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The quiet, reflective Jack BlackStar of 'School of Rock' on movie, Tenacious D
By Stephanie Snipes
ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) -- Jack Black doesn't want a hit from your joint. And he doesn't particularly enjoy being put in a headlock and given noogies either. But if Black, known for his outsized movie personality, is a little quieter in person, he's anything but boring. A recent interview with the star of "The School of Rock" was filled with colorful language, colorful observations and off-the-wall hilarity -- not to mention a few "Huh?" moments. Black is best known for his performance as a know-it-all record clerk in 2000's "High Fidelity" and as half of the humorous rock group Tenacious D. "The School of Rock," directed by Richard Linklater of "Dazed and Confused" fame, was written specifically for the actor and his style of comedy by "Chuck & Buck" and "The Good Girl" scribe Mike White. Black plays Dewey Finn, an unemployed musician who lands a gig as an elementary school teacher. Bored with reading, writing and arithmetic, Finn decides to turn his class into a rock 'n' roll band. CNN sat down with the actor to discuss the film. CNN: What was it like to work on "School of Rock?" JACK BLACK: It was definitely a big risky, kind of scary, thing to jump into, like all of them. But this time the weight is on my shoulders, crushing down. It was also really fun because I loved the script and obviously it's the closest to me as any of the characters that I've played. CNN: How about working with director Richard Linklater? BLACK: I was really excited to work with Richard because I've really loved his movies, especially "Dazed and Confused." We knew he would bring the right style to the picture. Even though the script is really funny, anything where you've got a bunch of kids is in danger of turning into an exploding cheese bomb with corn pellets flying out of the cheese. Philip Seymour Hoffman, 'archenemy'
CNN: Some have compared your comic style to that of John Belushi. Do you see a comparison? BLACK: No, there's no similarity. I don't party hard like he did. I party very soft and very rarely actually, which is a weird thing because people always want to party with me, running after me, chasing after me with big joints [saying], "Where are you going? You know you want it." But that's not true. I don't want it. I don't mind the comparison. I think he was a great comedian and definitely an influence. Not as much as some of the later ones [like] Chris Farley. I definitely feel closer to Farley than Belushi. CNN: You have a competition with Philip Seymour Hoffman ... BLACK: I call him my archenemy just 'cause he, early on, he stole all of my parts that I auditioned for ... for the last 10 roles he beat me every [freaking] time 'cause he's just a little bit better. CNN: You are both being considered for the movie adaptation of "A Confederacy of Dunces." Who do you think will get it? BLACK: He'll get that. Anything where there'd be consideration for prizes, he'll get that. But he'll never take my [freaking] clown crown. Good luck, [expletive]. That's miiinnneee. But he never goes up for those roles so I haven't been able to [freaking] shove it in his face. CNN: Do you miss being a cult star now that you are more mainstream? BLACK: It has its pain-in-the-[butt] things about it, but it's a small price to pay for the luxuries it affords. ... Like for instance, if I didn't have the mainstream whatever, I wouldn't have been able to make the Tenacious D movie we are making right now. ... It starts before there was a D. We haven't asked him yet, but hopefully we're going to get Meat Loaf to be my dad when I'm a kid. I run away from home because they don't understand me. I find Kyle Gass on the Venice Beach boardwalk ... we form the D, we go on our first epic quest. And that's all I can tell you, unfortunately. Hopefully it will be released at the end of next year. (A Tenacious D DVD is also on the way, for which Black notes, "I'm [also] proud of the menus. ... Nowadays, if your menus don't kick [butt], then you are lame.") The impact of stardom
CNN: Is there pressure when you go out? Do people give you their CDs? BLACK: The peer pressure? The psycho fan peer pressure? Yeah, I don't really leave the hotel room very much anymore. I have to plan [stuff] carefully out. [It] doesn't bother me if you give me a CD and walk away. It's the [freaking] screaming in my ear and putting me into a headlock for noogies that I really despise. CNN: Are you excited about hosting the season premiere of "Saturday Night Live?" [The show aired Saturday.] BLACK: "Excited's" not the word. More nervous and wishing it wasn't going to happen. I'm hoping for some kind of hurricane or something that would stop it from happening. That's the way I feel about everything though. I always feel dread ... the worst that could happen is if it's a horrible show, and everyone [freaking] sees it, and then [the viewers] don't go to the movie 'cause I was [crappy] on "SNL." Hopefully it will go like last time 'cause I had a [freaking] blast when it was all said and done.
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