Aaliyah's debut feature film, "Romeo Must Die," has just been issued on DVD, and the
singer-actress is currently working on her next
studio album, which she hopes to have
completed by the end of the month before
beginning her next movie project.
In September, Aaliyah will head to the land down
under to start shooting the movie version of Anne
Rice's novel "The Queen Of The Damned" with
director Michael Rymer ("In Too Deep," "Allie &
Me").
Aaliyah recently chatted with MTV Radio about
the status of her new album, which will feature
production work from Timbaland, Irv Gotti, and
several other yet-to-be-determined collaborators.
"[I'm] still working on the album," she said.
"I'm trying to finish it before I go to Australia,
actually in October and September, to start
work and shoot the next film for Warner
Bros., which is 'Queen Of The Damned.' It's a
go, so I'll start shooting soon.
"I play Akasha," Aaliyah continued, "who is the
Queen and the first, original vampire. That's
me. It's a good part. I've been working with
my coach. I work with him all the time, and
I've been working extra hard to prepare for
this and get comfortable with what she's all
about so I can do it the right way."
After her star-making turn in "Romeo Must Die," a
contemporary update of Shakespeare's "Romeo
And Juliet," Aaliyah indicated she was anxious to
get back in front of the camera.
But don't expect her to take a Lee Strasberg-like
Method approach to prepare for the part, like
taking "test naps" in a coffin or tomb, any time
soon.
"I'm a night person," she told MTV Radio, "so I
guess you could say I kind of have [the part]
in me, anyway. I'm a bit of a vampire for
real. I like the dark, I like the night, so I
really don't have to take it to [the extreme of]
sleeping in coffins.
"Other than that, I'm just preparing for it the
normal way. It's a fun role, 'cause I've always
loved vampires since I was a little girl, so the
chance to get to be one is amazing."
Aaliyah did admit that there was one essential
aspect of her preparations for "The Queen Of The
Damned" that she still had yet to complete --
reading the book.
"Actually, I had read 'The Vampire Lestat'
[before auditioning]," Aaliyah said. "I hadn't
gotten to 'Queen Of The Damned,' which is
the third book in the Anne Rice series in [The
Vampire] Chronicles, so I actually have the
book, and I'm reading 'Queen Of The
Damned' now that the movie's happening."
[Real Audio]
In addition to Aaliyah, Korn's Jonathan Davis is
also participating in the movie; he's signed on to
co-write the film's score with composer Richard
Gibbs (see "Korn's Davis To Score Vampire
Pic").