Cinematic Jacks: The Black and the White

Jack Black and Jack White are both musicians and now actors. The White Stripes’ singer/guitarist White appears in an upcoming Civil War film:

White makes his major motion picture debut this winter in the film Cold Mountain. The Civil War drama, based on a best-selling novel, also stars Nicole Kidman and White’s current girlfriend, Renee Zellweger. White told LAUNCH about the part he plays in the movie.

“I’m playing a Civil War musician and I’m singing a couple of songs in the film, and me and a couple of other Civil War soldiers have deserted from the war, and we’re living in a cave, and we’re all musicians and we all play American sort of folk song sort of things, you know,” White said. “So it’s gonna be pretty interesting.”

Cold Mountain comes out December 25. It was directed by Anthony Minghella, who also directed the English Patient and the Talented Mr. Ripley. Jude Law from A.I.: Artificial Intelligence and Natalie Portman from the Star Wars prequels also appear in the film. [Launch]

I wonder if the part is a result of the Zellweger connection or the fact that White’s pallor is that of a cave-dweller.

The other Jack, Black, fancies himself the cinematic Ozzy Osbourne:

Black says he’s the man to play Ozzy Osbourne in the long-awaited film version of the metal legend’s life, according to the New York Post. In fact, Black made the case to Sharon Osbourne herself on her talk show this past Friday (October 10), telling Ozzy’s wife that her husband “was a hero of mine as a kid and I have to say, I’ve been tracking the Ozzy film…if anyone’s Ozzy, I’m Ozzy.” Both Johnny Depp and Colin Farrell have been mentioned as possible actors to play Ozzy. [Launch]

Black will have to finally whip himself into shape to play the younger Ozzy, and I don’t envy anyone trying to capture the latter-day Ozzy, stumbling around mumbling, a sad but sympathetic self-parody, a cartoonish symbol of “evil incarnate” whose most dastardly deeds have been inflicted upon himself.