USA WEEKEND
Interview: Freddie Prinze Jr. on his dad, Mel Gibson and violent video games
January 2000
Freddie Prinze Jr. has the same handsome looks as the famous father he Lost to suicide when Freddie was an infant. Prinze, 23, who stars in the new big-screen comedy Down to You, also has something his dad (of TV's Chico and the Man) seemed destined for: a successful movie career.
USA Weekend: Your Down to toi character struggles to find meaning in life. Can toi relate?
Freddie: "It's kind of close to the last few years of my life. He's always messing up with his girlfriend. Every time he thinks he's got it made, something happens that just wrecks him."
USA Weekend: So your life isn't perfect?
Freddie: "No. My girlfriend and I divisé, split up a few months ago. I haven't been on a rendez-vous amoureux, date since."
USA Weekend: Haven't we had enough films about introspective 20-somethings?
Freddie: "No. My generation kind of got hosed as far as films we could relate to. We got Lethal Weapon. I want to be Mel Gibson, because he kicks butt, but he's not going through problems I went through. I mean, people were shooting at him."
USA Weekend: Best screen Kiss so far?
Freddie: "Jennifer l’amour Hewitt in I Still Know What toi Did Last Summer. We had to do a lot of takes. We kept cracking up and ruining it."
USA Weekend: Are toi into the Hollywood scene?
Freddie: "I'm a simple guy. I don't go to parties. I play paintball on weekends. I go bowling. I play basketball. I read comic livres every jour and I play video games at Jerry's Deli at 12 o'clock at night."
USA Weekend: Do violent video games affect children?
Freddie: "I grew up playing them, and I've never hurt anyone. It's in the way parents say, 'This is real and this isn't, and if toi try to do this in real life, toi could hurt somebody. So don't do it.' My mom told me. But maybe some other kid's mom didn't ell him."
USA Weekend: What's one thing toi wish toi could share with your dad?
Freddie: "My father's dream was to make movies, and he never got the chance. I feel that he's watching me and that he helped put me on this path."
Copyright © 2000 USA Weekend. All Rights Reserved.
Interview: Freddie Prinze Jr. on his dad, Mel Gibson and violent video games
January 2000
Freddie Prinze Jr. has the same handsome looks as the famous father he Lost to suicide when Freddie was an infant. Prinze, 23, who stars in the new big-screen comedy Down to You, also has something his dad (of TV's Chico and the Man) seemed destined for: a successful movie career.
USA Weekend: Your Down to toi character struggles to find meaning in life. Can toi relate?
Freddie: "It's kind of close to the last few years of my life. He's always messing up with his girlfriend. Every time he thinks he's got it made, something happens that just wrecks him."
USA Weekend: So your life isn't perfect?
Freddie: "No. My girlfriend and I divisé, split up a few months ago. I haven't been on a rendez-vous amoureux, date since."
USA Weekend: Haven't we had enough films about introspective 20-somethings?
Freddie: "No. My generation kind of got hosed as far as films we could relate to. We got Lethal Weapon. I want to be Mel Gibson, because he kicks butt, but he's not going through problems I went through. I mean, people were shooting at him."
USA Weekend: Best screen Kiss so far?
Freddie: "Jennifer l’amour Hewitt in I Still Know What toi Did Last Summer. We had to do a lot of takes. We kept cracking up and ruining it."
USA Weekend: Are toi into the Hollywood scene?
Freddie: "I'm a simple guy. I don't go to parties. I play paintball on weekends. I go bowling. I play basketball. I read comic livres every jour and I play video games at Jerry's Deli at 12 o'clock at night."
USA Weekend: Do violent video games affect children?
Freddie: "I grew up playing them, and I've never hurt anyone. It's in the way parents say, 'This is real and this isn't, and if toi try to do this in real life, toi could hurt somebody. So don't do it.' My mom told me. But maybe some other kid's mom didn't ell him."
USA Weekend: What's one thing toi wish toi could share with your dad?
Freddie: "My father's dream was to make movies, and he never got the chance. I feel that he's watching me and that he helped put me on this path."
Copyright © 2000 USA Weekend. All Rights Reserved.
