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Film, Interviews

Interview flashback: Talking ‘Thor’ with Chris Hemsworth in 2011

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In May 2011, I had the opportunity to talk with a relative newcomer to Hollywood, a nice Aussie actor named Chris Hemsworth, who would go on to star in one of the most successful film franchises of all-time in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. In celebration of the release of “Avengers: Endgame,” here’s that interview:

Although his appearance in “Star Trek” was brief, Chris Hemsworth’s emotionally-charged turn as Captain George Kirk in the 2009 blockbuster certainly made people take notice — including director Kenneth Branagh, who was looking for a star to anchor his film about the Norse God of Thunder.

“‘Star Trek’ actually came out when I was auditioning for ‘Thor’ — and Ken has said he had seen the film and was impressed,” Hemsworth said in a recent interview. “It was perfect timing.”

Oddly enough, Hemsworth, an Australian native, had precious little time to prepare for small, but pivotal role as the father of the iconic James T. Kirk.

“I was cast on Friday night at (director) J.J. Abrams’ office. He said ‘You got the job — you start Monday,'” Hemsworth recalled with a laugh.  “I didn’t know much about what I was doing, but I left myself open and available to what I was doing and tried to find the truth in it. It was a lot of fun.”

While George Kirk was captain of his ship for 12 minutes, “Thor” definitely puts Hemsworth in command of the whole film, opening in theaters nationwide on Friday. The major difference is, while Kirk was a selfless individual who sacrificed himself for 800 others, Thor, when we first meet him, is the complete opposite: arrogant, selfish and hot-headed.

Lucky for Hemsworth, Thor’s attitude only represented his beginnings in an eventful character arc.

“That was the big incentive for me in wanting to get the part — I prefer, personally, a part that presents a lot of contrast,” Hemsworth said. “I wanted to get a part that was unpredictable because as people we’re unpredictable. You want to surprise an audience, and challenge their interpretation or views on who they think the character is. It makes the character certainly more interesting to watch, and certainly the script allowed for room to do that.”

Based on the legendary Marvel comic book series created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, “Thor” chronicles the character’s exploits in epic fashion: from his reckless ways as a powerful but petulant warrior in the mystical realm of Asgard, to his banishment to Earth by his father, King Odin (Anthony Hopkins). It’s there where Thor meets research scientist Jane Foster (Natalie Portman), and must adapt from prince to pauper if he is to live among the humans and ultimately learn humility. And it’s where he will eventually have to face the dark forces sent from his world to protect the innocent of his new home.

Photo: Marvel Studios
Chris Hemsworth and Anthony Hopkins in “Thor”

The Shakespearean factor

While there were concerns expressed by the comic book’s faithful fans with the selection of a Shakespearean director in to helm “Thor,” Hemsworth said he never had a doubt in his mind that Branagh — who’s film adaptations include The Bard’s “Hamlet,” “Henry V,” “Much Ado About Nothing” and “As You Like It” — was more than suited for the job.

“He’s kind of perfect if you think about it, with his Shakespearean background, because there’s an old English feel to this film and he knows that feel better than anyone,” Hemsworth observed. “Odin, Thor and that world pretty much represents the Royal Family with kings and queens. Thor’s journey is pretty much like ‘Henry V,’ which he did an Academy Award-nominated version of. For me, he was perfect — a resource of knowledge of the regality of that world.”

The bonus, Branagh offered in a separate interview, is that the tale of “Thor” has inherent Shakespearean qualities.

“The Marvel treatment of the Norse myth to attain, achieve and aspire to a god-like quality in themselves, whatever that might be — piece of mind or generosity of spirit — and reassessing what that means,” Branagh said. “That dichotomy, that paradox, that tension — between god and man, man aspiring to be god-like, and gods dealing to be human-like — is a kind of tension and exploration of the inner-life of a character that is very Shakespearean. ”

“I think in both cases, with a Shakespeare play like ‘Henry V’ and with a tale like ‘Thor,’ all of that is wrapped up adventure tale,” Branagh added. “That’s where those two intersect.”

Building the perfect Thor

While Hemsworth said he benefited from being in the company of Branagh, as well as such acting stalwarts as Hopkins, Portman, Stellan Skarsgard and Tom Hiddleston (who plays Thor’s conniving brother, Loki), it was entirely up to 6-foot-3 performer to when it came to building Thor’s massive, sculpted body.

“It took a good five or sixth months of force-feeding myself buckets of protein, and then spending six or seven days a week in the gym,” Hemsworth said. “I’ve always been pretty active and played a lot of sports, but I’ve never lifted weights, so this was a whole new thing for me. My body didn’t set well with that weight, eating tons and tons.”

And, as Hemsworth found, the regimen didn’t stop when filming began. After all, he had to be ripped when it came time for removing his shirt (and see Portman’s and co-star Kat Dennings’ jaws drop collectively).

“I had to keep up with it because the shirtless scene was about three-quarters through the shoot,” Hemsworth said. “It meant at the end of a 16-hour day, I’d have to get into the gym. It was very exhausting. It was a good thing that I was prepared for it all.”

Photo: Marvel Studios
Chris Hemsworth in “Thor”

For the time being, Hemsworth, 27, said the workouts will continue, thanks to his role in writer-director Joss Whedon’s Marvel superhero ensemble extravaganza “The Avengers,” which is set for a May 4, 2012, release. Thor and Loki will be featured in the film, along with several other Marvel legends including Ironman (Robert Downey Jr.), Captain America (Chris Evans), Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) and Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo)/The Incredible Hulk (voice of Lou Ferrigno).

Hemsworth, naturally, couldn’t provide any plot details of the film, but assured his turn in the film will be much more than a cameo.

“The film certainly is the next step for Thor, and I was impressed how Joss managed to bring all these characters together and give them and equal sort of story and time,” Hemsworth said. “It’s going to be quite an iconic moment to see all those superheroes on screen together.”

Plus, being on the film will give Hemsworth another chance to snag Thor’s thunderous hammer — formally known as his Mjolnir — since he didn’t get to keep the prop from the first time around.

“They didn’t offer me one so I had every intention of just stealing it — so I missed my opportunity, unfortunately and came away hammerless,” Hemsworth joked. “In ‘The Avengers’ I’ll try getting another one.”

If they see Hemsworth driving off with a weighed down trunk, though, he’s sure to get busted.

“Security will strip me down and take it back,” Hemsworth said, laughing.

But hey, at least he’ll get to embarrass them with his ripped body.

Tim Lammers reviews movies weekly for The KQ92 Morning Show,” “KARE 11 News at 11” (NBC), WCCO Radio, WJON-AM, KLZZ-FM, “The Tom Barnard Podcast” and “The BS Show” with Bob Sansevere.

Copyright 2019 DirectConversations.com

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Books, Film, Interviews, Music

Interview: Olivia Newton-John talks new memoir ‘Don’t Stop Believin”

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No, the title of Olivia Newton-John’s new memoir “Don’t Stop Believin’’” wasn’t inspired by a certain rock band’s legendary rock anthem, but the legendary singer and actress’ life has been a journey, nonetheless.

Newton-John, 70, admitted in recent phone conversation from California that she never intended on revealing several intimate details about her amazing life in the spotlight and behind the scenes, until news of an unauthorized biopic being made in her home country of Australia prompted her to start writing the tome simply because she wanted admirers to get the right story directly from the source.

“I haven’t seen it yet, but by all accounts, it isn’t bad,” Newton-John said. “I didn’t know that at the time, though, so I thought I better cover myself and that film was what inspired me to get the book started, and I enjoyed it.”

Taken from the name from her own hit single, “Don’t Stop Believin’” (Gallery Books/Simon & Schuster) chronicles several personal moments in Newton-John’s life extending back to childhood, yet covers many of her professional achievements as a chart-topping singer (with hits like “If Not For You,” “I Honestly Love You,” “A Little More Love” and the monster hit “Physical”) and starring opposite John Travolta in the legendary movie musical “Grease” (which spawned the hits “Summer Nights” and “Hopelessly Devoted to You”).

Released 41 years ago this June, Newton-John is thrilled that “Grease” became not only a hit in the United States, but a worldwide blockbuster — and she doesn’t mind that fans continue to associate her with the iconic role of Sandy Olsson. After all, the film, along with the 1980 musical “Xanadu” has had such of a positive impact on people’s lives — and being positive is what Newton-John is all about.

“I’m happy to embrace ‘Grease.’ I’m very lucky to be part of a movie that is still so beloved,” Newton-John enthused. “I mean, how many people can have the experience of being in a film that not only people love, but that is still being talked about 40 years later? I’ve always been very grateful for it. I haven’t been in many films, but to be in ‘Grease’ and ‘Xanadu’ — both musicals that people have really enjoyed — and to dance with John Travolta and Gene Kelly in one lifetime? I was dancing with the stars way before it was popular, so I think I was very lucky.”

Winning over cancer

Newton-John isn’t afraid to broach painful topics in her memoir, though, including three challenges with breast cancer (she doesn’t like to characterize them as battles, but “winning” instead). Even then, Newton-John found a silver lining, raising awareness of the disease by becoming an advocate. Among her proudest achievements is her help creating and lending her name to the Olivia Newton-John Cancer Wellness and Research Centre in Melbourne.

“It was an amazing gift to be offered that opportunity. I didn’t know how we were going raise the money when we started since we had to raise nearly $200 million (to build it),” Newton-John recalled of the beginnings of the facility, which opened in 2012.“ So, we just started doing a bunch of things to raise money for it like walking the Great Wall of China. It was such of an amazing thing to see the dream come true and now it’s a wonderful, functioning cancer wellness and research center and I got to experience it on my 70th birthday. It was the culmination of an amazing dream.”

Essentially, Newton-John has always lived a life reinforced by positivity. True, she recognizes that cancer is dreadful disease, but she’s also maintained the will that, in a way, echoes a line in her classic hit “Magic” — “nothing can stand in our way.”

“You can’t talk about your illness all the time and feel sorry for yourself. There is someone always worse off,” Newton-John said.“I’m breathing and lucky, and you have to keep that in mind because you create your world by what you think, what you believe. It’s all in your head. So, you have to keep your thoughts positive and make your world that way.”

Photo: Gallery Books/Simon & Schuster

Being positive is something that was instituted in Newton-John as a young girl by her parents, and because of that, she’s essentially adopted the mantra, “If you want it, create it. We create what we believe.”

“It’s worked for me in my life. If you work toward things and you can’t make them happen, you keep working toward them and you don’t give up,” Newton-John said. “The show must go on and you don’t give up. I learned that from my mom and dad, who were both really hard-working people and were very inspiring to me. I wasn’t overly praised, though. My dad would say, ‘Well done,’ and that was big praise. I’ve had an interesting life and a fabulous one.”

Tim Lammers reviews movies weekly for The KQ92 Morning Show,” “KARE 11 News at 11” (NBC), WCCO Radio, WJON-AM, KLZZ-FM, “The Tom Barnard Podcast” and “The BS Show” with Bob Sansevere.

Copyright 2019 DirectConversations.com

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Film, Interviews

Interview: Writer-director Chris Butler talks ‘Missing Link

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A “Missing Link” has been found — in cinematic form, that is — and for writer-director Chris Butler, the discovery has been years in the making. But it’s not like Butler has been sitting around, biding his time since his last feature film as a writer-director, “ParaNorman,” in 2012.

That’s because “ParaNorman,” as well as “Missing Link” are stop-motion animated films from the acclaimed studio LAIKA, based in Portland, Oregon, where the action is meticulously assembled frame by frame as Butler and his fellow animators magically bring inanimate objects to life on the big screen.

The years LAIKA has been producing its stop-motion features have paid off handsomely, though, since all four of the studio’s offerings since 2009 — “Coraline,” “ParaNorman,” “The Boxtrolls” and “Kubo and the Two Strings” — have been awarded with best animated feature Oscar nominations.

“They take a long time to do, and ‘Missing Link’ was probably our longest production — five years, pretty much, from beginning to end,” Butler said. “When ‘ParaNorman’ was finishing, ‘Missing Link’ already existed in some form, so I gave what I had at the time to (LAIKA CEO, animator and director) Travis Knight, and we agreed that it should be my next project. As I started to develop it, I also got involved with ‘Kubo’ and did a couple of rewrites of the script, so for a time, I was doing half a week on ‘Kubo’ and half a week on ‘Missing Link.’ After that, while ‘Kubo’ was shooting, I was in pre-production on this.”

Opening in theaters nationwide Friday, “Missing Link” stars Hugh Jackman as the voice of Sir Lionel Frost, an adventurous monster hunter who, in a bid to fit in with upper-class society, sets out to prove the existence of the fabled Sasquatch in the Pacific Northwest. Much to his surprise, he locates the 8-foot-tall creature quite easily, and to his bemusement, Lionel discovers the furry behemoth can read, write and speak, too.

Seeking Lionel’s help, all this missing link (Zach Galifianakis) hopes for is to find his equally legendary cousins, the Yeti, in the Himalayas in what was thought-to-be the fantasy land of Shangri La — simply because he’s lonely and wants to be around others of his kind. The trip across the globe won’t be easy, though, since feared bounty hunter Willard Stenk (Timothy Olyphant) is pursuing Lionel and his new Sasquatch friend, who are accompanied by Adelina Fortnight (Zoe Saldana), the spunky widow of Lionel’s late partner.

With an “Indiana Jones”-type of adventure narrative (accompanied by loads of comedy) and majestic sets throughout the film, there’s no question that “Missing Link” is LAIKA’s largest production in scale to date. It’s a film meant to be seen on the big screen, and one that Butler hopes isn’t just a movie to viewers of all ages but an experience.

“When we’re making these features, we’re thinking of them as proper movies,” Butler, whose stop-motion resume also includes work on Tim Burton’s “Corpse Bride.” “I’ve said many times, but the idea that animation is just some babysitting device to plop a child in front of while you go off and do other things … that idea doesn’t work for me. What I want is to have a cinematic experience. We’re going to create an experience that families can go to together, enjoy together, laugh together and talk about. That’s important to me.”

“Missing Link“ is a PG film both kids and adults can enjoy in equal measure, one through which Butler said he wants to create the same sense of wonder that he experienced when he was growing up.

“I loved animation as a kid — it inspired me and moved me and set a course for the rest of my life,” Butler recalled. “Today, when I see or talk to kids or young students who say that ‘ParaNorman’ or ‘Coraline’ or another movie that I was involved in has changed the course of their life, that’s important to me. That’s what makes it worthwhile. The work is never a cartoon. It’s much more than that.”

Essentially, Butler said, he respects the intelligence of all of his audience members, whether they are 5 years old or an adult. The youngsters, he said, are much more perceptive than people give them credit for.

“My philosophy has always been, ‘Never talk down to kids.’ Sometimes people will query some of the decisions I’ve made or the dialogue I’ve put in the film, and will say, ‘Well, kids won’t understand that,’ and I think that’s a misunderstanding of what being a kid is,” Butler explained. “There’s so much as a child that goes over your head, but there’s also the bits that you grasp that make you grow and challenge you to think more, that challenge you to evolve, which seems to be an apt description for ‘Missing Link.’ So, for me, I try to never talk down to a kid, ever.”

United Artists

Casting Wolverine

Appropriately, Butler creates three-dimensional characters to embody the puppets his animators are bringing to life, and with that, he’s thrilled that among the cast this time is Jackman. The actor, of course, rose to prominence in the “X-Men” movies as Wolverine; but in the midst of making those superhero adventures, he’s managed to expand his palette as a song and dance man on the Broadway stage, as well as in the smash movie musicals “Les Miserables” and “The Greatest Showman.”

Because of the actor’s willingness to play all sorts of different characters, Butler said bringing Jackman into the fold on “Missing Link“ was an easy decision.

“The biggest thing he brought to the film, and it wasn’t really a surprise, but it was why I hired him, was the fact that Sir Lionel’s character is flawed. He’s self-centered and arrogant, but he becomes a much better character on his journey through the movie,” Butler said. “That’s why Hugh Jackman was vital to me. He’s so effortlessly charming that even when he’s doing bad things, you kind of like him. I knew I needed someone like that to play this character because you need to be on his side from the first step of his journey all the way through to the end.

Tim Lammers reviews movies weekly for The KQ92 Morning Show,” “KARE 11 News at 11” (NBC), WCCO Radio, WJON-AM, KLZZ-FM, “The Tom Barnard Podcast” and “The BS Show” with Bob Sansevere.

Copyright 2019 DirectConversations.com

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Film, Interviews

Interview: John C. Reilly talks ‘Stan & Ollie’

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While the names of classic comedy actors Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy may only be vaguely familiar to the newest generation of comedy fans as the new biopic about them hits theaters, that doesn’t mean audiences have never seen the work of the dynamic duo. In fact, John C. Reilly, who stars as Hardy opposite Steve Coogan’s Laurel in “Stan & Ollie,” said fans have experienced more Laurel and Hardy comedy than they’ve realized.

“If you were to ask me even before I did this movie, ‘Is Oliver Hardy a part of your acting?’ I would have said, ‘Absolutely,'” Reilly said in a recent phone conversation from Los Angeles. “I reference him all the time in ‘Wreck-It Ralph.’ There’s tons of Laurel and Hardy in that, from the sounds I make when I get clonked over the head or whatever it is.”

Reilly, who is coming off the global success of his “Wreck-It Ralph” sequel “Ralph Breaks the Internet,” added that comedians and actors all over the world really appreciate Laurel and Hardy to this day because they “figured out some universal truths about comedy.”

“If you look at their work, they don’t talk about who is the president at that time or whatever little story of the day is going on, they talk about the human experience. The quandaries they get in are not tied to a place and time; they’re just the eternal struggles of human being,” Reilly observed. “Even though comedy can be very hard to translate from one culture to another, these guys were world famous at a time when it was not so easy to cross borders with your work … there was a real sweetness and humanness to their work that made it really relatable to people.”

In a separate phone conversation, “Stan & Ollie” director Jon S. Baird said he hopes the film will launch a new appreciation of Laurel and Hardy’s work.

“The love of these guys has gone back a long, long way … Laurel and Hardy’s DNA is throughout comedy,” Baird said. “If you look hard enough for it, it’s there in every act … If you ask all the main comedians working at the moment who their influences are, Laurel and Hardy would be in there. So hopefully this film will reintroduce people to them or introduce people to them because they’ve been so influential and so important to comedy since they started.”

Opening in theaters in limited release Friday and expanding next month, “Stan and Ollie” is not a standard biopic in that it largely focuses on Laurel and Hardy in the twilight of the comedy duo’s career as the two embarked on a theater tour across Europe in the 1950s. With their career in film seemingly behind them, Laurel and Hardy throughout the tour have their hopes pinned on meeting with a financier they believe will bankroll their comeback picture years after the duo dominated the silver screen.

Oddly enough, Coogan and Reilly’s working relationship on “Stan & Ollie” mirrored Laurel and Hardy’s in that they’ve never worked together before when they signed on to do the film.

“If you know their history, they were plucked from obscurity. They were thrown together and didn’t know each other and didn’t have an act,” said Reilly, who has already earned Critics’ Choice and Golden Globe nominations for his role. “They came from very different backgrounds — Stan was from England and Oliver was from Georgia. The fact is, it was almost a decision of convenience on the part of Hal Roach when he lost Harold Lloyd when Harold went off to start his own studio. He was desperate for another act and said, (let’s put together) a fat guy and the skinny guy. It didn’t have any more subtlety than that when he made the decision.”

As a result of that decision, however, Reilly said Roach created “one of the most miraculous performing partnerships in the history of the world.”

“I can’t think of another partnership that was exclusive and had the level of quality over the number of films that these guys had,” Reilly said. “They really created something for the ages.”

Reilly was clearly humbled by the opportunity to play Hardy, and while he didn’t go so far as to say he channeled the comedy great (audiences will likely beg to differ when they see how the actor virtually disappears into the prosthetic makeup used to create Hardy), he felt there were times when he felt the magic coming through. He said he finally had the confidence that his portrayal of Hardy was working when he and Coogan performed the duo’s routines in front of the 400 extras for film’s live theater scenes.

“I looked out at the audience I could see this woman’s face just lit up with joy. We brought so much joy to that person that when I came off-stage, I got really emotional and started crying,” Reilly said. “I was thinking, ‘I may never be Oliver Hardy — and no one ever will — but at least I’m carrying the torch for him, and I’m bringing the same kind of joy that he brought to people.’ That was a moment that I felt, ‘Well, we’re doing something right. We made that lady really happy today.'”

Baird said if Coogan and Reilly had any doubts of whether they could pull off playing Laurel and Hardy, those doubts were erased when “Stan & Ollie” screened for some very discerning audience members.

“One of the major successes of the film was not only showing it to fans, but super-fans; people who have dedicated their lives to Laurel and Hardy. Trust me, there are plenty of them out there,” Baird said. “Also, there are surviving family members, like Stan’s great-granddaughter, Cassidy Cook, who we had at the London premiere. When they say to you, ‘I forgot I was watching actors. I thought I was watching my great-grandad,’ that’s an incredible thing to hear.”

Tim Lammers reviews movies weekly for The KQ92 Morning Show,” “KARE 11 News at 11” (NBC), WCCO Radio, WJON-AM, KLZZ-FM, “The Tom Barnard Podcast” and “The BS Show” with Bob Sansevere.

Copyright 2019 DirectConversations.com

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