Former BAFTA Rising Star, Mia McKenna-Bruce, tells Hollywood Authentic about her German singing skills and her unconventional dinner choice.
How important is a little bit of nonsense now and then to you? The most important! I never take myself too seriously; if you’re not laughing 90% of the time, what’s the point?
What, if anything, makes you believe in magic? My son.
What was your last act of true cowardice? Oh, deep! I think I’m learning to be more honest with myself about my feelings, so maybe I’m a coward daily with not saying how I truly feel.
Do you have any odd habits or rituals? I’ll always read the end of a book first. People think that’s quite odd. I like to know where it’s heading.
What single thing do you miss most when you’re away from home? My family, we are very close.
What is your party trick? Singing ‘Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes’ in German. Also reciting random science facts – like the electromagnetic spectrum.
What is your mantra? When nothing is certain, anything is possible.
What is your favourite smell? This sounds crazy: bleach.
What do you always carry with you? Snacks. Usually like a Trek bar or something.
What is your guilty pleasure? Eating cereal for dinner.
Who is the silliest person you know? Oh there’s lots! But probably my Nonna.
What would be your least favourite way to die? Buried alive – ew!
What’s your idea of heaven? Being surrounded by my family and friends, maybe round a campfire having a sing-song.
BAFTA Rising Star and BIFA-winning actor Mia McKenna-Bruce came to prominence in in CBBC revival Tracy Beaker Returns but her profile exploded with the success of How to Have Sex in 2023. She has since worked with Claire Denis on The Fence and will feature in Sam Mendes’ four-film cinematic event about the Beatles. McKenna-Bruce can currently be seen playing the lead in both Agatha Christie’s Seven Dials and The Lady.
Photograph by GREG WILLIAMS
*Arguably one of the most memorable (and quotable) scenes in 1971’s Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory is when Mr Salt mumbles, ‘It’s a lot of nonsense,’ to which Wonka replies, in a sing-song voice, ‘A little nonsense now and then is relished by the wisest men.’
Photographs & words by GREG WILLIAMS As told to MATT MAYTUM
Greg Williams looks back on two decades of capturing the BAFTAs, and the Cartier gems that shone on the biggest night in British film…
I’ve been an official photo-grapher of BAFTA since 2005. Due to my longstanding relationships with the British Academy and many of the talent honoured, I’ve been lucky enough to have the privilege of being the first person that the winners see when they come offstage with their award. What you get are those wonderful, honest reactions before their guard is up. I like to think it gives you authentic Hollywood, seeing how someone reacts in that moment, and the emotions of it. If you’re lucky you tend to see the inner child more than the personality. Some people come offstage stunned. They’re a rabbit in the headlights. You have to say, ‘You just won a BAFTA. Wahey!’ Over the years I’ve shot the BAFTAs when it was at the Odeon Leicester Square, the Opera House, the Royal Albert Hall, and now at the Royal Festival Hall. And each one brought something unique.
When I started my career as a photojournalist, you never got a second crack at taking a picture. You were literally capturing a moment. That has come in very useful in these situations where it is often organised madness, and you’ve only got one opportunity to get that first impression. And my pictures are often of that first impression, so my photojournalism background has definitely helped in capturing the moments. For the last decade, I’ve also had a really meaningful relationship with Cartier, often photographing actors in the moments before they head to the red carpet in their hotel suites. Bringing these two institutions together in one spread was just a lovely opportunity to show those spontaneous moments as well as the more still, posed images when you really want to put a spotlight on these beautiful Cartier creations.
I’m very inspired by the old glamour of 50s’ Hollywood. When I was a kid, I was obsessed with the book Magnum at the Movies, and the work of those legendary photojournalists. I put it all in the same bracket of reportage, whether you’re in a war zone or on a red carpet. It’s still reportage, telling stories. In both cases, it’s looking at something that’s reasonably extraordinary to people. It could be extraordinary beauty or extraordinary savagery.
RACHEL WEISZ (Above) Rachel Weisz leaves the stage at the Royal Albert Hall after winning the Best Supporting Actress BAFTA in 2019 for her role in The Favourite. The amount of space I had backstage was lovely, it gave me room to set up lights including the backlight shaping her hair, and there were no other people backstage.
Rachel wears: Cartier High Jewellery earrings, 18ct white gold, diamonds Cartier High Jewellery ring, 18ct white gold, emerald, black, lacquer, diamonds
TEO YOO Teo Yoo captured in his suite before the 2024 BAFTAs, where he was nominated for Best Actor in a Leading Role for Past Lives.
Teo wears: Santos de Cartier cufflinks, Sterling silver Cartier Santos watch (Large model), mechanical movement, leather strap 18ct rose gold Cartier LOVE ring, 18ct white gold Clash de Cartier ring (Medium model), 18ct white gold
VANESSA KIRBY You’re always looking for ways to bring the joy close to the face. There was something about covering her eye that I liked. I liked the shape of the picture, and there’s a bit of intrigue to it.
Vanessa wears: Cartier Juste un Clou earrings (Small model), 18ct yellow gold Cartier Love ring (Small model), 18ct yellow gold
LILY COLLINS Lily Collins captured in her suite at the Savoy Hotel ahead of the 2024 ceremony. I’m often trying to come up with little things that will light a fuse. It wasn’t planned – and there’s a room service trolley, and I suggested, ‘Eat a chip.’ These things are very fast. I try not to give them much thought. The less thought I give them, the more authentic they are.
Lily wears: Cartier Diamond earrings, 18ct white gold, diamonds Cartier Diamond ring, 18ct white gold, diamonds
AUSTIN BUTLER It’s lovely when the person coming offstage is someone who is really comfortable with me, which was the case with Austin Butler. We have a pre-existing friendship, so there’s a real warmth to the shot. Austin was captured embracing Cate Blanchett after he was awarded the Best Actor BAFTA for his role in Elvis at the 2023 ceremony (Blanchett also won that year for her role in Tár).
Austin wears: Cartier Juste un Clou bracelet, 18ct white gold Cartier Love Ring, 18ct white gold, ceramic, diamonds Panthère de Cartier cufflinks, 18ct white gold, diamonds, emeralds, onyx
DAVID OYELOWO / TOM HIDDLESTON David Oyelowo and Tom Hiddleston both presented an award at the 2021 ceremony at the Royal Albert Hall, which took place during lockdown. These were both shot during rehearsals; there was no audience for the show due to Covid restrictions, so I had the time and space to be able to give them some decent portraits.
David wears: Pasha de Cartier watch, 41mm, automatic movement,18ct yellow gold, leather Engraved Sodalite Double C Logo cufflinks, Sterling silver, palladium finish, sodalite
Tom wears: Cartier Santos-Dumont watch (Extra large model), Hand-wound mechanical movement, 18ct rose gold, steel, leather Santos de Cartier cufflinks, Sterling silver, palladium finish
SOPHIE WILDE Sophie Wilde pictured at her first BAFTA ceremony in 2024, where she was nominated for the Rising Star Award.
Sophie wears: Pluie de Cartier earrings, 18ct white gold, diamonds Cartier Diamond Collection bracelet, 18ct white gold, diamonds Cartier Juste un Clou ring, 18ct white gold, diamonds Cartier Juste un Clou ring (Small model), 18ct white gold
RAMI MALEK Rami Malek at his suite at the Ritz Hotel in 2023. Rami has a real, old-school Hollywood look. Because the Ritz is so timeless, apart from a digital dial on the telephone and the fact that Rami is obviously of today, there’s nothing in that photo that you couldn’t have shot in the ’60s, and I love that.
Rami wears: C de Cartier sunglasses, Combined black and gold, matte ruthenium-finish frame, smooth golden-finish bridge, dark grey lenses Reflection de Cartier brooch/earrings, 18ct white gold, diamonds Tank Française watch (Large model), Automatic mechanical movement, steel Trinity ring (Small model), 18ct white gold, 18ct yellow gold, 18ct rose gold Pasha de Cartier cufflinks, Sterling silver, palladium finish, synthetic spinel
Photographs & words by GREG WILLIAMS As told to MATT MAYTUM
Greg Williams takes pause to consider the bigger picture of images seen small on his social media. This issue: Paul Mescal walking to the 2023 BAFTAs in London.
Most guests arrive at the BAFTAs in cars, but Paul likes to break the mould on things. He was staying at a hotel across the river and said, ‘Let’s walk’ – we just walked across Waterloo Bridge to the Royal Festival Hall. I divide photography into being an observer and being a participant – where you sense a connection between the subjects and me. It gives the audience a first-person experience: it feels like they’re fist-bumping Paul Mescal on a bridge, walking to the BAFTAs.
Structurally, it’s pretty close to the rule of thirds. This has the London Eye and Big Ben on the side – a real London image and a lucky accident. The picture has a nice line from my fist that goes straight through the vintage Cartier brooch and the middle of the London Eye. I took the picture for Cartier and also managed to get the Tank Louis in shot nicely. It was a fun and exhilarating shoot – and no-one really noticed us, despite him being nominated for Best Actor for Aftersun at the BAFTAs. When I shoot like this barely anyone notices, because they’re not expecting it. I don’t put up lights and tripods, I’m not holding up the traffic – we don’t look like a photoshoot and don’t attract any attention. You don’t look any different from a tourist taking a picture on a bridge.
Shot on a Leica Q2 with a 28mm lens
Photograph and words by GREG WILLIAMS Shot onLeica Q2
From diamond tears to royal engagement rings, bracelets ready for their close-up to bejewelled crucifixes, Cartier jewels have dazzled onscreen since cinema’s inception…
Cartier is one of cinema’s most enduring characters. Since 1926 – when Rudolph Valentino famously donned an iconic Cartier Tank watch – the luxury Maison has established itself as both a cultural icon and a memorable co-star. Its timeless jewellery has appeared in classic films like Sunset Boulevard and more contemporary works like Ocean’s 8 and The Phoenician Scheme.
CARTIER ROSARY From Wes Anderson’s 2025 film The Phoenician Scheme
The elegant craftsmanship of Cartier’s jewellery has augmented the magical worlds created by skilful filmmakers for generations, helping to bring the stories to life in ways that feel as real as they do transformative. Over the years, hundreds of films and series have featured Cartier pieces – an extraordinary filmography that outshines the careers of many human actors. But Cartier’s contribution to the landscape of cinema wasn’t inevitable. It took a legacy of craftsmanship, some particularly devoted famous fans and a dedication to storytelling that has spanned time and genre.
Perhaps the link between carats and celluloid was inevitable. Maison Cartier was founded in Paris in 1847, only a few decades before the invention of cinema by Auguste and Louis Lumière, who also first presented their work in the French capital. In 1895, the Lumière brothers began filming short scenes using their newly-created cinématographe, an early motion-picture camera. Later that year, they held the first commercial film screening at a café in Paris, an historic moment that for ever changed the landscape of arts and culture. It wasn’t long after that Cartier and cinema embarked on an undeniable relationship that has lasted for a century.
Jean Cocteau
In 1926, Valentino, arguably one of silent film’s most iconic actors, played dual characters in George Fitzmaurice’s The Son of the Sheik – the final starring role of his career. Embodying both a sheik and his rakish son Ahmed, Valentino convinced the director to let him wear his Tank watch in his scenes, simply because he didn’t want to take his beloved timepiece off. Audiences were delighted by the unlikely detail and the Tank rapidly grew in popularity after its on-screen debut.
Cartier soon established itself as an indelible onscreen partner for the most popular performers of every era. In 1946, Jean Cocteau (who habitually wore two of Cartier’s trademark Trinity rings on his left pinkie finger) directed a reimagining of the classic fairy tale Beauty and the Beast, titled La Belle et La Bête. In the ethereal film, Belle wept Cartier diamonds instead of tears. ‘A fake diamond doesn’t throw fire,’ Cocteau explained of his artistic vision, ‘only a real diamond shimmers.’ The loaned diamonds underscored the emotional quality of the scene, creating a lasting, surrealist image that has since become interlinked with the history of cinema.
Grace Kelly
Gloria Swanson, too, couldn’t be parted from her Cartier. She was often photographed in her jewels, a signature of her glamorous image. The jewellery accompanied her onscreen Sunset Boulevard: ageing former starlet, Norma Desmond, still sparkled in her choice of jewels if not on the big screen. In the film, Swanson wore two of her own diamond and rock crystal bracelets created in 1930 as part of Desmond’s costume.
In High Society, released in 1956, Grace Kelly wore the jewellery house’s engagement ring, adorned with a 10.48-carat emerald-cut diamond and given to her by Prince Rainier III of Monaco. Like Valentino before her, the actor couldn’t bear to part with it while working, so added the famous ring to the film’s legacy instead. Tracy Lord’s classic platinum and diamond bauble boasted regal veracity for audiences.
More recently, Cartier collaborated on 2018’s Ocean’s 8. The plot centered on the theft of an ornate diamond necklace, made by Maison Cartier and based on a piece created by Cartier London in 1931. Named after Jeanne Toussaint, Cartier’s creative director from 1933 to 1970, the prop mimicked diamonds with zirconium oxides.
Gloria Swanson
The Maison’s skills were again enlisted for Wes Anderson’s recent output, The Phoenician Scheme to recreate a Cartier rosary from the 1880s for the nun protagonist to clutch. ‘It was interesting and fun to do it that way, and I think they look better,’ Anderson said of using actual Cartier jewels in the film.
Cartier has expanded its cinematic presence by contributing new short films to the zeitgeist, and by frequently collaborating with filmmakers such as Johan Renck and Sofia Coppola. ‘Films are made up of many details, and jewellery plays a role in this by showing you the type of character you encounter,’ Coppola noted.
BRACELET, CARTIER PARIS, 1930 Platinum, Diamonds, Rock Crystal
The Maison is also a main sponsor of the annual Venice International Film Festival, an opportunity that more deeply connects Cartier with new and important works from the global cinematic community. Over the years, the jewellery house has hosted Maison ambassadors like Monica Bellucci and Rami Malek, and bestowed the Cartier Glory to the Filmmaker Award to legends like Wes Anderson. This year, Cartier celebrated BAFTA with a glamorous dinner held ahead of the annual EE BAFTA Film Awards, drawing a full-circle movie moment between Valentino’s watch obsession a hundred years ago.
Cinema and jewellery share a commonality in the often unseen craftsmanship that goes on behind the scenes to create the magic onscreen. Like movie productions, Cartier boasts many specialised metiers who craft their own sort of creative sorcery to produce a dazzling work of art. And BAFTA and Cartier share a similarly long history and legacy in showcasing quality and artistry. Though founded in Paris in 1847, a Cartier boutique has stood in London’s New Burlington Street since 1902 and held warrants from members of the British Royal family since 1904. Just steps away, BAFTA HQ resides with a similar dedication to creative excellence and links to the royals. Established in 1947 as the British Film Academy, the organisation became BAFTA eleven years later, with the opening of its Piccadilly home in 1976.
Together, both Cartier and BAFTA have left a lasting mark on our cultural consciousness that continues to sparkle.
Return of the king… The maestro of movie showmanship revives the king of rock ’n’ roll with unseen footage of Elvis in Vegas to create a unique cinematic experience. Baz Luhrmann tells Hollywood Authentic how he found treasure in salt mines and made a poem of EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert.
Is it ever possible to recapture the thrill of seeing one of the greatest ever music artists live in their prime? Baz Luhrmann’s EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert answers that question with a resounding yes. The unearthing of new footage of a cultural touchstone is a gift for die-hard Elvis fans, and offers younger generations the opportunity to see what all the fuss was about. Much more than a concert movie, EPiC sprang from Luhrmann and his team’s archival discoveries during the making of his blockbuster 2022 feature Elvis, starring Austin Butler.
There’s not a frame of AI or visual effects in this – the only visual effect is the one Elvis has on his audience
Often thought to be apocryphal, lost footage from Elvis’ famous Vegas residency turned out to be more than mere rumour during the making of Elvis. ‘Ernst Jorgensen [author and Elvis expert] said, “You know there are these lost reels of the show?”’ Luhrmann recalls. ‘And I thought to myself, “Wow, maybe we could use that footage in the [Elvis] movie itself, rather than build a stage – because of budgets.”’ The footage – originally shot for doc Elvis: That’s the Way It Is – belonged to MGM and had been stored in salt mines in Kansas, to prevent water from damaging the negative. When Baz’s team went digging, ‘not only did they find the footage,’ he explains between sips of miso soup, ‘they actually found a kind of treasure trove of materials – 69 boxes, 59 hours of footage.’
Neon/Universal Pictures
Neon/Universal Pictures
That incredible haul not only contained footage of Elvis’ 1970 Vegas shows at the International Hotel, shot on anamorphic 35mm over six nights; there was also 16mm film of Elvis on tour, and some 8mm, too. But another unexpected find was the key to making EPiC the extraordinary proposition it is. ‘We also found never-before-heard audio of Elvis telling his story in his own words, which is really unusual,’ says Luhrmann, photographed here by Greg Williams when he was at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival, while premiering Elvis there.
Neon/Universal Pictures
‘Jono [Jonathan] Redman, who’s a producer on this, and my editor, and really my co-creator of this whole venture, said, “We’ve got to make something really special. We can’t just heat up the old documentaries. Can we do something unique?”’ Beyond the technical challenge of restoring the negative to a quality that would hold up on IMAX and syncing the sound, there was the unique opportunity to let Elvis speak in his own words – something fans had never heard before. ‘What we decided on was, rather than reheat old documentaries… What if we were to take this audio that we’d found, and Elvis will sing and tell his story in his own words? There have been many good documentaries, but they were always about other people talking about Elvis. And there’s nothing wrong with that. But sometimes you’ll get a guy who knew him for 10 minutes, having an opinion.’ In part, the lack of Presley speaking his own truth was down to how protective manager Colonel Tom Parker (portrayed by Tom Hanks in Baz’s film) was of Elvis. But if 2022’s Elvis told Parker’s version of events, EPiC tells Elvis’ side of the story. ‘Elvis comes to you, almost like in a dream, and he sings, and he tells his story in a way in which he’s never had the platform [for] before.’
Neon/Universal Pictures
Some of the footage in EPiC may have been glimpsed before, in black-and-white and bootleg snippets or from different takes or angles, but much of the material in the film is totally unseen, and certainly never with such clarity, offering an unprecedentedly intimate audience with an icon. ‘You will have never seen all of it reproduced at the level it is,’ asserts Luhrmann. ‘I can categorically tell you: there’s not a frame of AI or visual effects in this, other than the titles. The only visual effect in this movie is the visual effect Elvis has on his audience.’
Neon/Universal Pictures
Neon/Universal Pictures
With the images polished at Peter Jackson’s Park Road Post Production – where the Kiwi director memorably brought The Beatles: Get Back and Beatles ’64 to vibrant life – a huge challenge involved syncing the sound with the recovered film. ‘While we found all the pictures, it didn’t come with mag tape, which is how they used to record sound, right next to it,’ says Luhrmann. ‘What we were able to do, though, through meticulous research was to get second-generation audio sound. The audio isn’t different. While the picture is different when they strike a print – a work print, to cut and edit – the sound isn’t. So we were able to claw back the original vocal of Elvis and the band.’
Neon/Universal Pictures
It’s actually an expression, I hope, of the essence, the spirit, and the character of Elvis through song and his words. It’s like a poem more than it is a linear expression of Elvis
Neon/Universal Pictures
Luhrmann has always been a pioneer when it comes to melding movies and music, and EPiC sees him push those instincts to new levels. Where the recording of the orchestra was inconsistent, he and his team rebuilt some of the backing music via scoring sessions. The film also moves between the actual sound you would’ve heard had you been in the room to remixes Luhrmann refers to as ‘DNA’, adding his trademark sparkle and oomph to the raw material. ‘It’s more than a documentary, and it’s not a concert film,’ he muses. ‘It’s actually an expression, I hope, of the essence, the spirit, and the character of Elvis through song and his words. It’s like a poem more than it is a linear expression of Elvis.’
Neon/Universal Pictures
And while Luhrmann refuses to speak on behalf of the King of Rock and Roll, he does say that he thinks he would appreciate ‘that he’s being heard and being presented visually and sonically in the best possible quality for the audience and the fans who he dearly loved’. Having worked to craft a big-screen, big-sound cinematic experience that makes viewers feel as though they’ve time-travelled to the International Hotel ballroom with Elvis, Luhrmann intends to get viewers moving, dancing as they did in 1970 and at TIFF when the film premiered. ‘What I hope is that we’ve created a truly theatrical experience, as close to being in the audience as possible.’
Photographs by GREG WILLIAMS Interview by JANE CROWTHER
Greg Williams goes on set of heist movie, Crime 101, as lead, Chris Hemsworth, tells Hollywood Authentic about getting out of his comfort zone, how he stays sane and reteaming with The Hulk.
Chris Hemsworth is in London a month after teaser trailers have dropped for Marvel’s next Avengers get-together, Doomsday, featuring his much loved character, Thor. But the Australian actor’s next project is a world away from the superheroes and clearly delineated goodie/baddie morality of the comic book series that launched his career. In documentarian-turned-filmmaker Bart Layton’s first fully-fictional movie (after his based-on-true-events, American Animals), Crime 101, Hemsworth plays a lonely everyman with a complex family background who steals diamonds from couriers along LA’s famed freeway artery, the 101. As Davis, Hemsworth is watchful, tightly-wound, cautious – a man who disappears into crowds and whose apartment and social life is like a burner phone: impersonal, disposable, blank. It’s the opposite to gregarious Thor who wears his heart on his regal sleeve. And that’s exactly what Hemsworth was looking for.
What instantly struck a chord when I read this script. The character didn’t fall into an archetype or trope that felt familiar from something I had ever done, or something I had even seen before
‘It has changed throughout my career,’ he tells Hollywood Authentic of how he chooses projects the day after the London premiere for the film. Part of the filming took place in the UK, where Greg Williams captured the cast on-set. ‘Initially, it was about keeping some sort of continuity with the characters I was playing. That was also when I was being sent a lot of bigger action-type films. Then I was curious about doing comedy. But I guess now it’s just about it not feeling repetitive, and seeking something that is going to motivate you to dig as deep as possible because there’s a fascination or a curiosity or a world you haven’t inhabited before. That was what instantly struck a chord when I read this script. The character didn’t fall into an archetype or trope that felt familiar from something I had ever done, or something I had even seen before. This was an individual who was highly skilled in his line of work, and there was obviously a strength and a confidence there. But there was this fragility and vulnerability, which I thought humanised him in a great way, and allowed there to be layers of complexity that could be surprising for an audience.’
Talking to Layton about the grey areas of the character, Hemsworth admits to a certain nervousness in taking on the role. ‘Any time there is an element of trepidation or fear – it’s a really good thing. It forces you and motivates you to work harder and dig deeper. But the greater the challenge, I think the greater the outcome.’ Layton was also keen to tap into the actor’s more vulnerable side; ‘I had to find a way not to lose any of his incredible star power and magnetism, but to still find a way for him to be real,’ the director tells HA. Hemsworth chuckles at the recollection of Layton pointing out when some of Thor’s self confidence might be leaking into his performance. ‘Day to day on set, if there were default things I was slipping into, or moments where my physicality would shift into the familiar space of a more outwardly strong character I had played prior – he would say, “That’s not where we’re headed. Adjust the gait of the walk, or the vocal quality. Remember the tension in the chest…”. The voice was the big one for us, and it not having the same sort of register that I might have with Thor or the more outwardly projected strong characters I have played. It was more about the tension within the voice, and the cadence of how people spoke who are living on high alert, and in self-doubt.’
Of course the challenge was probably greater when working with another Avenger on-set. The Hulk himself, Mark Ruffalo, plays a crumpled LAPD cop who sees a pattern in the 101 heists and is determined to get his man. ‘That was interesting because Mark and I have done so much together, but in a heightened reality – mostly in a comedic improvisational way, especially with Thor: Ragnarok. And so we got on set, and immediately we’re like a couple of kids – old mates catching up – and having a laugh. But then as soon as the cameras rolled, it was quite uncomfortable. I was like, “Wow, this is very different. I can’t hide behind anything familiar here.”
It felt very exposed. And I think for both of us, it spurred on a real curiosity, and flights of hesitation, both of us trying to suss each other out, as the characters were. But having a shorthand with someone – a partner you trust who is a true team player – was just wonderful.’
Ruffalo is one of a stacked cast: with Halle Berry playing a high-net-worth Insurance broker who’s learning her own disposability as a woman, Barry Keoghan as a firebrand thief and antagonist, and Monica Barbaro as a woman who demands authenticity from Davis. ‘Working with Halle for the first time was absolutely amazing,’ Hemsworth enthuses. ‘I’m just the biggest fan of hers, and was quite intimidated. My character is performing with her character and I felt like that. I very much felt out of my comfort zone due to the admiration I have for her. It was like when I worked with Cate Blanchett. I would find myself just watching both of them as an audience member, and kind of going, “Oh, shit, I’ve got to respond. I’ve got to act here. I’ve got to do something.”’
Layton’s film casts Los Angeles as a character in itself and takes a look at the City of Angels through the prism of haves and have-nots, showing Skid Row alongside the mansions of Bel Air, the wealth disparity and the status anxiety of a moviemaking epicentre. Hemsworth admits that he recognises that portrayal of a city he works in. ‘The expendable nature of people in that town is quite evident. When I first moved to LA, it felt pretty overwhelming. The more time I spent there, you see the glitz and glamour on one hand, and then you see behind the curtain, and the grit, and the homelessness, and the mental health problems, and the crime, and so on. But there’s incredible things about the place, too. There’s a huge amount of artistry there, and motivation to build and create and be creative. But what Bart did so well is, he pulled back with the camera, and he allowed you to take in the expanse of both of those worlds, the entire spectrum. We had discussed at one point: could we replicate LA somewhere else in the world, and seek different tax credits for production purposes? But thank God, we didn’t. Because I just don’t think you’d be able to replicate LA in the way it’s been displayed here with such authenticity. You get a sense, in the way he shoots this film, how isolating and lonely that place can be. Even through times where I was having success, and it felt like all my problems and issues were solved, I had made it and so on – I would be in a lonely hotel room somewhere, going, “What is this all about? What does it mean?” So the deeper questions start to arise…’
Working with Halle for the first time was absolutely amazing. I’m just the biggest fan of hers, and was quite intimidated. My character is performing with her character and I felt like that. I very much felt out of my comfort zone due to the admiration I have for her
Those deeper questions about integrity, drive, finding meaning in the work are sometimes difficult to answer in the noise of Hollywood. Especially if you’ve had the sort of meteoric rise Hemsworth has enjoyed. So how does he keep a sense of purpose? ‘It’s having good people around. The team of people I work with, I’ve worked with for 15 or 20 years. They make the biggest difference to me, because I know not everyone has that. I’ve worked with people where I see it’s a different team each time, or they’re not fortunate enough to be able to bring the same people with them. It’s like going to a new school every couple of months, and trying to make a new set of friends. So that certainly keeps me grounded, and helps keep me sane.’
And in terms of creativity, the Aussie has plenty of other projects coming up to keep him motivated and challenged. Avengers: Doomsday lands in December, he’s just finished filming submarine thriller, Subversion and is in pre-production of Extraction 3. ‘Inhabiting material where there is true curiosity and enthusiasm – there’s the artistic journey. You’re not just there checking in, like, “What time do we finish? OK.” Clock in tomorrow. Clock out now. The aim is for it not to feel like work at all. And that really depends on whether I’ve chosen the right project or not. You know that pretty quick. He laughs. ‘There’s films that fly by, and you wish you could repeat them over and over again. And then there’s films that feel like they take forever… you know, “This might not have been the best choice.” I think for me the decisions are trickier because if it’s going to take me away from my family and my kids at this point, it needs to be special. And this one felt incredibly special…’
Photographs by GREG WILLIAMS Interview by JANE CROWTHER Crime 101 is in cinemas now
Sometimes you don’t appreciate what you’ve been missing until you get the chance to sample it again. This supremely slick crime thriller is an emphatic reminder of the pleasures of smart, mainstream entertainment for grown-ups, playing in a cinema rather than episodically on the small screen. A theatrical staple for decades, this kind of star-powered vehicle has lost ground in multiplexes to franchise fare and IP with built-in awareness. But it’s good to have it back.
Amazon MGM Studios
This film marks the fully fledged ‘fictional feature’ debut of writer/director Bart Layton, who previously made terrific fact/fiction-blending documentaries The Imposter and American Animals, the latter particularly blurring the lines as it intercuts between the real people involved in a university book heist and dramatic recreations. Though not based on a true story, Crime 101 – which is adapted from a novella by Don Winslow – has the rigour of a deeply researched undertaking. It stars Chris Hemsworth, Halle Berry and Mark Ruffalo, whose narrative strands soon become entwined. Hemsworth is lone-wolf jewel thief Davis, whose MO is committing meticulously researched jobs along California’s 101 freeway. No one gets hurt, no trace of evidence remains. Detective Lou Lubesnick (Ruffalo) is working a theory that some of these robberies might be connected. Meanwhile, insurance broker Sharon (Berry) sells eye-wateringly high-value policies to extremely wealthy clients, in return for little to no respect from colleagues at her firm.
Amazon MGM Studios
This trio will soon be on a collision course catalysed by wild card crim Ormon (Barry Keoghan, reuniting with Layton after American Animals), who lobs a spanner in the works by taking on a job that Davis deemed too risky. Working with A-list and Oscar-celebrated talent, Layton seems to be a natural at eliciting top-end performances. Hemsworth tamps down his superhero rizz to play the nomadic thief living without any real social connection, and his Marvel ‘friend from work’ Ruffalo is compelling as ever as a stretched-thin cop whose obsessive nature is wrecking his homelife. Berry – in her most gratifying role for some time – gets to dig beneath the surface glamour as a woman coming to see with clarity how her experience and intelligence is being overlooked. Keoghan, meanwhile, is the firecracker popping off chaotically.
Amazon MGM Studios
Adding to the sheen of class is the fact that even minor supporting roles are filled with significant talent – Jennifer Jason Leigh, Nick Nolte, Corey Hawkins – and Monica Barbaro makes the most of limited screentime in Maya, a love interest who cracks Davis’ hermetically sealed shell. It’s also edited with confidence by Jacob Secher Schulsinger and Julian Hart, the separate story strands blended skilfully and often overlapping before you’ve even realised it. It all drives towards a satisfying conclusion that makes good on the build-up’s promise. And while there is a focus on character in this somewhat grounded world, there are a couple of impressively muscular, plot-serving car chases to get the adrenaline pumping, and the whole thing is shot sharply (with some innovative vehicle mounts) by DoP Erik Wilson. The pulsing electronic score by Blanck Mass also sets off the tone nicely.
Michael Mann’s Heat and Thief are clear touchstones, as is William Friedkin’s To Live and Die in L.A., and while it’s practically impossible for any new film to live up to those genre titans, it sure is enjoyable seeing someone giving it a go.
Amazon MGM Studios
Pictures courtesy of Amazon MGM Studios Crime 101opens in cinemas on 13 February
Designed to titillate with its tongue very much in its flushed cheek, Emerald Fennell’s raunchy take on Charlotte Bronte’s doomy classic sets its stall out from the opening as a hanged man gets an erection, prompting carnality from the assembled crowd – including a shuddering nun. Death and sex continue to be inextricably linked in this tale of two Victorian pseudo-siblings who run wild on the Yorkshire moors and through each others’ dreams as they grow from children to cruel adults locked in a toxic romance. Jettisoning the novel’s bookended story of the fate of the family home, Wuthering Heights, and the generational trauma of the Earnshaws, screenwriter and director, Fennell concentrates on the lethal enmeshment of Cathy (Margot Robbie) and her adopted brother, Heathcliff (Jacob Elordi) which sees them devouring each other in the rain, masturbating on rocky outcrops and smearing fingers through any wet thing they can find (snail trail, damp dough, a gelatined fish mouth, blood).
Warner Bros. Pictures
Designed in narrative and production aesthetic as a heaving Mills & Boon cover come to life, Fennell’s iteration has no interest in historical accuracy, Victorian properness or faithfulness to the source. Like Sofia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette, this version of Wuthering Heights is more interested in vibe and feelings. So while Charli XCX’s anachronistic soundtrack thrums over the visuals-destined-to-be-memes, Heathcliff and Cathy pant over each other in deliberately artificial and heightened environments from Suzie Davis that will enrage purists but provide content for TikTokers. Wuthering Heights looks like a tiled abattoir, Thrushcross Grange belonging to third wheel love interest, Edgar (Shazad Latif, bringing real depth to a cock-blocked cuckold) is a pop music video dollhouse (scarlet lacquers floors, flesh walls, lurid gardens), a moors sunset is an atomic orange. And the costumes… Jacqueline Durran’s imagination is unfettered: a Gone With The Wind gown, a busty milkmaid get-up, neon ribboned fripperies for ditzy Isabella (Alison Oliver), a wedding night outfit that wraps Cathy like a boiled sweet. Put it this way, there’s plenty to go at for Halloween hot looks.
Warner Bros. Pictures
While the willful artifice will surely attract awards attention, the relationship at the (raging) heart of this tale needs to convince and Fennell is predictably unphased by making her characters complicated, messy. Cathy, in Robbie’s hands, is an intriguing OG drama queen, a prick tease, a brat. As he did in Frankenstein, Elordi does considerable heavy lifting in humanising a damaged man; seducing Cathy and audience alike with a spot-on West Yorkshire accent, palpable yearning and a mean streak a mile wide. If anyone needed more evidence that Elordi is destined to be a generational great, Wuthering Heights demonstrates his ability to play convincingly into lusty tropes (the way he says ‘I know’ at one point is likely to rival Colin Firth’s lake swim or Matthew McFadyen’s hand flex in bodice-buster obsessions) but also tap into the psychology of Heathcliff (Fennell’s most modern and interesting scene is a moment of consent in a coercive relationship) and almost single-handedly sell the tragedy of the piece. When he mourns the love lost while wind-whipped on the moors or clings to a silk bedsheet like drowning man, the truth and authenticity of Bronte’s prose is captured.
Warner Bros. Pictures
Flashy, brash, bombastic, hot and heavy – this Wuthering Heights is like no other, fully committing to its horny-teen concept with all the headlong passion of a ‘handsome brute’ falling for the wrong girl. On that level alone it’s worth seeing and debating. And as they say in Yorkshire: where there’s muck, there’s brass…
Pictures courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures Wuthering Heightsis in cinemas now
Photographs by MATT BARNES Interviews by MATT MAYTUM
Patrick Dempsey is used to working at high speed, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise that his new TV show – Memory of a Killer – came together so fast. ‘It was very quick,’ he tells Hollywood Authentic from New York. ‘So I got a call – I think it was maybe on the Tuesday, and they were like, ‘You’ve got to read this real quick. You have this offer on this project, and they need to make an announcement right away.’ So I read the scripts, and I liked it. I found the world really intriguing – the character and the dynamic and certainly the action aspect of it – it was a much darker character than I’ve had the opportunity to play. I spoke with the writers. I spoke with the producer. And then I said, ‘Yeah, let’s go for it.’’
Based on a 2003 Belgian film (which was itself adapted from a novel), Memory of a Killer stars Dempsey as an unassuming suburban dad and widower, who leads a double life as a sharp-suited, sharp-shooting assassin in NYC. And while juggling two existences might’ve already been complex enough, Angelo Doyle/Flannery (depending on which life he’s living) is also suffering from early onset Alzheimer’s, compromising his memory. ‘What I liked about it was certainly the character flaw – the aspect of dealing with someone who has early onset Alzheimer’s,’ considers Dempsey. ‘I thought it was really quite interesting. And then on top of that, this double life that he’s leading.’
The challenge of digging into those three facets of the character was a big part of the appeal for Dempsey. ‘You want to create a life in suburbia, and then you want to be able to play the vulnerability of losing your power and your faculties,’ he says. The hitman side of the character, in particular, offered the opportunity to flex a different muscle. ‘For me, what was appealing was to play the assassin, and to get an opportunity to do all the action,’ he smiles. ‘I don’t get that opportunity very often. So it was something different for me to go and do, and to show a different side of my nature.’
Though Angelo is a morally murky character, there’s a thrill to being able to play someone so slickly competent with such a dangerous skill-set. ‘You’re playing make-believe,’ he beams.
‘There’s nothing better than that. It goes back to when you were a kid, running around and doing all that stuff. Now you get to do it as an adult with all the great toys.’ Indeed, there’s almost a Batman element to the character as he leaves his home life, where he poses as a photocopier salesman, and drives off in his extremely practical, family-friendly vehicle, only to head to his hideout where there’s a Porsche, weaponry and hitman-appropriate attire waiting for him. ‘We start off in suburbia, and then we go into the Batcave, and we show the audience who he really is… That was fun for me to play, too.’
The role also allows Dempsey to tap into his own dual life – alongside his acting career, he’s been a successful racing driver, and brings some of those skills to Memory of a Killer’s car stunts. ‘The whole sequence with the Porsche going through the parking garage was something that I got to do, and it was really a lot of fun,’ he explains. ‘That’s really one of the reasons why I did it – to be able to, in my 60s, become an action actor… I love all of that.’ Dempsey may have turned 60 earlier this month, but he’s relaxed about strolling into this new decade. ‘I think going into my 50s was much harder than now going into my 60s,’ he considers. ‘I’ve come to terms with this next chapter… I hope I can just stay physically active, and be able to continue to work and enjoy life, and have a nice balance between the two. And you don’t take things as seriously.’
Talking of balance, Dempsey has managed to balance his passion for acting and racing, which he still participates in. After achieving key motorsports goals in 2015 like taking part in the World Endurance Championship, being on the podium at Le Mans, and winning in Japan and Fuji, Dempsey reached a turning point. ‘It was a tremendous sacrifice to my career and to my personal life,’ he says. ‘But then once I achieved those goals, there was a deep psychological turning point where I was like, ‘OK, now I can move on and do the next thing.’ The pressure was immense that year, and now I do it just for fun and the psychological, therapeutic benefits of it.’
Ongoing relationships with Porsche and Tag Heuer mean that he continues to have ‘these incredible adventures’. And, as he explains, it’s not like these twin passions don’t cross over. ‘There are amazing similarities,’ he says of acting and racing. ‘If you look at the car itself as sort of like the scripts – it’s what you drive – your engineer is the director. Your team principal is the producer. And the crews – the chemistry that you need to have, to have the right focus and the right energy, is very similar.’ The camaraderie and physicality also complement the two disciplines, as does the ‘meditative aspect’. ‘It’s the mind control… being present; being focused on what’s in front of you; being aware of what’s happening around you… it’s very much about being present.’
To return to a key theme of Memory of a Killer, Dempsey says while he hasn’t been directly impacted by Alzheimer’s in his own life, he could strongly relate to Angelo’s role as a caregiver (Angelo looks after his brother, who has a much further advanced condition than his own). Dempsey founded the Dempsey Center in 2008, which offers cancer patients treatment at no cost. ‘It’s very similar in that sense of, what does it mean to be a caregiver, and the pressures of that?’ he says. ‘I think it’s the most satisfying work in my life, outside of my family,’ he adds of the Center. ‘When you’re working with a group of people for the benefit of someone else, there is nothing better. And that’s really ultimately, I think, the meaning of life – it’s when you are here to serve.’
As for what’s around the next corner for his career, his future goals are clear and modest. ‘I think it’s just working with good material and really good directors,’ he says. ‘And just to continue to be a working actor…’
Memory of a Killer airs Mondays at 9/8c on FOX, next day on Hulu and is coming to Prime Video in the UK and Ireland in February Dempsey wears: (black suit) Garrison Bespoke (suit), The Row (shoes), Eton (shirt); (corduroy suit) Garrison Bespoke (suit and shirt), Barrett (shoes). Styling is by Marc Andrew Smith
Literally translated as ‘New Wave’, the term Nouvelle Vague refers to the movement in French cinema that began in the late 1950s and continued throughout the 60s, when a group of rule-breaking critics-turned-auteurs started defying conventions of film storytelling and grammar. It’s no surprise that director Richard Linklater would feel drawn to the movement – over a directing career that has spanned almost four decades, he’s been inventive and experimental in his own unshowy way, playing with time, fact/fiction, animation techniques and more. Here he documents the making of Jean-Luc Godard’s 1960 classic À bout de souffle (aka Breathless).
Altitude
That film remains vital and fresh today, its jump-cut editing and propulsive momentum as influential as its nonchalantly amoral heroes; it’s a fixture of Greatest Films of All Time lists and Film Studies courses. Risky territory for a contemporary filmmaker to explore, then, but Linklater manages to turn what could’ve felt either dryly academic or wilfully sacrilegious into an extremely fun hangout movie. If it is an exercise, it’s an immensely enjoyable one, carried off with no shortage of style and character. Cinematographer David Chambille shoots in black and white in Academy ratio. The score consists of jazzy, era-specific tracks. The dialogue is (almost entirely) in French, and even the subtitles have a pleasingly retro style. (Now and then, you can even see faux ‘cigarette burns’ pop up in the corner of the screen.) The storytelling is choppy and loose. It’s an extremely convincing recreation of the spirit of the era, and a pleasure to be immersed in.
Altitude
The casting, too, is spot on. As Godard, Guillaume Marbeck has the necessary charisma to justify why the crew would continue to follow such a chaotic and capricious leader. He also has the insouciance to casually deliver some of the JLG’s celebrated aphorisms; “The best way to criticise a film is to make one,” he says early on of his transition from criticism to directing. Zoey Deutch (from Linklater’s Everybody Wants Some!!) is a fantastic foil as American actress Jean Seberg, providing valuable perspective on Godard’s often frustrating methods, and, like the audience, slowly warming to her new collaborators. Some of the supporting casting is uncannily physically uncanny: Aubry Dullin is an absolute doppelganger for Breathless actor Jean-Paul Belmondo, in looks and screen presence.
At times you even wonder if the film will get finished, as Godard continually seems to get in his own way with on-the-fly script revisions, short shooting days and tricky camera moves; it’s no wonder he ends up in a scuffle with his producer Georges ‘Beau Beau’ de Beauregard (Bruno Dreyfürst) at one point. But throughout, there’s such an infectious spirit of creation, it’s like Linklater is making a rallying cry to grab a camera, get out there and just create. With friends, with conviction, and with gusto.
Pictures courtesy of Altitude Nouvelle Vague is in cinemas now
