Michigan Avenue - Niche Media - Michigan Avenue magazine is a luxury lifestyle magazine centered around Chicago’s finest people, events, fashion, health & beauty, fine dining & more!
Issue link: http://digital.greengale.com/i/89744
IE: What age are you talking about? LL: Up until junior high school, when I really started developing. IE: What? LL: I'll show you pictures, and you'll see I'm not lying. I never looked at myself as a feminine per- son. My thing was, "I'm going to be casual and be able to talk to people because I'm hanging out with the guys." In college, I suddenly felt like I under- stood more about myself and started making choices on my own. I started doing things that I wanted to do and understanding what my place was in the world, and I think part of that was also embracing myself as a woman. I was smart, I could hang with the guys—I could fall into my own niche category.... But I find that if somebody finds me beautiful, it melts my heart because it's not some- thing I heard most of the time growing up ever. IE: Really? LL: I can easily be enticed into some terrible relationship because I'm like, "Oh, my God, you think I'm beautiful?" [Idris laughs] You know what I mean? And my friends are like, "Why did you date that ******* for so long?" I'm like, "Oh, God." [Laughs] "U of M was the start of adulthood for me, and that transition was so challenging and pivotal." IE: Okay, I won't give you any more compliments. LL: No! It's good when somebody gives you a compliment. Now I can discern, but before I'd get swept up because I thought, Oh, my God, this person sees me for who I am. IE: So, I don't know him personally, but I first saw Jonny Lee Miller in Trainspotting, and he was and is a phenomenal actor. LL: I love working with Jonny. He's incredibly tal- ented and very professional. He comes in every day—no matter how long the day before has been— and he's prepared. If we start another episode with all new dialogue, all new characters, a whole new director, a whole new set, he still has it, and he never keeps anyone waiting. I know that sounds basic, but on a 15 to 20 hour day, if you're working in tele- vision and somebody doesn't know his lines, you could be there until the next day. IE: Well, you're never going to like me. I never know my lines. LL: Improv actor—I'm just going to put you in that category! IE: I know that you're an amazing artist. You paint, and you create some really fascinating pieces that are new, not only from a canvas and painting point of view, but from a spiritual point of view as well. I'd like to know, as a friend, why you don't push the idea that you're an artist. That annoys me. music and how you write and direct and con- stantly create; it's almost like it's part of us. People say, "What do you choose, Idris? Do you choose acting, or do you prefer directing and writing, or deejaying, or music?" It's like say- ing, "Do you want to keep your right or your left arm?" It's about having a circle and continuing that circle of energy. I've always been doing art, and I don't highlight it a lot because I think sometimes people don't take you seriously if you wear more than one hat. IE: Your art is so beautiful; if it were shared, it would have such an interesting influence. LL: It's more difficult to share because it's sacred to you—you're more afraid that some- one's going to judge it. If people really know me, then they know that I've had art shows and that I have a book out, but I don't try to put myself out there completely because I feel a bit exposed. But you're right: I'm going to start to slowly incorporate it more into my dialogue. Bottom line is probably just fear and vulnera- bility more than anything. If somebody pans your movie in The New York Times or nobody goes to see it, that hurts, but what are you going to do? I think that if it's something more per- sonal like this, it's more like a dagger in your heart. IE: There are more than 7 billion people on the planet, and you have—as someone who is an extraordinarily different person among the bil- lions of different people—the opportunity to inspire more of yourself, and that is our revolu- tion and something we should encourage. LL: I really appreciate you taking the time to do this interview because you're so special, and nobody's ever asked me to choose my inter- viewer before. I said, "My wish is Idris Elba, but I really don't know what's going to happen because he's shooting a bazillion movies in London and Africa." IE: You're right. Why me, though? LL: I think that you are a pioneer similar to me in that way, in ethnicity and in scope and in range. You're also a Renaissance man and understand the different venues we travel just to understand who we are. We do music, we do art, we act, we write, we direct because we are trying to discover who we are. It's a journey—a lifelong journey. IE: I was very nervous about doing this, but this actually has been so therapeutic to actually talk to you, have these questions answered, and gen- uinely know you as a friend. LL: We're going to both be applying for jobs as writers for Michigan Avenue if that's okay. [Laughs] LL: I think if I can parallel your relationship with We will not dock anyone's pay if we come on board! MA Kung Fu Fighting Lucy Liu pulls no punches in talking about this month's release of The Man with the Iron Fists. On working with first-time director RZA: "In a lot of his music RZA references old-fashioned kung fu movies, and I wanted to see how he could translate that as a writer and a director. Because he's an actor himself, he allows you to play with the character yourself and lets you explore until you find the place you want to be." On making a movie that mashes up hip-hop and kung fu: "I think it makes absolute sense, and people are going to love it. It's pretty gory, and it's a lot of fun. It's definitely a popcorn movie; it's all about entertainment. That's what [RZA] wants—that's what he said to a couple of people: 'Get a giant bag of popcorn, sit with your friends, and sit back and enjoy the show.' That's the main premise of this movie: To have fun, enjoy yourself, see some fight scenes and blood.... There's not going to be a lot of intellectual property involved." On playing Madame Blossom: "I said, 'The thing is, if she's going to be the madam of a brothel, we have to give her a fight scene.' We have to have women represented in a strong way and show some of the power of what women can be as well. Madame Blossom did not have as much dialogue—she was ever-present, but she really didn't say as much—so my thought was, I'm going to be here; I may as well have a presence." MICHIGANAVEMAG.COM 99