Category: Interviews

Five Questions with … Jason Schwartzman

Jae-Ha Kim

The first time Jason Schwartzman was on David Letterman’s show, the young actor had a case of the nerves. “I walked out there and it was like being on a roller-coaster ride,” says Schwartzman, now 21. “He’s awesome! I love him. I want to campaign for him to be on Oprah. I don’t know why she won’t have him on. He’s great.” The feeling must be mutual. Schwartzman is scheduled to appear on Letterman’s gabfest twice this week. On Wednesday, his band, Phantom Planet, will perform a song from the new album “The Guest.” The following evening, Schwartzman returns solo to hype his latest film, “Slackers,” which opens Friday.

Speaking of Chicago … with SUPER DIAMOND

Jae-Ha Kim

The first time Randy Cordero–lead singer of the Neil Diamond tribute band Super Diamond–met Diamond, he wasn’t sure what to expect. “He was so nice to us,” says Cordero, phoning from his San Francisco home. “He came backstage before one of our shows last year in Hollywood. We talked for about half an hour. He thanked me for what we were doing. I thanked him for not suing us. He was really cool and down to earth–just an all around nice guy.”

Benjamin Bratt finds rhyme, reason in poet role

Jae-Ha Kim

Sitting in a suite at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel, Benjamin Bratt–who is polite, funny and easy on the eyes–isn’t oblivious to the effect he has on the women fluttering nearby. Dressed in grey trousers, a tight black pullover and black ankle boots, Bratt looks every bit the movie star he is about to become. His almond-shaped eyes are liquid and chocolate brown, and the few strands of grey hair flecking his sideburns are his only concession to age.

In town with Brian Lane Green

Jae-Ha Kim

Brian Lane Green is sitting at a coffee shop not far from his Gold Coast hotel. He is oblivious to the second looks he attracts from other patrons. He’s too busy digging into his bowl of soup. “When you run around on stage every day wearing a loincloth, you are very conscious of what you eat,” says Green with a laugh. “I have a tendency to be round. Luckily, my muscles have memory, so they pop out during the shows.”

Five Questions with … Irma P. Hall

Jae-Ha Kim

Five years ago, Irma P. Hall made a name for herself playing a blind woman named Aunt T in “A Family Thing.” She’s playing another character named Aunt T, only this time it’s a cartoon voice on “A Rugrats Kwanzaa.” The 66-year-old South Side resident, who is best known for her touching role as Big Mama in “Soul Food,” doesn’t consider herself an actress, but rather a former teacher who happens to act.

Guys and Dolls: Speaking of Chicago with Maurice Hines

Jae-Ha Kim

Maurice Hines is a phenomenally talented dancer. But leave him alone in a room with two telephones and call waiting and he’s all thumbs. “I am so sorry,” Hines apologizes, after accidentally disconnecting one reporter while finishing up a call with another. “I never know what I’m doing. All the hotel phones have different buttons!”

Speaking of Chicago with Margaret Cho

Jae-Ha Kim

Growing up, Margaret Cho had no pop culture role models. So, she selected Olivia Newton-John as her idol, even though the “Grease” star was about as white as they come. “She was Australian and foreign, so I identified with her,” says Cho. “Besides, she was so beautiful I wanted to be her. Everyone did.”

‘N Sync’s Lance Bass ‘On the Line’ in his first film

Jae-Ha Kim

Envy me, girls. I am in Lance Bass’s hotel room and guess what? He happens to be here, too.
Never mind that we’re surrounded by his assistant, makeup artist, a handful of publicists and a photographer. I think I saw love in his eyes. OK, maybe it was just the sunlight reflecting from the windows of the W Hotel on Lake Shore Drive. But the point is, Bass–one-fifth of the phenomenally popular boy band ‘N Sync–is so charming he can even make cranky reporters smile.

Michael T. Weiss pulls weight in ‘Bones’

Jae-Ha Kim

As the star of “The Pretender,” Michael T. Weiss grew accustomed to wearing natty designer clothes. For his role as a corrupt, corpulent cop in the film “Bones”–which opens Wednesday–Weiss wore a different kind of suit: a fat suit. “People who haven’t seen me since ‘The Pretender’ are going to think, ‘Boy, he really let himself go,'” says the ordinarily lean 6-foot-3 actor.

Don’t buy our albums, stars urge

Jae-Ha Kim

For years, Christina Aguilera had tried to prevent the release of “Just Be Free,” a collection of recordings Aguilera made when she was 14 and 15 years old. The diva-in-training, now 20, recently settled with Warlock Records on the condition that the album would contain a message that says in part: “I made the recordings as a possible stepping stone to a career in music, which is my ultimate passion. They were made just so that I could get my foot in the door of the music business. I did not intend that the recordings would be widely released, especially after I signed with a major record label.