NY Post interview with Jon 9-18-05
 

http://www.nypost.com/entertainment/52968.htm

A 'NICE' LIFE

By DAN AQUILANTE


September 19, 2005 -- IT'S Jon Bon Jovi's world, we just live in it.
At least that's the way it seems this week for the Jersey boy made good, as he plays the first ever concert at the new Nokia Theatre in Times Square tonight, releases his band's new disc — "Have a Nice Day" — tomorrow and stars in the just-released horror film "Cry_Wolf."

Not to mention that, at 43, he's happily married to his high-school sweetheart, has a pack of kids and is still selling out shows.

Jon is also a devoted football fan who got tired of just armchair quarterbacking and decided to buy the Philadelphia Soul, part of the Arena Football League, a couple of years ago. On the field the Soul may seem like a football team, but they are really a front for Bon Jovi's charitable work.

A little deceptive, like the new album with the cheery title "Have a Nice Day" that isn't all about smiley faces.

Post: A lot of people are going to think this is an optimistic album by the title.

Bon Jovi: If you take it literally, "have a nice day" sounds like a wonderful experience, but I'm a Jersey guy who's saying "Have a nice day," meaning "conversation over, goodbye."
You've always been a pretty optimistic songwriter. How did you get to this point?

This record is an overview of the last couple of years of my life. I witnessed the incredible polarization of the country during the [presidential] election, the war and everything else that's going on in the country since 9/11. I needed to say that how I live my life is my business. That's the great thing about being an American.

We're talking about the right to . . .

. . . be left alone, the right to be who you want to be. I don't want anyone telling me how to live my life.

That's the album?

There are also songs of inclusion like "Welcome to Wherever You Are." That one says whether you're a Muslim, Christian or a Jew, you're not better than anybody else. We're in this together, so we should try and relax. Live and let live. That was also an important thing for me to say.

Where's that coming from?

I travel the world and I see people taking moral high ground because other people look and act different than they do. Nobody has moral high ground — including me.

You've always been an outspoken political guy. Being that way, don't you have a responsibility to run for office and lead?

I don't have the desire to get involved in politics. People do it for money, power and fame. I have those things. I know I'm opinionated, but I don't desire politics. I need to give back socially.

Through music?

No, under the umbrella of the Philadelphia Soul. With the team I'm able to think global and act local. Forget about politics, with the Soul I can make a difference, like building a playground or buying beds for a rehab center. We started a year and a half ago with the team financing a youth help hotline. I can do more outside politics than I can from within.

Why?

If you're a Bush fan, the Democrats will give you a hard time. No matter what side of the aisle you're on, you'll find opposition. I don't have to ask about anything when it comes to the team. We see who needs what and get it to them, and I get to be Robin Hood. That's the legacy I'm gonna leave. That's much more exciting than politics.

What have you done? What's your message been?

In my music all I was trying to do was spread some optimism. In my youth it was the simplicity of the cliche. I was 24-years-old walking through the mall like every kid in New Jersey. A guy like Bono had Northern Ireland, what plight did I have? I had a wonderful upbringing in middle-class New Jersey.

There are those in music who hold that against you.

Am I judged for that? Maybe. But I'm not going to defend my position. I would hope people in your position are smart enough not to judge a book by the cover.

You have a new movie that's just been released.

Yeah, "Cry_Wolf." I play a teacher in a private school. It's a no-budget $1 million thriller that looks like it cost $20 million.

You've always gotten good notices as an actor.

In music I'm like Tom Cruise. I'm the guy who sells 100 million albums, but doesn't have the Academy Award. In Hollywood I'm like Elvis Costello. I have all the critical acclaim and no commercial success. Go figure.

Thanks for posting Becky, a good read.


Phil

Thanks Becky ,
pretty interesting read especially the last paragraph

I thought it was good APART from the last paragraph. I've lost count at the number of times he's used that comparison!

i think its less that he's used it a lot and more that journalists keep bringing it back out and reprinting it

His way of saying that he's done with Bon Jovi and it's time to be a full-time moviestar?

Now I underastand why many people think "Bon Jovi" is a one man artist and not a band...:)


But I like the guy anyway

Jon got critical acclaim for his movie? I mean from people who actually work for film magazines, not other actors he played with, not directors that directed the movies. I mean he plays in movies like U-571,Cry Wolf or Vampires, who the hell watches these movies to see good performance?


You know, Robert Louis Stevenson said that being a politician is the only job anyone can do. Right now I am wondering how long it will take Jon to figure it.

All the women in Moonlight and Valentino praised him. Jonathan Mostow, the director of U-571 praised him, saying he was going to be a "big, BIG movie star" someday. I don't wholeheartedly agree with that, but it was said.

He did nothing special in Cry Wolf or U-571, but I thought he was very good in The Leading Man and No Looking Back.

can't you read? I said actual film-critics who write for magazines not actors he played with or directors like Mostow.
I have seen only U-571, Pay It Forward, Vampires, Destination Anywhere and the one where he is the husband of that blond woman and I really thought he was CRAP. I don't know why I watched so many though.