David Fincher

Acclaimed film director, David Fincher, follows up 2010’s Facebook profiler "The Social Network" with action thriller "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo". Returning to the grittier content that first caught our attention in films such as "Se7en" and "Fight Club", Fincher’s vision of celebrated author Stieg Larsson’s crime drama is nail bitingly tense, absorbingly complex and straight out gripping as the main characters, Mikael Blomkvist (Daniel Craig), a journalist, and computer hacker Lisbeth Salander (Rooney Mara) work together to uncover a mystery on a remote Swedish island. Landing an 18 rating for its scenes of violence and rape, Fincher is unapologetic for reflecting real world violence in his work and revels in the dark humour of soundtracking one torture scene with Enya’s "Orinoco Flow". We talk to the filmmaker about his version of the film, his need to portray graphic violence and his failure to get Daniel Craig to gain weight.

What was it that attracted you to this project?
Those two characters, Lisbeth and Mikael. I think that Larrson did a really spectacular job of dramatising the incredibly inhumane things that [Lisbeth] overcomes and I think that Blomkvist appreciates that and can see that. And I like thrillers where the audience is in a slightly resistant place. Their sense of disbelief is much harder because often you put them in a situation that they don’t want to be in and don’t want to experience.

The rape scene of Lisbeth is particularly difficult to digest – why do you think it is important to show that in such graphic detail?
Well, rape is really horrific. I needed people to be horrified and offended by the act itself – so when people say to me “God! The rape in this movie is really upsetting” my attitude is “fuck yeah! It’s supposed to be.” There is a lot of stuff that happens in her back-story that is not part of the first book that informs who she is. So it has to be something that the audience experiences so that you realise that there is so much about her that Mikael doesn’t know and so much that she has experienced first hand so that when she does drops her armour, it’s a real time emotional thing where she allows him into her life and you have experienced what her life has been before that.

For some, listening to Enya has always been a form of torture – do you feel the same way and is this why the song is played during a torture scene?
[Laughs] It was a little sardonic. We were rehearsing the scene and I was explaining that I saw [the torturer] as an audiophile. I like the idea that it was in the late 70s or early 80s that he equipped his dungeon and everything had kind of stayed that way. And when we started talking about the music that should play, it was Daniel Craig who ran to his iPod and scrolled through it and said “This!” and played Orinoco Flow by Enya. We all laughed ourselves silly and thought “we have to do it!” 

We heard that Daniel had to get out of shape to play Mikael Blomkvist – but he still looks ripped!
Well, his idea of out of shape is my idea of 10 years of sit-ups. He literally looks the same as he did in Layer Cake – so it’s ridiculous this notion that he got out of shape for this movie, but I did ask him. I said “[Mikael is] not a guy who runs. You smoke 3 packs of cigarettes a day.” It’s what Steig Larrson was talking about – this is a guy that is much more in his head than in his body. He can engage in the things that have happened with Lisbeth but purely intellectually. I always saw the journey as the story of a guy that says “I know the evil that men can do” and she will look at him square in the eye and say “buddy, you have no idea” and by the end of the movie he is a changed man because he has seen it in a completely different way.

Will you direct the sequel?
Oh god. I don’t know that. Not this week!

[Originally published on wonderlandmagazine.com, December 2011]

Olly Murs

As a former contestant on The X Factor, Olly Murs knows better than most what it is like to perform on that famous stage. As a result, Murs became an inspired choice to present ITV2’s sister show The Xtra Factor this year where – alongside co-presenter Caroline Flack – he delivers irreverent humour, interviews the contestants and provides behind the scenes news. But let’s not forget the reason he appeared on The X Factor in the first place – to make himself a music star. Originally a runner up on the show, he today releases his second album “In Case You Didn’t Know” which has already produced chart topping single “Heart Skips A Beat” (with Rizzle Kicks) and “Dance With Me Tonight” which just missed out on the top spot. We caught up with the double platinum selling Essex lad to discuss his album hopes, single life and crazy fans.

Describe your music in five words
Feel good, cheeky, easy listening

What makes your heart skip a beat?
Seeing a hot girl naked. That makes my heart skip a beat.

For your new album you’ve co-written a lot of your tracks – how was that?
I wrote 10 of the 12 on the first album [the self titled “Olly Murs” released November last year] so that was already under my belt. It was great to get lyrics and stories down and find hits – and I’ve been lucky enough to find a few already on this second album.

How do you feel you’ve developed as an artist over the last year?
I’m just more experienced. Before I did The X Factor I had no experience at all so I’ve really learnt a lot over the last two years and really got to grips with the industry and what I want to do musically. With the writing sessions I got my head down and concentrated on what I want to do and have got my music going in the direction I want it to.

In terms of your career, will the music always come first or do you see yourself as a TV presenter now?
I’m an entertainer and a singer and that’s my main job. I’ve delved into new things – TV presenting – but music is what I want to be taken seriously for.

Did you have concerns that the TV presenting could detract from your music?
Definitely but I think the proof is in the pudding, really. I’ve had success with the singles from the second album and I’ve got to express my personality [on the show]. I think people are liking the show and liking me and hopefully they like the music. So it’s a good balance.

Caroline has been under personal attack – receiving death threats on twitter – from One Direction fans incensed by tabloid speculation that she is dating band member Harry Styles – but which member of One Direction are you dating?
[laughs] They are boys! I’m a woman’s man. I like women.

In seriousness though, how do you feel about Caroline receiving death threats? Are you protective of her?
Caroline is one of my best friends. I always say what goes on behind closed doors is her business and no one elses. We work very closely together and, you know, she’s had a tough time of it lately but obviously the papers will write what they want to write and people don’t know the full story but people tend to believe what they read in the papers.

According to the tabloids last week you have apparently been giving Harry advice on how to woo Caroline – do you want those death threats to be followed out so you can be the sole presenter of The Xtra Factor?
Not at all! Caroline and I get on really well and the show is going really well so it’s all great. Again, it’s a story that was pretty much put together. I said Harry was ping-ing me saying he really fancied Caroline and that was all, but they’ve made it out that I set the guys up which is a load of rubbish.

Have you had any crazy fan experiences?
I’ve had a car chase through Manchester where some fans were chasing me in a car when I was with my parents in a taxi and there was this one experience when a girl walked into my room as I opened it and she sat on my bed and I was like “what are you doing?” and she said that it was her room. But it clearly wasn’t because I’d just opened the door with my key. That was quite weird. But my fans are not that crazy. They are great.

Are you are still single?
Yes. But it’s fine. My career comes first and I’m not hooked up on getting a girlfriend at the moment and I’m happy with how things are going musically and on TV.

Would you want to date a fellow celebrity?
You never know. Obviously the benefits if you meet someone in this industry are that they know roughly what you’re going through and the pressures you go through. But if you meet someone not from the industry then there is a benefit there too as you can keep it much more private. There is a catch 22, really.

Who would you rather Snog, Marry or Avoid between your co-host Caroline and X Factor judges Kelly Rowland and Tulisa?
I would avoid Tulisa because of Dappy and Fazer – I’d be scared of them. I would marry Caroline because we get on so well and I would definitely snog Kelly.

With your duties as an Xtra Factor presenter and with promotional work with your album, are you finding any free time currently?
It is literally work every day – but I wouldn’t have it any other way. I’d rather be busy than quiet. I’ve really worked hard this year from January and I have a busy 2012 lined up as well but I have a few weeks off coming up which will be nice as I’ve been working as hard as I can.

[Originally posted on wonderlandmagazine.com, November 2011]

Seth Rogen

Comedian, actor, producer and director Seth Rogen got his first acting gig on the Judd Apatow produced TV show “Freaks and Geeks” back in the 90’s. Going on to star in many of Apatow’s feature films (middle aged chastity outing "The 40 Year Old Virgin" in 2005, pregnancy drama "Knocked Up" in 2007, and stand-up comedy centric "Funny People" in 2009) Rogen has a fair number of Hollywood comedies under his belt, as well as working on TV shows – including staff writing for Sacha Baron Cohen on "Da Ali G Show" when it was broadcast by HBO in the States. Forming a friendship with Ali G producer Will Reiser, Rogen stood by his friend as he suffered from a life threatening form of cancer and the pair have now worked together on comedy-drama, "50/50", about these experiences (played on screen by Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Adam who fights the disease, and Rogen as Kyle – a finely veiled version of himself). We caught the Canadian funny man as he was on the promotion trail earlier this month to quiz him about comedy, cancer and his on-screen characters.

Cancer is not the most obvious vehicle for a comedy – so how do you make this subject funny?
I think you can’t make cancer funny and we didn’t want to make cancer funny. I think you can make people’s reactions to it funny and that’s what our experience was. I think if Will hadn’t got sick and we hadn’t all been there for it and we hadn’t seen first hand how absurd the stuff that surrounds something as tragic as cancer is then we wouldn’t have even thought to make this movie. But as we were experiencing it we couldn’t reference a movie that felt like what we were going through so it was more like let’s just not be afraid to be funny in telling this cancer story. It always seems other movies that have talked the subject always seem to suck the humour out of them. We’re embracing the fact that funny shit happens sometimes.

Was it difficult to find a balance between the funny side and the tragic side?
Not really. When I think of the challenges that went into making this movie, it was more just making sure it was all good and honest and with real feeling. I was never worried for Will and if it was going to be weird to transition from the humour to the serious stuff. This isn’t the kind of film you can pitch, really [to film studios]. But we knew it was smart to make it cheaply as it’s the type of movie that if you do it right it will make enough money to make sense for [the studio] making it. Plus it was really well written. Even thought we improvised a lot – it started out as a really good script so that was really helpful.

The type of cancer in the film –
Neurofibromatosis?

Yes! One of the other characters is like “I didn’t even know that existed” and I was sitting in the theatre thinking “I didn’t know either” and instantly started freaking out. Is 50/50 a film for hypochondriacs to watch?
[Laughs] Probably because he lives in the end so it’s inspirational! It’s a lot better than most cancer movies!

As this film is based on you and your friends experiences of dealing with his diagnosis and treatment. is your character, Kyle, based on yourself?
I think our dynamic is pretty representative of what our real dynamic was like. He was neurotic and complained a lot and I was an asshole and made fun of him. But, I mean, when I watch it I don’t feel like I’m watching myself. It’s more a representation. For example, we would joke about him using [the disease] to get girls but we never actually did it. And I would make light of it but never as insensitively as in the movie.

For the most part, the roles that you take on are always pretty good guys who seem like they’d make a good friend – are you a good friend to have in real life?
To some people. Maybe not all. It depends on who you ask. What’s interesting about [living in Hollywood - where Rogen has lived for 13 years] is that it’s a city entirely populated by people with similar interests so that kind of makes it easy to make friends because no matter who you speak to, odds are they like movies and television. I’m still friends with the same people I first was friends with when I came here. I definitely got lucky and was working with a group of people who were nice and talented and got on well. But I don’t think it’s any more difficult to make friends in LA than any other city in the world.

Yeah. In London it can be quite tough.
What? There’s pubs everywhere! How can you not?

Well that’s my problem. I get so wasted I don’t remember meeting people.
[laughs] 

So you made a lot of friends working on Da Ali G Show – is it true that is also where you met your wife [actress/producer Lauren Miller]?
No, actually. Will introduced me to my wife – while he was sick – at a bar. We were kind of set up a little. He invited us both and we met.

And you were recently wed – how is married life going? Is the promotional trail part of your honeymoon?
Exactly! It’s going great! She’s in Los Angeles, I’m in London! [Laughs] We’ve been together a really long time. It’s not one of those rushed into situations. We’ve been together six and a half years and it’s really fun to get married and no one tells you that. With all the stuff you associate with getting married no one tells you that your own wedding is really fun. It’s the one time you get to have a huge party and only have people there that you actually like and from all over the country or the world. I have a lot of friends back home in Vancouver and I have friends in LA so it’s very rare all those people are in the same place. I had more fun at my wedding then any other wedding I’ve been to.

[Originally published on wonderlandmagazine.com, November 2011]

Worship

The atmospheric sounds of Berkshire band Worship have already garnered attention and praise from national press and Radio 1 – even though they have only released their debut single today. The fourpiece – consisting of Tim Alexander (vocals), James Johnson (guitar), Tom Mayo (drums) and Jordan Fish (bass) – have created a tapestry of moody, haunting and somber tunes that will make the perfect soundtrack to the bleaker moments of winter. We talk to Jordan of the band to find out his inspirations when writing the music and what he enjoys about playing live.

Describe your music in five words
Not right for Children’s Parties

What is your earliest memory of music?
My earliest memory of playing music was my primary school Brass band when I was about 9 years old. It was my first experience of performing and I managed to keep it up for a few years before the attraction of being in a rock band took over. The first music I listened to was a bit of a mix, my cousin got me into terrible rap music and my friends at school were listening to metal so I had eclectic but awful taste as a youngster.

How was the band formed?
Three of us are from a town called Newbury and during our teenage years we had quite a strong music scene, we were all playing in each others bands and swapping members so I knew the other guys from that time. I ended up producing music and a couple of years ago I did some work with Tim and James. We thought we could probably do something better together so we ended up writing a few songs which we put online. We met Tom earlier this year through a mutual friend and he instantly moved things forward.

What are the inspirations behind your music?
Generally with a piece of music I’ll set out to try and combine something electronic with something else acoustic in an interesting way. I listen to a lot of electronic music so that is probably a big influence on how I write; lots of loops, samples and gradual variation. Trying to push that into the mould of a conventional ‘band’ is sometimes fun and sometimes horribly frustrating but I think the process is what makes us sound unique. Lyrically Tim tends to spend a lot of time looking for an interesting starting point, either an unusual set of words or an unusual idea and then develop that idea into some kind of narrative. A few of our songs have been about real events or stories, although you might find it hard to pick that out.

Who are your biggest inspirations, musically?
We’re all big fans of Radiohead, Mew, Interpol, but we’re also into some less band-orientated stuff; Four Tet, Autechre, Bibio, Lorn, Bonobo.

Who or what do you worship?
None of us are religious but in life I suppose we’re guilty of worshipping the things that most other people worship – success and alcohol.

Your debut single is called “House of Glass” – as we all know, people in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones. What is the most hypocritical thing this band has ever done?
That’s a tricky one, we’re not overtly political so I don’t know if we’ve done or said anything particularly hypocritical as of yet.

You’ve supported Dry The River and Everything Everything on tour – what was it like being on the road with these other bands?
Pete and Will from DTR were both around and in bands with us when we were growing up so they’re old friends. The tour was a great opportunity to play some good venues and hang out with them again, so for us it was great. The tour ended at [London night club/ music venue] Scala, it’s a venue I’ve always wanted to play so it was great to be playing with friends somewhere like that. Everything Everything was actually only one show but we really enjoyed it, we share the same management and we were big fans of them before we hooked up. They’ve been really supportive.

What was the wildest thing that happened on tour?
Actually we’re recovering from the last night of our tour with [US band] The Antlers right now, We ended up squeezing 10 people into our tiny van: two [Scottish indie band] Frightened Rabbits, four Antlers and the four of us. I also had my first experience of ‘Buckfast’… it’s a revolting Scottish drink that you should never try.

You’re performing live on December 1st – what has been your best gig to date?
For me personally it was last week supporting Primal Scream at the Electric in Brixton. The PA is ridiculous and the crowd was full of competition winners so the atmosphere was great. I’m really looking forward to the Dec 1st gig, it’s the first event we’ve put on ourselves so it’s great to be able to pick the venue, the lights, and everything.

What do you enjoy about playing live?
It’s mostly about the sound; I enjoy hearing our music as loud as possible! We’re still mostly playing to other people’s crowds as support so it’s satisfying to go out knowing that no-one knows who you are and then feel like you’ve won them over by the end of the set.

[Originally published on wonderlandmagazine.com, November 2011]

James D'Arcy

Heavy clouds hang low in the gray sky on a typically leaden afternoon in the East End of London, where sheets of cutting rain lash down on the neighborhood’s near-empty streets. Despite being well past noon, it is ominously dark outside. But inside the airy photo studio where James D'Arcy finds himself, the 36-year-old British actor wishes it weren’t so bright. “I’m blind!” he screams, while the popping flashbulbs burn rings of light into his retina. “My sight—it will come back, won’t it?” he says, blinking furiously. His publicist appears nonplussed, as if to suggest he’d better get used to the glare.
D’Arcy’s latest film, the period drama W.E., premiered earlier this year at the Venice Film Festival. Of the experience, he says, “I thought I might cry because of the outpouring of emotion from everyone who came to support the film.” Photographers and fans of Madonna, the movie’s director and cowriter with Alek Keshishian, crowded the entrance to the theater where W.E. was being shown, shouting with adoration for the grand dame of power-pop. Back at the studio, dressed casually in a maroon sweater and a pair of jeans, D’Arcy says, “You couldn’t help but love being there. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Everyone was saying they’d never seen anything like it. When we finally got into the cinema, someone said, 'George Clooney was here last night and he got about a quarter of that.’”
In W.E., D’Arcy plays King Edward VIII, the controversial ruler who abdicated the royal throne in 1936 to marry his American lover, an upper-crust divorcée named Wallis Simpson (Andrea Riseborough). The film shifts back and forth between London in the ’30s and modern-day New York, where a despairing single woman, heavy-handedly named Wally Winthrop (Abbie Cornish), pores over the details of what she considers to be the greatest love story ever told. As with most envied affairs, however, Edward and Wallis harbor secret moments of heartbreak and apathy.
D’Arcy insists that his own life is far less spotty. “Secrecy and gossip just don’t factor into my way of thinking,” he says. At the mention of the recent scandal involving Rupert Murdoch's News Of The World, which the media tycoon killed earlier this year following the admission that many of British tabloid’s stories had been sourced through illegal phone-tapping techniques, he says, “People would be so bored if they listened to my voicemail. I’ve just never cared to live in a secretive world.”
D’Arcy was born in Fulham, an affluent part of southwest London, where he and his younger sister were raised by their mother Caroline, a nurse. (His father passed away when he was still a young boy.) After graduating from boarding school in the Sussex countryside, D’Arcy spent a year in Australia, where he worked in the Drama department of a school in Perth. He returned to the UK to enroll in the acting program at the prestigious London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art in 1995, after which he quickly started landing small roles on British television series. He then moved on to larger parts in sprawling literary adaptations (Jane Austen's Mansfield Park, Charles Dickens' The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby). Despite his already scroll-like resume, W.E. is the biggest opportunity of his career, and he’s already garnering early buzz for his superb performance as Madonna’s fallen king.
With the magnitude of pure hysteria constantly being directed at W.E.’s mega-famous filmmaker, it would be only natural for D’Arcy to worry that her stardom might overshadow the project—but he seems confident. “I don’t think it’s like that,” D’Arcy says. “When I first saw the movie, her name didn’t even appear until the end credits, which is when it really sunk in: Oh, right! It was directed by Madonna. I think she’s done a phenomenal job. She’s been famous for an incredibly long time, but she continues to stick her neck above the parapet by getting involved in these artistic endeavors. She strives to keep evolving and I think that’s deeply admirable. But, yes, it’s tricky with celebrities because people often have very strong opinions about them, and so they bring a lot of baggage to whatever it is they’re doing. I’ve worked with lots of different directors but this is the first time one has been a gazillion miles more famous than any of the actors in the film.”
It’s interesting that D’Arcy chooses the word “celebrity” to describe his director, as if to suggest it doesn’t also apply to him. Maybe it doesn’t. The life of a superstar—with the exception of the odd red carpet dalliance—doesn’t much appeal to him. He’d rather work with quality filmmakers who challenge him to improve his craft than get noticed by strangers at the supermarket. When I ask the private actor if he lives in London, he responds with a simple “yes.” When I then ask if he’s on either the east or west side of the city, he says, “I live in London.” Smiling coyly, he then adds, “It’s not that I don’t want to tell you my secrets; it’s that I actually can’t tell you them, because in telling you, they would no longer be secrets, would they?”
Tomorrow he’ll join Tom Hanks, Halle Berry and Susan Sarandon on the highly anticipated production of Cloud Atlas, which is being co-directed by the Wachowskis and Tom Tykwer, who also adapted the screenplay from David Mitchell's era-traversing novel. “It’s the best script I’ve ever read,” D’Arcy gushes. “It’s phenomenal.” Before Cloud Atlas, he filmed The Philosophers, also a drama with intimations of the Rapture, in Indonesia. At the mention of that film, his face lights up. “I’ve got it! I’ve got a secret for you!” he says. “There is a series of islands in Indonesia that nobody—not even Indonesians—knows about. We shot there for a week and it was beautiful: white sand, turquoise ocean, total isolation. So there, I’ve just revealed to you where the last remaining undiscovered location on the planet is.” Our lips are sealed. “Yeah, sure. There will be a Starbucks there the next time I go.”

[Originally published in Bullett Magazine, November 2011. Photography, Tom Beard]

Ashley Benson

For 21-year-old Ashley Benson, playing the role of Hanna Marin in teen drama, Pretty Little Liars, is a true fantasy. For a start, though her character is a member of the most popular clique in Pretty Little Liars’ Rosewood High, she never even went to high school. “I’ve never been to a prom or a dance” the actress laments. “So it’s funny because we have dances on the show and I’ll be like ‘Oh yay! It’s my school dance!’” she laughs.
But then Rosewood is far from your normal high school. Since queen bee Alison DiLaurentis (played by Sasha Pieterse in flashbacks) turned up dead at the beginning of season one, Hanna and friends have been stalked by a mysterious character, known only as “A”, who threatens to unveil each of their darkest secrets. The circumstances surrounding Alison’s death are still unresolved (the show is now in it’s second season) but Benson is certain Alison is no more. Well, almost.
“She’s dead,” she says confidently before pausing to think, “but there could very much be a possibility that she is alive,” she continues, followed by a further pause. “We have no idea what is going on!” she finally confesses, revealing that the cast are just as in the dark as the audience about the show’s central mystery. The only thing that she is certain of is that school really isn’t for her: “I can’t sit still for long because I have so much energy, my attention goes elsewhere.” Fortunately, then, early modelling, commercials and bit parts lead to a long-term role for Benson in legendary soap opera Days Of Our Lives when she was 13, and a teen-hood of home schooling. Upon realising acting was all she wanted to do, she decided to pursue showbiz full-time at junior high age, and hasn’t looked back. “I was always a performer. Always singing and dancing,” she recalls of her childhood, “I would memorise every line from a movie and then watch them with my family and be saying all the lines and they would be like ‘Ashley! Stop! We’re trying to watch!’ But I loved it. Growing up I wanted to be like Hilary Duff and be on a show. She was a main inspiration. And now I’m on a TV show,” she beams, proving that it is possible to achieve those childhood dreams. And best of all? In a case of fantasy and reality overlapping, Benson’s character in Pretty Little Liars has evolved to be more like her, making it even easier for her to relate. “At first she was really stuffy and kind of bitchy,” she says of her character, “but a lot of my personality has gone into her so she’s really funny and sarcastic and more down to earth. It’s fun to play her.”

[Originally published in Wonderland Magazine Issue 28, November 2011. Photography Danielle Levitt]

Drew Roy

“Any scene in which you see anybody sweating is for real,” explains 25-year-old Drew Roy, whose latest claim to fame is his role in the sci-fi series Falling Skies, produced by Steven Spielberg. The show follows a group of humans fighting for survival after an alien invasion, and Roy (who plays Hal Mason, a fearless scout for the human resistance) is keen to make the scenes in which he is physically exhausted as realistic as possible. “We were shooting in Toronto in the summer and it was ridiculously hot and we were all dressed like it was fall. So we had three layers on, a jacket, and were running for our lives. Noah [Wyle, who plays his on-screen father Tom] laughs at me because I do a couple of laps before I jump into a scene to get me out of breath. I love the physical aspect of it.”
Although the sweat and exhaustion of the alien invasion show are real, the killer robots and demonic extra terrestrials thankfully are not. “It’s CGI,” Roy assures, “so mostly it’s me hiding down behind a burnt-out car looking at a guy holding a long metal rod with a spear on top and I have to look really terrified.”
Having moved from his home in Alabama to find a faster life in Atlanta, Roy came into acting apparently on a whim after taking some out-of-the-blue advice from an LA-based talent manager to give Hollywood a try. Fate, seemingly, is on his side: in the seven years since his arrival in Los Angeles, Roy has already worked with Miley Cyrus, in the astronomically successful Hannah Montana (playing Miley’s on-screen boyfriend, Jesse), and has done a great job of chatting up Spielberg himself, on the set of Falling Skies. “It was a surreal experience,” he says of the moment the director came over to strike up conversation, “we talked about this and that and the dirt bike I ride on the show. And then he wanted to talk about Miley because he’d just got into the show – I think with one of his grandchildren – and he’s fascinated by how high pitched little girls can scream when she walks on a stage.”
Would Roy ever want to experience such a level of fame himself?
“Heck no!” he replies, “You can’t make enough money to buy your life back, in my opinion. I look at those Twilight guys and think, ‘I would not want that’. You don’t have your life anymore. I admire the guys who constantly work and if you saw them on the street you might not know their name but you admire their work – that’s what I’d like to do.” If his success so far is any indication, anonymity might not be something Roy can hold on to for too long but he is ready to take whatever the future holds. “I’d say I’m in a good place right now. I get recognised on the streets but it’s like a compliment. I got a long way to go before it becomes a nuisance.”

[Originally published in Wonderland Magazine Issue 28, November 2011. Photography Danielle Levitt]

Tyler Posey

“I was screaming a lot yesterday so I might not have the most amazing interview voice,” says a rather husky sounding Tyler Posey, lead star of MTV’s surprise hit show, Teen Wolf. Having taken the 80s film classic and reinvented it as a weekly platform for today’s Twi-hard viewing public, the show surpassed expectations when it debuted earlier this year. In fact it was so popular that a second season was commissioned before the first had even wrapped. However, it is not howling at the moon that has over exerted the 20-year-old actors lungs but the thrill ride of rollercoasters at the Universal Studios amusement park. “I was bored and went with a couple of friends and had a lot of fun,” he explains, “the first thing we did when we got there was go into a pretty scary haunted house which takes 20 minutes to walk through. At the very end we got separated from one of our friends and got freaked out because we didn’t know where he was,” he continues, sounding panicked by the memory. But surely it must take a lot to startle a young man working on a supernatural show like Teen Wolf? “It’s all lies!” he laughs. “I am scared of everything. There were werewolves inside the maze and I thought I could have something in common with them but they still tried to eat me.”
Having survived the ordeal, Posey is finding ways of keeping busy during the show’s summer hiatus before the filming of season two begins in the latter half of November. Whilst a real life werewolf might struggle to cope with spontaneously emerging fur, Posey has recently opted to experiment with his own body hair by growing his first ever mustache. “I’ve been able to grow one ever since I was a young teenager but this time I tried to grow one for real,” he explains. However, the end result was not as dashing as he might have anticipated, with online commenters swiftly noting his resemblance to Mandy Patinkin’s Inigo Montoya in Rob Reiner’s 1987 classic, The Princess Bride. “It looked really bad,” he concedes with a laugh, “but I was very proud of it.”
Having begun acting at a young age, one of Posey’s earliest roles was Jennifer Lopez’s son in the 2001 romantic comedy, Maid in Manhattan. Like the famous Latina, Posey is also trying to find a balance between the world of acting and the world of music, with his as-yet-unsigned band, Lost In Kostko. “We played this show on Sunday night and it was like being Justin Bieber or something,” he recounts excitedly, “the curtain went up and there were screaming girls and flashes of cameras and posters saying my name – it was surreal. The part I loved the most was that they were singing our lyrics back to us and that was the first time that’s ever happened. I can’t even describe to you how that feels.” But all those Teen Wolf fans worried he might be about to cancel his acting plans, need fear not. Lost In Kostko is only a side project, for now. “It’s a punk rock band so I don’t really need to know how to sing. I can definitely act, but the singing: I’m still working on.”

[Originally published in Wonderland Magazine Issue 28, November 2011. Photography Danielle Levitt.]

Steven R McQueen

It was in 1897 that Bram Stoker created the most legendary figure in vampire lore: Count Dracula. Ever since, undead bloodsuckers have cropped up with ferocious regularity in pop culture but these days it seems like they’re particularly at home on our TV screens, with current prime time hits ranging from sexy, salacious HBO thriller True Blood through to the more PG-13 smash, The Vampire Diaries.
“I think there has always been some sort of appeal in vampires because they would be the one predator above us on the food chain,” theorises 23-year-old Steven R. McQueen, grandson of iconic film star, Steve McQueen, “I think before, they were monsters to be feared, but now they are more relatable to a teenager’s life style. Except they eat people.”
In the first two seasons of the show, McQueen’s character, Jeremy Gilbert, found himself on a dark path involving hard drugs, following the deaths of people he cared about, only to die at the end of season two. Luckily he was resurrected in time for season three, with a side effect of his second chance at life being the ability to see dead people. Supernatural elements aside, does McQueen have any similarities to his own character?
“I hope not,” he laughs, “Jeremy’s been through more stuff than anybody should do, and of course when you portray someone, you try to connect certain things with yourself but it’s tough because he’s a bit darker than most.” However, McQueen finds his vocation a great way to channel his creative needs, “We’re playing make-believe at the end of the day and I do believe that our greatest tool is our imagination. In a sense, the work is therapeutic as I can go through things day to day and I find it to be a great outlet.” First experiencing acting in third grade, McQueen didn’t tackle acting full time until the mid-noughties, when he began to appear in shows such as CSI: Miami and Without A Trace, before landing the role of Jeremy in 2009. (He also had a leading role in last year’s blockbuster B-movie, Piranha 3D). Despite being in a show that involves “vampires, werewolves, Frankenstein – you name it!” McQueen’s own curiosities are much more down to earth (he would rather lose himself in history than fiction). However, he does have a childhood fantasy he still likes to indulge. “I read lots of comics growing up,” he says. “A lot of Marvel and DC. Batman, though, is my favourite because he doesn’t have any super powers.” Much like his on-screen persona, a human character that has real problems to deal with. Could Jeremy be an extension of The Dark Knight himself? “I guess so,” he supposes. “I won’t disagree with you.”
Having admitted that he doesn’t have a compelling interest in fictional beings, can McQueen tackle another fantasy: who would be his dream date? “Scarlett Johansson,” he says, quick as a flash. And what would they do? “Whatever she wants,” he grins.

[Originally published in Wonderland Magazine Issue 28, November 2011. Photography Danielle Levitt]

Pixie Lott

20-year-old Pixie Lott is something of a triple threat having released music (her debut album “Turn It Up” sold in excess of one million copies), starred in a feature film (Fred: The Movie) and designing clothes for Lipsy (now in her second year with the fourth collection out now for Christmas). Returning to the charts earlier this year with number one hit “All About Tonight”, today Lott releases the second single, “What Do You Take Me For” ahead of her second album “Young Foolish Happy”. We ask her about her album’s new sound, her musical collaborations and fall foul of the ultimate spanner in journalistic research – Wikipedia.

Describe your music in five words;
Soulful, fresh, fun, emotional, mature

How Young were you when you first kissed someone?
Maybe 12? We used to go to these under 18 nights which were called Capital VIP and they were all over the place at different venues and I used to love them. There would be loads of under 18s and you would meet each other and kissed. So my first kiss was with one of those Capital VIP boys.

What’s the most Foolish thing you’ve done?
I went on holiday this year with two of my best friends to Greece and one night I tattooed someone’s leg – and it was a permanent tattoo. It actually went really well. I wrote my name. Maybe not so foolish for me but maybe for him.

What makes you Happy?
Lot’s of things. My friends and family, laughing, going on holiday, being on stage, performing, Christmas, sunshine – everything.

Your new album is called Young Foolish Happy and features a number of collaborations – Pusha T (What Do You Take Me For), Marty James (Dancing On My Own), Tinchy Stryder (Bright Lights (Good Life) Part II), John Legend (You Win) and Stevie Wonder (Stevie On The Radio) – that is an amazing mix of people!
It is quite random, but it is amazing. Stevie Wonder is my all time favourite so that was incredible just to meet him so I was really happy. We have a feel good kind of throwback track and he plays harmonica which all happened through a mutual friend – the same with John Legend, really. Marty is an American artist and I wrote and recorded a track with him and Tinchy has a song on his album which I sang on which I really liked and then I wrote my own versus and a chorus and put that on my album.

You’re new single – with Pusha T – is called “What Do You Take Me For” and there is a bit of product placement in the video – a Citron – did you get a free car?
[laughs] No. I can’t actually drive. My new year’s resolution was to pass my test – [sarcastically] it’s going really well– I want to try and do it before the year is out. The Citron has also made an appearance in my Broken Arrow video from last year. I have a love for Citrons.

What is going on with your acting career?
I was in Fred [The Movie] last year, which is family viewing –

And you’re doing something else now, right?
No.

What? But Wikipedia says you’re in a film.
Does it say “Baby Jesus”?

Yes.
Yeah. I’ve been asked about this in loads of interviews but I actually have nothing to do with it. We were in talks with the people but that was it and I don’t think the film is even happening. But the news got out, but I don’t have any info on it.

You were a guest judge on The X Factor last summer, were you considered for the panel of this years’ show?
I don’t think so – at least I wasn’t asked – but I think the panel is really good and it’s spiced the show up a bit and I think it’s very entertaining. As for the contestants, I think Craig is really good and I think Mischa is great – I watched her Rolling in The Deep on YouTube and it’s fantastic. And I liked Johnny! He was so funny.

Which other musicians do you admire?
I went to see Rihanna at the O2 and she was really amazing. I don’t know how she does it! She was out the night before and I was thinking “if I did that, I couldn’t get on stage!” and when she sang “Cheers” she said “cheers and did a shot” and again I was like “if I did that I wouldn’t be able to hit my notes!” She is impressive.


[Originally published on wonderlandmagazine.com]

Roland Emmerich

A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Richard II, Hamlet, Love’s Labour’s Lost – for almost 400 years, the works of William Shakespeare have been regarded as the most important in the history of the English language with his ability to capture comedy, drama, tragedy and romance being celebrated the world over. Now, Roland Emmerich – the director most famous for films of alien invasion (Independence Day) and global destruction (The Day After Tomorrow, 2012) – has decided it’s high time Shakespeare was exposed as the fraud that a great deal of historians and commentators believe that he was.
Anonymous (in cinemas today) tells the story of Edward de Verve, the Earl of Oxford (Rhys Ifans) and explores the idea that he is the true author of Shakespeare’s work – just don’t call the subject matter a consipracy. “Conspiracy is a word I don’t like to hear,” Emmerich says. “I couldn’t stop them putting it on the poster which is annoying. But there are very interesting documents you can read – Mark Rylance and Sir Derek Jacobi [both feature in Anonymous], wrote a Declaration Of Reasonable Doubt – which will help you find out what is really happening.”
With lavish sets, intricate costume and impressive performances from an all star cast (Ifans is joined by Jamie Campbell-Bower as a younger version of Oxford, whilst Vanessa Redgrave and Joely Richardson share the role of Queen Elizabeth – who, it is suggested, may not have been as chaste as we think – while David Thewlis supports as dubious royal adviser William Cecil), Anonymous has enough death, comedy, drama and incest to make it a very Shakespearian affair. We speak to the director about this latest project, and find out how he came to be a director in the first place.

What is your earliest memory of film?
The first time I went to a movie theater was 2001 [A Space Odyssey, 1968], with my older brother and I had no idea what I was watching but I was fascinated. It was kind of what a true good film is – they take you to a place you haven’t been.

When did you decide you wanted to be a director?
It was relatively late. I decided I wanted to do production design for film and heard of the film school in Munich, but they only educated by teaching directing. So I lied and said I wanted to be a director to get in and when I was at film school I told everyone I wanted to be a production designer. I did lots of production for other students but you had to do your own movie there as it was a directing school. But when I did my first film, it was like a virus you can’t get rid of. I managed to wrangle my graduation film to be shown in the Berlin competition – and then I was a director and off I went!

Since then you’ve made a real name for yourself for making big disaster films, and Anonymous is in a completely different direction to that – what was it that attracted you to the project?
It was the script. I couldn’t get it out of my head – it’s always like that with me. It was always about the story and this story really fascinates me – especially after I read a little bit about how much merit it has.

How did you research the period?
What you have to do is just read everything. And then don’t believe anything. That’s something I learnt really quickly. The history books say a lot of words but dance around the subject and the same happens with Shakespeare if you read his biography, it’s a joke! John [Orloff, who wrote the script] and I were trying to come up with solutions to find out what really happened. There was all this proof – the Privy Council at some time in the middle of her reign changed the Act of Succession so that the bastard children of Queen Elizabeth could become the next king if she said so. Why should they have done this if she did not have any children? So it was a precaution. And at that time there was no talk of the king of Scotland – that was a later invention. But whatever you do write or film about history is only guess work. [The Elizabethan Era] was a totalitarian, Stalin-esque state, there’s nearly nothing from the original records that you can believe, and so you kind of have to do your own guess.

You think the time period was like Stalin?
Yeah! It was a totalitarian monarchy. If anyone ever said anything negative about Queen Elizabeth they were immediately thrown in the Tower.

Luckily the laws have changed since then, otherwise you’d be in trouble! How accurate do you think your own interpretation is?
We didn’t want to make a documentary as that would be boring. Looking at other great films that I love – Amadeus, for example, is a story about Mozart and Antonio Salieri and they hardly met in truth. But is it that important? I think it is a great story because you see the difficult life Mozart had at his time – not as a glorified composer – only because someone else was not as talented and became eaten up by jealousy. And that’s how I think historical movies should be – to get the essence of the time or the essence of what happened to them.

Did you factor in what the British reaction might be to this film as you made it?
Well, I knew that I would upset a lot of people, but that goes without saying. And who doesn’t want to upset the English? All the people who yelled the loudest are the ones who have the most to lose – the Shakespeare industry, the Stratford industry – and those who truly love Shakespeare the writer. But to think that finally somebody would say differently, we open up the discussion and everyone can make up their own mind. There shouldn’t be a literary dictatorship here.

You have an incredible cast for this film – how did you go about casting?
I only wanedt an English cast so I went to England with my casting directors and sent the script out to every actor I like and met them and would chat with them and find out what they liked from the script and asked what part would they like to play. Rhys Ifans, who I kind of had in mind for William Shakespeare, came in and said “you probably have me sitting here for the role of William Shakespeare but for me the part I would love to play is Oxford. I feel an affinity to his character. I feel he is eccentric like me and I think I can do something really special here.” And from that moment it made more and more sense so he ended up playing the part. The only two actors I wanted to have from the beginning were Vanessa Redgrave and her daughter Joely [Richardson]. Even in the writing period I was thinking “this is for these two women”. And I know Joely from The Patriot and we always talked about her mother and I was a little nervous when I met Vanessa because she is known for being very, very well read and I knew from her daughter that she always wanted to play Elizabeth – but she also said, “look, mum will only play if she agrees with how you portray Elizabeth” and so I was nervous because how we portrayed Elizabeth is totally different from other versions. But to my great relief, she totally agreed and actually said “we need to make this stronger! Let’s go all the way!” She went for it.

Shakespeare is an integral part to the whole training process for actors in the UK, so did any of the cast question the storyline?
Not at all. The people who knew about it all agreed. David Thewlis is a very well read actor and he said we were right on. And Vanessa believed in it too. And a lot of other people don’t care! They say “as long assomebody wrote it, I’m fine.” Naturally I cast Mark Rylance, who is very outspoken about it, just because he wanted to be in it.

With Anonymous suggesting Shakespeare faked his own success – when was the last time you faked something and got away with it?
[laughs] I do that all the time! If you look at my movies, it’s all fake. But I am of a thinking that whatever you do, you do it for a reason. I try to be as honest as possible in my endeavours but I know sometimes I can’t be too tied to the truth.

[Originally published on wonderlandmagazine.com]

Nicolas Winding Refn

Following his projects “Valhalla Rising” and “Bronson”, Danish film director Nicolas Winding Refn today releases “Drive” in the UK. Winning the Best Director gong at the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year (and just missing out on the Palme d’Or prize), Drive – adapted from James Sallis’s 2005 novel of the same name – is the story of an un-named driver (Ryan Gosling) – Hollywood stunt driver by day, criminal get away driver by night – who embarks on a friendship with next-door neighbour Irene (Carey Mulligan) and her son. Set in modern day LA, the film is seeped in 80s nostalgia and plays like an innocent romance story until, roughly half way through, the pace jumps a gear and throttles towards break neck tension and extreme violence when Gosling’s driver finds himself at the centre of a mafia hit job. Catching some time with the film’s director, WONDERLAND quizzes Winding Refn on some of his 80s references and swiftly decide he is a man we would never want to make love to.

What is your earliest memory of film.
It is the combination of a Smurfs movie and “Fat City” by John Huston. I don’t know about the Smurfs going on to be an influence, but “Fat City” has certainly stayed with me ever since. It was the first movie I ever saw in the cinema.

At what point did you decide to be a director?
I never did and I don’t consider myself one. I just consider myself somebody that uses film to express their fetish or indulge their fetish. I just wanted to control the medium, that’s all.

Obviously “Drive” is dripping in 80s references – we wanted to see if we can guess some of the origins. Are the title credits at the beginning of the film a homage to Tom Cruise’s ‘88 outing, “Cocktail”?
No. I stole the credits title design from the font of “Risky Business” [’83 – also a Tom Cruise film]. It looked cool and it was feminine which was always important. It’s always important to counter between the very masculine and feminine.

Is the pulsating electro soundtrack in any way associated with 1986’s “Top Gun”?
No. Although probably, if I think about it, it could have Berlin “Take My Breath Away”, but that’s about it.

And is the scene where the driver takes Irene for a drive down along the LA river with her son a reference to “Grease 2″ (1982)?
Ah, no. But I know they shot there.

What is the whole 80s influence about the movie?
It wasn’t intentional it’s just I realised LA never left the 80s so I was stuck in the 80s. It’s like I went into the Tardis and went back in time.

How did you cast for the film?
I was very fortunate because Ryan had approached me about doing a movie together and that became “Drive” and after that most of the actors got in touch with me essentially offering themselves to be part of the film – which was terrific. I loved every minute of working with the Ryan and Carey and the cast. There was a lot of laughing. And a lot of crying.

Were some scenes difficult to direct?
No. Very easy.

And when it comes to directing violence is that quite easy to direct as well?
It’s all about sex.

Sex?
Yes.

What’s the correlation?
Violence has the same build up as sex.

We try to keep the two separate ourselves... So what are your influences in film making?
In general it depends on what I make. It’s always individual. I start from scratch [with each project]. Ryan and I are doing a movie again at Christmas called “Only God Forgives” which is an action movie. I don’t know if it will be as violent as Drive as I haven’t made it yet.

What is your favourite Mafia Movie?
“The Killing of a Chinese Bookie” [1976, directed by John Cassavetes]. You have to see it to understand it. It’s not particularly violent, but it is brilliant.

Which 80s film do you wish you had directed?
I don’t look at it like that, but “Sixteen Candles” [John Hughes 1984 romantic comedy] made a huge impression on me. It introduced me to cinema love which is the fake and uncomplicated illusion of love.

"Drive" is quite an edge of your seat feature – what do you personally do for an adrenaline kick?
I hang out with my family. That’s pretty much a thrill ride! When you have two kids and wife it’s all very hectic but it’s beautiful. It makes everything else secondary and although it can be tiring, it’s worth the agony.

[Originally published on Wonderlandmagazine.com]

Katy B

Releasing her debut album, “On A Mission”, earlier this year, the singer-songwriter, Brit school graduate and Mercury Prize Nominee has been praised for her honest lyrics relating to wild nights out and relationship issues, not to mention her knock-out live performances. We get up close and personal with the young star to find out about some of her preferred tastes.
Personal style
My style is like my music: I can be quite ‘Tom-boyish’ and laid back. But on the other hand I am quite girly and like heels. I’m always in jeans, or sweater dresses with vans and tights. So I’m like a hip-hop chic, girly girl.
Personal shopping
I shop everywhere and anywhere. I will get a vintage playsuit or jeans and a vest. I love Nicholas Kirkwood shoes and have a nice collection of them. I aquired some good stuff from River Island the other day and I love Topshop.
Favourite fashion items
I love nice gold hoop earrings, or silver hoops - I like the way hoops come through my hair. I also like Vans – I’m always in white Vans. I live in them.
Make-up essentials
I like to have a bit of colour on my cheeks and a pink blush makes me look healthy. I am quite proud of being fair skinned and I’ve never gone for the fake tan look – so I work with products that are good for paler skin and keep it natural looking. MAC foundation is good.
Best advice
Zinc, who is one of the producers on my album, said: “don’t ever think anything is out of your reach for what you want to do.” He remembers when Roni Size said he was going to start a live band and play festivals and all the Drum ‘n’ Bass DJs thought [sarcastically] “alright” - then he went and won the Mercury music prize and everyone realised he went and did it. I think if you have a vision for something, don’t be afraid to go for it. Everything is possible.
Soundtrack before a night out
I really like Frank Oceans’s album and Kelly Rowland’s song “Motivation.” I love it! It reminds me of being 16 and listening to slow jams. I remember my brother was into that stuff and it was his way of getting girls. It is such a tune! I just bought Gill Scott, Beyonce and SBTRKT’s new albums.
Ritual before a gig
During my shows I jump up and down a lot on stage and I noticed I was getting shin splints from jumping so much. So I’ve started doing stretches and stuff before I go on –I feel like such an idiot doing it, but I have to or I’d have sore legs for weeks after.
Performing on stage
I get nervous before going on stage – but you have to be excited. I remember why I wanted to do this and feel happy about it. The crowd is the reason I jump around on stage and get shin splints. I walk on and think “Right, I’m not going to jump around today,” but then the crowd are jumping so then I’m off jumping. The crowd gives me so much energy.
Favourite place to go out with friends
Loads of places in Brixton – Hootananny in Brixton is wicked. They have a lot of live music there. On A Mission is written about a lot of different places and real scenarios where I’ve been with friends. “Lights On” is about being in Fridge Bar in Brixton where the MC would say “big up to everyone still dancing with the lights on” at the end of the night and I though “why has no-one written a song about this?” “Perfect Stranger” is about a friend who was walking through the crowd of a festival and saw someone and their eyes just met and they made out – it’s about knowing what someone’s thinking without talking to them.
When relaxing at home
I will watch Come Dine With Me. I love the Omnibus, but it is so dangerous. I will have things to do and I’ll sit down and the first episode will come on and then the next one…you can’t not watch them all!

[Originally published in Rollacoaster Magazine Issue 3, September 2011. Photography Jesse John Jenkins],

Sam Robertson

 “I was totally shitting myself,” exclaims Sam Robertson, the lead star of E4’s recent comedy hit Beaver Falls. The 25-year-old actor (who plays Andrew “Flynn” Spencer in the show) has joined us in a south London studio to showcase the autumn/winter collection from Diesel and has us rapt with one of his tales from the TV show’s South African film set. “For the last episode, my character is contemplating suicide and goes to the actual Beaver Falls and climbs to the highest peak. So we filmed the scene on this cliff with the waterfall beneath and there was such a sharp drop. There was lots of planning, but no one had factored in the weather and it had started to rain, so when it stopped I returned to the cliff edge to film and kind of slipped. The whole crew gasped and my heart leapt,” he recalls, running a hand through his hair at the thought of the nerve-wracking experience, before quickly snapping to reality. “Obviously, I was all harnessed up, so even if I did fall, I would have been pulled back up by the safety guards. So it was all cool.”
Having come into acting seemingly by accident, the young Scotsman says working on the show (which followed three hapless Brits who had blagged themselves jobs at an elitist American summer camp) was by far his most enjoyable job to date since first appearing on screens in ITV’s long-running Coronation Street. “Most actors would say there was one element of a job that was underwhelming, but everything about it was fantastic – the location, the weather, the cast, the crew. I’ve got my fingers crossed for [a second series] because I think there is potential to return to the summer camp a year on and see how everyone’s changed. And to go back to South Africa to film for three or four months with those guys would be great.”
Robertson got his break in acting while undertaking some part-time modelling as a student when he auditioned for his role in Corrie as Adam Barlow. His next role took him closer to home in Scottish soap River City, following which the actor feels he is “soaped out”, but is optimistic he has what it takes to embark on a long career.
“There is a stigma in the acting worked if you are a soap star,” he confesses. “But people have already shown me opportunities and now I’ve done this E4 show. The number of people from British soaps who have gone on to do really well are very small, but in Australia there are loads. Guy Pearce, Heath Ledger, Chris Hemsworth and a fair few Australian actresses have all come from Home & Away and Neighbours. I don’t know what the difference is between them going to Hollywood and the Brits. But Rob Kazinsky was an actor in EastEnders [he played Sean Slater] and he will be in The Hobbit. So it’s happening for him. I’ve got an agent in America and they believe I can do the same, but it’s easier said than done. And I think you need to be able to do a great American accent and mine needs a bit of work.”
So while Hollywood looks like a more long-term plan, Robertson does have his sights on someone in the industry that he would love to work with that resides across the continent as opposed to across the Atlantic. “I would love to work with Pedro Almodovar,” he says enthusiastically. “I know he loves Spanish soap operas and I think if you watch his work – or maybe being from a soap background – I totally see him mixing in elements to his film-making. There will be certain scenes that are filmed like a soap but they’re in a film and in a really stylised way. I would love to be in something like All About My Mother.”
And how are his language skills if he were to work with the Spanish director?
“Absolutely terrible,” he laughs. “I don’t know a single word but I would learn it for him. I read somewhere that Antonio Banderas went to Hollywood without knowing English and he has carved out a career. So if Antonio Banderas can do it, so can I.”

[Originally published in Rollacoaster magazine, Issue 3, September 2011. Photography Alastair Strong]

Leona Lewis

It is early August in London and Leona Lewis is singing. It’s subtle and barely loud enough to be heard, but her lips are moving and the delicate sound of her soaring voice can just be made out. She is standing in the middle of a large photo studio for our Rollacoaster cover shoot and a nearby soundsystem is blasting out classic hits like Whitney Houstin’s “Queen of the Night” and “Set You Free” by N-Trance and she simply cannot resist but sing along. It is easy to imagine that if she were to allow herself to project to full live-performance volume, she would easily match the vocals of the original singers – or effortlessly exceed them.
It was over five years ago that a shy Leona Lewis first appeared on our television screens as part of the third season of The X Factor. Back before the production values were grossly inflated, hopefuls auditioned in an enclosed room in front of judges Simon Cowell, Louis Walsh and Sharon Osbourne, and Lewis’s breathtaking rendition of “Over the Rainbow” made a seemingly uninterested Cowell snap to attention and declare, “That’s what it’s all about!” In the following weeks, the transformation between the timid girl backstage at the live shows and the powerful vocalist in front of the microphone had the nation falling in love, and on December 16, 2006, Lewis triumphed over runner-up Ray Quinn to become the first female winner of the competition.
As the photographer clicks today, the shy girl that was first on our screens is hardly visible. Appearing confident, relaxed and comfortable in front of the camera, Lewis laughs and jokes with the crew over the course of the day and is sure to thank everyone before we leave to talk at a nearby café. It has been almost two years since the release of her second album, Echo, and Lewis has been spending the last several months in recording studios in London, Sweden and LA as she works on the third.
“I can’t wait for people to hear it,” she says over cappuccinos. “There is a real trip-hop feel to some of it and then there is a real dance feel,” she explains. Although fans of the ballads of her first two efforts need not worry as there are still enough of those to keep everybody satisfied. “You’ve still got to get those in there,” she smiles. It was during the course of her sell-out 2010 UK arena tour, titled The Labyrinth, that Lewis decided it was time to shift gears with her music, and her forthcoming album is, in part, a result of the tour’s success. “We remixed a lot of ballads into uptempo, energy-driven songs [to perform live],” she recounts. “And a lot of my fans were on Twitter saying, ‘We want to hear you do something uptempo like on tour’. I really wanted that to spill over into the album, which is why we did ‘Collide’.”
Released last week, “Collide” is the first single to be drawn from the new album and reveals the more dancefloor-friendly beats fans can expect to accompany Lewis’s signature vocals. The single was intended to be a stomping return for Lewis following months out of the charts and, although well received by critics and fans alike when it was first played on air back in July, online commentators quickly claimed the song “ripped off” the track “Penguin” from musician Avicii. This accusation was swiftly rebuffed by the record label and Lewis herself, and she explains as we talk that she and Avicii were to release “Collide” together. “It’s just not in my morals,” she tells us, mortified by the plagiarism accusations. “Why would I do that when it would blatantly get found out? Everything I have done is clean cut and above board and I’ve never done anything dodgy, so the one thing that people can turn into a negative, they will. I think it’s only a handful of people who want to ramble on about it, but it doesn’t bother me,” she states, adding defiantly, “Most people know it’s not the truth. And I know it’s not the truth.”
Putting the situation behind her, the single nonetheless serves as a great precursor to the forthcoming album for which Lewis has worked with talents like Emeli Sandé, Sia, and long time collaborator Ryan Tedder. “He’s a cool guy to work with,” she breathes, still impressed by his song writing abilities. “He can do Adele and then he does One Republic, and then the couple he has [for me] are properly dancy – I love that diversity.” It would seem obvious that Lewis and Tedder would reunite having worked together on her biggest hit, 2007s “Bleeding Love”, which rocketed to the top of music charts the world over and has sold in excess of 4.6 million copies. However, Lewis isn’t pressuring herself under the success of her biggest hit. “I was so happy that it was a success and I definitely wanna have records that are as big because I want to keep going. But when ‘Bleeding Love’ came out there were five people who tried to make ‘Bleeding Love’ again. And when ‘I Gotta Feeling’ by Black Eyed Peas came out, ten people tried to recreate that. And it never works. Unless you do something completely different or progressive, then you are just selling yourself short – and I wouldn’t want to do that.” It must also be encouraging that Simon Cowell trusts her enough to allow her to create the album without him breathing down her neck. “It’s been amazing to have him and he has given me free reign on this to say when it’s finished. Otherwise I would have had to have released the album by the end of last year – which would have been really crazy,” she says with a sigh of relief. “He is really good to have on side and I guess he really believed in me since the beginning and has always backed me up.” Cowell remains the most famous person in Lewis’s phone book (“No one tops that”) and they speak on the phone “a couple of times a month – especially when the album is wrapping.” Would he answer if she were to call him now? “His PA might pick up. He is crazy busy.” And what would he say if he did answer? “Have you finished the album yet?” she laughs.
Although more self-assured than when she first came to the nation’s attention, one of the attributes that makes Lewis so likeable is that she hasn’t let her incredible fame go to her head. She still lives in Hackney, spends her allocated holiday time catching up with her family and manages to avoid desperate tabloid-grabbing behaviour. She reveals a story about one of her tattoos that demonstrates her wicked sense of humour (we nearly choke on our coffee as she offers to “get me tatts out”), but then shows her compassionate side when she explains the small heart-shaped tattoo on her chest started to fade the day her tattooist died. It is not the supernatural edge of this story that strikes us, but the heartfelt empathy she expresses for the wife and young child the tattooist left behind. Aren’t celebrities of her calibre only meant to care about themselves? Aren’t they supposed to make outlandish statements and attend events looking like they dressed in the dark? Doesn’t she worry that some people may consider her personality a bit… boring?
“I’ve read it,” she says. “Especially from one journalist who has never actually met me. But it doesn’t bother me. I’d rather be seen like that than a harsh, brash person. If my friends said that, then I’d have something to worry about.”
With a hectic work schedule, Lewis doesn’t always have much time to spend with her friends but relishes every minute when she does. For fun she enjoys nights out at bars and clubs, hosting games nights at her house in Hackney or hanging out in parks – and hints that she may enjoy a night on the sauce more often than the press would be aware “I don’t drink at events or when I know that I’m going to be photographed. I’m smart like that,” she smiles, before bashfully revealing she last got drunk two days previously during a night out at London restaurant Nobu (“I had the white wine to myself and it must have been really strong…”). Exiting the dining venue, Lewis successfully concealed her intoxication when confronted by an audience of awaiting paparazzi at the establishment’s doors – something she wasn’t expecting. “I’ve never had that many paparazzi standing outside anywhere,” she gasps. “I guess I’ve never been to Nobu before. Maybe they called them?”
Furthermore, she wasn’t expecting all the positive press she received from fashion gossips about her “on trend” attire the following morning. “That was nice!” she beams. “Normally they’re like, ‘She looks like shit!’”
Also present in the resulting paparazzi shots is German boyfriend, Dennis Jauch. The pair met while Leona was on her 2010 UK tour and Jauch (pronounced “Yow”) performed as her backing dancer. Lewis roars with laughter when we point out that dating your backing dancer is a very Madonna thing to do, but appears reserved when asked if she will give more details about their relationship. “I try to not talk about it too much or give anything away. It’s really important to have that as part of your private life,” she states flatly, and seems pleased when we concede that we had been unsure whether she was even seeing anyone before the Nobu photographs, as her conversations about or appearances with Jauch are almost nil. “It is a definite worry that the press would want to expose anything from romantic relationships to life with your family. I don’t want my brothers or nephews or anyone to be in the media because they haven’t chosen to be there. They don’t have a voice in it, so it’s not fair on them.”
Our shoot today is the first part of weeks of promotional work for Lewis and our time to talk is running out, so we quickly ask a final question while we have her in the flesh – does she keep in touch with X Factor runner-up, Ray Quinn? Her entire face lights up at the mere mention of his name. “Oh Ray!” she exclaims. “Little Ray!  [A pause] No. I haven’t spoken to him in ages.” And yet she seems to know exactly what he has been doing for the last year and a half, suggesting she keeps up to date with her fellow X Factor finalist’s progress. We said she was compassionate.
Little over a week later and Leona Lewis is back in LA putting the final touches to her album. In the time since our shoot, London has descended into anarchy with riots raging across the capital over a three-day period. Lewis’s home area, Hackney, became engulfed in the street fighting and the star was at home when trouble started. Two cars were torched near her front door and her dad came close to being swept up in the carnage while travelling to her house to deliver a CD. “He saw this guy smash in a Mini’s window and throw a petrol bomb in there, so he called me and was like, “Erm, how badly do you need this CD?” and I was like, “You need to run home right now!” It was insane.” She describes the violence as both “disgusting” and “traumatising” but insists Hackney will remain her home. “You have to remember it is a very poor area and they’re taking away funding for youth programmes but I just think [the rioting] was literally some hood rats that jumped on the bandwagon to go a bit insane. There are actually some really lovely areas in Hackney.”
Staying in LA for ten days, Leiws is “keeping on top of things” by remaining on British time. Her resulting early mornings followed by hours in the studio and then heading to bed while the sun is still blazing show an incredibly hardworking attitude. But hard work is the nature of the business and there are a number of busy months ahead with scheduled television appearances, album promotion, performance dates in Japan and a mini tour of America – the last of which she is especially looking forward to, having initially been scheduled to support Christina Aguilera last year on her North American tour, which was cancelled at the final hour by the American following a number of personal issues (“How very dare she!” she jokes).
When she thinks back to the person she was on The X Factor, Lewis feels she has changed exponentially, but naturally. “I’ve come a long way since then and I’ve grown as a performer, as a singer, everything. I was in that weird teenage-adult stage for a long time – making decisions that perhaps weren’t right, but I’ve realised in the last couple of years that I have grown up and I know myself so much more.”
And in the time that we spoke has she got back in touch with Ray Quinn?
“No!” she wails apologetically. “I just haven’t had any time. I’m sure we’ll bump into each other at some point. I need to... because he’s so cute!”

[Origianally published in Rollacoaster Magazine, Issue 3, Setpember 2011. Photography: Thomas Giddings]

Luke Treadaway

Last weekend saw the official end to this year’s summer of music festivals with Bestival on the Isle Of White. But anyone feeling nostalgic for the last few months of live outdoor music can keep that feeling burning a little bit longer with the release of David Mackenzie’s “You Instead”. Filmed at Scotland’s T In The Park festival last year, the film tells the story of two musicians who are handcuffed together during an argument by an eccentric pastor who wants them to appreciate the unifying aspect of live music. Inevitable high jinks and stirred emotions abound as the pair spend the next few days chained together and are forced to work together to make their stage times. Wonderland favourite Luke Treadway takes the lead role in the festival drama as Adam, the front man of a successful electro two piece headlining the festival, bound to head strong Morello (played by a fiery Natalia Tena), and talks us through the pressure of completing a live action film at one of the UK’s biggest music festivals and brings us up to speed on his projects since he appeared in our pages back in 2009.

Do you go to lots of music festivals?
As much as I can. I went to Latitude a few weeks ago and you get things there that you don’t get at other festivals, like raving in the woods until 7 in the morning with amazing lighting and weird dub step sounds. I had a great time.

Did you enjoy filming You Instead at T In The Park?
Yeah, amazing! There was an amazing party atmosphere, although we were in a different mindset to the other people that were there as we were running around trying to make a 90 minute film. We had 20 minutes to shoot a scene and then you had to move on so we rehearsed every day for three weeks before shooting and then in the evenings went to a studio with Eugene Kelly from The Vascelines who wrote some of the music for [on-screen band Treadway’s character fronted] The Make. Except for the song, “You Instead” which I wrote.

Wow! Had they named the film before you wrote that?
No, it was meant to be called “In The Park” and then they changed the title to that song, which is mental.

In your role, your band plays to a large crowd towards the end of the film – how was that orchestrated? Did you have to stop the festival and make everyone aware and do a quick set?
No, it’s all clever editing. You would need about five hours to set all that up, logistically it would be impossible to do in a half hour set. But also the audience have paid to come and watch bands they want to see and I think morally it would have been slightly questionable had we gone ‘yeah, we’re going to play now and we’re a fake band in a film.’ So we played Thursday night before the festival began and there was the field and a few people down at the front to create the audience so I could walk down to them. But, in my mind there was a fuck load of people.

How was it to work with director David Mackenzie?
I think he is an incredibly brave film maker and has such a creative mind – especially if you look at his other films. He’s not afraid to take risks. And this was definitely a risk. He said to me the first time I met him, “look, I don’t know if this is possible. If you want to come on this journey, well find out.” The fact a film that is watchable has come out of it is quite an achievement. I’d love to work with him again.

You are cuffed to Natalia Tena for most of the film – how was she to work with?
I’d never met her before and she is a force of nature. We bonded on the fact we were about to take on a huge monumental task and I remember we all went out in Glasgow for dinner before we went out to film and realised this isn’t a film you can over-run, you can’t drop a few scenes, you’ve got 18 scenes to do each day. So we got berocca inside us and went out. She’s in a band herself, so she’s a musician and we played around with that and we played music and stuff together and we got on really well.

You’ve done the big Hollywood thing, having been in Clash Of The Titans last year [for which he played the part of mad cult leader Prokopion], which must have had a massive budget and then You Instead must be really small. What’s the main difference?
Catering. Literally a days catering on Clash Of The Titans could have paid for this film. It was crazy. But, bizarrely, I thought I would struggle with Clash Of The Titans because everything else I’ve done has been more independent and lower budget so I thought staring at a tennis ball at the end of a stick in front of green screen would not be for me but I really got into that. And I loved working with the director, Louis Leterrier, and he would let me come in and say “Louis, I’ve re-written this part of this speech in the script” and he’d be like “yeah, cool.” I thought he would have to go and check with 12 producers over the change of a comma, but he would let me gabble on and so I really enjoyed that.

What attracts you to every project?
Every job I want a different colour for my pallet. If it’s something close to me I find it harder. That’s why my first job with my brother [twin, Harry in 2005’s Brothers Of The Head] was amazing as a conjoined twin because it’s a physical thing. Learning to play music for this was great and that’s what I really enjoy – becoming someone else. Doing “Attack The Block” recently where I play a posh stoner, my mum was like “you’re playing yourself!” And I was like, “We’re not posh. We are not a rich family.”

Having now played a rock star and revealing to us that you have a talent with music, do you feel you are at a crossroads where you could go down either route?
I think I want to do it all really! Even in the next six months I plan to record an EP and play some gigs but I’m not trying to take over the music industry. If someone who is really famous as an actor tries to put a single out it can be weird. But I’m not that and I think it can be very separate so if I make songs up and play them in a pub in Camden, people won’t really know. I’ve been lucky I can do it in a film.

[Originally published on wonderlandmagazine.com]