eDrive's Milla Jovovich Q&A

Milla Jovovich is, in one word: "Dynamic". In two words: "Incredibly Enthusiastic". She's a veritable dynamo of career function, constantly adding new talents to her resume. A model since age 11, she began her film career opposite Robert Downey Jr. in Chaplin (as Charlie's first wife). Jovovich dazzled Bruce Willis and Gary Oldman and captivated us all as the Godhead with the wide eyes in The Fifth Element -- and then went and married its director, Luc Besson.

Milla comes to the screen now as the ho' next do' in Spike Lee's He Got Game. The story of a con offered freedom if he can convince his basketball playing son to sign with a certain college, Milla's performance and love scenes with star Denzel Washington stirred up the audience (like a hornet's nest) at the preview screenings we attended.

The release of her first CD, "Milla: The Divine Comedy" also caught the attention of the tastemakers at MTV back in 1994. Milla reveals some future media plans in her. . .

eDrive Q&A

eDrive: Tell us about working with Spike Lee...

Milla: Spike is really hard core. He makes certain choices and he makes them for a reason. I respect him as a director so much. At certain points it was so harsh and at other points it was very sensitive. It's funny 'cuz the script isn't written that way. In a way he gave the characters in the film a lot more to work with, so they were innocent to the fact of what he was going to do later. Me and Denzel have a scene which, if the audience had seen it, maybe there wouldn't have been such a violent reaction to the love scene.

eDrive: The audience we saw it with went ballistic.

Milla: There were so many reactions to it from disgust to anger to laughter to frustration. Really insane. I'd seen that in all of Spike's movies. People screaming. Spike's always pushed people's buttons but at the same time he's so honest, he's so pure he has a choice to be made. A lot of people want to close their eyes to things they think "offensive" and Spike won't let you close your eyes. It's like a Diane Arbus photograph. He wasn't nice to anybody; all the characters. You liked them and then you didn't. Spike takes very strong opinions and chooses to direct your attention to one point.

eDrive: And your personal reaction was . . . ?

Milla: I think a lot of people took it very superficially. If you see the movie again, after getting over the first reaction you might see something deeper in his point. I think, in the relationship Jake [Denzel Washington's character] has with Dakota [MJ's]; this man has been in prison for a long time. Spike had the choice to make the hooker white, he could have made her black, but he did it for a certain reason. He knew what kind of emotions were going to be brought out of it. I think he made that point to show that, at some point, you just want to reach out to somebody. It doesn't matter where they're from or what taboos your breaking. It was a natural thing and sad at the same time because he couldn't consummate the act. It was pretty intense. I don't think people understood the point.

eDrive: did you do the role because you liked the role or because you wanted to work with Spike?

Milla: I wanted to work with Spike and I wanted to work with Denzel and Jim Brown and all the people that I really respect. I think the role was important for me. After The Fifth Element, people were just not seeing me in roles that were real. People had stopped looking at me for a normal romantic character. This part is far from normal but at the same time you see a completely [different side of me]. I want to play different parts, different lives and feel strong

eDrive: It's good to be the king