Interviews

Christina Milian Rides Dirty In Need For Speed: Undercover

December 22, 2008

christinamiliandasgamerint Christina Milian Rides Dirty In Need For Speed: Undercover
Hot cars, fast women, spending endless weeks soaking up that cathode ray glow while lounging around like a postmodern Adonis in your wall-to-wall shag carpeted abdomen and sweat-drenched Fruit of the Looms… What’s not to love about being a gamer?

Nonetheless, much as we cherish binging on high-stakes racers like Need for Speed: Undercover (although, literally 15 sequels deep now, they might as well just subtitle them all “We Want More F**king Money”), sometimes duty calls. And thus, every so often, we don our journalistic caps—thanks to print media’s current bubonic plague-like symptoms, cute little fedoras with “Press” tabs on them are now on-sale at homeless shelters nationwide—and rejoin reality. Or, rather, pick up the receiver and face another soul-crushing day’s work, phoning-up crossover pop and R&B starlets like Christina Milian, whose erstwhile acting chops (and luscious Latin behind) grace the title’s in-game movies.

Maybe it’s creator Electronic Arts’ passion for po-po-baiting freeway chases. (Not to mention desperate need to get the franchise back on track after realistic circuit-competition-focused predecessor ProStreet smashed head-on into balls-to-the-wall-burnout-conditioned audiences’ palpable disdain.) Perhaps it’s the game’s flair for putting players behind the wheel of ill rides like the Lotus Elise and Aston Martin DB9 in open-world metropolitan playground the Tri-City area. Hell, it could just be the prospect of watching lil’ mama shake her pom-poms in upcoming Hollywood cheerleading epic “Bring It On Cinco.” But however you slice it, despite the odds stacked against the title—dodge pursuing cops and speed into oncoming traffic to bring down an international crime ring… how original!—we’ve definitely caught the vapors.

Keen to find out more about the tire-squealing foray into auto erotica (available now on PC and all major console platforms), we let Milian, who doubles here as saucy mechanic Carmen Mendez, shift the discussion into high gear:

Das Gamer: The story here is all about pursuit and betrayal – what’s the furthest length you’ve ever gone to in order to get your way? Well, besides putting up with our inane questions, that is…

Christina Milian: [Laughs] I’ve played detective before, done full-on drive-bys with my girlfriends and like, watched to see if our boyfriends were cheating or something. One time we caught one of them outside, and had to drive fast so he wouldn’t see us… We had on hoodies, sweats, the whole deal. Of course, we were in our own car, so hel-lo, how was he not going to recognize us, but yes, I’ve done the full-on undercover thing with my girlfriends checking up on boys. Don’t screw me over: I’ll find you!

Das Gamer: Thanks, we’ll keep that in mind. How much of an actual gamer are you yourself, though?

Christina Milian: I used to be really hardcore, a long time ago, back in the day. These days, if I play, I’m more likely to have a big Rock Band party with my friends or Guitar Hero parties. When I [appeared in] Def Jam Vendetta, that was really cool too, because in fighting games, I get to beat the boys. I like to keep them on their toes every now and again like, “surprise – girls play too!” I won’t lie about being into Frogger or Pac-Man like some people either: That stuff’s boring, and way too old-school for me.

Das Gamer: Sweet, now you’ve made us feel old. So how about changing the subject? Since you’ve been cast as a mechanic, it begs the question: Do you consider yourself an actual auto buff in real-life, and if so, how well do you know your way around under the hood?

Christina Milian: I guess I was for a while, but lately, because of my career, I’ve been too busy. A couple of years back, I learned everything there was to know about the ’64 Impala, though, since I actually rebuilt one to give to a friend. From engine to transmission, I had to rebuild the whole thing without messing it up and making it seem too new. I prefer that classic vibe, you know? We redid the interior, the exterior and everything in-between.

Das Gamer: Would it be wrong to ask you to come over and give us a tune-up? Or are you still too busy to get your hands dirty with a dude’s Pinto?

Christina Milian: To be real with you, back then I had a lot of time on my hands because it was after everything with the previous record label and I had some time to do what I wanted.

Das Gamer: OK – but just to make us feel sorrier for ourselves, how long did you devote to that last extreme makeover?

Christina Milian: Between acting, I was just working on this car, and it took me initially, before I started working on the engine and everything, about four months to work on the whole body—the paint job, waiting to get it sanded, forcing people to hurry up… After that it took me a little while longer to get the engine done, because I just wanted to find the right people and get a good deal at the same time, but it really wasn’t so much about the deal, because I just wanted to get it done right. It took me at least nine months to do it, but I finally got it done, and afterwards, I was like “I’m never doing this again—next time, I’m buying one that’s completely done.”

Das Gamer: So if the singing and acting thing doesn’t work out, in a pinch, you could always go back to the garage, right?

Christina Milian: [Laughs] That would be kind of hot—I could start selling some old-school cars. I’m sure all the boys would come through and buy them.

Das Gamer: What kind of driver are you in the non-virtual world?

Christina Milian: Oh gosh, my Mom will tell you that I really do drive like [I do in Undercover]. I drive crazy, but in a good way. I’ve never got in an accident, knock on wood, but I’m a damn good driver. If I ever have to go a long distance, like if I need to travel to Vegas, typically it takes people about 4-4 ½ hours, I’ll get there in about 3, and I like to drive between 100-120MPH. They tell me I need to slow down, but I’ll be whizzing around traffic. I’m impatient, but I’m not a crazy driver, I’m just good at it—at least that’s what I believe. [Laughs] I don’t hit the brakes too many times either: I’m a smooth fast driver.

Das Gamer: Switching gears here, given that you’re a recording artist by day, what do you think about the sudden success of titles like Guitar Hero: World Tour, Rock Band 2 and Wii Music: Are all these games killing tomorrow’s generation of MTV stars because they’re not learning to play real instruments, or…?

Christina Milian: Yes and no. I think they’re helping a lot of creative people that don’t have the money or ability to take lessons. There are those in the real world who just want to do something fast and make a record, because that’s how the music business works. But when you see artists like Lil’ Wayne or Kanye West pick up a guitar, they help spark people’s interest to want to go out and learn these instruments. These games are similar, in that they help people to get into the mind frame of actually making music the old-school way, rather than just on a beat machine. [Laughs] Don’t get me wrong—most of my music’s made on a beat machine. But creativity can sparked in many ways, and these games to me are just another one of them. If they inspire someone to go out and learn to play the real guitar, that’s cool by me.

Das Gamer: Dumb question: If you could write a song about Need for Speed: Undercover, what would it be about?

Christina Milian: I have a song called “Gotta Get to You” that would be so awesome for this game, because it’s got like a rock-pop vibe, talking about how you really like this guy and just met them, and gotta get them, but can’t reach them. It’s kind of like my character and very similar to what’s going on with her and the player…

Das Gamer: Finally, on the real, let’s talk turkey. It’s brutal out there given the current state of the economy. Gas prices haven’t exactly been cheap lately, even if they’re going down—any advice for someone hoping to get their roll on?

Christina Milian: Oh, it’s great that gas prices are finally going down. But I still suggest, if you can, to get, not necessarily a Prius, but something that can save the environment and save money at the same time. I’m all about that. I actually drive a Range Rover, but I’m thinking on the side I wouldn’t mind having a car that’s good for the environment.

- Rob Langstrom