Post by magpie on Aug 22, 2007 3:48:35 GMT -5
(Okay i came across this interview with Undiscivered stars Steven and Pell. Honestly Steven was the only thing that made that movie bearable but this interview is brilliant.)
Interview with Steven Strait and Pell James from "Undiscovered"
By Rebecaa Murray
INTERVIEW WITH STEVEN STRAIT AND PELL JAMES:
Steven, how close is your personal style of music to your character’s?
Steven Strait: “My music’s primarily rock and roll and it really depends on the song and what the song’s trying to convey - the type of rock it is.
Whether it’s slower and closer to blues or harder and closer to metal, it doesn’t really matter. It really just depends on what the song is trying to convey and what music is most appropriate for that.”
After making your film debut in “Sky High,” what made you choose “Undiscovered” next?
Steven Strait: “I think the story’s something that we certainly all want to believe - that love can prevail over even the harshest boundaries that rock and roll can really throw into something. But I think it gave me the unique opportunity to do two things that I love to do in one project and it’s so rare for that to happen. I really wasn’t even planning to do music out here, so, it was a great experience.”
What was it like working with this cast?
Pell James: “It was really fun. It was cool. We all come… Well, Steven and I actually like have more of a similar background. We actually lived like a block and a half away from each other in New York. It was just so weird we didn’t know each other for like five and a half years, but we kind of have a similar [background]. We studied theater and then have a couple things under our belt.
And then Kip [Pardue’s] worked a lot and he’s really good. Ashlee [Simpson’s] like this teen sensation, which is really weird to be a part of…so that was really bizarre. And it was really cool working with Carrie Fisher because [she’s] Princess Leia. That’s awesome, so it was really fun. You talk…”
Steven Strait: “I think it was such a good thing to have a group of people who were so down to earth and really there to work. There were no egos on set and it made things so much better and so much easier and so much more comfortable to be in the scene with people like that.”
Pell James: [Laughing] “Should we tell them what we really think? The real crap that went down?”
Steven Strait: “And, you know, working with Pell who is a phenomenal actress.”
Pell James: “Who?”
Steven Strait: “Pell James. And Carrie Fisher and Peter Weller and Kip Pardue and Shannyn Sossamon who have all done great work in the past.”
What about working with Ashlee Simpson? Was it what you expected?
Steven Strait: “Ashlee? Ashlee... I didn’t really know what to expect, to be honest. I wasn’t all that familiar with the stuff that she had done.”
Pell James: “Don’t let him bs you. He’s like every day, ‘Will you sign my football? Will you sign this?’ [Laughing] We had to move their trailers apart. But she was so nice. He’s really like politically correct and I’m like, ‘I didn’t have any expectations.’ I was nervous because like what do you expect from someone who is… How old is Ashlee? Like 19 and this multi-million dollar super star? I was really nervous. I was like, ‘Oh God, what’s it gonna be like?’
She’s so nice, and she knew all her lines. She came in, she did it, and she knew my lines - which helped a lot. Like seriously, she’s like this little machine at work. And then after work she would go and record albums and then fly away for the weekend and go do concerts, or like wave at a parade one time. Seriously, she has this crazy 24-7 work life. So it’s really impressive and she’s nice.”
How do you think she copes with all that?
Pell James: “I asked her that, too. I was like, ‘How do you do all this?’ And she said she just she doesn’t know any different. She’s like, ‘This is my life.’ She enjoys it so it’s not like an issue for her. It’s how she lives. She can handle it, but it’s so tiring just even listening to it. It’s like, ‘Good Lord!’”
So how was working with the skateboarding dog?
Pell James: “Oh God…the f***king dog!” I’m glad there’s no camera [here]. It’s like, ‘So how’s the puppy?’ [In a sing song, parody voice of being super sweet and sappy] ‘I love the dog. He’s so much fun, so cute.’ Like he’s a d**k.”
Steven Strait: “You may want to call the dog’s publicist.”
[Laughing] The dog didn’t do the press interviews so we can talk about him.
Steven Strait: “The nerve, really. The dog actually, it’s really quite amazing. He would bark at these skateboarders. They actually lived in Venice and they brought in the skateboards and went down the street so the owner was like, ‘I’m just gonna throw a skateboard in the backyard, maybe he’ll get used to it.’ An hour later, he was on the skateboard, self taught, doing these circles.
He’ll literally – if there’s a skateboard in front of him, he’ll go insane.”
Pell James: “And he wipes out on it, he picks it up, he brings it up the hill and goes back down.”
Steven Strait: “It’s unbelievable – and he’s flying! He’s hitting people, and he’s going around things! Amazing.”
Pell James: [Laughing] “He’d be really good if he didn’t have a drug problem!”
Who’s the better skateboarder?
Steven Strait: “The dog.”
Pell James: “Have you ever seen me?”
Steven Strait: “I guess I shouldn’t jump to any conclusions!”
Steven, if you had to choose, which would you pick - music or acting?
Steven Strait: “You know, I’ve always looked at myself primarily as an actor. I studied it for many years and it’s something that I went to school for. This whole music thing kind of fell into my lap and it’s always been more private to me. A lot of people, even in my family, didn’t even know I sang. And I’ve never invited people to gigs and stuff like that…”
What happens now that they have seen "Undiscovered?"
Steven Strait: “Well they heard the soundtrack and they were like, ‘Wow, when did you learn how to do that?’ I was like, ‘In the shower.’”
Pell James: “That could be a movie! [Laughing] I’m going into producing.”
Steve Strait: “I would have to say that I would pick acting over music. Because I do music in my free time anyway and it’s always going to be something – it’s always going to be a passion. It’s moving forward very quickly and hopefully I can do both.”
Pell, all the other young actors sing in this movie. Why didn’t you give it a try?
Pell James: “I tried. I tried but they kicked me off. That would be awesome one day. Maybe part two, like Brier gets the itch to sing, you know? Maybe if you [nodding at Steven] don’t have the game to step up to be rock star, maybe this girl would. I’d be like Lita Ford. [Looking at Steven] You don’t even know who Lita Ford is, do you?”
Steven Strait: “Yes I do.”
Pell James: “Okay, just checking. The song I played in my trailer every night, remember that? Kiss me once, kiss me deadly? I had that on my answering machine. Like, ‘Had a few beers, got in a fight…’”
Pell, your character is a model who wants to become an actress. Have you ever modeled before?
Pell James: “I was in ‘Seventeen’ once and had cucumbers over my eyes. It’s really like, ‘Guys, you really have to read Seventeen…’ I was like, ‘Yeah, I’m under the cucumbers.’”
What’s next for both of you? Have you shot anything since completing “Undiscovered?”
Pell James: “This is it, we’re done. No more, we’re going back home. I just got a David Fincher film [‘Zodiac’] yesterday that I’m really excited. I’m so excited. I get hacked, which is really exciting. The coolest thing is that I have to go get a full body cast, which is amazing when you work with the special effects people.”
Fincher can be very secretive. What can you say about your role?
Pell James: “Okay, let me tell you where we’re shooting, post it on the Internet… [Laughing] I play, s**t, well I play Celia Shepard, one of the girls who gets murdered. But I’m really excited about the whole thing. And then I’m shooting another movie with Todd Williams, opposite Seann William Scott called “Train Wreck” which shoots in New York in the fall. And Steven over here, can I tell them what you’re doing? [Steven shakes his head yes] Steven is about to start production in October on ‘The Covenant.’ I know his life now!’ ‘The Covenant’ is...it’s a dirty movie [laughing]. He plays a Dirk Diggler-like character…”
Steven Strait: “I’m doing this movie called ‘The Covenant’ starting in October with Renny Harlin over in Montreal. And then in January I start with…”
Pell James: “John Polson is directing…”
Steven Strait: “John Polson is directing ‘Deal.’”
Pell James: “Which I’m really excited for. I know the other one’s cool, too, but I’m really excited about ‘Deal.’”
What’s “Deal” about?
Steven Strait: “‘Deal’ is about a sort of a high-end heroin [deal]. It’s a big, big drug scam. I don’t want to give away too much of it.”
Who do you play?
Steven Strait: “It’s the lead. It’s the point man who basically gets the clients to come in from out of town to sell them the drugs.”
Steven, now that you’ve done a couple of movies, have you started experiencing the screaming girls and are you ready for the attention that comes with a certain level of fame?
Pell James: “I don’t even know if there’s going to be a difference because, seriously, when we go out and hang out, it’s like girls go ga-ga! It’s insane. So I can imagine you’re going to be stalked.”
Steve Strait: “I don’t know. I mean, I kind of remove myself in a lot of ways from Hollywood. I live in downtown Los Angeles and people there… It reminds me a lot of New York and people are generally happy for you and don’t really care.”
Pell James: “Not a lot of junior highs in the area…”
Steven Strait: “But I think, you know, in a certain way I’ve come across it a few times and it’s always flattering to know that people appreciate your work and…”
Do 12 year old girls often come up and tell you what a great actor you are?
Pell James: [Laughing] “Or do they just want to marry you?”
Steven Strait: “It’s great. t’s interesting. Let’s see how many shades of red you can turn me.”
(http://movies.about.com/od/wannabe/a/undiscss082105.htm)
Interview with Steven Strait and Pell James from "Undiscovered"
By Rebecaa Murray
INTERVIEW WITH STEVEN STRAIT AND PELL JAMES:
Steven, how close is your personal style of music to your character’s?
Steven Strait: “My music’s primarily rock and roll and it really depends on the song and what the song’s trying to convey - the type of rock it is.
Whether it’s slower and closer to blues or harder and closer to metal, it doesn’t really matter. It really just depends on what the song is trying to convey and what music is most appropriate for that.”
After making your film debut in “Sky High,” what made you choose “Undiscovered” next?
Steven Strait: “I think the story’s something that we certainly all want to believe - that love can prevail over even the harshest boundaries that rock and roll can really throw into something. But I think it gave me the unique opportunity to do two things that I love to do in one project and it’s so rare for that to happen. I really wasn’t even planning to do music out here, so, it was a great experience.”
What was it like working with this cast?
Pell James: “It was really fun. It was cool. We all come… Well, Steven and I actually like have more of a similar background. We actually lived like a block and a half away from each other in New York. It was just so weird we didn’t know each other for like five and a half years, but we kind of have a similar [background]. We studied theater and then have a couple things under our belt.
And then Kip [Pardue’s] worked a lot and he’s really good. Ashlee [Simpson’s] like this teen sensation, which is really weird to be a part of…so that was really bizarre. And it was really cool working with Carrie Fisher because [she’s] Princess Leia. That’s awesome, so it was really fun. You talk…”
Steven Strait: “I think it was such a good thing to have a group of people who were so down to earth and really there to work. There were no egos on set and it made things so much better and so much easier and so much more comfortable to be in the scene with people like that.”
Pell James: [Laughing] “Should we tell them what we really think? The real crap that went down?”
Steven Strait: “And, you know, working with Pell who is a phenomenal actress.”
Pell James: “Who?”
Steven Strait: “Pell James. And Carrie Fisher and Peter Weller and Kip Pardue and Shannyn Sossamon who have all done great work in the past.”
What about working with Ashlee Simpson? Was it what you expected?
Steven Strait: “Ashlee? Ashlee... I didn’t really know what to expect, to be honest. I wasn’t all that familiar with the stuff that she had done.”
Pell James: “Don’t let him bs you. He’s like every day, ‘Will you sign my football? Will you sign this?’ [Laughing] We had to move their trailers apart. But she was so nice. He’s really like politically correct and I’m like, ‘I didn’t have any expectations.’ I was nervous because like what do you expect from someone who is… How old is Ashlee? Like 19 and this multi-million dollar super star? I was really nervous. I was like, ‘Oh God, what’s it gonna be like?’
She’s so nice, and she knew all her lines. She came in, she did it, and she knew my lines - which helped a lot. Like seriously, she’s like this little machine at work. And then after work she would go and record albums and then fly away for the weekend and go do concerts, or like wave at a parade one time. Seriously, she has this crazy 24-7 work life. So it’s really impressive and she’s nice.”
How do you think she copes with all that?
Pell James: “I asked her that, too. I was like, ‘How do you do all this?’ And she said she just she doesn’t know any different. She’s like, ‘This is my life.’ She enjoys it so it’s not like an issue for her. It’s how she lives. She can handle it, but it’s so tiring just even listening to it. It’s like, ‘Good Lord!’”
So how was working with the skateboarding dog?
Pell James: “Oh God…the f***king dog!” I’m glad there’s no camera [here]. It’s like, ‘So how’s the puppy?’ [In a sing song, parody voice of being super sweet and sappy] ‘I love the dog. He’s so much fun, so cute.’ Like he’s a d**k.”
Steven Strait: “You may want to call the dog’s publicist.”
[Laughing] The dog didn’t do the press interviews so we can talk about him.
Steven Strait: “The nerve, really. The dog actually, it’s really quite amazing. He would bark at these skateboarders. They actually lived in Venice and they brought in the skateboards and went down the street so the owner was like, ‘I’m just gonna throw a skateboard in the backyard, maybe he’ll get used to it.’ An hour later, he was on the skateboard, self taught, doing these circles.
He’ll literally – if there’s a skateboard in front of him, he’ll go insane.”
Pell James: “And he wipes out on it, he picks it up, he brings it up the hill and goes back down.”
Steven Strait: “It’s unbelievable – and he’s flying! He’s hitting people, and he’s going around things! Amazing.”
Pell James: [Laughing] “He’d be really good if he didn’t have a drug problem!”
Who’s the better skateboarder?
Steven Strait: “The dog.”
Pell James: “Have you ever seen me?”
Steven Strait: “I guess I shouldn’t jump to any conclusions!”
Steven, if you had to choose, which would you pick - music or acting?
Steven Strait: “You know, I’ve always looked at myself primarily as an actor. I studied it for many years and it’s something that I went to school for. This whole music thing kind of fell into my lap and it’s always been more private to me. A lot of people, even in my family, didn’t even know I sang. And I’ve never invited people to gigs and stuff like that…”
What happens now that they have seen "Undiscovered?"
Steven Strait: “Well they heard the soundtrack and they were like, ‘Wow, when did you learn how to do that?’ I was like, ‘In the shower.’”
Pell James: “That could be a movie! [Laughing] I’m going into producing.”
Steve Strait: “I would have to say that I would pick acting over music. Because I do music in my free time anyway and it’s always going to be something – it’s always going to be a passion. It’s moving forward very quickly and hopefully I can do both.”
Pell, all the other young actors sing in this movie. Why didn’t you give it a try?
Pell James: “I tried. I tried but they kicked me off. That would be awesome one day. Maybe part two, like Brier gets the itch to sing, you know? Maybe if you [nodding at Steven] don’t have the game to step up to be rock star, maybe this girl would. I’d be like Lita Ford. [Looking at Steven] You don’t even know who Lita Ford is, do you?”
Steven Strait: “Yes I do.”
Pell James: “Okay, just checking. The song I played in my trailer every night, remember that? Kiss me once, kiss me deadly? I had that on my answering machine. Like, ‘Had a few beers, got in a fight…’”
Pell, your character is a model who wants to become an actress. Have you ever modeled before?
Pell James: “I was in ‘Seventeen’ once and had cucumbers over my eyes. It’s really like, ‘Guys, you really have to read Seventeen…’ I was like, ‘Yeah, I’m under the cucumbers.’”
What’s next for both of you? Have you shot anything since completing “Undiscovered?”
Pell James: “This is it, we’re done. No more, we’re going back home. I just got a David Fincher film [‘Zodiac’] yesterday that I’m really excited. I’m so excited. I get hacked, which is really exciting. The coolest thing is that I have to go get a full body cast, which is amazing when you work with the special effects people.”
Fincher can be very secretive. What can you say about your role?
Pell James: “Okay, let me tell you where we’re shooting, post it on the Internet… [Laughing] I play, s**t, well I play Celia Shepard, one of the girls who gets murdered. But I’m really excited about the whole thing. And then I’m shooting another movie with Todd Williams, opposite Seann William Scott called “Train Wreck” which shoots in New York in the fall. And Steven over here, can I tell them what you’re doing? [Steven shakes his head yes] Steven is about to start production in October on ‘The Covenant.’ I know his life now!’ ‘The Covenant’ is...it’s a dirty movie [laughing]. He plays a Dirk Diggler-like character…”
Steven Strait: “I’m doing this movie called ‘The Covenant’ starting in October with Renny Harlin over in Montreal. And then in January I start with…”
Pell James: “John Polson is directing…”
Steven Strait: “John Polson is directing ‘Deal.’”
Pell James: “Which I’m really excited for. I know the other one’s cool, too, but I’m really excited about ‘Deal.’”
What’s “Deal” about?
Steven Strait: “‘Deal’ is about a sort of a high-end heroin [deal]. It’s a big, big drug scam. I don’t want to give away too much of it.”
Who do you play?
Steven Strait: “It’s the lead. It’s the point man who basically gets the clients to come in from out of town to sell them the drugs.”
Steven, now that you’ve done a couple of movies, have you started experiencing the screaming girls and are you ready for the attention that comes with a certain level of fame?
Pell James: “I don’t even know if there’s going to be a difference because, seriously, when we go out and hang out, it’s like girls go ga-ga! It’s insane. So I can imagine you’re going to be stalked.”
Steve Strait: “I don’t know. I mean, I kind of remove myself in a lot of ways from Hollywood. I live in downtown Los Angeles and people there… It reminds me a lot of New York and people are generally happy for you and don’t really care.”
Pell James: “Not a lot of junior highs in the area…”
Steven Strait: “But I think, you know, in a certain way I’ve come across it a few times and it’s always flattering to know that people appreciate your work and…”
Do 12 year old girls often come up and tell you what a great actor you are?
Pell James: [Laughing] “Or do they just want to marry you?”
Steven Strait: “It’s great. t’s interesting. Let’s see how many shades of red you can turn me.”
(http://movies.about.com/od/wannabe/a/undiscss082105.htm)