STACK NZ Jun #63

EXTRAS

DVD/BD

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Sound bites

THE DANCING DONOVANS? Ray Donovan’s Liev Schreiber on series two, and the cast’s hidden talents.

Danish director Kristian Levring, on giving theAmerican western a Nordic makeover inThe Salvation, in which Mads Mikkelsen sets out to avenge the death of his family. “The Salvation is a tribute to the classicWestern.The people who lived and died in what was called the ‘WildWest’ were European immigrants.These people had fled from wars or poverty in the hope of making a new life.TheWild West’s history is also our history; it is a tale about people who no longer had a viable life in Europe. But whilst developing the script, we not only found inspiration in the classicWestern but also in the Nordic sagas.The sagas have a spare-ness in the way they describe big themes like revenge, lost love and greed. “

the dramatic finale at the marina. But while Ray’s day job of helping celebrities extricate themselves from sticky situations continues, Schreiber says the focus this time is much more on family issues. “I think what separates this season from the first is a deeper thread for all of the characters, now that secrets they were keeping have been revealed. These were very painful secrets and dealing with the repercussions of those secrets coming out is really bringing us back to what I think is the core strength of this show, which is the notion of family and how to protect that and survive it.” And to Schreiber that has always the main attraction of the role. “I think the question of what it takes to be a father – particularly in the world of show business – is a question that I’m constantly confronted

B y now, we know that the family at the centre of Ray Donovan all possess some unique talents. But dancing? “We’re a dancing cast!” jokes the show’s titular lead Liev Schreiber, when asked about co-star Jon Voight’s predeliction for strutting his stuff on the dancerfloor in the acclaimed TV series. “There are a lot of very, very good dancers in the cast. Not many people know this, but Dash Mihok is an amazing dancer, Eddie Marsan was nearly a professional dancer and everybody knows how wonderful Jon is. Some day we might take that show on the road - the Dancing Donovans!” Not quite sure that the world is ready yet for ‘The Ray Donovan Variety Hour’. However, with a third season set to go to air shortly in the US, audiences clearly cannot get enough of the adventures of the fixer to the stars and his dysfunctional family. Season two, which is released on

with and intrigued by,” he says. “The notion of how to protect your family from the outside worldare themes that are universal for all people raising families.”

DVD and Blu-ray this month, picks up pretty much where the first series

Ray Donovan: Season 2 is out on June 24

finished, with the Donovans dealing with the fall-out of

The Salvation is out on DVD and Blu-ray on June 11

Selflessness is important to you – how you were you convinced to be the subject of this documentary? I had that surgery and I didn’t really know if I was to live or die; I was still in the hospital and very drugged up, feeling sorry for myself. Mike [Myers] called up and in that moment my ego really came through and I said “Yes.” It was completely from wanting some kind of external symbol of self-worth. Three weeks later when I was back home I called him up and I said, “Listen, Mike, I know I said yes, but I didn’t really mean it.” And he said, “way too late, I staffed up already.” You have many hilarious stories about ‘creating popularity’ throughout Alice Cooper’s career. Do you think this kind of artificial construction happens today?

How much input into guiding or assembling the film did you have? I purely did nothing at all. When I say I did nothing, I lived my life and I opened everything I had up to [Mike]. I never saw it until it was done. Sylvester Stallone describes you as a ‘protector’ – who do you think your protector is? My father, I always felt, lived a life of sacrifice from me and my brother. He gave up his life. His sole enjoyment came from providing for us. You can’t do any more than that. I realised I do the same sort of thing but I never knew why. It wasn’t like these people were my children. When I look back at it, I see it as sort of a way for me to live my fathers’ life of sacrifice.

I understand the choice of words, ‘artificial construction,’ but I look at it differently. It’s getting to the cultural route of what your popularity is about, and fuelling that. I think if it’s intelligently done, it’s combining cultural, visual, theatrical things with the core of what the music is driving towards. Why do you think your theory of ‘compassionate business’ is so important? We’re living in a time when the human condition is not fantastic. It’s hard to find good humans. I think it’s a general problem with the human species rather than just the entertainment business. There’s so much information and so much bombardment, [that it’s] so hard not to get greedy.

Shep Gordon

Mike Myers’ documentary about the life and times of music manager and all ‘round incredible man Shep Gordon will blow you away. Zoë Radas spoke to the icon from his home in Maui, Hawaii.

Supermensch: The Legend Of Shep Gordon is out on June 24

JUNE 2015 JB Hi-Fi www.jbhifi.co.nz

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