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Compiled by: Jack Foley
Q. Was this the perfect role for you, combining acting
and popular music?
A. Very much so. I was very comfortable playing Linda
Moon because I've dealt with a lot of the same, similar struggles
and the passion that she has for getting into this music business.
It's a very crazy world, so I've kind of lived Linda Moon's life,
in very many ways in the beginning, and then, of course, continuing
into the movie, so it wasn't too hard and I had a wonderful time.
Thank goodness, too, for F Gary Gray [director], because he was
a big part of helping me to be natural.
Q. If you could choose something you identified with
as far as your character is concerned, and something that you
didn't, what would that be?
A. Well I think the moments that she has in reaching
her success are very real. That's what I appreciate about it.
You see her come up and it's all very natural and somebody like
Chili Palmer takes her under his wing. She really has to be a
talented girl. I identified almost in every way with her.
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Q. The film depicts the pop
industry as being not only back-stabbing, but front-stabbing as
well. What's been your experience of the industry?
A. I would definitely say that starting out I have been
through the same situations that Linda Moon goes through, where
I had the Rodney characters, the Nick Carr's - they really are
a part of the business and we all kind of knew about them. They're
in newspapers and news, everything. You kind of have to make your
way through them.
When you first start, particularly as an artist, you're just really
excited and just hopeful that anybody will come your way. So I
got a lot of contracts that, basically, when you finally read
what they're offering you, they either take away your life, your
publishing, your image, your music, your publishing again. It
basically takes away everything, so that's why it took me so long.
I started with the music industry at 13 and then I eventually
perfected it by the time I was 18.
Fortunately, I took a lot of classes on the music industry and
college, and read a lot of books that educated me before coming
into it. But even now it's quite a struggle, but also kind of
fun. I like the challenge of it.
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