Monday, September 24, 2007
Independent 24th September
Want to meet the creatives? Join the club
One of Britain's leading 'members-only' establishments is opening a 'walled garden' website for those who make the grade. Ian Burrell learns its first rule: no 'suits' social networking the hospital
Published: 24 September 2007
Those countless office hours spent by Britain's media workers usefully "contact building" on Facebook and MySpace may be coming to an end – for another social networking platform is being constructed in Covent Garden that claims to be tailor-made for all their needs.
And seeing as it's being organised by the Hospital Club, which is accustomed to seeing such names as Sienna Miller, Jude Law and Renée Zellweger pass through its portals, who knows who you might get to poke or befriend?
The Hospital is where The Who came to launch their new album and Radiohead chose to record theirs. It's where the comedian Catherine Tate and Atonement's director Joe Wright became mentors to young members after being given awards for their creative work. And it's where a recent exhibition juxtaposed the art of Banksy and Andy Warhol and apparently led to the guerrilla graffiti artist spray-painting a stencil of Marilyn Monroe on the pavement outside the club, hiding under the cover of his baseball cap.
The difference between the Hospital Club Online and the likes of Facebook is that the former is what the club's CEO, Will Turner, terms "a walled garden": in order to join up you either have to be a member of the club (at a cost of £600 a year), or you have to be signed in by a member, each of whom is allowed up to four invitees. Members are advised to make every attempt to avoid inviting the dreaded "suits", according to Turner.
"We want to ensure that people who join are the right people, that they are in the creative industries and that they are truly creative. This is not about adding hundreds of thousands of people each day, it's about adding tens of people who we have checked out," he says. The site, he says, will allow media people the "opportunity to promote yourself and your services to a community of your peers".
To many outside of the industry, the idea of being in an enclosed space with a mob of media types would probably be appalling. But according to Turner, whose own background is in the television and film industries, there are many suits out there who would relish the kudos of Hospital membership. "People are allowed in on recommendation, but if they turn out to be, say, the financial director of a large telecoms firm, then they will be found out. We have to be careful to make sure we don't become full of suits," he says, acknowledging that he is wearing a suit himself, though it's an orange-checked number that would cause panic in an accounts department.
A certain elitism is necessary, Turner believes, to preserve the creative energy of the club. The paradox is that the ethos of the Hospital is to encourage its members not to stand aloof but to put something back into the creative industries, particularly by mentoring Britain's up-and-coming talent. So the social networking site, which will also be home to some 30 blogs divulging gossip on all sectors of the creative industries, is designed to allow members under 30 (who get half-price subscription) and other young invitees to target the more well-known and successful in their sector and to seek from them "insight and intelligence".
Turner, 39, says: "We don't want to be for people who are sitting there smugly having made their fortune. We want people who are actively engaged, who are excited about hanging out and interacting with people who have yet to make it, and who are younger, frankly."
This week is one of the biggest in the Hospital Club calendar, when it distributes its annual awards to those deemed to have made the biggest contributions in television, publishing, journalism, interactive media, advertising, film, art, design, theatre and fashion. The judges include the actress Thandie Newton, the fashion designer Tom Ford and the journalist Jon Snow. The event is being hosted on Thursday by Mariella Frostrup. Turner says: "We say to the winners, 'If you are going to say "yes" to winning this award, then you have to commit to spend some time mentoring during the year.' I have been pleasantly surprised that everyone so far has agreed."
The mentoring commitment is part of what Turner sees as the "philanthropic" element of the club's philosophy. "It can sound worthy but it's supposed to be celebratory and fun. We see no contradiction between being commercially run by a private-equity company out of Seattle and being philanthropic. There's a virtuous circle with these two elements." The club's owner is Paul Allen, the co-founder of Microsoft, who runs it through his private equity firm Vulcan Inc.
Based on musician Dave Stewart's vision for a creative melting pot in the heart of London, the club had something of a traumatic start. Opening in 2003 in a seven-storey former Victorian maternity hospital, it ran up debts and soon became in need of intensive care itself. Turner, a former head of Sky Pictures who later became BSkyB's head of content strategy, joined as CEO in September 2005 with the task of resuscitating it.
The club, which played host at this year's Hay-on-Wye and Glastonbury festivals, is now expanding overseas, with a new outpost set to open in the fashionable Hackescher Markt district of Berlin. Further Hospital clubs are being planned in New York, where it will rival Soho House as a home-from-home for British ex-pats, and Shanghai. These overseas clubs will not simply replicate the mothership but will attempt to champion the local creative industries.
To outsiders, the Hospital might be just another one of London's private members's clubs, a newcomer to rival the Groucho, Soho House and the rest. Turner, though, insists that exclusivity is not the point. "We don't view ourselves as a private members club," he says. "We are a club for creative entrepreneurs. We are for people who make stuff and people that make stuff happen." Just leave the whistle and flute in the wardrobe.
One of Britain's leading 'members-only' establishments is opening a 'walled garden' website for those who make the grade. Ian Burrell learns its first rule: no 'suits' social networking the hospital
Published: 24 September 2007
Those countless office hours spent by Britain's media workers usefully "contact building" on Facebook and MySpace may be coming to an end – for another social networking platform is being constructed in Covent Garden that claims to be tailor-made for all their needs.
And seeing as it's being organised by the Hospital Club, which is accustomed to seeing such names as Sienna Miller, Jude Law and Renée Zellweger pass through its portals, who knows who you might get to poke or befriend?
The Hospital is where The Who came to launch their new album and Radiohead chose to record theirs. It's where the comedian Catherine Tate and Atonement's director Joe Wright became mentors to young members after being given awards for their creative work. And it's where a recent exhibition juxtaposed the art of Banksy and Andy Warhol and apparently led to the guerrilla graffiti artist spray-painting a stencil of Marilyn Monroe on the pavement outside the club, hiding under the cover of his baseball cap.
The difference between the Hospital Club Online and the likes of Facebook is that the former is what the club's CEO, Will Turner, terms "a walled garden": in order to join up you either have to be a member of the club (at a cost of £600 a year), or you have to be signed in by a member, each of whom is allowed up to four invitees. Members are advised to make every attempt to avoid inviting the dreaded "suits", according to Turner.
"We want to ensure that people who join are the right people, that they are in the creative industries and that they are truly creative. This is not about adding hundreds of thousands of people each day, it's about adding tens of people who we have checked out," he says. The site, he says, will allow media people the "opportunity to promote yourself and your services to a community of your peers".
To many outside of the industry, the idea of being in an enclosed space with a mob of media types would probably be appalling. But according to Turner, whose own background is in the television and film industries, there are many suits out there who would relish the kudos of Hospital membership. "People are allowed in on recommendation, but if they turn out to be, say, the financial director of a large telecoms firm, then they will be found out. We have to be careful to make sure we don't become full of suits," he says, acknowledging that he is wearing a suit himself, though it's an orange-checked number that would cause panic in an accounts department.
A certain elitism is necessary, Turner believes, to preserve the creative energy of the club. The paradox is that the ethos of the Hospital is to encourage its members not to stand aloof but to put something back into the creative industries, particularly by mentoring Britain's up-and-coming talent. So the social networking site, which will also be home to some 30 blogs divulging gossip on all sectors of the creative industries, is designed to allow members under 30 (who get half-price subscription) and other young invitees to target the more well-known and successful in their sector and to seek from them "insight and intelligence".
Turner, 39, says: "We don't want to be for people who are sitting there smugly having made their fortune. We want people who are actively engaged, who are excited about hanging out and interacting with people who have yet to make it, and who are younger, frankly."
This week is one of the biggest in the Hospital Club calendar, when it distributes its annual awards to those deemed to have made the biggest contributions in television, publishing, journalism, interactive media, advertising, film, art, design, theatre and fashion. The judges include the actress Thandie Newton, the fashion designer Tom Ford and the journalist Jon Snow. The event is being hosted on Thursday by Mariella Frostrup. Turner says: "We say to the winners, 'If you are going to say "yes" to winning this award, then you have to commit to spend some time mentoring during the year.' I have been pleasantly surprised that everyone so far has agreed."
The mentoring commitment is part of what Turner sees as the "philanthropic" element of the club's philosophy. "It can sound worthy but it's supposed to be celebratory and fun. We see no contradiction between being commercially run by a private-equity company out of Seattle and being philanthropic. There's a virtuous circle with these two elements." The club's owner is Paul Allen, the co-founder of Microsoft, who runs it through his private equity firm Vulcan Inc.
Based on musician Dave Stewart's vision for a creative melting pot in the heart of London, the club had something of a traumatic start. Opening in 2003 in a seven-storey former Victorian maternity hospital, it ran up debts and soon became in need of intensive care itself. Turner, a former head of Sky Pictures who later became BSkyB's head of content strategy, joined as CEO in September 2005 with the task of resuscitating it.
The club, which played host at this year's Hay-on-Wye and Glastonbury festivals, is now expanding overseas, with a new outpost set to open in the fashionable Hackescher Markt district of Berlin. Further Hospital clubs are being planned in New York, where it will rival Soho House as a home-from-home for British ex-pats, and Shanghai. These overseas clubs will not simply replicate the mothership but will attempt to champion the local creative industries.
To outsiders, the Hospital might be just another one of London's private members's clubs, a newcomer to rival the Groucho, Soho House and the rest. Turner, though, insists that exclusivity is not the point. "We don't view ourselves as a private members club," he says. "We are a club for creative entrepreneurs. We are for people who make stuff and people that make stuff happen." Just leave the whistle and flute in the wardrobe.
Sunday, September 23, 2007
Man of mystery returns in SoHo New York
This man was last spotted with Thandie in Soho, London, pictures are on Rex Features. A few years back
Must be a friend its not her father.
Saturday, September 22, 2007
Friday, September 21, 2007
Thursday, September 20, 2007
How Thandie gained a love for humanity
How Thandie gained a love for humanity
"IT MADE me more compassionate", says Thandie Newton when the Newsasks what she gained most from studying anthropology in Cambridge. "I'm really tolerant of people's behaviour, and how all kinds of things can motivate people to act in ways which, on the surface, we think of as negative or damaging."
Chatting to the petite star at the premiere of her latest film, Run, Fat Boy, Run, it's hard to imagine her poring over dusty library books in Cambridge, where she was a student in the early 90s. And it's even harder to picture her looking less glamorous than now, despite her recent confession to dressing "more like Obi-Wan Kenobi" than a trend-setting starlet while at university.
Cambridge graduate and film star Thandie Newton
Today (Thursday, 20 September), as Thandie stops to sign autographs for fans and pose for photographers on the red carpet, she looks every inch the star, clad in a simple but eye-catching designer dress, hair elegantly slicked back in a long ponytail, and groomed to perfection.
Though it's more than a decade since she graduated, Thandie still remembers her Cambridge days as an "amazing" experience. And she has her Zimbabwean mother - a Shona princess - to thank for encouraging her to continue her education, despite having already embarked on a flourishing movie career. "I think partly because acting wasn't something I'd studied for years, my mum just wanted me to keep my feet on the ground and always have something I could fall back on, and for her that's education."
Thandie had already had a taste of showbiz in her teens, studying dance at Hertfordshire's Arts Educational School, and, when a back injury put an end to that, making her acting debut alongside Nicole Kidman in the Australian coming-of-age film Flirting. And her big screen appearances didn't stop there. While at Cambridge, Thandie successfully juggled her degree with roles in films such as Jefferson in Parisand The Journey of August King.
So, unlike many of her fellow students, Thandie didn't spend her time at Downing College joining societies and socialising - she was busy hanging out with the likes of Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt, her co-stars in Interview With The Vampire, instead.
"I worked intensely at college," she is quoted as saying recently. "I wouldn't go to the bar or to parties so I probably ended up working as hard, if not harder, than the others. And I got a 2:1, which I was pretty pleased with." Not bad for someone who studied for her finals at the Cannes Film Festival!
Thandie admits it was her time at Cambridge that helped her find an unhurried route to acting success. "It allowed me to just stop for a second . . .
it just slowed me down . . . because, you know, with Hollywood and the acting industry, it's not just the work, there's a lot of other stuff that goes on, which is useful - the parties, the social networking and so on - and that's the stuff I didn't get to do. But I think, being so young, I'm really grateful that I didn't do that, because you can burn out so fast."
These days the 34-year-old balances shooting in Hollywood opposite the likes of Eddie Murphy (Norbit) and Will Smith (The Pursuit of Happyness), with filming at home in England. "It's very nice to go home every night!"
admits Thandie, who lives with her two young daughters and writerdirector husband, Ol Parker, in London.
While filming in London was a bonus, it certainly wasn't the only thing that attracted Thandie to her latest role in romantic comedy Run, Fat Boy, Run. It was actually eight little words in the covering letter that arrived with the script that sold Thandie on the idea: "directed by David Schwimmer and starring Simon Pegg".
"I didn't really know Simon at the time which is why I leapt at the chance to do it," she tells the News. "I hadn't met David either, but I had heard about his work in theatre and he just sounded like a completely lovely person and very talented, so I wanted to do it on that basis.
Actually," she adds, laughing, "David is too well-adjusted, he's too down-to-earth. I need to get a private detective on him because I don't believe someone like him can be so normal!"
Although the film sees Schwimmer at the helm of his first feature, it's clear that Thandie rates the former Friendsstar as a director. "He's a real visualist, as well as being completely in touch with the characters," she reveals. "And the great thing about having a director who's not from a place coming to direct is that they can almost introduce you to somewhere you thought you knew so well and take for granted."
And it seems Thandie will be enjoying life at home in London for some time yet. "I've just finished making a film with Guy Ritchie called RocknRolla, which was also shot in London and comes out next year," she says.
"And then it's been a busy year, so I'm just taking a bit of a chill out."
■ Run, Fat Boy, Runis in cinemas now.
"IT MADE me more compassionate", says Thandie Newton when the Newsasks what she gained most from studying anthropology in Cambridge. "I'm really tolerant of people's behaviour, and how all kinds of things can motivate people to act in ways which, on the surface, we think of as negative or damaging."
Chatting to the petite star at the premiere of her latest film, Run, Fat Boy, Run, it's hard to imagine her poring over dusty library books in Cambridge, where she was a student in the early 90s. And it's even harder to picture her looking less glamorous than now, despite her recent confession to dressing "more like Obi-Wan Kenobi" than a trend-setting starlet while at university.
Cambridge graduate and film star Thandie Newton
Today (Thursday, 20 September), as Thandie stops to sign autographs for fans and pose for photographers on the red carpet, she looks every inch the star, clad in a simple but eye-catching designer dress, hair elegantly slicked back in a long ponytail, and groomed to perfection.
Though it's more than a decade since she graduated, Thandie still remembers her Cambridge days as an "amazing" experience. And she has her Zimbabwean mother - a Shona princess - to thank for encouraging her to continue her education, despite having already embarked on a flourishing movie career. "I think partly because acting wasn't something I'd studied for years, my mum just wanted me to keep my feet on the ground and always have something I could fall back on, and for her that's education."
Thandie had already had a taste of showbiz in her teens, studying dance at Hertfordshire's Arts Educational School, and, when a back injury put an end to that, making her acting debut alongside Nicole Kidman in the Australian coming-of-age film Flirting. And her big screen appearances didn't stop there. While at Cambridge, Thandie successfully juggled her degree with roles in films such as Jefferson in Parisand The Journey of August King.
So, unlike many of her fellow students, Thandie didn't spend her time at Downing College joining societies and socialising - she was busy hanging out with the likes of Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt, her co-stars in Interview With The Vampire, instead.
"I worked intensely at college," she is quoted as saying recently. "I wouldn't go to the bar or to parties so I probably ended up working as hard, if not harder, than the others. And I got a 2:1, which I was pretty pleased with." Not bad for someone who studied for her finals at the Cannes Film Festival!
Thandie admits it was her time at Cambridge that helped her find an unhurried route to acting success. "It allowed me to just stop for a second . . .
it just slowed me down . . . because, you know, with Hollywood and the acting industry, it's not just the work, there's a lot of other stuff that goes on, which is useful - the parties, the social networking and so on - and that's the stuff I didn't get to do. But I think, being so young, I'm really grateful that I didn't do that, because you can burn out so fast."
These days the 34-year-old balances shooting in Hollywood opposite the likes of Eddie Murphy (Norbit) and Will Smith (The Pursuit of Happyness), with filming at home in England. "It's very nice to go home every night!"
admits Thandie, who lives with her two young daughters and writerdirector husband, Ol Parker, in London.
While filming in London was a bonus, it certainly wasn't the only thing that attracted Thandie to her latest role in romantic comedy Run, Fat Boy, Run. It was actually eight little words in the covering letter that arrived with the script that sold Thandie on the idea: "directed by David Schwimmer and starring Simon Pegg".
"I didn't really know Simon at the time which is why I leapt at the chance to do it," she tells the News. "I hadn't met David either, but I had heard about his work in theatre and he just sounded like a completely lovely person and very talented, so I wanted to do it on that basis.
Actually," she adds, laughing, "David is too well-adjusted, he's too down-to-earth. I need to get a private detective on him because I don't believe someone like him can be so normal!"
Although the film sees Schwimmer at the helm of his first feature, it's clear that Thandie rates the former Friendsstar as a director. "He's a real visualist, as well as being completely in touch with the characters," she reveals. "And the great thing about having a director who's not from a place coming to direct is that they can almost introduce you to somewhere you thought you knew so well and take for granted."
And it seems Thandie will be enjoying life at home in London for some time yet. "I've just finished making a film with Guy Ritchie called RocknRolla, which was also shot in London and comes out next year," she says.
"And then it's been a busy year, so I'm just taking a bit of a chill out."
■ Run, Fat Boy, Runis in cinemas now.
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
US Trailer for Run Fat Boy Run
I tried to embed this here but it kept killing the page.
source is http://trailer-spot.livejournal.com/157111.html
Trailer is more focused at US market and features Thandie
more, there is a HD version in the above link.
Quinn
source is http://trailer-spot.livejournal.com/157111.html
Trailer is more focused at US market and features Thandie
more, there is a HD version in the above link.
Quinn
Monday, September 17, 2007
.jpg)
Sunday, September 16, 2007
Production notes for Run Fat Boy Run
Thandie Newton
Libby
BAFTA Award-winning Thandie Newton is not only one of the world's great beauties, but an actress of uncommon talent and range.
Newton was recently seen in Gabriele Muccino's critically acclaimed box office hit ‘The Pursuit of Happyness’, opposite Will Smith as Smith's estranged wife and in Brian Robbins' comedy ‘Norbit’ opposite Eddie Murphy.
Newton was praised for her work in the Academy Award-winning Best Picture of 2006: ‘Crash’, the story of a multiracial group of characters whose lives interconnect following a car accident in Los Angeles. For her performance Thandie received BAFTA (Supporting Actress) and SAG (Best Ensemble) Awards.
Born in London to a Zimbabwean mother and an English father, Thandie was raised in London and Zambia until she was three years old. Due to political unrest in Zambia, her family then relocated to England permanently.
At age 16, while studying modern dance at London’s Arts Educational School, she won the lead role opposite Nicole Kidman in John Duigan's critically acclaimed 1990 coming-of-age film, ‘Flirting’, playing a Ugandan girl isolated in an Australian Ladies Academy who begins a romance with a teenage boy from a neighbouring boarding school. After completing the film, Thandie returned to England to continue her education, earning a B.A. (Hons) in anthropology at Cambridge University, while also acting in feature films for some of Hollywood's most acclaimed directors - including Neil Jordan's ‘Interview with a Vampire’ and James Ivory's ‘Jefferson in Paris.’ Newton also appeared as a troubled singer opposite Tupac Shakur and Tim Roth in Vondie Curtis-Hall's comedy-drama, ‘Gridlock’d’ and won critics' praise as the exiled wife of an African leader in Bernardo Bertolucci's ‘Besieged.’
Other credits include Jonathan Demme's contemporary romantic thriller ‘The Truth about Charlie’, inspired by Stanley Donen's 1963 film ‘Charade’ and the John Woo-helmed action film ‘Mission Impossible 2.’
Thandie received rave reviews for her astonishingly original and bold performance as the title character in Jonathan Demme's 1998 adaptation of Toni Morrison's novel, ‘Beloved,’ co-starring Oprah Winfrey.
On television, Newton made recurring guest appearances as Kem, a Congolese Aid Worker on NBC's hit drama ‘ER’, opposite Noah Wyle. It marked Thandie's American television debut.
Thandie Newton resides in England with her husband, writer/director Ol Parker, and two children.
Libby
BAFTA Award-winning Thandie Newton is not only one of the world's great beauties, but an actress of uncommon talent and range.
Newton was recently seen in Gabriele Muccino's critically acclaimed box office hit ‘The Pursuit of Happyness’, opposite Will Smith as Smith's estranged wife and in Brian Robbins' comedy ‘Norbit’ opposite Eddie Murphy.
Newton was praised for her work in the Academy Award-winning Best Picture of 2006: ‘Crash’, the story of a multiracial group of characters whose lives interconnect following a car accident in Los Angeles. For her performance Thandie received BAFTA (Supporting Actress) and SAG (Best Ensemble) Awards.
Born in London to a Zimbabwean mother and an English father, Thandie was raised in London and Zambia until she was three years old. Due to political unrest in Zambia, her family then relocated to England permanently.
At age 16, while studying modern dance at London’s Arts Educational School, she won the lead role opposite Nicole Kidman in John Duigan's critically acclaimed 1990 coming-of-age film, ‘Flirting’, playing a Ugandan girl isolated in an Australian Ladies Academy who begins a romance with a teenage boy from a neighbouring boarding school. After completing the film, Thandie returned to England to continue her education, earning a B.A. (Hons) in anthropology at Cambridge University, while also acting in feature films for some of Hollywood's most acclaimed directors - including Neil Jordan's ‘Interview with a Vampire’ and James Ivory's ‘Jefferson in Paris.’ Newton also appeared as a troubled singer opposite Tupac Shakur and Tim Roth in Vondie Curtis-Hall's comedy-drama, ‘Gridlock’d’ and won critics' praise as the exiled wife of an African leader in Bernardo Bertolucci's ‘Besieged.’
Other credits include Jonathan Demme's contemporary romantic thriller ‘The Truth about Charlie’, inspired by Stanley Donen's 1963 film ‘Charade’ and the John Woo-helmed action film ‘Mission Impossible 2.’
Thandie received rave reviews for her astonishingly original and bold performance as the title character in Jonathan Demme's 1998 adaptation of Toni Morrison's novel, ‘Beloved,’ co-starring Oprah Winfrey.
On television, Newton made recurring guest appearances as Kem, a Congolese Aid Worker on NBC's hit drama ‘ER’, opposite Noah Wyle. It marked Thandie's American television debut.
Thandie Newton resides in England with her husband, writer/director Ol Parker, and two children.
Saturday, September 15, 2007
Friday, September 14, 2007
Thandie Newton interview
Run, Fat Boy, Run - Thandie Newton interview
Interview by Rob Carnevale
THANDIE Newton talks about the pleasure of appearing in Run, Fat Boy, Run and establishing a believable mother-son relationship with her young co-star…
Q. Was it nice to do something closer to home after roles in Crash, The Pursuit of Happyness and Norbit?Thandie Newton: Yeah, I was sent the script but it was the cover letter actually. I didn’t need to read it [the script]. It was directed by David [Schwimmer] and starred Simon Pegg. I didn’t know Simon at the time, which was why I leapt at the chance to do it. That was a dream come true. I’d also heard about David’s work in theatre and a few of my friends knew him and he sounded like a completely lovely person and incredibly talented too. I’ve admired Simon’s work for many years, so I wanted to do it on that basis.
Then when I met David and he talked about how he wanted to portray London and how he didn’t want to play the film for laughs, but with an authenticity and have the humour come out of that. I think that’s one of the strongest things about the film – it’s hilarious but everything is rooted in realism.
Simon Pegg: Well, I think that’s the least believable moment… it’s the moment in the film that requires the most suspension of disbelief – that I would jilt you at the altar [laughs]. Hang on a minute, Lord of the Rings is more convincing than that!
Thandie Newton: [Laughs] I genuinely think that what’s so lovely about the film is that you realise he [Pegg’s character] does that because he’s motivated by his lack of self worth. I think that’s really sophisticated and it’s very modern to have that kind of predicament in a film.
Q. Did you envy the physical element of the film and not being able to get out there and run with them?Thandie Newton: No, not at all. In fact, before we started shooting David, very reasonably, said: “We want these characters to be real, how can we make you a girl next door?” So we looked at costumes and hairstyles and he said: “Just get friendly with puddings!” I can’t remember exactly what he said but something like that! So I did and that was easy. Simon got prosthetic breasts, bum and tummy. I thought it was quite unfair really.
Q. How did you go about establishing a maternal bond with Matthew?Thandie Newton: A couple of times he came over to my house with him mum and hung out with my kids. He’s lovely and we’ll continue doing that. I get on very well with his mum. He was so much part of all of us – the cast and the crew. At the beginning of the movie as well, David gave Simon and Matthew really cool light sabres and I was really jealous. I got a beautiful candle but I would have loved a light sabre. But I think the presence of him mum there all the time was also really important. They’re just a lovely, down to earth family – they were grateful for the opportunity and were proud of Matthew. He had a tutor on the set as well, so in breaks he’d go and have lessons. It was a really great set-up.
Interview by Rob Carnevale
THANDIE Newton talks about the pleasure of appearing in Run, Fat Boy, Run and establishing a believable mother-son relationship with her young co-star…
Q. Was it nice to do something closer to home after roles in Crash, The Pursuit of Happyness and Norbit?Thandie Newton: Yeah, I was sent the script but it was the cover letter actually. I didn’t need to read it [the script]. It was directed by David [Schwimmer] and starred Simon Pegg. I didn’t know Simon at the time, which was why I leapt at the chance to do it. That was a dream come true. I’d also heard about David’s work in theatre and a few of my friends knew him and he sounded like a completely lovely person and incredibly talented too. I’ve admired Simon’s work for many years, so I wanted to do it on that basis.
Then when I met David and he talked about how he wanted to portray London and how he didn’t want to play the film for laughs, but with an authenticity and have the humour come out of that. I think that’s one of the strongest things about the film – it’s hilarious but everything is rooted in realism.
Simon Pegg: Well, I think that’s the least believable moment… it’s the moment in the film that requires the most suspension of disbelief – that I would jilt you at the altar [laughs]. Hang on a minute, Lord of the Rings is more convincing than that!
Thandie Newton: [Laughs] I genuinely think that what’s so lovely about the film is that you realise he [Pegg’s character] does that because he’s motivated by his lack of self worth. I think that’s really sophisticated and it’s very modern to have that kind of predicament in a film.
Q. Did you envy the physical element of the film and not being able to get out there and run with them?Thandie Newton: No, not at all. In fact, before we started shooting David, very reasonably, said: “We want these characters to be real, how can we make you a girl next door?” So we looked at costumes and hairstyles and he said: “Just get friendly with puddings!” I can’t remember exactly what he said but something like that! So I did and that was easy. Simon got prosthetic breasts, bum and tummy. I thought it was quite unfair really.
Q. How did you go about establishing a maternal bond with Matthew?Thandie Newton: A couple of times he came over to my house with him mum and hung out with my kids. He’s lovely and we’ll continue doing that. I get on very well with his mum. He was so much part of all of us – the cast and the crew. At the beginning of the movie as well, David gave Simon and Matthew really cool light sabres and I was really jealous. I got a beautiful candle but I would have loved a light sabre. But I think the presence of him mum there all the time was also really important. They’re just a lovely, down to earth family – they were grateful for the opportunity and were proud of Matthew. He had a tutor on the set as well, so in breaks he’d go and have lessons. It was a really great set-up.
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Monday, September 10, 2007
Toronto International Film Festival
Run, Fat Boy, Run (David Schwimmer) 6/10
Relentlessly conventional, though better than it has any right to be, thanks to Simon Pegg and Dylan Moran, who give completely committed performances. David Schwimmer pulls off one particularly nice scene towards the end (Pegg finally hitting the runner's wall), but plays it safe throughout, which works for the film. Bonus points for the best Q&A of the festival so far, with a funny Pegg, a drunk Thandie Newton, an outburst from Nick Frost, and the Mayor of Toronto, the single most obnoxious audience member I've seen this year.
Saturday, September 08, 2007
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)