The Star Online: Entertainment: Movies
The Star Online: Entertainment: Movies |
| Posted: Talented, handsome and in demand, Logan Lerman has the world at his feet. ALTHOUGH his character in the 2010 film Percy Jackson: The Lightning Thief and this year's Percy Jackson: Sea Of Monsters is a demigod – the half-human son of the Greek god Poseidon – actor Logan Lerman can totally emphatise. In the second film, Percy Jackson feels insecure, with a need to prove to himself that he's not just a one-time wonder kid. "I feel like I've been there. Those moments of self-doubt and all that, like I am sure everybody else has felt, so I can definitely relate to his journey in the film," says Lerman in a phone interview from Italy where he is attending the Giffoni Film Festival to promote Sea Of Monsters with his co-star Alexandra Daddario. "It's what the movie is about, the importance of family and friendship. I have definitely been in that situation when I have been over my head and had a big movie on my shoulders and doubted myself. I depend on my friends and family to, kind of, help me through the hard times." Born in Beverly Hills, California, Lerman is no stranger to the film industry. At only 21, he has worked for more than half his young life having started acting at the age of six. Among the films he has appeared in include The Patriot, What Women Want, Riding In Cars With Boys, The Butterfly Effect, The Number 23 and 3:10 To Yuma. On television, he is best known for Jack & Bobby, a series Lerman deems as the starting point of his "film school" as that's when he got curious about how movies and TV shows were made. At 18, he landed the titular role in Percy Jackson: The Lightning Thief, which is based on the best-selling novel by Rick Riordan. The film became a global hit, elevating Lerman to international stardom. "It's pretty odd to be outside my bubble – you know, in the US – and going to different regions and seeing that people know about the film. It's eye-opening. When I started doing the international press for the first film, it was quite shocking ... (but) it was nice shock, you know." In between making the two Percy Jackson films, Lerman starred in one big-budgeted feature (The Three Musketeers) that was panned by critics and a smaller fare (The Perks Of Being A Wallflower) which earned him good reviews. As for resuming the role of Percy Jackson, it was not a problem for Lerman as he had already figured out the character during the first film. "It was pretty easy jumping in the old shoes," admits Lerman. "These films are really a lot of fun to make; it's an adventure movie and the adventure itself is fun to be in." Lerman says it was great to reunite with the cast despite the three-year gap between the two Percy Jackson films. "It was a nice reunion. I mean I kept in touch with most of the cast that I worked with in the first movie, but you know everyone is working and travelling everywhere for different projects, so it's really hard to see each other. So, yeah, it was like a big reunion." Sea Of Monsters starts off with Percy training at Half-Blood camp with other children like him. Feeling abandoned by his father, Percy questions if he is living up to his full potential. His low self-esteem is crushed further by the daughter of Ares (the god of war) – Clarisse La Rue (Levan Rambin) – who proves to be better than Percy at almost everything. He also discovers that he has a half-brother, a cyclops. But before he can deal with all the new drama in his life, the camp is attacked leaving it susceptible to outside forces, which indirectly puts Olympus in danger. With so much at stake, Percy steps up to go on a mission with the old gang – Annabeth Chase (Daddario) and Grover (Brandon T. Jackson) – as well as his brother, Tyson (Douglas Smith). Together, they set sail to the Bermuda Triangle or, as it is known to the Olympians, Sea Of Monsters. The second film features a more elaborate special effects and plenty of action, something Lerman has become quite proficient in. Whenever working against the green screen, Lerman just wraps his mind around what he's supposed to be seeing – which he does with the help of conceptual art – and he starts having fun acting out his imagination with what the filmmaker wants to achieve. As for the action sequence, Lerman is already comfortable with the physically-demanding scenes and wire work from working on the first film. "I didn't need as much (training) being back on the film – it was just coming up with choreography and learning it, which made it a little bit easier. At the same time, we worked that much harder to make the film better and bigger than the first one." According to Lerman, no one got hurt ... well, other than the usual bruises that come with any action adventure film – bruises which he describes as awesome. But, then, why is he wearing a cast on his left arm in the publicity photos for Sea Of Monsters? "I broke my arm outside of work," he explains. "What happened? I started skateboarding shortly after I turned 21. I just turned the age when I can legally drink and learned too late that drinking and skateboarding is not a good combination. And I broke my wrist." As with all young people, his injuries healed quickly and Lerman is once again busy working on two new films. In Noah, he plays the son of the biblical figure played by Russell Crowe and in Fury – the film he is making right now with Brad Pitt and Shia LaBeouf – he is part of an American crew in Germany at the end of World War II. Acting is not the only thing Lerman is planning to do in his life. Apparently, during the making of The Perks Of Being A Wallflower, the young actor would often play the piano at the hotel where the cast was staying. "I do (play the piano) but I've always been shy. I don't think I will do it professionally. I really enjoy it but I get a little insecure thinking about sharing music or something like that. But there are tonnes I like doing in the future, maybe getting more involved (in filmmaking) like directing. I have been a big fan of filmmakers – the captain of filmmaking, the visionaries, those guys. I'd like to helm something one day."
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| Posted: Sacré bleu! More trouble awaits Smurfs in Paris. HAVE you ever wondered why Smurfette is the lone female Smurf amongst 99 males? Well, if you are a true blue Smurf fan (pun intended!), you will know that it is because Smurfette was actually created by the Smurfs' nemesis, the evil wizard Gargamel. He intended for pretty Smurfette to use her feminine charms to distract and trap the male Smurfs for his nefarious purposes. Fortunately, with love, kindness and a specially-created magic potion, Papa Smurf was able to help transform her into the sweet Smurf we know and love today. But is that inner naughtiness still hiding inside Smurfette? That is exactly what The Smurfs 2, sequel to the 2011 hybrid live action and animation effort that first brought the Smurfs to the silver screen, explores. Singer Katy Perry, who voices Smurfette, says: "Although I (Smurfette) was created in an evil atmosphere, everybody has the opportunity to change whatever they were born into, if they want to. "Yes, the yin and yang do exist, but the good trumps the bad with Smurfette." Perry was speaking to reporters from Malaysia, Taiwan, Singapore and Indonesia in a video press conference call from Cancun, Mexico, earlier this year, along with castmates Neil Patrick Harris and Hank Azaria, as well as director Raja Gosnell. Now, the first movie involved some of the Smurfs being accidentally sucked through an interdimensional portal and marooned in New York City, along with Gargamel and his sidekick cat, Azrael. There, they meet expecting couple Patrick and Grace Winslow (played by Neil Patrick Harris and Jayma Mays respectively), who, after getting over their disbelief of the existence of little blue creatures, help them to both evade Gargamel and find their way home. In this second movie, Gargamel, who was left stranded in New York with Azrael, has established himself as a celebrity magician in Paris. However, he is running low on the Smurf essence that powers his magic. So, he decides to create the Naughties – Vexy and Hackus (voiced by Christina Ricci and J.B. Smoove respectively) – using the same technique that made Smurfette. But, in order to get the magical Smurf essence that he needs, Gargamel has to get hold of Smurfette, who holds the key to transforming the Naughties into Smurfs. The decision to film in Paris was a homage of sorts to the creator of the Smurfs, Peyo, the Belgian comic artist who wrote in his mother tongue – French. Says Gosnell: "Paris seemed like a great second city to go to after New York, and we captured some beautiful moments there, and we're all really excited about it." The cast and crew got to film amongst the buttresses of Notre Dame, as well as the home of the Paris Opera – the historic Palais Garnier, which ranked among the most memorable moments of the process for Harris and Gosnell. Says Harris: "Because it (the Palais Garnier) was a tourist spot, we only filmed after it closed and all night long, so it was very memorable to be in that specific landmark with the freedom to roam and see all of these amazing hallways and backstage areas, and film sort of all night long in this super-classic opera house. I really enjoyed doing that." Gosnell adds: "There's hundreds of years of history in that building, and we are the first film that's been allowed to shoot inside and on the stage to the extent that we did, and it was just... standing under that Chagall ceiling, and looking up and thinking of the history of the performances that have been there – it was kind of overwhelming." Tribute to Papa Smurf The quartet also shared their thoughts on comedian Jonathan Winters, the voice of Papa Smurf, who had passed away recently. Although neither Azaria nor Harris had the opportunity to work with the renowned comic due to the isolated nature of voice work, they both shared a deep respect for his legacy. Azaria, who is well-known for his diverse voice work, especially on The Simpsons, says: "I can tell you that, growing up, watching his comedy was definitely inspirational, especially to somebody who wanted to do voices and mimic and do accents. "He was one of the first guys who did that, so I was really sad to hear of his passing." Harris adds that they were literally just talking about Winters before the video press conference started. "We were talking about his amazing abilities, and I was thinking about the Johnny Carson Show and all of the amazing voices and energy and improv(isation) ability that he had. "He just had a remarkable energy, and yet, still a great voice, so it's nice to know that that crazy energy plays into, and allowed for, a very calm, wise, deep-voiced Papa Smurf. We were lucky to have him." Gosnell shares that Winters' health was such that they had to record his voice work at his home in California. "The last session we did was two weeks before he passed. "We drove to Santa Barbara, because he was no longer able to travel. He worked hard to do it. "He was in and out a bit, so we had a sense that we may not see him again, but I have to tell you, being Papa Smurf was the single best thing for him at the end of his life. "It gave him something to be proud of, something to do, and sort of reintroduced him to an entirely new generation of fans. "So I feel very lucky for us that we had him, and lucky for him that he had Papa Smurf to make his own." The Smurfs 2 is dedicated in memory of Winters. The Smurfs 2 opens in cinemas nationwide Thursday. |
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