Kiss’ Gene Simmons is a man of many talents…and opinions. “I can’t wait for the hate mail. Really, pardon my French, I don’t give a f***,” he tells Newsweek. And that’s all part of the persona he’s created through business ventures, films, TV, books and, of course, music. An immigrant to the U.S., he modeled his off-stage persona after TV newscasters—”the best dressed, the most respected people. I wanted to be that. I didn’t want to talk or come off like the person next door. I dress like your boss.” About work, he says, “almost everybody goes to work for one thing: to make money. The idea that you have to love your job is lunacy.” And that take-it-or-leave-it attitude extends to his family. “First and foremost is to be kind. No drugs, no alcohol, no smoking. It’s not allowed.” Simmons credits his success and even his attitude to the power of the American dream. “I’m just thrilled, and I appreciate Americans allowing me to live in this country, because America has given me riches and rewards beyond anything I could or anyone could ever expect.”

You’ve got a few films in the works for your production company, right?

We have the Simmons/Hamilton film venture. The first one is called Deep Water, and it’s got [Madeleine] West, Aaron Eckhart, Sir Ben Kingsley, the director [Renny Harlin]—really well known who’s done action films, including Die Hard [2]. There’s another one with Mel Gibson and a very fine actress [Priya Jain]—you’ll hear about her because most people know about her only through her modeling and all that—called The Canyon, coming out afterwards.

You’ve done TV shows and films before, but this is a major step for you. This is a big deal.

No, I don’t look at it as a big deal. I look at it as something I enjoy doing. I’ve always been a film fan. Fact: I learned how to speak English through movies and television.