From Scotland With Love

 Sir Sean and James 
Picture taken by Ivon Bartholomew

James Davies, was left ‘Shaken but not stirred’ after spending the morning with Sir Sean Connery, on his (00)78^th Birthday.

Getting up at 4am to go to Bristol International Airport is not the start most people would choose on a Bank Holiday Monday, particularly when you have been on a booze cruise the night before and outside it is dark, cold and pouring with rain. I, however, have not jumped out of bed faster.

Although it is often said you should never meet your heroes, I took the risk when I hopped on a plane and met James Bond. Well, the finest actor to play Ian Fleming’s ‘00’ agent, anyway.

Ever since I saw the film, Dr No, at the tender age of six, one Christmas, and heard Sir Sean Connery utter the words “Bond, James Bond”, during that famous casino scene, the Hollywood legend has always been someone I have greatly admired and a star I have always wanted to interview.

I wondered whether a character such as Bond existed, and was even more curious to find out whether Sir Sean Connery was anything like the cool and charismatic hero that made him a sex symbol, a multi-millionaire, a worldwide superstar and a cultural phenomenon.

The one time coffin polisher is a notoriously private individual who, at times, likes to shy away from the glitz, glamour and relentless fuss that goes with his job. In fact Sir Sean’s craving for privacy was one of the reasons he decided to hang up his Walther PPK. Therefore, arranging ten minutes with this highly sort after star would not be easy.

After contacting both his publicist and agent in Los Angeles, with the request to do an interview with the great Scot, I was met with a firm no, explaining, “Sir Sean does not do interviews”. To my dismay I really thought it was, ‘Goodbye Mr Bond’.

But, like any good secret agent, I had a Plan B. After scrawling through the internet and reading, ‘double 0, several’ articles, I came across a name- Murray Grigor.

Murray, a lifelong friend of Sir Sean, and co-writer of his long awaited book, simply entitled Being A Scot, seemed the perfect person to lend a hand. Immediately I set to work and emailed the film maker in the hope he could help arrange something.

At first, it would seem even this attempt had failed as the first lines of his reply read, “James, your timing couldn’t have been any worse”.

By this, Murray was referring to the recent press Sir Sean had received and been unfairly subjected to, during the last couple of weeks.

Nevertheless I remained upbeat. Although, it seemed a full blown interview was unlikely, a meeting was not, after Murray kindly invited me to Edinburgh, the Scottish capital, and the place of Sir Sean’s birth, where he was making a special appearance at the city’s International Book Festival to give a talk on his (00)78th Birthday.

After arriving in Edinburgh, the city where life began for the proud Scot back in 1930 and where he rose from humble beginnings to become a Freeman of the City, early on Monday, 25th August, I excitedly made my way to the hotel, where both he and Murray were staying. After getting on one of the capitals luxury buses, which takes you from the airport to the city centre, an elderly lady I was sat next to gave me a firm and rather sharp nudge. “You look like you’re going somewhere special”, she said.

To which I smiled and replied, “You could say that. I’m going to have breakfast with James Bond. It’s his birthday you know?”

Judging by the strange look she gave me, I think she was pleased it was her stop. Two short minutes later, I had arrived in the centre of Edinburgh. With its stunning scenery and incredibly beautiful backdrop which sees Edinburgh Castle overlook the city streets, I could have quite easily been on a Bond location. The place really is a sumptuous visual spectacle, and no doubt would not be so captivating without its stunning back drop.

Walking through the revolving doors, of the hotel, I tried to run through what I would say to the Oscar-winning actor. Perhaps, ‘Ah, Mr Bond, I’ve been expecting you’. On second thoughts, maybe not.

After gathering a couple of realistic thoughts, I proceeded through to the elegant stairwell which looked into the dining room. There sat Sir Sean with his wife, the beautiful Micheline, whom he met playing his beloved golf.

To be honest, it seemed somewhat strange to see Sir Sean eating breakfast, and doing something we all do. But why should it, he, like everyone else, is human?

After being shaken, and stirred, I soon met Murray, who promptly introduced me to the imposing actor, who still stands at an impressive 6'2".

The aura that exudes the proud Scot is incredible and one I have never experienced before, with any other A-list star. His confidence and self assurance was clear to see as he roamed the hotel reception.

“Sean this is James. James, Sean”, Murray said.

Although I had worried about what I would say, I really did not need to. Sir Sean immediately put me at ease, making me feel welcome instantaneously. Far from saying “Do you expect me to talk?”, like he tells his nemesis, Goldfinger, in the 1964 epic, Sir Sean was a gentleman with an un-denying presence.

The last great movie star put out his hand and lifted that famous eyebrow, saying in his broad and unmistakable Scottish accent, “Ah, nice to meet you James.”

Adding, with a wry smile, “I was a James once”, to which we both laughed and shared a mutual grin.

Sir Sean, 78, dapperly dressed in a white sweater, navy blue jacket and smart tartan trousers with matching scarf, oozed all the sophistication and charm he showed during the 1960’s while playing the Martini drinking, British agent. Standing together chatting really was quite a surreal moment. Although Sir Sean had obviously aged it was, as strange as it sounds, like talking to James Bond.

After a short chat, Murray, Sir Sean and I made our way to the book launch. Surprisingly there was no driver waiting to take us. Sir Sean rather humbly opted to walk through the city streets where he once delivered milk.

On seeing Scotland’s most famous export, people just stopped and starred. After all it is not every day you see a Hollywood star. Sir Sean laughed and joked the whole way, putting out his hand for anyone who wished to say hello. As well as telling me about the wonderful dinner he had, had the night before, and how a street cleaning device had kept him awake most of the night, the Oscar winning actor confessed, to my amusement, “I keep all my awards in the bathroom. Including the Oscar.”

Once we arrived, we were all ushered in through the back entrance, where the world’s press were waiting. It was time for Sir Sean to disappear. But before he did, he turned to me and said, “Thanks for coming James”, raising that eyebrow once again, that often doubles as a smile.

Far from being the ‘overgrown stuntman’, Bond’s creator Fleming once allegedly called him, Sir Sean was a star who made my day. With my mission complete, in true Bond style I left and went to see my Bond girls (pictured below).

 Keira Knightley, James Davies, Sienna Miller 

James Davies interviews Film Director, Tarsem Singh

 Tarsem with James 

Sports fans will associate the word ‘googly’ with cricket and, if asked what a ‘googly’ was, they would almost certainly say a type of cricket delivery. This, however, is due to change, as film director Tarsem Singh’s ‘Googly Films’ present his latest picture, ‘The Fall’, bringing a new meaning to the term.

The self-financed film, which I found to be stunning, is a sumptuous, visual spectacle, full of bright vibrant colours. It was shot in a number of countries covering almost every continent, with Tarsem leaving his best camera work to capture Northern India, the Taj Mahal, Udaipur, and several sweeping shots of Jodhpur, ‘the blue city’.

‘The Fall’, which is Tarsem’s second feature film, made its debut at the 2006 Toronto International Film Festival, and is essentially two stories in one.

Alexandria is a young Romanian girl who lives and works in the orange groves of 1920s Los Angeles with her family. After falling and breaking her collarbone, she is taken to hospital and, while convalescing, meets Roy, a paraplegic, suicidal man, who begins to tell her a fantastic story about five mythical heroes or, as he describes it, “an epic tale” of heroes, villains, action and adventure.

Thanks to his hallucinatory state of mind and her vivid imagination, the line between fiction and reality starts to blur as the tale advances, with Alexandria using people she interacts with at the hospital as characters in the story.

Tarsem who began his career directing music videos, including “Hold On” by En Vogue, “Sweet Lullaby” by Deep Forest and the music video for R.E.M.’s smash hit “Losing My Religion”, which won ‘Best Video of the Year’ at the 1991 MTV Video Music Awards, was unable to get funding for the project because he wanted it to be written by a four-year-old.

He explained “All the investors would ask, ‘When will the script be ready?’ and I’d say, ‘Actually the script is going to be written by a 4 year old, so there isn’t a script.’ They didn’t think it would work, so in the end I just said, ok it’s my money and we’ll go off and do it when we find the girl. At that stage I didn’t know if we would or not.”

Travelling from country to country over the next 17 years, provided cricket loving Tarsem with the opportunity to scout for locations that were perfect for, what he called, his “dream project”.

“I had been putting together photographs of locations because I wanted to shoot in a style of filming that I didn’t think had been exposed to too many people. I decided that it was not going to be a piece that was CGI’d (Computer Generated Image), so I had to find all the locations, which took a long time.”

With the suitable and incredibly beautiful back-drops ready to work with, the charming director’s next task was to find the child actress. For 8 years, Tarsem, who once made more money in one day shooting a commercial than his father did in 30 years as an aircraft engineer in India, searched for his ideal star. “I didn’t think there was anywhere on the globe I could find a child that hadn’t been exposed to cinema. Every year I was sending out the casting scout with a camera to pick out a few kids and film them. He would tell them a tale so I could see what their response was like.”

After what seemed an age, Tarsem received this tape from a girl in Romania which, he claims just: “blew me away”.

“I immediately flew to Romania and told my brother, Producer Ajit Singh, ‘We’ve found the girl’. She was six at the time and didn’t speak a word of English, which was perfect because her trying to understand the language made her more natural. The only problem was we now had to find a real location as I didn’t think we could shoot in the studio."

After more searching, Tarsem, a self confessed squash addict, found a lunatic asylum in South Africa, which he decided could double for the hospital. “We took one wing of it and dressed it exactly so I could always explain to her things visually. I would say, ‘you are here, he’s here, you’re bored, you throw this to him.’ In every scene I was telling her things in sequence. The first time she saw him is the first day she sees him in the movie. The second scene is the second time she sees him. So she did write the script.”

During the twelve week shoot, Catinca Untaru, who plays the part of the little girl, was led to believe actor Lee Pace, who portrays the paralysed stuntman, really was unable to walk in order to maintain this illusion to the junior actress. “Everything had to happen that way, because the little girl's magic was required. It wasn't the cliché of a method actor wanting to stay in a wheelchair the whole shoot but, when you're on a film set, no matter how dire a situation you're putting across, when you're on that set for long enough, it gets jokey. I didn't want it to get to a stage where people would walk on Lee's bed, or tell handicap jokes, as I knew it would filter down to the girl, even in body language.”

The director, whose films are renowned for their operatic colourful beauty, deserts, horses, exotic locations, lack of digital animation, extensive costume design and sets, found keeping the secret harder than the exquisite filming itself. “Once I came into it, my immediate thought was, ‘How long can we carry on this façade?’ It was such an audaciously big lie. Lee was caught almost everyday because he went to the gym most mornings. He'd go there and see a number of the crew and, think to himself, ‘Oh my God, I'm caught!’ But they'd walk right by him. They didn’t recognise him out of the wheelchair!”

The chemistry between Catinca and Pace is undeniable, with many of the hospital scenes yielding some poignant footage. “Magic happened between the two of them. I almost decided not to go and shoot any of the fantasy stuff after it happened. I thought it was a complete film.”

But a personal hardship changed the affable director’s mind, “My whole life fell apart after my girlfriend and I separated. I decided to go on a magical mystery tour. I called my brother and I just said, ‘Sell everything. I have no idea if this little light I’m seeing at the end of the tunnel is an oncoming train or what but we’re going in it. If you have to sell the home, call me.’ Four and a half years and 24 countries later I called him and said, ‘I’m almost done.’ He said, ‘The house is almost up for sale,’ so I said, ‘I’m finished.

Tarsem, a graduate of the Art Centre College of Design, in Pasadena, California, says he owes everything to film school. He explained, “They had to use a shovel and an axe to get me out of school. I didn't want to leave, and I would go back in there in a heartbeat. I just absolutely adored and loved it. You have to understand, I'd never held a still camera in my hand before that! They taught me everything. How the damn thing works, where to put it, everything!”

So what’s next for the affable film maker?

“I’ll go where the road takes me: the long, the winding, and the yellow.”

jamesdaviesmedia.com

James Davies meeting Sir Sean Connery

They say you should never meet your heroes, but I did when I met James Bond. Well one of the six actors to play Ian Flemings “00” agent.

Ever since I saw the film, ‘Dr No’, at the tender age of six, and heard Sir Sean Connery utter the words “Bond, James Bond” during that famous casino scene, the Hollywood legend has always been someone I have greatly admired, and someone I have always wanted to meet.

I’m not small, standing at six foot, but the Edinburgh born actor was huge. Not only was he tall but he was incredibly well built.

After telling the star he was my favourite actor he gave me a nice broad smile, shook my hand and said in his famous Scottish tone, “Thank you”.

Sir Sean, 77, who was dapperly dressed in a red sweater, navy blue jacket and smart grey trousers, oozed all the sophistication and charm he showed during the 60’s while playing the elegantly dressed, Martini drinking, British agent.

Sir Sean, who is a patron, along with Tilda Swinton, of the Edinburgh Film Festival, gave a lot of time to his fans, particularly the young ones, stopping to talk to anyone who had the confidence to approach the likeable actor.

Although our meeting was brief, it is something I will never forget. Thanks Sir Sean, you made my day. What a gentleman.




jamesdaviesmedia.com

James Davies interviews Ira Sachs

 James with Ira 

Like most young men, I like action films in the form of James Bond, Indiana Jones and Batman. So I was unsure what my reaction would be after seeing Ira Sachs latest film ‘Married Life’, starring Oscar winning actor Chris Cooper, one time Bond, Pierce Brosnan, Saturn award winning, Patricia Clarkson, and the beautiful Rachel McAdams .

However I was pleasantly surprised, that I could add this film to a long list, of those, I had thoroughly enjoyed this year. Ira Sachs, who directs the film, won the Grand Jury Prize at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival, for his film ‘Forty Shades of Blue’.

Since that “life changing” experience, three years ago, the Memphis born director has gone from strength to strength. “In order to be successful, you have to believe in yourself. I think, for me, that has a lot to with my family. Some people become very successful with bad families but I had a loving family who made me believe I could do something with my life.”

Ira, who has lived in New York City since 1988, had been working hard a decade before he attained the recognition he deserved.

He explained his greatest influences and inspirations came while he lived in Europe: “In 1986 I lived in Paris while I was in college and spent most days in the movie theatres. I saw 195 films in a three month period.”

But things weren’t always easy for the ambitious teenager: “I took myself seriously from a very young age. I was fighting with Fassbinder in my head when I was 16.”

Ira, along with Oren Moverman, co-wrote the screenplay for ‘Married Life’, adapting John Binghams novel. Ira said: “People often say that you can make a movie out of a pulp fiction better than a movie out of a classic because there's something more you can play with. I think in a way that's the tension in the film, because it is a genre film on some level and yet it's told in a naturalistic fashion.”

‘Married Life’, is a film that follows the life of a married man who falls in love with a young war widow. He believes that it would be kinder to kill his wife than to leave her. Pierce Brosnan plays his best friend, who finds himself learning secrets from all three of the other characters. It is a story set in 1949 Seattle, and is the first film the award winning director has set in another period.

Ira interestingly explained: “Every time you make a film, you create a world. You make decisions about sets and costumes and you create a universe connected to reality but not reality itself. The year 1949 was a choice that we made and we were authentic to that choice. But as William Faulkner said, “The past isn't dead; it isn't even past.” Our parents, our grandparents, are like ourselves; they were full-blooded full-bodied people who had sex and fights and relationships and were not different from us. So even though it is set in another time, it is about us.”

Throughout the film there are some magnificent performances, particularly from Pierce Brosnan, who is still trying to shed his James Bond persona. This, however, wasn’t something Ira was particularly worried about as he admitted: “I have never seen him as James Bond.”

Despite his admission, Ira described Pierce as: “delicious”, adding: “I think he’s amazing. He is a great actor and a real gentleman."

Ira, who was last in Edinburgh at the age of 13, decided to cast Pierce after he had seen him in the ‘Matador’: “I was very taken with the humour in his performance in that. It was a really rich role for him in terms of humour. He’s a great physical comedian as well as an actor. He brings a lot of emotionality and vulnerability in his performance, which was important for a lot of reasons but especially because of his voiceover.”

Ira, 43, mentioned that Pierce Brosnan’s part would have been perfect for Cary Grant had the film been made in the forties: “Yes that’s true. I think Cary Grant and Pierce have a lot in common. They both have a physical charm. I also think that Chris Cooper has a certain quality you could associate with John Garfield or Edward G. Robinson. He’s vulnerable, easy to identify with and he has drive.”

By the end of the film I was slightly confused as to whether it had a happy ending. Ira gave me his thoughts saying: “I do think it is a happy ending because the characters understand themselves better. It is not insignificant to me that Cooper’s character knows very little about the three people he is intimate with at the beginning of the movie, but at the end he knows the most. At the end he says “L'chaim”, which means “To life!.” There is almost redemption here. It’s not scott free from the problems of human life but there is a better chance at an intimate relationship with the person you are with.”

Although it is a reasonably small production, its cast and director pack a strong punch, and hopes for success are high. Ira said: “It is about adults for adults. People used to go to movies to see their own lives played out on screen; now they go to TV for identification and movies for escape. This is a combination. It has glamour, movie stars, clothes, and fun; that brings people in. Underneath is something people can hold onto and that will resonate.”

So what’s next for the incredibly talented and friendly director: “I’m working on a film called ‘The Goodbye People’ based on the work of Gavin Lambert, a British screenwriter, who lived in L.A in the sixties. He wrote wonderful books about sex, drugs, cults, and movie stars.”

Before I left, Ira humbly said: “We’re all average Joes. Everyone came from somewhere to get where they are now. I started after becoming a theatre director throughout college."

He also offered a bit of advice for any wannabe film directors. “I would say to see everything you can see, particularly things that have been made in the past. I think it important to be passionate, and go out of your comfort zone.”

Married Life is released in U.K cinemas nationwide from 1st August 2008.

jamesdaviesmedia.com

James Davies interviews Keira Knightley and Sienna Miller at the Edinburgh International Film Festival 2008

 James with Kiera and Sienna 

Now in its 62nd year, The Edinburgh International Film Festival is the longest continuously running film festival in the world.

At this year’s opening, Edinburgh saw some of Hollywood’s biggest movie stars descend on the Scottish capital, stepping out onto the red carpet, at Fountainbridge, for the opening night of the this year’s festival.

They had all gathered together to attend the World premiere of ‘The Edge of Love’, a story about the famous Welsh poet, Dylan Thomas.

Keira Knightley and Sienna Miller joined Matthew Rhys, who plays Dylan, at the star-studded red-carpet opening, alongside Scotland’s most famous export and the festivals patron, Sir Sean Connery. The one time Bond actor was ‘achin’ but not stirred’, in a ‘shling’, if you’ll forgive the pun, after a golfing accident the week before.

Nevertheless, the Edinburgh born actor, who spent much of his early years living just down the road from the cinema, was in good spirits declaring: “It only hurts when I laugh. But it’s getting better.”

Sir Sean didn’t speak to the press, somewhat appropriately, reminding me of that that famous snippet of dialogue “Do you expect me to talk?”, that has attained an almost legendary status, in the Bond series, as 007 is on the verge of being emasculated by Goldfinger’s laser, in the 1964 epic.

Although ‘The Edge of Love’, opened the festival it was interestingly rejected for three possible categories at the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year, after it was called: ‘extremely disappointing’. This, however, was something that didn’t bother the film's director, John Maybury, as he is a big Edinburgh fan.

His film ‘Love is the Devil’, based on the life of the British artist Francis Bacon, won the festival’s major trophy, the Michael Powell Award, ten years ago. In fact, he called it: “one of the best festivals in the world… a real film festival about cinema, about film-making, not about commerce”.

He joked, to loud laughter, at the film’s press conference: “We are all chuffed to bits to be here. I'm really glad the French didn't take it for Cannes,” adding, “the French festival, for all its lustre, was partly a hideous trade fair.”

Most of the film was shot in Wales, Dylan Thomas’ home, and the country plays a key role in the film. Keira who plays Dylan’s lover, Vera, said: “We were in West Wales the whole time. It was idyllic and I’ve already been back for pleasure”, while Matthew Rhys explained enthusiastically: “It really was the dream job to go to Wales over the summer and play Dylan Thomas. Everything ticked the boxes, the script, the cast. It was great.”

Keira shot to fame at the tender age of 17, when she appeared in ‘Bend It Like Beckham’. Since then, it seems, she is always learning new skills for her films, whether it be playing football, or sword fighting. In this film she had to do all her singing.

She said: “I’d actually gone into a studio and recorded all the songs beforehand so I thought I’d be miming on set, but John Maybury, the director, came to me on the day and said no you are going to be singing it live in front of about two hundred people. I nearly died. But I was alright after someone kindly gave me a couple of shots of vodka.”

The film, which is by no means a bio-pic in the traditional vain, was written by Keira’s Mum, Sharman Macdonald. She said: “I’m absolutely delighted with it. It’s a gorgeous film. It was remarkably easy writing for my daughter. She just wouldn’t play the part I had written for her (laughs).”

After the films premiere, I headed to the Teviot Union, one of Edinburgh University’s older and more decorative structures in Bristo Square, after receiving an invite to the tightly guarded after party, where 40’s dress was a must. Given the media scrum that converged to catch Sienna and Keira on the red carpet, the heavy security was arguably quite a good thing.

Set out on three floors, the venue was fascinating. It was a labyrinthine maze full of staircases and rooms which had been tastefully converted to accommodate the 40s theme. Divided into ‘Dancehall’, for live acts , the ‘Loft Bar’, a place where people could go outside, the ‘Canteen’, where food was served, ‘the writing room’, for listening to the voice of Dylan Thomas, and the ‘Library Bar’, which was a beautifully old fashioned terrace bar on the ground floor with ornate fittings and, aptly, shelves of books around a balcony. There were also a number of ‘chill-out’ rooms where exhausted party goers could slump in elegant poses over an armchair or two.

The whole place was stuffed to the gills with dapperly attired men and glamorously draped women. Keira Knightley, Sienna Miller, and Matthew Rhys, all turned up at about ten o’clock, and watched Beth Rowley, who has been tipped, by ‘The Times’, as the next big thing, perform a beautiful set in the packed out Dancehall. The party went on long into the night, with an endless supply of food and drink, which made for a great atmosphere, setting the tone for what was still to come during the rest of the week.

 James at the opening of the Edinburgh International Film Festival (2008) 

James Davies Interviews Bond’s golden girl, Shirley Eaton

 Shirley and James 

“The girl’s dead! And she’s covered in paint, gold paint!”

Shirley Eaton played the part of Jill Masterson, and will forever be remembered as the ill-fated golden girl, covered head to toe in gold paint, in the 1964 James Bond film Goldfinger.

Her memorable 24-carat-gold death scene became the eye-catching draw for the movie, with Shirley’s gilded visuals becoming the iconic image of not only the highly anticipated third instalment but the whole ‘007’ phenomena. Like Janet Leigh, who was famously murdered in the shower scene during Hitchcock’s film Psycho, Shirley will always find herself inextricably linked to the film best described as the quintessential, definitive Bond epic, and that short movie moment that has become embedded in cinematic history and Bond folklore.

However, there is a lot more to Shirley than Jill Masterson and a tin of gold paint. Shirley, a popular ‘60’s It Girl’, had not been an overnight success but a busy actress before her golden appearance. As an actress, she was highly sought after a decade before that famous scene for roles in British comedies, acting alongside stars such as, Bob Hope, Sir Roger Moore and Kenneth Williams.

Nevertheless, Ian Fleming’s story made Shirley a star.

Before the interview started the affable actress joked: “Do you expect me to talk?” referring to a snippet of dialogue that has attained an almost legendary status in the film, as Bond is on the verge of being emasculated by Goldfinger’s laser.

Despite the fact the paint used to cover her body was: “Very uncomfortable”, she explained: “It didn’t take long to get it on. About an hour I think. But getting it off was awful. I had to scrub it off with soap and water, then have several Turkish baths.” 

Shirley, whom I found to be incredibly warm and friendly, positively views her image as Goldfinger’s golden girl: “I knew by the time the third Bond film was being filmed, the Bond genre was something special. I really wanted the role, so I went to see Cubby and Harry, the producers, and they cast me.”

It has been rumoured the pair decided to use Shirley for the part after they had heard about the impact she had on the men at a party she had attended! “I’m not sure about that,” she laughed.

This was Sean Connery’s third 007 adventure, returning to the role that made him famous with the same easy elegance and wit displayed in the first two films. “Sean was the sexiest actor I've worked with.” Shirley said enthusiastically. “We had wonderful chemistry together.”

In the film, Jill says to 007, “I’m beginning to like you Mr Bond”, but did she feel the same about Sean Connery the man: “He was terribly professional and very quiet on the set, but an absolute joy to work with. He was lovely.” 

Sir Sean, arguably Scotland’s most famous export, isn’t the only Bond actor Shirley has worked with. When it was decided The Saint would be made into a television series, it was Shirley who appeared alongside Roger Moore in the first episode, of the highly successful series: “Oh, he was just so much fun. He was one of those people who could just look at a page and remember it. A photographic memory. I always struggled to remember my dialogue. He was sweet and wonderful to work with and he became a close friend.”


Having worked with two of the finest actors to play the secret agent who did the screen’s most famous Bond girl think was the best? Without hesitation Shirley said: “Sean.” 

Although Shirley is now a grandmother, the 71-year-old actress still had that certain something, a twinkle in her eye that made her a star.The one time ‘Golden-Girl’ explains: “The reason why people are huge stars is nothing to do with acting. It’s the magic. It’s something you can’t actually explain. Charisma is a word that’s used too often, it’s something very special and it’s what makes stars. Very few have that extra quality. You’re born with it. It’s luck.” 

Shirley touchingly gave up fame and fortune, at the tender age of 32, to look after her two young children and spend more time with her husband, but the star expressed no regrets or ‘gilt’, if you’ll forgive the pun, in giving up show business, and the opportunity of becoming an American Ambassador. 
Shirley said: “A career is a career, but you’re a mother until you die. The most important thing for me was being a woman and having a family more than being a very famous glamorous actress.” 

Reflecting on Hollywood today, she continued: “I’m a very private person and it is so hard to be private in the entertainment business. I’m really glad that I was famous and successful at the time I was because it is bad enough being in a profession that tended to eat you up and never give you any free time. But I think that the youngsters today have a really bad time from every angle. In my day we had our good nights out and everything. My husband and I would go to Tramps, which was the place at the time, and there'd be lovely famous people like George Best there, and I would dance and flirt, because I loved dancing. But there were no photographers in there saying ‘Oh, Shirley's with so and so and her marriage is in trouble.’ We didn’t have any of that.” 

So what advice would Shirley give to anyone today who wishes to make it into show business? “It’s bloody difficult, and not easy, but I would say one of the main things is to keep your feet on the ground, because there are so many temptations to become a big head and to take drugs.” Although I have been lucky enough to interview many big names, Shirley is one that will stand out, alongside Ricky Hatton, Shane Warne and Sir Michael Parkinson, as the one of the nicest, readily signing a photo for me which she inscribed, rather charmingly, ‘Nobody Interviews Better!’

jamesdaviesmedia.com

James Davies interviews Colin Firth

 James with Colin 

Since his film debut in 1984 in Another Country, Colin Firth has starred in a range of high profile films and his credits include Apartment Zero, The English Patient, Fever Pitch, and Bridget Jones’ Diary. However it is for his television performance as Mr Darcy in the BBC adaptation of Pride & Prejudice, that he is best remembered.

In his latest romantic comedy, The Accidental Husband, he plays Richard, the English fiancé of popular radio agony Aunt Emily Lloyd (Uma Thurman). But their marital plans are put on hold when it appears she has unwittingly married a New York fireman (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) who has a particular reason for scuppering her wedding plans. Thurman co-produces and Griffin Dunne directs.

You’ve starred in romantic comedies on both sides of the Atlantic. Is there much of a difference between doing them here or in America?

Not really. There’s a lot of stereotyping of American humour and English humour, but I think they overlap far more than people give them credit for. I think Americans do have irony, I think Americans can be very, very dry. I think the English can be very broad and very brash and very silly and very aggressive in their comedy. I really don’t know where to break that down. I think the stereotypes are often a complete nonsense.

How do you feel about playing the quintessential Englishman once more, as you do here?

I’ve decided the quintessential Englishman doesn’t exist. I play him but you don’t run into him very often. I think he’s a figment of our folklore, or film lore, but I do realise that there are some versions of that figure that tend to appear in my work. But if you actually look for examples of people who are really like that they’re usually rather overplayed arch versions of themselves.

It’s how non-English audiences often view classical English men though, isn’t it?

It was very interesting, I was being questioned by a group of Greek journalists while I was shooting Mamma Mia and they were insisting on the stereotypical Englishman. They felt no Englishman had ever grown his hair long, played the electric guitar, pierced his ear, it had never happened. There was no Johnny Rotten, no John Lennon. None of those things had happened, it was only Prince Philip, who – I pointed out – happens to be Greek! So I do think there’s an answer to all that. He may have existed once. Now he exists in the hands of actors but not so much in reality.

He’s a very nice guy here, was there ever a temptation to make him a bit more confrontational when he found himself caught in this love triangle?

The way it was presented to me was that it would never be that simple. Rom-com or not, and however many archetypes are brought in, the fact is that she had people to choose between with completely different qualities. I think if one person had been quite simply horrendous then it would make it very simple who to root for, quite aside from who you prefer or are attracted to. I think that Griffin and everybody making this film wanted to avoid that as much as possible.

A hacker profoundly affects the lives of the characters in the film. If you could fulfil any wish on the internet what would it be?

Since I was conscious, probably, I’ve had fantasies about what I would do if I could wave a magic wand, but it’s never involved the internet. If I thought ‘what could I do?’ it’s never been ‘what could I do with the internet?’. So if you’re giving me the magic superpower it wouldn’t involve a computer, it’s much more absolute and psychotic really.

Thirteen years on since Pride & Prejudice, it’s said that your female following goes from the young women to those much older. How does it feel to lusted after by someone of pensionable age?

I actually find I’m increasingly lusted after by people beyond pensionable age. Even when I was really quite young I was told a story of a woman in hospital being diagnosed with high blood pressure. She was 103, and was told not to watch any more Pride & Prejudice, so I’m used to reaching across the generation gap.

In the film, Richard eats in times of stress. How tough is it actually comfort eating on cue?

I don’t have trouble with eating large quantities, it’s not the biggest stretch for me. It’s very interesting though, I’ve never had to do that here but in New York you get ‘do you want low sodium? Do you want wheat, no wheat?’ They ask you about all your allergies. There were things I’d never heard of that I could forego, so it was probably the healthiest two or three days of stuffing my face that I’ve ever experienced.

There is a tremendous supporting cast on show here, from Isabella Rossellini to Sam Shepard and 2001 star Keir Dullea. How was it working with them?

I couldn’t believe what I’d walked into. I think I had 13 days on this film and to walk into this cast, I couldn’t move without bumping into a legend. Isabella, Sam, it was dazzling. It was kind of wonderful in a way, that we had this thing that was there to delight and entertain, something that was light fare with these incredibly weighty people carrying this legendary baggage and status. It was wonderful, and Keir was very forthcoming with anecdotes, all the stories that you’d want to hear really.

A cast like that presumably comes from having a producer such as Uma?

It does help, if it’s Uma and Griffin your ears perk up right away because of the stuff they’ve done. I was very largely there because of Uma.

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James Davies interviews Evander Holyfield

 James interviews 'gentle giant' Evander 

“Muma’s whipping meant I didn’t end up like Tyson”

After being raised in the “ghetto”, Evander Holyfield recalls his incredible journey and how his “Muma’s whippings” meant he didn’t end up like Tyson, the man who infamously bit off and spat out a chunk of his ear, and the ‘animal’ he is about to face once again in this years biggest bout.

Evander Holyfield may not be the “prettiest”, like Muhammad Ali, or the meanest, like Mike Tyson, but he is a boxer who epitomises the sport like no other. He has won the World Heavyweight Championship a record four times and is chasing the dream of a fifth title.

Sitting quietly with a can of Cola, he was surrounded by hundreds of boxing gloves that he was in the middle of signing. He immediately stood up to his full 6’ 3”. Although his imposing height wasn’t threatening, his stance certainly was. It seemed he had adopted the ‘toe to toe’ standing position boxers use while in the ring, into his everyday life, which was intimidating to say the least.

It hasn’t always been this way though, he proudly boasts. “I wasn’t always the biggest, but I was the youngest of nine so I was tough”

Observing the ‘crème de la crème’ of sporting entertainment, one can easily understand why he is so successful, and it becomes easy to see why he's one of the most likeable boxers in the oft-maligned sport. He commands attention and his very presence creates an ‘air of authority’ which in turn makes for self assurance- which, in this business, is the most vital single factor for self-preservation. He explained to me: “In this business we must all love ourselves if we hope to succeed.”

Despite having millions of dollars in the bank and fame beyond belief, he is no ‘flash Harry’. Sat slouched in his chair, wearing a pair of jeans, boots and a chequered shirt he credits his mother, Laura Holyfield, for teaching him about Christian values and the honor in being humble. “My mother was very instrumental and taught me to respect other people.”

He explains his brother and sisters: “realise had they done more of what my mother had told them to do, they probably would have been successful as well.” Although refusing to go into too much detail, the gentle giant revealed some of his siblings had been on the wrong side of the law.

Holyfield, the youngest of nine said: “I’m just one woman away, (my mother), from being the same as Mike Tyson. My Mother said you go to school, you listen, you follow direction and you do what that teacher tells you do to. I would’ve ended up like him had my Muma not been so tough and strong.”

The man who's been called “God's champion”, was never supposed to make anything of his life. He was told over and over again that he was too poor, too inarticulate, and too Black to break the grip of poverty and despair. But armed with a strong faith in succeeding, a strong self belief, and a strong jaw, Holyfield defied the odds, and rewrote boxing history, by earning more than $150 million.

Living by the philosophy that: “no one chooses his start, but everyone can choose his finish”, Evander amazingly went from being paid a mere $2.65 an hour for his first job at the age of 17 working for Epps Aviation in Atlanta, to an eye watering $34 million, in 1997, to fight Mike Tyson for the second time in Las Vegas, which he admits was “the largest amount ever paid for a single performance in any field.”

Holyfield had knocked out ‘Mad Mike’ in their first fight and was set to do it again, until Tyson bit off and spat out a chunk of his ear. It was found on the bloodied canvas and given back to the champion in an iced plastic bag as he was rushed to hospital.

After leaping out of his seat, he explained: “It was painful. I was shocked, because it’s not something you expect.” However it was not the first time he had experienced the sensation of his flesh being bitten. Holyfield sounded briefly confused as he repeated “I’ve been bitten a lot of times. I lived in a neighbourhood that if you had to fight somebody and you were frightened, they would bite you to just get away. So when people bite you they give up, they can’t handle it. So I didn’t take it as anything over than he wanted to get out. He quit, he didn’t want to fight anymore.”

Despite winning only six of his 14 bouts since 1999, he explains: “Being bitten isn’t so much painful, more sort of shocking because you don’t expect them to do it. Getting hit is a lot more painful, than someone biting you. Although you bleed, it’s not as painful as fighting the whole fight.”

Tyson feasted on him so ferociously that the stunned referee that night, Mills Lane, told Holyfield he should change his nickname from ‘The Real Deal’ to The Real Meal.

Although Holyfield, won the fight against his raging and disqualified opponent, he is now set for a third encounter with ‘Iron Mike’. He explains: “I realised if I want to be Heavyweight Champion, I have to attract the champions to fight me. If I fight Mike Tyson, I would do that.”

Although many boxing insiders, and even Holyfield's family and friends, believe he should retire, he’s not thinking about calling it quits. “People are telling me, ‘Evander, you've made a lot of money. Your best bet is to get on out of boxing before you get hurt. You don't want to be walking around like these other fighters. We love you and we really care about you. We think you're the only one who may have some sense.’ But I can't walk away. I have to retire as undisputed heavyweight champion. I know that I am supposed to. I know that I can. It's a matter of being patient.”

The boxer says one secret to his success has been his approach to life. “It’s impossible to be me. But you can be yourself and achieve what I’ve achieved if you listen, follow direction, and not quit. God made everyone special. You just have to realise how special you are by working hard at what you want to achieve.”

As we left the back room of the bookstore, where he had completed a signing session, Evander shook my hand and waved goodbye. “Take care James”.

Interview transcript:

You have already become Heavy weight Champion of the world, as well as winning a gold medal at the Olympics. What is next for you and do you have any more goals or ambitions you wish to achieve?

I want to end as Heavy Weight Champion of the world but my ultimate goal is to give as many underprivileged kids the opportunity to reach their goals through the Holyfield Foundation.

Where did it all begin? How did you get into boxing? Did you have any early influences who pushed you to become a champion?

I was the youngest of nine in my family, and I started at the boys club. I just wanted to be successful. This man told me I could be the Heavy Weight Champion of the World, when I was eight years old and just sixty five pounds. I believed him and I asked my Mom and she said yea if you don’t quit. I didn’t quit and Twenty years later I was Heavy Weight Champion of the World.

Did you have this believe in your ability, and where did this drive for success come from?

My Mother was instrumental in me not quitting. When I was eleven years old things weren’t going my way so I told my Mom I quit. My Muma said she didn’t raise a quitter so she said to go back, and I went back. This happened quite a few times, but my mother explained to me that just because things aren’t going your way doesn’t mean you just give it up. Just make some adjustments, which I did and I realised the key to life is, if you love something and don’t give up you can over come it.

Where does your desire to come back and box come from? You have already been highly successful?

I never stopped. I was told I had a heart condition, and I was able to prove to them that I didn’t have a bad heart. I realised the most important thing was to end as Champion.

How did these hurdles affect you personally? Was there ever a point you wanted to quit?

It was a misdiagnosis. I messed up my shoulder and the doctor said it was my heart, which it wasn’t. They over medicated me and gave me too much morphine, which put a lot of pressure on my heart and caused me to have a heart attack. But I never wanted to quit.

What were the early days like? Did you best everyone? Were you the biggest, the strongest?

I wasn’t always the biggest, but I was the youngest of nine so I was tough anyway, because things were real hard. But I was very good at sports. I wouldn’t say I was better than everyone else, I just had power. I always wanted to be the very best because I was the youngest one and all my brothers and sisters were better than me, and it was a struggle to keep up with them when they were four or five years older.

What do your family think of your achievements?

They’re happy for me. But they realise had they done more of what my Mother had told them to do, they probably would have been successful as well.

What were you like in school?

I was very dedicated in school, but I wasn’t a very smart student. My Mother only had a Six Grade Education, and my Father didn’t go to school at all, so she was very keen I learned to read. I’m just one woman away, my mother, from being the same as Mike Tyson. Muma’s whippings meant I didn’t end up like Tyson. My Mother said you go to school, you listen, you follow direction and you do what that teacher tells you do to. My mother was very hard on me, but she would always say there are always going to be people good at things you’re not, but there are going to be things you’re good at that they’re not. My mother just said be the very best you can be. No one chooses his start, but everyone can choose his finish.

What was it like to have your ear bitten by Mike Tyson, and what were your thoughts and feelings at the time?

It was painful (laughs). I was shocked, because it’s not something you expect. I’ve been bitten a lot of times. I lived in a neighbourhood that if you had to fight somebody and you were frightened, they would bite you to just get away. So when people bite you they give up, they can’t handle it. So I didn’t take it as anything over than he wanted to get out. He quit, he didn’t want to fight anymore.

How does that pain compare to anything else you’ve experienced while boxing?

Being bitten isn’t so much painful, more sort of shocking because you don’t expect them to do it. Getting hit is a lot more painful, than someone biting you. Although you bleed, it’s not as painful as fighting the whole fight.

It has been reported you and Mike Tyson are to have a rematch sometime this year? What are your reasons for wanting to get back in the ring with Mike?

It wasn’t really my reasons, he approached me wanting to do it. I realised if I want to be Heavy Weight Champion, I have to attract the champions to fight me. If I fight Mike Tyson, I would do that. The pay day would be so big that the Champion would say how in the world are they making more money than me. So they would want to fight the winner of that match to make some money.

What is the proudest moment of your career?

One of my proudest moments is beating Mike Tyson because at the time he was the guy you had to beat to be considered the best. And I did it. But I have so many proud moments because I have been the Champion so many times.

What does it feel like being Heavy Weight Champion? Can you explain it in words?

To be the very best in the world is big. To be the very best in your class is one thing, but the best in the world is a whole other thing. It allowed me to feel good about myself because I didn’t quit, and became the best fighter the world knew about.

What do you like to do in your spare time?

I’m a people person and I like helping people. I like helping people for the simple reason because if nobody helped me I wouldn’t be the person I am today. My mother was very instrumental and put me in a position were I could receive good advice, as she taught me to respect other people. When I travel, and see the expression on peoples faces and hear the things they say that means so much to me. I just hope I inspire people to do their best.

What advice would you give to anyone wanting to become, if possible, the next Evander Holyfield?

It’s impossible to be me. But you can be yourself and achieve what I’ve achieved if you listen, follow direction, and not quit. God made everyone special. You just have to realise how special you are by working hard at what you want to achieve.

The National Student February 09

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