Stickin' it to the man. That's what rock and roll is all about according to Dewey Finn, Jack Black's living, breathing, guitar-shredding testament to the power of amped-up riffage in the movie School of Rock. Dewey is so devoted to rocking as a way of life that he won't let a little snag like getting booted from his band stand in his way.
For a while, though, things are looking grim. Rejected by his tattooed, longhaired comrades and way behind on his rent, Dewey needs a plan. Fast. The phone rings, and he's got it: Dewey impersonates his roommate, Ned Schneebly (Mike White), and accepts a substitute-teaching gig at a swanky private elementary school. Unbeknownst to buttoned-up Principal Mullins (Joan Cusack), he begins showing his fifth-graders ‑- who are more partial to Christina Aguilera than Led Zeppelin ‑- how to rock, with an eye on taking revenge on his former group at an upcoming battle of the bands.
There's undeniable chemistry between Jack and the kids, and School of Rock, directed by Richard Linklater (Dazed and Confused), delivers big laughs and honest-to-goodness rock and roll. Everyone gets to showcase his or her chops ‑- especially Mr. Black, who has a killer set of pipes, as anyone who's heard folk-metal duo Tenacious D is well aware. And though he revels in sharp-tongued, raised-eyebrow naughtiness, there's something undeniably sweet behind that impish sense of humor, which is perfect for this feel-good tale of classroom high jinks.
Jack, who first plunked down his hard-earned money for Styx's The Grand Illusion LP back in the late '70s ‑- not long before his brother took him to see his first concert, Devo ‑- yawned his way through a phone conversation with Women.com. ("Sorry, I didn't get enough sleep. It's not you.") But even when he's not "on," the guy is pretty funny. Let him rock you.
The subject matter in School of Rock seems close to your heart. How much of you is in the character of Dewey Finn?
Ninety-two percent. Almost all of me. It's more what I used to be, before I had a career. You know, the desperation. I'm still desperate to make people laugh -- but I'm not desperate for cash. I wouldn't have to get a substitute-teaching job. Besides that, both of us have rock very close to our hearts.
Here's another difference: With Tenacious D, I make fun of rock while I'm loving it. Dewey Finn would never make fun of rock.
At one point, Dewey's more responsible roommate tells him, "Maybe it's time to give up those dreams." Did you ever come close to giving up?
I know tons of people who have amazing talent and creativity but don't get the break. It would have been so easy for me to have no success at all. So many lucky chance things have to happen, because it's so competitive. It's more competitive than... um, what's the most competitive field? Brain surgery ‑- is that a competitive field?
Actually, it doesn't seem quite as competitive as rock or acting...
Would you please pay attention to my brain surgery question? You just ignored it like I didn't even ask it. Is brain surgery a difficult field?
Yes.
Thank you. It's more than that.
So did you ever come close to packing it in?
Never. Here's why, dude: What the hell else am I gonna do? I mean, I could do something else, but it would have to be in the arts. Maybe teaching. You have to get a degree to teach, don't you?
In most cases, I think you do.
Well, I'm not gonna pull that s**t off. So no, I wouldn't be teaching. I could be giving acting coaching lessons, but no one wants to... You know what I would be doing? I would be giving clown lessons. [pause] You know what really I would be doing? I'd be working at that fair where people are in medieval times. What's that called?
The Renaissance Fair?
Yes! That would be a drag. No, that could be fun, actually. For the first year. And then progressively my life would just turn into deeper, deeper pain and hell.
Dewey teaches the kids that rock and roll is all about "sticking it to the man." But rock has been legitimized by everything from rockers playing presidential rallies to institutions like the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Can rock still stick it to the man these days?
Of course it can. It can do it in different ways. Well, Rage Against the Machine is gone. They enjoyed sticking it to the man. But now you've got, what do you call them... System of a Down? They're probably the only ones that I know of that are really sticking it to the man and wearing it out on their sleeve.
I mean, there's tons of liberal bands like Radiohead that are talking about issues. But Radiohead's thing is kinda weird. You're not sure what they're singing about. You're pretty sure he's really concerned with the environment and global warming. But System of a Down, it's right there: "America is evil, get out of the Middle East. You suck." And it almost goes to a scary extreme. I like my sticking it to the man slightly less hardcore than that, but I can definitely appreciate his cojones.
Let's talk about the kids from the movie, because they deserve their due. They were fantastic. Did you enjoy working with them?
You know what's weird about System of a Down? They'll be talking about the Middle East in one sentence, and in the very next sentence they'll be talking about pizza pies and toppings for a delicious pizza. I'm sorry ‑- what was that question? What was it like working with the kids?
Yeah.
We had good times. I think they were a little scared of me the first couple days, just because I didn't want to bring a soft, cuddly version of Jack Black. You know how a lot of movies that have kids in 'em are automatically kind of super-sweet and corny? Well, I wanted to bring the hard stuff, the heavy comedy artillery. It took a couple days before they got used to my high-voltage ridiculousness, but then once that initial shock was over, we had a good time.
I thought they were so funny in the movie. I was stoked that every kid got a laugh. And when we weren't filming, we would just hang out and be kinda mellow. We would make up little songs and little handshakes.
I was waiting to see if Lawrence the keyboardist would display that special handshake that you taught him in the movie, but he never did.
Oh, no. To do that whole shake, it takes like a half hour. Longest shake in the history of time.
Did you ever have an inspiring teacher like Mr. Schneebly?
Yes, I did. An acting teacher in ninth grade named Debbie Devine was a huge inspiration for me. She was a little crazy, and just great. She gave me some good advice. She said, "Jack, you're funny. But don't just be an actor. Do some writing, and some directing and producing do all that stuff." And you know, that's really how I broke into the business with Tenacious D, doing a little writing, a little of everything. Also, I had another great teacher later in high school, Scott Weintraub.
Did Tenacious D precede your acting career?
Well, I had little parts here and there. My first part was in Bob Roberts. I got my agent off of that. But my big break was High Fidelity, and the only reason I got that was because of Tenacious D. John Cusack saw [Tenacious D's short-lived HBO show] and hired me off of the strength of that.
I like the idea of Dewey scolding his student for keeping his "secret song" to himself. Did you have any secret songs when you were a kid?
I did a lot of songs on my 4-track when I was in high school. Just a cappella versions, 'cause I didn't know how to play guitar. I had this weird song about Gina Lollobrigida. I don't even know who that is. But I think it's someone famous, and I just like her name. It kinda went, [sings] "Gina Lollobrigida, I saw you standing there / And the light reflected off your eyes in such a peculiar way / Gina Lolla, I must have you on the ground and humpin' you like a doggy / Like a doggy, doggy!"
Have you ever been kicked out of a band?
No. But I was in a band that was so bad we just broke up. After one show. That's a bad show, buddy.
Do you remember the name of the band?
No. It was a long time ago. I remember we played "Iron Man" at a high school party and it was bad 'cause no one ‑- no one ‑- was looking at us. Everyone was talking to each other so loud we couldn't even hear the song. And we bailed. In the middle of the song. And then broke all the stuff apart and left. Yikes. Destroyed my musical career for many years. Devastating.
Is Jack Black your real name?
No. I won't tell you my real name. But Black is my real last name. It's Jack that's the culprit. It's my real nickname, though.
I was going to ask: If Jack Black is your real name, what would your name be if you could make one up? But I guess you already took care of that.
No, I could still make one up. [pause] Lemme make one up! Don't rob me of that. Ready?
Yup.
[long pause] Here it is. Ready?
Mmm-hmm.
[slowly] Tuffy McF**kleby. Can you put that in there?
I can try. There might be a couple of strategically placed asterisks.
That's okay. But McF**kleby -- I want you to spell it right.
Spell it for me.
F-*-*-k-l-e-b-y. Is that how you would have spelled it?
I might have spelled it e-l, but...
It's kinda like buckle. More like buckle than buck-el. Like Nicholas Nickleby. I'm not sure how he spells it.
I like "Tuffy" as well.
Thanks. Yeah, Tuffy. [laughs] It's like, "Hey, man, I'm a toughie!" [laughs] Any guy that names himself Tuffy cannot actually be a tough guy.
Probably not. Except you.
Thank you.
