The Menu stars Anya Taylor-Joy and Nicholas Hoult speak to Sky News’ Backstage podcast about their new film taking aim at the rich and famous
Their new film takes aim at the rich and famous, but Anya Taylor-Joy and Nicholas Hoult have told Sky News’ Backstage podcast that they don’t plan on getting caught up in the ridiculous side of their industry.
The Menu is a dark comedy about a group of wealthy people who get far more than they bargained for when they go for dinner at the exclusive restaurant of a celebrity chef (played by Ralph Fiennes), whose carefully prepared meal turns out to be about much more than just the food.
From the self-satisfied food critic to the tech bros to the film star who’s had his day, the characters have lost touch with reality – something Hoult and Taylor-Joy are keen to avoid for themselves.
Ralph Fiennes plays the celebrity chef at the centre of the story. Pic: Eric Zachanowich/Searchlight Pictures/20th Century Studios
“I think a lot of what it’s poking fun at or making commentary on is the people that have kind of lost the ability to appreciate the privilege that they’ve got,” said Hoult. “And I think both of us really appreciate that we get to do something that we love and we care about it and care about all the people that we do it with, so that’s what it all stems from.”
Taylor-Joy agreed. “One of my least favourite things in any situation is any kind of hierarchy. And my favourite sets to be a part of are the ones where your title doesn’t stop at actor, you are just a creative that is there to muck in with everybody and hopefully make something much better than you ever could by yourself.
“And I think having that kind of mentality just, yeah, it keeps your feet on the ground.”
The film is directed by Mark Mylod, an executive producer and director on the hit series Succession – which also skewers the ultra rich.
Hoult said he was drawn to the project as soon as he read the script.
“Instantly my interest was piqued because I was like, okay, it’s making me laugh, but also there’s some horrendous things happening here,” he said.
Taylor-Joy added: “I am absolutely insufferable to watch movies and television with because I can always guess the line, always guess the ending, always guess the twist, and it’s annoying for people.
“With this film I really couldn’t and I just thought: I want to be there, I want to be a part of this unique experience and see how they pull it off.”
The Menu’s characters are taken by boat to a small island where the restaurant is situated, and the vast majority of the film is set in that one location.
“The strangest thing about this film, but probably the thing that I enjoyed the most was – usually you do your [scenes], if it’s somebody else’s scene, you go and you rest,” Taylor-Joy said. “And we all just stayed on set the whole time, we didn’t really ever leave because we wanted to watch each other’s performances.
“So in a way, we were at a restaurant for two-and-a-half months because we’d stay at our tables and just watch people and eat, so yeah, it was a two-and-a-half month restaurant stint.”
Hoult’s character Tyler is a fan of the celebrity chef who has prepared the meal, so devours his food with gusto.
Taylor-Joy, whose character is called Margot, said it was a sight to behold.
“I was quite worried about Nick,” she said. “Because the thing is, Margot doesn’t eat very much throughout the film but poor Nick, take after take after take, just, you know, really shovelling it down. Was never sick, was deeply committed; I was concerned about his health, but he just went straight [for it].
Hoult admits he enjoyed the challenge. “I knew what I was getting in to. There’s a reason I chose this one – free food!”
The Menu is in cinemas from 18 November. Hear more about it in the latest episode of Backstage – the film and TV podcast from Sky News
Tupac Shakur’s estate has threatened to sue Drake and ordered him to delete a track featuring an AI-generated copy of the late rapper’s voice.
Drake released the song Taylor Made Freestyle – a diss track aimed at Kendrick Lamar – on his Instagram page on Friday, which features verses created by AI software mimicking both Shakur and Snoop Dogg.
In a cease-and-desist letter seen by Sky News’ US partner NBC News, Howard King, an attorney who represents Shakur’s estate, requested that Drake remove the track from all platforms where it is publicly available.
The letter sent on Wednesday states the Canadian rapper has until midday on Thursday to confirm he will remove it or the estate will “pursue all of its legal remedies” against him.
“Not only is the record a flagrant violation of Tupac’s publicity and the estate’s legal rights, it is also a blatant abuse of the legacy of one of the greatest hip-hop artists of all time,” Mr King wrote.
“The estate would never have given its approval for this use.”
The letter also outlines the estate’s “dismay” regarding the topic of the track, saying Lamar is “a good friend to the estate who has given nothing but respect to Tupac and his legacy publicly and privately” and that this “compounds the insult”.
In the track, the AI-generated voice of Shakur urges Lamar to respond to Drake’s previous diss track about him released several days prior, saying lines like: “Kendrick, we need ya, the West Coast saviour / You seem a little nervous about all the publicity / You asked for the smoke, now it seem you too busy for the smoke.”
Tupac was killed in 1996. Pic: Walik Goshorn/MediaPunch/IPx/AP
The letter claims the track and its popularity have created the “false impression that the estate and Tupac promote or endorse the lyrics for the sound-alike”.
Shakur’s estate is also seeking damages including all profits from the record, which has so far only been posted on Drake’s Instagram page, as well as additional damages for substantial economic and reputational harm caused.
Read more:
Musicians react to AI songs flooding the internet
J Cole: I feel ‘terrible’ about Kendrick Lamar diss track
The letter claimed Drake’s non-consensual use of Shakur’s likeness violates Shakur’s right to publicity, an intellectual property right protecting against the misappropriation of somebody’s name or image.
Sky News has contacted representatives of Drake for comment.
The AI-generated voice of prominent rapper Snoop Dogg was also used on the track.
Snoop Dogg posted a video on his Instagram story shortly after the diss track was posted, where he said: “They did what? When? How… What’s going on… I’m going back to bed.”
The use of AI in the music industry has been the subject of heavy debate since last year, when Drake’s own voice was cloned alongside The Weeknd by the artist known as Ghostwriter.
The track was taken down from all platforms shorty after it was released in April.
Richard Gadd has urged fans of his hit show Baby Reindeer to stop speculating about who the characters in his show are based on in real life.
The Netflix series is based on the real-life story of its writer Gadd, who also plays the lead character, and his warped relationship with a female stalker.
Fans have been speculating online about the identity of the stalker played by Jessica Gunning in real life (spoiler warning), as well as who another character, seen sexually assaulting Gadd in the series, is based on.
The character, played by Tom Goodman-Hill, is a TV writer who repeatedly sexually assaults Gadd’s character and supplies him with drugs.
Gadd addressed his fans on his Instagram story on Tuesday, saying: “People I love, have worked with, and admire… are unfairly getting caught up in speculation.
“Please don’t speculate on who any of the real-life people could be. That’s not the point of our show. Lots of love, Richard.”
Read more on Sky News:
Richard Osman reveals Thursday Murder Club cast
Police launch manhunt for Home and Away star
Pic: Netflix
The show is based on the hit Edinburgh Fringe one-man stage play Gadd performed in 2019.
Gadd, who plays Donny Dunn, a character based on himself, said he didn’t expect the show to “blow up” in the way it has since its release on 11 April.
“I’m super proud of it. I really believed in this show, but the fact it’s gone so stratospheric so quickly, for such a cult, quite niche story… it’s kind of amazing. It’s clearly struck a chord,” he said on This Morning.
The writer, actor and comedian is also an ambassador for We Are Survivors, a charity which supports male survivors of sexual abuse.
-
Sports2 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports1 year agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Environment11 months agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Sports3 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Sports6 months agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Environment1 year agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike
-
Technology3 years ago
Game consoles were once banned in China. Now Chinese developers want a slice of the $49 billion pie
-
Politics2 years ago
Have the last few wobbly weeks seen a turning point for Johnson as PM?