Hanging With Alice Cooper
While many stars have a love-hate relationship with the blinding flashes and distracting hyper clicks of cameras, Alice Cooper seems fine as he walks down the red carpet inside the Chelsea Cinema for the premiere of the Tribeca Film Festival rockumentary “Super Duper Alice Cooper.”
Tribeca Film Festival
Red Carpet
Photographers shout, “Look here, Alice! Look here!” It’s hard to believe this man has been living the grueling life of a touring rock icon for five decades. As I snap his picture, Alice says, “So many people get me confused with Johnny Depp. The resemblance is amazing.” Then he grinned.
Super Duper Alice Cooper
Alice looks like other surviving rockers, with lines of battle all over his still-lovable face. Dyed black hair hangs long past his shoulders. He keeps it teased up, rock ‘n’ roll style. Alice is sporting a black leather jacket and a leather band choker holding a black ball snug to his neck. Its position is right below Alice’s Adam’s apple.
Underneath the choker, the flash bulbs light up a heavy silver chain. It’s partly obscured by the rocker’s white button-down shirt, which is open at the color. ‘No More Mr. Nice Guy‘ looks every bit like rock royalty. His arm is linked with his stunning wife, Sheryl. But quickly his handlers pull him away so he can pose solo for the crowd.
Rockumentary
Super Duper Cooper Doc
“I’m used to playing a heavy character in a film,” he tells me. “But, usually it’s not about me. I get to play the bad guy, the villain – this was different. And interesting. They came to me and said, ‘We want to do a documentary that is as theatrical as your characters.’
Go Ask Alice
Super Duper Alice Cooper becomes animated while talking about the film. “They zeroed in on a Jekyll and Hyde sort of thing,” he says. “Because that really is my career. I’m the nice guy here talking to you and I’m the guy on stage — two entirely different people. It’s not your normal documentary, not a talking-heads kind of movie.”
Mr. Nice Guy
When asked how he feels about the manic flashing cameras, he says, “It doesn’t bother me one bit. I feel much more comfortable on a stage with a mic than I do off stage. So that’s never a problem.” Then he sighs. “I think it’s sitting up and talking about yourself for 30 hours that’s hard. After a while you get sick of yourself and want to say, ‘Let’s talk about you for a while.’”
See also: Tribeca Film Festival 5-Star Favorite
It’s the star’s first visit to TFF after getting back from a tour in Germany. Following the film fest hoopla, he says he’ll be heading back to Phoenix. There’s no rest for him anytime soon. Next he’s heading out for a European tour and recording an album. After that, he’ll be performing with Mötley Crüe.
What kind of music does he like? “I really haven’t had time lately to listen to anybody. I get in the car and turn on the radio just like everybody else. Whatever is on is on. With Sirius now you can find yourself locked into certain eras. You know, sometimes you listen to ’40s radio, sometimes the ’50s. Rarely do I go to modern rock because I just haven’t heard any young bands that have knocked me out yet. Classic punk and classic rock are good.”
Tribeca Film Festival in Chelsea
New York City
Tribeca Film Festival He offers his thoughts on this trip to New York City. “When I left Phoenix it was 92 degrees. When I got here, it was snowing,” he says. “So, that’s a little different but I was a New Yorker for awhile. I used to live at 72nd and York in the ’70s.”
Super Duper Talks De Niro
The rocker comments on Robert De Niro, the father of the festival. “I still like ‘Mean Streets’ and I think it was one of his best performances. I think he was winging it the whole time. Of course, I still think he is the premier American actor. Everything he does is great. And I’ll tell you what he was good in, his last movie, ‘American Hustle.’
“He was really nasty in that movie. I mean, the look he was giving them was just whoa. I thought that one scene was great. It didn’t get any mention, but that was one of the best scenes in the movie.”
As Alice makes his way down the red carpet and towards the theater, he looks out on the crowd and says, “Hello my children of the night. It’s good to see you.”
Good to see you too, Alice!