Hey, it’s the third film in what has become the
trilogy of American Pie flicks, so when the
chance came up for interviews after the reception
FINALLY wound up, we thought it appropriate that
we bring you, our faithful DVDnet readers, a
matching trilogy of exclusive interviews. Read on to
hear from Seann William Scott
(the inimitable Stifler), Thomas
Ian Nicholas (Kevin Myers) + Nikki Ziering (Officer
Krystal) and finally the director, Jesse Dylan…
Seann William Scott (Stifler)
How much of Stifler is you? How much of a bad
guy are you?
I am not like the asshole part of Stifler, but the
goofy side maybe.... When I hang out with Eddie or
January, because she is a lot more like Stifler.
(laughs) We all goof around and play around with
physical comedy and stuff. But I think there were
things that I took from my friends and stuff like
that...
What is it like eating shit?
What I did eat was probably the closest thing to
eating shit. It was awful.
Was it chocolate?
It was not chocolate. It tasted like Play-Doh,
sprinkled with cocoa or salted nuts.
Why didn't you just eat chocolate?
Because it needed to look like it. Maybe they could
have done that, maybe they were just torturing me.
You are a person who likes taking big risks
obviously. You come from a big family and just took
off from Minnesota and came here and
thought "OK, I am going to try this." That is a
daring person would you agree?
Yeah, I think that is true. I mean, calculated risks.
You could still be waiting tables!
I never did the waiting tables, that looked like too
much work. I was a host! I showed them to the
tables! (laughs) I just feel really blessed. I grew up
playing sports and I was never a great practice
player.
What sports?
Basketball, football. And when it was games time,
you just don't mess around because at games time
you do your best. That is the time when it counts
and with comedy, because I had no acting
experience at all when we did American Pie,
I just thought "Well, the camera is rolling, go for it
100%! Don't walk away because you are not going
to get another chance. Do everything you can. Do
all the homework at home and think about every
way that you can play this scene. Then at least
you can walk away saying at least I did
everything”. At that time I felt that I did as best
as I could and then it is up to the people that are
in control. Especially with scenes like eating the
shit and the dance sequences. I can't dance, I
have never eaten shit before, so making it
believable and learning how to dance - I think you
have to do your best, take a risk and hopefully you
are not the over the top asshole! It worked out OK.
Do you have a nickname?
Guess not, when I think about it! I don't have that
many friends! (Laughs) Everyone calls me Seann.
When fans come up to you what is the movie
that is always mentioned to you?
American Pie for sure. Actually a lot of
people in Europe quote Dude Where’s My Car?
. "Dude where is my car?" All the time! It is
like "I don't know!" "Shut up!" (Laughs)
Are you talking about doing a second one?
No! (laughs) They can screw themselves! (laughs)
Apparently Ash and I already filmed it.
What countries did you go to in Europe, except
Spain?
France, Holland, Germany and Belgium.
You never went to Copenhagen?
No, but we didn't have more time. There is a lot I
have to see.
What was your favourite place in Europe?
We spent the most time in Spain going all around
the country and it was great.
Partying in Marbella?
We went from Madrid to Valencia, Ibiza, Granada,
Seville and up to Portugal.
Do you hang out with Ashton at all?
No, I am not in the hot stuff magazines!
Do you worry he will play one of his famous
pranks on you?
No, I am not. He has already tried! I have to be
smarter. I never leave my house so I don't know,
unless he comes in and does something horrible
with my house.
You guys pretty much took off at the same
time?
Yeah, he is going to be around for a long time -
everything is about timing. I just want American
Pie – The Wedding to do well. I am so happy
for him so, I never really think about it. Although I
love reading the magazines and I think it is fun, I
am just glad that I am not in them!
American Pie - The Wedding is available
now on DVD from Universal, along with
American Pie 1 and American Pie 2.
Thomas Ian Nicholas (Kevin
Myers)/Nikki Ziering (Officer Krystal)
How did you feel about coming back for the
third one after the two previous American
Pie movies had been such great hits?
TN: I was excited because then we could have one
of those little DVD three packs that have all of the
three films and be a trilogy. So that was pretty
cool. And I thought we definitely had to do this
movie so that we can do that. That was all the
motivation I needed!
Is there any more embarrassing stuff, other
than what you guys did in the movie, that will only
be on the DVD?
NZ: Nothing embarrassing but I think that it is fun
to watch and to create
(laughs).
TN: I’m not sure what will go on there. I know that
we shot some extra stuff
for the DVD so I’m curious to see that cut. There
are a lot of little bits
here and there that had gone when we watched
the film, so I’m hoping that they will be included in
the deleted scenes.
How would you describe the importance of the
DVD for a franchise like this?
TN: It’s a great film to add to a collection just in
the sense that there are a
lot of extra features. In the first one we had the
rated and unrated DVD, and
there is only a couple of minutes of difference, but
I don’t necessarily know
of a film that did that before. So they are really
taking a step into a new
direction with the DVD’s of this film. We shot an
extra day and a half specifically for the DVD. I
know that other films have done that, but we’re
really trying to give the fans of this film something
that they are expecting, and more.
We heard from the director that a lot of the
bachelor party was
cut out. Were you disappointed when you saw that
in the movie?
NZ: I haven't seen the movie yet, I am seeing it
tomorrow night, so I am not sure what has been
cut out, but I know that a lot of it will be on the
DVD. But I have heard a few of the parts have
been cut out. I’m a little bit disappointed just
because I thought they were so funny, the
funniest moments. But also a bachelor party is
huge before a wedding. But from what I
understand the audience is loving it and I
understand that they have to do certain things for
the ratings. At
least I am still in the movie! (Laughs)
TIN: No, no, no! She is speaking of the NPAA rating
not the ratings of the audience! (Laughs) We are
talking about our rating, mature audiences!
NZ: That is going to be in there too! (Laughs)
Did you see the movie?
TIN: I saw it for the first time during the DVD
commentary that I did with Jason, Alyson and
Eddie. It wasn't quite like watching the film. Have
you ever been to a movie where your friends just
talks throughout the film? It is not like watching
the movie if we are all sitting there talking all the
time, but in the parts where we would quieten
down for a second as we didn't have anything to
say, we would
sit and laugh, and enjoy what we saw. So, I am
looking forward to seeing it in its entirety and not
talking.
What about the bachelor party, you seem to
enjoy it?
TIN: Yeah, I had a good time! I thought it was
pretty funny. There was a moment when the
parents arrive with Jim, and Stifler and Eddie are in
the window, and the three of us are back there,
you and me and Amanda, and I am dancing in the
chair! (Laughs) I thought it was pretty classic that
you could actually see me dancing in the chair... I
was having a good time. What else could you do
when you are duct taped to a chair blindfolded...
you've got to have fun!
NZ: We weren't sure how much you could see!
How did it actually feel to have to be in front
of the whole team
and stripping down?
NZ: Obviously you are nervous at first, but I just
felt so comfortable. I was nervous the first day
and then I was fine with it, I didn't even think
about it. You just get used to it.
If Jason is going to show his body it is OK!
Exactly! They are going to see him sooner or later
in Playboy! No, I have no problem with it. It makes
sense for the character and it was a very
comfortable environment and everybody was very
professional. Jesse asked me if I felt comfortable
and he let me know that I had to take the jacket
off at that moment
and I said "Whatever you think makes sense". It
just happened to be at the moment when I first
arrived, so I was pretty much naked for the rest of
the scene! (Laughs) I realised after I had agreed
to do it "Oh, wait a minute, so now I am not going
to have my jacket on anymore!" But once
everybody sees it the first time, then everybody
just goes about their business...
TIN: No, not really. Maybe you thought that!
(Laughs)
They look nice! We all liked them!
NZ: Thank you!
TIN: Yes, we did! I second that motion! (Laughs)
NZ: As long as they look nice then that is all that
matters!
TIN: They look nice in person too! Amen!
And on screen they get bigger!
NZ: Well, yeah...
TIN: Can they get much bigger?!
NZ: Wow, I just realised, here they are on the big
screen! That will be interesting to see.
I have heard that you actually said that you
had a lot of doubts about getting your boobs
done?
TIN: Oh, are we back to this thing again! Let me
tell you about the stories! Nikki did her reality TV
show and they took a 60 second conversation and
made it the headlining bit and she became the
spokesperson for whatever it was that she was
talking about. That is how things get
discombobulated though. She would rather not
speak about it this time!
NZ: I never meant to speak out about it. It was
just something that I happened to mention,
forgetting for a moment that I was on a reality
show. You are in the jungle for two weeks and you
forget sometimes. For some reason it just launched
so many articles about stars and their implants and
it is nothing that I have ever denied or regretted
doing. It is not like I don't like to talk about it, but
I just feel
like it has sort of become what I am known for
these days. I didn't want that.
What made you want to be an actress?
NZ: I have kind of been one my whole life. I don't
think that it was necessarily that I wanted to be
an actress, but I love to entertain and it was a
natural next step. I started doing mostly print
catalogues and fashion and that kind of thing and
then when I did Playboy it just lead me in that
direction and I had fun with it. So, as long as I
keep having fun I will keep doing it.
How do you feel about roles with nudity?
NZ: It is a common misconception just because I
have done < I>Playboy that I had no problem
doing nudity for anything and that is really not
where I stand. I have never done anything else
involving nudity except for Playboy and I
have turned down several things because I didn't
feel it was of high enough quality that I wanted to
put out there. It doesn't mean that I have
anything against people who do it, is just not for
me.
What would you like to be?
NZ: A young Frank Sinatra! (Laughs) I stole that
role just right from
under you!
TIN: We screen tested against each other and I
won out! The
competition was rough!
You are multi-talented!
TIN: I try to keep myself busy. I had periods in my
career where I wouldn't work for two years so I
taught myself how to play the guitar, sing, write
music and how to keep busy. Then pretty soon,
once I had started making music, I was like "Oh,
shoot, let me combine the idea of creating
something with acting, and that is directing" So, I
keep busy all the time and I can't get any sleep
anymore! But it is all good.
Were you inspired by singing and putting music
together?
TIN: Who inspired me? My late cousin Will was the
biggest inspiration in my life for that. He was one
of my best friends, he was sort of the reason how
I came into any sort of faith and he also taught me
how to sing and play guitar. He is someone who I
think about pretty much every day of my life. So,
he is my inspiration.
Can you sing something for us?
TIN: Sing something for you? It is hard to pick a
particular moment from one of my tunes where I
could do it, but I did get to sing some big band
music as Frank Sinatra Jr. I was doing Frank
Sinatra and Tony Bennett covers in the movie,
which I sang myself in the studio. I ended up lip
synching to my own voice which was good, it
matched up pretty well! It looks like I am doing it.
But it is actually my voice. I was pretty excited to
combine the two things and hopefully I’ll get to do
that some more.
Did you all have fun making the movie?
TIN: You get to the set and you sit for 6, 7 hours
sometimes, before you go and do your thing. Or if
you are in Nikki's shoes, or Nikki’s boots, you get
there three hours before the rest of the cast
because it takes a long time to lace up those
boots. They are thigh high! Some of the craziness
that transpired was when the cameras were rolling
and some of it is on screen, which is part of the
fun that makes this movie what it is. The fun we
have transposes onto the film which is entertaining.
NZ: There is really no need for extra comic relief
when you are shooting a movie that is this funny.
Everybody is tired of laughing! They had to go
back and think of something sad for a while!
(Laughs)
TIN: We didn't necessarily do that but....
How does it feel for you to be in a cast that
has worked so closely together before? Did you
feel that they were all comfortable with each
other?
NZ: Absolutely, this was a cast that was working
together for the third time and they are all so
talented. The first one is what has really helped
them to launch their careers and they have
watched each other grow and have bonded, and it
is really beautiful and nice to see. But it wasn't
intimidating and they didn’t make me feel like I was
not a part of it. I fitted right in. I felt very
welcome.
TIN: At least that is what we made you believe!
(Laughs)
NZ: They are actors! And they are good! (Laughs)
I bought it.
Have there ever been times when your parents
have been embarrassed?
NZ: Well, my mother said that she would prefer it if
I sent her a copy of the Playboy because she
hated going to the liquor store to buy one. Made
her feel like a lesbian! (Laughs)
Have you ever had a situation where parents
have embarrassed you? Like when you first go
home with your man?
NZ: Oh, when I meet their parents? Have I done
anything embarrassing? Well, my ex husband is
Jewish and I converted when we got married. I had
really taken it seriously and I was cooking a holiday
dinner (this won’t make sense to you guys if you
are not Jewish.) Anyway I don't usually cook, I
don't even know how to boil an egg! My mother-in-
law walked me through the entire meal all day and
I never asked her what to do with the Gefilte fish,
so I was feeling all like Betty Crocker, I thought it
wouldn't be that hard. Then she put it in the oven
and I ended up burning it. When all the guests
arrived I realised that you are not even supposed
to cook the Gefilte fish, so it was this big hilarious
story! There I was and I fell to my knees in the
kitchen crying with my tray of burnt Gefilte fish.
Everybody ate it anyway and my mother in law
loved that story. It was just one of
those little things that I always did to embarrass
myself.
What is next for you now Thomas?
TIN: I am just finishing post-production on LA
DJ, the film that I directed. And we are going
to take that around to some film festivals. It looks
like we are still waiting to see what our producers
are cooking up for us. Once I get finished with
that, I will finish up my solo album and try to meet
some record execs of sorts and get that out there,
so I can prove that I am not some wannabe actor
turned musician. I care about my music and I want
to put something out there that is good and can
stand on its own.
What kind of music is it? Who are you
comparing yourself to?
TIN: I don't want to say that I am comparing
myself to him, but I know who I
look up to and what I am modelling myself on and
that is modern rock. I am a huge Springsteen fan.
I'd like to meet with Springsteen and talk to him
about doing a story of his days of Ashbury Park,
when he first did Born To Run. He was
about my age when he did the first three albums.
He did them just a few years apart from each other.
Did you get any contacts through Jesse?
TIN: I haven't talked to Jesse about it because I
just finished reading Springsteen's biography so I
want to figure out what kind of story I want to tell
and understand him a little bit more. As much as
you can through a book.
Have you met him?
TIN: I haven't. I have only been to his concerts.
Have you approached him about it?
TIN: I haven't, no. This is all a brand new idea.
Enough people tell you that you look like
Springsteen and you like music and you go "Hmm,
maybe I should make a Springsteen movie!"
What is your passion now?
TIN: It is split over all three avenues; music,
directing and acting. I love to multi-task. If I could
I'd balance three plates, two in my hands and one
on my head!
But the directing experience was good?
TIN: Oh, yeah. It is challenging, but I am definitely
always up for a challenge, so I am developing some
other projects now, I’m going to take some
meetings and keep that aspect going. It is just a
question of what the next project will be, which
one will come first.
So, it is good that this movie is making some
money, you'll be needing some money to do that!
TIN: Exactly. You need to start somewhere. You
need a little bit of cash to hold you until that next
gig so I have got that going right now.
What is more challenging about directing as
opposed to acting?
TIN: Being the one that everyone asks the
questions to and being responsible. It is fun to be
in control. We all as human beings like to be in
control, it is part of our nature. But at the same
time to always have to have the answer - even if
you don't know, you have to pretend to know. And
as an actor if you are unsure
you can ask the director!
Who is in the cast in the movie that you have
directed?
TIN: Myself and my brother who wrote it and a few
world famous DJ's, the film is about DJ’s.
Whereabouts?
TIN: A couple of them are based in Chicago like DJ
Colette and Karl Cox, I think he is based out in
London, that is where he started. He plays a fairly
substantial role in the film and we also had the late
J Master J who is the king of Hip Hop, even though
we are doing more house music, but a DJ
nonetheless. We had a few beginning cast
members which is great. To do an independent film
where we have raised our own financing and we
didn't have to answer to the studio "Can we bring
this new person in?" It was just “he is a great
actor, let's put him in the role!” And a couple of
veterans here and there are doing little cameos.
What is it about?
TIN: It is about two brothers that have a dream of
becoming famous club
DJ’s and they go to Los Angeles to try to break
into the club scene and they end up doing Bar
Mitzvahs. It is a little bit more Jewish humour there
for you.
What was the budget on it?
TIN: We are still in post-production so we don't
have a completed budget, but I would say... we
have investors, but the music licensee thing is a
surprisingly costly avenue of films that I didn't
realise in the beginning. My brother and I didn't
know that it would be as much as it is. We are
around a million dollars.
What kind of marriage do you see yourself in
and when?
TIN: Hopefully a long lasting one. (Laughs)
NZ: A happy one.
TIN: Yeah, a challenging one too. From what I
understand, looking at all the marriages that my
family is in, it seems like the most healthy ones are
the ones that are challenging in a healthy way.
They are there to support one another but also
there to better one another. Obviously love is
important but that goes without saying I would
imagine, when you are talking about marriage.
What kind of wedding? Would it be on the
beach, on a ranch, in
the desert or...?
TIN: From what I understand, women, and this is
not a stereotype, tend to have these ideas of
where it may take place. I am open to where it
may be, I don't have a set idea.
Nikki do you think that you are going to get
married again?
NZ: Absolutely. I hope so. I'll get divorced first!
(Laughs)
Did you expect it to be this public?
NZ: Well, yeah, because my ex husband was
experiencing a lot of fame at the time from his
television series so I knew that it would be talked
about. We were actually separated for six months
before it was released publicly, amicably though.
We parted in a mutual friendly way, but it is hard
to go through that and read about it when the
details get twisted. Everybody wants some sort of
reason and it is just that two people who love
each other were growing apart. That is not
good enough, they want to hear that I am really a
lesbian and that he is a heroin addict but the truth
is it just didn't work out.
Did you keep the last name?
NZ: It is my married name yeah. Schieler is my
maiden name, and I used that in 1997 when I did
my first Playboy centrefold, but then I switched to
Ziering and I have used that since.
Are you still Jewish?
NZ: Yeah, that is another question people ask me.
I haven't converted
to anything else! (laughs)
What religion were you born with?
NZ: I grew up with Christianity but not practising,
so I actually had myself baptised when I was
fifteen. I am a very spiritual person, but it is not
like I am religious, so to me it doesn't matter what
religion, it all leads to the same ways.
But I don't go to temples now any more often then
I used to go to church.
Now I just get 8 presents for Hanukah and
Christmas gifts! (Laughs)
It works out in my favour!
Would you still convert to another religion?
NZ: I don't think so. I don't know, I would never
say never, but I am always exploring new things. I
really did accept the Jewish traditions though, and
the religion is beautiful. If I marry another Jewish
man I would love to raise little ones... (laughs)
American Pie - The Wedding is available
now on DVD from Universal, along with
American Pie 1 and American Pie 2.
Jesse Dylan (director)
Have you seen American Pie - The
Wedding with an audience?
I did see it with an audience, it is really fun. They
really seem to enjoy it. It was great to see it
where it was not a test audience. It was great to
see it when you don't have to make any
adjustments or anything, when you have already
got through that part of the process. It was really
enjoyable.
Fortunately you didn't sit next to me because I
was cracking up!
(Laughs) Yeah, I was too.
What did you think was the most important
thing for you to bring to this movie? Having to pick
up from 1 and 2?
It is a different movie in a lot of ways, but I really
responded to the heart in the other two movies
and it was important to me to make it a sweet
movie, so that you have a warm feeling about
these characters that you have known for a long
time. Make sure it was funny, you knew it was
going to be funny because the actors are really
funny, but just make sure that it was still really
warm and heartfelt. That is what I was trying to
do.
Stiffmeister is a huge character...
That is an understatement! (laughs)
Was there a lot of improvisation on this
character particularly, or just in general?
Seann William Scott had some ideas about what he
wanted to do, there was a lot of him throughout
the movie with all the actors. We covered the
script exactly the way it was, and then we would
just go into different areas with him and follow
along the best we could with the camera. He is
just a very talented man. I think in this movie you
are able to see his character more then you have
in the other movies, because by taking away some
of the extra characters it gives you more
opportunity to see more of everybody who is in the
movie and I think that really helped Stifler's
character.
Which parts were improvisation?
There are improvisations with Seann in almost
every scene. The bit that comes to mind the
clearest is when he is going (makes some noise
with his mouth) - that is basically all the
improvisation. We covered the scene in a totally
normal way where it is just a normal scene and all
that other stuff is just him going off and coming up
with really crazy funny ideas. He is really an
original thinker and I think his character is really
funny.
Do you have a favourite scene?
I like that moment when Stifler is just (makes noise
with his mouth). I think that is a funny moment. I
love that moment because it is just an actor doing
something really powerful to me. I love watching
actors be funny. I love the scenes where it is just
a person doing something funny and the timing is
right and the cut is right.
Do you like comedies a lot?
I do like comedies a lot. I came into comedy in a
backwards way. I didn't think I was going to be
making comedies, but my first movie was a comedy
and this was a comedy and I'd like to keep going
with them. I enjoy doing them. I made both the
movies in different ways and I really enjoy
watching them with an audience. When you see a
movie and people are laughing out loud it is an
enjoyable thing.
You shot one day specifically for the DVD. Can
you talk about what extras are going to be on it?
There is more of the bachelor party that has been
shot, but I think that there’s tons and tons of
material, we shot almost a million feet of film, so
there’s tons of extra material to go on there. We
are just getting into that now, but there will be
tons of new stuff there.
Are there any deleted scenes that you know
of?
There is a scene with Seann with a blow up doll…
there is lots of stuff that is going to be on there!
Why did you cut the bachelor party?
When we first put the scene together it was 25
minutes long. I found that the audience grew tired
after a while and I needed to trunk it and make it
shorter so that the audience was still with you by
the end of the sequence. So I just had to cut it
down and make it as efficient as possible. I think
what happens is there are places where things may
be too short but overall, it is the right length, so
the audience doesn't get bored with the sequence.
How important do you think the DVD is for a
movie like this?
I don't know. That is kind of all outside of my role.
I know it is important because I have had a lot of
phone calls about doing the DVD, and from what I
understand they play a very important role now.
DVD extras play an important role in getting people
to buy the DVD, so I know that it is important. The
thing for me is just to keep the integrity of the
movie. Sometimes I have seen unrated DVDs where
the scenes get really long and they are not really
better, it becomes boring. So it is trying to find a
balance, keeping it efficient and still making it work.
As a director, when you make a movie like this,
the eating shit part and Jim shaving his balls, is
that the thinking that "We’ve got to be way more
out there then films before us", or is it "Oh, I think
it is funny"?
To be honest with you, I am a very slow learner,
so when I read a scene I don't necessarily think
that it is funny right away, so it is all about how
you cover it. Because if you are lucky enough to
see what is funny in the scene, you just have to
remember it because when you shoot ten different
takes, and ten different angles, you are going to
forget. So what you have to do with a sequence
like the shit eating scene, is you over shoot it. You
have to be acutely aware of the process of making
it. The shit eating scene was a very difficult scene
to do, because there aren’t references you can
watch to know what the scene is going to be like.
And also Seann warms up slowly, he is always
better in his later takes, which is very unusual,
because normally people get it right quickly. So I
covered the other side of the scene first, the
reactions to it, and let Seann get warmed up.
What you try and do is over shoot the sequence,
shoot it as being broad and then have it totally
underplayed. Then you show it to an audience, and
you listen to them. We showed the movie in San
Diego. You have to watch the audience be brutally
honest with yourself about how they respond to it,
because it is not really about how I respond to it,
is about how the audience either has a connection
to it or they don't. If they don't have connection
to it...
Do you go back and edit it?
Absolutely! A lot of the time you don't know
exactly why they are not laughing. You have to
decide "OK, they are not laughing, but it is not
because of this line, it is because of some other
thing." You have to make adjustments. Not every
audience is going to see it the same, but that is
what is going to allow you to bring it in to the right
ball park. With comedy, my feeling is, every scene
should be funny. Even when you are doing
exposition, it should be funny or it should be cut.
The audience understands things quite easily, for
instance in this movie when Seann starts to play
the nice guy, there are all these issues whether
the audience will understand it right away, we
don't have to have exposition telling you why he is
playing the nice guy. We can cut it because the
audience doesn't care about exposition, they just
want to laugh. As long as it makes sense, the
audience will be with you. With comedy you have
to be brutally honest with yourself about whether
they are laughing. So when you photograph
scenes, you photograph them with two ways in
and two ways out and you do a complete range of
the performance so that you can find the comedic
balance.
Is this going to be the last one?
Again, it is outside of my control. I would not really
know how they would continue. I have heard
things like American Baby, but I don't
know. I think it would be hard. They are getting
older and it is at the place where I don't know if
there is much more that can be done with it really.
What is your next project?
My next project is to take a vacation for a while.
Going where?
I am thinking about going to Hawaii or maybe going
to Italy, go to Tuscany for a couple of weeks and
take it easy.
You come from a very creative family. And you
chose, compared to your brother and your father,
not music, but still to be creative. Did you always
want to be a director?
Yeah, I like directing. I like movies. I have always
liked movies and I worked in commercials for a very
long time. I do like directing more than music. My
dad has a very big shadow in music, and my
brother has chosen to go in that direction but I
think for me the shadow would be a little too long.
It would be very hard to distinguish yourself in that
shadow.
Your dad is now going into acting....?
Yeah, somehow I am not worried! (laughs)
Have you been on the set?
Sure, absolutely - it is a very interesting movie, it
is a very different thing. Ultimately I think my dad
does projects that interest him and it is a very
good and interesting movie. But he is foremost a
singer/songwriter and I think he will continue to be.
I don't think he is going to go up for a lot of acting
parts.
Do you play any instruments yourself?
Yeah, absolutely.
Guitar?
Yeah, everybody in my family plays.
Do you write songs?
Not really, not so much anymore. I like my children
to play instruments and I love music. It is a great
thing, but I have never felt that huge desire to be
a professional musician. It is also a very hard life,
you are away from your family for long periods of
time. Having toured with my dad for many years, it
is tough physically, it is punishing.
What is your favourite Bob Dylan song?
Forever Young. He wrote it for me so, you
know.
It was written for you?
Well, you know... may you stay forever young, you
know. Yeah, it was written for us kids.
Would you like to have your dad in your movie?
I don't really think of it that way. He is my dad and
we talk every day, but it is not really that
important. I have directed videos for him in the
past and I felt like that was an important thing for
me to do because with the exception for the video
he directed for himself, I think I directed the best
video for him, and it is really because it wasn't
about me as a director. It was about getting
different things out of the way and just showing
his artistry as a performer. But no, I don't think
that it would be necessary to put him in a movie I
directed, I don't think like that.
It must have been amazing to direct him?
In the video? It was enjoyable and also very nerve
wrecking. To be honest with you, I don't really
need to work with my dad. It is more that he is my
dad. He is a very normal dad, he is a great dad.
And grandfather.
Yeah, absolutely.
How did the film come about? Did he talk about
it with you for years or....?
No, when he had a record out it was just one song
that I wanted to do a video for and I just did it. It
is called Most of the Time.
Is he going to see this movie?
I don't know. Probably. I don't know if it will be his
cup of tea, but I am sure he will see it. He is proud
of all his children so... I would be happy to show it
to him.
American Pie - The Wedding is available
now on DVD from Universal, along with
American Pie 1 and American Pie 2.
LINK : http://www.dvd.net.au/goto.cgi?news.cgi?id=4241
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