London Town di Derrick Borte Intervista a Alexander Karl Gold

LONDON TOWN
Delizioso film ambientato nella Londra agli albori del punk, con i Clash in sottofondo e poi ben presenti in prima persona (e interpretati con una discreta credibilità).
Storia agrodolce, un po' da favoletta, ma ben condotta, divertente, dal sapore di un Ken Loach meno profondo e ideologico.

SERGIO COLLAVINI ci regala un articolo con intervista all'attore che imperosonifica Topper Headon nel film.
Tratto da Venezia news, un magazine mensile che si occupa di arte, musica e cultura per quanto riguarda principalmente Venezia e provincia (ma non solo).
Nato da un idea ( una sorta di Time out per Venezia ) e dalla passione e determinazione di Massimo Bran, direttore responsabile.
Per chi capita a Venezia www.venezianews.it .

Alla festa del cinema di Roma 2016, in concorso per la rassegna Alice nella città , nella sezione young adult, sabato 15 ottobre verrà presentato anche London Town (se la dovrà vedere, tra gli altri, anche con il buon Sing Street).
Quando Venezia News, che pubblica un ottima guida alla festa, mi ha chiesto un breve pezzo di presentazione del film, ho proposto un intervista con Alexander Karl Gold, che interpreta Topper Headon.
L’ho conosciuto quando suonava la chitarra nella band di Duncan Reid, mantenere i contatti, oltre che piacevole, torna sempre utile.
Le domande sono abbastanza semplici e forse scontate, ma non è che dovevo scrivere un saggio.
Le risposte invece divertenti e dense di attitudine punk che non è così facile trovare in un ragazzo di 25 anni.
Dapprima ho pensato di tradurre tutto, ma credo renda meglio in inglese così ve la lascio così com’è , senza sistemare nulla.

London Town di Derrick Borte
London Town racconta la storia del 14enne (presto 15enne) Shay (Daniel Huttlestone) che vive nei sobborghi di Londra con suo padre scozzese (Dougray Scott) e la sua precoce sorellina.
Shay è un bravo studente ed ha imparato a  suonare il piano su spinta ed obbligo del padre, che gestisce un negozio di pianoforti  quando non è occupato a guidare un taxi per riuscire ad arrivare alla fine del mese e a far quadrare i conti.
La madre di Shay, uno spirito libero, che ha lasciato la famiglia quando i ragazzi erano molto piccoli, invita Shay a passare l’estate con lei sebbene il ragazzo sia ricoperto di doveri familiari a cui deve far fronte proprio a causa della sua assenza.
Un giorno in cui Shay si reca a Londra, il ragazzo incontra una giovane ragazza punk, Vivian (Nell Williams) che lo intoduce alla musica dei The Clash.
Quando il padre viene gravemente ferito mentre sta spostando un pianoforte ed è costretto a rimanere in ospedale per settimane, Shay è obbligato a lavorare al negozio e a guidare il taxi per riuscire a restare a galla. Il suo mondo sta inziando a cadere a pezzi e Shay trova forza solo nella musica e nel suo nuovo amore.

TRAILER:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=psj56HBgoiw

1) LET'S START WITH SOMETHING ON YOU, HOW MANY YEARS HAVE YOU? WHERE ARE YOU FROM? HOW YOU STARTED WITH MUSIC? WHAT ARE YOUR CURRENT PROJECTS?
I'm 25-and-three-quarters, and from Swinging Stratford-upon-Avon, home of William Shakespeare.
I am actually the seventh reincarnation of Shakespeare, but his abilities have become so diluted having passed through seven historic bodies that this time around he (I) was reborn as a drummer. I started music as a means of getting people who were older than me at school to stop punching me and start punching other people (I was very small... Still am!) and also as a way of getting lots of pretty young ladies in exciting floral-print dresses to have sex with me. It worked, on both counts. I'm a pretty restless soul so always have loads of projects on the go... for the rest of this year, though, I'm focussed on finishing up my first album as Darling BOY and then I'm off on tour for two months around Europe with The United Kingdom Ukulele Orchestra.

2. NOW TELL US SOMETHING ABOUT THE FILM.
It's really really good and you MUST SEE IT.
Johnny Rhys Meyers does a magnificent job as Strummer - not an easy role to play - and Daniel Huttlestone is brilliant. It's a teenage love story set to a backdrop of political and social unrest with a fizzing punk rock soundtrack and Joe Strummer as a combination of fairy godmother and guardian angel. It's a beautiful, beautiful thing. The guy who plays Topper is tremendously handsome.

3 HOW YOU HAPPENED TO ACTING ROLE TOPPER HEADON? IT HAS BEEN DIFFICULT ? ( I SAW YOU PLAYING GUITAR AND KEYBOARDS ON STAGE, NEVER DRUMS)
It just - as many things seem to do in my life, for some reason - sort of fell from the sky!
The universe seems to want me to have this crazy life where I keep ending up doing cool stuff that I always dreamed of, and I'm just swimming with the tide! I'm actually a drummer first and foremost, that's what I picked up at school when the bigger boys were putting me in bins and I taught myself guitar, piano and the rest afterwards. Getting behind the kit is always like slipping on a favourite pair of boots, it always feels comfortable and right.
I can't keep my drums in the house because I live in London and would have the whole of Muswell Hill coming to lynch me, and so I don't really practice drumming unless I'm on tour as a drummer, so this was a totally dreamy gig because I got to play 'til my heart was content.

4 FOR ME THE CLASH REALLY BEEN THE ONLY BAND THAT MATTERS , BUT I WAS 15 WHEN LONDON CALLING WAS PUBLISHED, WHAT REPRESENT THEM FOR A YOUNG MAN OF YOUR AGE AND WHICH DO YOU THINK IS THE LEGACY OF JOE STRUMMER FOR YOUNG BANDS IN ENGLAND ?

The Clash now are still the Holy Gods of intelligent liberty, social awareness through creativity and badass attitude for positive change with banging choruses.
Joe Strummer is the punk rock John Lennon - but much smarter, I think - and even fourteen years after his death he still sets the bar and the example and his influence spans far beyond the punk rock world. They're still there, they're still visible, they still matter. You won't find anyone out there who doesn't like The Clash - but you will find people who don't like The Beatles! I adore both but I think that speaks volumes about just how much depth and timeless relevance The Clash had.

5 LAST YEAR I MET MICK JONES HERE IN VENICE AND SPOKE TO ME WITH EMOTION ABOUT JOE AND THE CLASH, ANYTHING WAS POSSIBLE IN THOSE DAYS IF YOU HAD TALENT AND DETERMINATION, WHAT ARE THE BIGGEST CHALLENGES YOU HAVE TO FACE TODAY TO BE A MUSICIAN ?

Anything is still possible! But you have to *make* it possible.
The music business is the biggest hustle in the world. We live in times where society as a whole is more affluent, has a lot more options with regards to where they spend their dispoable income, and is more worldly thanks to the internet - no-one needs music like they needed it even twenty years ago, because it's no longer the only form of escapism. So it's a lot harder to make traction and it's a lot harder to get your message out there.
You've got to be smart, switched-on, positive to a fault, adaptable, hard-working and efficient. There's no more room for a neo-Keith Richards, I'm afraid... but the joy is in the work, and you'll get more if you do more.
The big challenge, I suppose, is getting to grips with that.

6 I WILL NOT BOTHER YOU TOO MUCH, BUT IF YOU WANT ADD SOMETHING MORE…RELATIONS WITH THE REST OF THE CAST, ESPECIALLY JONHATAN RHYS MEYERS FOR EXAMPLE, OR WHATEVER YOU WANT…
Relations with the cast... everyone was and is bloody lovely.
Truly. Johnny is one of the most brilliant, whip-smart, knowledgable, talented, kind and inspiring humans I've ever met.
Dave Page who plays Mick Jones has actually stepped in to play guitar in my Darling BOY band! It was was a total pleasure and a privilege to be involved in and I'm really psyched for seeing everybody at the premiere on Tuesday.
Sadly we lost our beautiful Pete Morrow who plays Paul Simonon earlier this year, but he'll always be with us in spirit.
Let me tell you, there was no-one on Earth who was born to play Simonon more than Pete. He was and is an inspiration...
This one's for you, brother.