Norah Jones: From Singing to Acting

It’s really common for singers to try their luck in the movie business, lately. So it would be hard for directors to find refusals from the singing area. However, for director Wong Kar-Wai it was rather difficult to have singer Norah Jones in his new movie, "My Blueberry Nights." It took him at least one month to get a meeting with the multiplatinum-selling singer. But, he finally succeeded to convince her and now Jones won’t be able to say that she passed on such an opportunity.

A few months before returning Kar-Wai’s phone call, the singer didn’t even hear about the director of "In the Mood for Love" and "Chungking Express." However, the director’s phone call did not come alone. A DVD box set of all his music came along through Jones’ manager. Thinking that her music was involved she called Kar-Wai back. Hearing his proposal, the singer thought "Why not?"

In a recent interview, the 29-year-old Jones said "I thought, 'If I say no, I might regret it,' and if I say yes, I'll have an experience. If I stink, whatever! I'm a musician -- I've got a day job. What can I lose here?" As a result she became a movie star and she acted with Jude Law, Natalie Portman and Rachel Weisz. This was the singer’s film debut and it was also Kar-Wai’s first movie in English.

"My Blueberry Nights" finds Jones playing the role of a young New Yorker named Elizabeth, who takes a road trip across the American West. On her way she meets a sassy poker player played by Portman, an alcoholic cop portrayed by David Strathairn and his wife played by Weisz. Jude Law plays her home-left love admirer.

The film was released last year at the Cannes Film Festival. However, The New York Times and The Associated Press didn’t seem impressed at all by Jones’ performance. Still, this doesn’t disappoint the Grammy-winning singer who sees this as a "cool experience." Making the film, "really helped that side of me. It helped my confidence, making music videos and doing this last tour. ... I enjoyed it so much more. I was so much more confident. I see that side of me as something that hopefully will just get better with age and practice," she said.”

Kar-Wai revealed the reason of him choosing Norah Jones for the film: "I listened to her music and then I decided to meet her," says the director. "What really impressed me about her was her face, her voice and also her character."




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