Flies Anyway. in which he plays a hospital patient who has lost his memory. Of more interest perhaps is James Toback‘s Black And White. a film that has already generated a lot of pre-release hype due to reports of on-set tension between two of its stars. Robert Downey Jr and Mike Tyson. The film — about ‘the blurred lines between black and white culture.’ says Wood, who plays a prep school kid obsessed with the hip hop scene — co-stars such icons as Claudia Schiffer and rap crew The Wu-Tang Clan. Such a potent cocktail of a cast. shaken by the notorious hellraiser Toback (the man once entered an eight-day coma after swallowing the highest-ever recorded dose of LSD), was bound to cause trouble.
‘It was really interestino,’ nods Wood sagely. Then he lets go. ‘11 was mad. It was pretty insane. It wasn‘t even organised madness. Pot was allowed on set . . .’ He breaks off. and. adds cautiously. ‘amongst everyone else.’
Snorting with laughter when reminded of Toback’s press denials over Black And White's chaos, Wood admits to choosing the project for its improvisational possibilities. ‘There was no script. just scene summaries. I don’t even remember what happened from day to day. I don‘t even remember what I said. It’s going to be really controversial, it‘s going to piss a lot of people off. I don’t know how it’s going to turn out.‘
Full of praise for co-stars Schiffer, the Clan members, Brooke Shields and Downey — ‘words flow from his mouth like wine from a goblet‘ -— Wood is more reserved about Tyson. ‘I never met him. I probably would‘ve freaked out. That guy gives me the creeps.‘
And his own take on the fame game? ‘When I’m home, I really try and keep things separate — the personal from the career — and not give any of myself to Hollywood when I‘m on my free time. I guess I am famous, but I don’t think about it. so I don‘t consider myself famous.’
The Faculty opens on Fri 9 Apr. See review, page 24.