Post by Lily on Jun 7, 2014 19:15:17 GMT -5
(EXCLUSIVE) Imagine dragons: Gerard Butler talks tough love and ‘bubbly’ feelings
www.mb.com.ph/exclusive-imagine-dragons-gerard-butler-talks-tough-love-and-bubbly-feelings/
The premise of an animated movie called “How To Train Your Dragon” is fantastic enough, but what it probably did not hint at from its title – especially to those unfamiliar with the British book series of the same name from which it is loosely based – is that it would have a lot of heart.
“I had no idea it would be so successful,” Gerard Butler says of the first movie enthusiastically. In it he plays Stoick the Vast, the chieftain of a Viking village on that island of Berk that is plagued by dragons stealing their livestock. He adds, “When I watched the movie, I went, ‘Where have they taken us?’ It is one of my favorites of all my movies and one of my favorite animated movies ever.”
Take it from the man who also played King Leonidas in the vastly successful film “300.” Aside from the “genius of the animation,” as he says, he gives props to “the relationship between Hiccup (voiced by Jay Baruchel) and Toothless that was so powerful and magical.”
With the first movie being so well-loved, a second movie is a treat to its fans (a third is said to be in development phase as well, set for release in June 2016). In “How To Train Your Dragon 2,” Stoick’s son Hiccup is now a young man who spends a lot of his time exploring the frontiers of their world with his dragon pal Toothless.
Being who he is, Stoick is annoyed at this and would much rather have Hiccup step up to his responsibilities in the village being a future leader and all. Of course, their idyllic life in Berk won’t last and, soon, the power-crazed Drago (Djimon Hounsou) enters the picture and gets all crazy power-grabbing, obviously, with his bunch of dragon trappers. As an added twist, Hiccup’s mother Valka (Cate Blanchett) shows up for some family drama.
“In the first film we never really know what happened to my wife. But I talk about her with affection and… how sad I am that she is not a part of Hiccup’s life,” he relates. “Suddenly, in this film, Valka is there… This is a chance to have a family again. The story is both romantic and heartbreaking. Meeting her again takes me back to being a kid, when I was wooing her and singing to her.”
Indeed, Butler has put his “The Phantom of the Opera” roots to good use. “In ‘The Phantom,’ the most powerful moments for me that make your heart soar were when my voice was breaking, rather than singing… I remember the coach I was working with said (that) when you are gentle and you hear the little imperfections, that’s what makes your heart soar. That is what I wanted to do here (in this movie). Stoick is a burly Viking. He doesn’t know how to sing, but in this scene he’s like a child again…’”
Amid the crisis at hand and the great number of dragons flying around, the family reunion brings about “special moments,” Butler says. “I think if I put in all those hours just to achieve one of the moments that makes you ‘bubble,’ then I have succeeded. I love the feeling that people all around the world will experience those moments.”
In a broader sense, familial love – as tough as it is, even if it weren’t set in a fictional island inhabited by dragons – is just one of the underlying themes of the film for Butler. “Both movies are about tolerance and the courage that comes with it. The Vikings are learning to trust and they actually realize that dragons are beautiful. That is great because it’s often natural for mankind to fight instead of trust. People go: ‘Kill, destroy, defend,’ whether it’s fighting between races or cultures or nationalities. But we can be brave and rise above that,” he says.
“I think that is a great lesson for the world we live in right now. It’s hard to be able to say, ‘You know I don’t agree with you, but let’s not go to war. Let’s not kill each other.’ If everyone would just pay a little more attention and be a little more tolerant, we would live in a far better place,” he finishes.
www.mb.com.ph/exclusive-imagine-dragons-gerard-butler-talks-tough-love-and-bubbly-feelings/
The premise of an animated movie called “How To Train Your Dragon” is fantastic enough, but what it probably did not hint at from its title – especially to those unfamiliar with the British book series of the same name from which it is loosely based – is that it would have a lot of heart.
“I had no idea it would be so successful,” Gerard Butler says of the first movie enthusiastically. In it he plays Stoick the Vast, the chieftain of a Viking village on that island of Berk that is plagued by dragons stealing their livestock. He adds, “When I watched the movie, I went, ‘Where have they taken us?’ It is one of my favorites of all my movies and one of my favorite animated movies ever.”
Take it from the man who also played King Leonidas in the vastly successful film “300.” Aside from the “genius of the animation,” as he says, he gives props to “the relationship between Hiccup (voiced by Jay Baruchel) and Toothless that was so powerful and magical.”
With the first movie being so well-loved, a second movie is a treat to its fans (a third is said to be in development phase as well, set for release in June 2016). In “How To Train Your Dragon 2,” Stoick’s son Hiccup is now a young man who spends a lot of his time exploring the frontiers of their world with his dragon pal Toothless.
Being who he is, Stoick is annoyed at this and would much rather have Hiccup step up to his responsibilities in the village being a future leader and all. Of course, their idyllic life in Berk won’t last and, soon, the power-crazed Drago (Djimon Hounsou) enters the picture and gets all crazy power-grabbing, obviously, with his bunch of dragon trappers. As an added twist, Hiccup’s mother Valka (Cate Blanchett) shows up for some family drama.
“In the first film we never really know what happened to my wife. But I talk about her with affection and… how sad I am that she is not a part of Hiccup’s life,” he relates. “Suddenly, in this film, Valka is there… This is a chance to have a family again. The story is both romantic and heartbreaking. Meeting her again takes me back to being a kid, when I was wooing her and singing to her.”
Indeed, Butler has put his “The Phantom of the Opera” roots to good use. “In ‘The Phantom,’ the most powerful moments for me that make your heart soar were when my voice was breaking, rather than singing… I remember the coach I was working with said (that) when you are gentle and you hear the little imperfections, that’s what makes your heart soar. That is what I wanted to do here (in this movie). Stoick is a burly Viking. He doesn’t know how to sing, but in this scene he’s like a child again…’”
Amid the crisis at hand and the great number of dragons flying around, the family reunion brings about “special moments,” Butler says. “I think if I put in all those hours just to achieve one of the moments that makes you ‘bubble,’ then I have succeeded. I love the feeling that people all around the world will experience those moments.”
In a broader sense, familial love – as tough as it is, even if it weren’t set in a fictional island inhabited by dragons – is just one of the underlying themes of the film for Butler. “Both movies are about tolerance and the courage that comes with it. The Vikings are learning to trust and they actually realize that dragons are beautiful. That is great because it’s often natural for mankind to fight instead of trust. People go: ‘Kill, destroy, defend,’ whether it’s fighting between races or cultures or nationalities. But we can be brave and rise above that,” he says.
“I think that is a great lesson for the world we live in right now. It’s hard to be able to say, ‘You know I don’t agree with you, but let’s not go to war. Let’s not kill each other.’ If everyone would just pay a little more attention and be a little more tolerant, we would live in a far better place,” he finishes.