We are all familiar with the great Rock and Roll stories of fame and fortune, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones,The Doors, Tommy, yet it's the failures, the Rock and Roll casulties that we are less familiar with, and are sometimes all the more interesting. Rather than the formulaic pattern of band gets together, band becomes famous, band becomes rich/hooked on drugs,band quarrels, band breaks up, the stories of the underdogs of the music world can sometimes tell an even more dramatic, and heartbreaking story.
Such as in the case of Nick Hamm's latest film, Killing Bono, which tells the story of two Irish brothers, who's band almost made the big time, whilst helplessly watching their school friends band U2 achieve astranomic worldwide success. Based on the true story and autobiography of one of the brothers,Neil McCormick, Killing Bono is the unseen side of a rock and roll story.
Starring Robert Sheehan and Ben Barnes, as well as the late Pete Postlethwaite, Killing Bono is a funny, poignant and bitter sweet story of two brothers who almost made it, and how it affected their lives. At the lively press conference in London, we got to hear about the hilarious costumes on set, how the cast dressed like 'Gay Genies', the poignancy of Pete Postlethwaite's final role and how The Edge wanted Danny DeVito to play Bono. Even if making this film was bittersweet for the real men behind it, it certainly sounded like a lot of fun for the cast...
Neil, what was your experience of watching the final finished cut for the first time?
Neil McCormick: Deeply traumatic, this was a depiction of my failing, and then it was exaggerated to the nth degree, sometimes even looking at yourself videotaped can make you want to crawl out of the room, but seeing an actor magnify your failings is really humiliating, and then also my head was exploding trying to figure out who was who and thinking, well what's that person going to think of that and you can't really follow it at all. Something that you think is going to be your great glory, when your life is somehow the subject of a film, turns out to be your final insult. But I'm over that now and the second time I saw it I found it really funny and they did an amazing job. Also Ben wasn't allowed to meet me and wasn't supposed to base his performance on me, but the amount of people that came up to me and said, God, he's got you nailed, made me laugh! I wasn't really around for much of the shoot.
Nick in terms of your journey to the screen, it was five years preparing the project, what was the appeal for you? It's a specific story but one all of us can identify with.
Nick Hamm (Director): I think that was really it, it was an everyman story, where as most music films are the exact reverse and deal with the journey towards stardom, and after the third act its all about success, where this was a complete downward spiral towards failure and rejection, which to me seemed a great story for a comedy. So many people stand in front of the mirror and imagine themselves as rock stars so this journey to failing seemed like it would be perfect for a comedy and that's why I became interested.
Robert, the appeal for you going in is evident, but there must have challenges, how musically proficient were you, and Ben you had an accent?
Robert Sheehan: And how to wear those clothes and how best to rock those dungarees! We were all wearing gay genie pyjamas at one point and saying to each other, I think you need another earring and I think you should wear black lipstick, we just looked like girls in the end! The challenges for me lay trying to lay down a good vocal for the band. I was made to look good and I'm just pretending to do the cool guitar stuff. So the challenge was to look like I knew what I was doing.
Did it help that there were two of you there, supporting each other?
Ben Barnes: Yeah and also for me for the accent, because I made a decision to stay in the accent from the minute I landed in Belfast,which was very confusing on the phone to my mum.
Robert Sheehan: And it was quite daunting being in Belfast and staying in a Dublin accent all the time.
Ben Barnes: It was the most confusing thing you could possibly do, it was like speaking in a South African accent in Australia. Also Martin McCann who plays Bono has a northern Irish accent, which was really confusing because he looked just liked Bono but didn't sound like him off camera, he looked more like Bono than Bono, and we mentioned this to Bono and he said 'Just as long as he's tall and modest' because those are obviously the things we associate with Bono!! (Laughs)
Ben what did you make of the irony that in real life you did almost achieve rock stardom?
Ben Barnes: It's good that I've had that experience, it's a cringeworthy experience that I can draw on, for the moments of failure in the film. (regarding his band Hyrise's attempt at representing England in 2004's Eurovision Song contest, but lost out to James Fox and "Hold Onto Our Love") I've had a lot more musical moments that I'm proud of and that one lasted about sixteen minutes. There was a point when I was seventeen when I wanted to be Stevie Wonder, so i related to the Commitment-esq struggle, and it was written by the same writers which is one of the things that attracted me to the role in the first place, it's like the Commitments cheeky little brother. Through my struggles with acting and writing letters to agents, what I realised, is that if your not happy with your life you have to change something.
Has Bono seen the film and what were his thoughts?
Neil McCormick: Yeah he has seen the film and he has been very supportive. I spoke to him before I even wrote the book in the first place because i felt i didn't want to tread on his toes and I read him the first line, which was ' I always knew I'd be famous' and he fell about laughing, and I got annoyed because I felt like I could have been famous and I knew him before he became this iconic figure, and he's become a cartoon of a cartoon, but he's just a really good human being who has always been full of life and curiosity and a lot more humility than perhaps comes across with the way he's presented and I wanted to capture his humour and his humanity in the book, and I think they caught it in the film as well, and that's really the only way that I was involved throughout the film, checking to see was that what U2 would have said or how they behaved and making sure those things were really right. They gave us music for the film and they've given it their blessing, they want it to be a success.
Ben Barnes: I have a new found respect for him because he's going round saying 'Have you seen Killing me?'
Nick, was it straightforward getting permissions for how to represent the band, and getting hold of their music?
Nick Hamm: No it was completely unstraightforward from the very beginning, once you take on a project about band, you're taking on two films, the story of the real band and then you're trying to make a film, a drama, and this isn't a story about a U2, its the story of these guys relationship to them. As Neil said they've always been incredibly supportive of the project, and I want to thank them formally for all their help. U2 took all their friends and colleagues on tour in Australia to see it in the cinema and they were rolling around laughing, because all those early scenes that we tried to get right were out of respect and admiration for the band. The Edge also had his own ideas, he wanted Danny DeVito to play Bono.
Nick, this film may well be remembered for Pete Postlethwaite's last performances, did his role have to be cut down because of his illness?
Nick Hamm: The role was actually created with Pete in mind, he had been involved with putting the project together for a few months and then got ill about a month away from shooting. Initially he was going to play a different role but he wasn't insurable for that role as he was sick at that moment, he was determined to do it because he believed in the story and he wanted something to aim for as he was going through his illness, and we were all completely honoured that he could do that. He was a delight to have on set as the boys will testify, and he gave a great comic turn and a little juice to the film.
Robert Sheehan: It was surreal for me in Dublin watching back the scenes where we first meet his character Carl, and he gently pats me on the bum, its weird watching it back and not remembering that, or thinking you haven't remembered it, and it was lovely to see myself in a a scene with him because he's one of those faces that I grew up watching, and it was even more poignant after his passing.
Nick Hamm: He was able to watch the film and see it finished. He will be remembered for many roles in his life and we're pleased he could have a little final comedy role.
Ben Barnes: What I think is fantastic is that at the age of 64, knowing he was ill, having lots of options of what to do with these months of his life, he decided to keep working and challenging himself and play something he'd never played before, because you always associate him with these gritty roles and hard men and here he is playing a very camp, slightly pervy landlord! And he really revelled in it, even though we had to stop for breaks because he was frail. He has this line where he says ' Remember only this, the mark of a man is whats left after fame falls away' and you feel like that's Pete Postlethwaite, at the end of his life giving us as upcoming actors the best of his advice rather than just his character and it felt very poignant at the time of filming it, and watching it afterwards.
Was there ever a suggestion that Bono would have a cameo in the film?
Nick Hamm: When we were trying to raise money for the film, initially Bono was going to be in the film, and financiers wouldn't back us without him, but I didn't know what to do because one, I couldn't represent Bono and two, I didn't want him to be in the film anyway because it was about him as a young man. It was Pete Postlethwaite who suggested I talk to Mick (bono's character) and said I should meet with him.
Robert, talking about the theme of rejection, have you ever been up for that role that you really bloody wanted and not got it?
Robert Sheehan: Yeah of course, I read Kickass and read for that Red Mist nerdy guy part and they went in a different direction, but thats part of everyday life for an actor. This scenario was a dream scenario because I immediately felt at ease when I met everyone, and felt like they wanted me to have the job too,so it was a perfect job.
Ben Barnes: There's been a few over the years that stung, and then you have that awful dilemma of whether you go and see it at the cinema or not, but this script was one of the ones where I said I'd be furious if I didn't get the part because I knew I could do it well, I know I can make a fool of myself admirably.
Killing Bono Film Page | Ben Barnes Photos | Robert Sheehan Photos
KILLING BONO IS OUT IN CINEMAS ON APRIL 1
