I’m a sucker for feel good films that make me want to get up and do something.  Some movies have made me feel as though as I could do anything, like Billy Elliot and Shirley Valentine, for example. These movies have a major theme in common – determination and fulfilling life long dreams. I’ve seen both again and again and have been waiting for another film to come along in the same vein.

And along comes Eddie the Eagle – another British film, ironically, like the two mentioned above, and like both films, it’s about people from a lower-class background with dreams. However, Michael “Eddie” Edward’s dream is not so ordinary. Played by Taron Egerton, he’s an unlikely but courageous British ski-jumper who never stopped believing in himself.  With the help of a retired coach, played by Hugh Jackman, and supportive parents who foot the bill for just one year while he trained to become a professional Olympian, Eddie takes on the establishment quite literally as the British Olympic contingency has no interest in recruiting a guys who had only trained for one year of his life and wins the hearts of sports fans around the world by making a historic showing at the 1988 Calgary Winter Olympics, with the help of a supportive publicist, played by Ania Sowinski and a famous author/ex-ski jumper played by the legendary Christopher Walken. His journey is surreal as he never gives up, and his determination and victory to get to the top left me reeling in my seat. If you go into this movie feeling down, I can assure you that you will come out soaring.  

The film was written by Kingsman writer Matthew Vaughn and directed by Dexter Fletcher, best known for his character actor roles in many of Matthew Vaughn’s films, including Guy Ritchie’s debut Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (which was also brought to Sundance).

An Interview with Hugh Jackman, Taron Egerton and Ania Sowinski

I was fortunate enough to join a small group of bloggers early this week in a discussion with Hugh Jackman, Taron Egerton and Ania Sowinski. All had vivid recollections of Eddie growing up. Sowinski, who grew up in the UK, remembers her brother doing impressions of Eddie. “He was a big deal at those Olympics. And it was very much like Princess Di and Charles’ wedding. You know, everyone was around their television sort of rooting for this guy from the middle of nowhere in England. So, I have very big memories of it. Obviously I was a child. I was eight years old, but it was huge.”

The movie is as inspiring to the actors as it is to the people seeing it. Jackman saw the movie and said, “When I first saw the movie, I saw it with a bunch of friends. And one of their mum’s came out, actually, and just said, ‘Every parent should take their kids to see this, because it, it just goes to show you don’t have to win to be a winner.’ It’s like there’s so much pressure on kids these days to be LeBron James or to be at the top, you know? And it can kind of create this pressure sometimes that is not necessary for kids. And so anyway. That’s what I loved about it. I took my kids to see it. They really love it. But you’re right. You end up pulling for him so much, because he’s such an every man, you know?”

As a dad, Jackman has thought a lot about his children’s long-terms goals, and when asked what he would do if they wanted to do something as bold and singular as Eddie the Eagle, if he would stop them, he said, “He (Eddie the Eagle) wanted to be in the Olympics from when he was five and nothing was going to stop him. So, look what came of it, you know? I kind of get that. But I understand. It’s a horrible thing about being a parent, right? I’ve got a 15-year-old so probably in a year or two he pretty much is there to pick up the pieces, right? In all, basically they’re going to make their own mistakes. It’s the hardest thing.”

Egerton, who also starred in Kingsman, had a huge job playing Eddie the Eagle. He got to know the real Michael Edwards during the shoot but says that the real Eddie was not particularly interested in the filmmaking process: “He finally said, ‘Don’t be mean, you know? Do a good job and I’ll see you on the other side.’ And that’s kind of what happened. He came out and saw us and all of that stuff, and then we watched the movie for the first time together, which, as you could imagine, was a fairly intimidating afternoon for me. But thankfully, he loved it.”

Ski-jumping is almost like another character in the film. The actors were intrigued by the filmmaking process, depending largely on a team of real ski jumpers, not stunt men. Jackman said, “Those great shots in the air, one of the best shots is created by two ski jumpers, and one has like three cameras attached to him. So he goes like a half a second behind the first guy….. when they took off, first guy took off, the second guy went over him and touched him on the shoulder and went past him in midair and landed in front of him. And when they got down, we were all just in shock.”

The three actors spoke a bit about their acting careers, all visibly considering the roads taken to get to this point in time and on their own sense of determination and relating to Eddie in that way. About acting, Sowinski said, “I think you have to have a backbone of steel, actually, to just keep driving through, you know? And there’s all these great stories. Meryl Streep has the classic story of being told she wasn’t pretty enough, or Julie Walters has some fantastic stories about being turned down for roles, but she never stopped.”

Jackman remembered being offered a role on Britain’s Neighbours the same weekend he got into a prestigious acting school 20-odd years ago. He had a weekend to make a decision about what to do – take a two-year show on a big show or go study acting. His dad told him to make his own decision, and so Jackman agonized but then asked himself, “After two years on Neighbours, would I feel like I deserved an audition at the Royal Shakespeare Company? And the answer was no.”  It was his dad’s way of helping him to learn to make his own decisions.

The three actors clearly loved working on the film and all had great stories to tell about the process, but Sowinski wins for telling a great story about “kissing Wolverine” during an unscripted scene in which she and Jackman flirted at the airport, take after take after take. About the scene, she said, “I’ve never laughed so much in a set in my life. I would do it all over again in a heartbeat.”

Egerton and Jackman clearly had a great chemistry on and off set. Sowinski relished every moment working with them. But they all had particularly great things to say about Christopher Walken. About him, Egerton said, “He’s a total one-off. He’s a unique performer and very, very lucky to have witnessed a bit of him performing.” Jackman added, “He’s got that thing of everyone watching him. Literally the monitors. People, like, Taron and I weren’t working when he was first working, but we stayed to watch. Everyone was watching.”

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To that Hugh turned to everyone and said “I’ll shut up then.”

Thankfully he didn’t.

But it gave credence to his twitter handle @realhughjackman, that is for sure.

But wait.  There is more.  As if he didn’t already seem like the nicest man alive, then he said this:

“Victor Hugo was reminding us about a Jesus Christ example, which is to love people.  You don’t need to go to a mountain in Tibet to find self-realization.  You don’t need to listen to spiritual leaders or whatever it is.  Be present.  Know what you stand for in life. Face what is in front of you.”

Need I say more? The real Jackman strikes again.

About filming Les Mis, Jackman said that the cast rehearsed for nine weeks, and that he’s never been on a film where the entire cast signed up for the entire time.  “And I come from the theater so for me, rehearsals are vital and a way of life. For a musical, you have to rehearse. Tom would be sitting here, he would move his chair to a very uncomfortable place.  By the time we got to the set, everything was right. I’m grateful to Tom and everyone at Universal that they spent the money and made it possible.”

To lose 30 pounds to play this role, when his character meets his nemesis the director and Jackman decided to make him unrecognizable. “I did lose a lot of weight and had the joy of putting the weight on.  But it all pales in comparison to what this lady did.  Annie did it in 14 days and lost about 300 pounds.”

About his character, “He’s obviously one of the great literary characters and I see him as a real hero: quiet, humble.  I liken him to the NYC cop who bought shoes for the homeless man  Jean comes from a place of the greatest hardship I could ever imagine and manages to transform himself from the inside.  Victor Hugo used the word transfiguration, even more than transformation  and manages to transform himself from the inside.  It’s God like.  I didn’t take the responsibility lightly, it was one of the greatest opportunities I ever had.”

Disclosure: I was a guest of Universal Pictures but all opinions are my own.

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During a Q&A with the cast of Les Misérables, Hugh Jackman said his character Valjean reminds him of Lawrence DePrimo.  They both undergo a transformation and spiritual change and he sees comparisons.  In the film, Valjean is an ex-prisoner hunted for decades by a policeman (played by Russell Crowe). When he agrees to care for factory worker Fantine’s (played by Anne Hathaway) young daughter, Cosette (played by Amanda Seyfried), his life is changed forever.  When Jackman sings, “She was never mine to keep”, it adds resonance to the story line.  About his character (and the policeman), Jackman said, If I’m a tenth of the man he is, I’ll be a happy man.

When asked bout being a parent and teaching his own children about the film’s tougher themes that still exist in our society today like hunger and poverty, Jackman said:

What amazes me – I have a 12 year old, and a 7 year old – is how naturally they go to that subject and will see it.  We travel to many places. The subject is natural to them. For kids in particular, equity is the way the world is meant to be.  And of course, they have very little control over their life, I mean, where they live or what they’re dressed in or all those things.  But, they naturally see the good in everyone around them and the equality in wherever they go. 

So, we do talk about it.  We often talk about contribution, about community, about giving back.  And I don’t know if it’s just me, but the schools my kids are at, it seems now kids are way more connected to these issues than when I was young.  Global Poverty Project is really a bunch of young 20 year olds whose mission is to see the end of extreme poverty in their lifetime.  And they are committed to it, and nothing’s going to stop them. 

So, I’m a 44 year old guy who basically gets on their bandwagon.  They’re smart and passionate.  And I think it’s an exciting time, because I think it’s a subject that totally resonates with young people. 

My father worked at Price Waterhouse his whole life.  And he said by the end of his time at Price, young kids would come there and they won’t ask you about the perk package or car they were going to get.  They wanted to know the corporate responsibility that the firm had.  That was the most important thing to them. 

So, I think it’s exciting, and it’s a great idea to keep the conversation going whenever possible.  I think my son’ll see it.  It’s a good point.  I haven’t even thought about Ava seeing it yet.  It may be, at times, a little too brutal.  But, certainly the themes will resonate for sure.

Obviously, this film resonates with Jackman on larger than life social issues.

Disclosure: I was invited as a guest of Universal Pictures to a screening and Q&A with the cast but all opinions are my own.

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I saw Les Misérables well before its release and it has been difficult keeping quiet.  There has been so much buzz about this movie. Everyone wants to know how the cast and crew pulled off a remake of the longest running show on Broadway in our history.  I’ve heard various reactions since the screening.  I know people who loved it and I actually know people who hated it. I know there are members of the Broadway community who are fuming that the likes of Anne Hathaway won the role of Fantine and I’m curious to hear their opinions after they see the film.  From what I’ve seen on social media, they clearly don’t think she was cast appropriately.

But this is film.  Big budgets prevail and films are made for public consumption.

I was also curious how the show would translate to film.  Like most people, I was a fan of the show 25 years ago.  But in my eyes, this film version is a faithful adaptation.  The music is captivating and the story is powerful.  It will never go out of date – it has action, history and heart.  Also, in my opinion, the timing of this film could not be better. Victor Hugo’s story is about humanity and it is timeless.  The film has come at a time when there is a lot of pain and suffering in this world, and audiences need one to not only remind them that there are better days ahead but also that we can collectively rise up to help a bad situation. There’s the conflict in the Middle East, starving people in Darfur, our own situation in New York/New Jersey post-hurricane where our own people are suffering.  As the film portrays the French Revolution and people rising up, it sends a message to our own generation that we can help each other.

First, let’s talk about the team who made the film.  Tom Hooper, Oscar winner for “King’s Speech”; Cameron MacKintosh, a producer who shepherded it onto the stage in 1978; composer Claude-Michel Schonberg and an experienced producing team, Eric Fellner, Debra Hayward and Tim Bevan all of Working Title Films where they make legendary English films like “Notting Hill” and “Bridget Jone’s Diary”.  The creative team tried to keep the script as faithful to the play as they could and they worked with original cast and crew members to keep the story and music respectful to the classic. Tom Hooper read Victor Hugo’s novel before he started work on the film and his passion shows through every image.  It is his greatest fear that the public think otherwise.

Now let’s talk about the cast. Hugh Jackman is a triumph as Jean Valjean, Anne Hathaway sings her heart out with “I Dream a Dream” after becoming a prostitute out of desperation to save her daughter, and Samantha Barks is unbelievable as Eponine with her rendition of “On My Own”.  Russell Crowe is a divine Javert.  I never knew that he started his career in music at the age of 12 and can REALLY sing.  Who knew?! And the many supporting players, especially Aaron Tveit, Eddie Redmayne and Amanda Seyfried, are all wonderful, particularly Redmayne as Marius who is by Valjean’s side when he dies and is joined by the ghost of Fantine.

And what a process they went through to make this film, from the start to the finish. Let’s talk about that.

At a press conference that I attended the day after the screening, Hooper said that he conducted three-hour auditions for every single actor.  He shot with three cameras and went for close-ups to achieve minimalism.  Working with actors like Anne Hathaway made it easier because she can tell a brilliant narrative with her face.  Each actor acted and sang his/her heart out  – “there is stillness and simplicity in moments of song.”

Hooper, along with the much of the show’s original team, tried to make a more intense experience than the one on stage without diverging from the DNA of the show.  All the actors left their vocal vanities at the door.  Fellner said that making a musical on screen was very, very hard.  Everyone was surprisingly learning on the spot, and that included the filmmakers and the cast.  He believes that created a community on the film, a sense of bonding. Every actor wanted to possess the material; they all came at their role with a sense of ownership and belonging, and extreme passion. You will feel it oozing out of each character when watching the film, no doubt.

Who can forget the Academy Awards a few years ago when we all heard Anne Hathaway sing for the first time, when Hugh Jackman joined her? Tom Hooper wondered if they were auditioning for the role, but be found his stars.  Jackman and Hathaway were two people who could act comfortably through song. While preparing for their roles, Jackman went on to do his one-man show in NYC; Anne spent her time practicing her crying and singing at the same time.  The film is all live – all of it. It was raw, real emotion – Hooper had them singing in the rain, crawling through sewers, whatever it took to draw out the emotion required to capture the moments.

Hathaway is a sure thing for the Oscar this year. There’s no way she will not take the Best Supporting Actress statue home.  She brings such depth, such drama, such realism to her role as Fantine.  I’ve never seen her act quite like this – her character suffers so much pain, all because she wants to provide for her daughter and can’t figure out how to. Hathaway really got inside Fantine.  During the Q&A, she said, “There was no way I could relate to my character. I have a relatively happy, successful life…and no children. I tried to get inside this world by watching clips about sexual slavery. Fantine lives in NYC.  She’s just a block away.  This isn’t an invention. It’s me honoring the pain in the world.  I hope we see it end.”

And then there’s Hugh Jackman. He’ll be nominated for Best Actor and I hope he wins. From the very first moment we set our eyes on him, we were drawn to his every word and vocal.  Hooper said there was no one else for the role; he knew it from the very beginning.  Jackman said that there were nine weeks of rehearsals and he was grateful the studio spent so much money on that time.  He prepared for his role over the course of 9 months before filming began and lost his weight slowly whereas “Annie lost her weight in 14 days.” The two of them have an obvious rapport that extends outside acting as they are two similar performances, both loving music and song.

My other stand-outs in the film are Helena Bonham Carter and Sacha Baron Cohen.  Just when you think you can’t cry any harder and the devastation can’t get more severe, they come into the film playing the evil couple who constantly tries to take Cosette from Valjean.  Their rendition of “Master in the House” is fantastic, and I couldn’t help but laugh at everything they sang.

Their daughter, Eponine, is played by Samantha Barks, who was plucked off the stages in London to star in her first feature film. She plays a girl with a broken heart, and sings “On My Own” in the pouring rain, and her character dies fighting for him. She is a break-out star and really steals her scenes. She is a unique voice and I hope to see her often in the future.What’s great about the film is that not only does it have drama, music and this great cast, but it’s a piece of history on celluloid. And not just any history.  It’s the French Revolution, and through song and action; the story is riveting and it pulls you in to learn about a piece of history you may not have known about otherwise.  Here’s the trailer:

So the question everyone is asking is will Broadway fans be disappointed?  I can’t say that they will.  It’s all the same music – they only created one new song. You have the the social novel shining through the script, Claude-Michel Schonberg’s score that will leave you enchanted for days after you see the film and a slate of stars from the London stage version.  Colm Wilkinson played the original Jean Valjean in the 1985 London and 1987 Broadway productions; Frances Ruffelle who originated the role as Eponine; and Michael Jibson, Daniel Evans, Katy Secombe, Killian Donnelly, Fra Fee, Caroline Sheen, Kate Fleetwood, Hannah Waddingham and Adrian Scarborough.

So, get thee to the theater and see Les Misérables. Trust me on this one.

To win a Les Mis T-Shirt, the film’s Official Soundtrack (CD) and a Les Mis Ornament, all you have to do is comment below and tell me your greatest Les Mis memory.

You can get additional entries by doing one of or more of the following:

– Follow The Culture Mom on Facebook.

– Follow The Culture Mom on Twitter.

– Follow The Culture Mom on Pinterest.

This giveaway will end on Friday, December 21st. Winner will be posted here as well and will have 24 hours to accept their prize.

Disclosure: I was invited as a guest of Universal Films but all opinions expressed are my own. This is the first of several articles that I’ll be featuring on the film and the Q & A. The giveaway is sponsored by Universal Pictures.

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Best Movies:

I loved that my son enjoyed the dazzling film directed by Martin Scorcese, Hugo, just as much as I did. A long time fan of Woody Allen, I adored Midnight in Paris and found it just as compelling and genuine as some of his early films.  I saw it in a Brooklyn film house with other longtime Woody Allen fans and it was one of my most memorable cinematic experiences of the year.  I laughed out loud with all the ladies of the hit movie Bridesmaids and am thrilled that women took over the screen once again. Another great film for and about women was The Help, a well-written version of a book that rocked the hearts of millions of readers.  It was brought to life through the eyes of great actresses.  Viola Davis must surely be up for the Academy Award when time rolls around.

Best Plays:

I managed to catch Brief Encounter just before it left NYC, and I am so grateful that I did.  It reminded me of how much I love New York City, theater and film.  It was a great way to kick off 2011.  Another Noel Coward play happened to come to town this year featuring one of my favorite actors, Alan Rickman: Seminar.  The combination of Rickman and Theresa Rebeck was electrifying and it was one of my favorite nights on Broadway this year.  Another drama that I enjoyed was Other Desert Cities, a play I caught early in its off-Broadway run at Lincoln Center starring Stockard Channing and Linda Lavin.  Written by Jon Robin Baitz, who I am so glad has returned to the stage, it had such fresh dialogue and humor, and as the secrets unraveled throughout the show, I was almost falling off my seat.  And The Normal Heart on Broadway was one of the most richest, fulfilling stories I have seen on stage in a long time, as well as powerful performances such as Ellen Barkin, who won a Tony for her performance.  Other musicals that I enjoyed this year included Queen of the Mist by the Transport Group, The People in the Picture at the Roundabout Theater, and I finally got around to seeing the camp musical, Mamma Mia.

Best Books:

On the non-fiction front, I just finished Then Again by Diane Keaton and it’s fresh in my mind, but the book had me laughing and relating all the way through to the end.  I also appreciated The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin and have since tried to incorporate several of the lessons I learned in the book to be happier.  In her book, I learned that we can all be happy by making small changes in our life.  We are all unique and can do whatever works for us. And I’m certainly planning to start going to bed earlier in 2012!  Like everyone else on this planet, I also laughed and cried along with Tina Fey reading Bossypants. Her strokes of brilliance resonated with me and shall remain etched in my mind.  On the fiction side, Those Who Saved Us by Jenna Blum and A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan and A Mountain of Crumbs by Elena Gorokhova stand out in my memory.

My Favorite TV Shows:

While I am anxiously awaiting the return of Mad Men, I have been enjoying Parenthood on NBC.  Lauren Graham and Peter Krause together in one hour of programming delights me to no end, and I love the way the show carefully explores issues that I care about as a parent: special needs, aging parents, infertility issues, marital relationships and more.  I also spent the year enjoying True Blood and Curb Your Enthusiasm on HBO, Glee on Fox and Modern Family.  I nearly broke down when Oprah went off the air, and I’ve been trying to get into her programming on OWN, but it hasn’t worked for me yet.

What were your favorite films, TV shows, plays or books of 2012?

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His newest film Real Steel opens on October 7 and is set in a future world of robot boxing. It is set in the near future where all human sport fighting is illegal and robot boxing has replaced boxing and mixed martial arts. It follows down-on-his-luck robot boxing trainer Charlie Kenton, played by Jackman, who loses one fight too many, owes a few pennies to a long line of promoters, neglects his mechanic lady friend (played by Evangeline Lily) and unexpectedly gains temporary custody of his estranged, no-nonsense son Max (played by Dakota Goyo) rounding a busy life juggling work and children.  I couldn’t make the screening but I plan to see it soon, and I’ll be taking my real-life son, also named Max.

Today as I walked to the New Amstersdam Theater, the home of my daughter’s first Broadway show, Mary Poppins, I felt as though I had won the lottery.   I have loved Hugh Jackman’s appearances on the Tony Awards, David Letterman, Saturday Night Live, Oprah Winfrey and I couldn’t wait to see what this Aussie was like in real life.

He was real.  More than real.  He was running late after dropping his own kids off (at public school, interestingly enough) and had to run to a taping of Rachel Ray after our interview, to rehearse his show and then return back to pick up his kids at the end of the day.  Sounds like the typical day of a parent, right?  He said for a parent, it’s “miraculous for any of us to get anywhere on time.”  I woulld agree with that.

Joining about 15 other bloggers, we talked about his family, he talked about balance.  He said that even though he is home more than most dads, it’s hard being away from his family and his son is constantly concerned about how long he’ll be gone for.  Right now they’re all in NYC while he’s performing on Broadway.  He tries to film movies during summer vacations and is so happy to be grounded.  He clearly loves NYC and is considering staying long-term.

Jackman talked about how his family has a joint calendar so they know what everyone is doing and they give the kids an extra half-hour to do things in the morning so they’re not rushed.  I think I can take a lesson or two from his parenting style!  He and his wife keep in constant touch with the teachers at their school and are pro-active in what their children learn.

Jackman also talked about how one of the mistakes a mom makes is that we let a child say they can’t do something, but they can.  Another mantra for any parent.

We found out his favorite vacation spot is Turks & Caicos, which every mom in the room seemed to agree with.  He feels very safe with there with his children, even when they’re out of his sight.

Jackman is really proud of Real Steel.  I really want my son to see it. He’s into boxing and robots, he’ll be very into this film.  This is the first movie that Hugh has made with his son in mind, one that he wanted him to see and thought of while he was filming.  He compared the film to “E.T.”, because it’s a film that appeals to everyone and one that he has remembered since he was a small boy seeing it with his dad.  He talked about the magic of film, he clearly loves it.

One last thing I guess I should add: he is as good looking as he appears on screen – EVEN BETTER.

I was invited by the fabulous gals at Moms And The City.  Here is a clip from a video that they made at the event.  I video’ed, too, but the quality isn’t quite up to par.  I’ll get my clips up on You Tube later.  For now, here is a taste of the interview:

Real Steel opens this Friday in a theater near you.

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