Nestled in a small room at the Northeastern University Student Center sat three famous but composed stars -- Kal Penn, the star of the new film "National Lampoon's Van Wilder: The Rise of Taj," Art Alexakis, the lead singer of Everclear, and Jonny Dubowsky, the lead singer of Jonny Lives -- relaxing after a long day of interviews by having a pizza party with two college reporters.
Alexakis and Dubowsky accompanied Penn that day to promote the soundtrack for "The Rise of Taj," which features their songs. Alexakis' band has succeeded in the spotlight for over a decade. His new, controversial song "Hater" lends his unique style of rock to the soundtrack. Critics and fans adore Dubowsky and his band, Jonny Lives, for their homage to bands like The Kinks, The Rolling Stones and even The Strokes. The Jonny Lives song "Get Steady" is in keeping with the "Van Wilder" image of raucous partying and naughty misconduct; Dubowsky wrote the song after two days of non-stop festivities in Europe.
Penn struck fame after starring in the cult hit "Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle" (2004). His return to the role of Taj Badalandabad in the sequel to "Van Wilder" (2002) will prove his ability to carry a film alone. During the interview, he discussed his deft control of comedic and dramatic roles, along with his encounters with conservative parents on MySpace.com.
Question: A lot of Indian teenagers these days tend to rebel against typical Indian stereotypes. Was it as simple as wanting to pursue something unique, something that wasn't as common as medicine or engineering, or were you influenced by something else?
Kal Penn: It was as simple as that. I just had an interest in film, and that's what I wanted to do. There was encouragement that came from watching a lot of Mira Nair's films. I later worked with her on "The Namesake" (2006), which was awesome to be able to work with her after she was such a big influence.
I don't think it was rebellion. I think it was genuinely having an interest and knowing I wanted to do it. Obviously, my parents didn't want me to do it. I don't think most parents would encourage their kids to go into a career where they wouldn't have a job most of their lives ... But the business is so competitive that if you're not going to do it at a young age, then it's useless.
You're going to suffer while you're doing it; that's why I tell people that if you can take the safe route, why wouldn't you? You get a job, and after seven years, you do your rotations and you get a nice house.
Jonny Dubowsky: And then you get laid.
Art Alexakis: I think it's really related to growing up and wanting to be a musician; that's all I wanted to be. It was really hard for my mom; she grew up poor in the Depression. She didn't understand. She wanted me to get a job with benefits. She didn't even want me to go to college. I went to college. She didn't want me to go, because she thought it was too risky. She taught me to aim low.
I'm writing a movie right now called "Aim Low," but that's more of a sexual innuendo actually. My mother was so proud of me before she passed away this year, of what I had achieved and learned. I failed in some ways and learned in other ways. She was really proud of that, but it came from her fear, more or less, just like your parents.
KP: They're supportive now, but not at all when I first started out.
AA: But not because they didn't think it wasn't cool. If you told them where you would be in four years, they would have been fine probably.
KP: Right, it's a different business.
Q: You're both moving in a more poignant direction: Art, with your new video "Hater," and Kal, you're doing "The Namesake." Is it common for people to do more serious material once you have the comedic aspects down?
KP: My goal was always to do drama and comedy. I enjoy storytelling. I enjoy making people think and feel emotions that they weren't prepared to feel when they walked into the theater. It just so happened randomly that I fell into comedy, because as a young actor you're either on an all-white WB show or you end up having the opportunity to be in comedy films.
For obvious reasons, I'm not on the WB, so the other route came up. The goal is to expand it a little more. I'm on the new season of "24," so yeah, I'm trying to balance both drama and comedy.
