Ice-T - The Original Gangster

I have been busy fulfilling other writing commitments recently so suffice to say it has been some time since I have been able to pop in here. However earlier in the day I saw that today, February, 16th marks Ice-T's Fifty-third birthday, so I figured why not take a look back at the film work of The Original Gangster.

In my teenage years my musical tastes was a steady diet of punk rock and hip-hop - hell they still are. I have fond memories of destroying curbs of my local strip mall with my skateboard while the soundtrack was provided by bands like Fugazi, NoMeansNo and Bad Religion. The Hip-Hop portion would consist of bands like Public Enemy, Eric B & Rakim as well as the aforementioned Ice-T.

While Public Enemy were political in nature and Eric B & Rakim were some of the best lyricists of all time it was Ice-T - while displaying both politics and amazing lyrics also took his listeners to the rough streets of South Central and NYC. I do have to admit that as an awkward teenager there was some definite role-playing going on. It was quite easy to slip into a fantasy of being tougher than any other kid in the schoolyard. However, Ice-T while easily showing one the wealth and excess of being a street hustler would never shy away from showing you the flip side of the "gangster" life style. Most of his gangster songs would have the protagonist wind up in jail or dead. So, while it was easy to imagine being a tough motherfucker there were no illusions where that lifestyle would lead you. His lyrics would also speak to the strength of the individual that no matter what you faced you could overcome all the obstacles and survive a system that was geared to keep you down, well all the while his tunes were scored with some great beats.

Ice-T would first land himself in front of the movie cameras for the 1984 break-dancing classic. Breakin' His credited role was Rap Talker.


In 1991 he would act in the Mario van Peeples crime classic, New Jack City. A film that also has blazoned into my memory that of Chris Rock acting all strung out for the rock while drapped in the American flag. "Seventeen for a key? You must be doing the dope." A great Ice-T line. Here the T meets the Rock for the first time.



Ice-T would also provide the title track for the film which would also lead to one of great music videos. Ice would also act alongside Denzel Washington and John Lithgow in Ricochet. To anyone who even remotely knows me it is not very much a secret that one of my all time favorite directors is Walter Hill. Trespass would see Hill and Ice-T working together as well as another "Ice", Icecube. Here is there collaboration video from Trespass, which was conveniently also titled, Trespass. featuring lyrics like, "the motherfucker ain't home...fuck it I'll trespass"



1995 would see the one-two punch of Tank Girl and Johnny Mnemonic. Mnemonic is one of those films that while flawed I absolutely love. Perhaps because so many of my influences come together for 107 minutes. William Gibson, Takeshi Kitano, Dolph Lundgren, Henry Rollins as well now is quite obvious Ice-T. Perhaps it was working with Ice-T that would later lead Kitano to write and direct his East meets West mashup Brother. We may never know. Also from the department of weird coincidence Rollins and T have birth dates three days apart and Ice T is three years older than Rollins. I know, trippy...




It was around here that Ice began his foray into television with New York Undercover.

1997 would see T team up with director Albert Pyun and Christopher Lambert. Yes, Albert "The Sword & The Sorcerer, Nemesis, Cyborg and Kickboxer 4: The Aggressor" Pyun.



1998 would see Ice once again provide a title track for a film. This time it would be for Dennis Hopper's directorial debut Colors. Since it's a title track, the song is....Colors.



The late nineties early two thousands would see Ice-T in a slew of direct to video titles, Corrupt, Gangland, The Wrecking Crew,  to name a few. 2000 till the present day would also see him in the television series that would explain why today's generation does not even know that Ice-T as a hip-hop superstar. Law and Order: Special Victims Unit.  



What does the future of cinema hold for Ice-T, well according to the great oracle otherwise known as IMDB he is acting alongside, Armand Assante, Cathy Moriarty and Ja Rule in a film tilted Goat. To say there have been more misses then hits when it comes to the filmography of Ice-T is for others to decide. For me he has worked with some of the great under-appreciated directors working in the crime/action genres and at the same time have provided great title tracks with accompanying music videos. So here is my birthday present from a Soldier of Cinema to a West Coast Player from the streets here is my quick blog entry look at the film work of Ice to the motherfucking T

I'll leave you with this, one of my favorite Ice-T tunes, "Six in the Morning" "Six in the morning, police at my door, fresh adidas squeaking across the bathroom floor..."



Peace

Henry Rollins On Acting & Cinema

When one thinks of Henry Rollins it is only natural to think of his work as a singer, a writer, and a spoken word performer. However, he has also put together an impressive resume as an actor, working with directors as diverse as Michael Bay to David Lynch. When Mr. Rollins speaks of his work as an actor he usually does it with self-effacing humor but his recent turn playing the character A.J. Weston in the Kurt Sutter creation Sons Of Anarchy suggests that Henry is an actor to be taken seriously. I recently had the opportunity to ask Henry a few questions pertaining to his work in film.

1) You have been quite self-effacing when it comes to your work as an actor however your work playing A.J. Weston in Sons of Anarchy proves that you have chops as actor. How do you prepare for a role that is the complete opposite of everything you stand for? How do you decompress from a days work?
 

The role was relatively easy because the guy was very free of emotional complexity. He is an unapologetic killing machine. He doesn’t ask many questions. The only pulse he has is that he likes his children. Past that, it was a process of eliminating emotion and getting to the thoughtless, order taking sociopath he is. I don’t really decompress. I just leave the set and go do something else. I usually have a lot of other things going on, so I go do it post acting work. 

2) I think your work for the documentary H for Hunger is one of the most important things you have done. Could you talk about how you became in involved in the documentary? How can people see this film.?
 

I am waiting for the crazy director to put the thing out. I don’t know if he will get it together to do so. I think we did a good thing and I financed half of it and would like to get my funds back so I can do something else with them. I got involved when this psycho asked me to. It seemed like the right thing to do. It was. Too bad he’s not a rational person. 

3)  For H for Hunger you put up half the money, would you consider producing any other film projects?
 

I have some other film projects that I want to get active on next year. I don’t know when I will have the time but I will try to get at least one of them happening. 

4) When one looks at your filmography one cannot help but notice some of the folks you have worked with, David Lynch, Michael Mann, Adam Rifkin, to name a few, what is something you have learned from these directors that you continue to apply in your film work?
 

I have learned to be very aware of what’s happening in a scene to hopefully be completely in the moment. The more I am prepared, the more I can forget I am acting and be more pure in my actions and reactions. I think that all great directors are like conductors. They already know the story will go and they need the actors and the cameras to do their thing. I like to fall into the bigger picture. Some directors are not all that good and they are just getting the shots like they have to turn it into some boss, they have no real vision of what the thing will be. There are a lot of directors like that. They are like teachers who teach to the test. No one really learns and in the case of a film, nothing really happens but what’s on the script. 

5) What does cinema mean to you? Do you think films can affect people and help change people's perceptions?

I think films can have a massive effect on people, peoples, nations, etc. Film is more influential than music. I think it is a hugely inspiring medium. It’s also very manipulative and controlling. You put in the right sympathetic chords of soundtrack at that moment and half the audience cries, etc. You have to be careful with that kind of power. You can make great statements like Milk, or not great ones like Birth Of A Nation.