Jack Black talks about Year One and School Of Rock 2 in this new interview
It’s been a while since funny-man Jack Black played the lead man in a blockbuster, recent outings like ‘Tropic Thunder’, ‘Margot at the Wedding’ saw him play support to bigger actors. But he’s back on top with this month with ‘Year One’, which he’ll follow next year with the big budget ‘Gullivers Travels’.
‘Year One’ is a comedy about two lazy hunter-gatherers (Jack Black and Michael Cera) who after being banished from their primitive village, set off on an epic journey through the ancient world.
Q: What is your new movie ‘Year One’ all about?
JB: “It’s a biblical comedy. It’s about the Old Testament and I play a dude wandering through biblical times. I’m not a famous character or anything. I’m just a normal dude just sort of wandering through with my buddy and you get to see all these old stories from a different point of view.”
Q: There are already comparisons being drawn between this and Monty Python’s ‘Life of Brian’.
JB: “I don’t think it will be as controversial but I would certainly love it to be as funny as that movie.”
Q: Were you a fan of dressing up in biblical costumes?
JB: “We have a lot of different looks actually. It starts off kind of tribal, coming from a tribe out in the forest and then we go to the desert where Abraham is and we get some biblical robes. We end up at Sodom and Gomorrah and get some Roman soldier gear.”
Q: Do the costumes make it easier to be funny?
JB: “Yeah, I think that kind of stuff can go a long way when you get a good look going.”
Q: It sounds like you had a lot of fun.
JB: ” Yeah, we had a great time. With Harold Ramis (Ghostbusters) at the helm directing and young Michael Cera who is very brilliant, there was a lot of fun to be had.”
Q: Is it true that Harold was influenced by your Tenacious D song ‘Cosmic Shame’ in making this movie?
JB: “Yeah, that’s what he said to me and it’s very flattering. I suspect he just said that to get me to do the movie. There’s some bad language in that but the idea in the song is that it’s about following your heart. Sometimes you’ll follow your heart and it won’t lead to anything but you have to try. You have to try because if you don’t, you’ll always regret it and you’re following, chasing your dreams. It’s a theme that I’ve been exploring for a while now.”
Q: So, is there a serious side to you?
JB: “Sure, most of the time. I’m not a clown on my days off, that’s just for the cameras, that’s my job now. I like to make people laugh but it’s exhausting, it’s not easy. I’m not one of those types that it’s always jokes, jokes, jokes.”
Q: What kind of movies do you watch?
JB: “I like sci-fi and action. Blade Runner I really like and The Road Warrior (Mad Max), but I also like more serious films like One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest and Clockwork Orange.”
Q: Finally, how is School Of Rock 2 shaping up?
JB: “It’s in development. It’s not official so I can’t say that it’s really happening yet. Hopefully all the pieces will come together but I’m hesitant to do it because I loved the first one and I haven’t got any sequels I want to do unless they’re better than the first one. Otherwise it just seems greedy.”
Year One is at cinemas from June 26th