STACK New Zealand October Issue 67

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HE’S NOT A JEALOUS GUY
How did you get involved in this
project?
I love the Insidious films and auditioned,
like anybody else. I had just wrapped the
shoot of Jem and the Holograms when
I got an email to audition for the role of
Quinn. I was so excited!
What was your recollection of the
previous Insidious movies?
I actually saw Insidious: Chapter 2 before
the first one, because I wasn’t much into
scary movies before. I remember being
so scared. I saw it one night with a bunch
of friends. I had a hoodie that I kept on
pulling over my eyes every time the creepy
lady in the white dress came out. Then I
saw the first film after I started going for
this role, which made it all make more
sense to me because this movie is a
prequel that introduces the characters and
brings Elise back.
What did you think of the script
when you read it?
I thought it was super creepy. I remember
being in my apartment reading it and how
it freaked me out. It’s a very cool script,
and what I love about it is that it’s creepy
but not gory. After reading the script I
started working the lines, met with the
director Leigh Whannell, did some scenes
for him and got the role. I was so thrilled
because it is such a cool franchise.
What do you like the most about
your character?
That even though she doesn’t understand
what’s happening to her she still has
hope. That’s what I find the most inspiring
about Quinn. Also, she really beats to
her own drum, and her style is so cool.
Funnily enough, when I walked into her
room on the set I thought it reminded me
of my own.
And Maggie, your best friend in the
movie, is portrayed by one of your
best friends Hayley Kiyoko.
That’s another thing! Hayley is one of
my best friends in real life, so I feel our
connection on screen is real. Isn’t she the
coolest? And she has all these crazy hair
colours! I wish I were more like her.
Were you looking forward to
working with her again?
Yes, Hayley and I had just worked on Jem
and the Holograms together, so it was
really fun to be with her again on a movie
set. We just have this great relationship
and are both in real life so much like our
characters.
Insidious Chapter 3 is out on
DVD and Blu-ray on October 28
The real-life inspiration for Danny Collins has no regrets about his career path.
The tween star of the Disney
Channel’s A.N.T. Farm
encounters bad spirits and best
friends in the hit horror prequel
INSIDIOUS: CHAPTER 3.
Damian Lewis on playing a slim-
line HenryVIII in Wolf Hall.
“We all have this understanding
that he was this womanising,
syphilitic, bloated, genocidal Elvis
character. And actually the truth
is, he had a 32-inch waist and he
remained that way for quite a long
time. I think the grandiose, more
paranoid, cruel Henry emerged
in the period after this series.
Actually, the more I read about
him the more I was happy - and
alarmed - to find that I did share
character traits with him. I do find
similarities between myself and
him. I think there’s no question
it helps having had the kind of
schooling that I’ve had [at Eton]
to play a King.The sort of court
structure, hierarchies, the way
they’re set up, it’s something I feel
I implicitly understand.”
Wolf Hall is out on October 7
Soundbites
I said, ‘well, yes it would. It would have a very
detrimental effect’. The article ran and I thought no
more about it.”
However, in 2005 Tilston was contacted by a
memorabilia collector who had purchased a letter
addressed to Tilston from Lennon and wanted to
authenticate it. The music legend,
it seems, had read the article in Zig
Zag and wanted to assure Tilston
that one could be rich and famous,
and still be true to oneself, saying:
“Being rich doesn’t change your
experiences in the way you think.”
“It’ s quite a friendly letter,”
says Tilston. “It’s not in any way
castigating me for having these
feelings. And then he asked me
in the last sentence, ‘so whadya
think of that,’ and included his home
phone number. It would have been
fascinating to have met him. We
might have hit it off – or he might
have taken an instant dislike to me and shown me
the door! Who could say – life is full of ‘what ifs’.”
So what does Tilston think of the film inspired
by his missed encounter with a music legend?
“I think the movie is great,” he replies. “It’s very
true to life and Al Pacino is a brilliant choice to play
that kind of entertainer. From the moment he first
appears on screen, you can’t take your eyes
off him.”
Danny Collins is out on October 7
I n Danny Collins, Al Pacino plays the
titular jaded pop star who reassesses his
life and career choices when he belatedly
discovers that John Lennon had written him a
letter of encouragement when he was just
starting out on his career. The film is loosely based
on an event the life of singer-
songwriter Steve Tilston, but unlike
Pacino’s character, he has no
regrets about the way his career
has gone.
“The parallels with my life and
Danny Collins’ begin and end with
the device of the letter,” he says.
“I made a decision about the
kind of music I wanted to make. I
was never remotely interested in
becoming a pop singer. I have no
regrets about the fact that I didn’t
become fabulously rich and famous.
I’ve done alright.”
Tilston admits it would have
been great to meet his idol, but like Collins, he
didn’t find out about the letter’s existence until
long after the former Beatle’s death. The letter
was prompted by an interview the young Tilston
did with a reporter from the music publication Zig
Zag (Michael Shannon cameos as the journalist in
Danny Collins).
“I was asked, if I received wealth and fame
beyond the dreams of avarice, would it affect my
songwriting?” recalls Tilston. “And being a kind
of pretentious, precocious young songwriter,
Stefanie
Scott
Danny Collins
Steve Tilston
visit DVD/BD EXTRAS
10 OCTOBER 2015