Mini Biography - Max Minghella

Name: Max Minghell
Age: 25
Born and raised: Hampstead, London, England.
Favourite thing about LA: He’s British, so, obviously, “the weather.” Plus, he says, “I love how it stays light after dark.”
Why you know him: As Divya Narendra in David Fincher’s Facebook drama, The Social Network, we saw Minghella being officially “de-friended” for cosying up to the Winklevoss twins.
Coming next: He’s getting political in George Clooney-directed The Ides Of March – and being caught out by Clooney’s pranks. “Clooney would get spritzer bottles filled with water and you’d be having this inspiring talk about a scene or your character. Then you’d look down to discover he’d been spraying your pants the whole time to make it look like you’d pissed yourself.”

[Originally published in Wonderland Issue 27, August 2011. Photography Paul Jasmin]

Mini Biography - Boyd Holbrook

Name: Boyd Holbrook
Age: 30
Born and raised: Kentucky. Holbrook lived in New York for seven years but is now based in LA (with his dalmation/pit-bull dog, Lucky)
Favourite thing about LA: “It’s more of an outdoors place which has me less on the verge of a nervous breakdown like being in New York – not to sound dramatic!”
Why you know him: A jack of all trades, Holbrook writes screenplays, has experimented with directing, creates art works and was given a role in Gus Van Sant’s Milk in 2009 after giving him one of his scripts.
Coming next: More writing and directing projects, although he will also continue to act, appearing in Vera Farmiga’s directorial debut, Higher Ground, which premiered at Sundance earlier this year. “She’s a phenomenal director,” he says of Farmiga. “As she’s an actor she can speak in those terms and is incredibly supportive. She created such a relaxed atmosphere and shaped us and our characters without us even realising it.”

[Originally published in Wonderland Issue 27, August 2011. Photography Paul Jasmin]

Mini Biography - Colton Haynes

Name: Colton Haynes
Age: 23
Born and raised: Andale, Kansas. The model-turned-actor moved to LA after high-school in 2007 at a time when his modelling meant he might have equally moved NYC. He chose the latter becasue “I always hoped to start acting out here.”
Why you know him: Moving to LA proved to be a shrewd move for Haynes – following small parts in Pushing Daisies and Melrose Place, he landed a leading role in MTV’s surprise hit re-imagining of Teen Wolf.
Coming next: More Teen Wolf which has been re-commissioned for a second season before the first has even finished airing. What has shocked Haynes most about it all is the extreme emotional reaction from some of the female fans. At the San Diego Comic Con festival, he says, “We had to turn three hundred girls away and they were all crying. I felt really bad so we went out to say hello. We talked to them and they started crying even more! The crying fans are awesome, but it’s hard to read their mind.”

[Originally published in Wonderland Issue 27, August 2011. Photography Paul Jasmin], S

Mini Biography - Chris Zylka

Name: Chris Zylka
Age: 26
Born and raised: Warren, Ohio. He moved to LA in 2006 to “follow a dream.”
Favourite thing about LA: The city’s variety and multiculturalism.
Why you know him: Having held bit parts and guest spots on 90210, Hannah Montana and Cougar Town, he took audiences breath away by playing hot roommate Thor to Thommas Dekker’s Smith in Greg Araki’s Kaboom.
Coming Next: “I can’t say much about my role in The Amazing Spiderman,” he says. Well, we suppose it’s down to us then: he plays Eugene “Flash” Thompson in Marc Webbs live-action reboot of the Marvel comic. “To work with a director like Marc Webb is any young actors’ dream!” he says.

[Originally published in Wonderland Issue 27, August 2011. Photography, Paul Jasmin]

Nero's New Reality

Londoners Daniel Stephens and Joe Ray are the duo behind dubstep/drum ‘n’ bass outfit Nero, who first came to prominence last year with their single “Me & You”. Swiftly signed to MTA Records – owned by the UK’s other massive Drum and Bass band, Chase & Status – the boys caught the attention of club goers and critics alike, being long-listed for the BBC Sound of 2011 award at the beginning of this year off the strength of “Me & You”, and yesterday hit the top of the singles chart with their most recent track, “Promises”. Today Nero release their debut album, “Welcome Reality”, and we caught the guys for a quick Q+A.


Describe your sound in five words
Joe: Epic. Basey. Drummy.
Dan: Musicy. Nero-y.

Nero, your namesake, was known as a tyrannical ruler in ancient Rome – are you fans of power and extravagance?
Joe: Yeah, he was a dark guy who was known for abusing his power. Which is what we plan to do when we take over the world.
Dan: For us as Nero, it was a short snappy word and memorable and recognisable and Italian for black and dark and has those connotations.

That comes across in your music videos with the video for “Promises” being quite totalitarian state-esque.
Dan: no it’s more a society – we’ve built a universe around the album that it takes place in and it’s dark and influenced by films like blade runner and things like that. It’s a vision of the future where we see our characters and music belonging.

How did you guys get into making music?
Joe: We met when we were about 16 drum and bass kids. So we’d hang out and do our own things independently with bands.

Were any successful?
Both: No.
Dan: Although I guess mine was quite serious but then the bass player became a wealthy investment banker, the singer became a huge model and then Nero happened so I’m doing that. So everyone became more successful.

Chase & Status are your label owners – what is their influence over your music? How did they recruit you?
Dan: We’d been sending them stuff for years and when they wanted to start a label they contacted us and it was a time when we were looking for a label to call home and so it was perfect. It was music to our ears they said they didn’t expect anything from us musically but just to write what we want and we didn’t have to be genre specific. Throughout our album making process we’ve been playing them our ideas and they’re a great sound board and they can advise.

Have they said anything has been shit?
Dan: Yes! [laughs]
Joe: They would say ‘what abut that other thing you were working on’ – so a little more tactful.

You were on the BBC Sound Of 2011 long-list – did that have any impact on the creation of your album? Not bitter about not winning?
Dan: I don’t think we were even top five. But it was great to be nominated. Well done for Jessie J.
Joe: Originally the album was going to be more underground and then “You & Me” was a bit more crossover and it was on mainstream radio and on tv and everywhere and so the label said we’d made some new fans and not just the usual crowd so we wrote a few more tunes to keep those fans there.

Who are your icons of the dubstep genre?
Dan: we’re not influenced so much by dubstep – we look outside a lot. A lot of French music – Daft Punk, Justice, [French record label] Ed Banger– within electronic music that is where a lot of our influence comes from. But then other than that it’s a bit of everything. We both love 80s pop rock.
Joe: We sampled a song of Daryl Hall from Hall & Oates [on the album] – a massive pop star from the 80s – and then it happened we had a mutual contact and he got on board to give vocals.
Dan: He is such a legend!

So 80s pop is basically what “Welcome Reality” is all about?
Dan: There’s a few cheeky samples hidden of Spandu Ballet. It’s cheese, but it’s good cheese.

[Originally published on wonderlandmagazine.com]

Making Some Noise - Viva Brother

At the beginning of this year, NME triumphantly declared Viva Brother signaled the “return of the great British guitar band” upon the strength of their first single, Darling Buds Of May. Since then, the band have been dismissed by Liam Gallagher as “little posh boys with tattoos” and have been slapped with a lawsuit by obscure Australian Celtic tribal rock-band, Brother, to challenge them about the copyrite of their band name. Surprisingly, the Australian band came out on top on the name front, and perhaps not surprisingly the spat with Gallagher has done wonders for the bands’ profile. As Viva Brother get stuck into the publicity grind for their debut album, Famous First Words, we rouse lead guitarist Samuel Jackson from a nap to ask a few questions.

First of all your band name – Viva Brother – what happened there?
We didn’t know there was a band from Australia called Brother. [Frontman] Lee [Newell] did actually Google and discovered them but didn’t think anything of it at the time. Then we were playing a show in San Francisco and out of nowhere this guy battled his way through the crowd of the sold out show and slapped this fifty page legal writ at Josh’s [Ward, bass player] feet, and he just kicked it to the ground. None of us knew what was gong on but after the show a few people from our label were milling around with this document and basically they were trying to sue us. So there’s been a bit of a legal battle since, and they’ve managed to keep their name and we’ve changed ours. But I’m not bothered. I’m happy with the new name – it’s like saying Long Live Us! Our twitter name was already Viva Brother and people in crowds at our shows would shout it out anyway and we think it sounds good. So it’s the right decision.

Have you heard actual Brother?
I haven’t actually listened to them. I have no desire to. I’ve heard that it’s quite comedy. Although it’s weird – it’s like they don’t have a single fan in the world but they seem to be able to afford a big case. They can continue playing shows to no-one.

Right. So can you describe the sound of your own music in five words?
Super fast rock n’roll injection.

You guys have been making a bit of a name for yourselves in America – does it feel to be making it big in the USA?
It was a surprise for us. When we did our first trip in March where we did SXSW and some shows in New York – they were only tiny shows, but they were all sold out. It was a really good feeling. American’s like Brits and British stuff, but to have a loud British band come and shake things up, I think they’re ready for that.

You’re from Slough – not the most renowned part of the world for generating engaging music – could Slough become a new cultural hotspot?
We’re not all from Slough. Lee and I were both born there, and Frank was born in Canada but we all spent so much time in and around Slough when it started. We used to rehearse as much as we could and Josh lived with Lee so as a band we started there. I can’t imagine it becoming a cultural hot spot any time soon. It’s so industrial and stuck in the 9-5 mindset that I can’t see it getting out of.

When did you realise you could make it as a band?
For us there wasn’t any other option. We had to make it work as we can’t do anything else. We’re useless. One of the first songs we wrote, Darling Buds Of May, our manager said was a great song. He put so much time and faith in us and we had to make it right and then we put it out and it got picked up almost instantly. Zane Lowe started playing the demo in his show and played it three times in one week. It’s been a rollercoaster since then!

The band have been championed as saviours of the guitar-rock Brit-pop world – how has all the critical praise affected the album writing process?
Um, we were on the cover of NME in January, I think. So we were on the cover before we’d recorded the album, but it still seems now that people judge us before listening to us – purely because of what we say in the press. And I don’t blame them we have said some daft things but I wouldn’t go back on them because we’re being honest but I just hope people still listen to our record because it is bloody good.

The band have made a few derogatory comments about other music acts out there – does the band need a bit of anger management?
We’re not angry boys! I promise. We’re nice and pleasant. When people ask us what we think of other bands and other people, if we like them we say we like them and if we don’t we’ll colourfully tear them apart. We’re being honest, that’s all it is. We’re not doing it for attention.

Lee went as far as to say “I see evil in her eyes” about Jessie J.
[Laughs] Oh yeah. She is quite evil.

So is it a tabloid tactic? Obviously you’ve been compared to Oasis and Blur who famously had spats with each other in the press – is this something the band are trying to create?
We’re not influenced by Oasis at all and all we get is that we’re Oasis wannabies. I wouldn’t want to be like Liam Gallagher and if I ever was I’d hope someone would punch me in the face and tell me to fucking sort myself out. We’re not trying to start anything. We’re just focusing on our own band. That’s what other bands should do. That’s what Liam should do.

Who do you see as your competitors in the music arena?
I don’t really look at anyone as competition. You have to focus on your own thing. But other bands that want the same thing of having rock and roll back in mainstream music would be bands like Vaccines, Wolfgang and Tribes. Those guys are great. They’re really good. And Yuck. They’re great.

How does it feel to be flying the flag for British music?
It feels good. It feels nice. We’re just anxious and eager for our album to be out so people can hear the whole thing. It’ll be nice for everyone to be like “Oh right! They DON’T sound like Oasis.”

[Originally published on wonderlandmagazine.com]

Mike Mills: Beginners

Director Mike Mills, whose previous work includes the feature-length indie classic Thumbsucker as well as music videos for Air, Moby and Yoko Ono, draws from personal experience in his latest feature length film Beginners, starring Ewan Macgregor and Melanie Laurent. Based on the coming out story of Mills’s own father’s, Beginners follows Oliver (McGregor), whose father Hal (Christopher Plumber) drops a bombshell that he is dying of cancer, just as he also reveals that he has a younger male lover. Writing and directing the film threw up questions of love, life and death for Mills, who we quizzed about the new feature.

What is your earliest memory of film?
“Herbie The Love Bug”? I also remember being just the right age for Star Wars initial release, all of us boys counting how many times we went to see it, I remember 10 being a common answer. I also remember seeing Saturday Night Fever that same year, 1977, which I wasn’t really old enough for that. And then of course, first year of art school ,1984,  is where i saw all the films that still influence me, 8½ Hiroshima Mon Amour, etc.

At what point did you decide you wanted to begin creating film?
Late in the game, like 27 or 28. Previously film seemed so difficult and complicated and just the entertainment industry. After seeing Errol Morris’s documentary Thin Blue Line and early Jim Jarmusch films I remember thinking, “Maybe I can do that” and  more importantly, “I really want to communicate with people like that.”

You have made music videos and short films – how did you find the transition to making full length features?
It’s the same and utterly different. You learn a lot about film, and crews and people and editing and how to light and how to work and you learn nothing about telling a story for that long and all the amazing complicated political work that goes into getting a personal, artistic, strange movie made in this day and age.

Beginners takes personal experiences as a main influence for your film. Although part autobiographical, how much fictional element is there there?
There’s a lot of “fiction”, they’re a lot of blurring between the two. Even scenes or moments where I’m really trying to make a true “portrait” of my father or something that happened, by the time you write it, cast it, find the new location, etc, you’ve done so much distillation, abstraction, amalgamation, I’m not sure if it’s “real” or “fiction” anymore.

Do you wish that Christopher Plummer were your real life dad?
No. He’s great, but my dad’s my dad!

Plummer famously portrayed Captain Von Trap in “The Sound Of Music” – with your experience of making music videos, would you ever consider directing a musical?
Yes I’d love to do a dogma musical, where all the sound has to be real and live. I’d be more interesting in the dancing that the singing, but I’d love to do that someday.

The rest of the cast are all strong actors – what was the casting process like for the film?
Your  usual  “running for president”  level of meeting and greeting everyone you can to try to get these kind of people. It’s as close as I’m ever gonna get to being the mayor of a major city, or an astronaut, or an ambassador, or a member of the U.N.

Did you have specific people in mind whilst drafting the script?
No, I don’t have anyone in mind while writing – I just end up doing a very bad imitation of them in their last film.

Which scenes of Beginners did you find the biggest challenge to direct?
Nothing really more challenging than others in a way. I love being a writer director, I love being on set, I love crews and actors and dogs, so I was very, very happy during all the shooting.

What is the meaning of love?
Like I know! Just an amateur over here.

[Originally published at wonderlandmagazine.com]