PEOPLE


 

Interview: Slumdog Millionaire Star Dev Patel

Leading Actor: Dev Patel, Slumdog Millionaire
Names: Dev Patel

How did you get this role?
As soon as I heard Danny Boyle was doing it, I was like, yeah, wicked. I was cast, and then they sent me to India. And I did an audition with 15 or so beautiful girls, because they were casting Latika.

Now what was that like?
That was wicked. I felt like a kid in a candy shop, really. There were all these beautiful girls. Yeah, Freida [Pinto, who plays Latika], she told me after our first audition she felt like a bit of a pedophile after our first love scene, because she's 24 and I was 17 at the time.

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You said parts of the audition process almost had you in tears. What was it about that that was so difficult?
It's really nerve wracking, for one. Because obviously Danny Boyle's in the room, and things like that. I really wanted it. It was the first time in my life I had wanted something so bad. I remember doing one audition, and at the end of it Danny gave me this kind of talk, it was one of those talks like he was letting you down. Then after that I went with my mom to have a pizza, and it was the most sour-tasting pizza in the world. I felt like crying. Then I got a call two weeks later like something like, and it was Gail Stevens, the casting director, going 'They want you to go to India for a week, to join everyone on locations.'

Do you think the film would have been different if it were directed by an Indian?
I don't think it mattered. I think it was good in a way. Danny didn't take it as a foreigners point of view, and he really got in there deep. All the crew was from India. Everyone was like their own little co-director. We got to see the slums and all that. We got a nice portrait of what we were going to film. 
 


Had you ever been to the slums before?
No, not prior to that. But I went on location scouting to help me get into the character. I went to the biggest slum in India. That was a real eye-opener, really. When I go there, I was so happy to be proved wrong [about what I had expected the slums to be]. It was an overwhelming sense of community. Everyone knew everyone, and they were all happy. And like Danny says, they're proud of where they live. They said make sure you don't make us look like we're poor, because we're happy. It was great to see that.

Did you see a lot of Bollywood films?
Yeah, my family is of Indian heritage. Whenever I go to my grandma's house she's got one on.

Do you feel like you learned a lot making this film?
When I was playing this character, I tell Freida and Danny this all the time, I feel like I matured five years in the space of five months. It was a massive learning experience for me, being out in Mumbai.

Can you talk about that dance sequence at the end?
I thought it was a metaphor. Then one day on set, Danny said, 'Oh, by the way, tomorrow we've got a choreographer coming in for you.' I was like, 'What? You are not making me dance.' Freida was all into it, because they grew up watching the stars and all that. But I'm the guy in the club who stands in the back, sipping my drink, nowhere near the dance floor. But after all of that practice, I never knew I could move my hips like that.

REVIEW | Trivial Pursuit: Danny Boyle’s “Slumdog Millionaire”

Can you talk about the torture scenes? You go through a lot.
Yeah, that was scary stuff. We had done the dance sequence for three nights. There's one scene right at the end when I run across the platform, and running across the platform I tripped on a stone and twisted my ankle. It turned into like an elephant foot after dancing on it for three days. They had to cut my shoe open so my foot would fit in. But then, yeah, the torture scene was after that. I was up there hanging. All the blood started to pool in one leg, so they had trouble filming my feet. But yeah, I really got into it.

How does Danny work with actors, and how did he work with you?
Man, he's great. Coming from [British TV series] Skins, I was still finding my feet as an actor. Working with Danny was really a godsend. He was a director you can really put all your confidence into. If he tells you something totally outrageous, you just learn to trust him, because he's always thinking of the bigger picture.

COACD MEETS SIMON NESSMAN

Simon Nessman

Text Kate Sennert
Photography Kathy Lo

Simon Nessman has zero complaints. The 19-year-old from Hornby Island, Canada is quite content with his life as an amateur guitarist, surfer, snowboarder, traveler and Seinfeld fan. But for the rest of us—Bruce Weber, Mario Testino, Steven Klein et al.—we know that grin emerging from his pillowy lips stems from a phenomenally good two years modeling. With campaigns for Givenchy, D&G and Ralph Lauren under his belt, we’re pretty sure he doesn’t have much time for surfing and TV. “Although I have sacrificed much and put a lot on the line, the majority of my career has come spoon fed,” he admits. Lucky you, Simon. Just keep that smile on your face and we’ll forgive you for having it so damn good.


What's the number one perk in your profession?
Money.

What's the sleaziest part of your job?
The fact that we're glorified male prostitutes.

What gets you up in the morning?
A longing for things to come.

What's one thing your parents taught you that turned out to be true?
Karma.

How do you make the world a better place?
By touching the people around me in a positive way, and working to put myself in a position where I can affect more people. Still working on the details...

Where do you hide out?
My home in Long Island City, a little haven in a city of chaos.

If you were Obama, what's one thing you would do for your country?
Stop importing goods from China and build a local economy.

Name three reasons to be in a good mood right now.
1.It’s a beautiful day
2.I have so much unconditional support from family, friends and an amazing girl.
3. I'm being featured on COACD.


How do you stay alive during fashion week?
Embrace the craziness for what it is, and think of the relaxing holiday just around the corner.

 

TO FILM
In front of Mario Testino's camera, actor Brad Pitt shows his ability to transform into a dozen different men. This fall he stars as America’s favorite outlaw, Jesse James. But in real life he’s only playing the good guy

Photography Mario Testino
Styling Rachel Zoe

 There must be a movie-industry equation that determines a Hollywood superstar—some series of variables (looks, talent, chances of dating an attractive costar, ability to generate gossip fodder, etc.) that, when placed in a studio executive’s formula, adds up to a bankable celebrity. In the current cosmos of stars, there is probably no brighter light than the kind radiating off of actor Brad Pitt. And certainly from his first appearance in the role that pushed him into popular appeal, as the bad-boy seducer in 1991’s Thelma & Louise, Pitt had all of the obvious traits of an actor that could equal icon status. The Missouri native clearly had the looks, so much so that today Pitt pretty much exemplifies ultimate male beauty in the early 21st century. He also had talent that far transcended a heartthrob persona; one need only clock his turns in 1995’s Twelve Monkeys and Se7en, 1999’s Fight Club, or last year’s Babel to see a performer that brilliantly converted his attraction (which so many other stars rest on when they can’t go any deeper) into the fuel that helps drive the part. Today, Pitt wears the hat of producer as well as actor, working to bring projects like A Mighty Heart to the screen, while still starring in projects like this fall’s The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford. He plays the legendary outlaw who has come to typify the loner-American West mentality. Don’t expect Young Guns III, however. Under Andrew Dominik’s direction, the film, word has it, reads more as a moody, psychological portrait, like a dark-horse inheritor of Terrence Malick.

It is, of course, Pitt’s personal life that has overwhelmed his reputation in the last few years. The high profile marriage to Jennifer Aniston ended in 2005 with a high profile divorce, and by the time Angelina Jolie entered the picture, there was little hope that the actor would not become the lead in a soap opera written largely by the media. No one has to be reminded of every twist and turn in this love story. It has been drilled into the head of anyone passing magazine racks on a weekly basis. Naturally the physical beauty of Pitt and Jolie was an irresistible hook. What no one counted on was the fact that the two were radical human beings underneath.

And this is what Hollywood cannot calculate. They can pronounce an actor a movie star but they can’t deduce the quality of the man. Turns out, Pitt is the kind of guy whose ambition to help goes deeper than celluloid. Along with Jolie, he has committed himself to a number of humanitarian efforts, principally in Africa where he and his partner chose to have their daughter, Shiloh, in May 2006. It is rather ironic that Pitt ends up with another 1,000-volt celebrity and then begins to disassemble the predictable Hollywood couple scenario, trying to live on his own terms, following his ethics rather than his agents. Today, Pitt is still going rogue in Hollywood. He might be the only actor who has ever referenced former World Bank president Wolfowitz (when talking about casting his girlfriend as the lead in A Mighty Heart). He is certainly channeling fame for bigger principles than most anyone thought it was good for. And what’s just as surprising, he still sounds like a dude from Missouri just hanging out. Christopher Bollen

 

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Your character Norah in Nick and Norah is really interesting and cool, but she's also awkward in a really real way, like when Nick and Norah are in the car together and trying to make conversation and Norah's like, "Oh, forget it." Do you relate to her at all?
Yes, I think I relate to her the most of anyone I've ever played, and I wanted to make sure she was really fleshed out, you know, really a complete person with her weird little tics and her insecurities. She's very insecure and vulnerable, and she tries not to be that way because she knows it's pathetic but she can't really get out of it. So she sometimes puts her foot in her mouth, especially around Nick.

Everyone wants to know what it was like working with Michael Cera.
The best. The best. It's so laid back with Michael. We would both just hang out and talk, and we would seamlessly start shooting a scene, or we'd be singing between takes or something. He's just, you know, sweet and smart and funny and nice. He's just a really, really nice person, and it makes a movie where you're in every scene together essentially so fun and easy.

I read on your blog that New Yorkers yelled at you and kind of bugged you guys a little bit while filming. What was that like?
You know, New York at 4 in the morning is really kind of tempestuous. When we were filming, we were doing all night shoots, which means you get up at like 3 pm and then shoot through the night 'til morning, basically, so New Yorkers on the Lower East Side at 4 in the morning are all, they're all soft or they're in a good mood or, you know, [looking] for some mischief and two teenagers in a Yugo is fun for them to make fun of. I don't blame them [laughs]. Oh wait, I wasn't a teenager when we made that. I still think of myself as a teenager; it's sad... People would throw fruit at us, people would call us names, people would scream at us. Yeah, it was a little scary but kind of amazing.

I don't want to spoil anything for our readers but at the end there's a really sweet love scene, and it's really not one that I've seen a lot, especially in movies for teenagers. Tell me about that a little bit.
We definitely wanted it to be obvious that they have fallen in love and that it's innocent, you know? And they weren't all like tearing each other's clothes off or anything. It's a little bit awkward and sweet. It's just real. It is what would happen to these two people because they've just sort of had their first time to be alone and talk for real, not when they're looking for [Norah's friend] Caroline or, you know, something crazy's happening... They're just having a discussion and it's just very sweet, and it shows just where they're at and how much they love each other and how much promise there is for them as a couple.

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Deschanel Talks Yes Man

Zooey Deschanel contributed more than a performance to Yes Man. She helped with the soundtrack too. She plays an indie musician whom Jim Carrey meets after saying yes to offers he'd normally refuse. The music is authentic Deschanel.


"I usually write music alone, so it was fun to write with other people," she said. "All those girls are so great, and so talented and funny and smart and it was a fun process because we had a week to rehearse. Von Iva is the name of the band, so I just joined their band for a week and it was really fun. It wasn't so hard. I mean, I'm in a band myself and I write music and I do go to see shows a lot and so it wasn't too much of stretch for me."

The movie shows the comedic effect of saying yes to everything. Deschanel has learned to taper her affirmation in real life. "It's exhausting I think to just say really yes to everything for real, even if you do it for a day.

 

LITTLE MISS ‘SLUMDOG’

By Mark Kirby; Photographs by Dustin Reljin



Eighteen months ago, Freida Pinto was a print model and TV host from Mumbai who spoke in a sexy British English and had never played anyone other than herself in front of a camera. Today, thanks to Slumdog Millionaire—a festival hit about a slum kid competing for $20 million on the Hindi Who Wants to Be a Millionaire—it’s looking like she’ll be seated at the Kodak Theatre come Oscar night. As Slumdog enjoys comparisons to Little Miss Sunshine, Pinto, 24, who plays the contestant’s lifelong love interest, is enjoying the ride. “We had this big party in Toronto, and I met Adrien Brody and Rachel Weisz—and Paris Hilton,” she says. Who was the most interesting? “Um, actually Paris. You read about her, but when you meet her, she’s really sweet.” Welcome to Hollywood, Freida. We hope everyone is just as nice.







Jean Shrimpton (born 7 November 1942 in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire) is an English Supermodel and actress. Nicknamed 'The Shrimp', she was an icon of Swinging Sixties London, possessing some of the ga mine features that also made a huge success of the younger Twiggy. She starred alongside Paul Jones in the 1967 movie Privilege. The fashion trendsetter was also a heartbreaker to many glamorous men she knew during her time as a world famous cover girl (including a stint as the face of Yardley of London). She was once engaged to 60s photographer David Bailey, on whom the David Hemmings character in the movie Blowup was based. They met on a shoot for a Cornflakes advertisement. His friend told him she was too posh for him, but Bailey was undeterred and the two subsequently had a relationship for four years.


Edith Minturn "Edie" Sedgwick (April 20, 1943 – November 16, 1971)] was an American actress, socialite, and heiress who starred in several of Andy Warhol's short films in the 1960s.




Poor Little Rich Girl is their first film.
But some people said, Warhol ruined Edie's life. So they were split.



 Sedgwick's death as "undetermined/accident/suicide"