The following is a transcript of a follow up interview I did with the French magazine TSUGI about The Carter. The previous interview can be found here.

On 2/22/10 11:41 AM, “Jean-Baptiste Vieille” wrote:

Mr Lough,

Here are my additionnal questions :

- You said that one the most important things Baby & Slim did for Lil Wayne was to make sure he “stayed out of prison”. Now that he is about to start his bid, do you think this jail experience could be harmful for him ?

it will certainly be interesting to see how he reacts to prison life. On a purely artistic tip it might benefit him. In Chris Norris’ Rolling Stone cover article this month Wayne talks about not being able to record at Rikers and having to start writing again with a pen and a pad, reverting to his old method essentially. This change may spark some new creative impulses in him and launch him off in a new direction musically. Who knows what will happen? Perhaps it could be a positive experience somehow.

- In the movie, Baby seems to be a low-key, yet very influential figure for Lil Wayne. How do you look at their relationship ?

From what I witnessed they really do have a father-son relationship, it’s not just a publicity stunt. They travel everywhere together and Baby looks out for him like a father would, and looks out for Wayne’s children too. Wayne and Baby play Playstation together and bet money on it, tens of thousands of dollars on a single game and their interaction is really priceless. You can tell Baby really cares about him. And Baby is definitely responsible for shaping Wayne to become the artist and the man he is today. Their relationship feels rock solid from my vantage point.

- What did you learn from Wayne, interviewing his daughter?

His daughter can rap. She’s got skills and she’s extremely intelligent and gifted. I think she’s a lot like Wayne in that sense. She’s a child prodigy just like he was. Obviously she misses him and wants him around more but his rigorous touring schedule and celebrity life makes that difficult. We tried from the beginning of the film to get a scene with the two of them together but over the course of 9 months we were never successful.

- One of the most unsettling moment of the movie is when Wayne dismisses a journalist who wants to ask him about jazz, poetry and New Orleans music. In your opinion, is it just another example of the misunderstanding of rap by mainstream medias or does it tell something more personal about Wayne ?

I think that scene tells you that Lil Wayne doesn’t like being asked questions about Jazz or poetry relating to rap music! That journalist was really in the wrong place at the wrong time and I think if it had happened earlier in the day Wayne probably wouldn’t have reacted quite like that. Wayne had done a dozen interviews before that one and the day was getting long and everyone in the room was tired and cranky at that point. Even his boys were falling asleep. It wasn’t like the guy just asked one egregious question – he asked like 5 and kept at that same line of questioning. He didn’t get the hint. After Wayne tossed him out there was almost a collective sigh of relief in the room and everyone woke up again and then Wayne took a moment to catch his breath and was super nice to the next reporter. And then another German journalist came in at the end from Bravo Hip Hop Special and was very friendly to Wayne. I told the guy before his interview that Wayne is a big FIFA soccer fan and so the guy asked him about soccer right up front and Wayne got really excited. The rest of the interview was very positive and then Wayne ended his day. I think sometimes it’s all about the question you lead off with.

- In the movie, there is one scene that is quite disturbing and ambiguous : the “rape” scene. Did you hesitate to include it in the documentary ?

Never for a moment. I remember shooting that scene and thinking while shooting, “This is going in the movie.” It was an amazing story told by an amazing storyteller. What filmmaker would ever edit something like that out? That goes against all the rules of good filmmaking. I don’t care how prude people are and I don’t care who gets offended - that’s a defining moment in the film and a spellbinding scene. That scene divides audiences down the middle. Some people laugh because they can relate to it. Other people gasp because they are horrified. But regardless of what you think about what he’s saying the scene itself is electric and it’s all because of the way Wayne tells that story.

- As a filmmaker and as music fan, did this whole experience change the way you look at musicians in general ?

Not exactly because I had just spent a couple years on the road with Lee “Scratch” Perry shooting the documentary THE UPSETTER so I was fully educated on the life of a musician and all that entails. If anything this film changed my viewpoint on Celebrity. It’s fascinating the way celebrities navigate through the madness of their lives. Their lives are like non-stop performance art. This experience has drawn me closer to celebrities. I want to work with them more now. I’d love to do another film like The Carter about George Clooney. That would be amazing. Just think about how fascinating his life is. I’d be interested in documenting his day-to-day experience in the same cinema verite style as The Carter. Or perhaps Prince. Maybe even an athlete. A basketball star or an Olympic athlete. The more famous the better. Fame is the ultimate dramatic catalyst. Fame can launch a million great stories. And tragedy and comedy come hand-in-hand with it.

Thanks a lot, your openness in this interview is greatly appreciated.

JB