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Film
Singer-Dancer Turned Actor-Producer, Usher Talks About Being "In The Mix"
posted on Nov 22, 2005
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| Usher stars as Darrell Williams in Lions Gate Films' "In The Mix" |
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| Usher stars as hot NY deejay, Darrell Williams, in "In The Mix," opening nationwide on Nov. 23 |
Usher takes a turn as the leading man in Lions Gate Films' "In the Mix," a love story between two people from different neighborhoods. The romantic comedy offers a contemporary spin on the classic 'Romeo and Julie' theme, two lovers from opposite sides of the track. At its heart the movie shows how the communities - one black and one Italian - come together and are, in fact, actually the same.
When New York's hottest nightclub deejay Darrell (Usher) saves a mob boss's life (Chazz Palminteri), he is rewarded for his bravery with the job of watching over the Don's beautiful daughter, Dolly (Emmanuelle Chriqui). The sparks soon begin to fly between this couple from very different worlds, against her formidable father's wishes. The Don, however, has other things on his mind - quashing a potential war with an arch-rival and controlling a young, ruthless challenger to this throne. In the end, all's fair in love and gangster warfare in this romantic comedy.
"In the Mix" is directed by Ron Underwood ("City Slickers," "Mighty Joe Young") and produced by John Dellaverson, the film's executive producers are Usher, Holly Davis-Carter, Bill Borden and Michael Paseornek. Dellaverson knew he wanted somebody special to play the character of Darrell Williams the young DJ that steals Dolly's heart. He was ecstatic when Usher agreed to come onboard for his first starring role. Says the producer, "We all know Usher for his music career, of course. But it really is amazing that his instincts and his strong sense of perfection and professionalism make him achieve what he does in this film. It's important to Usher to be honest and truthful in everything he does, and I really believe both him and his character." Borden agrees, "The audience is going to find a new American movie star. Usher is a phenomenal singer and, as they will see, he's an amazing actor."
Usher made his acting debut on UPN's "Moehsa," opposite Brandy, which resulted in a recurring role on the series and his first lead role in a movie, the 1998 thriller "The Faculty" co-starring Josh Hartnett and Elijah Wood. In 1999 he was cast in two more feature films, the high school comedy "She's All That," and his first starring role in the high school-based drama, Light It Up." In 2000 he followed up with roles in the Disney TV movie "Geppetto" as well as in "Texas Rangers."
As a musical artist. 2004 saw the release of Usher's fifth and most personal album, "Confessions," which dominated the album charts and broke numerous records last year. To date it has sold more than 15 million copies worldwide and has spun-off four #1 Pop and #1 R&B singles.
I sat down with Usher at the Beverly Regent Hotel in Beverly Hills, California, to discuss his dual role as an actor and executive producer of "In The Mix."
Q: How did you get involved in the project?
USHER: What happened was it came to me from my agent as something I could be involved in as an executive producer. We didn't have a cast associated with it when I got the script but there were a few people we had in mind. Lions Gate as well as myself put together a collection of actors we wanted to see and we began to do some screen tests. After the screen test with Emmanuelle it was undeniable…we had such chemistry that it worked.
Q: What did you actually do as an active executive producer?
Usher: Making sure the script was at 100% before we started. Making sure we had the right cast of people together and the right director.
Q: How did enjoy being both actor and executive producer?
USHER: For me, I take pride in everything that I do and try to be as involved and micro-manage everything I do as an artist. This was cool because my input was respected and they wanted me associated as an executive producer.
Q: What was the best part of being the executive producer and one of the film's stars?
USHER: Being an executive producer is actually okay because you're part of a committee and you're not the only decision maker ... you're not the only person making the decisions but at the end of the day, if you're not cool with it, you don't move forward. That made it easy for me because I didn't plan on being there for every issue or problem that happened. When they needed me I was there to help. If I noticed something and I had a specific comment about it, which I didn't because the entire cast was beautiful. I'd say this is probably the best cast I've worked with out of the five films that I've done.
Q: From a business point of view, are you feeling any box office pressure with the downslide in the box office?
USHER: Well I've always been taught to be optimistic. I kind of look at the pros ... Thanksgiving weekend, kids 5 to 80 can see the film, I'm taking off my shirt in the film (laughs). It worked for me last time, it should work for me this time. I'm not feeling any pressure at all. I wouldn't allow myself to feel that kind of pressure. This is a business. As an actor you look for the right role. If you have a good one, you have a good one and you continue to try to find the next best one. If you have one that isn't as successful as you expected, it is still part of who you are as an actor and giving you a point of reference.
Q: As a singer you haven't had this problem in a while, but what you do with a project that is not quite commercially successful. Do you start trippin' that "it's me" or do you think that it's just everything but you. How do you deal with that?
USHER: I think all actors that are major league successful probably had 10 that were bad ones before they had that good one. And I understand that because as an artist although I do have a fan base, my first album wasn't as successful as my most recent one. The more you do it, the better you get at it. You may just have that stroke of blessing that allows someone to do a real successful film. I just encourage everyone to go see it…everyone who has followed me throughout my career because this is just another step. Be supportive of it. It's the next step for me as an actor.
Q: Do you think people will be disappointed because you didn't sing or dance in the movie?
USHER: No, I did that by choice. I decided that I wouldn't sing or perform. There's this one little part at the end of the movie where I'm kind of clownin' around but it's not me really dancing. They begged me to "please dance" but I said I didn't want to dance. "I'm here to act and I'm not Usher, I'm Darrell Williams and you gotta deal with that." I don't think people will be disappointed.
Q; What are you goals in the entertainment field?
USHER: My ultimate goal is to be associated with entertainment in every aspect possible … as a dancer, as a singer, as an actor, even as a producer. That's a guardruple threat. That's the one thing that Fred Astaire, Gene Kelly, Ben Vereen and maybe Sammy Davis, Jr. forgot. I figured I wouldn't.
Finally, Usher describes "In The Mix" this way, "I've never quite seen a mobster's story told like this. I got a chance to be a suave, cool guy and be seen in some uncomfortable situations. I mean, just think about, Yoga class for Usher??!! That's just crazy - something I wouldn't normally do."
"In The Mix" opens nationwide on Nov. 23.
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