Black stars join John Travolta in comedy movie Be Cool

Jet, March 21, 2005

When you have John Travolta, Cedric the Entertainer, OutKast's Andre 3000 and the Rock in the same movie, you know everything's going to "be cool."

They lead an all-star cast in the new comedy Be Cool, which has recently opened at theaters everywhere.

The film also stars Danny DeVito, Vince Vaughn, Uma Thurman and Christina Milian.

Be Cool is a sequel to Travolta's box-office smash Get Shorty, in which he starred as Chili Palmer, the streetwise mobster-turned-movie producer.

Now, in Be Cool Chili has abandoned the movie industry and found his way into the music industry, tangling with Russian mobsters and an eloquent gangsta music producer (Cedric the Entertainer) and taking a talented singer named Linda Moon (Christina Milian) under his wing.

Vaughn is Moon's bodyguard, the Rock is his gay, wannbe-actor bodyguard and Uma Thurman becomes Chili's business partner at an independent record label. Andre Benjamin (otherwise known as Andre 3000 of OutKast) is Dabu, a member of the hit rap group DubMDs, who has a whacked sense of humor and an itchy trigger finger. And DeVito is back as the wacky director Martin--this time with Anna Nicole Smith on his arm.

Be Cool is directed by F. Gary Gray, whose credits include The Italian Job, The Negotiator, Set It Off and his debut feature Friday, starring Ice Cube and Chris Tucker.

Gray says working with Travolta was an amazing experience. "The first day of shooting, John stepped on the set and instantly became Chili Palmer. That's what I love about him. He's extremely prepared. He totally understands his character. I wasn't sure after 10 years how long it would take John to jump back into it, but it clicked immediately. That's why he's a brilliant actor. Even though I know how difficult it is to create such an indelible character, he makes it look easy. He's a perfect Chili Palmer, and he does an amazing job."

You never know what the characters are going to do next in Be Cool, and the unpredictability makes for edgy and hilarious entertainment.

Travolta says, "Chili's a gangster, but he has an image of himself as a much cooler gangster, more along the lines of James Bond."

Many movie fans feel Chili is one of Travolta's best characters. "I think it is one of many wonderful roles of a lifetime, and it was fun to experience what Chili does in the music industry in a whole new unit of time. The challenge in Be Cool was how Chili would respond to his new environment--he's actually more comfortable because there are more gangsters in the music business than the film industry," he laughs.

Referencing one of Travolta's favorite lines, Cedric the Entertainer knows his line "And don't tell me to be cool. I am cool," defines the movie. "You don't have to tell this movie to be cool," he says. "It is cool. I had a lot of fun with this role. My character has so many contradictions. He's weird--he went to Wharton (business school), but he's thugged out. He's a father, but you know he'll whip out his pistol and smack you out of nowhere. I thought it was casting out of the box, and I commend Gary for that."

Cedric found out that Gray wanted him for the role from the beginning. "He just figured I would do things with the role that were different. He didn't want your type-A regular villain, and I thought that was unique. Most of the roles I do are comedy-driven. This movie is a hilarious comedy, but it's all based in the characters; there aren't just a lot of jokes being thrown around. I thought it was a unique role for me to play--plus it was villainous. I'm always the good guy, but in this movie I'm gonna kick ass."

Andre says he relished the opportunity to get on the silver screen. "I think every young kid says, 'I want to be a movie star.' I didn't start until I got a couple of calls four or five years ago from independent producers and people doing independent films saying they wanted to cast me. I came to California to do auditions, and it was fun. I thought I had something to offer, so I kept at it ... so when the role in Be Cool presented itself, I slid right in."

He has known Gray for some time. "Gary worked on our second video from OutKast's first album in 1994. We were all coming up at the same time. We ran into each other on a video set some years later and he said, 'I'm gonna look out for you. I've got some projects coming up, so just stay tuned.' I think it's been four years since then, and he's now a director extraordinaire. He calls and says, 'I'm doing this movie, Be Cool, and have this character. It's a small role, but we'll work it, we'll tweak it, add more lines, and I'll create this character around you.' I trusted Gary, and I've had a lot of fun playing Dabu, an over-the-top thug."

The Rock says of his character, Elliot, the gay bodyguard, "I really wanted to play the character. Opportunities like this are rare, to get all of these extraordinary actors who I respect and admire together in one film. We had so much fun on the set."

And what does he think of taking on a role that goes so much against type? "I thought it was exciting. I get to poke fun at myself and play with people's notion of who I am. Because I am who I am, it's like, 'the Rock playing gay? Really?' Why not? We're all created equal, and there are many kinds of people in this world. A good actor can play all kinds of people, and I really loved it."