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During that time, Dré moved from Atlanta to L.A., hoping to make the familiar transition from rapper to actor (he landed roles in Be Cool and Four Brothers). Big Boi wanted to go out on tour, but Dré refused. So Big Boi decided to hit the road without him. ''At first, it was kinda weird [to perform without Dré] because I'm used to turning around and he's right there,'' says Big Boi. He pauses, shaking his head. ''I hope I don't ever get like that — where I don't wanna do it.'' He pauses again, and then grumbles under his breath: ''That s---'s f---ed up, for real.''
In 2004, just when it seemed like OutKast were about to flame out, Dréreturned to Atlanta. But the distance between them was greater than ever. Part of the problem was their dramatically different lifestyles. Dré, the vegan father of a now-9-year-old son with Erykah Badu (they split up in 2000), moved back into the spacious five-bedroom manor where he still lives, leading a somewhat monastic existence. ''I have stuff all over the house, but I live in a small bedroom next to [my son's] room,'' he says. ''I had my music equipment in that room and I put a mattress in there. That became the most comfortable place for me, and I just stayed.'' Dré spent most of his time alone, working on music or sneaking into movies by himself.
Big Boi, meanwhile, immersed himself in Atlanta's party scene, hosting a celeb-heavy weekly bash at a strip club. He also settled into family life with his wife, Sherlita, and three kids. ''My babies are always with me,'' he says. ''When your everyday life consists of so much stuff that's not normal — music, movies, record labels — you have to balance it out.''
Big Boi's devotion to his family seems to bother Dré, who believes that artists' work ''kinda falters'' when they find love. ''The only time it doesn't falter is if you're putting everything into your work and not paying attention to your wife,'' he says. When directly asked if he's talking about Big Boi, Dré lets out a devilish giggle. ''I can't comment on that,'' he says. That sort of innuendo drives Big Boi nuts. ''Dré knows my family, but he don't know the ins and outs of my personal life,'' he responds. ''So he can't comment on it.''
Despite Dré and Big Boi's personal differences, OutKast were still officially together, and eventually they had to figure out how to follow up Speakerboxxx/The Love Below. Back when that album was still on the charts, HBO had approached them about doing a musical. They decided to go for it, enlisting Bryan Barber — a longtime pal who helmed the ''Hey Ya!'' video — to direct. In summer 2004, they began shooting what would become Idlewild.
''I remember thinking, 'Uh-oh! They haven't really rehearsed together,''' says Barber. ''But when they got on screen they just had fun, and I saw the old guys I met years ago when they were teenagers.'' Still, Barber says it was ''a challenge'' to get them on the same page. ''When business becomes such a factor in what you're doing, you lose a pureness, and it can weigh on a situation,'' he says. ''But I've never seen anything to say, 'These guys don't get along.''' Maybe that's because, in the finished film, Dré and Big Boi appear together in only three scenes.
