Chris Rock Talks Bill Cosby, Barack Obama, and Why 'Lost in Translation' Is Really a Black Movie
Chris Rock and Rosario Dawson in Top Five
Chris Rock plays a very loose version of himself in Top Five, the Dec. 12 comedy that he also wrote and directed. Under the guise of Andre Allen, a stand-up comic who becomes a movie star by playing a foul-mouthed bear, Rock gets to work out some of his neuroses, his feelings about fame, and his opinions about show business.
He was able to expand on those subjects — and much more — in a new interview with New York’s Frank Rich. Read some of the highlights below including his thoughts on the Bill Cosby rape allegations, Barack Obama’s presidency, and the movie he wishes he’d gotten to make with the late Nora Ephron.
He’s as upset as you’d imagine about the Billy Cosby allegations:
“I don’t know what to say. What do you say? I hope it’s not true. That’s all you can say. I really do. I grew up on Cosby. I love Cosby, and I just hope it’s not true. It’s a weird year for comedy. We lost Robin [Williams], we lost Joan [Rivers], and we kind of lost Cosby.”
He thinks Lost in Translation is secretly a movie about being black and wealthy.
“I don’t think I’ve had any meetings with black film execs. Maybe one. It is what it is. As I told Bill Murray, Lost in Translation is a black movie: That’s what it feels like to be black and rich. Not in the sense that people are being mean to you. Bill Murray’s in Tokyo, and it’s just weird. He seems kind of isolated. He’s always around Japanese people. Look at me right now.”
"And there’s only really one black person here who’s not working. Bill Murray in Lost in Translation is what Bryant Gumbel experiences every day. Or Al Roker.”
He’s open to directing a superhero film if Top Five is a hit.
"I’ve been around a long time, and the thing not to chase is stardom. It’s like chasing hits. I would just do another little movie. But don’t get me wrong: If Marvel wants to throw me something… If they want to say, “Hey, that little movie you made? Well here’s a big movie”—like they did with [X-Men director Bryan] Singer? Yeah, I’m open to that. If somebody wants to do something that crazy.”
He really wanted to work with Nora Ephron.
"She and I used to talk about making a movie all the time. She always used to say to me, "Are you ready to walk? That’s the only way we’re going to make a movie. We’re going to have to do a lot of walking and talking.” She would’ve directed it. I wanted her to direct me really bad.“
His next film is semi-political.
"The script I’m working on now is the same tone. I can’t go too much into it, but it’s based on a civil-rights icon. A radio guy with a talk show. Kind of an Al Sharpton guy who’s against Obama in the year Obama runs. It’s the life of a black guy going against the grain while this thing is happening around him.”
Despite some liberal backlash, he doesn’t think President Obama is a disappointment.
“Everybody wanted Michael Jordan, right? We got Shaq. That’s not a disappointment. You know what I mean? We got Charles Barkley. It’s still a Hall of Fame career. The president should be graded on jobs and peace, and the other stuff is debatable. Do more people have jobs, and is there more peace? I guess there’s a little more peace. Not as much peace as we’d like, but I mean, that’s kind of the gig. I don’t recall anybody leaving on an up."
Watch the trailer for Top Five:
