by MARK SLUTSKY

Ian Halperin’s gone back undercover—well, sort of. The Montreal native who posed as a model in order to research the book Bad and Beautiful, a fashion industry exposé, and who co-wrote Love & Death: The Murder of Kurt Cobain, is now touring campuses with His Highness Hollywood, a documentary about trying to make it in the movie biz. In it, the filmmaker hires a publicist, renames himself “His Highness Halperin,” dons a green-sequined shirt and basically asks a lot of people if they think he’s star material. He also sees a nutritionist, talks to a personal trainer, interviews Ron Jeremy, and eventually achieves some debatable success, getting cast in a silent short film and an infomercial, in addition to some work as an extra.

The Mirror spoke to His Highness about Hollywood, star power and what it takes to make it big.

Mirror: How did His Highness Hollywood switch from being a documentary about aspiring actors in L.A. during pilot season and turn into a doc about yourself?

Ian Halperin: It’s not really about myself. It’s more about the illusions about the lives of stars, about the studios and their image-projection and protection. I thought the best way to cut through all that was to go undercover myself. I’ve always had a bit of a profound cynicism towards Hollywood. I felt the best way to expose some of the myths and some of the ridiculousness was to take a guy like myself, who’s never acted before, pull up in a loud, ridiculous costume and see where it takes me. But it sort of got thrown in my face because at the end I end up getting jobs while all the legitimate people get left by the wayside.

M: But what kind of jobs did you get, exactly?

IH: I got cast as the lead in [short film] The Husband, which was directed by Samantha Lockwood, the daughter of 2001 star Gary Lockwood. I did a lot of extra work. I did a stunt scene for The Reagans. I guess the head-shot Janice Dickinson did went a long way. She’s a good photographer. But still, you know, the first agent I saw said, “You’re going to be the next Kevin Spacey.” You never know what to expect when you walk into a casting room or an agency.

M: Do you think any of these gigs could have led anywhere?

IH: Well, anything could lead anywhere. You never know—you get the glitzed-up and glossy version of what it’s like in the entertainment business watching shows like American Idol, but my objective was to make people think twice about their game plan before trekking out to Hollywood. I’m a big proponent of acting, I believe in it as an art form and I respect anyone who tries to express themselves creatively. But it’s the powers that be in the business who are corrupt. So by watching this film, at least, I think people will get a better idea of what they have to do to prepare and what to avoid.

HIS HIGHNESS HOLLYWOOD SCREENS AT CONCORDIA’S HALL THEATRE WEDNESDAY, OCT. 19, 7:30 P.M., ADMISSION FREE IF YOU SAY, “I ONCE SLEPT WITH HIS HIGHNESS,” OTHERWISE $4

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