The celebrated Up documentary series that has chronicled 14 Britons every seven years since age 7 is back underway with 56 Up . I repeat: 56 Up . Feel old yet? Though maybe not as old as director Michael Apted: “As long as I’m above ground, I’ll carry on,’ says 71-year-old Apted when we meet on the 20th floor of ITV’s London HQ. ‘Maybe if I wasn’t above ground, someone else would take it over. Having come so far it seems a pity to just unilaterally stop it unless there is good reason. I’ve only ever said we’d stop if too many of them pulled out, or people didn’t want to watch it any more. But neither of those things has happened.’ Producer Claire Lewis, who joined at 28 Up , wonders what will happen when the participants start to die. ‘When we lose somebody it’ll make the others think very hard about doing it again. I don’t know what effect that would have on us and on them. It’s very hard watching yourself grow old on screen.'” [ The Guardian via The Awl ]
Andrew Garfield has passed along comments and notes from his inaugural Spider-Man stint for a while now, but he’s saved his first truly in-depth press foray for a chat with the one guy on Earth who can literally relate to every word: Ex- Spider-Man franchise star Tobey Maguire. The conversation is featured in the new issue of VMan , with numerous highlights from cover boy Garfield confiding to Maguire about the absurdity of the casting process… “I’m friends with a few of the guys who were up for it, and I actually had dinner with Jamie [Bell] the night of my screen test and his screen test. We compared notes and war stories, and we kind of got past the ridiculousness of it all and thought it would be a nice idea to get everyone together and kind of interview each other about how messed up the process is, being against each other, and remember that we’re all in it together, knowing that when you take off that bodysuit someone else is going to be stepping into your sweat immediately after. It’s a weird kind of cattle call. But Marc [Webb] was great. He was very open and encouraging. You have the monitoring area with literally about 30 people judging you, looking at your face and whispering to each other—it’s one of the most disconcerting and kind of humiliating things to go through, if you’re aware of it.” …to Maguire singing his heir’s praises… “When it was coming together, I was particularly excited at two moments: one was when Marc Webb got involved. I think he’s an interesting and cool choice. And then I was certainly curious as to who was going to play Peter Parker. When I heard it was you, I was literally like, fucking perfect! I just want it to be great, and I thought, what a great actor Andrew is, I’m glad that’s what’s happening here.” …to the true confession that we’d all been waiting for from Garfield: “I was 19 when I saw [ Spider-Man ]. I got a pirated DVD at Portobello Market with my friend Terry McGuiness, and we went back to my skanky apartment in North London and we watched it twice in a row and then practiced your final line in the mirror! Terry has this thick and every time I would recite that line he would laugh this very distinct laugh and say, ‘No, man, you could never be fucking Spider-Man. You’ll never be fucking Spider-Man!’ I was so humiliated and upset. But, um… fuck you, Terry!” Aw! Memories. Plenty more hits shelves May 17 in VMan . [Photo: Inez van Lamsweerde & Vinoodh Matadin for VMan]
Joss Whedon has always kept his devout cult following close, even as his projects have made it big (or not — right, Dollhouse fans?). So with the mega-huge success of Avengers , maybe some of the Whedon faithful were right to worry that fame might alter their idol’s true path — the one that takes a step back from a big time Hollywood future to focus on Dr. Horrible 2 and homemade Shakespeare adaptations, for instance. And so Whedon took to his blog to thank the fans who’d been Whedonettes/Whedonheads/Whedonwhatevers all along, and also to link to a poop-related internet video he appeared in last week. Oh, that Joss. But really, now that he’s hit the big time, will Whedon stay true to the core demo that hungers for his quirky musicals and side projects and the promise of Air Bud playing jai alai? All this and more (it makes sense, trust) in his totes Whedonesque appreciation post. “People have told me that this matters, that my life is about to change. I am sure that is true. And change is good — change is exciting. I think — not to jinx it — that I may finally be recognized at Comiccon. Imagine! Also, with my percentage of “the Avengers” gross, I can afford to buy… [gets call from agent. Weeps manfully. Resumes typing.] …a fine meal. But REALLY fine, with truffles and s#!+. And I can get a studio to finance my dream project, the reboot of “Air Bud” that we all feel is so long overdue. (He could play Jai Alai! Think of the emotional ramifications of JAI ALAI!!!!)” Seriously, how would Air Bud hold the basket? In his mouth?? Would he wear the funny little helmets and everything? The mind reels. “A lot of stories have come out about my ‘dark years,’ and how I’m ‘unrecognized’… I love these stories, because they make me seem super-important, but I have never felt the darkness (and I’m ALL about my darkness) that they described. Because I have so much. I have people, in my life, on this site, in places I’ve yet to discover, that always made me feel the truth of success: an artist and an audience communicating. Communicating to the point of collaborating. I’ve thought, ‘maybe I’m over; maybe I’ve said my piece.’ But never with fear. Never with rancor. Because of y’all. Because you knew me when.” Joss belongs to you, Whedonites! No matter how many “Revengers” he makes. Later, Whedon answers a Q&A with himself. The subject of being in the superhero business alongside the likes of Chris Nolan and Co. comes up. “THIS IS NOT A ZERO SUM GAME. Our successes, whoever has the mostest, are a boon to each other. We’re in the business of proving that superhero movies aren’t just eye-candy (they’re eye-TRUFFLES!). People seem intent on setting us against each other, and though I’m proud to be Woody Strode to Nolan’s Kirk Douglas, I think they’re missing the point. Whatever TDKR does on its first weekend, the only stat that matters to me is the ticket I’M definitely buying. Nolan and Raimi INVENTED the true superhero flick, yo. (Special mention to Jon Favreau and James Gunn.) Happy to be in the mix.” Uh-oh, fanboys. Are you ready for this? PILE-ON IN 3, 2, 1… (Where have we heard this before ?) ” The Avengers is notably IMperfect, which makes its success mean so much more to me — because it’s striking a chord that matters MORE than its obvious flaws. Like the team, it appears to be more than the sun [sic] of its parts. Boo-yah!” On the other hand, I think we can all agree with Whedon’s greatest Avengers accomplishments: “Getting “mewling quim” out there to the masses. Also, Hulk.” I’ll give him bonus points forever for that much, and for sneaking in that Newsies reference. Read Whedon’s full post here , but first! He takes a break from fame and truffles to share pooping advice on the internet. [via Whedonesque ]
