“The thing is that my idols have always been the types of guys who could do anything: Gene Kelly, Fred Astaire, Sinatra, Dean Martin; and when you look up to people like that, you don’t accept that you need to be compartmentalized.” — Justin Rimberlake

Mitchell and I love Justin Timberlake. Some years back, we discussed him. This was “pre” a lot of things, like Llewyn Davis, his new album, the Jonathan Demme concert film … we would have discussed all of these, had they happened yet. I am looking forward to watching Palmer. Big JT fan. I was very moved by his performance on inauguration night, with Ant Clemons, in his home town of Memphis, out in front of Stax Museum.

I asked Mitchell to describe Justin Timberlake in one word. And then I asked Mitchell questions. Mitchell was on the JT train years before I was. So were my sisters.

JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE

Sheila O’Malley: One word.

Mitchell Fain: Old-school.

I say that because he’s so multi-talented. I thought he was adorable when he was in NSYNC and I predicted that he was going to become as famous as he has become, although people laughed at me. I feel totally justified, which is a pun on his album name, by the way. He’s like Hugh Jackman and Neal Patrick Harris. They all could have been working at MGM. They can sing, they can dance, they can act, they have a personality, they can do a talk show, they can do comedy, people like to see them, they make people happy. I feel like he’s an old soul old-school talent. He doesn’t seem to sweat it. There’s something very grateful about him. Of course, I’m getting a lot of this from Rachel [Hamilton – our friend who writes for Justin Timberlake], in that she says that he’s very grateful for the life that he has. He treats people kindly because of it. Which also makes me love him.

Justin Timberlake’s Emmy-nominated performance at the ESPY’s, written by our friend Rachel Hamilton

MF: I think that we’re destined to be friends, that’s what I’m trying to say about it.

SOM: That’s really the thesis statement.

MF: I think we’re destined to be in each other’s lives.

SOM: [I am laughing.] So you liked him in NSYNC. That was when you first clocked him?

MF: I first clocked him when they were on Leno. Celebrity had just come out and they were doing “Pop”. I remember thinking: A, he was adorable, B, I really like the song, and C, he had a Michael Jackson quality. He was exponentially better than everybody in his group and I felt that he was destined to be a solo star.

SOM: What about him as an actor?

MF: I think I’ve seen everything he’s done. Depending on what he’s cast in, he’s more or less good. He was really good in Social Network – mainly because they cast him because of how we feel about him and what a rock/pop star he is. They used him really effectively.

MF: He did some stupid movie called In Time which I didn’t like but I thought he was good in it. His best is Friends with Benefits because he’s utterly charming.

If you think about old-school movie stars – like, the difference between Joan Crawford and Bette Davis. Everyone thought of Bette Davis as The Actress and everyone thought of Joan Crawford as a Star. And that was true of boys, too. There was the serious actors, right? And then the men who were stars, like Robert Young, Robert Montgomery.

MF: They were charming. Were they the deepest, weightiest, rangiest actors who ever lived? Probably not. But we liked to see them because they were handsome and charming. Fred MacMurray is a perfect example. When used well, he was very effective, and when used against type, he was also very effective, like in Double Indemnity.

MF: But was Fred MacMurray James Stewart? No, he was not. Was he Robert Mitchum? No, he was not. But when used correctly, in type or against type, he’s welcome. And Timberlake is the same way. So few people have that kind of multitude of talents and who also are allowed to do it. Neal Patrick Harris is another one, Hugh Jackman is another one. You know, it used to be – if you were a singer, you sang, even if you acted as well. Nobody thought that was weird. And then there was a period of time where it was super weird if you were an actor and decided to be in something goofy or musical. As if artists are only one thing. How many artists or actors or writers do you know that do 8 different things? We all do. We all can do a little bit of everything. Thats what makes us artists. He just isn’t being pigeonholed. My one complaint is that I wish he would go back and do some music.

SOM: I think he’s going for the movie star thing now.

MF: Which is cool, and he’s doing it right. He’s doing it stealthily. He’s taking cool projects, he’s staying in the mix. Maybe he will resist going the action-film route because he doesn’t need the money. He’s a gazillionaire. His body in Friends with Benefits, it’s so beautiful, I’m surprised he hasn’t been asked to do an action movie. His body is almost too much.

SOM: [I start to laugh.]

MF: Do you agree? It’s just a beautiful body.

SOM: It’s a perfect body.

MF: I hate him. I’ve gone to the other side. I hate him. I hate him for everything. I hate him for having it all.