Posts tagged Interviews
Leonardo DiCaprio Interview For Clint Eastwood’s ‘J. Edgar’ – Released Friday In The UK
Jan 18th
During his lifetime, J. Edgar Hoover (Leonardo DiCaprio) would rise to be the most powerful man in America. As head of the Federal Bureau of Investigation for nearly 50 years, he would stop at nothing to protect his country. Through 8 presidents and 3 wars, Hoover waged battle against threats both real and perceived, often bending the rules to keep his countrymen safe. Hoover was a man who placed great value on secrets – particularly those of others – and was not afraid to use that information to exert authority over the leading figures in the nation.
Understanding that knowledge is power and fear poses opportunity, he used both to gain unprecedented influence and to build a reputation that was both formidable and untouchable. He was as guarded in his private life as he was in his public one, allowing only a small and protective inner circle into his confidence. His closest colleague, Clyde Tolson (Armie Hammer), was also his constant companion. His secretary, Helen Gandy (Naomie Watts), who was perhaps most privy to Hoover’s designs, remained loyal to the end…and beyond. As seen through the eyes of Hoover himself, ‘J. Edgar’ explores the personal and public life and relationships of a man who could distort the truth as easily as he upheld it during a life devoted to his own idea of justice, often swayed by the darker side of power. Directed by Clint Eastwood, ‘J. Edgar’ also stars Judi Dench, Josh Lucas and Ken Howard. The film is released in cinemas January 20th in the UK.
What was the biggest challenge when taking on this role? I can’t think of many people over the last century who have been as important and controversial in American history.
Leonardo DiCaprio: The biggest challenge was something that was very clearly defined in the screenplay for me….not necessarily sympathise, but how do you emphasize with this human being, not even emphasize, but how do understand his motivations and how that manifested itself into politics? It was very intriguing to discover Dustin Lance Black’s screenplay, because for the first time I kind of understand what motivated him; at a very young age his mother wanted him to rise to great power in politics, to carry on the Hoover name to great glory. He was a young genius, he came into this bureau and really transformed the United States, really organised modern forensics, captured all the outlaws, really put a face on a federal system of police enforcement that to this day is incredibly intimidating.
Jeremy Irvine Interview For Steven Spielberg’s ‘War Horse’
Jan 12th
Jeremy Irvine makes his feature-film debut as Albert Narracott in Steven Spielberg‘s epic adventure ‘War Horse.’ The film begins with the remarkable friendship between a horse named Joey and Albert, who tames and trains him. When they are forcefully parted, the film follows the journey of the horse as he moves through the war, changing and inspiring the lives of all those he meets—British cavalry, German soldiers, and a French farmer and his granddaughter—before the story reaches its emotional climax in the heart of No Man’s Land.
Jeremy Irvine is currently in production on BBC Films’ ‘Great Expectations,’ in which he stars as Pip, the classic Dickens story is directed by Mike Newell and includes Academy Award winner Ralph Fiennes and Helena Bonham Carter. He recently completed production on the independent feature ‘Now Is Good,’ opposite Dakota Fanning, based on Jenny Downham’s novel “Before I Die.” Irvine will next begin shooting ‘The Railway Man’ opposite Colin Firth. The film is based on the WWII memoir by Eric Lomax, who was captured and tortured by the Japanese and forced to work on the infamous Burma Railway. Lomax will be portrayed by both Irvine and Firth at different ages. ‘War Horse’ is set for release January 13th.
Were you familiar with the book before you started shooting the film?
Jeremy Irvine: My Mum actually read me the book when I was about 10 or 11. I’ve got this very, very battered old copy, which I’ve had on my bookshelf since I was a child. I had not read the book in some 5 years, but when I was auditioning, there were things I remembered so clearly. In the first page I remembered a beautiful bit about Joey’s first memories being in dark stables and rats scuttling along the roof beams. For some reason, that stayed with me and had a big effect on me as a child. It’s just such a joy to be playing Albert now.
In-Depth Tom Hiddleston Interview For ‘War Horse’
Jan 11th
Tom Hiddleston plays Captain Nicholls in Steven Speilberg’s epic adventure ‘War Horse.’ The film is a tale of loyalty, hope and tenacity set against a sweeping canvas of rural England and Europe during the First World War. ‘War Horse’ begins with the remarkable friendship between a horse named Joey and a young man called Albert, who tames and trains him. When they are forcefully parted, the film follows the extraordinary journey of the horse as he moves through the war, changing and inspiring the lives of all those he meets—British cavalry, German soldiers, and a French farmer and his granddaughter—before the story reaches its emotional climax in the heart of No Man’s Land. ‘War Horse’ is one of the great stories of friendship and war—a successful book, it was turned into a hugely successful international theatrical hit that is currently on Broadway.
Tom Hiddleston has appeared in the following films during the last twelve months: ‘Archipelago’ (dir. Joanna Hogg), as Loki in Kenneth Branagh’s ‘Thor,’ as F. Scott Fitzgerald in Woody Allen’s ‘Midnight in Paris’ and most recently as Freddie Page in Terence Davies’ ‘The Deep Blue Sea.’ In 2012 Hiddleston will reprise his role as Loki, the primary villain in ‘Marvel’s The Avengers.’ He is currently filming an adaptation of Shakespeare’s ‘Henry V’ for television (BBC/NBC), playing the title role of King Henry V. ‘War Horse’ is released in cinemas January 13th.
How familiar were you with the play and the book before you started filming and how important was it for you to be?
Tom Hiddleston: It was hugely important for me to be familiar with the material. The first time I heard about the play ‘War Horse’ was from two very good friends who both work in the theatre but aren’t actors. They told me about it and that, like everybody else, they’d come out of the National on a wintry evening in floods of tears. So, needless to say, it always intrigued me. At the time, I was in a production that was touring around the world so I missed the play at the National and I missed it at the West End. The play always felt like this elusive creature that I never quite got to come to grips with.
I finally got to see the play at the New London Theatre. It was extraordinary. It was breathtaking. The single thing that obviously leapt out at me was the puppets. There’s a collective gasp when the foal totters onto its legs and takes its first steps. It’s the magic of theatre to make it seem as if a living animal is really there. I thought the play was extraordinarily powerful and very, very moving.
Since I love anything to do with the First World War the play really resonated with me. World War I has always spoken to me and captured my imagination. I think there’s something incredibly tragic but poetic about it. It always seems to me like the world lost its innocence in the First World War, certainly in Europe anyway. There’s something so unexpected about how horrific it was.
In-Depth Steven Spielberg Interview For ‘War Horse’
Jan 10th
‘War Horse,’ director Steven Spielberg’s epic adventure, is a tale of loyalty, hope and tenacity set against a sweeping canvas of rural England and Europe during the First World War. ‘War Horse’ begins with the remarkable friendship between a horse named Joey and a young man called Albert, who tames and trains him. When they are forcefully parted, the film follows the extraordinary journey of the horse as he moves through the war, changing and inspiring the lives of all those he meets – British cavalry, German soldiers, and a French farmer and his granddaughter – before the story reaches its emotional climax in the heart of No Man’s Land. The First World War is experienced through the journey of this horse – an odyssey of joy and sorrow, passionate friendship and high adventure. ‘War Horse’ is out now in US cinemas, whilst its set for release January 13th in the UK. The film stars Jeremy Irvine, Tom Hiddleston, Benedict Cumberbatch, Patrick Kennedy, Emily Watson, Toby Kebbell, David Thewlis, Eddie Marsan, and Peter Mullan.
It’s very rare that a project is successful as a novel, a play and as a movie. What do you think is the bones of this story that makes that possible?
Steven Spielberg: The bones of the story is that it’s basically a love story and that makes it universal. It was that way in the book, it certainly was that way on the boards, in the West End, and that’s what we tried to do in our adaptation. To really create a bonding story where Joey basically circumvents the emotional globe of the Great War and gets very connected with people who are not only caring for Joey, but more importantly Joey has a way of bringing people together – especially people from both sides of the war. And that was very evident in the play.
The first thing I pulled from Michael Morpurgo’s book, and then was certainly inspired by seeing the play, was this idea of a family that is under the boot heel of a very strict and unforgiving landlord, they need to buy time to succeed as a farm. The father, in a drunken state, buys the wrong horse to pull the plough, to save the farm. The horse he buys, Joey, his breed of horse is in no shape to pull a plough – it’s not the kind of horse that does manual labour so to speak. Yet through a tenacious kind of belief in one another, the young son and Joey form this bond, and together they’re able to at least attempt to save the farm by ploughing an impossible, stony, infertile field. I think it says a lot about courage, that really spoke to me. I think that theme informs every frame of ‘War Horse.’
Meryl Streep Interview For ‘The Iron Lady’
Dec 28th
‘The Iron Lady’ is an intimate portrait of Margaret Thatcher (Meryl Streep), one of the 20th century’s most famous and controversial figures and the first and only female Prime Minister of The United Kingdom. Directed by Phyllida Lloyd (who previously directed Meryl Streep in ‘Mamma Mia!’), ‘The Iron Lady’ co-stars Jim Broadbent, Olivia Colman, Nicholas Farrell, Susan Brown, Roger Allam, Anthony Head, Julian Wadham, Pip Torrens, Nick Dunning, Richard E. Grant, David Westhead, Angus Wright, Alexandra Roach, Harry Lloyd and John Sessions. The film is set for release December 30th in the US, and January 6th in the UK.
When did this role first come to your attention?
Meryl Streep: From working on ‘Mamma Mia!’, me and Phyllida had been speaking periodically. I had been telling her about my dream to make a movie about Elisabeth Kübler-Ross. I know that sounds funny, but I have an interest in things that we don’t want to handle in movies or look at, because I think anything forbidden is exciting, you know? Nudity is nothing, it’s not really a provocation. Try and talk about leaving and dying and all those things.
And this particular take that Abi Morgan took with this screenplay was really really great. Three days in the life of a little old lady, who just happens to be the person who was the longest serving Prime Minister in the 20th century and the only female in the western world who ruled a nuclear country. Pretty interesting stuff, to look at a life ebbing in its diminishment. That really interested me.
Mark Wahlberg Interview For ‘Contraband’
Dec 28th
Mark Wahlberg leads the cast of ‘Contraband’, a fast-paced thriller about a man trying to stay out of a world he worked so hard to leave behind and the family he’ll do anything to protect. Set in New Orleans, the film explores the cutthroat underground world of international smuggling — full of desperate criminals and corrupt officials, high-stakes and big payoffs — where loyalty rarely exists and death is one wrong turn away. Alongside Mark Wahlberg, the film stars Kate Beckinsale, Giovanni Ribisi, Caleb Landry Jones, Lucas Haas, and Ben Foster. ‘Contraband’ is released in cinemas January 13th in US, and March 16th in the UK.
What was it like having Baltasar Kormákur on board as director? Seeing as he played your role and produced the original Icelandic film?
Mark Wahlberg: At first I was concerned that he might refer to the way he played things, but he really wanted me to do my own thing. He was great, he‘s really smart. There was no bells and whistles. I don’t think he’s ever made a movie with the tenth of the budget that we have of on ‘Contraband.’ But he still has the same approach, he’s not off in a trailer, he’s on the set the whole time jumping around and running, showing me how to climb things. I really like his style, he’s covering all of the bases, he’s really smart about all the performances. With him you can try different things, which makes the performances a lot more layered. He obviously starred-in and produced the original, so he knows the story inside and out.