ROUND-TABLE: 'The Wackness' actor Method Man

Method Man is best known for his career in music but it is far from the only facet of his career and in fact as of late he has been finding a variety of ways to keep busy—including a role in coming-of-age The Wackness, the film to which we introduced you last week, as high schooler and pot peddler Luke's drug supplier Percy. I recently had the opportunity to participate in a round table with Method Man wherein some brilliant conversation took place and wherein the man talks about change, crappy music, and comic books. Enjoy the interview.

I think it’s a really ironic moment and a sweet moment when you hand Luke Ready to Die.
Oh, yeah, Biggie [Smalls]. I think [the director] Jonathan planned that right there. That was hot, though. I liked that.

Well, what did that mean to you? You’re the only other rapper, the only one [Biggie] invited to be on that album.
Yeah, I’ve said that before, but you know, I don’t like to yank my own chain. I’m the only rapper in The Game that did a song with him and Tupac when they were still a live.

Mm. I’m sorry, this is going to be hard. [laughs] But your transition—you seem to go here, you go there; you produce; you are doing the acting thing in a big way—
I don’t work nine-to-fives.

[we laugh] I was like, “What couldn’t you do!?” But which one for you is more creatively fulfilling?
Music. Of course, music. I’ve got more creative control when I do my music. Plus there’s not feeling like being in the stadium with 30,000 people singing the words to a song that you wrote.

What about this project attracted you?
Well, I wanted to do something independent. I had spoken to my manager about it. But I wanted to do something quality. And when we got this script and we read it, I was like, “Yeah, I want to work with Jonathan.” And he gave me the opportunity to give it a shot, so I commend that brother a lot for that.

Did you know anything about his work?
No. But YouTube is a mug, boy! [we laugh] So YouTube and All the Boys Love Mandy Lane. I saw the trailer for that. I wanted to see it. I don’t know whether it came out or not. It looked interesting. And when I met him—three things made me do the movie: one, like I told you, I wanted to do something independent; two, Ben Kingsley; and three, when I met Jonathan.

Tell us about meeting Ben and working with Ben.
That was crazy, because when I first got to the set and I was on my way to my trailer he was coming out of his trailer. And I didn’t know if I was going to get, like, sexy beast or Ghandi, man! [everybody laughs] He’s a little bit of both though. No, he’s a good guy. He’s a real good guy. I didn’t feel uncomfortable; he didn’t make me feel uncomfortable at all; I didn’t feel like I wasn’t supposed to be there—he’s very accommodating. He earned the title “Sir”, definitely.

The thing about this film is that it’s aiming to serve up a snapshot of live in 1994, largely through music, so how do you feel about the idea that this film could be opening up younger people to the music and the city in 1994 for the first time?
Well, a lot of these young people, if they didn’t grow up seeing it their parents is incredible. [laughs] I mean, you can’t even really call this a period piece because ’94 wasn’t really that long ago. The music was a lot better—I mean, coming up in ’94 and Jonathan trying to capture it in this film he had to include the music because it plays such a part in the early ‘90s, especially the hip-hop music, because I think it was that—dare I say—purest form, you know? It was more or less if you shine right here, and not necessarily through jewelry and cars and things like that. Yeah. It’s more grounded.

One of the things I wanted to say is that I remember that music—it sounds so good! It’s not really “old school” but—
The best analogy I can think of is you’re sitting in your car and you’re driving. The radio’s not too loud but loud enough. You hear a song that you haven’t heard in a long time. For me it’s “Before I Let You Go”, Frankie Beverly and Maze. [we laugh] It’s like, “Alright. Okay.” And all I know is that the feeling is hard to describe, but once that song is over you feel like you’ve just got to call that friend you ain’t spoken to in years, but this song just brought you back to that time and that point. Honestly, I think the music should have gotten a credit in the movie. [we laugh] It definitely pushed the story forward.

What happened to the radio today? I really can’t listen to the radio today!
You know what? I think a lot has to do with—they want to blame the artists, and of course we have to take some of the blame for it, but the record companies are pushing it out like fast food now, man. It’s hard for them to adjust to the Generation Y, because these kids, I don’t think they even understand what power they hold right now. You know, it’s like without knowing it they’re crippling the music industry by going on their computers and downloading and, you know, doing the things that we basically expect them to do, since they are the future of this planet and all that, and, I mean, we’re in a digital era. You know? A voyeuristic era too, man. Remember when we used to have to watch Rescue 911 and they had like the dramatizations? [we laugh] They don’t need that; they’ve got actual footage! It’s crazy. Yeah, the music is definitely—phew, god—but a lot has to do with the people behind it. Radio has to be behind it. The radio has to be held accountable. Record company execs have to be held accountable. And the artists.

But do you see potential in that online music community?
Oh yeah. It’s a double-edged sword, definitely, because if you’re an up-and-coming artist, trying to be recognized and be seen, that’s a great outlet. But if you’re already established, it’ll kill you.

Did you have any hand in the music that was selected for the film?
I didn’t hear the music. Except for the scene I did when we played the Biggie song. That was it. But I had a feeling that, you know, it was going to be a lot of music in this film. And when I finally heard the music it was at the premiere at Sundance and, I’m telling you, just sitting there and listening it was like—I couldn’t help but— [we laugh] I’m like, “Yeah, you got that, you got that!”

What are your memories from that time period?
The Wu Tang Clan was just hittin’. Really hittin’. We went to L.A. to get buzz out there. And my son got shot at that year.

Oh my god.
At like two years old. He’s still there though. Um… I was working on my solo album at the time—everything was just brand new. Everything was brand new. And, like, meeting stars for free, flying first class on an airplane, getting my own suite and not having to bunk with somebody all the damn time… [we laugh]

You’ve got such a background now of making movies. Does something like this inspire you to do something of your own?
I’ve always wanted to do something of my own before this, man. It’s just, don’t know, nature. A kid from the hood—I hate to sound cliché, I hate to say “from the hood”, but that’s where I’m from, and I mean… I’m ambitious. You know? And I’ve always wanted to make my own movie. I have ideas floating through my head all the time. That’s why when I got the opportunity to do this comic book [with Grand Central Publishing] I jumped at the chance, because I’ve been reading comic books ever since I was a little tyke. So we’re going to do that.

So would that movie in your mind be based on a comic book? On a superhero?
Yeah. Definitely.

Sweet. [we laugh]
Minus the love story, because they’re killing my comic books with them. Girls are going to come sit and see this anyway; a lot of girls like boys’ stuff. It’s just that—look at how many tickets Sex and the City sold, aight, that’s a mostly female audience—if you want to put girls in the seats, you don’t have to have the love story stuff in there; there’s other stuff they can go see. You know? The Notebook—was that the name of that damn movie? [we laugh] The Notebook—jeez.

So what’s your ideal superhero movie right now of the ones we already have?
Tops for me was definitely Sin City. A History of Violence. Some people didn’t know that was a comic book. I guess I’m going to see how Wanted does, even though they did a twist on the story, because they were supposed to be assassinating superheroes. And, well, Angelina Jolie keeps her mouth shut during most of the flick, so there can’t be too much love story there—no, she does it just to be taken more seriously, like, “That character wouldn’t say much.” And she’s right, that character wouldn’t say much. She’s a dope actress, though. Don’t get me wrong. No, action hero. [we laugh] She’s a dope action hero. Yeah.

Well, you like action, too. You want to be a—
I’ve gotta bulk up some more. I like more grounded stuff, like Requiem for a Dream. Stuff like that. That was hot. That movie took you to a million places.

[we laugh] You seem like you watch a lotta movies.
I do. And I’m a sucker for, like, nominees at Golden Globes and stuff like that. I will go check those movies. Just to throw my thumb down. [everyone laughs] I’m serious, ‘cause I hate all that artsy-fartsy shit. But when it’s artsy-fartsy and it’s good, I like it. [we laugh] Yes sir.

So you’ve been to Sundance before you came with The Wackness?
Nope. That was the first time.

So what was that like?
I was a small fish in a big pond. You know what? The experience could have been way more enjoyable than it was at first until all the swag stuff that I was invited to—those people that stand at those doors, you would think they’re giving away their own stuff, you know? I mean, I’ve got credentials. Why are you…? Just, peons need to stay where peons need to stay, let’s put it that way! [we laugh]

Well, a lot of press that’s been coming out of Sundance has been about the pot angle. And your guy is quite a dealer.
Yeah, he supplies, he supplies. But the way I see the character is he doesn’t see anything wrong with it. That’s his culture. So he doesn’t think he’s doing anything illegal. This is how we live where I’m from, and the reason why he and Luke are so tight is that being in the business that he’s in you can’t trust a lot of people. So when you find one you can trust you kinda, you know, tend to hang onto it.

So do you know anyone like Percy, living in like a barrack?
I know a lot of Percys. [we laugh] I know a lot of Percys. They’re still out there too, man. It’s a shame.

With the armed guards and—?
Oh boy, yeah! Yeah. Yes sir. Hell, they go on tours now.

Whoa! [we laugh]
There’s the real reason why crime went down. We took all the killers on tour with us! [everyone laughs]

Well, the thing that’s really interesting is that 1994 is a big change in New York City. You know, Giuliani’s time started. And a lot of changes in the city, some say for the better, some say for the worse, have happened. And it seems like that’s still going on today. Like a lot of places that were run down—Harlem is changing. LES is changing. A lot of people are being sort of run out. Do you see those sorts of comparisons in the film at all?
I didn’t see that part of it because that was actually coming from Luke’s perspective so it was just his world. And in a city as big as New York, to keep it that contained like that was a great job too, but the whole thing—you know, we had to survive Reaganomics first. That shit just ripped the whole city apart. Pardon my Swahili. But that shit just ripped the whole city apart, man, and the crack era just damaged us. Then Giuliani turns it into a police state, cops everywhere, which was good and bad because you had some dudes using excessive force—excessive—and I mean some people have died or been beaten or things wrongfully and Giuliani always stood by the side of the police officers. And a lot of people didn’t like him for that, and as far as cleaning up the city, he did Times Square—he definitely did Times Square—but the communities got better because the people in the communities got fed up and cleaned their own things up. So that’s what that was about. So you do still see a ripple effect from what happened at Times Square because now it’s spreading all the way up through Harlem. But the thing about Harlem is, they’re raising the rents and kicking the people out, and it’s like—that’s a culture in itself, because Harlem has a rich history, a rich black history, out there and it would be a shame to see that just thrown away.

Do you have any mixed feelings about doing a film that’s dealing with drugs?
No, I could care less. You’ve got to put it right in front of their faces now. That’s how I feel about it. The best education now—they say the way you teach the kids now is you put that shit in a movie or you put it on—what’s that show? That’s So Raven. There you go. [everyone laughs] No, wait, Hannah Montana. But I’m telling you, these kids are smart. [we laugh] They know a lot in this life. You can’t just tell them “Just say no!” anymore. And these stupid-ass commercials, they’re laughing at them. They make jokes out of them. It’s like the kids nowadays—I give them so much credit because there are a few that stray, and it’s bad that they’re the ones that get the press and all that, but there are a lot of ones that don’t stray away and are stable and are doing their things. And I wouldn’t mind putting my future in their hands.

Could you talk about the collaboration working with Jonathan Levine? It seems like parts of the film are autobiographical regarding what he actually experienced in 1994. How’d he handle that when he was directing you?
Look, when I came in, all I had to do was—he was like, “Dis the weed.” [we laugh] “When Luke comes in, turn it on.” And when Luke came in I turned it on. But watching the movie in hindsight it kind of made me think that maybe he is referencing his own life, especially with the music, because he was drawing off of—just from the way I felt hearing the music and stuff like that and how it pushed the story along, I felt, “This dude is drawing from personal experience.” I think we all sort of do that anyway. I think most directors, if they listened more and actually took in real life experience and shit—there go that Swahili word again—instead of just going—you know, Hollywood has that way of doing stuff. And I’ll simplify for you: even with fight scenes, when they make movies overseas and they do the fight scenes, as far as martial arts and stuff like that, they pull the camera back so it looks like ballet, it looks like a dance, and you can see every move. Over here the camera’s too close. They show you a fist in a face, maybe a kick, and that’s because mostly the stars that are starring in the movies can’t fight. [we laugh] And, you know, I was told by a studio exec that they want people to feel like they’re in the fight. They’ve been doing this for years and I’m sick of it. I’m so sick of it. That’s why I like a movie like 300. They know how to pull the camera back and actually show that, “Yeah, we paid these dudes some money to learn how to fight, first of all, to look good on camera second of all, and to look actually real while doing it.” That movie was incredible.

I feel like everything is pointing for you to make your own film, sir. [we laugh] You have very strong opinions on camerawork!
If I do I would like to make a film like that Bugsy Malone movie, with Scott Baio and all the kids and all. Yeah, that’s what I’m sayin’.

A musical?
Not even the musical aspect, but they dealt with gangster-type stuff but in a playful manner. Instead of shooting bullets they shot custard, bo-bo-bo-bop. Stuff like that.

Will you make something based on your own experiences like Jonathan did?
My own childhood experiences, yes. Definitely.

Why is that smile there? [we laugh]
I mean, I was just thinking. For some people, they will sit there and they’ll be like “Awww” when I tell them, but to me that shit is funny. [everyone laughs] It’s like when you grow up and you’re broke but everybody else that you live around is broke, you don’t notice that you’re broke. You know what I mean? It’s not that big of a deal.

You know, I’m happy that you’re making movies, but every time you do I get nervous.
Why?

Where’s the music?
I know. [we laugh] I know. And you know what, I’ve always worked on my music but in the past three years getting beat up by the media and radio and all these people it’s like I’ve been turned off, because if I was getting beat up and badgered by these people but in the same note these people that they’re praising have better music than me I wouldn’t have a problem with it. But when you’re saying something like, “Okay, Meth ain’t nice, but MC So-and-So is killin’ him right now, he’s got a song called—” I don’t know, “Sugar Da—”, I don’t know, whatever title they come up with nowadays, it’s the new dance club latest… who knows, man. That’s when I’ve got a problem with it. That’s when I have a big, big problem with it.

But what’s coming up for you in the future?
More music. Me and Redman are working on an album right now, and we’re trying to get it out in September. You know, Def Jam Records.

Well, now that you’ve mentioned Redman, I’m going to be completely hypocritical because I want to know of another project in film or TV or something with the two of you. Are there any plans?
We’re waiting on Dustin to finish writing How High, part two. The direction he went in we weren’t feeling. He was way out in space somewhere, and we told him we wanted something more grounded, more ghetto because, yes, we want to piss off bourgeie black people. [we laugh] We do, man. You know, I hate that bridge that we built to separate ourselves, man. It’s crazy.

What bridge?
You know, the bourgeies is here and the ghettos is here. You know? And when ghetto go bourgeie, I mean, a few of us reach back, but not a lot of us. Anybody got like that hot they just think they’re better than anybody else, or come across like they’re better than anybody else—and they just might be, but we don’t want to know it.

What are the other people you look up to?
I just met my man downstairs—I forgot his name, man, and I admire that man so much. The afro, the glasses, the beard… I admire him a lot, man. Yeah. But I admire a lot of people.

What film are you looking forward to coming out this year?
I’ll say The Wackness to people interviewing me. [we laugh] Well, I’m really looking forward to Wanted. Anything that’s a comic book movie I’ll look for.

You’ll look for The Dark Knight?
Yeah, yeah. I’ll go in there to throw my thumb down. [everyone laughs] And if it’s good—I always walk in and throw my thumb down. When I don’t, that means they earned it.

How do you feel with Common being in Wanted and Will [Smith] coming out with Hancock—you know, fellow rappers?
I was a little leery about Common at first, but he got his legs up underneath him now. I saw him in Street Kings—damn. I was a little shaky though with him in Smokin’ Aces, plus, you know, I wish I was in it. [we laugh] You know, in American Gangster they didn’t really give him a vehicle; I think he was too awestruck with Denzel. It’s like watching [your soccer teammate] play when you oughta be going to your post and playing your position. [we laugh] But in Street Kings I’d seen the commercial and I was like, “I don’t believe you!” But when I seen the movie, and they gave him that meaty part right there where they’re all sitting in the room, I was like, “I believe this dude right now, man.” He scared the hell out of me. And so by the time when he got to the part it was just like—man. Straight nightmares. I was like, “Somebody’s been teaching this boy!” [we laugh] “Oh my god!” And it worked. I didn’t want to see him die.

Are you a fan of graphic novels also?
Yeah.

Do you like Alan Moore?
Yeah, I love Alan Moore. Alan Moore is hot. [we laugh] I loved it when he did Batman—hell yeah. But I was big on more of the artist side. I was also a big fan of Jim Lee, George Perez, the brothers Adam Kubert and Andy Kubert. And Umberto Ramos, who I believe was a graffiti artist who changed his whole style into the comic book thing. And Sanford Green, who did my book. He’s dope too.

What do you think people are going to take away from The Wackness?
I think they’re going to want to get the soundtrack, for one. I know that. [we laugh] And people are going to look at the nineties in a whole different light, like, “Damn, I missed a whole lotta stuff.”

Yeah, especially those of us who were two or three or five and only remember Rugrats.
There you go. [we laugh] But you know, the beauty of that is you can go right online. [we laugh]

For more about The Wackness check out its official website or IMDb page.