He’s an aging professional who has grown smarter than the system to which he has indentured himself. The distance between his intelligence and the system’s need for myopy breeds cynicism and alienation. Finding himself the villain of his own story, he is sinking into a crisis in which his soul suddenly wants more than the system can give him.

Since at least Out of Sight, and most effectively in the tremendously underrated Michael Clayton, Clooney has explored iteration after iteration of this role in the way Tom Cruise used to play the young hot-shot needing mature guidance. Being a smart star, Clooney has chosen a character (or a character has chosen him) that is indelible to this modern time and place. It has made Clooney a star worth investing in.

The American sees Clooney as a darker shade of this hero, an underworld weapons expert forever on the move. He arrives in a picturesque Italian villa to slowly custom-build a high-powered weapon for a sexy female assassin (Thekla Reuten). His instinct is to keep a low profile, to stay professional, to submit to the system, even though he feels it closing in. A recent tragedy finds this taciturn wanderer slowly opening to human connection. He befriends a priest (Paolo Bonacetti) who knows a sinner when he sees one. He succumbs to the beauty of a gorgeous prostitute (Violante Placido) who views an American as a path to another life.

It’s too bad Grahame Greene has already used the title “The Quiet American.” It perfectly fits this film’s hushed European style, its alienation of chilly foreign imagery. Its pictorial power comes from director Anton Corbijn (Control), a legendary rock world photographer. As a young man, he matched moody images to the moody music of Joy Division. The American shares that same icy mystery. The town’s narrow stone corridors seep with paranoia. Clooney’s attraction to a gorgeous spot of countryside serves as an antidote of liberating beauty.

Clooney’s charm and charisma usually soften films with the Clooney hero. They are stories of alienation without feeling like stories of alienation, missing that cold Antonioni thing of watching characters come apart in the emptiness. Not so in The American.  For one picture, Clooney scrubs down the charm and hides it in a shell. The film relates his character to a butterfly, but really he’s stuck in a cocoon, a permanent state of transformation, unable to fly away.

Image from www.danielleatethesandwich.net

Simply a great way to begin a Sunday, Danielle Ate the Sandwich was filled with charm, wit and, more importantly, great songs. Opening the day at noon on the Wolf Stage, this band came out ready to entertain. Armed with a box full of “free shit” to throw to fans and a handmade sign draped over a monitor at the front of the stage (she only later revealed her Danielle Ate the Sandwich clock necklace, a la Flava Flav), they worked the crowd. Despite being slightly dwarfed by the giant “W” already overhead for a band playing later that day, the trio had tremendous presence on stage.

From her demeanor, one would think Danielle’s lyrics would be slightly more biting, but she surprises with subtlety. Her songs show her take on everyday life, society, and relationships. Her delivery is beautiful and from the heart. She does hint at her sarcastic disposition with “American Dream,” while showing a bit more silliness with “El Paso.” And you haven’t really heard anything until you hear Danielle Ate the Sandwich covering Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance.” Her new album, Two Bedroom Apartment, is brought to life on stage by Danielle and her ukulele, and the addition of a violin, bass, and male backing vocals.

The group made the audience feel at home and part of the show, bantering with each other and the crowd. Many fans showed up with sandwiches or bread for the sandwich party later. There were even a few surprise shout-outs from old schoolmates and teachers. Danielle’s quirky, dry sense of humor instantly made you want to befriend her and find your related pet peeves. Danielle Ate the Sandwich definitely made it worth showing up at the beginning of the festival. They transformed a hot Sunday afternoon into more of a spring picnic with friends. They weren’t fancy or flashy, but they didn’t need to be. They captivated the crowd with humor and song. See them live or watch her on YouTube, but give them a go.

STANDOUT TRACKS: “American Dream,” “El Paso,” “Canada”

FOR FANS OF: Kate Nash, Lily Allen

CHECK OUT THE ARTIST HERE.

DOWNLOAD SONGS HERE.

CHECK OUT THE PHYSICAL PRODUCT HERE.

Michelle Rodriguez: It was like, “Holy shnap. It’s about time.” I’ve always wanted to work with Robert. He’s a cool cat. He understands. There’s only a handful of directors, I think, who really understand what I’d call the chemical balance between a man and a woman and a woman’s body, but most people consider it the strong woman character. Not many people understand how to balance that out properly so she’s sexy and kicks ass. He gets it, so I’ve always wanted to work with him. So, hands down, he calls me up and I’m just like, “Yep. I’m in.”

EI: Is there a special cultural significance because he’s telling these stories that incorporate day laborers and immigration legend?

MR: It’s rough because there’s a massive, almost inevitable footprint from the African American community impacting the film industry since the beginning of film, impacting the music industry since the beginning of music in this country pretty much, and I feel like the imprint that the Latin community has made culturally throughout the years is kind of gray. It isn’t like we can really put a massive stamp on it and say, “Oh my God, this really expresses what it’s like to be American and Latin.” It’s all drug dealers or maids. Jennifer Lopez is the closest that we’ve come, and we’re a part of it, basically. We’re that movement. Rita Moreno…Westside Story… So for me personally, culturally, it’s like saying to our own Latin community, “Listen, there’s a massive voice of American Latinos that are different from your culture, and we need a voice. So let’s start making some movies.” So I just really appreciate that Robert has been around to make that impact because he’s truly…I mean, since Desperado and…El Mariachi… I didn’t really know about El Mariachi because I’m a very commercial, kind of pop culture kind of person when it comes to being exposed to my own Latin community. Isn’t that sad? But I’m an American, so Robert has really been a big part of sharing the happy voice with the world. I feel like the grand majority of the time, if there’s any voice, it’s kind of a sad story about something important that happened. Sometimes you just want to have fun, and we’re at those movies.

EI: Everyone in the movie who’s anti-illegal immigration turns out to have an ulterior motive or, in your case, you change your mind — as an ice agent, she ends up switching sides. Do you think that reflects the current political climate?

Jessica Alba: I think it’s about education and knowledge. When you start questioning authority and questioning the government and rules and laws, and digging beyond the rhetoric, you discover your own opinion. You discover your own stance. This movie is about that. It’s about not judging a book by its cover — it’s about having your own opinion, having your own voice, and hopefully connecting with humanity instead of picking a political side.

EI: Michelle, you had a scene with Robert DeNiro. Was that intimidating at all?

MR: Dude, I wish. I was shooting “Battle Los Angeles,” so we actually shot in different locations on different days. I was so pissed. I was like, “Dude, come on. Seriously? For this one little scene you’re going to keep me here in Louisiana when I could be in Austin shooting with De Niro?” But Neal [Moritz] didn’t move it around. Whatever. It’s all good. But I still love DeNiro.

EI: Jessica, finally the stilettos get to be put to some good use…

JA: Finally. They were killing my feet.

MR: Dude. I saw that scene yesterday. That was hot.

EI: What was it like to shoot that? Because you obviously have to walk in those too…

JA: Walking isn’t it as fun as putting it into someone’s eye. That’s for sure.

EI: Are you comfortable working in such high shoes like that?

JA: They were three inches, so they looked much higher. Robert knows how to put the camera low to make you look longer than you actually are, so that’s good. Three inches wasn’t too high, but no, they weren’t that comfortable, especially in…what, 104 degrees in Austin, Texas.

MR: That scene was so cool, dude. What you did with those stilettos — hot.

EI: Robert said there will be an expanded cut on the DVD. Can you talk about some scenes you shot that didn’t make the film that might make the DVD?

MR: I wonder what he’s going to throw in there. I’m sure that’s going to be fun.

JA: I think we should just wait for it because you take a leap of faith as an actress. I’m not going to speak for you, but you do with Robert, and you trust him knowing that he’s going to put it together a certain way. So we’ll just see what happens.

EI: Jessica, you’ve done both action films and comedies now. Do you prefer one over the other? And can you talk about the differences for you?

JA: I love doing both. I’ve always had a soft spot for action. I basically started my adult career doing a TV show that Jim Cameron produced… He’s another one who knows how to write strong women. So that’s where I started and I’ve always loved that, but comedy is why I started acting in the first place. So I love both.

EI: What’s the word on Fantastic Four 3?

JA: I don’t know, but I’m in The Little Fockers, which is a number 3.

EI: Can you talk about Machete being released in the current political climate and what it’s like for you two, as artists, to be asked about your political views in a setting like this, at a time like this?

MR: I personally find it to be extraordinarily fun because of the fact that you can get away with so much with a comedy or with an exploitation film. It’s the fact that, at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter that this person said that derogatory term, or this person really feels that way about Latin people — like they should all die and murder them at the gates. It’s an exploitation film where a guy swings off of another person’s intestine into a building. So it’s totally okay, but at the end of the day, those words said by both parties — both the Latin community parties and the American hick individuals in the script — they will resonate with you when you walk out of the theater because they are real opinions from real people. It’s just exaggerated in an exploitative film. So if anyone leaves with anything, it’s the acknowledgment that we’re living in a society where people still are judgmental idiots, and this film really feeds off of that like no tomorrow.

JA: I also think it’s exciting for us as artists. Usually we’re just entertaining and everything is, most of the time, pure commercial entertainment, especially in Hollywood. There isn’t a whole lot of emphasis on much else, and film is used in other places in the world for political messages, and its art in all different forms because people don’t have a voice and their government keeps them from having a voice. So knowing that we can participate in something that is socially and politically relevant, even in one of the biggest pop culture makers in the world — Hollywood — I think that’s awesome — being able to participate in that, personally.

EI: I know you both have scenes with Danny Trejo that are on the sultry side. Jessica, I know you only kissed him, but Michelle, I know you had a steamy scene…

MR: Why does everyone care so much about what girls do with their privates?

EI: Well, ever since Desperado, what it is about Danny that makes him so compelling? It doesn’t seem so far-fetched that he’d walk through and hot women would be falling at his feet…

JA: You should see him on set. Hot women were constantly falling at his feet.

MR: He’s a sweetheart, man. I mean, that guy’s heart could attract a thousand women, I’m sure. There’s something about him as a person that just is very innocent and sweet, even though in appearance it might not seem that way. I can see, in his youth, him probably attracting a lot of women. Dude, I’m serious.  It’s the face. The face is so rough. It’s so weathered that it looks like he’s been through so much that it would put you off, but when you look in his eyes, you see this innocence. You’re like, oh, okay. It’s okay to lay on this guy’s chest. It’s okay to hold him. It’s all right to be around him. He’s not going to attack you.

EI: If Robert brought this back in a sequel, would you two be up for that? And Michelle, I can totally see a spin-off for your character…

MR: Oh, yeah, in a heartbeat. I love working with him. He’s awesome.

JA: The same, of course.

EI: Was there anything from the script you guys read that was different from the final cut of the film? And was there anything in that final cut that really shocked you?

JA: There was a lot less.

MR: I think you guys are really going to be surprised…

JA: About the extended version.

MR: I kind of knew from the jump that it was going to be some crazy-ass stuff. At the beginning, I wasn’t expecting that. So there are definite moments, especially after the special FX were added, where I’m like, “Okay, yeah. Pow. Whoa. Yes.”

JA: It’s one thing to read it and another thing to watch it.

MR: To feel it, yeah.

EI: Michelle, can you talk about doing action scenes and then doing further action scenes without depth perception? When you lost the eye, was it harder?

MR: Oh, no. It was actually… Do you use both eyes to create depth perception? I thought I still had a little depth perception with one eye. I don’t know. Maybe if you covered my ears I might get a little groggy and not know where I am and maybe my depth perception would be hurt at that point. I know you’re looking at me with your furrowed brow. Stop it. No, it didn’t effect me. I was pretty cool. The hearing made up for whatever covering one eye did.

EI: At one point, Machete said he wanted the senator to get him to stop saying stupid things. Who do you wish would stop saying stupid things?

MR: Gosh. All ignorant people on the planet who don’t know how to love. They should all stop saying stupid things. They should all just get shot in the throat [laughs]. That would be great. I think I summed it all up with that one.

JA: Oh, my God, that’s hilarious.

EI: Jessica, can you talk about what you think about the new law in Arizona, since this movie is about immigration?

JA: I think it’s disgusting that a state thinks it can override the Constitution and try to override the federal government and make their own laws. I think it’s ridiculous and it’s divisive, and it’s also totally racist.

Glee's Ryan Murphy & Jane Lynch (Getty Images)

Herein lies the trouble. Some of the biggest possible story-lines that could have emerged from the night were side-stepped. Conan didn’t win for his version of the The Tonight Show. Honestly, minus Lost’s possible swan song statue grab, this may be the only reason I and others watched. Instead, the award for Best Variety Series went, for the eighth year in a row, to The Daily Show. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. In a while, Daily Show and Colbert Report might be taught in classrooms as essential parts of our era and will definitely be covered in the Communications halls of colleges for decades to come. I’ve gone on before about how political bent or right or wrongness aside, these shows are important. But like Al Pacino winning an Oscar for Scent of a Woman and oh, I dunno, not anything before that, sometimes awards are given out as condolences, compensation for past oops-es, or larger posthumous congratulations or notices. Conan really should have won for this reason. His taking to stage and grabbing the Emmy on NBC for the show they canceled in the worst way possible would have been historic, at least in the context of these things…

“These things” being awards shows. Especially in the midst of the great recession, it’s harder to relate to the be-tuxed and be-jeweled rich and famous as they pat themselves on the collective back for a job well done. It’s curious, at least, how the Emmy’s have a category awarding the Best Award Show. To anyone whose job or wages have been cut at the local auto plant, it might as well all be as real-world relative or helpful as a girl having an imaginary tea party. But it’s not that such categories don’t make sense, and that some form of congratulations isn’t deserved. The amount of work that goes into any show is daunting, particularly one like a live awards telecast or the opening to an Olympic ceremony, for example. For all the griping about how celebrities get payed bank to “do nothing,” many of them work as hard or harder than anyone else.

Let me peel back the illusion by a smidgen. Glee, which won an actor trophy as well as a director trophy, most notably, was hard back at work on Monday morning before I was…and I clock in at 7:00 a.m. Joel McHale, who was at the Emmy’s, acted in commercial spots during it and still managed to host E!’s The Soup the previous Friday, had Community shooting again just as early, and the dude is still jet-setting across the country to do stand-up. Of course, these people make a lot of money in the process, but they’re still busting arse. And the Emmys that get handed out to the people we see on the show are maybe more reward for the people we don’t — the PAs, the set builders and dressers, the office assistants who pull 14-hour days on a half-hour weekly… It’s still work; it’s just different.

That said, it’d be nice if the returning soldier from Iraq this week got the fanfare that the Emmys did. Or person Y in city X for working doubles and pinching pennies just to put dinners on the kids’ table. Then again, in reality, person Y and the returning Iraqi soldier still have their favorite celebs, shows, entertainments — which, in their own way, are necessary (see Daily Show), so the wheel goes round and round.

Al Pacino (Getty Images)

Getting back to the rungs on that wheel, let’s observe Mr. Pacino. He won his second Emmy for his second HBO project, You Don’t Know Jack, a biopic about Jack Kevorkian. One of the biggest surprises of the night, for me anyway, was that Dr. Jack was in attendance and just how public perception seems to have changed in the 15 years or so since he dominated headlines. Art is good for marking the time this way, but by the time the show got to these categories, the drama and mini-series stuff, a.k.a. as more accents and Brit actors were showing up in clips, the show was dragging and had lost its initial rocket propelled take off to settle into orbit. Potential surprises and narratives gave way to the old guard and the typical, which were mostly for the tele-file anyway. Temple Grandin, another HBO telepic, did big, but how many people have seen it? Lost went away completely empty-handed which, admitting my bias, seems almost impossible, at least in the directing category, where Jack Bender lost for the finale to Dexter. But I’ve never seen Dexter, so how could I know? That’s the thing with the Emmys — after a while, it’s a little too specific, there’s just too much to see, and so much that’s chosen doesn’t have the widest breadth of audience. The Oscars have suffered from this too and have expanded their Best Picture category to include some blockbusters, but indies still rule the day.

When it was all said and done, even the Emmys’ best chance to capture the audience, the Best Comedy category, was an inevitable split. It has been an exciting year for television, but Glee and Modern Family split right down the middle, leaving half the Emmy-watchers unhappy. Modern Family won deservedly, but Glee could have just in the same way. There’s always next year, where the Emmys will be challenged to stay fresh again as the same projects are nominated in the same categories with many of the same winners. That’s the other problem with the Emmys — nothing’s new. Top Chef winning Best Reality Show was a “huge shock” apparently, but to who? Only so many people follow the Emmys and the industry that closely. Mostly people want their tastes to be rewarded, and when they aren’t, the whole shebang can begin to taste sour.

NBC did give it their best shot. It was the first time I watched since Conan hosted what seems like a different world ago, and Fallon is an inherently likable, good-natured talent. Hopefully more audiences follow him to his version of Late Night. But over all, let’s call it a mixed bag. It’s kind of a strange time for glitz and for TV as it grows more and more specific. In a way, that’s why Modern Family is a deserved win — it’s a rare, uniting, feel-good family show that, like oodles of shows before, is “saving the sitcom.” And NBC didn’t do much but save the audience from last year. They added a few hundred thousand viewers and got the accolade of being the most-watched Emmys in four years, but still about the same. Call it all an “eh.”

“The darkness that surrounds us can’t hurt us — it’s the darkness in the heart of our souls that turns us into murderers.” You don’t get a more succinct depiction of the internal/external struggles facing certain men from certain places than you do from “Cult Assassin,” the first, mighty track on an album swelling under the weight of its own massive sound.   Kill Devil Hills isn’t the first time that DJ Muggs and Ill Bill have worked together, but it’s the first time they’ve released anything that sounds like it could fight in the same weight category as their usual company.   This album has balls so big, they have their own gravity.

By the artist’s own admittance, this is an album that got carried away with itself.  It’s a juggernaut of a vehicle with a momentum dictating its own concepts.  With defining performances from such distinguished collaborators as Sick Jacken, Sean Price, OC, B-Real, Q-unique, and Raekwon, along with a couple of others, the atmosphere is thick, bleak, almost gothic.   Whilst it’s true that each guest comes in and does their own thing, improv rhymes are shaped and a theme becomes stinkingly obvious.   This has all the flavor of a concept album, but it’s as if the sculpture revealed itself from the stone rather than having any firm commitment of design at the outset.

Themes of mistrust, assassination, control, conspiracy, and psycho-wars are not just touched upon — they’re deconstructed and kicked two ways up the street.   Tracks like “Chase Manhattan” borrow 1970s cop-show funk-swing horns to house samples of gun-toting assailants.   Violence may be stylized but still feels real.   The problem is the crime of ignorance of how The Man is in control of everything, from radios and TVs to narcotic substances and Battlefronts.

Rhyming tempos swing dramatically from fast, personal confession to the slow delivery of political facts; statistics of just who is funding who, from Guatemalan Guerrillas to Hezbollah.  “Kill Devil Hills,” the title track, reads more like angry modern history than anything else.   If the socio-economic figures are disputable, what isn’t in question is the level of frustration.    Frustration is vented, not only at the state of modern governments and the New World Order but at the distressing ignorance of the Citizen. The biggest threat, it seems, is the duplicitous political criminal who is deemed more sinister than the individual who may need to bend legislation and morality to survive.   Petty crime is sympathized with, whilst international deceits are condemned to hell.

This is a truly massive album — a short review can’t possibly describe the scale of its reach in groove, beat, and rhyme content.   It’s an album that will fill rooms, houses, entire blocks; the guest list alone is impressively solid.   Kill Devil Hills is a sick beat soundtrack for the Conspiracy-Theorists midnight dance party as they party in bare-knuckled brotherhood.

For Fans Of: Non Phixion, Cypress Hill, Jedi Mind Tricks, Raekwon,

Standout Tracks: “Cult Assassin,” “Millenniums Of Murder,” “Illuminati 666,” “Skulls & Guns,” “Kill Devil Hills”

More Information About This Artist At: www.soulassassins.com/

Purchase Music Download From: www.amazon.com

Purchase Physical Product From: www.amazon.com

Last Friday, celebrities and press alike flocked to the super chic and celebrity-friendly SLS Hotel in Beverly Hills. Emmy presenters and nominees took time out of their hectic schedules to score some of the latest up-and-coming products to hit the market (from jewelry to iPads) and other giveaways such as swanky vacations, perfect for the overworked celeb. Gavin B. Keilly, CEO of GBK productions, is one of the best in the business for putting on these celebrity gifting suites for events such as charities, award shows, private parties, and red carpets.

In describing some of the benefits of throwing these gifting suites, Keilly explained, “The pros are that celebrities find a lot about new products on the market, and the charities win tremendously, giving back 20%. They have the opportunity to meet the celebrities and the press. There really aren’t many cons.” Some of the big TV players to make an appearance included Jennifer Love Hewitt, Seth Green, Ted Barker, LL Cool J, Sharon Osbourne, and many other celebs who made quick cameos, both taking pictures with the products, the companies they were interested in, and some of the fans and press alike.

Some of the companies who participated in the gifting lounge included 3Lab (age-defying skin crème), Elana Sigal (jewelry), Giorgio Armani Beauty, Coca-Cola, Bacardi, RevitaLash, Apple (iPad), and Pin-Up Couture, just to name a few. Celebrities were allowed to visit each product booth, talk with representatives, take pictures with the products, and add these various objects to their very large black bags used to hold their selected items.

In discussing how he got into the business of gifting suites, Keilly admits that, “I actually just fell into this business. I started working charity events at the Osbournes and was responsible for getting celebrities gifts for attending. I realized that I could make money off this by having celebrities come to these events for the gifts and, in exchange, get photos of them with the products.”

In describing the process of which vendors are chosen for these events, Keilly explains, “We are always trying to find cool products that the celebrities will like. It doesn’t have to be brand new, but we want to find gifts that appeal to celebrities. Gifts range from watches to iPads. It really just depends on what makes the celebrities happy.” Overall, the event seemed to be a success — celebrities left happy, and the vendors were able to gain publicity for their various products represented. With good music, free drinks, free products, a ritzy atmosphere, and celebrity appearances, Keilly sure knows how to throw one good party!

Justin Long: Joni Mitchell’s Blue and Rubber Soul.

EI: What about the new Justin Bieber?

JL: Oh, yeah. It’d be his greatest hits. Leave it to Bieber.

Drew Barrymore: I’m going to go with Annie Hall, Lost in America, and Sullivan’s Travels. Those are some of my favorite movies.

EI: And which albums?

DB: Okay, I’m on it. Spank me. No, I’m just kidding. Like a Radiohead album and…I’m such a music nut too. This is really sad. It’s like sometimes when someone says, “What’s good at breakfast?” and it’s like you’ve never eaten before and your brain just goes blank. I’m going to call a brain blank on this one. I’m sticking with movies.

JL: I’m going to go Annie Hall, Back to the Future, and Way Out West.

EI: Drew, Erin is modern and sassy and more outspoken than some of the rom-com characters you’ve played.  Did the fact that she was more of a modern woman attract you to the part?

DB: Yeah, I was excited to play it. I just wasn’t in that place in my life where I wanted to play a cuckoo, wacky, role-reversal sort of scenario. We’re all travelers, and you try to make distance work with relationships, and she’s someone who can hang out with guys and loves women but has a spine and is funny. I feel like I relate to that kind of person right now in my life, so it was a pleasure for me to get to improv and just work in a much more free-flowing way where you could play around and you didn’t have to be censored because you have an R rating. That, to me, was just an absolute pleasure.

EI: Christina Applegate said that she couldn’t stare at you guys while you were naked — the scene where she walks in — even though Nanette Burstein [director] wanted her to stare longer…

JL: It’s like looking into the face of God.

EI: What were some of the most challenging scenes you guys did?

DB: One of the challenges that I was most excited about was doing the drunk scene. Nanette and I really focused on what type of drunk is she and what can we sort of ad-lib and what would be spontaneous and, if you were really angry, how would you just let loose? It was the most fun day of work ever because I really just let loose.

EI: And Justin?

JL: I would say that some of the naked stuff was a little uncomfortable, but I think the most challenging was trying to keep a straight face around this clown. A lot of the really intimate sexual stuff around a room full of 30 or 40 grown men was a challenge.

EI: Drew, you and Christina Applegate were brilliantly cast as sisters. You’ve both grown up in the business and the public eye. How do you think that kind of life has affected the person you are today?

DB: I thought it was interesting. I felt that we started to really look alike, which I thought was cool. I love when people cast siblings that actually, feasibly could have come from the same womb, so I felt like we started to morph. We used to be in a dance class together when we were kids, but she looked really good in spandex and I did not. I was horrified in the corner. But yeah, I’ve known her forever. We have a lot of parallels. It worked for us.

EI: One of the key moments in every romantic comedy is that first kiss, when we see how these two people are going to get together… When you know that scene is coming up, is there anticipation or fear about getting it right, or is it just part of the job and another regular moment?

JL: It’s like a necessary evil. The first kiss for us in the movie was kind of sloppy. We were drunk. We were stoned. I’m sorry… It was just so easy to do. It was so comfortable.

EI: Is that something you think about a lot before it happens?

JL: I like to think about my grandmother, just because she’s always been an inspiration to me in my life. No… Hopefully you’re invested in the scene. Sometimes it can be a surprise when you’ve never kissed anyone before, you’ve just met recently, and people have different ways of kissing and sometimes it can be jarringly uncomfortable. There can be very little movement involved and then like a quick, sudden movement from the tongue.

DB: I was just lucky because he’s a good kisser, so it’s like, “Whew. Thank God.” The worst is when you’re kissing somebody who’s not a good kisser and you’re trying to make it look good, and you feel like you’re just working on your own. Basically it was a real team effort.

JL: She’s a great kisser too.

EI: What is the most cherished item in your house?

JL: Any of my dogs are my most cherished thing.

EI: Can you talk about the improvising done on set? Was the phone sex scene off the cuff, or was that scripted?

DB: I think the Marky Mark was written for sure, and I was so excited to hit that. I really wanted to hit that hard.

JL: I think you told him that. Do you remember that?

DB: Oh my God, I did tell him that. I ran into him at an awards show and I said, “I just talked about hot you are and your underwear and fucking sexy…”

JL: I think it didn’t go over great.

DB: It didn’t, no.

JL: In his defense, it is a strange thing to come up and say. I don’t think he was prepared for it, but I think he was flattered.

DB: Who would not be excited about that? He’s a very nice guy. I’ve had other conversations with him that went much better than that. Nothing against him, for sure. That was a great scene written, and I was really excited to go out there and try it because I thought this was one of those scenes that’s going to fail miserably and be a really gross and upsetting moment, or it could be fun and exciting. It was just one of those scenes that you have to go for it, not knowing whether it’s going to work or not, but don’t compromise along the way.

EI: Were you actually on the phone with each other?

DB: Yeah.

JL: And we were comparing who had the more awkward experience: me as a guy in a room full of men while simulating masturbation, or Drew. All the crew guys in my room were trying to make jokes to keep it light. They were making sex jokes and it made it kind of more awkward. I had to kind of laugh and then get into this weird sexual mode, but I think Drew had it even more awkward because she said everyone in the room was being stone cold silent and respectful, and it made it just that much weirder for her. They were turning around and whispering. But then Nanette kept coming over to me and describing cinematically how to masturbate, how it would look better. She was like, “Try a little bit more up like this.” I was like, “Nanette, I think I know how to masturbate. I’ve had a lot of experience.”

EI: We’re really focusing on your characters’ relationship in the movie, but Jason Sudeikis and Charlie Day were hysterical in the film…

DB: I find that watching films, for me, work best when you’re really invested in the whole group of people, and I love films, whether it’s a Judd Apatow or a Christopher Guest…they have this great alumni quality, and you’re just really into all the people in it. You really like the people’s world, so when you cut back and forth between a couple and their friends or family, or just this group of people interacting — I love when the chemistry goes far beyond just the couple. This movie stands on that. Jim Gaffigan. I almost sabotaged every single one of his takes because he was so funny. I think one of the reasons I like this movie best is because of everybody in it.

JL: I pride myself on being able to hold it together and being stable, and I’ve never had a harder time keeping a straight face than working on this. Rob Riggle and Kristen Schaal — we were so lucky to be surrounded by all these people.

DB: I ruined most of her takes. I felt terrible.

EI: Do you feel like this is a recession romance?

DB: I do. I feel like I personally want something that I can escape into and sort of forget about what’s going on around me, but I don’t want to lose sight of being able to relate to something. So for me, I just want that beautiful striking balance, and I feel like this film has that. I’m laughing but I’m crying and relating and emotional about it. I feel like it gets surprisingly real, but then it does sort of come in and save you and make you laugh. I think the question is more eloquent than the answer, actually.

JL: I actually think that the fiscal realities of both of the characters play a large part in this, and it was nice to see that played out. I think a lot of people, especially now, relate to that, and the things that you take for granted when you enter into a long distance relationship, chief among them the logistics. Just getting from point A to point B and what’s involved in that.

DB: You’re like, “I can’t.” You want to see each other, but you can’t because of money or schedule…

EI: What do you have next?

DB: Everybody Loves Whales.

EI: It sounds environmental.

DB: It is.

If Cassel’s rogues gallery has often caked cinema screens with blood, then it’s likely connoisseurs will notice the acting talent that runs with it. As the son of legendary French performer Jean-Pierre Cassel (The Three Musketeers) and husband to Monica Bellucci, it’s not as if Cassel hasn’t been able to play men of some principle as The Crimson Rivers’ cop and the distraught boyfriend of Irreversible (with his character avenging Bellucci’s). But somehow it’s the humane energy that Cassel puts into his most popular, immoral bent that makes evil acts understandable if somehow even likable, even when he’s about to kill a baby as the pathetic crime heir of Eastern Promises. For Cassel is the kind of bad guy whose magnetism always puts audiences under his wild-eyed command.

Much of the same can be said for the real-life super villain Jacques Mesrine, a master escape artist, robber, and likely killer. Yet his panache made the thousands of people he’d likely victimize into his number-one fans. Now the stranger-than-fiction escapades of Mesrine provide Vincent Cassel with his ultimate bad-guy role. Over the course of two riveting films, Cassel gets to indulge in alternately humorous and horrifying acts that make our Scarface seem like a piker as Mesrine rises to public enemy number one. It’s a cavalcade of kidnappings, beatings, awful prison stints, and animal attraction that Cassel gets to make mincemeat of. But make no mistake that his performance resembles any cartoon crime lord. In Cassel’s capable hands, Jacques Mesrine is very much human, alternately likable and terrifying in his rush to become France’s answer to John Dillinger — an amazing performance that truly puts Vincent Cassel at the top of the criminal world.

Daniel Schweiger: They say that an actor has to truly empathize with the characters they play. Given the number of villainous people you portray so well, how much do you love Jacques Mesrine, and how much do you hate him?

Vincent Cassel: While I always need to understand my character, I’m not the kind of character who needs to like him or hate him, so there’s no passion from me toward Mesrine, but I am very interested in the contradictions he provokes. Many times, when we were shooting, I would turn back to the director and say, “We’re going to lose the audience because what this guy is doing right now is awful.” But the deal was to recreate the magic that happened in Mesrine’s lifetime, and even though this guy did all those terrible things, people still like him. So the deal from the start was not to hide anything. Yes, we’re going to keep Mesrine a racist. Yes, we’re going to keep him violent with women. Yes, we’re going to keep him killing people. But eventually, people might still root for him. And that’s Mesrine’s “magic.”

DS: Mesrine starts out like Scarface’s Tony Montana, in a way — a criminal with a moral code about whom he maims or kills, but that line gets crossed with the audience very quickly, which makes it even more troubling when we end up rooting for Mesrine to escape the cops. What was it that shocked you the most about Mesrine’s actions?

VC: It’s in the second film, when he tortures a journalist. The guy was a real extreme right-winger. He was terrible. A scumbag. But he didn’t deserve what Mesrine did to him. Mesrine’s accomplice even took us to the cave where it happened and gave us all the details. But somehow the reporter lived through it all, and when they accused Mesrine of trying to kill him, he said, “No I didn’t try to kill him or he’d be dead.” He probably survived because Mesrine couldn’t aim properly. His friend said, “I had to keep the reporter down with my foot with each and every bullet because he moved so much!” That’s the truth, and it was scary to hear that. I just wanted to get rid of that scene and move on.

DS: What do you think are the biggest tonal differences between part 1 and part 2 of Mesrine?

VC: The storytelling is different. Public Enemy #1 is a little more classical. Killer Instinct is more about getting into the ego of the guy, where everything becomes too much. There are a lot of jump cuts from one thing to another because it’s more about the craziness of it all. So in that way, I think the second movie is more complex. I think it’s also more depressing because the first one is the rise of the guy, which is pretty inspiring in terms of energy. Then, in the second one, the guy goes crazy so he goes down, down, down until his death. That makes it a little pathetic, a little sadder.

DS: Do you think there’s something specifically “French” about Mesrine? Or do you think there’s kind of a universal “language” that master criminals like him, John Dillinger, and Pablo Escobar speak?

VC: Having played bad guys on a regular basis, I’m approached by people who are like them in real life — big dealers — and I realize that they love to be portrayed in cinema. I’ve talked to bank robbers who identify with Scarface. He might not exist, but they want to be him. It’s like they recognize themselves in him.

DS: When we meet Mesrine in Algeria, he’s already doing some horrendous stuff under order of the French army. In that way, do you think Mesrine is a government-made killer who really isn’t to be blamed for what he was shaped into?

VC: I think it maybe was justification that he found for his actions. Jacques Mesrine had a problem with authority. Doing these movies, I’ve discovered that people like my father, who came from the same generation as Mesrine, were ashamed of their parents because they lost the second World War. So when the war in Algeria happened, they were all willing to go there to wash the honor of the previous generation. It’s a very strange psychological mechanism.

DS: Do you think criminals like Mesrine want to be movie stars when it all comes down to it?

VC: I think that when you’re a real tough guy, you’re not making movies. You have something else to do, yet I think they would still like to have the recognition and all the glam of so-called celebrity. But you don’t get the same adrenaline because there’s no real danger in acting. Yeah, you can fuck up your career eventually, but that’s the worst thing that can happen to you. When researching my characters, these robbers would tell me crazy things for advise, like what happens when you go for a heist. Your heart’s pumping because you have no time. You have to hit the guy, and he has to feel you all the time until you’re out of the bank. “Gun in the face! Gun in the face! Don’t let him think for one second.”

DS: They had actually made a Mesrine film back in 1984.

VC: Yeah, but it was really bad. I think you can see bits and pieces of it on YouTube. It was made for no money. It was very stiff. Plus, it was too fresh. There were a lot of things that are portrayed in that movie that people couldn’t really tell the truth about at the time. The trial concerning Mesrine’s death ended like a month before we started shooting — 30 years later!

DS: What do you think really happened?

VC: I think the guy got too loud. The government felt like fools at the time. They just decided to terminate Mesrine, even though they never called it that. In ’78, one year before he died, Mesrine was the favorite celebrity of the French people. Everybody was looking for him, and he still managed to give an interview threatening the government. It was a cover story which showed Mesrine with a machine gun and hand grenades. At that point, the government just said, “Enough. Stop everything you’re doing right now and concentrate on finding him. We want to get rid of this guy.” So Mesrine died because he was too loud. Even today, there hasn’t been one murder that Mesrine has been accused of committing where he’s been proven to have been the actual killer. So we don’t even know that Mesrine truly killed anyone.

DS: One of the best scenes in the two Mesrine films is in part one, where he goes mad in ultra-solitary confinement. I can imagine it’s one thing to psych yourself up to play the tough guy, but it’s another to be absolutely convincing as someone who’s gone mad because of prison torture. What was it like shooting those scenes for you?

VC: A lot of people are telling me about how harsh that scene is, but it wasn’t the roughest thing to play because it’s all fake, really. The water was kind of warm, and the things they were hitting me with were soft, so it’s all about the choreography and the acting really. I didn’t suffer that day.

DS: You certainly made me believe it.

VC: It works. That’s what it’s all about. It wasn’t the roughest thing really. Actually, I think the roughest thing in Mesrine for me to play was when I had to torture that reporter. It was a very strange day because I felt like Mesrine’s accomplice was truly excited by what he was showing us. He was excited by the revival of that moment. I just wanted to shoot that scene and go.

DS: One of the first movies I truly noticed your criminal talents in was 1997’s Dobermann. It’s an incredible, ultra-violent crime film that has yet to be released in this country.

VC: I know. Miramax bought it and kept it in a locker room forever. Dobermann was pretty new for the French cinema at the time. We were killed by the press. They called us fascists. They called our director, Jan Kounen, a “Mussolini-an” director, whatever that means, but I guess when people get crazy about a movie, they start to use that terminology. But it also means that they’ve been touched by it, one way or another. If there’s a movie I’ve done that Mesrine also reminds me of, it’s Read My Lips. I think Mesrine is a mix of Dobermann and Read My Lips a bit because it has the craziness and graphic violence of Dobermann but in a less cartoonish way, and Mesrine also has the texture and truthfulness that Read My Lips had.

DS: For me, your true talent at playing so many great bad guys is how you invest even the worst of them with a real humanity, especially as Kirill in Eastern Promises, even when he’s about to drown a baby.

VC: If I’ve got a good guy to play, I’ll find the dirt in him. And if it’s a bad guy, I need to find the bright side to him. I think it’s that “bright” side that makes the villains more “real” on screen than the good guys. The truth is that we all do terrible things. Maybe not to that level, of course, because most of us don’t kill or rob banks, yet we all have skeletons in our closets. We cheat, we lie, and we can be cowards. But if you want to play a hero, you can’t really use those things. When you play a bad guy, you have to use those things. So all together, I think bad guys are closer to reality. They’re more human to me, most of the time.

DS: I read that they’re going to be doing a sequel to Eastern Promises. Would Kirill be back for it?

VC: Definitely.

DS: What’s happened to him since?

VC: I’m not going to tell you, but the idea is to make a sequel that would be shot in Russia using the same crew. I’m dying to do it because I really like the character — the complexity of him being a hidden gay person. Hopefully the film is going to go. It’s not quite sure yet, but I know David Cronenberg wants to do it, and I think Viggo Mortensen is interested, so hopefully it’s going to happen.

DS: Another one of my favorite villain parts you’ve done is playing Jean-Francois in Christophe Gans’ Brotherhood of the Wolf. Now you’re set to be in his Fantomas, who is a famed French super-villain.

VC: Fantomas is going to be a huge movie in terms of budget. It’s going to be around 60 million Euros, if not more, and we’re going to shoot it in 3D. It’s a superhero movie, except that they are all super-villains and their battlefield is the world. So that’s the idea of it.

DS: Like Despicable Me?

VC: Kind of, except it’s not a cartoon, but it will involve a lot of high technology and CGI. Fantomas was the master of disguise, but because this is more futuristic, we’ll use some kind of holograms and I will use other actors’ personas. I will be dressed with CGI and I will look like other actors, but it will always be “me.”

DS: You and your wife, Monica Bellucci, are essentially the Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie of France. In a way, do you think it’s easier to be that kind of superstar couple in France than in Hollywood?

VC: Definitely, but we’re not as known as them so it’s a different scale and it’s a little more normal, I guess. Here, that kind of celebrity culture comes to an extent that is really insane. People started to think it’s normal, and that’s the worst part of it, I guess. In Italy, they can also be stupid like that. But in France, I think we still have some kind of dignity about it. You can still sue people if they take pictures of you.

DS: What does it take to be the go-to Euro villain of Hollywood?

VC: First of all, I don’t really feel like that, but I don’t mind. I started with la haine, where I wasn’t a good guy. Then came Dobermann and Irreversible, so it’s not like I have to make an effort to play bad guys. It’s something I like. I say “bad guys” so people understand me, but to me, they are not bad. They’re just complex.

Mesrine: Killer Instinct (Part 1) opens August 27^th, and Mesrine: Public Enemy #1 (Part 2) on September 3rd

Hearing Connect The Dots for the first time will be a moment that music-lovers will cherish.  An unsigned quartet from Florida, Rabbit! will surely ride a swelling fan-base to greatness.  Two boys and two girls balance the weight of the workload and spread responsibilities in vocal turns, sometimes with the most endearing ‘call and answer’ approach to delivery, lending a tapestry feel to the collection.  Definitions of relationships and the dynamics within situations are all the more personable with their technique of multi-perspective narration.

This is an album of all-encompassing friendliness. If anything were to get sharper than the left-of-center lyrics, if ambition caused an over-reaching of sentiment, the authenticity would falter and fall.  Nothing here is contrived.   We’re in an area of naturally occurring wonder, where no producer has consulted the charts for direction, and no label has confined style.  Anything is viable topic under the scrutiny of Rabbit!

Of course, all acts want to be signed to sympathetic labels and achieve the largest audience their music will attract, but you get the feeling that Rabbit! would genuinely be happy playing for a room of five eager patrons just as much as they would be at the top of the Indie charts.

An air of wanting to get along with people — to seek out familiarities rather than confront differences — appears to be the theme.   Optimism, too, is the foundation of all the work “There’s always a Blue Sky out there, waiting for you to play under” is the refrain of “Blue Sky.”  It’s not the most complicated of lyrics, but it has a flavor of early, early Pink Floyd, during the Sid Barrett years, when psychedelic nonsense and honesty reigned.   It’s certainly the truest condensation of enthusiasm and outlook.

Set to be a crowd-pleaser is “Pea,” a song that details a simple little love affair which appears superficially uncomplicated but is, actually, deeply substantial in its emotional content.   Simplicity reveals greater truths with Zen precision.   The shortest route to the truth is the best route, and Rabbit! applies that philosophy like masters of the art.  Gentle, wry humor is employed to such effect that you automatically feel like you’re friends with a band who are tipping you the wink.   You’ll either get this or you won’t.   Getting past this one song alone is a real test.   The challenge lies in not hitting the replay button to revisit lyrical delights or one of the most catchy ‘la-la-la’ moments you’ll have heard anywhere.

Any music fan, on discovering Rabbit!, will revel in the content and unforced style.   Not only is this way above average in its genre, it has the feeling of being an accessory to life itself.   This is the kind of album that will only raise one debate — not over its quality or worth but over which is a listener’s favorite track and who loves it most.   At this point, I’m going to claim that I’m the happiest of all new recruits.

For Fans Of: Fanfarlo, Belle & Sebastian, The Moldy Peaches

Standout Tracks: “Pea,” “Recipe For Love,” “Blue Sky,” “Sleepwalking”

More Information About This Artist At: www.myspace.com/saverabbit

Purchase Music Download From: www.amazon.com

Jenny and Johnny are indie pop icon Jenny Lewis of Rilo Kiley and her significant other, singer/songwriter Johnathan Rice.

Besides fronting Rilo Kiley, Lewis has kept busy with two rather eclectic solo CDs and her acclaimed departure into bluegrass and gospel, Jenny Lewis with the Watson Twins. She’s also worked on various collaborations with the likes of Conor Oberst (Bright Eyes) and Elvis Costello.

Johnathan Rice debuted in 2005 at barely just 21, has two solid CDs under his belt, and has, along with Lewis, worked with Oberst and Costello. He’s also had songs featured on popular teen TV shows such as The O.C.

Rice and Lewis met in 2005 while working with Oberst in Los Angeles. They fell in love somewhere along the way and continued their musical collaborations. Rice produced a few tunes on Lewis’s Acid Tongue CD and joined her touring band. While on tour together in late 2009, they were having so much fun writing songs that they decided to record and perform these newest songs as a duo, Jenny and Johnny. They jetted back to Nebraska’s ARC studios and recorded I’m Having Fun Now.

And yes, it sounds like they really are having ‘fun’ with the guitar pop that makes up these tunes. Even when the lyrics get cynical, the musical hooks are there, and the verses are catchy and clever. There is an undeniable hopefulness in the tone of the music. The songs are often reminiscent of the Evan Dando (Lemonheads) and Juliana Hatfield (Blake Babies) pairings that helped lead the guitar pop resurgence of the ’90s.

This is a musical departure from what we’ve heard previously on both Lewis and Rice’s solo efforts — quite probably a romantic musical adventure as well.  But don’t let the pop moniker fool you. There is an edginess and a “won’t be constrained” attitude to these songs. Lewis and Rice won’t be locked in to anything simplistic and constantly throw more visceral, non-pop musical curve balls at those hooks. There are even a few dark moments. Some of Mike Viola’s songs with Candy Butchers come to mind when the darker mood of the lyrics contrast with the light sounds of the music. Producer Mike Mogis (Bright Eyes, Rilo Kiley, The Faint) makes it all blend seamlessly and throws in some ethereal transitional sounds harking back to The Wonder Stuff’s later period CDs and The Raveonettes reverb-heavy stylings. There’s a genuine cheerfulness, though, throughout most of these songs.

“Scissor Runner” opens the CD with prominent guitar chording and Rice and Lewis taking turns on vocals to narrate the two points of view about falling in love with a risk-taker and all it entails: “I’ll forgive you if I outlive you.” Briefly straying into REM musical territory combined with familiarly honed vocal harmonies on the tag-line, “I fell in love with a scissor runner” gives us a clue and sets the tone for what’s to come on the rest of the CD. There are also some great moments where they sing in unison and sound like one voice, as on the lament, “New Yorker Cartoon.” Lewis and Rice both have wide vocal and songwriting styles, and on this CD, each takes the best of the other’s work and makes it better.

“Scissor Runner,” “My Pet Snakes,” “Big Wave,” and “Just Like Zeus” are standout tracks that define the sound and seem to be the most autobiographical. The Nick Lowe-tinged “Committed” closes out the CD very nicely with a rocking marriage of pop and cautionary sarcasm.

A standard interpretation of the lyrics and musicality of these songs would be like trying to interpret an ongoing dialogue between two lovers. It’s hard to know where the literal, the spiritual, and the sarcastic meet and intertwine and then separate again, so it’s best left to the listener to make what you will of these musical conversations. There’s no doubt, though, that there is substance and intelligence behind the lyrics. The music has just enough sugar to make this CD go down easy, and enough clever surprises to keep things moving and interesting.

STANDOUT TRACKS: “Scissor Runner,” “My Pet Snakes,” “Big Wave,” “Just Like Zeus”

FOR FANS OF: Rilo Kiley, Juliana Hatfield, Candy Butchers, Vampire Weekend, The Raveonettes

FOR MORE INFO ON THIS BAND, GO HERE.