Daniel Radcliffe and Evan Rachel Wood on the new Weird Al biopic and ‘doing something crazy’

Published

2 years ago

October 28, 2022

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When a relatively unknown streaming platform announced it was making a biopic film of parody king Weird Al Yankovic – there was really only one man for the job.

It was revealed Daniel Radcliffe had signed on to play the musician soon after, joining actors such as Rami Malek and Taron Egerton who have starred as real-life performers in biopics in recent years.

Though unlike Bohemian Rhapsody and Rocketman, this biopic is a parody – a reimagining of Yankovic’s life with everything from jumping into bed with Madonna, to wielding machine guns in South American drug dens.

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Speaking to Backstage, the TV and film podcast from Sky News, Radcliffe said he didn’t feel pressure playing Weird Al.

“There was something quite liberating for us about how different the people we’re playing are from their real-life counterparts,” he explained.

“You know, if I had been walking off set, and it was a ‘Serious Al’ biopic, I’m sure I would have been looking at Al every time and being like, ‘Oh, is he happy with that?’ Like, ‘is that moment we’ve recreated alright?’

“But, you know, when I’m walking down the table, letting loose with a machine gun, it definitely gives you a lot of licence to go ‘we’re just we’re doing something crazy and different’.

“If somebody played me as a crazy person, I’d be delighted.”

Westworld star Evan Rachel Wood, who plays a scheming Madonna, added: “I would have had to have gone to a boot camp if I was really doing her.”

She was referring to the rumours that actresses vying to play the Ray Of Light singer in her own biopic had to go through a gruelling dancing and singing bootcamp.

Instead, Wood “watched as many interviews and videos as I could and then thought, ‘great, now just turn her into a raging sociopath, and we’re there'”.

The movie was made in a miniscule amount of time, with filming taking just 18 days in early 2022.

Not only that, but it packs in cameos in just about every single scene – from the likes of Jack Black and Lin-Manuel Miranda, to Conan O’Brien and Weird Al himself.

Plus factor in musical performances in kitchens, all the way up to stadiums – this shoot could not have been easy.

However, the breakneck speed of production wasn’t a barrier, Radcliffe told Backstage, saying instead it felt “amazing”.

“It was the fastest shoot I’ve ever done. It was amazing – it was so well-prepared, that you did feel like you were basically getting enough time for everything and everyone came in super prepared.

“Everyone came in also and realised very quickly, ‘oh, we’re getting like two, maybe three takes of everything. And that’s just that’s what it is, and you can’t be too precious about it’.

“The vibe on set was just… it did feel very celebratory all the time. There was no one on set that was indifferent to Al’s work.”

For Wood and Radcliffe – maybe in a few years we’d see films about their illustrious careers, as biopics seem to start becoming part of the Hollywood churn.

But who would play them?

“I almost need to feel like I need to stop giving this answer because we do get mistaken for each other all the time, and I think it’s probably annoying him, but Elijah Wood is the obvious place to play me in a parody of my life,” Radcliffe told Backstage.

Radcliffe and Wood became household names at similar times in the early noughties, with the pair starring in the lead roles in the Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings franchises.

Wood says Rachel Brosnahan, the star of Marvellous Mrs. Maisel would play her, saying she is often mistaken for the actress.

Weird streams on Roku, a free streaming service, from 4 November.

Entertainment

British author Samantha Harvey wins Booker Prize 2024

Published

4 hours ago

November 13, 2024

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British author Samantha Harvey wins Booker Prize 2024

British author Samantha Harvey has won this year’s Booker Prize with her book Orbital.

The novel, which is about astronauts on the International Space Station as they orbit the Earth, was announced as the winner at a ceremony at Old Billingsgate in the City of London on Tuesday.

It has sold around 29,000 copies – more than the last three Booker winners combined had managed before they won.

Accepting the trophy, Harvey dedicated it to everybody who “speaks for and not against the earth” and “for and not against the dignity of other humans, other life and all the people who speak for and call for and work for peace”.

The former museum worker turned author said before winning that she would like to spend the £50,000 prize money on taking time out of her job to sculpt, and waste some of it on buying “expensive Danish liquorice”.

Harvey, who was longlisted for the prestigious literary prize in 2009 for her debut novel The Wilderness, is the 19th woman to win since the first award in 1969. There have been 36 male winners.

Admitting that she nearly gave up writing the novel altogether, Harvey said: “I lost my nerve with it.

“[I] originally thought, ‘Why on earth would anybody want to hear from a woman at her desk in Wiltshire writing about space, imagining what it’s like being in space when people have actually been there’.”

Taking place over a 24-hour time frame as astronauts orbit the Earth 16 times, Orbital is the second-shortest book to claim the prize at 136 pages long.

Artist and chairman of the judges Edmund de Waal described the book as one that “compelled” the judging panel.

“We were determined to find a book that moved us, a book that had capaciousness and resonance, that we are compelled to share,” he said.

“We wanted everything. Orbital is our book. With her language of lyricism and acuity, Harvey makes our world strange and new for us.

“Our unanimity about Orbital recognises its beauty and ambition.”

This year, a record number of women were shortlisted for the Booker, with five nominated in total.

Earlier on Tuesday, all the shortlisted authors – Yael van der Wouden, Rachel Kushner, Anne Michaels, Charlotte Wood, Percival Everett and Harvey – attended a reception with the Queen, her first public engagement since falling ill with a chest infection.

A post on the royal family X account later shared a statement from Queen Camilla which congratulated Harvey on her win.

Entertainment

‘A little bit of a pat on the back’: Selena Gomez on Emilia Perez role

Published

4 hours ago

November 13, 2024

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'A little bit of a pat on the back': Selena Gomez on Emilia Perez role

Selena Gomez says she felt recognised as an actor when taking part in her new film Emilia Perez.

The Emmy-nominated actress stars in the drama musical which follows four women as they find their paths to the lives they have always wanted.

She tells Sky News acting in Spanish was a joyful challenge.

“It was very exciting. I’m not completely fluent, so for me, it was really incredible to be able to even just be around people who were speaking it. I found it to be a very proud moment for sure.”

The 31-year-old first began her acting career in 2002 after securing the role of Gianna in Barney & Friends alongside her future Princess Protection Program co-star Demi Lovato.

But it was her lead role as Alex Russo in Wizards of Waverly Place that cemented her position as a prominent figure in the industry and paved the way for the artist to pursue film, TV shows and a hugely successful music career.

Leaving the children’s TV channel in 2012, she decided to take on a role in the coming-of-age film Spring Breakers.

She says being in the project with Vanessa Hudgens, Ashley Benson and James Franco felt like the first time she was making something for her and not any external responsibilities she may have had at the time.

“I was only 18. It was a very odd choice for me at the time because I had just finished working on my show and I had this freedom.

“So in a way I felt like I could rebel. And even though my character is pretty safe in the movie, it was just enough for me to get this hunger for art, for abstract and crazy colours and cinematography. It just became addicting.”

Since then, the creative has secured four Emmy nominations for acting and executive producing, two Grammy nominations for her music and has amassed a reported net worth of over $1bn through her make-up brand Rare Beauty.

She is also the second most followed person on Instagram, behind Cristiano Ronaldo.

Now starring in the Jacques Audiard film Emilia Perez, Gomez says she’s grateful for the path she has had in the industry and feels more “confident” to pursue roles that challenge her skills as an actor.

“I definitely don’t have any regrets. I genuinely think if anything, doing this movie has given me a little bit of a pat on the back and I felt encouraged.

“I feel eager and excited to go for material that I don’t think people would typically expect of me.”

Emilia Perez

The Spanish-language musical is set in Mexico and also stars Zoe Saldana, Karla Sofia Gascon and Adriana Paz.

Told through a mix of film genres, it follows a drug lord who wants to transition from male to female and her life afterward.

Zoe Saldana, one of the highest grossing actors of all time, says she’ll “never regret being a superhero” but being in this project allowed her to focus on the type of filmmaking she always wanted to do.

“Jacques Audiard is very much aligned with the kind of art that I like to consume, and I like to wish to be a part of.

“So for my career in Marvel and for [Selena’s] in Disney, to deliver us full circle to work with someone that we grew up sort of admiring, it means that the whole road was worth it every step along the way.”

She added: “I never had the opportunity to reconnect with Spanish in my work through my craft because in my everyday life, as soon as these cameras go off, I’m only in Spanish. So I was happy.”

The Avatar star says she’s aware the film is “a niche of a niche of a niche” project and hopes people are “curious enough to watch this”.

“People are really taking to it and it just goes to show that it is good to bet on yourself and if the choices that you are making in your life are done with an open heart and their heart driven and you’re winning, then stay on that path.”

Emilia Perez is streaming on Netflix now.

Entertainment

BBC confirms Gary Lineker will step down as Match Of The Day presenter

Published

19 hours ago

November 12, 2024

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BBC confirms Gary Lineker will step down as Match Of The Day presenter

Gary Lineker will step down as host of Match Of The Day at the end of the season, the BBC has confirmed.

The 63-year-old will continue to host coverage of the FA Cup in 2025/26 and the World Cup in 2026, the broadcaster announced.

Lineker will continue with the MOTD Top Ten podcast while his The Rest Is Football podcast, which features BBC pundits Alan Shearer and Micah Richards, will now be hosted on BBC Sounds.

The former England footballer said: “I’m delighted to continue my long association with BBC Sport and would like to thank all those who made this happen.”

Alex Kay-Jelski, director of BBC Sport, said: “Gary is a world-class presenter, and we’re delighted that he’ll lead our coverage of the next World Cup and continue to lead our live coverage of the FA Cup.

“After 25 seasons Gary is stepping down from MOTD. We want to thank him for everything he has done for the show, which continues to attract millions of viewers each week.

“He’ll be hugely missed on the show but we’re so happy he is staying with the BBC to present live football.”

Analysis: Will the next generation know him only as a podcasting mogul?

Lineker has hosted the Premier League highlights show since 1999, after his predecessor Des Lynam moved to ITV.

He is the co-founder of Goalhanger Podcasts, which produces popular shows such as The Rest Is History, The Rest Is Politics and The Rest Is Entertainment, as well as his own football podcast.

The company, founded in 2014, claims to be the UK’s largest independent podcast firm and said in September its podcasts had been downloaded more than 380 million times so far this year.

Lineker has been the BBC’s highest-paid star in recent years for his work on shows including Match Of The Day and Sports Personality Of The Year, as well as coverage of major tournaments including World Cups and European Championships.

He received about £1.35m during the 2023-24 financial year, according to the BBC’s most recent figures.

It is unclear who will take over from Lineker on Match Of The Day.

Former Tottenham Hotspur footballer Jermaine Jenas had at one point been considered to be his natural successor but he was sacked from the BBC in August over claims of inappropriate behaviour.

Lineker enjoyed a successful career as a striker, winning 80 caps for England, before moving into broadcasting.