This Month's Movie Breakout).(Bend It Like Beckham)(Interview)(Illustration)
March 1, 2003... SCOTT LYLE COHEN: You were completely convincing as a soccer player in Bend It Like Beckham [opening in the U.S. this month]. Had you played before? KEIRA KNIGHTLEY: Sort of. I was captain of the girls' team in primary school, but we never...

Oliver James: how he dodged the boy band bullet and is on his way. (Movie Scoop).(What a Girl Wants)(Brief Article)(Interview)(Illustration)
March 1, 2003... Sometimes when it rains it pours. Just ask Oliver James. A London-based actor existing below the radar, last spring he got a call from 19 Entertainment, the production company run by Simon Fuller (the Spice Girls, TV's American Idol). "They...

Rick Gonzalez: The genre-hopping, competition-mopping newcomer. (Movie Heat).(Biker Boyz)(Brief Article)(Interview)(Illustration)
March 1, 2003... "In a home video of myself at five years old, my father was messing around and asked me, 'Ricky, you're going to be a star, aren't you?"' 23-year-old Rick Gonzalez recalls. He answered with a deadpan yes. "I didn't know what I was saying, but...

Rhona Mitra: from video-game goodie to big-screen baddie. (Movie Tip).(Highwaymen and The Life of David Gale)(Brief Article)(Interview)(Illustration)
March 1, 2003... People have a way of confusing flesh with fiction, as Rhona Mitra discovered after her body was digitized into famous video-game vixen Lara Croft. "People thought I was her," Mitra explains. "Women would write me letters blaming me for their...

Casey Affleck: three friends cook up an experiment and go for it. (Movie Risk-Takers).(Gerry by Gus Van Sant with Mall Damon)(Interview)
March 1, 2003... In Gus Van Sant's new film, Gerry, the director and his two actors, Casey Affleck and Mall Damon, set out into the desert to tell a story of two friends lost on a hike. The result--a brave film made with a nod to the experimental cinematic...

Old School. (Preview).(Movie Review)
March 1, 2003... (DreamWorks) Directed by Todd Phillips Phillips returns from his successful Road Trip (2000) for a slacker update about three thirty-somethings (Luke Wilson, Will Ferrell, and Vince Vaughn) who revive the sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll...

Tears of the Sun. (Preview).(Movie Review)
March 1, 2003... (Columbia) Directed by Antoine Fuqua Fresh off his Training Day success, Fuqua offers up Bruce Willis as a U.S. Navy SEAL sent to war-torn Nigeria to rescue a stubborn doctor played by Italian beauty Monica Bellucci (Malena, 2000). The...

The Hunted. (Preview).(Movie Review)
March 1, 2003... (Paramount) Directed by William Friedkin A highly trained and highly insane army vet (Benicio Del Toro), who has lost it since returning from Bosnia, is on the run from an FBI tracker (Tommy Lee Jones--haven't we seen him in this role...

The Life of David Gale. (Review).(Movie Review)
March 1, 2003... (Universal) Directed by Alan Parker A brilliant foe of capital punishment, Dr. David Gale (Kevin Spacey) winds up on death row for the murder of a fellow activist. Working against the clock, a journalist (Kate Winslet) tries to...

Bringing Down the House. (Review).(Movie Review)
March 1, 2003... (Touchstone) Directed by Adam Shankman When an uptight lawyer (Steve Martin) and a ghetto gal (Queen Latifah) are thrown together, countless opportunities for obvious gags and one-liners arise. Shankman cringingly seizes all of them,...

Spider. (Review).(Movie Review)
March 1, 2003... (Sony Classics) Directed by David Cronenberg A schizophrenic at a halfway house relives the Oedipal drama that led to his institutionalization. Cronenberg's dank evocation of Patrick McGrath's novel amounts to a neural masterpiece...

Laurel Canyon. (Review).(Movie Review)
March 1, 2003... (Sony Classics) Directed by Lisa Cholodenko Frances McDormand is a hip L.A. record producer simultaneously bedding a younger singer (Alessandro Nivola) and confronting motherhood when her grown son (Christian Bale) returns from the...

The documentary that shows how music helped defeat Apartheid.(Amandla! A Revolution in Four-Part Harmony)(Movie Review)
March 1, 2003... In 1948 the ruling white government of South Africa created what it described as a "policy of good neighborliness." Most of the rest of the world called Apartheid what it really was: a horrific system of racial segregation and oppression that...

Paradorn Srichaphan: Buddhist causes courtside racket. (Sports' New Smash).(Thai tennis star)(Brief Article)(Interview)(Illustration)
March 1, 2003... Tennis fans are seeing red these days. Twenty-three-year-old Paradorn Srichaphan of Bangkok, Thailand, the world's most prominent Buddhist athlete, dons flaming red shirts for his big matches--"Red means good fortune in my country," he...

Sydney Tamiia Poitier: her father broke down barriers in the movies. Now she's breaking audiences up. (TV Chip Off the Old Block).(Abby)(Interview)(Illustration)
March 1, 2003... When she got the lead role in the new UPN sitcom Abby, Sydney Tamiia Poitier couldn't quite believe it. The 29-year-old actress had been in several movies, but she'd never even guested on a TV comedy, much less starred in one, and she wasn't...

Dannii Minogue: catchy, kitschy pop from down under--it must be another Minogue. (Music-Sister Special).(Neon Night)(Brief Article)(Interview)(Illustration)
March 1, 2003... Now that Kylie--the Australian pop princess whose "la-la-las" made it impossible to get her out of your head--has finally stamped the name Minogue onto the U.S. consciousness, there's another one on the way. Little sister Dannii, three...

Solange Knowles: with Beyonce and Kelly Belting it out in the next room, Destiny called. (Music-More Sister Special).(Solo Star)(Brief Article)(Interview)(Illustration)
March 1, 2003... Destiny's Child didn't have to look far for the inspiration behind the 2001 hit "Independent Women." 'They wrote that about me," Solange Knowles jokes. The 16-year-old R&B singer learned to take care of herself at a young age: Her parents were...

Elton John's Tip sheet. (Music Opinion Page).(singer-songwriter U.K.)(Interview)(Illustration)
March 1, 2003... INTERVIEW: So, Elton, what music are you getting into? ELTON JOHN: Ms. Dynamite. Her debut album, A Little Deeper, won the 2002 Mercury Prize in England and is coming out soon in America on Interscope. I've talked about this before, but...

The word from Frederic Sanchez, tuned-in tastemaker. (Music Opinion Page).(Europe)(Interview)(Illustration)
March 1, 2003... INTERVIEW: So. Frederic, you always have your finger on the pulse of the music scene in Europe. What are you most excited about at the moment? FREDERIC SANCHEZ: There's a new interest in what's called the "anti-folk" movement. Beck came...

Avril Lavigne: does this pop punkette deserve a Grammy, or to be grounded? (Music Debate).(Let Go)(Brief Article)(Illustration)
March 1, 2003... Back when Iggy Pop was rolling around in broken glass, nobody imagined that punk rock could be a cash cow. Cut to last April, when a freshly scrubbed 17-year-old tomboy appeared on MTV, mouthing mock-angry lyrics. She looked so clean you could...

Massive Attack: after five years marked by drama and change, they're back with plenty to say. (Music View Men).(Hari Kunzru with Robert Del Naja and 100th Window)(Interview)
March 1, 2003... It would have been easy for Massive Attack to live large as the pioneers of early '90s trip-hop. Instead they decided to push themselves and each other to new levels of experimentation--their disagreements while making 1998's Mezzanine resulted...

M: remember this letter. (Music News).(I Need a Man, Part II)(Brief Article)(Interview)(Illustration)
March 1, 2003... M is for Moxy. One day about three years ago, while living at home in Puerto Rico with her parents, the then 17-year-old M (she politely refuses to reveal her full name--for now) woke up and booked a flight to Los Angeles. With a successful...

Blu Cantrell. (Sound Advice).(Bittersweet)(Sound Recording Review)
March 1, 2003... Bittersweet (Arista) Blu Cantrell's name says it all: Even her happiest love songs betray a certain neediness. Though she's hip to the fact that music is heartbreak's best friend, and female anthems are popular emotional Band-Aids, it's...

Zwan. (Sound Advice).(Mary Star of the Sea)(Sound Recording Review)
March 1, 2003... Mary Star of the Sea (Reprise) "Baby, Let's Rock!" That's not just a song title from the debut album by Billy Corgan's post--Smashing Pumpkins combo--it's Zwan's raison d'etre. Stripping away the pretension of the late Pumpkins, Corgan has...

Everclear. (Sound Advice).(Slow Motion Daydream)(Sound Recording Review)
March 1, 2003... Slow Motion Daydream (Capitol) Art Alexakis continues as one of the few song-spinners around who strives for subjects of substance and--thankfully--actually gets them. Aging pornographers, John Ashcroft, and modern paranoia are just some of...

Johnny Marr and The Healers. (Sound Advice).(Boomslang)(Sound Recording Review)
March 1, 2003... Boomslang (iMUSIC) Hard to figure why Johnny Marr waited till now, 15 years after the Smiths' demise, to put out his solo debut. Boomslang proves he's not just a splendid guitarist; he can also sing at least as well as his ex-musical...

Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks. (Sound Advice).(Pig Lib)(Sound Recording Review)
March 1, 2003... Pig Lib (Matador) Pavement's Stephen Malkmus continues to search for greener pastures. With his trademark oddball lyrics in place, Malkmus's new quartet coalesces more than ever in a mellow, jam-heavy classic rock sound. Pig Lib's trip...

Various Artists. (Sound Advice).(We're a Happy Family -- A Tribute to the Ramones)(Sound Recording Review)
March 1, 2003... We're a Happy Family--A Tribute to the Ramones (DV8/Columbia) Upon the two-fer demises of Joey and Dee Dee, the world's first punk band (the Sex Pistols only had better PR) is finally accorded the respect it always deserved. An astounding...

The Minus 5. (Sound Advice).(Down with Wilco)(Sound Recording Review)
March 1, 2003... Down with Wilco (Yep Roc) Featuring members of the Young Fresh Fellows, R.E.M, the Posies, and Wilco, this recurring pop collective has just invented some of the most engaging smart-rock songs since Elvis Costello collaborated with Burt...

Nada Surf. (Sound Advice).(Let Go)(Sound Recording Review)
March 1, 2003... Let Go (Barsuk) With its third disc, this NYC trio has moved from mid-'90s one-hit wonder to an emotionally heavy hitting guitar band worth caring about. "I can hear the clack of the chains that pull the cars up the roller coaster,"...

Vikter Duplaix. (Sound Advice).(International Affairs)(Sound Recording Review)
March 1, 2003... International Affairs (Hollywood Records) Seductive without the sleaze, Vikter Duplaix is a D'Angelo for the drum 'n' bass set. The Phillysoul producer and ubercool house DJ's solo disc brims with infectious optimism. Duplaix throws Cuban...

Muggs. (Sound Advice).(Dust (Anti-))(Sound Recording Review)
March 1, 2003... Dust (Anti-) Muggs--resident beatmaster for blunted hiphop icons Cypress Hill--has always reveled in spooky funkscapes that challenge stylistic boundaries. His solo effort is an even more adventurous crossbreeding of trip-hop electronics...

Katia Lund: her torch is her camera, and she's shining a light on the Brazil no one wants to see. (Action).(City of God)(Interview)(Illustration)
March 1, 2003... When I was a young teen, the enchantingly beautiful film Black Orpheus (1959) left on me an indelible impression of Brazil and its people; it remains one of my all-time cinematic favorites. City of God, the new Miramax film, has now entered...

High-rollers up against the wall: an art show that leaves stars in your eyes. (Flashback).(Andy Warhol: The Celebrity Portraits at Bellagio Gallery of Fin Art, Las Vegas)
March 1, 2003... It may be the perfect setting for an art show featuring legendary portraits of stars-after all, what better place in which to view dazzling, largerthan-life pictures of some of pop culture's biggest piayers than Las Vegas? On view through...

Lorraine Bracco: The cult actress and her don face off in a way you've never seen on TV. (Inter Woman).(The Sopranos)(Interview)(Illustration)
March 1, 2003... Oh, how the tables have turned. Lorraine Bracco and James Gandolfini usually square off on the set of HBO's smash series The Sopranos, with Bracco's Dr. Melfi giving Gandolfini's godfather the Freudian ride of his life. But with the show on...

Stand tall(er): boosting one's chances to be seen and heard. (Fashion Footnote).(platform shoes)(Brief Article)(Illustration)
March 1, 2003... Taking a platform for things one believes others should know about should be considered a basic right for all of us (and one that should never be underestimated). Given the world's current troubles, it would serve all voices to be heard a...

ZZ Packer: an outsider's short stories get inside many skins. (Book Buzz).(Drinking Coffee Elsewhere)(Interview)(Illustration)
March 1, 2003... A product first of Yale University and later of the prestigious Iowa Writers' Workshop, ZZ Packer wrote the short stories in this month's Drinking Coffee Elsewhere (Riverhead) over the course of five years, with the title story germinating in a...

Lynda Obst explains how to Waltz with the pythons of L.A. (Behind the Scenes).(how to survive in Hollywood)(Interview)
March 1, 2003... INGRID SISCHY: As the writer behind Hello, He Lied: And Other Truths from the Hollywood Trenches (Broadway Books), a book that is all about how to survive in Hollywood, we thought it would be fun to get some advice from you for people just...

Shots in the dark: humanism and brutality share the screen in Irreversible, a controversial new film by Gaspar Noe. (Movie Column).(Movie Review)
March 1, 2003... Gaspar Noe's Irreversible starts in the hell of the present and works its way toward the irretrievable heaven of the past. But the journey was apparently too turbulent for 20 members of the audience who, reported the Irish Times, had to be...

Days between stations: here's what the world coming to a stop sounds like. (Music Column).(Cat Power by Chan Marshall)(Movie Review)
March 1, 2003... In You Are Free (Matador), as in most of the music that travels under the name of Cat Power, you can feel the world come to a complete stop. It might be the room you're sitting in, the neighborhood outside, the country surrounding any...

View: letter from the Editor March 2003.(Ingrid Sischy, Interview)(Editorial)
March 1, 2003... "I don't know one person in the world with a pulse who hasn't been anxious," says Lou Reed on page 161 of this issue. He says this in a conversation with Greil Marcus, the magazine's music columnist, in which they're talking about Edgar Allan...

Kate Hudson: what's the driving force behind the actress with the megawatt smile and the romantic comedy of the year?(How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days)(Interview)(Illustration)
March 1, 2003... In the just released How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, Kate Hudson plays a magazine columnist with a killer assignment: hook a suitor (played by Matthew McConaughey) and then force him to dump her. The problem--and there's always a problem in good...

Bone: from the streets to the slammer to a growing force on both sides of the camera, it's been a long, wild journey for Cle Shiheed Sloan.(Tears of the Sun and Bastards of the Party: The De-Evolution of Bangin)(Interview)(Illustration)
March 1, 2003... A longtime, though inactive, member of Los Angeles's notorious Bloods gang, Cle Shiheed Sloan, a.k.a. Bone, spent his younger days shuffling back and forth between the street and prison. Then, with a little help from football legend and actor...

Lou Reed: with his new album, the rock renegade conjures Edgar Allan Poe, literature's favorite hell-raiser, in a way your English teacher never did.(The Raven)(Interview)
March 1, 2003... Lou Reed's The Raven (Sire/Reprise) began its life onstage as POEtry, a collaboration with director Robert Wilson commissioned by the Thalia Theater in Hamburg, Germany, in 2000. Now, featuring dramatic readings by the likes of Willem Defoe,...

Zooey Deschanel: call the police! The movies' young scene stealer comes clean.(All the Real Girls)(Interview)(Illustration)
March 1, 2003... Whether it's as the cosmetics-crazed, snarky shop clerk in last summer's The Good Girl, the wry college coed in last fall's Abandon, or the flush-with-first-love teenager in the just released All the Real Girls, Zooey Deschanel has a knack for...

She lights up your life: The "Cigarette Girl" has kept hearts and movies smoldering for decades. This season, though, her romance even set runways alight.
March 1, 2003... In this story: All hats by EUGENIA KIM. All stockings by WOLFORD. All cosmetic colors by CHANEL BEAUTE. Above: Top by CHANEL. Shorts by DOLCE & GABBANA. Shoes by DONNA KARAN NEW YORK. Opposite: Top by LOUIS VUITTON. Shorts by DIANE VON...