Interview articles from May 2003

Interview archives from May 2003

Letters.(Letter to the Editor)
May 1, 2003... POWDER PLAY Dear Interview What a pleasure it was to open your March issue and discover that hilarious conversation between Zooey Deschanel and her indie-queen interviewer Parker Posey. At a time when the art of humor seems to be a...

Correction.(Correction Notice)
May 1, 2003... In the March 2003 issue, Dimitri Levas' name was mistakenly omitted from the credits for the "Poetic License" fashion story. Levas created the story's magnificent sets.

Michelle Monaghan: Gere-tested and Douglas-approved, this former Iowa farm girl is hitting the movies hard. .(Interview)
May 1, 2003... All of this scares the hell out of me," says Michelle Monaghan--hands, arms, and even legs flailing for emphasis--of her budding acting career. "I'm frightened and uneasy and sometimes my heart skips a beat. But, hey, it got me out of Iowa,...

Matt Dillon. .(Interview)
May 1, 2003... FROM THE BEGINNING, HE HAS CONFOUNDED THE MEDIA'S NEED TO COMPARTMENTALIZE, SHIFTING ALMOST AS HE WAS WATCHED. CHILD STAR? TIGER BEAT PINUP? HOLLYWOOD HEAVYWEIGHT? BROODING LEADING MAN? NATURAL COMIC? YEP, HE'S BEEN ALL OF THOSE THINGS. ADD...

The Matrix Reloaded. .(Movie Review)
May 1, 2003... (Warner Bros.) Directed by Andy and Larry Wachowski Keanu Reeves', Carrie-Anne Moss', and Laurence Fishburne's leather-and-latex-clad heroes return in this highly anticipated first sequel to the 1999 blockbuster (a third, and final,...

X2. .(Movie Review)
May 1, 2003... (20th Century Fox) Directed by Bryan Singer X2 marks the spot where Professor X and his superheroic student brood take off in the season's first in a string of hot action pictures. This time around, Wolverine, Cyclops, Rogue, and Storm...

Bulletproof Monk. .(Movie Review)
May 1, 2003... (MGM) Directed by Paul Hunter In his mission to keep a sacred scroll from falling into the hands of a wily evildoer who would misuse its power, a mysterious Tibetan monk and kung fu master (Chow Yun-Fat) hooks up with a street-smart...

A Mighty Wind. .(Movie Review)
May 1, 2003... (Warner Bros.) Directed by Christopher Guest The latest from mockumentary king Guest (Waiting for Guffman, 1997; Best in Show, 2000), Wind tells the story of three once-famous folk groups who reunite for a tribute concert for their...

Blue Car. .(Movie Review)
May 1, 2003... (Miramax) Directed by Karen Moncrieff Hot newcomer Agnes Bruckner (Murder by Numbers) and soulful leading man David Strathairn (L.A. Confidential, 1997) perform a sensitive sexual duet in Moncrieff's unsentimental debut drama about a...

The Shape of Things.(Movie Review)
May 1, 2003... (Focus Features) Directed by Neil LaBute This story of a sexy artist (Rachel Weisz) who transforms her dorky boyfriend (Paul Rudd) into a stud first appeared on the New York stage in 2001 and has been repackaged by its writer-director...

The Man Without a Past. .(Movie Review)
May 1, 2003... (Sony Classics) Directed by Aki Kaurismaki An amnesiac awakens on the banks of a Finnish seaside community and finds himself at the mercy of strangers. While the gist may seem old hat, Kaurismaki delivers an engrossing, if peculiar,...

Confidence. .(Movie Review)
May 1, 2003... (Lions Gate) Directed by James Foley Edward Burns leads a pack of small-time grifters who mistakenly rob the wrong guy, a powerful L.A. mobster played by Dustin Hoffman. In order to make good, Burns' character invents a scam to bilk...

Michael Pena: from behind a bank teller's window to front and center in the movies. .(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... For years, Michael Pena's best friend's mother pushed him to attend open-call acting auditions in his native Chicago. "Finally, I went to one just to shut her up," recalls the 27-year-old former bank teller, who scored a part in the TV movie To...

Eduardo Verastegui: further evidence that some of Hollywood's most exciting newcomers are coming from Mexico. (Movie Heat).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... It's the same old Hollywood story. Sort of. Small town--that would be Xicotencatl, Mexico--boy sets out with practically nothing, 200 pesos, to pursue his showbiz dream. And 14 hours later, by bus, Eduardo Verastegui arrives in Mexico City,...

A guided tour through the Rock Maze of new bands in 2003: seven reasons to relish the simplicity of guitars, drums, amps, and microphones.(Rapture, Longwave, The Raveonettes, The Music Arena and The Coral.)
May 1, 2003... Meet the New Rock. Same as the olde New Rock? Not exactly--the new New Rock is branching away from last year's explosion of incendiary bands with names ending in es-- the Strokes, the Hives, the Vines, the White Stripes. Those groups appealed...

Lillix: they took the road traveled by Joni, Alanis, and Avril that leads straight down from Canada and into your stereo.(Sound Recording Review)
May 1, 2003... With their Maverick debut, Falling Uphill, released this month, Lillix just may be the GoGas or the Bangles of 2003. The album is packed with hits-in-waiting, and the band--Canadians Tasha-Ray Evin, 17 (guitar-vocals); her sister, Lacey-Lee...

Jay-Jay Johanson: looks spooky, sounds kooky--and its an unforgettable experience. .(Sound Recording Review)
May 1, 2003... With his fourth album, Antenna (E-Magine), Swedish electro-pop multi-instrumentalist and singer Jay-Jay Johanson has finally been deemed worthy of the elusive American release. "The previous albums were very slow," Johanson explains of the...

Cooler Kids: the one thing this band won't have you doing is sitting still. .(Sound Recording Review)
May 1, 2003... Forget Botox or an exotic trip. This month, the easiest way to a quick lift is a dose of the Cooler Kids' debut, Punk Debutante (DreamWorks). The Kids comprise gamine Sisely Treasure, 21, the electro generation's Debbie Harry, and veteran drum...

Madonna. .(Sound Recording Review)
May 1, 2003... American Life (Maverick) Give her the zeitgeist medal.... On Madonna's 10th studio album, her Dolly Parton--esque guitar strumming and plucking melds with producer Mirwais' knob-twiddling to create a sort of Appalachian electronica as...

Blur. .(Sound Recording Review)
May 1, 2003... Think Tank (Virgin) "I'm not over, but I'm getting there," Damon Albarn sings on Ambulance," the first track on this new album. While that isn't exactly true, what Blur reveals more than anything with Think Tank is that they're thinking...

Yeah Yeah Yeahs. .(Sound Recording Review)
May 1, 2003... Fever to Tell (Interscope) Remember when you first heard Nirvana, the Breeders, Patti Smith? This debut is that exciting. That's a heavy mantle to place over any newcomer, but from the sounds of this full-length debut--intense, unexpected,...

Elefant. .(Sound Recording Review)
May 1, 2003... Sunlight Makes Me Paranoid (Kemado) These New York newcomers rip the flesh from glam rock and reattach the best bits, hunk by hunk. Circular bass lines pulse around skeletal beats. Guitars slice through in angular bursts. Yelpy crooner...

Evan Dando. .(Sound Recording Review)
May 1, 2003... Baby I'm Bored (Bar/None) Sloppy in a sexy way, the tossed-off performances on these bent campfire songs belie the intricacy of the writing. Dando struggles with his instinct for friendly Beatles-esque resolutions and his competing impulse...

Caitlin Cary. .(Sound Recording Review)
May 1, 2003... I'm Staying Out (Yep Roc) Caitlin Cary's second effort in a year is a dance from start to playful finish. Even when Cary (ex-Whiskeytown) is at her most plaintive--"When you look beneath the skin, is there anything to see?" she asks on...

Macy Gray. .(Sound Recording Review)
May 1, 2003... The Trouble With Being Myself (Epic) On her third disc, the dippy diva perpetuates her fun-lovin', truth-talkin' persona with a trademark brew of funked-up R&B spiked with ska and jazz. She may reveal a little bitterness ("She Ain't Right...

Venus Hum.(Sound Recording Review)
May 1, 2003... Big Beautiful Sky (MCA) It's the last sound you'd expect to emanate from songwritery Nashville--burbling synthesizers buffeting an airy, exotic techno-pop diva. The vivacious Venus Hum sound freshly plucked from the beach at Ibiza, and...

Pete Yorn. .(Sound Recording Review)
May 1, 2003... Day I Forgot (Columbia) Pete Yorn is the hangover cure for an often-too-drunk industry. Thankfully, Day I Forgot delivers on the promise of his stunning debut, musicforthemorningafter. A crafter of mood as much as melody, Yorn is smart...

Marilyn Manson. .(Sound Recording Review)
May 1, 2003... The Golden Age of Grotesque (Interscope) Despite the fact that this disc starts with a little ditty called "This Is the New Shit," it's basically the same as the old Manson: clanking industrial grind, raging against the machine, and the...

Chain reaction: something old, something new, something chanel. .(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... This season at the European collections, fashion editors from all over the world, from the rookies to the dinosaurs, were carrying their essentials in Chanel. While I featured the Chanel bag that my mother had bought me for my 18th birthday,...

The beard...regeared: get ready, get set--grow!(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... The vogue in recent years for young gents with regard to facial hair has wavered between keeping boy-band smooth and covering one's chin and cheeks with goatees probably best left in college. This season sees the return of the much-maligned...

Eric Freeman: no bells, no whistles, just painting. .(Interview)
May 1, 2003... In this age of video, photography, installation, and rampant topicality, pure abstract painting still thrives in a hangarlike studio hard by the East Hampton Airport. But Eric Freeman's taut, cool, color-driven canvases are definitely not...

When fashion and art are meant for each other: Marc Jacobs and Takashi Murakami got together and, boom--magic!
May 1, 2003... The mind and hand of Marc Jacobs, creative director (and creative force) behind Louis Vuitton, touch everything the recently revitalized--and now ultracool--company produces. Part of Jacobs' success lies in his knack for knowing just when the...

Celebrating Yesterday and making room for tomorrow: Karl Lagerfeld clears his head for the future by putting his past on the auction block.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Over the years, Karl Lagerfeld has donned many hats, an inspiring approach to work and life he seems unlikely to change anytime soon. Lagerfeld all but invented the idea of multitasking in fashion, successfully designing a variety of disparate...

Author! Author! five writers stand out with striking spring debuts. .(Book Review)
May 1, 2003... Many first-time writers find inspiration in real life--but this spring's crop of debut authors mine their own lives and share the spoils with a candor usually reserved for the confessional. With wit and breathless energy, they explore the...

Shots in the dark: birds do it, bees do it--can American movies do it? .
May 1, 2003... Despite affecting moments in such independent films as Personal Velocity, All the Real Girls, and the current Blue Car and XX/XY, I'm not convinced American directors, as a breed, are confident handling adult themes in a responsible or...

Letter from the Editor.(Editorial)
May 1, 2003... May 2003 Usually when I write this editor's letter to you, dear reader, it's just after we've finished pulling the rest of the issue together and have sent it on to the printer. That way I can have a clear head--and the whole issue in my...

Marisa Tomei; she is the study of a career in reverse: early on, she won an Academy Award and widespread recognition. Now she's showing everyone what she can do.(Interview)
May 1, 2003... Marisa Tomei won the ultimate actor's prize--a Supporting Actress Oscar--for her performance as the definitive Brooklyn girl in My Cousin Vinny (1992), before a lot of audience members had had a chance to get to know her. To triumph that early...

The White Stripes: getting to know the most interesting band in music today.(Interview)
May 1, 2003... It has been only four years since the White Stripes released their self-titled debut album--and just two since the release of their third album, White Blood Cells, which catapulted them to MTV fame--but already the band has reached a status...

Javier Bardem.(Interview)
May 1, 2003... YOU WILL NEVER SEE THE SAME MAN TWICE: NOT THE STOIC PYSICAL PRESENCE OF HIS EARLY FILMS, THE GREAT GAY-CUBAN WRITER IN BEFORE NIGHT FALLS, OR THE UNEMPLOYED DOCKWORKER LOOKING FOR DIGNITY AND THE FRUSTRATED, DRIFTING POLICEMAN OF HIS TWO FILMS...

Continental Confidential! the new Vita of Italian cinema.(Editorial)
May 1, 2003... ALL FASHION: GIORGIO ARMANI (PAGES 104, 108, 109, 110, 112, 113, 114), EMPORIO ARMANI (PAGES 105, 106, 107, 112), AND ARMANI JEANS (PAGES 106, 111, 115). FOR FASHION AND PHOTO DETAILS SEE PAGE 118. Who could ever forget the cool of Marcello...

The Streets: Mike Skinner is helping to redefine what the streets are all about.(Interview)
May 1, 2003... It takes a certain amount of bravado to call oneself "the Streets." But 24-year-old British rap wunderkind Mike Skinner has got the goods to back up the name. His 2002 debut album, Original Pirate Material (Vice), is both an upbeat party record...