Posts Tagged ‘twilight’
James Gandolfini and Kristen Stewart Talk Welcome to the Rileys
James Gandolfini has always played the role of the tough guy.
While he attended Rutgers University, he worked as a bouncer at an off-campus bar. His first noteworthy acting gig was playing rebellious longshoreman Terry Malloy in a 1992 Broadway production of On the Waterfront—a role made famous by Marlon Brando, who of course has his own mob connections. Then, Gandolfini’s film career began with a series of brutish, enforcer-type roles—most notably that of Virgil, a mob hitman who delivers the mother of all beatdowns on Patricia Arquette’s Alabama Worley, in True Romance. Of course, he is best known for his iconic portrayal of Jersey Mafia boss-cum-family man Tony Soprano in the HBO series, The Sopranos.
Post-Sopranos, Gandolfini has been showing off his sensitive side—as the callow Mayor of New York City in The Taking of Pelham 123, and providing the voice of the impulsive, thin-skinned Wild Thing Carol in Where the Wild Things Are.
Kristen Stewart has become a Hollywood star thanks to the role of Bella Swan—a paragon of chastity and virtue, and the virgin love of vampire Edward Cullen in the film adaptations of author Stephenie Meyer’s abstinence-promoting Twilight series. Her other notable performances include a seizure-suffering diabetic in Panic Room, a captivating teenage musician in Into the Wild, and an alienated adolescent in Adventureland. And recently, she starred as venom-spitting guitarist Joan Jett in The Runaways.
Welcome to the Rileys is a departure for both Gandolfini and Stewart. The film concerns a downtrodden New Orleans couple, Doug (James Gandolfini) and Lois Riley (Melissa Leo), who take in a 16-year-old stripper, Mallory (Kristen Stewart), in an effort to alter the destructive path she’s on. The film is the sophomore feature of director Jake Scott, the son of Ridley Scott (Alien) and nephew of Tony Scott (True Romance).
MMM attended the New York City press conference for Welcome to the Rileys where Gandolfini and Stewart chatted about playing against type.
MANHATTAN MOVIE MAGAZINE: James, how did you figure out the back-story? Your Southern accent from Indianapolis was a little surprising.
JAMES GANDOLFINI: Yeah, to me too.
MMM: Is this guy going through a classic midlife crisis?
GANDOLFINI: Actually, I’ve reached an age where you look back and you question how did I get here and with me it’s mostly good, with him it’s not what I expected, it’s not what the man expected. He has to go back in his mind and go somewhere and try to figure out what to do now. I think a lot of people do that; they just can’t really go anywhere or just disappear and I think he just takes the opportunity to try to figure things out.
MMM: What surprised you the most about making this film?
GANDOLFINI: How kind and smart and special to the actors [Jake Scott] was. How different his set was from his uncle and his father. I never worked for his father. How smart [Kristen] was. I don’t mean that in a bad way, I mean for a young girl. Really, for a young woman how together and how smart and how she’s doing this all for the right reasons and how well we got along and how wonderful it was. I had a great time with her and I don’t necessarily think acting is fun, but I had a really good experience on this.
MMM: Kristen, those bruises were makeup, right?
KRISTEN STEWART: Yeah, they were. I got the bruises initially in rehearsal. I learned how to pole dance, you never really see it in the movie – you do for a second, it’s like in silhouette in the background – but it really hurts and you don’t realize that, of course, it’s going to show. There were so many that I wasn’t sure do you keep all of them or is that too much? I think what surprised me most was the fact that I was so unaware of the fact that I was walking down the street with my robe open and wearing fishnets and not caring at all. I had no inhibitions. I wasn’t scared and I’d known about this for a while before it got up and running and I’m really glad that it took a while to do so because I think that I was old enough to play the part as opposed to not ready. I think I would have shied away from too much. So it was shocking to find myself in situations like that and being completely fine with them.
MMM: How old were you?
STEWART: 18.
MMM: Kristin, how’d you prepare for the role?
STEWART: I went to my first strip club with Jake and upon entering the guy was like, “You’ll have to come back later if you want a job.” [Laughs] They must have thought that Jake was my pimp. Jake was also really on me about that as well, you’ve got to do some work before you’re going to be able to do this. He gave me a couple books that really helped. “Raised by Wolves” was the one that really got me like where you have really candid stories. This guy endeared himself to this group of runaway kids in Hollywood and they really just let it all out. Then just pole dancing and stuff like that, but basically we didn’t have that much time and it was really comforting to know that it validated me, it made me feel like I’ve done enough to do the part, but at the same time everything was in the script so once we started shooting luckily I felt like I didn’t have to add a thing. It was just doing it justice. It wasn’t like I had to add real elements; it was already there.
MMM: You all have very different ways of preparing for roles and didn’t do a lot of rehearsal, so how did you establish that you were a married couple?
GANDOLFINI: I like [Melissa Leo]. We just did it very professional and also she’s pretty good looking, which helps. It’s in the work. [Leo is from New York] Honestly that stuff helps; it just gives you shorthand. I enjoyed it. I just want to say something about the places [Jake] picked in New Orleans. It’s an incredible city for its lack of rules, it’s lack of regulation and lack of everything being on top of you and I think that’s why [Kristen] can walk down the street dressed as [she was] and it seemed easy. I remember the strip club that you picked and you’re walking up the steps of the strip club and there’s a circular step and there was hairs hanging off the bottom of the stairs.
STEWART: Like a lot!
GANDOLFINI: Like people’s hairs have fallen off and they stepped on it and you could see it these steps hadn’t been cleaned for hundreds of years and just the whole feel of it really, really helped. He didn’t pick places and dirty them up; we just went to the places so that helped a lot.
MMM: When you’re working on a film this small with just three of you, there’s a sense of being a surrogate family on the set. So what kind of family did develop during the making of this film?
GANDOLFINI: I think that’s any small film you do and we’re all trying to do the same thing. I think you’re not out hanging out every night, you’re working 14 hours, 15 hours. I guess there’s a sense of family; you’re doing all this stuff together and we had a few evenings together, which were fun.
MMM: Kristen, do you have a process for coming out of a role, especially going from playing Bella in “Twilight” to Mallory and back to shooting “New Moon?”
STEWART: No, the few things I’ve done in between the “Twilight” movies have just coincidently been very different, but I haven’t been like, “I’m going to shock everybody right now and just do this because it’s totally different.” It’s always been totally informed. Something speaks to you and you need to do it and that’s what it is. Also, I’m really lucky to have my cast on the series. You always think that it’s going to be hard to get back there, but it’s not because we’ve all wanted to tell the story for so long and it’s finally going to come to fruition and it always just sort of falls out luckily.
MMM: Kristen, how hard was it to really let go of Mallory? Do you still have her in you in a way?
STEWART: You probably have that with everything. It’s not just parts you play, it’s sort of every experience you have in life shapes you and makes you who you are and when some of the biggest, most monumental experiences have been working on films and playing parts, and this one more so than, I don’t want to compare them, but really more than normal, I think it’s had an effect on me.
MMM: Kristen, your character is in many ways a mystery. What did you imagine was her backstory and why is she such an angry person?
STEWART: Obviously this was something that was really important to us and Jake had a few ideas about what those details were and they weren’t so defined to be honest, but it was just enough. It’s weird to talk about. One of the first things that he told me when we met on the movie was that some of the stories, and I don’t know if this will sound bad, but a lot of these girls’ stories are really typical. A few things add up to being able to do something like that as a job and we sort of inserted those little bits, a few little details. I know where she’s from; I know that she’s not lying when she says to Doug where she’s from and I know that would never come across in the movie, but little things like that. But to go into it would be really weird.
MMM: How much does your character’s wardrobe effect how you portray her?
STEWART: It helps. I guess it seems like the most obvious thing, if I was wearing …
GANDOLFINI: If you were naked.
STEWART: [Laughs] Anyway, I think what was cool about the costume was that you think stripper – I don’t really think a whole lot when I think stripper, to be honest. A lot of people have certain ideas about how they must be and I really didn’t have any, but I always sort of imagined that they’d be kind of sexy at least or something because that’s sort of their job. On the contrary, you’re exposed so often that you’re entrenched the entire time. Literally, imagine never wanting to take off a trench coat, but living in New Orleans and it’s hot and so that was interesting. And also the stuff was really dirty and everything helps like makeup, sets obviously, anything to make you feel more like you’re there.
MMM: Can you talk a little about filming in New Orleans and what you missed the most about your respective hometowns?
STEWART: I’m not being deadly serious about this, but I tend to really offend people that are in my life when I go and especially on this one because it was the first time I’d ever been alone on a movie and I loved stomping around the city like it was mine and that’s totally what Mallory was supposed to do, so I didn’t really miss too much. I was having a great time.
GANDOLFINI: I missed my son and my wife as we say and New York food because I had heartburn for six weeks. It’s great food, but, man, you know?
WELCOME TO THE RILEYS is now playing in select theaters.
Jackson Rathbone is on the Verge
From Singapore, his birthplace, to the hills of Los Angeles, its been a long, strange trip for Jackson Rathbone.
His great-grandfather was the chairman of Standard Oil of New Jersey, which later became Exxon, so his father’s job at Mobil Oil forced young Rathbone to move around quite a bit throughout his youth. He acted in local musical theatre in Midland, Texas, before attending Interlochen Arts Academy, a private school for the arts in Michigan, where he sharpened his acting skills. Following high school, Rathbone decided to test the waters and moved out to L.A. He was initially cast as an MC in “Disney 411,” a news show on the Disney channel where he interviewed starlets like Hilary Duff, and then landed a 2-episode arch on the popular teen TV drama “The O.C.” Rathbone struggled at first, only landing minor supporting roles in forgettable fare, like the straight-to-DVD directorial debut of Rob Schneider, “Big Stan.” Remember? The one about a real estate con artist trying to avoid prison rape? Didn’t think so.
And then there was “Twilight.” A still relatively unknown Rathbone was cast as Jasper Hale, a member of the Cullen vampire clan who can sense and manipulate the emotions of those around him. The first installment made immediate stars of Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson) and his human mate, Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart). While the sequel, “The Twilight Saga: New Moon,” transformed Bella’s six-pack sporting werewolf admirer Jacob Black (Taylor Lautner), into a teen heartthrob. Now, it’s Rathbone’s time.
Merely decoration in the first two “Twilight” films, “The Twilight Saga: Eclipse” sees Jasper Hale’s character grow by leaps and bounds. The film delves into his background as a Confederate Civil War soldier and how he was seduced by an evil vampire named Maria and turned into a manipulator of young vampires, training them to start an army for Maria. In addition, Rathbone was cast in a starring role as Sokka, a warrior from the Southern Water Tribe, in M. Night Shyamalan’s epic “The Last Airbender.”
With two blockbuster franchises under his belt – included two more “Twilight” films – and rumored projects galore, Rathbone’s star is rising fast. MMM sat down with the young actor to chat about his two high-profile projects and impending stardom.
[Jackson comes in wearing a red tuxedo jacket with black lapels and white shirt]
JACKSON RATHBONE: I’m channeling Jack White today. And I cut my long hair off.
MANHATTAN MOVIE MAGAZINE: How familiar were you with the universe of “The Last Airbender” prior to accepting the role?
RATHBONE: I was fairly familiar. I was a big fan of the “Cowboy Bebop” series for a long time. My friends actually kind of pulled me into the “Avatar: The Last Airbender” show and I found out through the wire that M. Night was going to be directing a live adaptation of it. I was clawing at my agent’s door saying, “You better get me into this, please!” I originally read for Prince Zuko and met with Night for that. And a year later he called me in for Sokka. It just felt right.
MMM: What sort of training did you have to do for the role?
RATHBONE: Kung-fu training started in January in Los Angeles. It’s funny because I’d go to train at the Paramount lot where all the amazing stuntmen and women were training as well. So I’d be kind of breaking a sweat and learning the basics while they were doing all this amazing choreography. We did boot camp in February and really studied Gong Li Quan, which is Power Fist Form – a really aggressive form of Kung Fu. I also studied wrestling and grappling because we wanted to make Sokka more of a head-first, go-for-it type of fighter as opposed to a tactical fighter.
MMM: How did your fight training in this differ from “The Twilight Saga: Eclipse?” Cause you play the resident fight expert in that film.
RATHBONE: It’s interesting because I went from “The Last Airbender” to “Eclipse,” so I had all the background training on “The Last Airbender” which really serviced me well. We were going through the motions so I was teaching all the other actors, “You don’t have to punch this close. Really, don’t punch this close.” Peter Facinelli [Dr. Carlisle Cullen] was really gung-ho about getting it real.
MMM: How cool is it to be in these two gigantic films opening within a few days from each other? It doesn’t suck to be you, does it?
RATHBONE: The vampire joke aside, you mean? [Laughs] You should be punished. Send him to the pun-itentiary. [Laughs] OK, that’s worse. I have a problem with puns. It’s true. It’s an addiction. I’m trying to keep it under control! But no, it’s definitely an interesting time. I’m blessed to be in one film that gets seen, let alone two back-to-back. I moved out to L.A. when I was 18 with my car and my guitar and just kind of really hit the pavement trying to find a job. I would pick up any job I could – catering, mostly. I used to busk on Venice Beach. I love art. I love getting a chance to make it, because, at the end of the day, it’s going to outlast me. And getting to be a part of these two franchises, something bigger than you, is great. I never, in a million years, thought I’d be a part of one franchise, let alone two. I always pictured I’d be a character actor in indie films my entire life and I’d barely make a living.
MMM: How psyched are you that “The Twilight Saga: Eclipse” is finally getting good reviews, compared to the other two?
RATHBONE: Really? Wow. I honestly don’t pay that much attention to the reviews. I try not to. I’m sorry, but we make movies for the moviegoers. The audience. The people who can watch a movie the way that I can’t watch a movie anymore; the people who can watch a movie and not think about the script, the camera angles, the lighting. That’s not who movies are made for. At the end of the day, I’m just excited people like the movies.
MMM: How did you feel that your character is really given a ton of back-story in this film? It’s probably the largest leap in character development of any character in the film.
RATHBONE: I’m definitely pleased. The way I see it, I do one job at a time and always hope for the best and prepare for the worst. But honestly, I’m not where I want to be in any means. I think the work of the artist is to constantly grow and to develop. I think maybe 15 years down the line I might be closer to where I want to be.
MMM: Aside from the allure of starring in a blockbuster and working with M. Night Shyamalan, what else attracted you to your role in “The Last Airbender?”
RATHBONE: I’ve got a 15-year-old sister and I’ve always been extremely protective of her. I’ve actually got two older sisters and I’ve always been extremely protective of them as well. My Dad taught me well. Whenever my older sisters would bring their boyfriends over – and I was about 12 years old – my Dad would be teaching me how to clean the shotguns. I’m honestly not kidding! I’d be sitting there with a shotgun on my lap cleaning it and my sister would walk in and go, “Dad! I can’t believe you’re doing that!”
MMM: Did it work?
RATHBONE: Oh, yeah it worked. Maybe too well! But I have a very close bond with my family and it’s very important to Sokka, especially with his mom being taken away by the Fire Nation and all he has left of his family is his little sister. And also he’s a young rebel. I was always a young rebel, except I didn’t have a cause.
MMM: If you had to have a power, what would it be?
RATHBONE: I’ve always loved the idea of the element of water. Bruce Lee talks a lot about it in “The Artist of Life” – what it means to live like that, and how something as simple as a stream can eventually cut away to the Grand Canyon. It’s a very powerful element. It comprises most of who we are as individuals, and comprises most of the world as we know it. But I can’t say. People ask what you would change about your life and about the world, but to me, it’s the way it is. There are ups and downs, there are travesties and there are miracles. It takes one to see the other.
MMM: What was it like working with M. Night Shyamalan?
RATHBONE: He gives you the scope of the entire film. He has a vision of what he wants from the get-go, and he works with you to achieve that vision. He’s a very collaborative director – from the actors to the DP’s, gaffers, set designers.
MMM: How did working with M. Night on “The Last Airbender” compare to working with David Slade on “The Twilight Saga: Eclipse?” Slade has really indie sensibilities with “Hard Candy,” while M. Night has always had a Hollywood blockbuster filmmaking mentality.
RATHBONE: It’s definitely interesting. With David, he was stepping into a franchise so there were certain bits and pieces in place that you can’t fool with too much. He was really great having meetings with us one-on-one to talk about how our characters fit in the world of “Eclipse,” as opposed to “Twilight” and “New Moon.” Night would do pretty much the same. We’d do one-on-one meetings, rehearsals and talk about how we’d best serve the story. The stories are so different. “Airbender” is more of a family-oriented action films with morals and an amazing spirituality and philosophy. “Twilight” has that romance. And like you said, [David] was fighting against a lot of preconceived notions about the franchise. I watch films from a hoping-to-be-a-director standpoint. I find them both fascinating. One of the things I love about David is that a he moves the camera like your eyes would move if you were there. And Night shows you a film. [Night] has an old-school sensibility like Stanley Kubrick, or Kurosawa. I might be pulling there, but I think that’s the people he’s looked up to and the people that I see in his work whenever I watch his films.
MMM: So I’ve gotta ask: what’s it like being a teen heartthrob?
RATHBONE: I don’t know. Honestly, I love making art at the end of the day. I never thought of myself as a leading man, let alone a heartthrob. I was a character actor my whole life. I always played characters parts – the off-kilter, weird guy. To be in that position… I don’t feel like that, personally. I just want to keep working and keep experimenting with different characters as different from one another as possible… It definitely makes me blush!
MMM: What do you have in the pipeline?
RATHBONE: I’ve got “Breaking Dawn,” of course, which will be split into two parts. I’m taking meetings to really figure out my next project. I really want to produce a movie and take it into production by next year.
MMM: What about this project “Truckstop” you’re attached to star in [along with Melissa Leo, “True Blood’s” Ryan Kwanten and “Winter’s Bone’s” Jennifer Lawrence]?
RATHBONE: “Truckstop” is not set in stone yet, but I really hope it comes together. They’re looking for the last bit of funding!
Tags: Jackson Rathbone, marlow stern, The Last Airbender, The Twilight Saga: Eclipse, twilight
Posted in Featured, Interviews | 11 Comments »
Final Twilight book split into two films, Transformers 3 news, a Les Grossman film & more!
TWILIGHT NEWS!
Summit Entertainment has confirmed the rumor that the final “Twilight” book will be adapted as two separate films. The news, from their press release:
Summit Entertainment confirmed today that THE TWILIGHT SAGA: BREAKING DAWN will be released as two separate films with the first of the two slated to be released in theatres on November 18, 2011. Academy Award® winner Bill Condon will direct both films starring Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner along with Billy Burke as Charlie Swan as well as returning members of the Cullen Family including Peter Facinelli as Carlisle, Elizabeth Reaser as Esme, Jackson Rathbone as Jasper, Nikki Reed as Rosalie, Ashley Greene as Alice and Kellan Lutz as Emmett…
UPCOMING FILM PROJECTS!
USA Today visited the set of TRANSFORMERS 3 and got new details on the third film, opening in theaters on July 1, 2011. The newspaper confirmed it will be released in 3D. Talking about the second film, director Michael Bay said, “I’ll take some of the criticism” while standing at a set built to resemble a dilapidated nuclear reactor. “It was very hard to put (the sequel) together that quickly after the writers’ strike (of 2007-08).” Bay said that “This one really builds to a final crescendo. It’s not three multiple endings… As a trilogy, it really ends. It could be rebooted again, but I think it has a really killer ending.”
“One thing we’re getting rid of is what I call the dorky comedy,” Bay added. So the twins, “They’re basically gone,” he said, though John Turturro returns for comic relief.
The newspaper says the new villain will be Shockwave, “the robot cyclops-turned-laser-cannon, who became dictator of their home world of Cybertron after the other Autobots and Decepticons journeyed to Earth.”
According to USA Today, “The new film features Sam Witwicky (LaBeouf) taking his first tenuous steps into adulthood while remaining a reluctant human ally of Optimus Prime.” “Shia has this great line: ‘You know, I’ve saved the world twice, but I can’t get a job,’” producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura said. Transformers 3 centers around the space race between the U.S.S.R. and the USA, suggesting there was a hidden Transformers role in it all that remains one of the planet’s most dangerous secrets…
You saw him in “Tropic Thunder” and on last Sunday’s MTV Movie Awards, and now Paramount is going to make movie about Tom Cruise’s LES GROSSMAN. The official announcement:
Paramount Pictures and MTV Films announced today that they are set to develop a movie around mega-producer Les Grossman. The announcement comes on the heels of Grossman’s groundbreaking and visionary production of the soon-to-be Emmy® award-winning 2010 MTV Movie Awards Sunday night. Tom Cruise, along with Ben Stiller and Stuart Cornfeld of Red Hour Films will produce and have secured the life rights to Grossman…
Universal Pictures announced that Tony Gilroy (“Michael Clatyon”) is returning to write the script for THE BOURNE LEGACY, the fourth installment in the Jason Bourne franchise. He penned “The Bourne Identity,” “The Bourne Supremacy” and “The Bourne Ultimatum”…
Producer Scott Rudin has purchased the rights to the upcoming biography CLEOPATRA: A LIFE by Stacy Schiff and may be looking at Angelina Jolie to play the last of the Egyptian Pharoahs, says USA Today. The story of Cleopatra has had a long history in Hollywood, including (among others) a lost silent version starring Theda Bara, a 1934 version with Claudette Colbert and, most famously, a 1963 version with Elizabeth Taylor in the title role. Let’s hope Jolie’s performance doesn’t mirror her crappy one in the Oliver Stone dud “Alexander”…
The classic children’s fairy tale, SNOW WHITE will be getting an updated live-action retelling courtesy of Brett Ratner and Relativity Media, Deadline reports. The new version is said to take an “edgy” and comedic look at the original Brothers Grimm story with Ratner claiming, “This is not your grandfather’s ‘Snow White’”…
F. Gary Gray (“The Italian Job”) is in early talks to direct KANE & LYNCH, a big screen adaptation of the Eidos video game. Stunt coordinator and second unit director Simon Crane was directing the project but exited in May due to creative differences. Bruce Willis and Jamie Foxx are attached to star. The plot follows Adam “Kane” Marcus (Willis), a mercenary who makes an unlikely alliance with a schizophrenic killer named James Lynch (Foxx). The duo is forced on a mission to retrieve a stolen microchip…
CASTING NEWS!
According to the Hollywood Reporter, “The Proposal” director Anne Fletcher, stars Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds, and producers David Hoberman and Todd Lieberman are reteaming for Universal Pictures’ MOST WANTED. Not to be confused with the Keenan Ivory Wayans action film of the same name, in this action comedy, Bullock plays a woman on the run with Reynolds as an agent who is supposed to be handling her. The project is described as having a tone similar to that of Universal’s 1988 release “Midnight Run,” with Robert De Niro and Charles Grodin, which the studio is developing a sequel for…
For all the “True Blood” fans out there: “True Blood” actor Stephen Moyer will star in thriller THE DOUBLE opposite Richard Gere and Topher Grace, and then he’ll topline THE BIG VALLEY with Jessica Lange. “The Double” is writer Michael Brandt’s directorial debut and stars Moyer as a Russian spy. The story centers on a retired CIA operative (Gere) forced to partner with a young FBI agent (Grace) to hunt down the killer of a senator in Washington. Next month, Moyer will go to Louisiana for “The Big Valley,” an adaptation of the 1960s ABC series that starred Barbara Stanwyck. Lange will play Stanwyck’s role of matriarch of the Barkleys, a family of ranchers in 19th century California. Moyer will play Jarrod Barkley, the family’s respected attorney who represents ranchers fighting to keep their land from being taken by railroad companies…
Michael Fassbender is in the running for two different comic book adaptations, playing the villain in each, Showbiz411 reports. The “Inglorious Basterds” actor is allegedly up for the part of Magneto in X-MEN: FIRST CLASS and the unknown villain of Marc Webb’s 3D SPIDER MAN reboot. According to the article, Fassbender can’t fit both films into his schedule and will have to pick one or the other…
Elizabeth Banks, Zooey Deschanel, Emily Mortimer and Rashida Jones will star opposite Paul Rudd in MY IDIOT BROTHER. Jesse Peretz is directing the comedy about Ned (Rudd), an idealist. His three sisters (Banks, Deschanel and Mortimer) are ambitious. His mother is overbearing. Ned crashes at each of their homes, in succession, and brings truth, happiness and a sunny disposition into their lives. In other words, he wreaks havoc…
AT THE MULTIPLEX!
There are a few fantastic films in limited release opening this week: JOAN RIVERS: A PIECE OF WORK provides a revealing portrait of the legendary TV personality and comedienne. If you weren’t a fan of Rivers before, you definitely will be after viewing this touching documentary. WINTER’S BONE features an outstanding performance by star Jennifer Lawrence as a teenage girl who races against the clock to find her deadbeat dad before her family loses their home. The film also boasts a great supporting turn by character actor John Hawkes as her badass uncle, Teardrop. THE LOTTERY, a doc by Madeleine Sackler, is a very one-sided piece of advocacy (although the side is the right one) in favor of charter schools in order to fix the failing public school system in New York and beyond. It’s heartbreaking nonetheless, as Sackler follows four families from Harlem and the Bronx who have entered their children in the charter school lottery with very slim hopes for winning a better future…
…Until next week!
Tags: les grossman, marlow stern, the lottery, transformers 3, twilight, weekly blog, winter's bone
Posted in Blog | 4 Comments »
Chris Evans is Captain America, Tim Burton vs. The Addams Family and More!
UPCOMING FILM PROJECTS!
Coming off the success of “Alice in Wonderland” for Disney, filmmaker Tim Burton will resurrect THE ADDAMS FAMILY. The goal is to create a stop-motion animated film in 3D, similar to what Burton is doing with “Frankenweenie” right now. Burton will provide the visual palette for the picture which will invoke creator Charles Addams’ original drawings. The director is also developing DARK SHADOWS with Johnny Depp…
David Fincher will next direct Columbia Pictures’ chess drama PAWN SACRIFICE. The film is the life story of American chess icon Bobby Fischer leading up to his historic world championship match against Boris Spassky. Steven Knight (“Dirty Pretty Things”) wrote the script. Fincher is also in talks to possibly direct a remake of “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo” for producer Scott Rudin…
Production Weekly reports that director McG (“Terminator: Salvation”) and actress Amanda Seyfried are attached to Lorene Scafaria’s pitch based on the Rolling Stone article THE GIRL WHO CONNED THE IVY LEAGUE. The article tells the true story of how high school dropout Esther Reed created the ultimate fake ID, scammed her way into Harvard and Columbia, and became the target of a nationwide manhunt…
FILM FRANCHISE NEWS!
Vulture is reporting that Sony’s Columbia Pictures is looking to make GHOSTBUSTERS 3 without the first two films’ writer-producer, Ivan Reitman. The site says:
The studio’s strategy is to revitalize the franchise for next year by having the original ‘busters train a dramatically younger crew in Ghostbusters III, while a correspondingly younger director handles things behind the camera. However, Reitman’s old contract — made at the height of his and Ovitz’s powers — still gives him exceptional creative control over the series, including director approval.
The site adds that, along with Reitman, original stars Dan Aykroyd, Bill Murray and Harold Ramis have deals in which they can single-handedly veto and kill the project if they don’t like something. The studio would like to have the actors on board, however. A second draft of the script by “The Office” writers Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky will be turned in in May…
Entertainment Weekly reports that Summit Entertainment has reached out to at least three directors, including Sofia Coppola (“Lost in Translation”), Gus Van Sant (“Milk”) and Bill Condon (“Dreamgirls”) to gauge their interest in THE TWILIGHT SAGA: BREAKING DAWN, which will likely be split up in two parts. The magazine adds that no decision will be made until screenwriter Melissa Rosenberg’s detailed outline is delivered to the directors sometime next week. “Breaking Dawn” is the fourth novel in Stephenie Meyer’s popular series…
Summit Entertainment has acquired the pitch THE LAST WITCH HUNTER from Cory Goodman. The writer behind the upcoming “Priest,” Goodman has crafted a tale about a witch hunter who is seeing a surge in warlocks and witches and he needs to keep the population in check. Timur Bekmambetov (“Wanted”) is in line to produce and possibly direct the potential franchise starter…
THE NEW CAPTAIN AMERICA IS…
…Chris Evans! Evans (of “Fantastic Four” films fame) has accepted Marvel Studios’ offer for him to play Steve Rogers/Captain America in the Joe Johnston-directed THE FIRST AVENGER: CAPTAIN AMERICA.The deal calls for Evans to star in at least three “Captain America” movies, with the first hitting theaters on July 22, 2011. He would reprise the role in THE AVENGERS, which will unite Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), Thor (Chris Hemsworth) and the Incredible Hulk (Edward Norton) in one film. That film is scheduled for May 4, 2012. The character also will likely make cameo appearances in Marvel’s other films. Hugo Weaving will play the villain Red Skull in “The First Avenger: Captain America,” and Marvel is talking to Keira Knightley, Emily Blunt and Alice Eve about possibly playing the female lead Poppy…
OTHER CASTING NEWS!
Robert Downey Jr. is in negotiations to star in director Alfonso Cuaron’s GRAVITY, a 3D space film for Warner Bros. Deadline New York says that Downey Jr. “will play the leader of a team posted at a remote space station. While he and a female colleague are traveling outside the space station, the other team members are decimated by debris from an exploded satellite.” Cuaron wrote the script with his son, Jonas. The plan would be for Downey Jr. to shoot the movie in London this summer before he starts on “Sherlock Holmes 2”…
Deadline New York is also reporting that actors Sir Ben Kingsley and Sacha Baron Cohen are the first two actors to join director Martin Scorsese’s next film, his adaptation of Brian Selznick’s children’s book THE INVENTION OF HUGO CABRET. In the story of a 12-year-old orphan who lives in the walls of a Paris train station in the early ’30s, Sir Ben will play silent filmmaker George Melies, reteaming him with Scorsese following their hit thriller “Shutter Island,” while Cohen will play the station inspector. This will be Scorsese’s first film for kids, and so far there’s no word on who Scorsese might cast in the title role…
He’s been attached as a co-writer for Disney’s upcoming THE GREATEST MUPPET MOVIE OF ALL TIME, but now Jason Segel has also signed to star as the human lead in the film. “Ali G” and “Flight of the Conchords” helmer James Bobin is set to direct the movie, the plot of which is under wraps. It is known that Segel plays a man on a quest to find and reunite the Muppets. Segel wrote the script with Nicholas Stoller…
RETARDED REMAKES NEWS!
Jennifer Lopez (upcoming “The Back-up Plan”) will star in Overbrook and Columbia Pictures’ remake of the romantic comedy OVERBOARD. In the 1987 original, directed by Garry Marshall and starring Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn, a snooty socialite falls off her yacht and into an entirely different life…
AT THE MULTIPLEX!
So, Tim Burton’s “Alice in Wonderland” keeps carving up big box office numbers. Eh. For a fun, gritty rock saga, you can check out first-time filmmaker Floria Sigismondi’s THE RUNAWAYS, starring Kristen Stewart (as guitarist Joan Jett) and Dakota Fanning (as singer Cherie Currie). I’d stay away from acclaimed director Atom Egoyan’s (“The Sweet Hereafter”) CHLOE which stars actress Amanda Seyfried as a hooker who’s hired by Julianne Moore to see if her husband, played by Liam Neeson, is as much of a philanderer as she suspects. It’s really only notable for seeing Ms. Seyfried in the buff. A more intriguing film opening in limited release this weekend is THE ECLIPSE, an Ibsen-esque tale about a widower who falls for a psychopath. Or, you could just indulge your silly side and see the funny-looking HOT TUB TIME MACHINE. I know I will…
…Until next week!
Tags: addams family, Blog, captain america, casting, ghostbusters 3, gossip, marlow, news, twilight
Posted in Blog | 1 Comment »
Kristen Stewart & Dakota Fanning are The Runaways!
By Marlow Stern
Marketed as “jailbait rock” by their divisive manager – the members were all sixteen or younger when they were formed – 1970s all-girl rock band The Runaways would prove to be anything but a contrivance, making an indelible impact on the world of rock music.
But their success was short-lived.
Formed in 1975 by drummer Sandy West and rhythm guitarist Joan Jett, the band was discovered at an L.A. club by eccentric producer Kim Fowley, who then helped the budding starlets recruit the other bandmembers: bassist Micki Steele, guitarist Lita Ford and, last but not least, lead singer Cherie Currie. Part of the growing punk rock movement of the time, including Blondie, The Ramones and The Sex Pistols, The Runaways were signed to Mercury Records and released four critically-acclaimed albums, including hit songs like “Cherry Bomb” and “Queens of Noise.” They were the number 4 imported-music act in Japan at the time, behind only ABBA, Kiss and Led Zeppelin in terms of album sales and popularity, and singer/guitarist Joan Jett would describe their Japanese tour as “being like Beatlemania.”
They only lasted until 1979.
Now, the band is being given the biopic treatment courtesy of first time writer/director Floria Sigismondi, a veteran music video helmer responsible for videos of everyone from David Bowie to Marilyn Manson’s infamous “Beautiful People.” Based on lead singer Cherie Currie’s memoir “Neon Angel: A Memoir of a Runaway,” The Runaways follows Joan Jett (Kristen Stewart), Cherie Currie (Dakota Fanning) and co. as they rise from rebellious L.A. street urchins to the group that paved the way for future generation’s of all-girl rock bands. The film is executive produced by Joan Jett and features Oscar nominee Michael Shannon (“Revolutionary Road”) as their crazed manager Kim Fowley.
“The Runaways” had its world premiere at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival, and marks the reunion of “The Twilight Saga: New Moon” co-stars – and two of the most highly-touted young actresses in Hollywood – Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning.
MMM sat down with Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning to chat about their own transition from child stars to adult actresses in this risqué, R-rated coming of age film.
MANHATTAN MOVIE MAGAZINE: In many ways this is your first leap into adult roles—
DAKOTA FANNING: —Maybe more so for me than for [Kristen]. I’ve never really done this kind of film before and played this kind of character. I think a lot of people still think of me as being young and little. In this movie, I’m seen a little differently and I think that’s really neat—
KRISTEN STEWART: —Neat! Neat-o!
FANNING: [Laughs] —Cause I obviously want to do this for a long time and play different roles.
MMM: What was your favorite look from the movie? And did it make you feel more in-character putting on the rock ‘n roll treads?
FANNING: Putting on the corset and performing “Cherry Bomb” – I felt the most like Cherie when I was doing that. It’s the most iconic to her. I filmed that on the second-to-last day but I felt most like the character when I was doing that.
MMM: What was it like actually having to perform the songs?
FANNING: It was something I was a little bit nervous about. It’s something I was always self-conscious about. I was really excited to do it because I knew I couldn’t do it any other way, but I wanted to make sure I could do it well and do the songs justice since they’re so iconic and well-known. I was grateful that I was able to do it and that Cherie helped me in doing it.
STEWART: Luckily, I had Joan on-set every day. There’s a lot of photos and a little bit of footage on the Internet you can look at, so we really did need Joan and Cherie there so it wouldn’t be superficial. I would feel like a little doll walking around with black hair. I wouldn’t feel like I was actually playing Joan. I would feel like a caricature.
MMM: I spoke to Joan and she said that you two have this symbiotic relationship in so many ways.
STEWART: I think she thinks we’re incredibly similar because I just played her in a movie! [Laughs] It’s funny. When we see each other now, I’m pointing out the differences. I’m like, “See? I don’t normally do that!” Like… I don’t normally spit! We definitely have an energy. I feel like I can really understand her and I feel really comfortable with her, so I feel like she really understands me. So thank god!
MMM: You girls have a seemingly innate ability to emote very well and exhibit pain onscreen. How are you able to accomplish this?
STEWART: Well [Dakota] does this thing [deadpan]: “Pain.” [Laughs]
FANNING: [Laughs] She’s talking about “New Moon.” I don’t know if it’s always because I started out when I was younger and when I was acting it was pretending to be someone else and ‘playing’ in a way. I’ve kept that as I’ve gotten older, it’s just not something I try to think about a lot. I think if you think about it a lot you interfere. If you know a character so well and are really moved or inspired by them, you just know what to do. It’s a weird thing to try to explain. Your body just knows what to do and you’re the right person to play that character if you have that feeling.
STEWART: I feel the exact same way. It’s a weird thing because yeah, I guess you would think we would sit down and try to pick out the parts that would affect people, but then you wouldn’t only be manipulating yourself, you’d be manipulating your audience as well. You have to do a lot of thinking initially and then throw it all out.
MMM: How aware are you of your own public perceptions among your core audience and I’m curious to know how you think they’ll react to these decidedly edgier roles?
STEWART: I mean you’re just wondering… [Laughs] Sorry. I’m making fun of you.
MMM: I get that a lot, it’s OK.
STEWART: Me too! That’s my public perception, actually! [Laughs]
FANNING: I think people will think it’s a lot different for me. I hope people can… Maybe “accept” is the wrong word but I don’t know of another word.
STEWART: There are people who need to accept it from you though because there are some people who are like, “Oh, it’s so weird! Dakota’s so young!” And it’s like, Dakota’s the same age Cherie was, and there you go.
MMM: The film can be seen in some ways as a cautionary tale of kids who get into the arena and can’t handle the pressures of sex, drugs and rock ‘n roll fame. And you both are young actors and you do seem to have been handling it. Is it just the timing that’s different or can some people handle it and some people can’t?
FANNING: Yeah. I mean just comparing and contrasting Joan and Cherie, Joan was able to move on from it and carry on with her career and Cherie wasn’t equipped to handle that lifestyle. She had to figure that out for herself and learn that the hard way. She had to make that sacrifice and choose between continuing to live and dying if she continued on that path. She had to choose to have a normal life. As hard as that was for her, I think she’s really happy about that decision.
MMM: But for yourselves, has it ever been tough to weather the storm?
STEWART: I think the ‘cautionary tale’ thing is something that only older people who’ve seen the movie say. It’s a success story on both sides. To see two people choose different paths – one of them being seemingly successful, and the other doing what she needed to do to make herself happy. She clearly knows herself very well and it was clearly a strong, bold thing to give up something you love. They needed to go through that otherwise they wouldn’t be who they were. It’s not a big cautionary tale like, “Oh, don’t do drugs and go crazy kids!” I really don’t feel it’s about that at all. If it is, that was the last thing I was thinking about.
MMM: Were there elements of your own rebellious teen years that you drew on for the roles? How did you get that angst and aggression out?
STEWART: I have a lot of aggression. It wasn’t hard to do!
FANNING: I don’t think I can compare anything I’ve gone through to anything Cherie’s went through—
STEWART: —“Mom! I want to go! Please!!” [Laughs]
FANNING: [Laughs] I don’t think anything in my life has been similar to the things she’s gone through.
MMM: You two have to put up with a lot of crap from the tabloids, etc. What keeps you both grounded?
STEWART: Gravity! [Laughs]
FANNING: I really have such a normal life when I’m not working and doing something like this. I go to school, have a family, go home. I don’t really do anything different. Obviously, this is such a huge part of who I am, but I think that just maintaining an average life outside of this is really important.
MMM: What types of roles do you think you’ll be tackling – or really want to tackle – in the next, say, five years?
FANNING: I don’t think I really know that yet. I think as you get older the things that you can do in films changes and there are some things you can no longer do.
STEWART: That’s a weird thing: not being able to do stuff anymore. I’ve played the teenage – I can’t be upset with my parents anymore. When I was younger I read stuff for teenagers and went, “Oh, I’m almost there! I can almost do stuff like that!” And then I found myself doing them and it was very exciting. That’s gone now! Well, not gone. I can still play younger, but it’s a weird realization.
MMM: What were the first bands you first fell in love with?
STEWART: If I go way, way back, the first band I was obsessed with was The Beach Boys. Kind of random.
MMM: So it wasn’t something embarrassing?
STEWART: Well, that’s kind of goofy! But no, that is pretty cool. My parents kind of raised me on Tom Petty and The Beatles. They’re really California, classic rock. They’re both from L.A.
MMM: Do you two have any rock ‘n roll aspirations?
FANNING: Not in real life!
STEWART: I really love music and I love playing guitar, but I’d have to change a lot in the next few years. If I’m ever releasing an album it’s going to be a very transformative few years!
MMM: You girls seem to have solid chemistry onscreen. What was it like when you first met?
FANNING: We met a few times really briefly…
STEWART: The first few times we met it was kind of weird! We were always going by each other and I was like, “Oh, it’s a really big deal – we’re meeting!” And she was kind of like, “Eh…” [Laughs]
FANNING: It was once at Comic-Con and then we were both in a short film together [“Cutlass,” 2007] but not in any scenes together. We shot “New Moon” before we did this.
STEWART: Yeah, it was nice that we knew each other before shooting this. We had a couple of days on the set of “New Moon.” But we did…
FANNING: We did though… it was weird. [Laughs]
MMM: Have you two learned anything about each other over the last couple of films you’ve done?
STEWART: Wouldn’t tell ya! [Laughs]
MMM: Do you know any real-life ‘runaways?’
STEWART: No. I just did this film “Welcome to the Rileys” and I need to focus some energy here. I really feel… I haven’t been moved like that in a really long time. I would love to do something with runaway kids. I know this film is called “The Runaways,” but… typically, like, prostitutes. I think that would really be great and I’d love to figure that out. I definitely have the means and position so… there’s no excuse.
MMM: Do you two have any female heroes you look up to?
STEWART: Joan.
FANNING: Yeah, Cherie for me. I know it sounds like that because we’re just here for the movie but it’s actually true!
THE RUNAWAYS opens on March 19th in select theaters and expands to wide release on April 9th.
Tags: cherie currie, dakota fanning, joan jett, kristen stewart, rock, runaways, twilight
Posted in Interviews | 11 Comments »
Robert Pattinson Talks Remember Me!
By Marlow Stern
Last summer, the island of Manhattan was besieged by hordes of hysteric teens in Hot Topic. For two months, they stalked their prey all over the city. From hotel to hotel, the swarm watched and waited, emitting strident shrieks and bursting through police barricades whenever a tousled, greasy mane came into view above the crowd.
You’d think Beatlemania had descended upon NYC.
It was just Robert Pattinson.
Better known as Edward Cullen, the 23-year-old British actor spent his brief hiatus between “Twilight” films shooting the romantic drama Remember Me in New York City. The well-coiffed star was mobbed by fans daily, forcing him to alternate hotels on a regular basis, and was even nicked by a taxicab.
Directed by Allen Coulter, no stranger to NYC having directed several episodes of “The Sopranos” and “Sex and the City,” the New York City-set film stars Pattinson as Tyler Hawkins, a rebellious young NYU student in the James Dean mold. Tyler has a strained relationship with his aloof father, Charles (Pierce Brosnan) since his older brother’s suicide. The only place he finds solace is with his younger sister Caroline (Ruby Jerins), an artistic wunderkind who’s bullied at school—that is, until he meets the fetching Ally Craig (“Lost’s” Emilie de Ravin), and the two lost souls bond over their respective tragedies (Ally’s mother was murdered). Their relationship is under constant threat, in part by Ally’s father, a police officer played by Chris Cooper.
MMM sat down with teen heartthrob Robert Pattinson to chat about playing the wounded hero, filming amid New York City madness, whether he’s being typecast and his less than stellar fight record.
MANHATTAN MOVIE MAGAZINE: Is it a relief not having to bite someone?
ROBERT PATTINSON: I bit people in this! No, it’s different. I feel like I’m missing out on something. It was nice. Kind of a relief… especially not having all the makeup on.
MMM: What attracted you to the role?
PATTINSON: I read it after the first “Twilight” film and I always kind of liked it. It was always in the back of my mind. Then, the opportunity came up between the second and third ones. It was a very small period of time so you could only do a certain type of movie. I was trying to remember all the little things I’d read. It was perfect because it didn’t need any prep time. It didn’t fit into the typical teen movie thing. I hadn’t really read a script like it and it seemed quite realistic. The character was really accessible for me. I always really connected to it and I don’t really know why.
MMM: The character was really angry and had issues with his parents. Did you have any of these pathologies?
PATTINSON: Not really. But at the same time, especially who they cast as the family around Tyler, I knew a couple of kids who were troubled teenagers and you meet their families and they’re all saying, “I don’t know what his problem is.” The families always seem really nice and supportive around him, but it’s this unknown. You have this energy around and you don’t know where to place it. The reason he has a problem with his father and not his mother is because he knows his mother isn’t strong enough to take it. If he went after his mother she’d break. Tyler’s father is a fighter so he’s always going to fight against him. But I don’t really have any particular problems myself in that respect.
MMM: It’s interesting because you, Pierce and Emilie are from so far away but here you’re all playing New Yorkers with New York accents. Did you trade any insights on “being New Yorkers?”
PATTINSON: I know Emilie went to the Bronx a few time to see it. Luckily, I had a great excuse on my side knowing that Pierce is Irish and Lena is Swedish, so I could say, “Ah, this is a Swedish-Irish American!” But no, I learned how to act to whatever extent watching American movies way more than English ones. I feel comfortable speaking an American accent because it feels more real to me in a lot of ways.
MMM: One of the film’s strongest elements is the relationship between you and your onscreen sister, played by Ruby Jerins. Could you talk about forging that relationship?
PATTINSON: She was amazing. Right from the first day, she was completely at ease with me. I remember sitting around with Allen and Emilie and Ruby, and we were all talking about relationships in the film. I turned to Ruby and said, “What do you think Caroline would think?” And she’s sitting there with her pen in her mouth and goes, “Well…” and went off on this diatribe about her character’s backstory and stuff. And I Went, “Okay! Well, I’m not going to patronize you anymore!” She was so at ease. She didn’t seem like an actor-y kid, either. Anytime I was working with her I knew I didn’t have to worry about anything because you could just look at her.
MMM: What was it like actually shooting in and around NYU, being that your character is an NYU student?
PATTINSON: I always thought of the apartment, “If this is the typical NYU students apartment and you’re living in the East Village in this really nice apartment – it was just a bit messy – that’s a little much!” It’s like a million dollar apartment! Before I actually went to New York I thought it would be really easy and I could just hang out there and pick up on New Yorkers’ mannerisms and things but it ended up being much more of a circus then I thought it was going to be. But yeah, it helped. We literally shot inside NYU and I knew a couple of people who went there as well. And the script helped as well. You always see college movies and it’s all about beer pong and stuff and you think, “This can’t be real!” Well, maybe it is… I don’t know!
MMM: Was it difficult to get into character given all the craziness that was going on around you while you were filming?
PATTINSON: Well, kind of. At the beginning it was. Then, about halfway through, I had this epiphany. I don’t know what happened but I was just fine. It’s just learning how to block things out. At the beginning it was driving me insane. Especially for a character who was supposed to be lost and just looking for things all the time and you can’t look up otherwise all the shutters will accelerate. You can’t smile and behave normally. But you just have to be disciplined about it.
MMM: Do you think this character is reminiscent of James Dean’s in “Rebel Without A Cause?”
PATTINSON: That’d be great! I don’t know if it is. I think James Dean is the most influential person on young guys in the last fifty years – at least on actors. I’m not ashamed to say I am very much influenced by him!
MMM: This character bears many of the same traits as Edward Cullen and I’m wondering if you’re worried about being typecast as the brooding, wounded hero?
PATTINSON: Maybe I just am brooding and wounded… [Laughs] I’m just realizing it. No, I’m not. You take little steps. I’m always quite aware of how people are going to view things so you have to go halfway. If I do something where I play a 400 lb. woman, people are going to judge it more harshly than other people who have been doing character parts for twenty years. It’s not a calculated thing but baby steps towards something bigger. The thing I’m doing now is completely different in some ways and has a sort of intensity. I like that in characters.
MMM: Do you think your performance as Salvador Dali was viewed through that prism? That people judged it more harshly because it was different?
PATTINSON: I shot it before the “Twilight” movies and, yeah, I think people do judge things differently after the “Twilight” movies. They view it differently. There’s nothing to really do about that but I do take it into account more now than I used to. But doing the Dali thing, I didn’t think anyone was going to see it and it’s a very different place to be at when you think nobody’s going to see it. You get to experiment with things.
MMM: Do you think that you were able to bring your all to this role?
PATTINSON: I don’t know… I don’t really know what my “all” is. I always felt very connected to it right from the beginning when I first read the script. It was more about the way Tyler dealt with random events. Little bits were cut out of it, but I remember after the first fight with Chris Cooper’s character his mother says, “I think you should sue the police force,” and my character is just like, “For what?” He doesn’t really care. It’s this blasé attitude even when he’s the one being harmed – I always related to that. Looking back into the past and bearing grudges and things, I don’t really do that. And the way Tyler’s violence comes out is illogical and not against legitimate targets. I kind of relate to that. When you have a spasm of rage it almost inevitably goes to the complete wrong target, which causes you more problems, so it’s much better to keep it all chained up.
MMM: A lot of that anger came in the scenes between you and Pierce Brosnan. Could you talk about shooting those scenes with Pierce? And also, does that relationship in any way reflect your relationship with your own father?
PATTINSON: My relationship with my Dad is the complete opposite. But Pierce’s part was written as much more controlling and incredibly arrogant. Pierce always read the character going, “He’s not a horrible man. He’s not a monster.” And that completely changed Tyler’s relationship with him. Tyler’s rebelling against nothing. You’re just attacking someone because you know he can be attacked and he’s going to keep standing afterwards. But Pierce is amazing. When he was cast I was like, “That’s going to be a tough act to follow!”
MMM: Were you injured at all during the shoot?
PATTINSON: The only thing I hurt myself on, which was a scene in the movie where I flipped out afterwards because you walk into the big confrontation and end up getting completely destroyed by your competitor [Pierce], and I was like hitting myself afterwards in a little spur-of-the-moment thing. But I hit myself so hard I was in tremendous pain for the rest of the shoot!
MMM: And there was that one scene where you lost it in the school and threw that little girl’s desk.
PATTINSON: There was one take of that which they had to cut because I looked like I would be in jail not only for vandalism but for child abuse as well! I spun that desk around and the desk fell over and [the girl] literally almost ran away out of the classroom! [Laughs] I was like, “Oh my god! I’m actually going to get arrested for this!” She looked absolutely terrified afterwards. It was quite fun.
MMM: How was it shooting those fight scenes?
PATTINSON: I loved it. I never do stuff like that in reality so it’s quite cathartic in a lot of ways. I don’t know how it would’ve felt if I had any fighting back to do but I just get continually beaten up by [Chris Cooper]. It was quite daunting. It’s hard, especially being strangled. It’s very difficult to look like what’s actually happening. If you’re just being strangled nothing really happens. I was experimenting with myself just before we shot it. I don’t really know what the face is to do representing being strangled!
MMM: Have you ever been in a fight before?
PATTINSON: I’ve been beaten up a few times…
MMM: Who beat you up?
PATTINSON: A lot of people when I was younger. [Laughs] I was a bit on an idiot when I was younger. But always unprovoked in my eyes, anyway. I never got bullied. Just when I started acting and I liked to behave like what I thought was an actor, it generally provoked a lot of people to hitting me.
REMEMBER ME opens March 12th in theaters nationwide.
Tags: drama, emilie, nyc, pattinson, romance, twilight
Posted in Featured, Interviews | 7 Comments »
DVD Review
-
Sponsored Links
