Lil Jon on Film Violence, His Grandmother Fanbase and Why Movie Stardom Isn't For Him

Of all the people milling around downtown Los Angeles this week for the city's 17th annual film festival, the last person you might expect to see is a profane rapper known as much for his diamond grill as his tendency to title albums around the word "crunk." Like Lil Jon, the rapper/producer/entrepreneur who was inexplicably "hosting" last night's screening of The Devil's Double, Lee Tamahori's acclaimed drama about the bodyguard of Saddam Hussein's vicious son, Uday.

In between mugging on the red carpet with various older male producers (who, it's safe to say, had no idea who he was) and the film's star Dominic Cooper, Lil Jon briefly spoke to Movieline about his association with the film, his various business endeavors and why he would never want to be a movie star.

How did you become involved with The Devil's Double?

[The producers] just reached out to me. I checked out the movie and then I was like, "Yeah, I'm down. Let's do it."

What did you like about the movie in particular?

It's a cool, nice movie. Did you see the violence? It's like some Scarface sh*t. It's hard to believe that people can do that.

What kinds of projects are you working on now outside of the music studio these days?

I got my Halloween mask coming out soon. I got more music coming and more television.

You were recently on Celebrity Apprentice. How did that experience change your perspective on the entertainment business?

Well it's changed my perception more than anything. You know, the way people see me. I can't go to the airport now without grandmothers telling me how well I did on the show and how much they rooted for me. Just the overall, perceptions of me. I guess they look at me as, you know, not a dummy. [Laughs] They compliment me on how well I did on the show.

You've done some television voice work. Do you have any acting aspirations outside of voice work?

No, I just want to do animated because to be an actor, you have to really polish and refine your craft. I don't want want to half do it. I want to do it real. I just want to concentrate on the animated side and more television shows. I'm just trying to keep feeding the people with more jobs.

Last question, what's your favorite movie of all time?

That's a tough one. I like a lot of movies. I'm a movie freak. Um, I got so many. See, I'm a comedy guy. I'm an action guy. It's hard for me to pick one.

So you're a man of the movies. You don't want to give any one film preferential treatment?

[Laughs] I mean, we could be talking for hours about that.