A Taste:

Jay-Z, 50 Cent, Barbara Streisand, Frank Sinatra

In Dance Flick, Shawn and Marlon Wayans bring all jokes right to the dance floor. The film pulls the right moves to make audiences laugh out loud. Shawn had a hand in the script, and he’s also hilarious as “Baby Daddy.” Check out the scene where he goes to “pick up his son.” Dance Flick has the kind of infectious irreverence that audiences have come to expect from the Wayans Brothers.

Shawn’s comedy has a rhythm to it, so in order to get us closer to that flow, he shared his playlist with us in this exclusive feature. Marlon added some commentary on Shawn’s selections too…

Peep Shawn’s playlist below and be sure to catch Dance Flick on May 22nd in theaters.

Shawn Wayans’ Playlist:

1. Jay-Z

2. 50-Cent

Shawn: “I’ve got Jay-Z and 50-Cent on my playlist.”

Marlon: “That brother’s lying! He’s got Barbara Streisand, Julio Iglesias…”

Shawn: “I don’t have no Julio Iglesias! I do have Barbara Streisand.”

3. Barbara Streisand

Marlon: “Shawn has the most eclectic iPod ever.”

Shawn: “Music is for different times of your day and your life.”

Marlon: “Shawn, you play Christmas music in July, dude!”

Shawn: “I’m getting ready for Christmas.”

Marlon: “At least play hip hop if you’re going to do that.”

4. Stevie Wonder

5. Frank Sinatra

6. Maxwell

Shawn: “I like Maxwell; he’s got a new song coming.”

Marlon: “But he doesn’t have the afro anymore.”

Shawn: “What do you care? I just want to hear the music.”

Marlon: “It might not be the same without the afro.”

Shawn: “What dude sits around going, ‘Man, he ain’t sexy anymore?’” [Laughs]

Check out Marlon’s playlist here!

—Rick Florino
05.20.09

A Taste:

Frank Sinatra, Tom Waits, Aretha Franklin

Music pumps through Ron Perlman’s veins, and it often influences his intense performance style.

“Music has always been a really big part of my life,” says the Mutant Chronicles star in between drags of fresh cigar. “My dad was a musician. My brother was a musician. There was music constantly playing in my house when I was a kid. If I had been a little more disciplined and a little less self-indulgent, I could’ve gone into music too. I wouldn’t practice an instrument with that kind of dedication though. I had to find a way to express myself that required no training, no practice and no real investment of time and energy [Laughs]. That happened to be acting.”

It was a good choice since Perlman’s heroes are some of the most memorable to grace the screen in recent memory. His Hellboy remains an iconic badass, and his stint on Beauty and the Beast still brandishes a heroic edge. Ron’s latest knight in shining armor, Mutant Chronicles‘ Brother Samuel, is equally meaningful for him.

He continues, “Brother Samuel is somebody who one can aspire to be like, and I really love the character. I find that one of the reasons why I’ll say, ‘Yeah, I can do this part,’ is because I’ll hear music in the writing. I did in this case. Every great writer has a phenomenal, well-honed sense of rhythm. Writers understand things in musical terms. I basically listen to music that’s going to relax me and make me go to neutral [while we’re filming]. That’s where I want to be.”

At Fangoria’s Weekend of Horrors, Ron shared his playlist with us for this exclusive feature. It’s quite expansive to say the least!

Check out what he’s spinning below and be sure to see Mutant Chronicles next Friday!

Ron Perlman’s Playlist:

1. Rachmanov

“If I’m all wound up and need to calm down, I’m going to throw in Rachmanov.”

2. Andrea Bocelli

“If I want to get into a grand genial frame of mind, I might listen to Andrea Bocelli. I’m not suggesting that I’m into classical music at all though [Laughs].”

3. Frank Sinatra

“My go-to guys are Frank Sinatra, Tom Waits, Stevie Wonder and Aretha Franklin.

4. Tom Waits

“There are a lot of people that I listen to, and all of it influences me to a degree. At the end of the day, as an actor, you’ve got to make your character real. It can’t be like a performance. The only things you have to go by are your own instinct and your own wiring. The trick is to bring what you know and what you have inside of you to this abstract place and find where it lives naturally. That’s basically what I try to do. I won’t take a part unless I think I know how to play it, because who wants to stink up a movie? That’s it for me.”

5. Stevie Wonder

6. Aretha Franklin

“The style of music depends on what mood I’m in, but I’m always listening to something.”

7. Les Miserable — Soundtrack

“I must say I’ve been listening to Les Miserables a lot since that lady sang that song on Britain’s Got Talent [Laughs]. My taste is very diverse. I love music!”

Check out photos of Ron below from Fangoria 2009 and for more of Ron click here.

Words & Photos: Rick Florino
04.19.09

Ron Perlman | by Rick Florino

Ron Perlman | by Rick Florino

Ron Perlman | by Rick Florino

A Taste:

Frank Sinatra

Even superheroes need to rock out. Music is a central element of director Zack Snyder’s hotly anticipated big screen adaptation of one of the most revered graphic novels of all-time, Watchmen. Bob Dylan figures heavily, and one of the film’s masked heroes, The Comedian (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), likes his heavy metal hard and fast.

About the film’s Dylan connection, Snyder explains, “Those three Dylan songs are referenced in the graphic novel, and they speak to the overall tone of the book. When we made the movie, the idea was to find that tone. It’s that inexplicable Watchmen quality that’s a slightly meandering and visceral experience all at the same time.”

He continues, “Not only is Dylan music of revolution and music of the common man, but it’s also intellectualized. The cool thing for me was when I realized ‘The Times They Are A-Changing’ was the right song for the title sequence. I felt like you instantly know you’re not in a normal superhero movie. For someone who has no idea what the graphic novel is, they may think, ‘Oh, this is like X-Men or something,’ but the movie starts, that song comes on and it’s not normal. I do love the instant statement Dylan’s music makes too.”

For Jeffrey Dean Morgan, music was crucial for his character, the Comedian. He even used it to get into the Comedian’s dark head space. “Going into a film, I usually make a playlist on my iPod for my character. It can change throughout the film. The Comedian listened to some Frank Sinatra and some really heavy metal [Laughs]. I found some weird speed metal, which I listened to when doing the Vietnam scenes. A soundtrack always helps. Jackie Earle Haley and I were probably isolated more than anyone, on set and off. When you’re in that dark mindset, you like to be alone. If we went out to dinner, it was like, ‘Wow, we’re out in public!’ The Comedian, being a little bit different than anything I’d ever played before, had an important soundtrack. I listened to it the other day, and I was like, ‘Wow, I was fucking nuts. That’s some insane music!’”

Jackie Earle Haley adds, “Making a character playlist is a great thing to do because music can have so much mood and feeling to it. It can help trigger a certain attitude. I don’t picture my character Rorschach listening to music at all though [Laughs].”

Check out our exclusive Watchmen playlists below!

Zack Snyder’s Watchmen Playlist (Bob Dylan Selections):

1. Bob Dylan – “The Times They Are A-Changing”
2. Jimi Hendrix – “All Along the Watchtower”
3. My Chemical Romance – “Desolation Row”

Jeffrey Dean Morgan’s Playlist for “The Comedian”:

1. Frank Sinatra

—Rick Florino
03.03.09