Miami Film Festival Interview with Lauren Cohen

“I Used to Be Normal: A Boyband Fangirl Story” a documentary directed by Jessica Leski is making its Florida premiere at the Miami Film Festival in Florida. A film dedicated to showcasing the impact of boybands on the lives of teenage girls has taken the film festival world by storm, ultimately catching the eye of Lauren Cohen, Festival Programmer at the Miami Film Festival. I chatted with Lauren on the topics touched upon in this film such as our own experiences being fangirls, Dara’s boyband theory discussed in the film and the overall influence boybands have on their generation of fans.

Hey Lauren! I understand you are the festival programmer at the Miami Film Festival. Can you walk me through the process of how you select the films that will be making their premieres?

We watch a lot of films throughout the year and from those films we find really special, we do everything we can to bring them to the Miami Film Festival. These films have to be a minimum of a Florida premiere to be shown at the festival, so everything you see at the Miami Film Festival will be at the very least the first time it will be shown anywhere in Florida and we also have a lot of world premieres or North American premieres.

I was watching this documentary and it’s right up my alley. I definitely consider myself to be a fangirl. Growing up I was definitely obsessed with my boybands and bands overall so within the first 30 seconds I was already in awe of the footage as It’s something I definitely resonate with. What made you think this would be a great film to be shown at the festival?

I had read about it and it had shown at a couple of international [film] festivals and it had such rave reviews. A lot of these festivals are very international and art house and to see a boyband documentary being shown is not the kind of thing you typically see at a lot of these film festivals. The reviews I was seeing was everyone was loving this. 

I knew this would be my kind of thing but to see these 60-year-old men reviewing it so positively, I knew this would be something special and not just something that someone like me who grew up loving The Backstreet Boys and obsessed with Twilight would be able to connect to. I requested a screener for it and like you said, within the first 30 seconds I was so charmed by it and it made me so happy - I was smiling so hard the whole time. I think this film is definitely about boybands but it’s more of what it’s like to have a fandom and what it’s like to love something when you’re growing up that in a sense it kind of defines so much of your life, even as an adult. Even when that thing is no longer popular or that present, it’s always with you. 

Yes, I completely agree! Essentially this documentary is the fascination of teens with these boybands and the strong connection they have with them during their adolescent years. Did you have a similar experience with a particular boyband?

I was definitely into The Backstreet Boys, it wasn’t to the degree of the girls in the movie, but I was really into them. I was obsessed with Nick and Brian. I went to see them last year at a concert and the crowd was really calm and the second they stepped on that stage, everyone just lost their minds. You are normal 2 seconds before and then those guys walk on stage and you’re back to your 10-year-old self. It’s literally a switch in everyone’s brain.

I really loved how the director, Jessica Leski, visually showed these cartoon fantasy scenes of the kind of dreams these fans would have featuring their favorite boyband member. I loved the scene of Nick teaching Sadia how to swim. Did you ever have these daydream fantasies?

Leonardo DiCaprio is still my celebrity crush and I’m never going to get over that! If Leo was in the same room as me, I think I would faint. I have a fantasy of meeting him, but I genuinely think I will pass out and not say anything if I ever saw him.

Was there a specific scene in the film that really resonated with you or when you realized that this film needs to be showed at this year’s festival?

I think my favorite scene in the film is when Dara, the Take That fan, would share her experiences because when she would explain things, that’s exactly how I would feel about my fandom. I knew this film was something special when she was talking about the Boyband Theory. It was funny because I’ve never seen anyone break it down that way and it was so true. I’m not an expert but I don’t think I’ve ever seen any documentary or extended media piece that tried to break down why people love boybands and what it is about their appeal. When she is standing in front of the white-board showing the number of guys, the kind of songs they sing about, the personalities found within bands – it really is a well thought out formula. That was the scene I was so charmed by that I was like, “yeah, I can’t live without this documentary not being shown at the festival.”

There is a scene in the beginning of the film where a One Direction fan says, “They aren’t even human beings- human beings cannot be that perfect,” and this overall feeling they have of having a possession over them. What are your thoughts on that, when fans get so overly protected over their idols?

You know people are hard-core fans, but you never really heard people describe things that way. I do think she was verbalizing how most of those girls feel even if they can’t figure out the words themselves. I think there is a certain kind of possessiveness where they have a hard time realizing that they are real people.

That’s one thing I really like about this documentary, I would say about 90% is very happy, positive and energetic but I do think they sprinkled a good amount of stuff that shows how it can be a little troubling. There is a moment were super-fan, Sadia, is on the BSB cruise and she takes a step back and says something along the lines of, “I’m not sure I like this version of myself on here” and how she can’t function without knowing what the boys were doing every second of the day. On paper those cruises sound like such a blast to me and I’m sure it would be so much fun, but there is also a level of where you are so hyper-focused on them to the point where I don’t know if I could enjoy myself as much as I would like.

For those people who are not in the fandom, who see these girls as irritating or completely out of touch with reality and who truly do not understand how these bands have affected teenage girls lives for the better- what do you want them to take away from this film? 

I know for fangirls this will be appealing to them, but I would love for people who don’t necessarily have a fandom or never experienced anything like this to see this documentary. I think this is the first time I’ve seen a documentary that respected and validated the feelings of young girls instead of them being considered crazy, hyper or hysterical. I feel like it’s a part of growing up, and specifically to young girls who having something like a boyband, Titanic [my obsession], or Twilight is a crucial part of growing up for so many girls. It’s your first kind of chance to find your own crush or your own taste in what you like. I want people to see it and realize that all those girls they see screaming on TV or in the streets when a celebrity is nearby, is that there is so much more behind them and the love they have for these bands than just being seen as overly emotional. 

The greatest thing about watching this documentary was the similarities I found amongst myself and the four women featured in this film. Just like Dara (Take That fan), I remembered when my parents did not let me attend a concert by one of my favorite bands and I had to see them during a reunion tour 10 years later - it was the Spice Girls. Like Elif (One Direction fan) I would get teary-eyed seeing concert footage of my favorite childhood band, S Club 7.  Susan has a massive collection of clippings featuring The Beatles, something I also have of. Sadia (The Backstreet Boys fan) had an e-mail newsletter dedicated to the boys, whereas I had a website dedicated to S Club 7.  

There is something pure and nostalgic about seeing a film cover a subject like this. It magically transported me back to when I was 7 years old at the height of boybands such as NSYNC, The Backstreet Boys, LFO, 5ive, O-Town, Take That, Westlife, Youngstown, etc. For many fangirls like myself, these boybands offer an escape from reality when you’re younger, but oftentimes it can come full circle as it can influence your career path. Dara is a brand strategist, Susan is a movie producer, Elif wants to become a singer and I have worked in the entertainment field. Loving a band can be a phase to some, but it can directly influence your life. 

Do not walk but run to see I Used to Be Normal: A Boyband Fangirl Story playing at the Miami Film Festival. Click here to buy tickets!

I’d also like to point out Lauren and I had a major discussion about Twilight and how much we both loved it and how there should be a documentary made on just the Twilight fandom as we were both hard-core fans. If you’re wondering, she is Team Jacob ;) 

An Interview with Pilou Asbaek of #GhostInTheShell!

Ghost in the Shell 
Director: Rupert Sanders
Writers: Jamie Moss (screenplay), Masamune Shirow (based on the manga by)
Starring: Scarlett Johansson, Pilou Asbæk, Takeshi Kitano, Michael Pitt, Juliette Binoche
Official Socials: Site | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | IMDb
Hashtag: #GhostInTheShell

In the near future, Major (Scarlett Johansson) is the first of her kind: A human saved from a terrible crash, who is cyber-enhanced to be a perfect soldier devoted to stopping the world’s most dangerous criminals. When terrorism reaches a new level that includes the ability to hack into people’s minds and control them, Major is uniquely qualified to stop it. As she prepares to face a new enemy, Major discovers that she has been lied to: her life was not saved, it was stolen. She will stop at nothing to recover her past, find out who did this to her and stop them before they do it to others. Based on the internationally acclaimed Japanese Manga, “The Ghost in the Shell.”

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Pilou Asbaek is a Danish actor best known in the United States for his recent role as Euron Grayjoy in Game of Thrones. Recently, he played Batou in Rupert Sander's Ghost in the Shell and I was able to interview him regarding his experience in the film!

So, you're Danish

Asbaek: Yes

I was wondering if you find a lot of differences between the Danish film industry and the American film industry. If so, could you elaborate?

Asbaek: I think the biggest difference between the two, American verses Danish films, is the size of the budget. I think one weeks catering on Ghost in the Shell is like one big budget Danish film. So, you know, that's a big, big, big difference but, story wise, it's exactly the same. You wanna tell good stories, you want to create good characters. So the approach, in my job, is the same besides the language because as an actor you want to feel free, you want to have control. It's like driving a car, you navigate. It's the same thing with characters. If the performance is going a little bit too slow, you press a little bit on the gas, you shift gear. So, um, the language is difficult but everything else is the same.

I know you're very used to working in shows or movies that work with a very fictional reality, but did you find any aspect of Ghost in the Shell particularly difficult considering it's set in such a, to me at least, unimaginable future?

Asbaek: Yes, but actually I think that what Rupert (director) created is a very- I think he created a very interesting thing in the film because for me it's actually, I think- I think it's possible, what he created in Ghost in the Shell. I think that future might be the future of our world where, and I'm sorry to say, there is more and more artificial intelligence that is going to be a part of, maybe not our generation, but our children's generation. So, I don't see a big difference between doing Game of Thrones or Ghost in the Shell. It's just different genres, but it's the same work and the size of the character- the size of the character, it doesn't matter if it's the supporting character or the lead, the work is almost the same because you have to be prepared. That's at least how I work, so, no, I think- I don't see the big difference between doing social Danish realism and big American science fiction films.

Speaking of preparation, how did you prepare for this film particularly?

Asbaek: Ugh, I was in the gym so much! I hated it, I hated it, I hate it, I hate it, I hate it! There's nothing more - I hate it. [laughs] I, uh, started working out the moment I got the job, because I don't want to start working out before I get the job, uh, and then we went down to New Zealand two months before we would start shooting and it was a production decision that they wanted to bring all the cast to New Zealand- to Wellington- before we would start the film because they wanted that Section Nine, uh, spirit, you know. It's like an elite unit. And, you know, we would work, we would do tactical training, we would do weapons training, counter terrorist training and we would be working out and we would do that for five hours everyday and then we would go rehearse the script or we would go do fittings or we would go do prosthetics. I had a lot of prosthetic tests because, you know, we had to make those eyes look not idiotic. They still look a little bit funny but we did the best we could. [laughs] And it took four hours of makeup to get these on before I would do four hours of shooting.

But could you see through them?

Asbaek: No, I couldn't see shit so when I was doing stunts... I couldn't see! My peripheral vision was like zero! So, when I had fight scenes with Scarlett or I would be fighting with some guys at the bar, you know, I would like [hit] Scarlett! Because I couldn't see anything! [laughs] But she's okay, she's a tough girl so she can take it.

Were there any obstacles or challenges you had to face other than going to the gym when you were making this movie?

Asbaek: Yes, there was a big challenge regarding the- you know, it's based on the manga. It's like the written cartoon in the 80s and then they made the anime in the 90s, and it was a very loved manga, it's a very loved anime. And, I've learned from Game of Thrones, that when people are very fanatic about it, they don't want you to touch it. They think they own it, but it's, you know, that's selfish thinking that you own the whole franchise! Like, no, it's mine, you can't do that! I'm like dude, I've got just as much right to interpret Batou as you have you know, drawing or whatever. So you have to take ownership of it, you have to have a little bit of disrespect. Not for the material, but for the fans. To own it. And I loved it as much as the hardcore fans, but it was a big challenge. It was a very big challenge, and there's been some controversy about the whole Asian / American adaptation and stuff like that. And it came as a surprise honestly because I think it's such a- such a loved story and you know, Hamlet! Hamlet has been a black guy, he's been an Asian guy you know, Hamlet has been everyone and I come from a country of 5 million people. You know, whenever you see Vikings on films they rape, I'm like, dude, okay, thanks a lot! [laughs] So, you know, I'm just glad that it's a great discussion and we need to [make] it again and again and again because Hollywood needs to open up, you know.

You play easily one of the most significant anime characters of all time, really.

Asbaek: Yeah.

If you could do it again, if you could do any anime, comic book, video game character right now no matter who, who would you be?

Asbaek: I want to make Twisted Metal into a movie. And I'm actually writing on it right now.

Who would you play?

Asbaek: I don't want to play anything, I just want to write it. Honestly, I swear to god, I never wanted to be an actor. [Interviewer laughs] No, I hate it! I mean, I don't hate acting.

I would hope! [laughs]

Asbaek: No, I love my job, but I never wanted to be an actor. I always wanted to be writer. My wife is a writer, my best friends are writers. I wanted to be journalist when I was younger, and I still wanna! But, I went to school, and I had to take this acting [class] and- it's a classical, cliche story because there was a girl and I wanted to hang out with her and get a little bit closer to her and she took acting lessons. I was like [shrugs] I'll do it! And I came into to class and we had to prepare a text and then it was my turn up and I just went blah blah blah blah blah blah and the teacher was like, dude, I'm so sorry, but you gotta be an actor. I was like no, I'm going to be writer, I'm a writer, I'm smart, I want to do smart things! [laughs] And I found out later that acting was- there was a lot of challenge but, uh, she pushed me in that direction and I was 21. I was a pretty late bloomer and now I'm sitting here talking to you guys 14 years later!

Were you a fan of the anime before getting cast or did you just find out about it afterwards?

Asbaek: I was a teenager when I saw it for the first time. I'd never heard about Shirow's (Masamune) manga, I had never heard about it, but I saw the anime and you guys know, it was like- this is what I hope is going to happen with the film. Shirow created the manga in, I dunno, 88 or 89, the audience was [small], it was not many people that read it, but they were like pretty hardcore fans, and then Oshii (Mamoru) created the anime which traveled the world and became this cult thing, right, in the late 90s and the audience grew. They loved it! They loved it so much that they're like don't fuck around with it, you know. And now we're doing a live action version and Scarlett is such an incredible, talented actress that [more] people are going to know about Ghost in the Shell. Some of them knew about it already, but there's a lot of people that didn't know about Ghost in the Shell and if we, with our film, have shown it to some people who weren't aware of the source and go back and watch the original anime and read the original manga? That's fucking awesome! Then we've done our job well because this is one chapter in the whole story of Ghost in the Shell, but, was I a fan of it? Where I come from, fan is a very strong word. I'm from the North, from the cold countries, you know, where we don't show emotion so, even if I was a fan, I'd never say it. [laughs] But I liked it a lot.

Okay. [laughs]

Asbaek: There's two things I loved about it. I loved that it was a cartoon that took itself seriously. I'd never seen that before. And I loved that it was a strong female lead. I thought that was pretty cool, you know, I'd only seen that once before in Nikita, a French film I thought was pretty cool, and then they did a shitty American remake and it turned into a TV series.

Was it nice working with Scarlett again after working with her on Lucy? 

Asbaek: Well, in Lucy, I got to to meet her you know. I mean, how close can you get with a person in three days? I mean, she's a professional actor and she's there to work and so am I so it's not like you- I wanted to just be like hi! You know? You wanna go out and grab a cheeseburger or something? [laughs] But that's you know, that's not how it works. I got to meet her and we did a scene and she was incredible but it was not until Ghost in the Shell where you're like six months in Wellington and six months is a long time on that island. You're kind of isolated you know? So we got very good friends and I'm very proud of her, I'm very proud of calling her a friend.

Do you think there's any aspect of Batou that you relate to? 

Asbaek: Yeah, he likes beer and pizza. So do I, so do I- and he likes dogs! When I saw the anime the first time I actually didn't connect with him very much, I connected to with the Major. When I got the job, and I had to audition, I made like three or four tapes for Rupert and then Paramount and DreamWorks weren't super happy with my tapes. They didn't think I was smiling enough. So I flew to LA from  Denmark, that's a 14 hour flight, to have a meeting with Paramount and DreamWorks where I sat through out the entire meeting like this. [sits back and smiles very wide] Smiling! To persuade them that I can be charming if I want to, but he's not a charming guy. He's a serious guy. The heart and soul of Batou is all the looks, all the pauses, it's not all the actual, do you get what I'm saying? When you see a good actor on screen you think what the hell is she doing because the lines are information but what you do between the lines is art, okay.

Yeah.

Asbaek: What was the question again, I forgot. [laughs]

Are you similar to Batou?

Asbaek: Oh right, yeah, so I didn't connect with him and I saw the anime again and again and again and I ended up going back to the original manga and I found out- because Batou in the anime is much older than I am, much more quiet. So I thought, people are going to give me a hard time because I'm not old enough for this role, you know. I'm the first one to know, I'm the actor, I know what I'm doing, I know what people are going to say are the strengths and weaknesses. And then I went back to the manga and realized, oh shit! He's not old at all! He's much younger in the manga! It was Oshii, when he created the anime, that made him much older. So I can go back to Shirow's manga and go I'm the right age! He was the guy fucking up the character! [laughs] I mean, of course Oshii didn't fuck up, Oshii did the most beautiful Batou. What I wanted was the visual looks of the manga and the heart and soul of the anime, so that's also a personal homage from me to the two geniuses who created it.

.@ThePowerRangers Q&A with @iambeckyg & @rj_cyler!

We had the awesome opportunity to attend a Q&A with some of the cast of Power Rangers on Monday and boy are we extra excited for the film! RJ Cyler and Becky G are so amazing together, they had the entire room laughing!

Who has dressed up as a Power Ranger? *Raises hand* I’m pretty sure I was the pink ranger for three Halloween’s in a row. No shame!

How fun was it being a Power Ranger? #PowerRangersMovie @iambeckyg @rj_cyler @Y100MIAMI @ThePowerRangers pic.twitter.com/qHUbAMzoFK

— Once Upon a Twilight (@twilightsdance) March 6, 2017

So I’m happy RJ agrees that hey nobody can judge me now because I’m really the Blue Ranger. What do you think it was really like gearing up to wear the suits? Who were the pranksters on set? The answers may surprise you.

Talking suits and pranks! 😂 #PowerRangersMovie @iambeckyg @rj_cyler @Y100MIAMI @ThePowerRangers pic.twitter.com/biIoKaHH9z

— Once Upon a Twilight (@twilightsdance) March 7, 2017

We also got to hear about how they really felt about wearing their suits the last day.

They are hilarious! #PowerRangersMovie @iambeckyg @rj_cyler @Y100MIAMI @ThePowerRangers pic.twitter.com/xNfwegTBAx

— Once Upon a Twilight (@twilightsdance) March 7, 2017

Favorite scene to shoot? #PowerRangersMovie @iambeckyg @rj_cyler @Y100MIAMI @ThePowerRangers pic.twitter.com/nTRmckPeEM

— Once Upon a Twilight (@twilightsdance) March 6, 2017

Have you ever wanted to be a Power Ranger? How would you feel if you ever got the call? I personally would probably freak out like crazy? Childhood come true.

#PowerRangersMovie @iambeckyg @rj_cyler @Y100MIAMI @ThePowerRangers pic.twitter.com/imqRYVcjwp

— Once Upon a Twilight (@twilightsdance) March 6, 2017

I think out of the entire Q&A Becky’s answer to this was my absolute favorite.

Talking diversity. #PowerRangersMovie @iambeckyg @rj_cyler @Y100MIAMI @ThePowerRangers pic.twitter.com/3bFwnsgcVd

— Once Upon a Twilight (@twilightsdance) March 7, 2017

Make sure you go out and watch The Power Rangers movie when it comes out on March 24!

Advance Screening Recap of HBO's Big Little Lies - #BigLittleLies

We are excited to talk about the new HBO show BIG LITTLE LIES. We recently attended a pre-screening event, where we were able to preview the first 2 shows, chat with Kathryn Newton and have some delicious treats afterwards. 

ABOUT BIG LITTLE LIES
In the tranquil seaside town of Monterey, California, nothing is quite as it seems. Doting moms, successful husbands, adorable children, beautiful homes: What lies will be told to keep their perfect worlds from unraveling? Told through the eyes of three mothers – Madeline, Celeste and Jane – BIG LITTLE LIES paints a picture of a town fueled by rumors and divided into the haves and have-nots, exposing the conflicts, secrets and betrayals that compromise relationships between husbands and wives, parents and children, and friends and neighbors. Based on the New York Times number-one bestseller of the same name by Liane Moriarty, BIG LITTLE LIES is a subversive, darkly comedic drama that weaves a tale of murder and mischief as it explores society’s myth of perfection and the contradictions that exist beneath our idealized façade of marriage, sex, parenting and friendship. The seven-episode limited drama series debuts SUNDAY, FEB. 19 (9:00-10:00 p.m. ET/PT), exclusively on HBO.

Kathryn Newton biography:
With two Young Artist Awards and further recognition of a talent which can effortlessly shift between comedic and dramatic roles – not to mention from the soundstage to the golf course – 19-year-old actress Kathryn Newton continues to ascend on the leaderboard.

In the wake of her recurring role as Claire Novak on the long-running CW series “Supernatural,” Newton returns to episodic television in the new HBO series “Big Little Lies,” which premieres February 19. Adapted by David E. Kelley and Liane Moriarty based on her #1 New York Times bestselling novel of the same name, the comedy crime drama boasts an all-star cast in weaving the tale of three mothers – Madeline (Reese Witherspoon), Celeste (Nicole Kidman) and Jane (Shailene Woodley) – whose supposedly perfect lives are interrupted when a murder occurs. Kathryn Newton plays Abigail, the older daughter of Witherspoon’s Madeline Mackenzie.

On the big screen Newton will be seen in two films with Lucas Hedges (Manchester By the Sea), the forthcoming independent film comedy Lady Bird and the crime drama Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. Newton may be best-known for starring in Paranormal Activity 4 as Alex Nelson, a young teen who documents the supernatural occurrences that happen when a mysterious family moves into the neighborhood. For her work in the blockbuster horror film, she won a Young Artist Award for Best Performance in a Feature Film - Leading Young Actress.

Previous credits for Newton include Disney Channel’s “Dog with a Blog,” AMC’s “Mad Men,” and CBS’s “Bad Teacher” and “Gary Unmarried,” for which she won a Young Artist Award for her role as daughter Louise Brooks. Born in South Florida, Newton began her acting career at the age of four, appearing on the venerable daytime show “All My Children” from 2001-2004.

A diehard fashionista with an extensive collection of vintage designer items, Newton is also an avid golfer (she admits, “I don’t know whether to call myself a golfer who acts or an actor who plays golf!”). Last year she did a video series for Golf Digest, which recognized her as “The Best Golfer in Hollywood.” Having helped her Southern California high school golf team win three league championships, Newton hopes to launch her own tournament where adults and child players pair to raise money to encourage more young people to get into the game.

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Our recap:

Big Little Lies premieres on HBO on Sunday February 19, 2017 and it is sure to garner plenty of attention. Based on a best-selling novel by Liane Moriarty and starring Hollywood heavyweights, Reese Witherspoon, Nicole Kidman, Shailene Woodley and Laura Dern the show while not revolutionary, is well executed and deliciously mischievous.

At the heart of the story is Madeline Martha Mackenzie (Witherspoon). She knows how things should be and is willing to do what it takes to make things work out that way. She wants fairness and justice and meddles with the school and manipulates peoples’ perspectives to get things the way that she thinks they should be. Her best friend, Celeste (Nicole Kidman), lives like a Greek goddess in a mansion on the water with two perfect boys and a Ken doll husband. She is ever present but coolly disengaged. Jane (Shailene Woodley) moves to town and unlike the other “dress for success,” glamour haired moms, she seeks comfort with baggy clothes, short hair tied back and no trace of make-up. She’s a single mom and lives for her son, Ziggy.

This ill-fitted group of heroines, while they consider each other best friends, in many ways barely know each other. In fact, although theirs is a community where people are constantly digging into other’s business and judging, no one seems to know much about anyone’s actual lives. One of these women is emotionally distant to her husband, one is haunted by a recurring vision and one is engaged in a violent, dangerous game of sex and co-dependence with her husband.

Madeline pits people against each other for sport. Working moms v. stay at home moms; her ex-husband against her current husband; even her teen daughter against herself. She thrives on the diversion of minutiae and in so doing is blind to bigger issues around her. When the moms arrive at school to pick up their children after the first day of first grade, Ziggy is accused of hurting Super Mom Renata’s daughter. Renata (Laura Dern) is a high-power executive with PayPal and Madeline’s nemesis. Ziggy claims innocence and Jane assures that her son isn’t a liar. Thus, begins a he-said-she-said kerfuffle that ripples into much larger issues.

Set in Monterrey, California, the episodes are crisp and visually stunning with breathtaking homes and settings. Even Jane’s stark home is enviably cozy and the quick peeks of a bigger crime lurking behind the story tugs at the viewer whenever you forget that it’s coming

Director Jean-Marc Vallee swirls between clips of the community talking to police at depositions and a traditional unwinding narrative that affectively floats viewers along with the story, helping us understand the myriad perspectives that can make simple confrontations become holy wars.

 

Interview with Director of the Movie #Rings

Rings
Director: F. Javier Gutierrez
Writers: David Loucka (story and screenplay), Jacob Estes (story and screenplay), and Akiva Goldmsna (screenplay)
Starring: Matilda Anna Ingrid Lutz, Alex Roe, Johnny Galecki, and Bonnie Morgan
MPAA Rating: PG-13
Official Socials: Site | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | IMDb
Hashtag: #Rings

A young woman finds herself on the receiving end of a terrifying curse that threatens to take her life in 7 days.

As a huge horror movie fan, I was very excited to not only get to see an advanced screening of Rings, but also to get to interview the director, F. Javier Gutierrez. Throughout the movie, I kept coming up with questions to ask the him and I am honored to have been able to interview him. 

So, where did you want this film to fit on The Ring’s timeline? Did you want it to be a sequel, prequel, or maybe your own adaptation of the original idea?

F. Javier: I would say it’s like a sequel because it’s like we talk about the original movie somehow indirectly. We say at some point they found the body and so we are not talking about Rachel and Aidan but we acknowledge that that happened, so I would say it’s like a… like an evolution of what happened in the first one. We are forgetting about the whole story about Aidan or Rachel and the position [of] the second one, we’re not talking about that [laughs] but yes we go back a little bit to the root of the original one. If you remember the first Ring and they’re— everything starts in the college actually, and Rachel kind of is there because like a young girl dies and it’s like, “What happened?”, and then she starts to investigate, right? So we are like following the thread of that path- of the college- thinking like, what happens if fifteen years later somehow, somebody again runs into one of the tapes and plays that there again in a college. Like it belongs to that kind of environment- the college, the people, the crowds sharing tapes and things but out now, in a contemporary world, what will happen? So it’s more like an evolution, I don’t know if I’d call it a sequel exactly but it’s like the next step following the original course of The Ring.

How did you get involved with the project?

F. Javier: Uh, I was on The Crow, so I was working on that one [and] that is actually a project that I love and that’s been like two years or something- like two years and a half- and it was for too long unfortunately and I helped, I fixed a lot of things, I helped a lot, I really got to put together like a team again and James O’Barr on board… and it was really, really exciting but unfortunately there were a lot of problems that were out of my reach- I couldn’t control everything- and I… I always try to be optimistic but I just can’t do everything [laughs]. But, I was not able to handle that, it was like, rough to understand that it doesn’t depend on me, I cannot do everything. So, um, when everything wasn’t going down on The Crow and all those moments, I got to know Walter Parkes and Laurie MacDonald. They are the producers of the first Ring movie… they are pretty impressive, they have pretty impressive resumes. So they call me, they tell me the loved my movie Before the Fall. It is a small movie I did in Spain… and it was released here on IFC and they saw it and they said, “You have that darkness and you have that visual world that you can bring something to the table of The Ring like Gore could bring to the first one. So, when they made that call I was doing The Crow and I thought oh okay, The Crow [or] The Ring [laughs]. And so I start off on [Rings] and when Rings starts to move very fast, because they probably were like six years in development when I arrived, and when I was there the movie started to get on track and move very fast, I had to stop working on The Crow. I couldn’t be there, so I helped them with the transition to a new director… and I jumped into the boat of The Ring.

So, in the film, you state that you wanted to involve technology and morality but in the film it kind of—you went back to VHS. Why not just skip to having it on the computers already and streaming it?

F. Javier: I am nostalgic! I like VHS, it’s like, I mean, if [I] as a fan, I see that with like a pin drive I would be like “what the fuck?” So I wanted to create like a link at least, that something that we wanted to attack, I would love to have a transition from the real tape, because you know, that’s what people my age like to do. They like to look at old tapes and see them transition to DVD, to see all that I feel like I made justice to the real tape. So that’s why we set the opening scene like that to see the transition, it set up the roots again for the new crowd and those [fans] from the original movies can be like ‘”oh okay” and understand why the transition.  It was also like a punch to start with energy like “guys, forget about the original Ring because this is quite different but we are going to try to show some throwbacks like the tape and other things like that.

Interviewer 4: When you saw the final product and you saw how everything came out what was your feeling? How did you—what was that experience?

 F. Javier: When I saw the final movie?

 Yeah, the whole film, when you saw it all.

 F. Javier: I think that I was…happy I felt that it was a good balance of….I can go [from] white to dark, I know myself, so sometimes I have to contain myself. So I think the movie does a pretty good job at keeping the darkness of the original and some of the visuals, but I like to make the movie through my own world so I like to play with the colors, the texture treating the original of the Ring but adding some new colors and textures, so I think it was a good balance between something that I found myself that I would like to see. So yeah I think it was a good balance between things that I would like to find and things that a fresh new audience would demand. So maybe they don’t care for the original Ring 1 or Ring 2 but they can still walk into the movie like “oh okay that sounds like an interesting clue! So you watch it, you die, okay” It was like, you know a refresh, and at the same time for people who like myself are very attached to the original I wanted to find still some of the flavor of the original but then things that you couldn’t find before like Julia and little moments with Julia that you can only see through her and of her when she’s moving forward and moments of classic suspense and classic horror. It is not like this new trend that we have now with new horror, it is not that intense and specific in showing gore and things like that, that is something we said a lot “we wanna do like a classic horror movie. We may want to adapt it to a new audience, but we don’t want it to be too crazy. Let’s do something that plays more with the psychology of it.” I enjoy little situations like that where you have to make a decision, and some decisions get you in trouble. Like it happens to Julia and to the leaders of the previous movie sometimes they try to do the right thing, but that doesn’t mean that the right thing doesn’t have any consequences.

Okay, uh, 2016 was kind of a big like new horror movies type of year, what do you think that sets Rings apart from all the other ones that just came out?

F. Javier: Um I love the movies of these last two years, I think they’re very, very unique. A lot of them are all very personal I think, which I really appreciate because they come from the independent world, they’re something that can’t really be made in a franchise. Things like that; I really love and appreciate them. In a Hollywood franchise you have to do another kind of horror. In this particular case we did something recovering the sense of the original one, right? But I think it’s a good approach actually because you’re not going to go in that direction with a movie like The Ring, which is really rough. This is taking the direction of keeping the classic mood of the original one, I think. After I watched it at the end after everything, I came back and watched it and I thought look, it’s fun. I mean, it was not scary for me because I did edit it [laughs]. But I felt I was a fan. Somehow we managed a movie that has a lot of horror classics, which some people might think is a bit outdated but I think actually it’s something fresh because nowadays everyone is trying to do something new with horror movies.

There’s a few really interesting scenes in the film… which one would you say was the most difficult to film?

F. Javier: The one in the cemetery was pretty complicated. That one was probably the hardest.

Yeah, it looks difficult [laughs]

F. Javier: We don’t want any spoilers but you know, the space, everything was real. It was pretty practical. It was rough for the actress too because she was actually doing it herself. I asked her if she could please do it for me because I want to see it real, I want to see your face, and so it was pretty hard, that one. And then, technically, what was a really hard one was Samara crawling out from the TV because I really love the original one, I love when she walks out, and when I took this movie I thought “I have to do something, at least!” You know, I felt a lot of pressure to do something different. And it’s the sequence that everyone wanted to watch!

Alright, so, you’ve directed a film that was meant to frighten your audience and inspire suspense in them. What would you say frightens you, personally, and did you incorporate any of your own fears into this film?

F. Javier: My own fears are more—I mean, in this one there’s some sense of it. I mean, I would have to say that where I portrayed my own fears I would have to go back to my previous movie Before the Fall because it was based more around my childhood somehow. It’s like, uh, a girl walking out of a TV has nothing to do with my childhood. So, I think it has something. I’m a fighter too, I always fight, but even if you fight and fight against the dark sometimes you cannot win. This concept comes up a lot in the movie, fighting your own destiny, and it’s something I might have to see a psychologist for! In Before the Fall, it’s called 3 Days in Spanish because everyone is going to die in three days and you have to make decisions; right ones or wrong ones, but you knew you were going to die. In Rings, Julia is going to die in seven days. So I think that’s the personal link, to know that at the end of the day we are all going to die somehow; seven days, ten days, seven years, who knows? And the decisions you make through the journey I believe are somehow scary and somehow challenging.

by

Yulia

Interview with Asa Butterfield from "The Space Between Us"

The Space Between Us
Director: Peter Chelson
Writers: Allan Leob (screenplay), Stewart Schill (story)
Starring: Britt Robertson, Asa Butterfield, Gary Oldman
MPAA Rating: PG-13
Official Socials: Site | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | IMDb
Hashtag: #TheSpaceBetweenUs

The first human born on Mars travels to Earth for the first time, experiencing the wonders of the planet through fresh eyes. He embarks on an adventure with a street smart girl to discover how he came to be.

As I mentioned in my review of “The Space Between Us”, I became a fan of Asa Butterfield when I saw him as Jake in Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, so when I was given the chance to interview him I was very excited. He was a complete sweetheart and we got to talk a bit about London (I loved it when I went there!) and about the Miami weather. Without further ado…Here’s Asa’s interview:

First of all, how are you liking Miami so far? 
Asa: It’s nice. I went to the beach yesterday. London is just cold and gray all the time.

What’s your dream role?
Asa: My dream role? I get asked this a lot and I can never give a good answer because I never really think about it. I kind of just play it as it comes, what roles and scripts I read.

Do you have a preference? For example, do you prefer sci-fi since you’ve done “Ender’s Game” and “The Space Between Us”.
 Asa: I like doing all sorts of films actually. I don’t tell my agent that I want to do sci-fi or western, it really depends on the script and the character. I do like fantasy and sci-fi because it gives more freedom to do a lot of things.

So what drew you to do this movie? 
Asa: It had a lot of different things going on, a lot of different genres. I felt the character was very interesting: playing someone that is experiencing everything we take for granted, experiencing it for the first time and the wonders of it, and making all those mistakes. I thought it’d be very funny, different, and challenging –which it was.

How did you prepare for this role? 
Asa: There was the walk since coming from Mars to Earth you’d feel a little heavier, so I practiced with weights on my ankles and waist to see how much more difficult it’d be to walk and run around, and it affected the way I moved. I also watched films of people coming from space and I tried to recreate it but without the weights.

What do you hope people take away from this movie?
Asa: I hope they open their eyes to what we have as a planet, which we are very lucky to have and a lot of people ignore or don’t realize.

Is there something specific you want people to open their eyes to?
Asa: Well, yeah, the landscape, I think the natural side of it, like you see in the film some mountain views, but also the human aspect of it. Like going to see hot air balloons which Gardner sees for the first time, which most of us don’t even give a second glance to because we are all on our phones now.
What do you think you have in common with Gardner and what did you learn from playing that character? 
Asa: We are both very curious and interested in things. I really like learning about weird things and I can spend a whole evening reading. Just like how Gardner is fascinated by everything he sees.

Did you practice to be surprised since there are a lot of moments in which you have to act surprised?
Asa: I did my surprise face in the mirror all day (laughs). No, I’m joking. I don’t know. People ask me how I prepare to be a certain character and I can’t explain, because it’s more than acting, it’s mental, it’s what’s inside your head and you can’t really explain that. So, I don’t know is my answer (laughs).

You haven’t done a lot of romantic scenes in the movies you’ve been in, so how was doing the romantic scene with Britt Robertson? Was it awkward? 
Asa: No, it’s not awkward. When you have that type of relationship that you have to sell on screen, it’s always a lot easier when you get along with that person. Britt is very sweet, very chilled out, which is great because I kind of felt anxious and she was very relaxed. And, in those kind of scenes, you just can’t take it too seriously or otherwise it does get awkward, and then on camera you’ll go ‘why do these guys look so awkward?’ when you’re watching the film.

Gardner grows up having everything he needs, but he wants more; he just wants to connect. Do you believe that there is anything more valuable than human connection because, at the end of the day, that’s what the movie is about. 
Asa: I’m glad you got that because it is about science fiction, but it’s ultimately about these connections and relationships between these characters. And I do lean towards human contact, someone to talk to. I do like being by myself, having alone time, but I do believe it’s important to have that connection, so living on Mars would be a struggle for me.

If given the opportunity to live on Mars, would you take it?
Asa: No. I would like to go into space; I would like to go into zero gravity because I have pretended to be in zero g so many times. It would be awesome to experience that, do different types of experiments. But Mars is a little bit too far away.

How did you feel working with Gary Oldman?
Asa: Uh, Gary Oldman is an amazing actor to work with, as an actor. But, as a guy, he’s so kind of…normal, and funny. He doesn’t take himself too seriously at all, which is great to see in someone like that because, again, it relaxes the whole atmosphere on set. Because no one is going like ‘Oh, Gary is coming, let me do my tie up’, because his hair is a mess and yeah, it’s great.

Which director would you like to work with next? 
Asa: I don’t know; I’m open. I don’t like to set myself any goals because I feel bad if I fail to reach them, so I just go with the flow. I’ve worked with some incredible directors that no one has ever heard of, so I think it’s not fair to set those goals.

Can you tell us a bit about any new roles you’re working on now? 
Asa: Yes, I was filming last year; it’s called “The House of Tomorrow”, which is an independent American film. I played with Alan Wolf, which we are sort of in this punk rock band, and it was incredible.

You’ve played a lot of characters throughout the years, is there one that stood out to you the most?
Asa: I really like Gardner, really. It was fun bringing him to life because he is so different character than all the other ones I’ve played.

Since you started acting so young, do you feel like you missed out on things? 
Asa: I think I may have missed out on little things, but it didn’t really faze me. I’d come back to school and it didn’t really make a difference. It didn’t feel like I’d been away. But I did mature pretty quickly, which I am still not sure if it’s good or bad thing. I mean, I still act pretty immature, so I guess it balances out.

Were there any other space movies you watched to get into that mode? 
Asa: It does have some references to E.T., which I think is quite sweet. And they make a lot of references to Wings of Desire.

If you wouldn’t be into acting, what do you think you’d be doing? 
Asa: I’d be out with a camera in a forest or some type of savannah, just filming the animals. I love nature, I love animals –always have, and I really love photography as well.

Do you ever want to be on the other side of the camera? 
Asa: I would love to be a cameraman. Directing, maybe, but cameraman definitely.

If you were told today is your last day on Earth because tomorrow you are leaving to Mars, what would you do? 
Asa: Oh my God, what am I going to do? So many things. I will have to say I would spend it with my family, do the nice thing. And stash as many things as I can to steal to Mars.

So, what’s your favorite thing about Earth? 
Asa: Music. I love hip hop, but classic hip hop. From early 2000s: Eminem, Tupac, Biggie Smalls. I also like reggae and soul music.

Friday Movie Night: The Light Between Oceans Movie Night Recap

How to spend a Friday night? By hosting a movie night! Thanks to Disney, who sent us a free movie package for The Light Between Oceans, Once Upon a Twilight invited some of our girls from South Florida for a gathering to host this movie. It's funny how it actually turned out to be. Not only were we heading to Universal Studio for Harry Potter Celebration but we were going to host this heartbreaking movie. It was the perfect gateaway for us and we greatly appreciate for being involved.

Once we arrived our destination, our "Harry Potter Castle", according to AirBnB, we were ready to start our movie night. As part of the surprise, we decided to open the box once we reached our rental and cozy up into our pajamas. When we finally did open our package, we were amazed by our package. Disney do not play. They know how to go all out. We were provided candles, tea, slippers, much needed tissues and of course the movie.

As we prepared to start the movie, we pure some wine to our glasses and began the movie. Needless to say, wine and sad movies do not mix. We were all crying, debating what is right and let's say comparing the movie to the book.... What can I say, we are bookworms! Based on a bestselling novel by M.L. Stedman, The Light Between Oceans tells the story of Tom Sherbourne who falls in love with Isabel. Tom is a lighthouse keeper on a remote island and within we see his early stages of his romance with Isabel. Most importantly the story of her miscarriages.

With Isabel's second miscarriage, comes a miracle or not, but boat washes ashore carrying a dead man and a crying baby. Isabel's heartbroken but with the new incomer, she begs Tom to keep the baby girl instead of reporting her to the authorities. As you may have guessed, Tom and Isabel end up meeting the biological mother and they are forced to make a decision that will change them forever.

Needless to say The Light Between Oceans is a very powerful story that will break your heart. Guilt is as strong as love and will drive you into an emotion roller coaster. So if you decide to check this movie out, which I recommend that you do, be sure to have tissues.

Thank you Disney for this package and the movie. Our Friday Movie Night was successful.

Trying to capture our moment of tonight, thanks to @disney #LightBetweenOceansBluray #thelightbetweenoceans #movienight

A post shared by Once Upon A Twilight (@twilightsdance) on Jan 27, 2017 at 9:40pm PST

An Interview with The Cast of #BenHur

Ben-Hur
Director: Timur Bekmambetov
Writers:  Lew Wallace (based on the novel by), Keith R. Clarke (screenplay), John Ridley (screenplay)
Starring:  Jack Huston, Toby Kebell, Rodrigo Santoro
MPAA Rating: PG-13
Official Socials: Site | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | IMDb
Hashtag: #BenHur

The epic story of Judah Ben-Hur (Jack Huston), a prince falsely accused of treason by his adopted brother, an officer in the Roman army. After years at sea, Judah returns to his homeland to seek revenge, but finds redemption.

Here I am sandwiched between the 2 hotties

As I’ve stated before many times, I am a fangirl; a fangirl that loves meeting new celebrities –and if I get to ask them some questions, even better!

I was asked to go cover the press table for the upcoming super action-packed Ben-Hur and that two of the main cast would be there. Well, it was none other than Ben-Hur himself (played by Jack Huston) and Jesus Christ (played by Rodrigo Santoro). I had seen Jack earlier this year in his role as Lt. George Wickham in “Pride and Prejudice and Zombies” (alongside my love, Matt Smith), so I was somewhat familiar with him. Rodrigo I hadn’t seen before, but I have now promised myself to check out some of his work because, after meeting him, I am that much more eager to see it!

I was very excited to meet these two incredibly talented actors because I have a great love for acting and, to me, meeting two fine and well-known actors is an honor. I have to say that these two were absolute and complete gentlemen: they were courteous, really looked each one of us in the eye as they responded our questions, and were all smiles. They even stayed longer than they were supposed to just to make sure we all got our questions answered, and they didn’t want to rush them. Big props to Rodrigo who was very sick with a bad case of the flu and said he felt terrible. Despite this, he was graceful and sweet and animated with all his answers. I am very honored to have met these two beautiful souls.

Enough of praising these guys, here’s the interview so you can read it for yourself:

What lead you guys to accepting the rolls you guys had in this movie?

Jack: To me, it was such a huge honor because, as an actor, you’re always looking for great characters. I truly believe the character Judah Ben-Hur is one of the great characters, and you know that because 130 years ago someone wrote a book and we are re-imagining this story for the fourth time on the movie screen. That’s what transcends everything. And I say re-imagine because the ’59 version is a very different version than the ’29 version, and because it was made for an modern audience and it’s introducing this amazing story to a new audience. This character really taught me a lot about myself, about life, about how things somehow that happened 2,000 years ago are still happening today, and this film is incredibly relevant right now, even though it’s written 130 years ago, even though it’s based 2,000 years ago. The subject that it’s about, it’s still happening right now. There’s so much hatred, so much animosity in the world, and it’s kind of beautiful to be part of something that has a message that has a way out of that: that it’s love, that’s forgiveness, and small acts of kindness. That’s what made it special for me.

Rodrigo: I think I had all the reasons to accept this challenge and responsibility because it doesn’t get much bigger, more special than that. But, also I don’t just get to play this part, but this part inside this film, this story. I was all over the place when I was offered to play him because I was swarmed with contradictions and anxiety and excitement, and doubts and everything. I took it as a real, personal experience; I really wanted to go through this experience. And the fact that I was going to be inside such a strong, beautiful, powerful story, was –as you say here in America –a no brainer. Actually, it was an all-brainer for me because I was all over the place and didn’t know what to think. But that lasted one day. I went to bed and the next day I woke up and thought ‘I really want to go through this experience, I really want to do this’, and I tried to shut down all the voices in my head telling me ‘are you sure? People are going to say this or that. It’s Jesus, are you sure? It’s been done so many times, what can you add to this?’ And I said, you know what? I think it’s going to be a very unique experience and I want to go through that and, basically, that was the instinct that told me to take it. Life is too short to rationalize everything, just go with your gut. I couldn’t be more grateful for the experience I had.

When the last Ben-Hur was made, it was a spectacle and it’s regarded as one of the best movies ever made. Were you guys trepid about going into it? Technology has advanced so much, do you feel it makes it more difficult to surprise audiences into this one?

Jack: As you said, the ’59 version was the first time we had seen a movie of that scale, of that epic nature, with that many horses and extras, the time it took to make it, it was unique at that time. But also, the style of acting back then was quite theatrical, it was a very different style of making movies, and it’s been nearly 60 years this movie and the Wyler version. The lovely thing that I think is so interesting is that, with all the special effects and the pressure of the film business, what Timur [Bekmambetov, the director of the film] and we wanted to do was bring it back to the characters, the story. We actually didn’t use that many special effects, we actually knew that the way to reach the audience was my immersing ourselves in those characters, and to do all those things and put ourselves through all these emotions and physicality; I’ve never trained harder in my life. I lost 30 lbs as a whole. Every time you see us with the horses it’s us with the horses. I can’t emphasize enough the importance of this movie, because when you say re-imagining, it is re-imagining because most people haven’t seen the ’59 version, and so we get to tell this story to a whole new generation of people. And I think Lew Wallace would say ‘that’s pretty cool, my book is still filmed.’

Rodrigo: He said it all. I don’t know what else I can really add. Maybe what I can is that the first question I asked the director in our first meeting was: How do you feel, as a director, the responsibility of the story, the title, the Oscars, it’s inevitable to have comparisons? And he said, “Are you crazy? I would never touch that movie! This is a completely different movie.” So I asked him, what do you mean? He said, “From the way I am going to tell the story, from the way I am going to shoot it, from the narrative standpoint, everything, and your character. And I said, well, it’s been done so many times, are you sure you’re going to have a different take on it? He then said, “I’m not even going to go there. It’s not about being different; I have a very specific vision, which is that I would like Jesus to be a very relatable figure. I want him to be very, very human.” And then he had me look at YouTube videos as references; like, very realistic, very much the approach he wanted to bring to the film, and for this character he said we are going to be very careful, we want him to be very powerful, we want it to be the way it has to be because we are going to follow the scripture. [Timur said] “Everything is going to be the way it has to be, but, I want you to bring something to this character that hasn’t been written, which is to be relatable as a man, as someone who is planting seeds and showing acts of kindness and having a relationship with another man, a fraternal relationship.” That is the message because all his teachings are there, but I wanted all of us to feel that we are all sons of God too, which is probably, I don’t know, what Jesus was trying to say. We all can do this, we all should shoot in that direction and try to be better, try to evolve, and really try to love as much as possible.

Jack: There was such a beautiful atmosphere on the set, which meant that everyone had a voice, and we were encouraged to talk about it, and how do we relate to this. Because Timur is unbelievable! He is constantly playing references [on YouTube] that he knows will relate to a modern audience. The scene when I punch Toby (as Messala) in the face 3 times, that’s from a clip of 2 people fighting. Everything, in a weird way, had some sort of reference like that. And the first time me and Rodrigo met, it was like 2 guys talking, not Jesus and Judah. This guy is showing me such an act of kindness, and that is such a relatable thing for us now. That’s not Jesus Christ to Judah, it’s this carpenter dude doing something nice for a second. And I thought it’s so great because it’s between 2 people right to the crucifixion, there was a very human connection with us, and all the characters. And it was a cool thing to explore, and it gave it a more modern take on something.

What was the best part of making this movie on it’s own separate entity?

Jack: As an actor, whether a several million dollar movie, or TV show, I think you have to approach it from a place of love, the character. I always have chosen characters because I love them, and I feel I have a need to play them. Very much on this one, and I think the greatest thing about this one is the journey: where you start and where you end, and everything in between. I got to go on a journey mentally, emotionally, physically. It’s one of my favorite things, it’s why I’ve gone into this business. It’s tough and it’s trying, but it’s like the tougher the work, the more the rewards, and I found that this one was the toughest of all jobs I’ve done. And it’s true, the rewards were exponential, they were amazing. I’ve always loved cinema, and this is the reason we go to the cinema: to watch these movies, to go through that experience, for that moment when you forget and lose yourself. Sometimes if I watch a movie about a painter or writer, I feel inspired to go paint or write, and that’s something about this movie, that if someone can walk out of it and feel they’ve actually learned something, then all the better for it, and I feel incredibly proud about that.

Rodrigo: I’m going to try to be straight to the point. I’ve been everywhere inside myself in the process of preparing for this because I just didn’t know where to go. I was trying to find an answer and there was no rational answer, there wasn’t an equation that could solve it and tell me, ok, that’s how I play it. The approach was different than any other character I have played because of my own impression and relationship with the figure of Jesus in my own respect, in my own expectations, my own ideas of who he really was. So, I really had to dive inside myself. I practiced yoga, I practiced meditation –things I already do –but I really went for it, just to center myself to try to be in that place. So, what I think I brought to the film is everything I’ve got inside my heart, because I really wanted to stand for that character, I really wanted to be my best. But, maybe, for the first time, I was able to set my ego aside, say ‘Rodrigo doesn’t have to be a great actor here, it’s beyond that.’ Because we, as artists, are insecure and creative, but we want to be the best; I always want to become a better actor, but this time I wanted to become a better person. I gave it all that I had and, as you see in the story, Jesus punctuates the story; Jesus is not all the story. I don’t know if I even accomplished that, and it doesn’t even matter to me. What matters is what I went through, what that I know 100% that I am good with myself because I gave all I had.

This movie took a lot from you guys, the actors, physically and emotionally, and I am wondering what scene took a lot emotionally and physically from you?

Rodrigo: I would have to say the cross, because there was another ingredient that day, which was the weather and we all know what Jesus is wearing on the cross. So, I didn’t have a nice, warm, cozy scarf wrapped around my neck and it was windy and it snowed the night before, and it’s going to be very windy and very cold. I was freezing up there and on top of everything there were wind machines! (Jack intervened to say: “It was the coldest day. I had clothes and thought, this is mad!”) If you for a moment stop and think about, how must it feel to be crucified, how does it feel physically, mentally, and emotionally? And then you have to add the scriptures of everything that Jesus is saying up there, what did he mean? Like, the real meaning of all those words. How do I deliver this? This is so iconic, this changed civilization! It’s BC and AC, it’s as important and scary as it gets. The day of, I went there, I froze, I did it. But there were 2 things that were interesting: first, due to the physical conditions, I wasn’t able to think too much, I was just focusing that I had to get this done. I begged the director to please let this be just one long take because, they tried to keep us comfortable, but it was very cold on top of this mountain, so I said, I will give you the lines in different ways, give you different options because to think to be up here and then have to come back, just no. And then, there was Jack; they had developed this powerful connection, with another human being, with a man that went through so much turmoil, and you’re cheering for him to overcome it. He looked at me, and I felt it was a rope that pulled me, that was the connection to the whole world, all humanity in one man, and it was very special, and I will never forget it.

How does this movie compare to any of the other ones you’ve taken on before in your acting career?

Jack: We were very lucky with this one because we got to film in Matera [Italy], which is one of the oldest cities in the world. The wonderful thing to immerse in that we were in a town that looks and feels like Jerusalem, it was amazing. You’d think it’d be the hardest to do, to go back 2,000 years, but the way that Timur wanted to do it with this modern edge, the way we spoke to each other in a more relatable way, it actually was one of the easiest places to work in because time changes, but humans don’t really.

Rodrigo: It’s inevitable for me to not go to the character when talking about the film because the character, to me, it meant so much –and because it was taken as a personal journey as well –I can’t even compare to the other stuff I’ve been in. I am not talking about the result, or as an actor. As I saw the film, I remembered the experience, as a human. It doesn’t happen all the time because I do catch myself thinking I could’ve done this, or I could’ve said it differently when seeing my scenes because you are constantly trying to get better. This time, I couldn’t really judge much, which is something I probably learned with the experience itself. The city of Matera is incredible and it just brought a lot to my imagination, my inspiration, because when we weren’t filming, I was just walking around. The only thing that was very difficult was that I was on a diet, and there was pasta and gelato everywhere and I couldn’t have a piece of it. Being on a diet in Italy, it’s sacrifice.

Do you think this movie will bring people to Christ?

Jack: I think this isn’t discriminatory against any religion. The great thing about it is that, the underlying message, is that of a good one. And maybe that is Christian, or that’s another one, but what I love about this one is that it’s about finding good and the humanity in each other, in people. I don’t think you need to be religious to take away from this what we have, and what the message is underneath it, and that’s the beautiful thing. People can jump on it all they like, but until they haven’t seen it –that’s why I am so passionate about this movie because even before it has come out, they’re jumping on it. That’s exactly what this movie is about: fear, hatred, all this anger and crap that is out there. It’s what people jump to, but why not try to experience it in its moment? It’s people like you who can go out and say you saw it and say it’s not actually a remake of the 1959 version, it’s a stand alone movie, and it’s got a beautiful message, and it’s got good vibes, and at the same time it’s why we go to the movie. So, if it brings people back to Christ, or back to goodness, or back to kindness, all of it is worth it.

Rodrigo: The movie is clearly not about Christ’s journey. What it’s about is his presence, changing people’s lives while he was there. That’s why the writer of the book chose to tell the story from Judah’s point of view. If you see in Wyler’s version, you don’t even see Jesus’ face. It was a conscious choice, but I think it’s meant to go much more beyond, which is humanizing and making the figure of Christ more relatable. It’s about how it touches you, because at the end of the day, if it doesn’t hit you, it doesn’t move you, nothing is going to happen; there’s no transformation. So, if the question is if it will bring people to Christ, I not only hope so, but I think it all depends on how you see the film. If people are ready to compare, or judgmental, or expecting –because human beings are filled with expectations –but, it’s not about fulfilling expectations; it’s about the experience. It’s about letting it touch you, or not. 

And that concludes the marvelous (but short) time I got to spend with these 2 up and coming hotties of the Hollywood world.