Interview articles from September 2006

Interview archives from September 2006

Don't fence her in.(LETTERS)(Letter to the editor)
September 1, 2006... Dear Interview, Once again I would like to commend you--this time for the beautiful Ziyi Zhang interview in the July 2006 issue. It went even deeper than her last interview. She is definitely at the top of my list as an actress, whether it...

Love all.(LETTERS)(Letter to the editor)
September 1, 2006... Dear Interview, I don't normally write letters to magazines (pro or con) but after receiving my July issue I had to drop a line to say how excited I was to read the interview between Billie Jean King and Roger Federer. I've been a fan of...

Super trouper.(LETTERS)(Letter to the editor)
September 1, 2006... Dear Interview, I have to hand it to Kate Bosworth--for such a delicate-looking woman she clearly doesn't lack for cojones. I mean, learning to surf on the North Shore of Oahu for Blue Crush [2002] and getting flung all around on a harness...

The inspiration persuasion.(LETTERS)(Letter to the editor)
September 1, 2006... Dear Interview, I discovered Interview for the first time while looking for a new theme for my art work. I had created over 50 images from magazines like FHM, Stuff, and a variety of muscle magazines, and felt a bit worn out by the...

Bend it like Becker.(LETTERS)(Letter to the editor)
September 1, 2006... Dear Interview, I haven't yet seen Goal: The Dream Begins, and I hadn't heard of Kuno Becker before opening your June issue, but after reading Brendan Lemon's interview with him I'm already a fan. I love that this guy had the moxie to move...

Mark Grotjahn: abstractionists are flexing more than their muscles.(THIS MONTH'S MUST SEE SHOW)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... Abstract art is once again in the spotlight, with galleries and museums highlighting work by artists--from Jackson Pollock to Blinky Palermo--who helped shape its meaning and character. Recently, the Studio Museum in Harlem presented a group...

Alice Braga: her family may include Brazilian acting royalty, but Alice Braga is charting her own bright course.(THIS MONTH'S ONE TO WATCH)(Interview)
September 1, 2006... Last summer, in the sexy art-house movie Lower City, Brazil's newest export, 24-year-old actress Alice Braga, played the fulcrum of a love triangle. If Braga's name rings a bell, it should. Her aunt Sonia played the title character in Kiss of...

Micah P. Hinson: how a freak injury had this singer-songwriter lying on his back for weeks--and helped give birth to his visceral new album.(THIS MONTH'S ONE TO LISTEN OUT FOR)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... Micah R Hinson may be only 25 years old, but he has certainly been around the block. After battling with an addiction to painkillers, having some warrants out for his arrest, and doing jail time, the Tennessee-born, Texas-raised musician got...

Spray it on.(LOOK OF THE MONTH)(spray makeup)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... There are few things more thrilling than the sound of a spray can being shaken, a noise full of possibility and menace. And while major metropolises are cracking down on graffiti, the desire to spray paint lives on. Now, thanks to the makeup...

Dario Robleto: a contemporary mix-master for our time.(VIEW MAN)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... In a world of increasingly overlapping boundaries, postmodernism has an ally in artist Dario Robleto. A conceptualist, deconstructionist, and pop culture enthusiast, Robleto and his art cannot easily be put into categories. His mainly...

Daniel Mendelsohn.(LOST AND FOUND)(Interview)
September 1, 2006... WHEN THE WRITER DANIEL MENDELSOHN WAS GROWING UP, ONE OF THE FEW THINGS HE KNEW ABOUT HIS GREAT-UNCLE SHMIEL--WHO VANISHED ALONG WITH HIS WIFE, ESTER, AND THEIR FOUR DAUGHTERS DURING THE HOLOCAUST--WAS THAT DANIEL LOOKED ENOUGH LIKE HIM TO MAKE...

Serge Gainsbourg.(THIS MONTH'S LEGEND)(dialogue with a musician)(Interview)
September 1, 2006... WHO'S THE COOLEST, CLEVEREST, MOST SHOCKING FRENCH MUSICIAN OF THE PAST HALF CENTURY? ACCORDING TO A WHOLE LOT OF YOUNG POP STARS, THE ANSWER WOULD BE SERGE GAINSBOURG. ONE OF THAT NEW GUARD, FRANZ FERDINAND'S ALEX KAPRANOS, TALKS TO THE...

Michel Gondry: his highly personal new film, The Science of Sleep, explores the power--and the pitfalls--of having a healthy dream life. So who better than the French director's 15-year-old son to get the truth about what inspired dad's daring new movie?(THIS MONTH'S CULT MOVIE)(Interview)
September 1, 2006... Michel Gondry's latest film, The Science of Sleep, tells the story of a romantic and slightly spacey young artist, Stephane (Gael Garcia Bernal), whose unrequited love for the girl who lives across the hall (Charlotte Gainsbourg) is further...

Caroline Dhavernas: she plays the woman who two-times the hero in the season's grittiest Hollywood mystery. Chances are he won't be the last of her big-screen prey.(MOVIE SPOTLIGHT)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... Caroline Dhavernas knows not to fly close to the sun on wings of wax--but doesn't mind watching the inevitable crash and burn, if that's what it comes to. The 28-year-old Quebec native appears this month in Hollywoodland, a film noir set in the...

Nathan Phillips: a few years ago, he was planning for a career educating young people. Now he's embarking on a big one scaring the heck out of them.(MOVIE BREAKOUT)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... Though his latest film, Snakes on a Plane, has people touting Nathan Phillips as the next big thing from the Land of Oz, the 26-year-old actor roundly resists the label. "When you're an Australian actor trying to make it overseas, you may get...

New York Dolls: David Johansen watched as drugs, disease, and tragedy took four of the original members Of the New York dolls, but he's back fronting a reconstituted lineup of the glammest band of the '70s. Henry Rollins talks to rock's ultimate survivor.(MUSIC COMEBACK)(Interview)
September 1, 2006... DAVID JOHANSEN: How's everything on the left coast? HENRY ROLLINS: I'm working on a movie. It's a horror film, so I'm just here until I get killed off. DJ: I did a future apocalypse movie once that Emilio Estevez and Mick Jagger\ were in...

Janelle Monae: a soulful, sassy, sci-fi-themed debut that busts genres--not to mention stereotypes.(MUSIC BUZZ)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... "I wanted to tap into what it would be like to be a robot programmed not to love--to not have any feelings," Janelle Monae says of the dysto-plan themes driving her upcoming debut, Metropolis (Wondaland Productions/Purple Ribbon). Urn, excuse...

Cold War Kids: the no-holds barred rock band that's got music-industry superpowers knocking at their door.(MUSIC SCOOP)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... With a succession of standout self-released EPs, relentless touring, and acclaim from all the right bloggers, Cold War Kids have very quickly become one of the most talked-about bands on the indie rock scene. The group's idiosyncratic...

Rhymefest: John Lennon once sang that "a working-class hero is something to be." here's a rapper who's taken that idea to heart.(MUSIC NEWS)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... "It's dedicated to bringing truth and entertainment back to hip-hop," says Che Smith, a.k.a. Rhymefest, of his recently released debut, Blue Collar (Allido/J). Unlike your average hopeful, the Chicago-bred rapper arrives with nothing less than...

David Wright: he's young, he's handsome, he receives marriage proposals in the mail, and he plays infield for New York's best baseball team. Derek Jeter should be so lucky.(SPORTS--ON AND OFF THE BASES)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... If Frank Sinatra had in mind a major-league baseball player when he sang about New York, "lf l can make it there I'll make it (bomp bomp) anywhere," it was doubtless a Yankee. (Derek Jeter anyone?) Just don't tell that to 23-year-old budding...

Lorena Ochoa: few golfers have enough moxie to win; fewer still break down social barriers in the process.(SPORTS---ON AND OFF THE FAIRWAY)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... In golfer Lorena Ochoa's native Mexico--where until recently golf hadn't really caught on outside the tourist population--she is a Tiger Woods-like figure whose success is drawing more and more people to the sport. On this side of the border...

The unpublished Bette Davis--until now.(TALES FROM THE CRYPT)(Interview)
September 1, 2006... IN 1987, FOUR HOLLYWOOD LEGENDS--LILLIAN GISH, VINCENT PRICE, ANN SOTHERN, AND BETTE DAVIS--GOT TOGETHER IN THE TWILIGHT OF THEIR CAREERS TO APPEAR IN THE WHALES OF AUGUST. OF THE FOUR, DAVIS WAS FAR AND AWAY THE BIGGEST STAR AND THE SHARPEST...

This film is not yet rated; a muckraking new documentary takes an explicit look at the movie industry's ratings system--and reignites the debate over censorship in Hollywood.(CONTROVERSY CORNER)(Movie review)
September 1, 2006... Kirby Dick's new documentary, This Film Is Not Yet Rated, examines the inner workings of one of the most influential and enigmatic American institutions of the last half century: the ratings board of the Motion Picture Association of America....

Karen Russell: armed with a subversive sense of humor and a wicked turn-of-phrase, a young writer sets out to redefine the southern gothic.(SEPTEMBER PAGE-TURNER)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... In the title story of Karen Russell's first book of fiction, 15 girls are raised by wolves and then re-educated by nuns--and that's one of the tamer tales. In St. Lucy's Home for Girls Raised by Wolves, an assortment of highly surreal short...

Mark of distinction: how to drive fashion forward this fall.(FASHION FLASH)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... It's not many designers who can pull off an entire collection based on a simple geometric pattern. Francisco Costa's fall '06 collection for Calvin Klein took the chevron motif and ran with it--less a light jog and more a marathon done at...

For the birds: "hope is the thing with feathers ...".(FASHION AND THE ZEITGEIST )(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... It's not easy being a bird in 2006. Not only are our feathered friends experiencing a particularly nasty flu strain but they also have, in certain circles, a reputation for being vicious and mean, thanks to Mr. Hitchcock's cinematic portrayal....

Wiiiilllllmmmmaaaa!!!! You won't need a crystal ball to see what's about to be huge in jewelry.(THE ICE AGE)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... Sometimes the strongest ideas are mined from the past and given a new twist. That's exactly what's going on in the witty, over-the-top, part-ancient, part-futuristic statements that are juicing up the jewelry world. Rock crystal jewelry is now...

Elephant dancing: the who, the what, the wow, and the why.(MUSIC COLUMN)("Shaken by a Low Sound" by the group Crooked Still)(Sound recording review)
September 1, 2006... "One of the ancients by now, whom all moderns prize"--so said Bob Dylan on his first "Theme Time Radio Hour," now running weekly on XM Radio. He was speaking of Muddy Waters, but he could have been talking about the mostly traditional songs...

The Zutons: Tired of Hanging Around.(SOUND ADVICE)(Sound recording review)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... THE ZUTONS Tired of Hanging Around (Columbia) Despite the fact that their name makes them sound like a kind of low-carb cracker, the Zutons have managed to become one of the best-selling bands in their native Britain. The Liverpool...

OutKast: Idlewild (Jive).(SOUND ADVICE)(Sound recording review)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... OUTKAST Idlewild (Jive) Don't call it a soundtrack. Only a handful of the songs on this loose concept album appear in the new OutKast movie, also called Idlewild, set in a 1930s speakeasy. OutKast's mix of joyful, thumb-in-your-eye...

The Grates: Gravity Won't Get You High (Dew Process/ Cherry Tree/Interscope).(SOUND ADVICE)(Sound recording review)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... THE GRATES Gravity Won't Get You High (Dew Process/ Cherry Tree/Interscope) The Grates, a female-fronted pop-punk trio from Brisbane, Australia, claim to play their music under the guise of fun and games--but even when front woman Patience...

M. Ward: Post-War (Merge).(SOUND ADVICE)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... M. WARD Post-War (Merge) On his earlier records, Matt Ward, a 32-year-old Portland, Oregon, singer-songwriter with a whispery, gravely voice, sounded more like a man in a trance than an actual troubadour. Although he hasn't completely...

Nouvelle Vague: Bande a Part (Luaka Bop).(SOUND ADVICE)(Sound recording review)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... NOUVELLE VAGUE Bande a Part (Luaka Bop) On their second album, Bande a Part, Paris outfit Nouvelle Vague--the French aggregate of producers Olivier Libaux and Marc Collins and rotating chanteuses--are up to their old tricks: covering new...

Ray LaMontagne: Till the Sun Turns Black (RCA).(SOUND ADVICE)(Sound recording review)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... RAY LAMONTAGNE Till the Sun Turns Black (RCA) Ray LaMontagne became a "workingman's storyteller" with his debut album, Trouble, in 2004. Singing with a scratchy, soulful voice, his simple and unpretentious subject matter was no doubt...

Grizzly Bear: Yellow House (Warp).(SOUND ADVICE)(Sound recording review)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... GRIZZLY BEAR Yellow House (Warp) The young members of the foursome known as Grizzly Bear offer up a very precocious sophomore follow-up to their indie hit (Horn of Plenty, 2004), which drenches folky instruments like the autoharp,...

Shots in the dark: a new perspective on the private eye.(MOVIE)(Adrien Brody in "Hollywoodland")(Movie review)
September 1, 2006... It's hard to imagine Adrien Brody playing the kind of hard-boiled private eye who walked down film noir's mean streets. With his narrow Renaissance face and aquiline nose, the loose-limbed Brody is no Humphrey Bogart or Robert Mitchum. He...

The Black Dahlia.(Movie review)
September 1, 2006... Preview: THE BLACK DAHLIA (Universal) Directed by Brian De Palma There's reason to hope, as Brian De Palma has material here that neatly tongue-and-grooves with his operatic style. So much a '40s period piece it hurts: A semi-fictional tale...

The Covenant.(Movie review)
September 1, 2006... Preview: THE COVENANT (Screen Gems) Directed by Renny Harlin First glance suggests Animal House (1978) meets The Craft (1996). Four hunky New England teens inherit mysterious family powers (along with the keys to daddy's SUV), which they...

The U.S. vs. John Lennon.(Movie review)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... Preview: The U.S. VS. JOHN LENNON (Lions Gate) Directed by David Leaf and John Scheinfeld In the '70s, Richard Nixon waged a small-scale war against the former Beatle and freshly minted resident of New York. In a thinly veiled response to...

The Science of Sleep.(Movie review)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... Review: THE SCIENCE OF SLEEP (Warner Independent) Directed by Michel Gondry Like his fantastical 2004 film, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, director Michel Gondry's latest blends an otherwise straightforward love story with an...

A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints.(Movie review)
September 1, 2006... Review: A GUIDE TO RECOGNIZING YOUR SAINTS (First Look) Directed by Dito Montiel Set in the late '80s and based on writer-director Dito Montiel's own 2003 memoir, A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints chronicles the tragic events of the final...

Trust the Man.(Movie review)
September 1, 2006... Review: TRUST THE MAN (Fox Searchlight) Directed by Bart Freundlich Bart Freundlich's latest is an ensemble piece that centers around two Manhattanite couples in serious flux: Tom (David Duchovny), an increasingly antsy stay-at-home...

The Descent.(Movie review)
September 1, 2006... Review: THE DESCENT (Lions Gate) Directed by Neil Marshall British director Nell Marshall's The Descent is the cattle prod the horror genre needs right now: brutal, crass, and thrillingly alive. Six young female daredevil friends (including...

Letter from the editor September 2006.(view)(Editorial)
September 1, 2006... "I felt like I was Marie Antoinette's ghost, or her perfume, more so than actually her," explains this month's cover subject, Kirsten Dunst, in her candid interview (page 166) with fellow actor Jason Schwartzman. Dunst, of course, is referring...

Kirsten Dunst.(Interview)(Cover story)(Biography)
September 1, 2006... SHE MAY BE THE ULTIMATE CALIFORNIA GIRL BUT WHAT GIVES KIRSTEN DUNST SUCH LIFE ONSCREEN IS HER ABILITY TO CHANNEL THE CLOUDS THAT THREATEN EVEN THE SUNNIEST HORIZON. WHO BETTER TO TACKLE THE ROLE OF MARIE ANTOINETTE--THE CHILDISH, SPOILED, AND...

The other left bank: in Los Angeles, Hollywood glitz tends to steal the spotlight, but that's been a stealthily good deal for a loose-knit community of famously infamous artists who prefer the backyard sublime to the back-lot spectacle, and vast studio space to the New York shoe-box life.
September 1, 2006... JULIAN HOEBER "If you just get people to sit still, you can get them to listen," Hoeber says about his grisly breakthrough video, Killing Friends, from 2001. In his photographs and visceral narrative videos--including the ambitious 2005 feature...

Two new divas: Interview presents a couple of the grandest new dames in music who know how to keep all eyes on them--both on the stage and off. No high-heeled hissy fits here ... yet.(Biography)
September 1, 2006... BRISA ROCHE When she turned 18, California-based singer Brisa Roche headed off to Paris, France, for what turned out to be an extended stay after her travel papers were stolen. That trip was the beginning of her love affair with the city....

In the mix.
September 1, 2006... JUST ASK THE DEE JAYS WHO SPIN RECORDS TOGETHER IN ORDER TO CREATE A NEW SOUND: IN THE 21ST CENTURY IT'S ALL ABOUT COMBINATIONS, WHETHER OLD AND HIGHBROW AND POP, OR CONSERVATIVE AND LIBERTINE. FASHION RIGHT THERE WITH THE TIMES, DE--AND...

Dirty pretty things: singer Carl Barat's old band, the libertines, was the embodiment of a rock 'n' roll car crash. Don't think his new band, dirty pretty things, is going to be any less of a spectacle. Christopher Bailey catches a glimipse.(Interview)
September 1, 2006... Anyone who thinks that all the anarchic spirit has been bled out of rock music today need look no further than the British band Dirty Pretty Things for proof that it's not only alive, but kicking up a storm. Led by Carl Barat, former front man...

Kerry Washington: as a kid growing up in the Bronx, trips to the theater offered Kerry Washington a window into other worlds. Today, with her star on the rise in the movies and her voice on the rise on issues such as violence against women, she's shaping up to be more than Hollywood's next big thing. Here she speaks with Jane Fonda.(Interview)
September 1, 2006... Kerry Washington is an actress at that point in her career when her name and face may seem familiar to many moviegoers even if they're not sure precisely why. The reason is revealed in her resume, which includes roles in such films as She Hate...

The Gibson girl.
September 1, 2006... AT THE TURN OF THE LAST CENTURY, CHARLES DANA GIBSON'S 'AMERICAN GIRL TO ALL THE WORLD" MADE REGULAR APPEARANCES IN LIFE MAGAZINE, CROPPING UP AT PARTIES, LUNCHEONS, OPERAS, BEACHES, AND RAILWAY STATIONS, WHERE SHE NEVER FAILED TO ENTHRALL....

Jay.(Jay Leno, comedian and host of The Tonight Show)(Interview)(Biography)
September 1, 2006... HE'S BEEN PORTRAYED--AND EVEN DISMISSED--AS AN EVERYMAN NICE GUY WHO SOMEHOW LUCKED INTO COMEDY'S MOST VAUNTED SEAT. NOW, AS HE EMBARKS UPON HIS 15TH SEASON AS HOST OF THE TONIGHT SHOW (AND PREPARES TO HAND OVER THE REINS TO CONAN O'BRIEN IN...

Toasts with the most.
September 1, 2006... 1 James Marsden and Calvin Klein menswear designer Italo Zucchelli at the party in honor of Francisco Costa. 2 Amy Sacco at the Calvin Klein party. 3 Lindsay Lohan and Francisco Costa at the party in his honor. 4 Lauryn Flynn and Terrence...