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In "Coach Carter," Ashanti plays Kyra, the girlfriend of a basketball player whose hoop dreams are seemingly jeopardized by a coach who wants to prove to his team that there's more to life than sports. MTV caught up with the singer recently to find out what it was like to make the switchover to movies and to ask her whether audiences are going to think "Carter" is a slam-dunk.
MTV: What made you pick "Coach Carter" for your first feature film?
Ashanti: When I got the script, it was just really, really easy for me to relate to. It had meaning. It had depth. As a debut, I didn't want a big starring role, you know, to have to hold an entire film on my shoulders. So I think this was a really great step.
MTV: Was it hard work?
Ashanti: Not really, not really. I had fun. It was more fun than work.
MTV: What was it that attracted you to the character?
Ashanti: Well, there wasn't a lot of female presence in the movie. You know, it's a basketball movie. And I think that it kind of stood out a little bit because we had a relationship, and it kind of showed that teenagers deal with the same problems that adults deal with. And just having the female part of it was really good for me.
MTV: Do you like sports movies?
Ashanti: Kinda sorta.
MTV: What were some that you liked?
Ashanti: "Remember the Titans." Uh, "White Men Can't Jump." Those are really, really good sports movies.
MTV: Do you find sports movies to be inspirational at all?
Ashanti: I think they send really deep messages, and sports are universal. You know, to me, this movie holds weight. To me, it puts me in the mind of "Lean on Me" — if you remember that movie — with basketball. So it's important that it holds weight.
MTV: Do you think it's fair to say sports movies are the male equivalent to chick flicks?
Ashanti: I guess so, you know, because if the guy wants to see a movie, the girl's gonna be like, "OK, I'll go with you, just to go."
MTV: What makes "Coach Carter" a great sports movie?
Ashanti: It shows the struggle. It shows how you can be easily distracted. It just shows the power in being a team, you know, and having a coach that genuinely cares. So it definitely has power points.
MTV: What other kinds of things does this move have to offer audiences?
Ashanti: There are so many scenes where it's a lot of drama. There's a little bit of death. The drama that I have with my boyfriend, Kenyon, um, I don't wanna blow up the whole movie ... but it's a lot. Like, there's tears. There's a lot of drama.
MTV: What do you think the message of the movie is?
Ashanti: The message that I got from it [is] it's really, really important to show your skills in school the same way you can show your skills with the ball. And never stop trying hard. Try to be good at multiple things, because you never know what's gonna happen.
[Warning: Skip the next question to avoid a possible spoiler.]
MTV: It's not one of those sports movies where it ends with a huge championship victory.
Ashanti: At the end of the movie — again, I don't know if I'm letting the cat out of the bag — but they don't win. And I think what makes it more special is that everyone claps for them and it's almost like a victory anyway because the families are there. The girlfriends [are too,] and we're hugging 'em, and I think that's more important. You know?
MTV: How do you think the message gets across without being too corny?
Ashanti: The level of drama that's dealt with, they're all real-life situations, you know? And I think it's so important for your normal, average people to be able to relate to that. You know, someone will say, "I went through that" and "I went through such and such." You know what I mean? And I think that's so important with people.
MTV: So what are your plans after this?
Ashanti: I definitely want to get into more films. I actually shot another film called "The Muppets' Wizard of Oz" and I play Dorothy. Something really, really different for me. Um, but it was a lot of fun. A lot of fun.
MTV: Do you feel like you'll do a lot of roles like this one?
Ashanti: Um, I do. I wanna do roles that have, you know, the meat and potatoes. I don't wanna do the little shindig. I want to have something with relevance. I want a challenge.
MTV: So, you didn't chose the role because you just thought it'd be easy ...
Ashanti: Again, I don't want to make it seem like la-di-la-di-la, because it wasn't, but I guess because I enjoyed myself I don't wanna call it, like, work, work, work, work, work, you know? It was just a good feeling to get a good response after reading my lines and getting into the character and acting it out. And having people say, "Oh, it's not just 'cuz she's Ashanti the singer, she really has talent," that's what's important to me. You know, I didn't look glammed out. I went back to just being natural, natural, natural. I looked like a 17-year-old, and I wanted people to see Ashanti Douglas, not Ashanti the singer.
MTV: Have you listened to the soundtrack at all?
Ashanti: Not yet, not yet. We were supposed to have a lot to do with it, but with my album, it kind of conflicted a little bit.
MTV: How do you think Samuel Jackson did?
Ashanti: Sam Jackson — again, I hate to keep referring to "Lean on Me," but it just puts me into [thinking about the character] Joe Clark with "Lean on Me." And he was really, really powerful in getting across [the message that] "You guys have to be able to have your skills to go to school and have that knowledge, because if this basketball thing doesn't work out, you don't wanna be left on the streets. You don't wanna be left without any choices to make." And he was very adamant. He was very strong by locking the gym doors, you know, wearing the suits and dressing up and being presentable. He got that across, and he didn't play. He wasn't taking any myth. No shorts.
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Photo: Paramount Pictures
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