Jack Black Plays Legendary Spooky Author In New "Goosebumps" Movie

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MIAMI (CBSMiami) – Jack Black can do just about anything – but as CBS4's Lisa Petrillo noted, it's his singing that's extra special.

"Does the music come naturally to you? Does the music live in you?" asked Petrillo.

"Yeah, there's a little musical duplex up in there," Black joked.

In Black's latest movie, "Goosebumps," he plays R.L. Stine, the author of the bestselling Goosebumps series. He's also the father of Hannah played by actress Odeya Rush.

But Stine holds a dangerous secret.

The scary creatures that his stories made famous are actually real, but he keeps them locked up inside the books.

One evening, when Hannah and her new friends Zach and Champ come over, Stine's monsters are unintentionally released from their manuscripts.  Mayhem breaks out.

In a crazy night of adventure, it's up to Zach, Hannah, Champ and Stine to team up and get all of these figments of Stine's imagination back in the books where they belong to save the town.

This is a Jack Black you have not seen before.

"That's what attracted me to the role. I'm usually the clown. This is darker, more sinister," Black said with a sinister smile.

For Black, the opportunity to work with kids again just felt right.

"I was nervous when I first started working with kids back in "School of Rock." Now it's my comfort zone. It feels like putting on an old shoe," he said.

And for 18-year-old actors Dylan Minette, Odeya Rush and Ryan Lee, working with Jack Black was the best.

"He comes onto the set joking around and automatically makes everyone feel so comfortable," said Rush.

"You learn from him by just observing him. He's also such a professional and such a great guy to work with," said Minette.

For Black, this film had all the elements he loves: action, drama and imagination.

More than half of the huge monsters were computer generated.

"That's where the acting comes in," Black said. "I love to pretend things are there when they aren't. It's one of my favorite parts of movie making. I flex that muscle a lot."

Goosebumps is rated PG13 and opens in theaters Friday.