Musician turned actor
Posted by Vicki on 10.07.03
With CD sales slipping and an increasingly fickle public those rock stars and bands who want to prolong their career are having to widen their scope. The obvious career move is to go into movies, increasingly this recognised as a legitimate avenue for musicians - as demonstrated by the sheer glut of publicity following the revelation of the forthcoming 'Sk8er Boi' film.
It is actually amusing that Avril Lavaigne has felt the need to attempt damage control of her 'punk' image (just in case the words 'sell-out' could possibly be applied to her) by stating that "the movie has nothing to do with me, I don't have any say in it. And no, I won't be in it." Given the song (and much of her album) was written by the management and image building company The Matrix and it is they who have been signed by Paramount as consultants there was no reason to think that Avril would be in it.
While 'Sk8er Boi' will go doubt do well at the box office, in the same way as my personal nemesis 'Save the last dance' did (I have never seen the film but it stalks me), in general attempts by musicians to branch out into Hollywood tend to be low key and a moderate success or else high profile and less than less than successful. An example of the former is Bon Jovi's less than spectacular (but not as bad as some I could name) lead role in 'John Carpenter's Vampires: Los Muertos' and an example of the latter being the entirety of Korn's involvement in 'The Queen of the Damned'.
Given that at present Courtney Love can barely get arrested it is difficult to recall quite why Hollywood were so eager to embrace her only a couple of years previously. For example her Oscar nominated role in 'The people vs. Larry Flint', despite the fact she was playing herself. In a similar way Dani Filth's role in the camp gore-fest that was 'Cradle of Fear' was hardly a stretch - he played an angel of death, operating on behalf of a jailed killer. The film itself could have been far worse but the overall effect appeared to be desperate for controversy and some hysterical press coverage.
Talking of using gratuitous horror in an attempt to generate publicity I should mention Rob Zombie's 'House of a 1000 corpses'. Having seen Rob's image develop over the years it was possible to take an educated guess that 'House of a 1000 corpses' would bare considerable plot resemblance to 'Texas Chainsaw Massacre'. Sure enough the film is set in the 1970's with two young couples take a misguided tour onto the back roads of America in search of a local legend known as Dr. Satan. Lost and stranded, they are set upon by a bizarre family of psychotic locals and it is actually very boring.
Overall attempts by musicians to crossover into films are less than successful both financially and artistically and yet they keep being made by an industry that is bloated by its own self importance and people with too much time and money. A film that might be an exception to this rule is the forthcoming 'Live Freaky! Die Freaky!'. The 'plot' is set in a future (the year 3069) where the earth has been raped of all its natural resources, destroyed by the war and ozone depletion, and is now only a barren desert. The humans who inhabit this empty vessel search not only for food but for a god to save them. Their search will soon be over when Charles Manson returns to save them, no doubt along with multiple copies of 'Helter Skelter'. John Roecker (the director) states that "the movie is about man's search for spirituality and gods at any cost. And then when they find their gods they use them to control people and make wars. Oh and it is a comedy!"
The reason I think the film will be relatively successful is not simply because it is due to be the first X rated puppet movie ever, apparently the actions of the puppets will be reminiscent of those in 'Brain Dead'. The key reason why I predict this film will be relatively successful is the cult/populist nature of the cast; it appears that much of the remaining punk scene has got involved. For example Tim Armstrong of Rancid narrates the film (and helped pay for its production) while fellow Rancid members play various roles: guitarist/singer Lars Frederiksen plays Heave Parent, bassist Matt Freeman plays Heino, and drummer Brett Reed voices Cop #3. X's John Doe plays Hex, Billie Joe Armstrong of Green Day plays a cashier named Charlie, and Vandals/A Perfect Circle drummer Josh Freese plays Prosecutor Bug.
Others musicians in the cast are Vandals singer/guitarist Warren Fitzgerald, AFI singer Davey Havok, Lunachicks singer Theo Kogan, Blink 182/Box Car Racer drummer Travis Barker, Tiger Army singer Nick 13, White Zombie bassist Sean Yseult, and bassist Janis Tanaka (who has played with L7, Auntiechrist, Pink, and the Mr. T Experience). It also includes Broadway style songs, making it sound vaguely reminiscent of 'Hedwig and the angry inch.'
Most fans of any of those bands will see the film out of idle curiosity if not a genuine desire. I know that many AFI fans are desperate to see it to make up for their inability to locate the low budget 'Mary Jane's Not a Virgin Anymore' which has Davey Havok in a small role. Inevitably I will catch the film in a couple of years time, probably on VHS as it is unlikely to come out at cinemas in the UK given the current climate and the general reaction to films such as 'Brain Dead', the Blink 182 linked 'Godmoney' and 'Strangeland' produced by Twisted Sister's Dee Snider.
Looking over the long list of films that have starred or featured musicians and bands it seems that perhaps the best course of action is to be the band that randomly plays on stage at some point throughout the film, for example the Deftones and a couple of others in 'The Crow' franchise, 7 Year Bitch in the embarrassingly bad 'Mad Love', L7 in 'Serial Mom', Jane's addiction's brief appearance in 'The Faculty' or Marilyn Manson and Twiggy's cameos as hookers in 'Lost Highway'.
Or even better start out in film and then dabble in music, Jared Leto, that way even if you receive bad critical reviews and sell fewer albums than was hoped then the loyal fans will remember the attempt to be something more than a pretty boy... Keanu Reeves anyone?
