Mariah Carey - A pop icon in the motion-picture world
Mariah Carey loves Capri. She loves those small restaurants, that crisp air even in wintertime, Capri's silent wilderness out of season. However, the last time she was seen on the island for the Capri, Hollywood Festival curated by her friend Pascal Vicedomini, she was certainly not alone. When we got the chance to talk to her, to spend a few moments with one of the greatest legends of contemporary pop music, she struck us as being an extraordinarily easy person, in spite of the 250 million records sold worldwide and her tremendous media presence, although she is one of the sexiest women in the world. She is now busy writing the lyrics for her new album, but we mostly talked about films, about the new film she will be appearing in and about her small and yet incisive role in Precious. And she wanted to say quite clearly that: "I don't care to be a star. I would rather play in small, independent movies, but telling a story I like. Films that people should watch because they are important".
Precious won two Academy Awards: for best supporting actress (Mo'Nique) and for best adapted screenplay. It made $50 million, five times as much as it cost. The film was awarded its first prize in Capri, the Capri Award given to Mariah Carey.
The film tells the story of an obese, illiterate young girl who suffers sexual abuse from her mother and father and lives in the ghetto of Harlem. What does such a powerful and shocking film have to do with a pop and media icon such as Mariah Carey? Nothing, on the face of it. Nonetheless, Mariah took up the challenge: she accepted to appear ugly, without make-up, wearing shapeless clothes twice her size, shabby, with a fixed gaze onto a horrible life. She plays the role of a social worker. The girl asks her: "What are you? Black, Hispanic, what?" Actually, that is a question that crosses your mind when you look at Mariah Carey. Irish, Venezuelan and Afro-American blood runs in her veins. Actually, and especially face-to-face, she is simply beautiful. Miss Carey, you chose to play a small role in an independent film. A strong choice.
It was an instinctive choice, but a clear one too. Like with music: I consider myself more of a songwriter than a singer. I've been writing songs since I was six. I am not obsessed with my looks. Some pop stars change their look over and over again. I don't. It was the same for the film. I was looking for an interesting, powerful story, not for one that would make me look pretty. The film deals with incestuous relationships. A very serious issue.
Yes, the film is about hard experiences in life that leave their mark on you. Films cannot merely be an escape from real life. You are nearly unrecognizable in the film...
The film director told me: "Believe me, not even your mother is going to recognize you!" And he was right. When I watch myself on screen, I say: "Who is this woman?" Have you been influenced by a specific period of Italian cinema?
The movies of the sixties, La Dolce Vita or La Ciociara of which we see a scene in Precious. I've always been moved by those films. I love classic movies, in general. The great American and Italian classics. Which film directors would you like to work with in the future?
If I were free to choose anyone, Scorsese or Woody Allen. But I'm more interested in the film's story, in important stories. I view acting not as a whim of fancy, but as a well thought-out choice. As is the case with Barbra Streisand or Diana Ross...
Yes, and there are other singers who are also amazing actresses. This film conveys an image of you very different from the one we are used to seeing at your concerts.
I am Mariah at the concerts as well as in the movies. I'm interested in powerful stories that make people reflect on what they have just seen. I could even play myself in a musical, but I enjoy transforming myself into characters. I'm still learning, I don't want to take advantage of my popularity and I don't want to play the usual roles. What do you dream of as an actress?
I dream of playing characters who are very different from me. (MariahCarey.com)
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