Jason Schwartzman

Interview By: J.P. Mangalindan
JPMangalindan@TheCinemaSource.com

Can you imagine Phantom Planet without Jason Schwarztman' The O.C.'s signature song with Jason singing back-up' Neither can we. At 14, Jason left the fledgling band he'd founded to pursue his dreams of acting full-time ' and thank god he did. His turns in Rushmore and more recently, I Heart Huckabees, provide an earnest, quirky soul to these generational classics.

In his latest role, the 25-year-old actor plays the enigmatic Jeremy, vying for the affections of Mirabelle, a salesgirl who sells gloves and accessories at a high-end department store, torn between her love for the affluent divorcee Ray (Steve Martin) and the hard-working Jeremy. Based on Steve Martin's bestselling novel, Shopgirl, Jason finds the film's life lessons universally applicable.

'It sounds cheesy, but I respect someone who's met someone and trying to connect with someone who's out there,' he comments. 'That's what the movie's about to me: connecting and loving someone for who they are and not what your version of them is or because you want to be in love ' all these kinds of strange reasons. I think he [Steve Martin's character] truly and sincerely loves her. That's why she stays with him in the beginning of the movie. Clearly, he's not what she was expecting. Clearly, that's not the relationship she wanted to be in. She wanted a little bit more, but as Steve says in the book, Steve's interest in her was interesting to her.'

To play Jeremy, Jason burrowed into his psyche, but did Steve Martin's larger-than-life comedic persona play a factor in his preparation'

'I don't think I emulated one [Steve Martin role] that already existed, but it did cross my mind to think, 'Well, how would Steve have done it if he was younger and playing this part''' Jason says. 'I mean, why not go there' Because he wrote it. I listen to the book on tape that he read just to listen to his tempo, as another kind of nugget. But I wasn't basing it on Father of the Bride or something!'

'Pat Wheel and Weezer are a big influence on the way I play drums and I remember we played a show together. I felt totally powerless because I thought, 'I can't drum because I'll look like the guy I'm ripping off is here!' I wouldn't say I'm ripping off Steve Martin [with this] ' Being a kid, you love comedies and Steve Martin was, and is to this day, a titan. I feel like in those years when you're still being woven together, all the things you take in become a part of your consciousness. Artistically, Steve Martin is somehow programmed into me on some level, just like Xanadu was or something.'

Jason echoes Martin's recent comment in light of what some critics decry as a Bill Murray-esque turn toward the quizzically dramatic.

'Steve has said, 'I think in all of my movies there was a drama.' It was not always comedy. He said, 'I feel like I've always been doing this. It's funny that people say I've taken this turn, but I've always tried to incorporate this drama in my work.''

Up next for Jason' A meaty role in Sofia Coppola's film adaptation of Antonia Fraser's biography of Marie Antoinette slated for 2006. Jason plays Louis XVI to Kirsten Dunst's Antoinette. With Rip Torn, Judy Davis and Asia Argento, it's a surprising cast roster to be sure, but for Jason, it means the opportunity to expand his range as an actor and explore heretofore unknown cinematic possibilities.

'I believe in not overthinking things too much,' he says of his projects. 'When the right thing comes along, you really don't have a choice.'