Musicians, silver screen not always compatible

When musicians become actors, what happens?

Is it like when basketball players become baseball players
(let’s hope not)? Or more like when actors run for political
office (eek!)?

Well, Eminem is an actor now. What would happen to him if his
acting career took off? “8 Mile” is booming at the box
office, and given his world-wide fame, he’s sure to be
getting more movie offers. But what would happen?

Let’s just see what’s happened to others that wore
similar shoes (but not the same shoes, because I saw this one
poster where Eminem was wearing Nike Air Max’s, so well,
actually I guess maybe sometimes other people did.)

First, the most obvious candidate: Will Smith. Given
Smith’s acting “¦ talent, and his big-budget films, his
career in film has obviously boomed, but his musical career has,
um, what’s the word ““ not boomed.

Did you know he put out an album this year? Yea, I thought it
was a joke too, but it’s called “Born to Reign.”
More like “Born to Feign.” Feign, in this sense meaning
to fabricate, as in, fabricating good music.

It seems like while Smith was acting, his brand of rap just
faded out, and he lost his musical appeal.

How about Ice Cube then? His last album was released in 2001,
and it was a greatest hits album.

Prior to that, he put out an album in 2000, which was Vol. 2 of
his “War and Peace” series (Vol. 1 was released in
1998). There were some decent songs, but nothing spectacular.

His musical career is on hiatus, but his movie career is on the
up-and-up.

Given the changing face of hip-hop, can Ice Cube bring back the
gangsta rap? I don’t think so, homey won’t play that
(the “homey” being the listener, and “that”
being Ice Cube’s music).

Oh, and if you didn’t pick up the reference, that was a
play on words from what Homey D. Clown (played by Damon Wayans),
used to say on “In Living Color” (a comedic sketch show
from the early ’90s).

Let’s not forget Marky Mark and Ice-T, both of whom became
actors with “¦ decently prosperous careers (Marky Mark anyway
““ oh I’m sorry, I mean Mr. Funkybunch). But if they
were to go back into music “¦ eww.

On the other hand, there are others who walk the line between
actor and musician (I guess they’re called actor-musicians),
and they emanate success.

Look at J-Lo, or Jennifer Lopez, or whatever her name is. Her
records/singles sell like hotcakes (wait, what’s a hotcake
anyway? I think it’s a pancake or maybe a bundt cake). Her
music is topping the charts, and she puts out movie after movie.
She is to movies and music what Marie Osmond is to babies ““
she just keeps pumping them out.

Then there’s Madonna, whose movies and music do rather
well. Except for, according to the Internet Movie Database, the $25
million “Swept Away,” which came out this year and
raked in less than $600,000.

But Madonna is a model actress/singer, and she’s good at
what she does. With musicians becoming actors, like those mentioned
above, or actors becoming musicians (Keanu Reeves, Bruce Willis,
Billy Bob Thornton, Russell Crowe), the constantly redefined term
of entertainer encapsulates many forms.

It’s unlikely that Eminem will pursue a full-blown acting
career, as his albums are selling like hotcakes (probably better
than J-Lo’s), but it’s still interesting to see what
happened to people who did pursue acting, isn’t it?
ISN’T IT?! Yea, well what do you know, anyway.

Chang’s film column runs every Wednesday.