In 'Saint John of Las Vegas,' Steve Buscemi takes a break from playing the kooky, criminal supporting roles we know and love him for and steps into the shoes of John, a compulsive gambler who's trying to make a normal life for himself at an auto insurance company in Albuquerque. A road trip with his coworker, an unfriendly fraud debunker named Virgil (Romany Malco), leads John to encounters with offbeat characters, and ultimately, a new sense of self.

In an exclusive interview with Moviefone, Buscemi talked more about the movie and his passion for making independent films.

It wasn't choreographed. There were certain things that [director Hue Rhodes] wanted us to hit that were scripted but then he just let us go with it. We played music and just had fun.

Yeah. Just the cast of characters -- that's what I loved about the structure of the film, this road movie where we get to meet all of these people along the way. It's kind of like a darker Wizard of Oz, with Dorothy getting to the Emerald City, which is Vegas.

What's a leading man? John's certainly not a leading man in the traditional sense. He's a lead in that he's the main character. But to me he still has a lot of character traits that are fun to play.

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At age 60, Bridges may have found his Oscar-winning role in 'Crazy Heart,' a moving tale of a country singer named Bad Blake who has seen the peak of his success and makes his living driving himself from gig to gig, indulging in liquor and women at every stop -- until he meets a young journalist (Maggie Gyllenhaal) who changes his life.

In an exclusive interview, Bridges talked animatedly about his love of music and his father's influence on his career.

Jeff Bridges is that rare type of actor who is both amazingly gifted and extremely down to earth. The son of Lloyd Bridges and younger brother of Beau Bridges, he has been nominated for an Academy Award four times (for 'The Last Picture Show,' 'Thunderbolt and Lightfoot,' 'Starman' and 'The Contender'). An actor known for disappearing into his roles, his easy charm has made him an audience favorite for years.

At age 60, Bridges may have found his Oscar-winning role in 'Crazy Heart,' a moving tale of a country singer named Bad Blake who has seen the peak of his success and makes his living driving himself from gig to gig, indulging in liquor and women at every stop -- until he meets a young journalist (Maggie Gyllenhaal) who changes his life.

In an exclusive interview, Bridges talked animatedly about his love of music and his father's influence on his career.

What's the definition of a groupie? Like a fan or a sexual partner?

There's been nothing too bad. It's wonderful to have people who appreciate your work. I hope I have people out there who do that. I know sometimes I myself have gushed inappropriately over people whose work I'm knocked out by. And that happens sometimes. But I relate to that, so it doesn't bother me.

I love playing music and T Bone (Burnett) and Stephen Bruton, the guys in charge of the music, put together wonderful bands. The stuff that was pre-recorded was basically the band that was on the Alison Krauss/Robert Plant album, 'Raising Sand.' The people we played with in the movie were excellent musicians and we played those songs live. We were jamming between takes, playing stuff and having a great time.
In the movie Tommy Sweet (played by Colin Farrell) is the inheritor of Bad Blake's legacy. Is there anyone that you've been a mentor to in real life?

The release Disney's 'The Princess and the Frog' has sparked a hailstorm of chatter in both the mainstream media and the blogosphere over the fact that the movie features the first black princess.

But the critics and commentators may be ignoring a bigger story: Are Disney Princesses still as popular as they've been in the past, or has the storied tradition began to fade -- and will sales of backpacks, princess costumes and movie tickets drop in favor of an entirely new fad ... like, say, 'Hannah Montana'?

In an informal poll that I took, the results were mixed. Julia, age 6, from Long Island is over princesses, but Naomi, also 6, from Florida, still loves princesses and looks forward to wearing her princess costume when she goes to Disney World. Oona, age 3, from Massachusetts, doesn't watch the Disney movies and owns no princesses paraphernalia. Despite her parents' efforts to shield her from the mass marketing, she sometimes tells her mother, "I am a Princess!"

Meanwhile, the past few years have seen Miley Cyrus' alter-ego Hannah Montana become the dominant Disney property marketed to young girls, with a wildly popular TV show and concert tour and a pair of movies, 'Hannah Montana & Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert' and 'Hannah Montana: The Movie' raking in $65.3 million and $79.6 million, respectively.

But don't count out princesses just yet. Disney's last princess-centric movie, the 2007 live-action animation hybrid 'Enchanted' -- which starred Amy Adams as a princess who falls in love with a (Mc)dreamy modern-day single dad played by Patrick Dempsey -- racked up $127.8 million at the domestic box office ... almost as much as the two 'Hannah Montana' movies combined. You see, inside the mind of the American female toddler, whose main thoughts revolve around sippy cups and Tupperwares filled with Cheerios, Disney Princesses equal the ultimate in excitement.

When I was a toddler in the 1970s, my exposure to princesses (Snow White, Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty) was limited mostly to storybooks -- but even then I picked up on the fact that princesses are "pretty" and I wanted to be just like them. When I finally met one in person on my first trip to Disney World, I was star-struck. (This may explain the fact that, to this day, when I wake up in the morning, bluebirds fly in through my window, grabbing the corners of my sheets to help me make the bed. I also get great advice from a trio of t-shirt-wearing mice who have somehow avoided the glue traps my husband put around our living room.)

There is every reason to believe that 'The Princess and the Frog' will open to huge box office numbers. Unlike Cabbage Patch Kids or the new battery operated hamsters, there is something classic and enduring about the princess character that captures the imagination of little girls.

For many girls, a Disney Princess is their first exposure to images of beauty and femininity and like it or not, it's only natural that they should want to emulate it. In fact, even before all of the merchandising, little girls were showing up to Disney on Ice dressed up as princesses, which gave Disney the idea for the Disney Princess line, which now features over 25,000 products.

And why not? Disney Princesses generally don't have moms, so there's no nagging about bedtimes or cleaning up your room. They get to live Happily Ever After. And they all have hot, charming boyfriends who wear puffy shirts and leggings. It's certain that Tiana will be just as popular as Belle, Ariel, Jasmine and the other princesses and that little girls will find her ... enchanting. Which, in turn, should translate into one 'Enchanted' box-office ride for 'The Princess and the Frog.'