He knows where his bread is buttered
It turned out to be a breakout year for funnyman JACK BLACK, who had a hit with his very first starring role in “School of Rock.” When we spent the afternoon with Black at a Cubs game this fall, he told us his biggest comedic influence is the late JOHN BELUSHI. It’s in the eyes.
“Never underestimate the power of the eyebrows,” Black told Armour & Co. “Belushi had the most muscular face in the history of comedy. And every one of those muscles could make you bust out in laughter. I, myself, have a very strict face muscle exercise regimen. I know that it’s an important tool. I’ll never get Botox injections in my forehead. I’ll let the wrinkles happen because I know my eyebrows are my bread and butter.”
Black was just one of several celebrities we chatted with in 2003. Sprinkled about this page are a few of the more interesting comments of the year.
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‘I’m still amazed at what they pay us to do the episodes each week. It’s crazy. But now I’m making Don Knotts money.’
— That’s “King of Queens” star KEVIN JAMES on the benefits of his sitcom reaching syndication.
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‘I guess a lot of people have thought of my work as odd and yet they meet me and they say, “Well, this is a normal conversation we’re having, why is the work so odd?” In reality, I’m actually downright boring.’
— That’s actor NICOLAS CAGE, who this year starred in “Matchstick Men,” explaining that people have a hard time separating his onscreen persona from his offscreen persona.
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‘You just have to be able to turn down movies you don’t like and turn down the money. The rub is when the script isn’t good and you try to convince yourself that this could be a great film. When you get older, you just stop lying to yourself.’
— That’s Evanston native JOHN CUSACK, who this year starred in “Max,” “Identity” and “Runaway Jury,” talking to us about how he chooses his roles.
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‘I am a ditz. I stick my foot in my mouth all the time. I say things I shouldn’t. I don’t think before I talk. That’s just who I am.’
— That’s it girl of the year JESSICA SIMPSON talking about the popularity of her MTV reality show “Newly-weds,” which doesn’t make her look too bright.
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– That’s actor and Scientologist JOHN TRAVOLTA telling us why he loves to go on OPRAH’s show.
‘She brings out the top end of your personality because she has nothing but pure positive energy. She’s a miracle in my opinion. I just think she’s the bomb.’
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‘I get along with most anyone. I do have a bad temper, but since it usually doesn’t last very long and I lose it 1/50th of the time that most people do, I don’t see what the problem is.’
— That’s Steppenwolf alum JOHN MALKOVICH talking to us about his reputation as an intimidating person.
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‘You went out and played for $2 and one of your buddies would sing with you, but you had to buy them a drink. The drink was $2.50. When I got off at night, I was always in the red.’
— That’s blues legend BUDDY GUY reminiscing about the early days of his career after finding out the U.S. Senate had declared 2003 “The Year of the Blues.”
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‘To me, playing a pop song is the most credible level of creative expression. You can condense the largest of emotions and the biggest of life experiences into one pop song.’
— That’s actor RUSSELL CROWE comparing his movie career to his music career as frontman of the band 30 Odd Foot of Grunts.
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‘Here I am on TV running my mouth, saying ‘I’ve got yachts and I’ve got mansions’ and then I’d go home to my [crappy] two-room apartment. There’d be all these notes on the door saying, ‘The Rock lives HERE.’ It was humbling.’
— That’s former WWE champion THE ROCK (DWAYNE JOHNSON), talking to us about the wrestler shtick he had to maintain before he became the star of films like “The Rundown.”
