From a school prom in Durham to a cinematic phenomenon – Everybody’s Talking About Jamie

Published

3 years ago

September 16, 2021

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Everybody’s talking about Everybody’s Talking About Jamie, as the film finally hits screens after a pandemic-enforced delay.

The new all-singing and all-dancing Amazon Prime Video original movie about a teenager who wanted to live out his drag queen ambitions at his school prom, hails from humble beginnings.

Starting life as a BBC Three documentary in 2011, producers followed the real-life story of Jamie Campbell from Sheffield, who was told he would not be allowed to wear a dress for his year 11 prom, despite wanting to.

It captured the imagination of writer Tom MacRae and songwriter Dan Gillespie-Sells – the lead singer of The Feeling, who turned the story in to a musical which, initially, was only ever supposed to get a two-week run in a Sheffield theatre.

“It’s amazing that when we just got commissioned to do two weeks in Sheffield for a show that had no star names, no story, no new songs and basically no publicity budget,” MacRae told Sky News.

“And we thought we’ll have two weeks, we’ll do a nice show and have fun. Everything that’s happened from the back of that all those years ago – it’s still hard to take in.”

MacRae credits an unlikely group of people for the show’s success too – saying he’d lost hope after a disastrous dress run and was unsure if anyone would even see the musical, but was vindicated when punters queued round the block to see this new piece of work.

“I worked out it was our cleaning ladies who’d heard us rehearse and they told their friends, ‘you’ve got to see the show’.

“So as everything took off, I could say, hand on heart, we owe it all to the cleaning ladies at the Sheffield Crucible Theatre and just the people of Sheffield who had come and supported us.”

That short run in Sheffield though was all they needed to send the story stratospheric, with MacRae saying it was in that space of time that a West End show and a movie had been agreed.

Jamie Campbell, who inspired the show and film, says he never dreamed anything like this would be possible.

“I just didn’t think it would get to this point – but now it feels amazing,” he told Sky News, the morning after the film’s premiere.

And while the story centres on Jamie and his mission to wear a dress to his school prom, he says the story is much more than that – it’s about helping people take control of their own lives.

“The dress isn’t just a dress – the dress is almost like a metaphor for anything that you want to do,” he said.

“You might not want to go to a prom in a dress, but you might want to do something else, and I hope people take the power to do whatever that something else is and just go for it and not be scared and ashamed, and not to live for other people. It might be scary, but just go for it.”

And what about seeing the likes of Oscar-nominee Richard E Grant in a film based on his life? Or BAFTA and National Television Award winner Sarah Lancashire? Or Corrie royalty Shobna Gulati?

“It’s just madness,” Jamsaid.

“Sarah Lancashire (who plays Jamie’s mum in the film) is an absolute icon, I love her and was so happy with the portrayal as well.

“Richard Grant – he’s a national treasure, so for him to come in and play Loco Chanel (the drag queen mentor), so beautifully and so respectfully as well… I have a lot of love and respect for him because he wanted to do it justice, and I think he did do that.

“And I mean Shobna Gulati, who plays Ray (Jamie’s mum’s best friend), she is absolutely incredible as well, so funny and so very talented – it’s just been absolutely incredible.”

Gulati is a special member of the film’s cast, having previously performed the musical in the West End as well as currently touring the UK with it.

Best known for playing Sunita for 12 years on Coronation Street, Gulati says that diversity in this film is something truly worth celebrating.

She told Sky News: “It’s so moving to watch on-screen representation.

“I’ve been in the industry a long time and to be a part of this process, bringing this story, at this moment, means everything to me.

“Watching the kids dancing and everybody on that screen, I thought ‘I’ve never seen that before in my life’… and I’m just so happy to be there celebrating with everybody else.”

The story’s diversity is undoubtedly part of its success, with the stage show choosing to cast people from a number of ethnically diverse backgrounds and put them centrally in the narrative – something underlined by Jamie’s best friend, Pritti Pasha.

Pritti is a Muslim teenager who wears a hijab and is rarely made-up – a complete antithesis to the bombastic Jamie.

She’s played in the film by Lauren Patel, who told Sky News: “Any kind of story that one provides a bit of joy and a bit of comfort to people, and anything that makes people feel seen, deserves to be told.

“I think that the lovely thing about the representation in this film is it’s all just a small part of these very 3D characters to me. Jamie and Pritti, and the fact that it’s set in working class Sheffield and stuff, they’re all just small pieces of this whole little Jamie puzzle.”

But the biggest piece of the Jamie puzzle is Max Harwood, who makes his film debut in Everybody’s Talking About Jamie as the titular character.

He told Sky News that he was proud to be part of such an openly queer film, but that the story could easily relate to others with bold ambitions.

“I think that the specificity of it is incredibly, incredibly important, but actually what I love so much about this story more than anything… is that this story has such universality about it and that it can be for everyone.

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“Gone are the days where hopefully queer films are sidelined and not in the mainstream and in a subsection of movies… this film is a family film for everyone.

“The lead character just happens to be queer, and it happens to be a story about him wanting to be a drag queen – it could easily be a story about him wanting to be a doctor or a surgeon. I hope that people can see and relate to the different things in it.”

But something everyone agrees on is the unbridled joy that this film exudes – and ultimately why the cast, crew and creatives want you to see it.

Entertainment

Bernard Hill: Lord Of The Rings and Titanic actor dies aged 79

Published

6 hours ago

May 5, 2024

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Bernard Hill: Lord Of The Rings and Titanic actor dies aged 79

Actor Bernard Hill, who played roles in Lord Of The Rings and Titanic, has died aged 79, his agent has confirmed.

Hill also featured as Yosser Hughes in the iconic drama series Boys In The Blackstuff.

He was given a number of awards for his role as King Theoden in the Lord of the Rings trilogy and played Captain Edward Smith in the 1997 Oscar-winning film Titanic.

The actor was born in Blackley, Manchester, in 1944 and graduated with a diploma in theatre in 1970.

He was married to fellow actor Marianna Hill, with whom he shared a son. His agent Lou Coulson said he died in the early hours of Sunday.

Hill will return to TV on Sunday night starring in the second series of Martin Freeman’s The Responder.

Fans have already started to pay tribute to him on social media.

Scottish musician Barbara Dickson wrote of their time working together: “It’s with great sadness that I note the death of Bernard Hill. We worked together in John Paul George Ringo and Bert, Willy Russell marvellous show 1974-1975.

“A really marvellous actor. It was a privilege to have crossed paths with him. RIP Benny x.”

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Entertainment

Madonna plays biggest-ever show to 1.6 million fans on Rio’s Copacabana beach

Published

7 hours ago

May 5, 2024

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Madonna plays biggest-ever show to 1.6 million fans on Rio's Copacabana beach

Madonna has played her biggest-ever gig to an estimated 1.6 million people on Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro.

It was the last show in her Celebration tour and she performed hits such Like A Prayer, Vogue, Hung Up, Into The Groove and Like A Virgin.

The Brazil city was buzzing ahead of Saturday’s free two-hour show, with hotels and Airbnb’s packed and about 170 extra flights expected into the city.

Helicopters and drones buzzed over the beach as the Queen of Pop took to the stage at 10:37pm, nearly 50 minutes late.

“Here we are in the most beautiful place in the world,” Madonna told the crowd as she pointed out Rio’s famous mountains and Christ the Redeemer statue.

The 65-year-old opened up with Nothing Really Matters from 1998’s Ray of Light album.

Eighteen speaker towers were dotted along the beach to ensure everyone could hear the US star’s vocals.

Brazilian musicians and people from local samba schools were involved in the show – with many fans dressing up in Madonna-themed outfits.

“Since Madonna arrived here, I’ve been coming every day with this outfit to welcome my idol, my diva, my pop queen,” said Rosemary de Oliveira Bohrer, 69, who wore a version of Madonna’s iconic gold cone bra.

Many fans had staked out a spot many hours – or even days – before the show, while others took in the spectacle from yachts or apartment balconies.

Madonna’s website said it was the biggest she had ever done – more than 10 times the 130,000 she played to in Paris in 1987.

However, Rio is used to huge shows – The Rolling Stones and Rod Stewart have played to similar-size crowds there.

Thousands of police were on duty for Saturday’s show, which city authorities estimated drew a crowd of 1.6 million and would earn the local economy about 293 million reals (£46m).

For Madonna, it was the culmination of an 81-date retrospective tour that began in London in October and moved across Europe and North and South America.

The singer embarked upon the tour a few months after being admitted to intensive care with a serious bacterial inaction in June 2023.

Entertainment

Olly Alexander addresses ‘extreme’ remarks from fans on Israel’s Eurovision inclusion

Published

10 hours ago

May 5, 2024

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Olly Alexander addresses 'extreme' remarks from fans on Israel's Eurovision inclusion

The UK’s Eurovision Song Contest representative has addressed “extreme” remarks from fans over Israel’s inclusion in the competition.

Olly Alexander was selected as this year’s representative for the UK for the popular singing competition.

It’s set to take place in Malmo, Sweden, next week but tens of thousands are expected to protest Israel’s involvement and its ongoing war in Gaza.

Alexander, the Years & Years singer, has found himself facing criticism from some who called for him to withdraw amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas.

Queers for Palestine circulated a letter, signed by thousands including actors Indya Moore, Brigette Lundy-Paine, and Maxine Peake calling for the It’s A Sin actor to pull out of the show.

In March, along with Irish hopeful Bambie Thug, Danish entrant Saba and other Eurovision artists, Alexander released a joint statement, backing “an immediate and lasting ceasefire” but refusing to boycott the event.

Now, speaking out in a new documentary which has followed the 33-year-old as he prepares for the show, he has described some of the comments he and other participants have faced as “very extreme”.

He said: “A lot of the contestants and myself have been having a lot of comments that are like ‘You are complicit in a genocide by taking part in Eurovision’ which is quite extreme. It’s very extreme.

“I understand where that sentiment is coming from but I think it’s not correct.

“It’s an incredibly complicated political situation, one that I’m not qualified to speak on.

“The backdrop to this is actual immense suffering. It’s a humanitarian crisis, a war.

“It just so happens there’s a song contest going on at the same time that I’m a part of.”

Speaking in the BBC’s documentary titled Olly Alexander’s Road To Eurovision ’24, he continued saying that people should boycott Eurovision if they didn’t feel comfortable watching and he respected their decision – but would be taking part himself.

He added: “My plan is to just focus on putting on a good performance in Malmo.

“My team, everyone’s worked so hard, and we’re in the final stretch now.”

Earlier in the week, Alexander broke down crying during an interview with The Times when discussing the pressure he had come under for participating in Eurovision.

He told the paper he knew a number of signatories of the petition against him, and none had reached out to him.

He said: “This is so much bigger than me and Eurovision, it really is. But, obviously, I wish there wasn’t a war or this insane humanitarian crisis.

“I wish for peace and I have found this experience, at times, extremely … I’ve just felt really sad and distressed.”

Speaking on Sky’s Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips, deputy director general of the European Broadcasting Union who organises Eurovision, Jean Philip De Tender, defended Israel’s inclusion in the competition.

He said: “We do understand the concerns and deeply held views around the war in the Middle East.

“The song contest is a music event organised and co-produced by 37 public broadcasters, it’s not a competition between nations or governments.

“Our governing bodies reviewed the participation of Kan [Israel’s public broadcasting corporation] and found that they met all of the competing rules.”

Phillips pointed out incidences when Kan came under fire for their broadcasting.

This included, he said, when Kan published a video of children singing, in the public broadcaster’s own words, for the “annihilation of Gaza” and when one of their presenters was seen writing “I want to send the people of Gaza artillery shells”.

Mr De Tender said they had been in contact with Kan about the content they published and their editorial output, and had expressed concern on occasion.

He added that Eurovision had competition rules which they had to follow, and taking action beyond these rules to exclude Kan would have been a “political decision as such which we cannot take”.