There are very few movies around today which manage to successfully blend music and a story, let alone one which is filled with young a cast of British talent. But before you roll your eyes with disapproval, I would advise that you give ‘POWDER‘ a chance!
Adapted from Kevin Sampson‘s novel of the same name, the story centres on a band called The Grams, whose lead singer Keva (Liam Boyle) appears to have hit a songwriter’s block. Manager Wheezer (Alfie Allen) has tried every trick in the book to encourage Keva to get back in the recording studio. Whilst at a music festival, Keva bumps into Guy de Burret (Jefferson Hall) and he manages to persuade him to record another track. The band head on a journey of self-discovery, and troubled frontman attempts to hone in on his past experiences to produce a hit record. Unbeknown to Keva, this turns out to be more of a therapeutic return to the music scene, as he hopes to leave a terrible shadow behind him.
Tomorrow’s News caught up with two of the cast members – Liam Boyle and Jo Woodcock (who plays Victoria Turnbull), and Starsailor‘s James Walsh – who provided vocals for Keva and wrote the material for The Grams. With Walsh‘s fantastic vocals, I was keen to find out why he chose this as first movie project, and what the actors thought of some of the complex characters and their view on breaking into today’s music scene.
TN: Tell me about the characters you play in the movie.
LIAM: “I’m Liam Boyle, and I play Keva. He’s kind of the protagonist in the film.”
JO: “My name is Jo Woodcock and I play Victoria Turnbull. She is co-owner of the record label that Keva’s band The Grams are on.”
JAMES: “I’m James Walsh, and I provide the music in the film and Keva’s singing voice.”
TN: Liam, is it fair to say that Keva is very troubled – more so than your average musician?
LIAM: “I can relate to a lot of people who I’ve looked into over the years who have a troubled past, and Keva’s one of them. The thing about him is that he’s not suicidal at all, he’s just really depressed about something and he really wants to overcome this. The film really goes on a journey to kind of help him recover, but I tried not to model him on any musician out there today.”
Jo has featured in The Big Issue Scotland, where she was interviewed about her time spent on the set of Land Girls:
Were you glad to be reunited with your fellow Land Girls for a second series?
I really was to be honest. The actors are a real delight to work with, they make you feel very welcome. It’s a nice set to be on.
Is a happy set rare in TV land?
It’s not unusual but because we had such a tight schedule to get our work done you really notice when everyone pulls together. There was a real feeling of camaraderie.
In the first series, your character Bea lied about her age to join the WLA and now she is married with a baby. Has she had a lot of growing up to do?
She was just a girl in the first series, now she is learning to be a mother and becoming much more mature. There are lots of obstacles that crop up that really put the marriage to the test. There’s still plenty of learning to do.
You’ve starred in a lot of period dramas, such as Tess of the d’Urbervilles and Dorian Gray. Do you like going back in time?
Are you asking if I like time travel?
Well, acting is as close as anyone else gets.
Yeah I suppose it is a little bit like time travel. I’ve learned a lot about the eras I’ve filmed in. Period dramas are special because they take you somewhere unfamiliar. Every character whether they’re in period or modern are human and have characteristics you can identify with.
The land girls are one of the more overlooked aspects WWII. How does it feel to be telling their story?
It’s nice to do something about how people lived their lives and not the actual conflict itself. There’s so many stories to tell. I watched Inglorious Basterds the other day. I was thinking how strange it is that Land Girls and Inglorious Basterds could come from the same period of history. It’s nice to have a domestic story. Not everyone was shooting guns.
Have you had any feedback from real land girls?
Sadly I haven’t had any feedback at all. On some internet forums people were complaining that the jumpers we wore were the wrong colour. That’s the only feedback I’ve had.
Land Girls wades into daytime schedules that are saturated with soaps, chat shows and programmes about antiques. Do you like offering something a little different?
It’s a nice thing to have a choice besides Cash in the Attic – not that there’s anything wrong with that. It’s wonderful to have an original drama in the middle of the day but I think it’s good enough to be compared next to prime time dramas. The time slot for the last series time slot was just after Newsround.
The old Neighbours slot?
Yeah and I think it worked very well. I remember as a kid myself you would watch whatever was on after Newsround. Children would like it. There’s a little bit of history in there as well.
When it’s a big success I’m sure it will get blanket coverage.
Yeah it will be on all the time, like Top Gear.
Can you reveal anything about the future of the show?
I’m not allowed to give too much away…
I know what happens. The war ends. We win!