OHF promotion/interviews

[elenoire]

Very interesting read Fifi

Another great interview, they mention Gerry and Antoine may be doing Hunter Killer...

www.torontosun.com/2013/03/15/gerard-butler-back-in-action-with-olympus

NEW YORK -- Olympus Has Fallen is all violent action and hand-to-hand combat, and as the star, Gerard Butler is jumping through hoops for most of the film.

There's no down time when you're trying to rescue the President from terrorists.

How much training did the actor have to do to take on this brutally physical role?

"None," says Butler, deadpan. "I just went in and did it. That's how bad-ass I am." And then he laughs madly.

"I've always wanted to say that! I did nothing! I just said the lines!"

Gerard Butler, 43, is funny, taller than you imagine and -- if you only know him from movies such as The Ugly Truth, Playing For Keeps or The Bounty Hunter -- far more interesting than you might assume

In Olympus Has Fallen, which opens Friday, the Scottish actor gets back to the kind of testosterone-driven action that distinguished 300, the Spartan-heavy battle epic that gave Butler global recognition.

The two movies are vastly different, obviously, but for fans waiting around for the Scottish actor to get past his romantic comedy phase, Olympus Has Fallen will be a welcome relief.

Butler plays a Secret Service agent in the movie, and has to single-handedly recover the White House and the President (Aaron Eckhart) from the clutches of Korean terrorists. To do so requires stunning displays of martial arts and bloodletting, and the action never lets up from the get-go.

The impressive cast includes Melissa Leo, Morgan Freeman and Angela Bassett and the movie is directed by Antoine Fuqua -- so it's brisk, beautiful and bloody.

And in case you wondered, the actor trained for the film for months.

Butler is also a producer on Olympus Has Fallen. It's the fifth feature on which he's worn a producer's hat.

"When you start acting, you never see yourself as the person who will be offering jobs," he says, "and then suddenly you're a producer and you're offering roles to other actors. Or going to a director and saying, 'I'd love you to get involved ...' I've always wanted to work with Antoine"¦ I went and said, 'How do we freshen this up and make it vital and compelling terrifying and thought-provoking, and yet at the same time, draw out some interesting characters and climb into their heads and see this ordeal from where they're sitting?' And that's what we tried to do."

They largely succeeded.

Asked if he ever intends to add directing to his skill set, Butler says, "It crosses my mind some days, but first I have to learn to act half decently."

Butler grew up in Paisley, Scotland, where he was head boy at a Catholic high school.

He went on to Glasgow University and was training to be a lawyer before he became an actor; he was also, briefly, the lead singer of a band called Speed.

A certain mix of bravado and booze got Butler fired from his law firm about a week before he would have finished his training.

And so, at age 25, he decided to try acting and moved to London, where he eventually found stage work in a production of Coriolanus.

Butler's film debut came in 1997 in Mrs. Brown, and a move to Los Angeles in 1999 kicked his career up a notch -- he won roles in Dracula 2000, Attila, Reign of Fire, Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life and Timeline. His singing talent came in handy when he was cast as the lead in Phantom of the Opera (2004).

By the time the film 300 came along in 2006, Butler was a star.

He's talking as a producer when he says, "A lot of actors from the UK have done well in America." Butler talks about theatrical training and charisma and mentions Ewan McGregor and Colin Farrell.

"There's a certain charm and roguish element they can put into characters, a wildness, that whether you're showing it or taming it, it's alway burning in there somewhere." It's a description that fits him, too.

Butler's level of fame now means endless scrutiny, and he's been linked romantically to umpteen women -- Jennifer Aniston, Naomi Campbell, Cameron Diaz and Jessica Simpson among them. His take on celebrity is pretty simple: he got used to it. "Often, if I'm on the street with someone who's not experienced that before, and people are coming up to me, and talking to me, or if I'm at a premiere, surrounded, somebody will say, 'How do you deal with it?' The funny thing is, I hardly notice it anymore"¦ You gradually develop into that kind of celebrity status and you gradually learn to handle it and also dismiss it."

Anyway, he's pleased when fans want to talk to him about specific films.

"You can see they genuinely were moved or shocked, that's what hits me in here," he says, indicating his heart.

"If people are just excited, that's nice, but I don't necessarily know what that means. At the end of the day I'm just standing in front of a camera. I'm not performing a surgery or saving someone's life."

FUQUA NOT DOING '24'

Bad news for fans of 24: Antoine Fuqua, the director long associated with a film version of the hit TV series, says, "I'm not doing that movie."

From the sounds of it, nobody else is, either.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad tidings.

Not that Fuqua is looking for a job. He's currently working on a documentary about Suge Knight, the boxing film Southpaw and biopics of Tupac and Miles Davis.

Every actor who works with Fuqua talks about improv, collaboration and creativity during filming. He says there's a simple reason for the freedom he fosters on his sets: "I love actors."

Fuqua, 47, continues, "They're creative people and they bring the human element"¦ they bring their magic to a role. To tie their hands is a cardinal sin for a director, because you're not allowing them to bring what they bring."

Fuqua, known for music videos as well as such movies as Training Day, Shooter and Brooklyn's Finest, hopes to work again with Gerard Butler. They may team up on the thriller Hunter Killer, but meanwhile, the filmmaker compares his Olympus Has Fallen star to Sean Connery -- and not just because both are Scottish. "It's his presence. He's a big guy, he's got some kid in him, he likes to crack jokes, he has a youthfulness. He's a bit of a bad boy, in his own way. I think he's got a lot to give that no one has tapped into."

[Deleted]

thanks for posting this review fifiserafino sounds promising, but I am not particular happy about this comment:

To my knowledge there haven’t been any press screenings yet. The PR team is using social media to publicize the screenings and advertise the feedback ahead of giving the film to the usual outlets or websites. That’s not to say they don’t want favorable press or that write-ups by well-established reviewers won’t appear. They are, after all, also utilizing tv spots and releasing clips to some of those websites. My point is that even if critics trash the movie or the press pans it, it won’t matter. The buzz is already too strong, word-of-mouth too favorable. With less than a week to go before general release here in the US, it would seem they’ve effectively neutralized any possible negativity. That’s probably a rosy-hued opinion, but this could become a new model for movie marketing.

As much as I think the critics have too much power in deciding the fate of a movie I can't see how this model for marketing could be that successful.

I assumed they were doing the early screenings because they didn't have enough time to build the buzz for the movie, not having any Comic con appearances, no "making Of" specials, etc like they did with "300".. I sure hope this wasn't marketed this way because of a lack of confidence in critical reviews.

With the economy being so bad, more audiences are waiting for the critics to tell them how to spend their money at the box office.

Keeping positive thoughts the film will be well received by audiences and the critics

[elenoire]

This clip shows why so many tweets say Gerry is a badass in OHF

[Deleted]

Elenoire, you posted in the black news box that Gerry and Aaron were going to be talking to the press in Rome on April 5. The Rome premiere for OHF is on April 18. Does this mean that Gerry will be going to Rome for April 5 (UK premiere is April 3), and then back to Rome on April 18? The Mexico trip for Gerry and Aaron is April 12-13, and the Russian premiere is somewhere in there (can't pinpoint the date). But will Gerry be IN Rome on April 5 and then again on April 18? Just wondering, as I have some Italian friends who want the chance to see/meet him. Thanks.

Pattypeppermint

[elenoire]

www.asca.it/news-Cinema__Gerard_Butler_a_Roma_per___Attacco_al_potere__-1258184-ATT.html

This press release today states Gerry and Aaron will be talking to the journalists in Rome on April 5. The premiere is on April 18, so we can assume they won't be returning at that date.

The London Premiere is April 3 and the Moscow one is April 4.

Today we had a tweet from a journalist in South Africa that he got an invite to meet Gerry and Aaron next month...so, they'll be very busy flying around the globe...

[elenoire]

www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/olympus-has-fallen-finds-dc-under-siege/2013/03/15/a572d5b2-8be0-11e2-9f54-f3fdd70acad2_story.html

‘Olympus Has Fallen’ finds D.C. under siege

Washington’s worst-case scenario becomes a big-screen reality with “Olympus Has Fallen” arriving in theaters.

D.C. residents might recognize the story from a nightmare: Terrorists launch an impeccably coordinated attack on the city, which includes opening fire on tourists and suit-clad lobbyists alike; the White House (code name Olympus) takes a beating, leaving the stately mansion a charred, bullet-riddled ruin; and the president is taken hostage after the enemy infiltrates his secret bunker. As an added punch to the gut, the Washington Monument collapses like the spectacular finale of a game of Jenga.

If it hits a little close to home, that’s the point. Director Antoine Fuqua and actor-
producer Gerard Butler wanted the events to seem plausible.

“I try to find a way to ground the movie in some reality, in something that’s happening in the world, in something that we can all connect to,” Fuqua said on a recent visit to Washington.

Riveting action rooted in real-world drama is the norm in Fuqua’s films, which also include “Training Day” (2001) and “Tears of the Sun” (2003). Another common thread is the hero’s journey. In this case, Secret Service agent Mike Banning — played by Butler — is tasked with saving the day.

Once the favorite handler of President Asher (Aaron Eckhart), Banning is relegated to desk duty after a tragedy involving the first family. But when North Korean terrorists storm the White House, Banning finds himself hiding under the crumbling roof of 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. Inside the bunker, a terrorist who goes by Kang begins negotiating with the Pentagon. In return for meeting outrageous demands, Kang promises to free the president.

This is Banning’s opportunity to right his reputation. All he has to do is kill the countless terrorists roaming the White House corridors and then find a way into the impenetrable bunker to save the president and various Cabinet members.

“That’s the ‘Rocky’ moment. He doesn’t think he’s going to win,” Butler said. “When he fights, even though he thinks he’s going to lose, you see his moments of doubt and vulnerability. That’s what I want to work with.”

But Butler didn’t want to confuse unlikely success with impossibility. Banning may be succeeding against all odds, but that does not mean other events should be preposterously far-fetched. Butler saw something special in the original script, but when he approached Fuqua to direct, he admitted that certain passages were going to need an overhaul.

That original version featured civilians being blinded by high-tech gizmos that emit invisible electronic waves, and it culminated in a train busting through a wall and into the Potomac River — “Definitely out of an ’80s action movie,” Butler said. So the actor and director opted to cut down on the frills. The enemies arrive in old trucks and planes.

“There’s a simplicity to it, the way there’s a simplicity to what happened before where essentially box cutters changed the future of the world,” Butler said. “Here it’s a C-130 cargo plane, it’s tourists, it’s trash trucks, all of these things that are so normal and yet are so dangerous.”

Underneath the special effects chaos of the first script, Butler connected with a kind of patriotism-rousing emotion when imagining a White House attack. Even the Scotland native could feel the impact of such an event.

“It is the most powerful building in the world, and it’s the symbol and beacon of freedom,” he said. “The White House and those institutions are America’s treasures, but they’re kind of the world’s treasures, as well.”

But before the filmmakers could obliterate the president’s home, they had to build it. Green screen wasn’t an option, Fuqua said, because characters had to run up stairs and fly through doors, walls needed to explode, and hundreds of extras and stuntmen needed to swarm the building. The attack on the White House — which lasts about 20 spell­binding minutes — was the most complex scene for Fuqua to shoot and Butler’s favorite for audiences to see.

One of the difficulties was finding the space to build such a massive structure, plus an empty freeway to re-create a couple blocks of Pennsylvania Avenue.

“It’s hard to find places that just say, ‘Yeah, okay, sure, come take over the whole block and blow up some cars and, you know, there’s a C-130 flying overhead,’ ” Fuqua said.

Salvation came in the form of Shreveport, La., which was “about 115 degrees” during filming. The sweat moviegoers see is real.

For accuracy in the building’s details, Fuqua turned to production designer Derek Hill, who had already done extensive research on the White House when working on Oliver Stone’s “W.” As for the veracity of the scenes in the president’s secret bunker, Fuqua remains cagey about his intel, except to say that he has never been inside.

“From what I understand, I didn’t do too bad,” he said with a wink.

For Butler’s part, he was trained by former Secret Service agents and watched documentaries about the agency. That taught him not only how to move — “literally how they turn a corner” — but also what the protocol would be if an operative found himself in a similar scenario. That includes everything from finding ammunition to waging psychological warfare on the enemy. The on-set consultants even pushed Butler to include more verbal sparring, which sounds a lot like trash-talk during sports games, but the actor often opted to speak with actions.

While doing research for the film, Fuqua encountered a few surprises, including one that should reassure Washingtonians. The director walked away from the film feeling more secure than ever.

“I had one gentleman sit down and say, ‘Nowadays, we sit around and discuss scenarios. The 9/11 Commission said one of the reasons that happened is because we were unimaginative, we weren’t prepared,’ ” Fuqua recalled. “And now they sit around, and they discuss everything. Aliens could come, and they’ve talked about it.”

In a way, this movie is just another in a series of brainstorming sessions.

“[It’s] just sort of a scenario of what could happen,” Fuqua said. “But we’re in good hands with our guys. They know what they’re doing.”

[catty]

I can't wait to see this movie !!..and i don't even like Action films.

Gerry is fantastic as Action Man ! The only Action movies I can watch are with Gerry starring.

[jhawk]

The articles are great. It sounds like Gerry is going to around the globe a few times in all his trips, slight exaggeration but not far from it. He will need a rest after that. Can't wait for the release. Also can't wait for the premiere in LA. You did super G.

[Lily]

Thank you so much Fifi and Elenoire..

This is for you... from here timesenterprise.com/news/x2000912690/5-films-that-target-the-White-House

[fifiserafino]

This is well worth watching www.bet.com/video/celebrity/2013/antoine-fuqua-on-prince.html

He's 'down with the swirl baby' and acting has left him '43, loveless and childless' (just joking, or maybe not?)

[Lily]

Mar 18, 2013 3:20:52 GMT -5 fifiserafino said:

This is well worth watching www.bet.com/video/celebrity/2013/antoine-fuqua-on-prince.html

He's 'down with the swirl baby' and acting has left him '43, loveless and childless' (just joking, or maybe not?)

Never without love because we love him!

[fifiserafino]

www.shockya.com/news/2013/03/18/interview-gerard-butler-talks-olympus-has-fallen/

Interview: Gerard Butler Talks About His Role In Olympus Has Fallen[/size]

Determined to remain loyal to the president and maintain one hundred percent success rate in protecting the leader of the free world, Secret Service agents often struggle when their assigned missions don’t go according to plan. But after falling from grace and struggling to find redemption after an unfortunate accident, the agents will do whatever it takes to get their life back on track. That’s certainly the case with disgraced Secret Service agent Mike Banning in director Antoine Fuqua’s new action thriller ‘Olympus Has Fallen.’ After being close to the president of the United States, but being fired for not being able to save the First Lady’s life, Mike will do whatever it takes to get his career back on track, even if it means putting his life in danger to save the commander-in-chief.

‘Olympus Has Fallen’ follows a group of terrorists who take down the White House (code name Olympus), leaving Mike (Gerard Butler) to try to save the president of the United States, Benjamin Asher (Aaron Eckhart). The small group of heavily armed, meticulously trained extremists launch a daring daylight ambush on Washington, overrunning the White House and taking the president and his staff hostage inside an impenetrable underground bunker. As a battle rages on the White House lawn, Mike joins the battle, and finds his way into the besieged building to do the job he has trained to do all his life: to protect the president at all costs.

Mike uses his extensive training and detailed knowledge of the presidential residence to become the eyes and ears of Acting president Allan Trumbull (Morgan Freeman) and his key advisers. With tensions rising, the radicals begin executing hostages and threaten to kill more unless their demands are met. America’s national security team must rely on Mike to locate the president’s young son, Connor (Finley Jacobsen), who is being sought as the ultimate test of the president’s loyalty to his country. Mike must also rescue the president before the terrorists can unleash their ultimate plan.

Butler generously sat down recently for a roundtable interview at New York City’s Waldorf Astoria Hotel to talk about the filming of ‘Olympus Has Fallen.’ Among other things, the actor, who also produced the action thriller, discussed what it was like switching from a producer’s mindset to an actor’s mindset while shooting his scenes; the reasoning of incorporating Mike’s relationship with Connor into the plotline; and where his American patriotism lies, even though he’s a Scottish citizen.

Question (Q): You acted in, and produced, the film. How did you switch back and forth, and were there moments when you had to put on your producer’s hat when you were in the middle of a scene?

Gerard Butler (GB): That’s actually a very good question. I was heavily involved in this movie during the development of the script. To be honest, we were working on it the whole way through. We were constantly trying to ground it and create suspense and interesting ideas between the dynamic in the White House, between me and the villain. We were always working on what would be the best dialogue in the situations.

Sometimes you would find yourself going, okay, I’m going into the scene now, I have to switch off and get ready. I learned that back with ‘Law Abiding Citizen,’ where my first day of shooting was one of my worst days ever. I had been so involved in the producing side, and suddenly I had to make a scene in the court. I thought, oh my God, I have no idea where I am. It actually turned out to be one of my favorite scenes in the movie. It always plagued me.

In this, there comes a point when you have to say to yourself, okay, you have to click in. I know where I’m at, and I get into the emotion and the psychological part. But to be honest, the one thing that helps me is when you’re so heavily involved in the creation of the script and the characters and story, and it takes you so much deeper into that world. So I find a lot of the time that you’re already there. You’re working on scenes you developed, and you have an understanding of what the scene was and what the characters intentions are. You’ve been working on it for months, so it’s a great way to climb into character, I find.

Q: Of all the skills you had to learn, what have you used, or could use, in real life? Have you ever used something in real life you learned in a movie?

GB: (laughs) Yeah, probably karaoke after ‘Phantom of the Opera.’ Unfortunately, that’s probably not as bad ass as you’d like to hear. You learn a lot in terms of fighting ability. Without a doubt, it increases confidence in your ability to handle yourself. Coming from Scotland, that was never a big issue anyway. But definitely, that’s an ability that allows a confidence.

When you have a confidence, you also have an ability to diffuse situations. People come up to me with a lot of energy. Ninety-nine percent of the time it’s positive, but sometimes its drunken, or it comes out the wrong way. I sometimes think violence comes out of fear. If you don’t have fear, you’re less likely to have the need to get involved.

Q: Have you ever diffused a bar room brawl, for instance?

GB: Yeah, I did that a lot more before. Somebody asked me about a heroic situation. I actually received an award of bravery when I saved a boy from drowning in this river when I was younger.

But I saw all these fights in Scotland. I remember people getting the sh*t kicked out of them, and I would step in, even for people I didn’t know. One time I almost paid a heavy price. When I went to help a guy up, he shouted at me to get lost, even though six guys were kicking him. I’ve always been that kind of guy. When I see something unjust, I can’t not try to stop it. A bit like Mike in this movie, who has to restore some justice.

Q: One of the interesting relationships in the film is between Mike and the young boy, Connor. You didn’t overdo it with that relationship.

GB: That’s a good point, because we used to have him all the way through to the end of the movie, in the White House with me. But we questioned, is the audience going to buy me, this ex-Special Forces bad ass, running around with a kid throughout the movie? It took it somewhere else. We felt the less, the better in that way.

I thought we established a very powerful, meaningful relationship between me and the kid from early on. It allows you to get really invested in that relationship. It gets a cheer from the audience every time. I don’t want to give any spoilers, but I think how that turned out with Connor was lovely.

I loved his sweet vulnerability and his inner strength, which I think is a theme for this whole movie. It’s the vulnerability we have as people and as a country. But I also liked the strength and courage and heroism that brings out of us. He is the perfect example of someone who has to rise to the task and be a hero.

Q: Coming from Scotland, where does your American patriotism lie, and have you ever thought of getting American citizenship?

GB: As I was saying, we as a country, I was thinking, I’m going to get a lot of sh*t for this because I’m not American. I don’t have my citizenship, but I grew up in the western world. Throughout the 20th and 21st centuries, the buzz word you would use is America. It’s the beacon of freedom in the free world. You get attached to the American ideals and culture and politics in a large extent.

I think this movie isn’t just about being an American. It is very patriotic. It’s not just an attack on the White House, it’s an attack on the world. Just like 9/11 wasn’t just an attack on America, that was an attack on the free world. Also, the bombings on London wasn’t just an attack on Britain, it was an attack on the world.

You always go to the heart of a movie, and what it means at the heart. It’s not just about an attack on America; it’s about an attack on each individual, and what you do in that situation. You can take it away from politics. You use this as a way to be inspired, in terms of understanding what it takes, or that it is possible that in your darkest hour, you do rise up. But everyone takes a different message from a movie, and it isn’t always the on-the-nose message of fighting for your country. At its core, it’s good against evil, and the mythical journey of a hero.

Q: What went into the decision to make North Korea as the invading country?

GB: Well, it wasn’t actually North Korea that was the invading country. It used to be North Korea as an invading country, but we actually changed that. We didn’t want to star a massive political debate. When you make any movie, you pay attention to the current political tensions. Obviously, the tension between North Korea, South Korea and the U.S. is a big problem, as witnessed by recent events.

But what we wanted to do was not get involved in that debacle, so we made it a rogue organization. It’s a militia force headed by a mastermind who has his motivations. He’s a genius who’s also insane. But at the same time, he’s not a million miles away from Osama bin Laden. He has followers because it’s a cause other people would get behind.

It’s also very plausible that when this attack happens, there will be a political fallout. So of course North Korea would be involved, and it would cause tension between North Korea and South Korea. But it’s not that North Korea was originally the guilty party.

Q: You created the White House in Shreveport. What did it cost to do that, and what was that like?

GB: It’s amazing. One of our PR people said that when they were showing it to some political journalists in Washington, one of them was asking if one of the cafes Mike was in with Angela Bassett was a real cafe there. They totally believed it was set in Washington. They wanted to have that emotional attachment and memories with those places.

But the movie was shot in Shreveport, and probably isn’t another place in the country that looks less like Washington. But it was a mixture of choosing the right locations and building the sets when necessary. There’s a roundabout there and then a main road with a piece of grass. Then this White House starts popping up, and everyone in Shreveport is surprised, because everyone passed that White House.

They recognize you and know a movie’s going on. So they ask, is that White House with your movie? (laughs) Day-by-day, you saw it taking shape, and you thought, wow, this is really starting to look like the White House. Then you complement it with visual effects. Between that and shots of Washington itself, you’re amazed. At the end of the day, you’re in the action.

Once you’re in there, you’re in Washington. But we were in Shreveport, where it felt like 197 degrees. It was miserable being outside during the middle of summer, doing action sequences. After every take, I had to change my shirt because it was literally soaking, and I had to ring it out. Just standing there was unbearable, and then I had to run and fall down, too. So it was an intense experience.

[elenoire]

www.facebook.com/gerardbutler?ref=stream

Folks in town for the premiere. My mum loves watching me kick some ass (especially when it's the bad guys).

[mydear]

Mar 18, 2013 10:41:10 GMT -5 elenoire said:

www.facebook.com/gerardbutler?ref=stream

Folks in town for the premiere. My mum loves watching me kick some ass (especially when it's the bad guys).

and she has right

[jhawk]

It was an intense experience for G in Shreveport with the heat.

Really glad to see his folks. His mom is sooo cool. She loves him so much. He is very happy to have them there. It is great to see him so supported. Way to go G, you are great.