Eric Bogosian
Backstage with "2 Live Crew"
September 8, 1995.
OK. So White Zombie sucked on the MTV music awards last night. Why? Because we have totally lost our sense of theater. These guys think because they can go mix a record or mix a video that that's who they are. Well the truth of the pudding is in the eating.
Why are we losing our soul? Cause the soul isn't real, Daddio. It's manufactured in some editing room. This is about everything. This is about identity. People want to look like models. Models don't look like models. It's the camera that makes them look so cool-cool-cool. An expression passes across their face in a fleeting moment and the photographer catches it. One in a thousand can call that expression up at will.
Actually, I didn't watch the whole music awards. Watching them brings up bad memories of when I was pushing my album "Sex, Drugs, Rock & Roll" and was actually on the program a couple of years ago. I should have acted hip and trashy, instead I tried to talk about freedom of speech. Big mistake. It was like INSTANT BOREDOM on everyone's part. "When's Madonna coming?" Arsenio was like just counting the seconds.
I didn't care, really. I still got to have the experience. Back stage with "2 Live Crew" - hah. Phil Collins getting all antsy before his number. Chyna Phillips coming up and telling me "I watched "Talk Radio" and it made me feel all empty inside. But then my boyfriend took care of that."
It was "cool" by any standard, which is to say, all surface and stupid and boring. But that's cool too.
So, last night, instead of watching the awards, I was watching "The Shining" with Jack Nicholson on channel eleven which has been playing all this stuff lately ("The Exorcist" was on last week.) Now there's some performing. Jack is totally balls to the wall. This is not something concocted out of cuts and camera moves, this guy is wonderful. And think about it, a big star like him plays this completely degenerated blown-out guy. Who dies in the end. That's why Jack Nicholson is great. Willing to look stupid.
By the way, speaking of looking stupid, if you haven't seen my death scene in "Under Siege II" you have missed an important moment in cinema. Nonetheless, I'm sure it will be out in video soon. Until then, you can catch me in "Substance of Fire" which will be out at some point in the next few months. I look just like Leonard Maltin.
