He's a real-life Rocky, the one who stands in the shadow of more obvious champs but ends up showing everyone or two. . . .
Previously, his boxing ring has been the world of rock 'n' roll and his victory has been millions of fans. But for a while now, he's been putting in long, hard days as he enters a new arena movies . . . without a trace of entitlement.
All this and much, much more, including movie-screen chemistry and actor authenticity, point to the news that everyday Jon Bon Jovi is becoming more and more of a contender in a game that only a short while ago wouldn't give him the time of day.
INGRID SISCHY: Jon, every time I've spoken to you during the past year and a half, you were either going into or coming out of working on a movie. Have you always worked your butt off like this?
JON BON JOVI; Yes. My real friends and my family know that if I'm not working I'm miserable. It's not for monetary reasons. I already have fame and fortune. Now I want to find the greatness in things - which is why I was attracted to the arts in the first place. Slowly, I have fallen in love with acting. And all the struggle here - the acting lessons, the indie movies - has taught me so much.
IS: At what moment did you say to yourself, "I want to make it as an actor?"
JBJ: People had come to me over the years, saying, "Why don't you get into movies?" But the truth is, I had too much respect for acting and actors to think that just because I was a singer in a rock band I could do this. Initially, it was only because I wrote the soundtrack to Young Guns II [1990] that I was introduced to acting. When I first went to the set, I realized how shallow I had become, because the only thing I knew how to do was write a record and tour. One of the great silly regrets I have is never having worked on the boardwalk for a summer and blown a summer spinning the wheel. I would have loved to have had that freedom and fun as a kid, but I always had a band, and I was always rehearsing and playing a block dance or something, because I wanted to play music so much.
IS: I'm going to want to talk about the music, but for now keep telling me how the acting thing developed.
JBJ: After that experience with Young Guns, which was frustrating from the music side, I decided to study acting, or at least find out about screenwriters and playwrights. Initially, it was to get my hands on great movie material to write songs for. People told me about this New York acting teacher, Harold Guskin. He wanted me to audition, to see if I was serious. I went to him with my legs crossed. arms folded. I had no way to emote whatsoever. Basically, I paid Harold Guskin $150 an hour to tell me, "OK, you suck." I stayed with the lessons for two years. I started to read these classic plays and get ideas, and I also began writing songs for what became Keep the Faith [1992].
IS: When was this?
JBJ: Around 1990, after Slippery When Wet [1986] and New Jersey [1988].
IS: They were monster-big albums.
JBL: Yeah, they sold in the eight digits. I was burnt out, physically and mentally. I was disillusioned. I got rid of the managers, agents, lawyers, almost everything. Eventually, I came out of my shell, started writing material again, and the band came back together and we progressed.
IS: When I met you, I was surprised, given your level of success, that you had both modesty and a sense of self-perspective. You had become this giant thing, but you weren't busy making sure everyone knew it.
JBJ: Hey, I know I've sold more than seventy-five million albums, and that's a lot of fucking records. I've outsold my peers. But I don't feel the need to puff my chest out.
IS: Why not?
JBJ: I'm older. I'm humbled.
IS: Were you ever full of yourself?
JBJ: Sure, during Slippery and New Jersey. And a lot of that arrogance, in retrospect, was out of fear of the success not being there forever. People who have to tell you how successful they are aren't really successful. That's something I learned sweeping floors at this recording studio called the Power Station. Mediocre stars were the biggest pricks, and the big stars were the ones who came in and said, "How're those demos going? Keep pushing, you'll get it. It'll happen for you."
IS: Go back even earlier.
JBJ: I went to Sayreville High School, in New Jersey. I was a loner. Both parents worked six days a week. I played in bars starting in the late '70s. It was hard, but it was magic, too, because I was lucky enough to be in Asbury Park when it was in its last stages as a scene. This was after Springsteen, but you still had the feeling that the next big band could come from there. I guess it was a little like that in Seattle a few years ago, or anywhere else where a music scene has happened. In my day, the only way to be successful was to play covers. But I realized in high school that the only way to get out of that scene was to play my own stuff.
ძალიან საინტერესოა...წაიკითხეთ!
BON JOVI, პოპ-როკის ერთ-ერთი უკანასკნელი მოჰიკანი
