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tunneybakerfan · 7 years

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Here’s the interview from summer 2016 for the Givenchy launch of Gentlemen Only Absolute in Dubai by Mojehmen! https://mojehmen.com/culture/film-tv/simon-baker-mentalist-his-directorial-debut The Mentalist On His Directorial Debut Peter Iantorno February 13th 2017

Best known for his star turn as charismatic crime investigator Patrick Jane in The Mentalist, Simon Baker has spent the best part of two decades lighting up our screens. Fresh from filming his directorial debut, Breath, the star spoke to us about everything from his celebrity chums to his love for gardening. As movie stars go, Simon Baker is most definitely one of the nice ones. He has appeared alongside the likes of Kevin Spacey, Russell Crowe, Jeremy irons and Demi Moore to name a just few, and he counts Nicole Kidman and Naomi Watts amongst his closest friends; yet when we meet him for the first time in his suite at Dubai’s One&Only Royal Mirage, he immediately jumps up from his seat and offers to make us a cup of coffee. “Chivalry isn’t dead, mate – it’s totally kicking,” he quips as he hands us a freshly brewed espresso and points in the direction of a rather impressive platter full of cakes and biscuits.

Baker is in Dubai to promote Givenchy’s new Gentlemen Only fragrance – quite fitting really, considering the first impression he gives us is that he’s nothing if not a perfect gent. “I think it’s a willingness to be aware and considerate of others,” he says when questioned on what he thinks it takes to be a gentleman nowadays. “It’s all about putting others in front of yourself, and that can be with the opposite sex or with the same sex; it’s just common courtesy.”

As we sit down and tuck into our refreshments, The Mentalist star begins to fire questions at us at an astounding frequency – how do we like Dubai? Where are our offices? Is his wife [fellow Australian actor, Rebecca Rigg) likely to get a good deal if she buys jewellery from the Gold Souq? It’s refreshing to speak to a celebrity on such a normal level, yet with time ticking away, we are conscious that at some point or another, we really should get down to business and discuss something that we can publish.

The first point on our agenda is the news that Baker has just finished filming his directorial debut – the upcoming film adaptation of Tim Winton’s 2008 novel, Breath. Here, we get the lowdown on his inspirations, the pros and cons of being a director as opposed to and actor and how the tough jobs he did in the past have taught him the value of a good day’s hard graft.

MM: What made you decide to take the leap into directing, and why did you pick this film in particular?

SB: It was a combination of things, really. The main reason I chose this film in particular was that I knew it; and by that I don’t mean that I knew the book itself, I mean I knew the environment the book is set in – the whole Aussie surfing subculture – I grew up in it.

When I was a kid, around 15 or 16, I distinctly remember having these weird little fantasies of making a film about that particular time of my life and a lot of the characters that populated that time of my life. This was even way before I knew I was going to be an actor. It was my lifestyle – that little subculture I lived in – that was intriguing to me. Through that time growing up you’re making these decisions, a lot of the time unconsciously, and that helps define and shape who you are and what your identity is.

So when did you first read the book?

It was around seven years ago. I remember I was on the set of The Mentalist at the time and a producer friend – a guy by the name of Mike Johnson – gave it to me. I read it and it really affected me in a lot of different ways; it really struck home, so I called Mike straight away and asked if he’d like to make the film.

It must have been a big leap for you to go into directing, especially considering how well The Mentalist was doing at the time…

Well funnily enough we didn’t initially take the thing on as something for me to direct – I was just going to play one of the roles. But we started meeting a bunch of different directors, all of them with different ideas and none of them really matching up with my vision, and one day Mike said to me, ‘has it occurred to you that you should direct this film, because you talk about this film and this story like you’re the director?’

So that’s what happened. We developed it slowly over the time that we had the rights and then when I knew that The Mentalist was in its last year I started to turn my attention to developing the script. As soon as we finished the show I went straight into filming for Breath, and we finished shooting it last week!

Congratulations! It must feel good to be finished. The cast for Breath seems really interesting. You’ve got established stars like Elizabeth Debicki [The Night Manager, The Great Gatsby] but also a couple of newcomers, Samson Coulter and Ben Spence, who play the young surfers. How did you go about the casting process?

Yeah the two boys – the two main characters – had never acted before in their lives. In fact, there are four non-actor roles in the movie. I grew up surfing and I knew that it was impossible to try to get actors to learn how to surf; directors have tried to do it a million times and it’s never worked. So I figured that I would try the opposite – it’s got to be easier to teach surfers to act than actors to surf, right?

And was it easier? Do you reckon the lads are going to keep at the acting?

It depends how well the film turns out I suppose. They’re pretty great kids and when they get it right it’s because they are not actors. It’s really beautiful, it’s really real and they don’t feel like actors at all. They were just really willing. Physically they had to do some stuff where I was like, ‘Are you OK with this?’ and they were like, ‘Yeah, sure – let’s go!’

What kind of stuff?

Oh you know, jumping off cliffs into the water, stuff on dragster bikes and then the surfing stuff – there was some pretty heavy water out there some days but they always wanted to do it.

What are the main differences for you between being an actor and a director?

The most difficult thing as an actor for me was that you were always playing into someone else’s vision and there’s a certain element of trust involved. That’s fine when you get the opportunity to work with some of the great directors and I had the opportunity to work with some pretty good ones, but there are also a lot of emerging directors that you work with who are often the least experienced people on the set.

Saying that, this particular movie probably had all the earmarks of a potential disaster for a first-time director because some of the set pieces were incredibly difficult – we had to rely on the ocean and the weather, which means we sometimes had very difficult circumstances to film in. Thankfully we got pretty lucky and managed to pull it off.

You must have been delighted to get Elizabeth Debicki…

Absolutely. She is such a fantastic, beautiful, complex, strong actress who is on the rise at the moment and she was willing to put her trust in me and I’ll be forever grateful for that.

You’ve appeared alongside some amazing actors in your time – Kevin Spacey, Russell Crowe, Jeremy irons, Demi Moore – who has really stood out?

To be honest at the moment I’m kind of in love with these two kids I just worked with – they are pretty phenomenal. It was extraordinary to see how steep their learning curve was and how brave they were considering that they had never walked on to a set before and they had no idea what they were in for. They had no idea at all and they were up for it, man, really up for it.

I think the experience with those two kids put a lot of people who I have worked with – myself included – to shame. I was really genuinely impressed. There’s just nothing but willingness. No pretense, no idea self-awareness – it was just pure. And it’s freakishly exciting when you catch that on camera.

There must have been times when they messed up though, being so inexperienced?

Oh yeah, don’t get me wrong – that happened all the time! You know, they are teenage kids. When they were on the set together they were constantly messing around, pranking each other. It was like trying to wrangle cats at times, but when you get it right it’s so, so worth it.

Sounds like a tough job. Speaking of which, is it correct that you used to be a bricklayer?

I was never actually a bricklayer, but I did have a lot of different odd jobs and I there was a short stint I had as a brickie’s labourer. So not quite a bricklayer, but almost there!

That must have taught you the value of hard graft…

Yeah, and I don’t mind a bit of hard graft; it’s good, it keeps you honest. And I still don’t mind it actually. I enjoy building stuff.

Is that what you do in your spare time then?

Yep. I like a bit of gardening too – it’s very fulfilling. The great thing about gardening is that it’s a combination of physical labour, imagination and there’s a long-term nurturing process to it, and I get satisfaction out of that.

Are we right in saying that two of your children’s godparents are Nicole Kidman and Naomi Watts? That must be interesting at parties…

Yeah that’s right, but it’s not really as interesting for us as it probably is for you guys. My wife went to school with Nicole so that all predates us being actors, and Naomi has been one of my wife’s best friends since before she was old enough to get arrested, so it’s pretty normal to us. We spend time together when we can but we’re always in different countries and stuff so it’s hard.

Since you’re here to promote a fragrance, have you got any grooming tips for us?

I do like a bit of moisturiser. I spend a lot of time in the sun so moisturiser is definitely a friend. There’s not too much more than that for me though; it doesn’t take me too long to get ready in a morning.

The Mentalist was hugely successful, as have been many TV series’ in recent years. What do you think is behind this increase in popularity of the TV series?

Well, if you really look at it, it’s not actually that recent; it’s just that we have different ways of watching TV now so it reaches a much wider demographic much faster. Before, if you wanted to watch something you used to have to be at a certain place at a certain time, but now you can watch your favourite show on a laptop, tablet – whatever – so it reaches much further nowadays.

Game of Thrones is basically a soap opera. They create this world, we get to know all the characters and things develop slowly over the time. Downton Abbey was the same. It think right now we’re seeing a period where there are so many different types of shows available and I think what it shows is that there’s always an audience for that.

There’s not as much drama being made in cinema nowadays. Films are all Marvel and DC Comics superhero flicks, but people still crave that drama and TV is really filling that void. We as humans still want to get engaged in something and it’s also pretty fashionable to talk about it too, even though I’m guilty of never being up to date with these programmes.

Have you got any favourites?

I really liked the Danish version of The Bridge – it was bloody good. I like the French show, The Returned, too. But I’m not up to date; I’m not a House Of Cards guy, I never saw an episode of The Sopranos, I didn’t get into Breaking Bad. I loved the podcast Serial, and then the TV equivalent Making A Murderer, but then I spent all that time watching the whole thing and at the end I was left unsatisfied. It’s simple really: If a joke is too long for how good the punch line is, then it’s not worth telling.

Nice motto… Have you got a personal motto you try to live by?

Not really, mate. I’m definitely a cock-eyed optimist, though – a very optimistic person, maybe sometimes to my detriment. Sometimes I get a bit optimistic with time and I overcommit to doing too much stuff that’s just not realistically going to happen. That always gets me a telling off from the missus.

#simonbaker #snappytoes #breaththemovie #breaththefilm #Breathmovie #givenchy #givenchygentlemenonlyabsolute

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pokalkalasreko · 6 years

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Top 50 Singles of 2017

Hello and welcome to the third annual edition of my top singles list (2016, 2015)

I really like writing these lists and 2017 is all about doing more of the things you like and less of the things you don’t.

Hair Down by Mollie King would have been my top song of the year, except that ultimately it just wasn’t any good.

This year, because I’m feeling extra festive, I have made the list into an apple music playlist.

Allie X – Casanova

And we’re off. This chorus has one of the best hooks of the year.

Jax Jones - Breathe ft. Ina Wroldsen

Ina Wroldsen has one of my favourite voices in music. You can hear her singing backing on a lot of early songs by The Saturdays, given that she wrote most of them. First of two Jax Jones entries on the list.

Yaeji - Raingurl

Yaeji is cooler than me, you, anyone you have ever met, and anyone you will ever meet.

Lost Kings - Quit You ft. Tinashe

In which Tinashe controversially claims she is addicted to a Coldplay song.

Katy Perry - Bon Appétit ft. Migos

In 2013, Katy Perry was the biggest popstar on the planet, and I couldn’t understand why. In 2017, she releases a string of actual bops and her career is in nosedive. I’m ready to stan.

Josefine Myrberg - Head over Heels

Josefine Myrberg came third in Swedish Idol back in 2014. Nobody seems to be listening to her music much these days, but Head Over Heels (7.5k views at time of writing) is a genuinely beautiful song worthy of a lot more recognition.

Kehlani - Already Won

The first time I heard this I was like ‘yaaas’ all the way through. Kehlani’s autobiographical ode to her own successes is a reminder to all of us to recognise that sometimes, we have already won.

Sigrid Bernson - This Summer

A pop song by a Swedish woman about enjoying summer. There is nothing better.

Sage the Gemini - Now & Later

Released in 2016, but reached its chart peak in 2017 so it’s allowed. Now & Later was almost my most played song of Q1 so there’s that.

Gabrielle Aplin - Waking Up Slow

I’ve just discovered that a PIANO version of this song has 3x as many views on YouTube. That is criminal. This song is full of synths and it bops because of it.

Stockholm Noir - Hopeless Dreams

The “Take me to the south of France, I’ll feel poor again” bit is excellent.

Anitta - Paradinha

A very good friend of mine who happens to be multi-lingual informed me that this song doesn’t make any sense in about 3 different languages. Which is as ridiculous as it is iconic.

Dagny - Wearing Nothing

I love the choreography in this video. Dagny is a brilliant popstar.

Shania Twain - Poor Me

I wasn’t mad about the other singles Shania released as part of her comeback this year, but this hit me for real. Shania voice has changed in tone so much, and now it suits the melancholic Poor Me perfectly.

Danny L Harle - 1UL

What a song. I wish the singer was credited so I could look into her other work because I think she has a very listenable voice.

SOFI TUKKER - Best Friend feat. NERVO, The Knocks & Alisa Ueno

That bassline. Features galore. Nonsense lyrics. A kitchen sink bop.

Dinah Nah - One More Night

Dinah Nah is an international treasure, making banger after banger for anyone who will listen. As part of the excellent Spotify for Artists year-end thing, she proudly shared that she has 894k fans in 60 countries, which is quite remarkable and warms my heart.

Shakira - Coconut Tree

I liked Malibu by Miley Cyrus but I preferred Coconut Tree by Shakira. This song is truly meditative, and takes me straight to the beach.

Tove Styrke - Say My Name

Ironic because I still can’t pronounce Tove’s surname.

The Chainsmokers - Paris

I know it’s the Chainsmokers, but I think this song is actually very good. That final instrumental goes off.

PVRIS - Winter

From Paris to PVRIS, this song has one of the biggest choruses of the year. I also love that they have called the video a “visualette” - so extra.

Wiktoria - As I Lay Me Down

Wiktoria puts in a solid effort here, pretty much yelling her way through the entire song without taking a breath and it is incredible. Bonus points for a liberal use of “HEY” noises throughout.

Niall Horan - Too Much To Ask

Don’t @ me. I am the last person who would have expected to see Niall Horan anywhere near my top thousand songs of the year, but here we are. The only thing constant in life is change.

Lorde - Green Light

The final chorus of Green Light was one of my defining moments of Glastonbury 2017 - genuinely euphoric. I read somewhere that Lorde uses significantly more nouns than other songwriters and that’s what makes her songs so memorable. That could be true. I haven’t counted the nouns in Green Light though but it feels like there’s a fair few.

Charli XCX - Out Of My Head ft. Tove Lo and ALMA

Charli XCX’s POP 2 is an absolute triumph and my album of the year. Every song has about 12 different hooks and sounds so fresh. Tove Lo and ALMA are a dream collaboration on Out Of My Head.

KStewart - Sex 4 Breakfast

KStewart is my favourite new artist this year, and this is the first of two singles on this list. Somebody played a ‘prank’ on me at Brighton Pride this summer, and told me KStewart was playing on the mainstage at 4pm. I was so excited and squeezed my way to the front. However, at 4pm KStewart was nowhere to be seen and, to my surprise, out walks Louisa Johnson. Good stuff.

Tinashe - Flame

The nicest thing I have ever done for myself is to buy myself VIP tickets to meet Tinashe and see her perform at Koko in Camden. Here I am like a competition winner:

It feels now like she’s never going to break through into the top tier of popstars which is a shame, because I really think she has it all.

IMRI – I Feel Alive

The best pop song Eurovision has had in years. Unfortunately slightly strangled by the 3 minute rule, I would take another 1 or 2 choruses at the end for good measure. Imri seems like he’s having the time of his life and that’s great to see.

Loreen - Body

It took a couple of listens, but now I am completely addicted to Body, and it is pretty much on repeat whenever I am commuting. Perfect for drowning out the real world.

Loop - As if

I follow Loop on Instagram and she seems great. This year she has released a bunch of breezy, refreshing electro-pop including As If. I’m hoping that 2018 is her year.

Poppy - My Style (feat. Charlotte)

My Style would be right at home on Robyn’s Body Talk, which is one of the greatest albums ever. As Robyn appears to be taking some time out, I am thrilled that Poppy has stepped in with her own brand of robo-pop.

Liv Lovelle - Won’t Say Too Much

For the first minute of this song I’m always like “where is this going”, and then that drop happens and it all makes sense.

CNCO, Little Mix - Reggaetón Lento (Remix)

Kim Petras - I Don't Want It At All

More like Kim Petr-SASS 💁 I Don’t Want it At All is the ultimate ode to materialism and an absolute stomper.

Nicki Minaj - Regret In Your Tears

I feel like Nicki Minaj is too often overlooked as a popstar who sings. Regret In Your Tears is an understated jam, and she sounds great.

Astrid S - Breathe

Exactly what a pop song should sound like. I had a flatmate this year and we had nothing at all in common, apart from the we both listened to Astrid S. The power of pop music to build bridges.

Kelela - LMK

Kelela was one artist who made me genuinely excited about music this year. Her album Take Me Apart is exquisite, sounding both fresh and nostalgic at the same time. LMK is one of the best.

KStewart - Hands feat. Yungen

If there were any justice, this would have been huge for KStewart. But there isn’t and here it sits with less than 50k(!) views on YouTube. Hands is completely radio-ready, and could be lifted off any Ariana album.

Rita Ora - Anywhere

Rita Ora has had an incredible year. I love that she hosted America’s Next Top Model, then sacked it in and had 3 huge top 10s, which is probably more than your fave. Anywhere was instant for me, and her best by a long way. The nonsense post-chorus is reminiscent of those early 00s garage classics. Rita herself has said that it has no meaning, and I hope that in 2018 we are able to enjoy more songs with no meaning whatsoever.

Dua Lipa - New Rules

Well this one took off didn’t it. Dua’s meteoric rise has been so exciting to watch, and it was New Rules that really took it there. She just seems like a great person too, and I’m sure 2018 will belong to Dua. Another lesson in the power of a good music video to rocket launch a song’s success.

Aly & AJ - I Know

This song is just so perfect. The return of Aly & AJ has been the most welcome surprise. I Know is cool, lazy, atmospheric, synth-pop and a major shift from their 2007 Disney days.

Tove Lo - Disco Tits

I said this when I wrote about Cool Girl last year, but it’s worth repeating that Tove Lo makes it seem so effortless. Disco Tits is amazing and I wouldn’t be surprised if she wrote it in her sleep.

Little Mix - Power ft. Stormzy

Little Mix are just unstoppable. Every year I think they have reached their zenith and then they take it to another level. Power is single number four from their fourth album and it’s this good. By now, Jesy Nelson (the best one) knows her way around an iconic second verse, so I think it’s neat that this time her verse starts with “my turn”. Also - what a video. Well done everyone.

Jax Jones - Instruction ft. Demi Lovato, Stefflon Don

"All my ladies” was THE call to action this summer. What a song.

Carly Rae Jepsen - Cut To The Feeling

Carly Rae Jepsen has mastered the ability to make happy sounding music which suddenly hits you as heartbreaking once you get stuck into the lyrics. Cut To The Feeling was released about a week after the Manchester attacks, and for me, the line “I want to play where you play with the angels, I want to wake up with you in tangles” stuck out as truly devastating among the euphoric, soaring synths.

Blessed - See Through All The Colours

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I’m obsessed with Blessed. See Through All The Colours is so huge and I really thought would have been their breakthrough. Unfortunately it wasn’t to be, but I think watch this space. Very excited to see what they bring in 2018.

Nadine Coyle - Go To Work

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One of the best things about 2017 has been seeing the true joy that Nadine Coyle, gets from being a popstar, and equally, the true joy she took from the really quite lukewarm reception of Go To Work. Earlier in the year, Nadine made a surprise appearance at a popular London club night to sing a couple of choruses of Go To Work (she didn’t even stay long enough to take her coat off). I was living in those few minutes.

Mirela - Contigo

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This song was the runner up in the Spanish pre-selection show for Eurovision, and won the televote by a landslide, but was struck down by some bizarre jury voting rules. It’s basically incredible. It’s ridiculous, it’s trashy, it’s fun. Bai-la-la-la-UH.

Katy Perry - Swish Swish ft. Nicki Minaj

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I know. A basic bop if ever there was one, but no song this year has bopped as hard as Swish Swish. I spent my entire time at Glastobury telling anyone who would listen that I only came to watch Katy Perry do Swish Swish. Everyone thought I was joking. I’m still undecided on that music video, and that dance, but the song is brilliant.

Steps - Scared Of The Dark

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Let’s be honest, Steps in 2017 could have been shit but instead they were amazing. The moment when this sat at number 1 on iTunes ahead of chart villain Ed Sheeran was a sweet piece of pop justice. Scared of the Dark is a banger, incredibly good pop music, and my top single of the year.

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