With "Derailed" hitting theaters this weekend, the Wu-Tang Clan's RZA is once again in the spotlight and at a crossroads between the worlds of hip-hop and film. RZA plays Winston, a mail clerk caught up in the world of adultery, rape and murder-for-hire inhabited by the two main characters, played by Clive Owen and Jennifer Aniston.
RZA spoke with the Daily about his new movie, the state of hip-hop, and the difficulties of breaking into the film industry in a conference call Tuesday. Among his current projects: Raekwon's "Only Built 4 Cuban Linx Volume 2" should arrive next year and a score for "Miami Vice," starring Colin Farrell and Jamie Foxx. And no, there is not a Wu-Tang reunion album or concert in the works.
Question: Were you approached to work on the "Derailed" soundtrack?
RZA: I was approached to score the film. The president of The Weinstein Company, when we was filmin', he came on the set and was like, "You made it to the BAFTA with 'Kill Bill' - you almost got the award." He said, "For 'Derailed,' I want you to bring it home." But I was so busy getting into the acting world that I didn't really get that focus that I needed to kind of compose it. So I helped out a little on the soundtrack.
Q: What drew you to the "Derailed" script and had you read the book?
RZA: I didn't read the book, but I read the script. When the script first came in my hands, they sent about three or four different scripts, and the one I read first was "Four Brothers." And I didn't have time to read "Derailed" that particular week, right. And my manager read it. He couldn't put it down. So I was like, "I gotta read that." And I was like, "Yo, I'd like to be involved with this one." "Four Brothers" is cool, but "Derailed," - I was like, "Y'all, I gotta be involved with that one."
Q: Why do you think musicians have an easier time going to film than the other way around?
RZA: I don't think it's easy for neither direction. It's hard for both worlds. I think those who have the talent stand out, yo. When I first seen that movie "8 Mile," right, and I seen how Eminem nailed that, you know what I mean, I knew that it was more opportunities for all of us being made right there. With the actors, they grew up in a totally different environment. You got a lotta actors who grow up basically goin' to school or not gettin' a chance to feel the urban pressure or all the things that build the soul in you.
Q: Why do so many rappers want to make that transition?
RZA: Most rappers are actors, man. Keep it real, keep it real, keep it real - that was my slogan for maybe ten years. I don't use that slogan so much now because I keep it real no matter what. Nobody has to tell you that. But when it comes to TV and entertainment, it ain't real, and when it is real, it's bad. The new slogan is keep it entertainin', man. People pay to be entertained. You don't pay for reality. You pay to escape reality. "Derailed" for me is an escape from reality. The things that happen to me in the film, the things I do, it's not real but it's real for that character, and I think a lot of hip-hop artists is fallin' in love with that opportunity to escape reality.
Q: Does anyone in the hip-hop underground have a long-term business plan like you did for Wu-Tang? Perhaps MF Doom?
RZA: I think definitely, man. He's a great example. First of all, to the world, he's a new artist, but to hip-hop, we know him from the past. The beautiful thing about him is that he's able to put out two or three records a year, and generate maybe $2 million a year by doing that. Two or three years of that - he's basically doin' better than platinum artists. And sooner or later, he'll leave MTV-U and go to MTV-2, and then MTV. So I think it is possible for a plan like that to materialize at any given point.
Q: How are you working to get behind the camera in the film industry?
RZA: I'm strivin' to be a film director. That's another reason why I took the mentorship with Quentin Tarantino. What I mean by mentorship, I mean he my big homie. He send me to the store at 2:00 in the morning, I'll go. To humble yourself to greater authority, to humble yourself to greater talent, that's something that I learned from martial arts. You could be good in one form, but if you want to increase yourself, you have to find a good master. I started in the music industry not knowin' what a C note was, not knowin' what a G note was, not knowin' what a chord was. You gotta pay your dues and make your bones. As an actor, I don't think I proved anything yet. Nor as a director. Till I prove those things I don't think nobody'll come to me and go, "RZA, here's $20 million. Make a movie." Hell no.
Q: What have Bill Murray's and Clive Owen's entrances into film taught you?
RZA: With respect to both of those men, and any other thespian, as they call 'em, I'm entering this world with respect. I'm not just jumpin' in. I read, I study, I practice, you know what I mean. I'm just tryin' to get it right so when I do appear on there, and somebody like the godfather, Sammy Jackson, be like, "Rappers can't act" - I wanna change his mind about that. So it's more like I gotta prove to him like he was my father. I've gotta prove to Sam Jackson that we can do this.
