Connect with us

Interviews

Tick Tick… Boom’s Andrew Garfield Opens Up About Almost Turning 40, Having Kids, And Feeling Accomplished As A Professional Actor

Published

2 years ago

on

Tick Tick… Boom’s Andrew Garfield Opens Up About Almost Turning 40, Having Kids, And Feeling Accomplished As A Professional Actor

This is turning into the year of Andrew Garfield. The 38-year-old actor is riding high on the awards circuit, having received raves and nominations for his outstanding turn in the Lin-Manuel Miranda musical, tick tick… BOOM! And he’s receiving redemption in the form of another project that has been long in the making (but won’t be discussed here). Needless to say, Garfield is ticking a number of items off of his career and lifetime Bucket List, which seems fitting because his tick tick… BOOM persona, Jonathan Larson, wrestled with the weight of his accomplishments on the eve of his 30th birthday, and the musical captures all of that uncertainty.

Garfield, himself, didn’t have that level of uncertainty when he turned 30. By that point in his career, he’d already broken into feature films with a part in Mark Romanek’s haunting Never Let Me Go, earned critical raves for his supporting turn in David Fincher’s The Social Network, and played Spider-Man once on screen. Sitting down with CinemaBlend to discuss that time in his life, and his current run in Hollywood, Garfield opened up to us by saying:

Thirty was a moment. I feel like 40 will be more of a moment for me! (Laughs) I’m approaching 40, and I think I need to, if I’m going to have children and a family, I need to do it soon so that I’m not exhausted. But turning 30, yeah, it was a strange thing.

Jonathan Larson, in tick tick… BOOM, was a struggling artist and playwright. He was a waiter at a diner in New York City, and was doing everything in his power not to be that living cliche. Larson, in real life, goes on to write Rent, but dies before the show realizes its full-on Broadway success. This got Garfield reminiscing about his pre-film days, as he goes on to tell CinemaBlend:

I had a period of time in my early 20s where I didn’t know if I was going to make it as an actor. I had a year-and-a-half of waiting tables, working at Starbucks, and doing all of the things that you do. Nothing wrong with any of those things, but obviously, for me, my dream was something different. It was definitely a tricky moment, a tricky time. It took a lot of real soul searching and facing of fear to say, ‘No, I’m going to have to try and spend my time… I’m going to have to stick to it.’ And I’m so glad that I did.

So are we. Just this year, alone, Andrew Garfield has entertained as he has educated, informing us about tele-evangelism in The Eyes of Tammy Faye, and bringing Jonathan Larson’s musical contributions to life in tick tick… BOOM. In my opinion, his performance in Lin-Manuel Miranda’s musical is the best performance of the year (which his performance in that OTHER movie that’s in theaters right now is a close second). Celebrate Garfield today, and watch him burn through the Oscar race as 2022 gets underway.  

Advertisement
Related Topics:

Interviews

Quentin Tarantino Reveals His Pick For ‘The Greatest Movie Ever Made’

Published

1 year ago

on

August 3, 2022

By

Quentin Tarantino Reveals His Pick For ‘The Greatest Movie Ever Made’

It may not feel like it sometimes, but any upcoming movie has the chance to be named “the greatest movie ever made” by someone out there. However, that honor does have some specific caveats if you’re someone like filmmaker Quentin Tarantino. Not only has the Once Upon a Time in Hollywood director chosen a Steven Spielberg classic for that very distinction, Tarantino also explained just why that title is very specific. 

In an upcoming interview with our in-house podcast ReelBlend, Quentin Tarantino made his fourth appearance to talk about all things movies; the first since the big live show at the New Beverly Cinema. Promoting his new co-hosting gig on The Video Archives Podcast, Tarantino had yet another spirited discussion about cinema, which led to his pick of Steven Spielberg’s Jaws as  the greatest “movie” ever made. That distinction is important, as the Once Upon A Time…In Hollywood director made that perfectly clear through the following remarks: 

I think Jaws is the greatest movie ever made. Maybe not the greatest film. But it’s the greatest movie ever made. And then there are other movies that can get in its rarefied air. But as far as a movie, there’s no making it better than Jaws. There’s no ‘better’ than Jaws. It is the best movie ever made. And it shows how badly timed most movies made before Jaws were.

Leave it to Quentin Tarantino to separate his tastes in movies into those two separate, important camps: “movies” and “films.” In this case, the designation of a movie almost sounds like it’s shorthand for the blockbuster opuses that Steven Spielberg made a name for himself with. Which means that “films” are presumably more of the independent/art house titles that have higher pedigrees, and usually end up on the lists of best picture nominees every year.

Strangely enough, Jaws is one of six horror movies to have Best Picture nominations, so the line could blur just a bit in that respect. Putting aside the “movies” versus “films” debate, Quentin Tarantino isn’t using that separation to be a snob. Later on in the conversation, he explained how spectacles such as this are their own form of art, and how Steven Spielberg came to be someone who perfected it: 

What I meant by that, to one degree or another, is that Spielberg and a lot of his cohorts grew up seeing those kinds of movies in the theater. Henry Levin’s Journey to Center of the Earth, he’s gonna run to go and see that. Richard Fleischer’s Fantastic Voyage. He’s going to run and go see it. Gordon Douglas’s Them! He’s going to run and go see. Now… most of them weren’t directed that well. They were assignments given to journeyman directors who did their best with them. That was how we were used to seeing comic book — that kind of movie experience. As opposed to a Spielberg, who was like, ‘No, this is exactly the kind of movie he likes. This is exactly the kind of movies he was put on earth to make. And he’s going to make it, within an inch of his life, as effective as it possibly can be. And, you know, Michael Anderson, isn’t putting that kind of work in Logan’s Run.

Spielberg, and “cohorts” like George Lucas, Martin Scorsese, and Francis Ford Copolla all latched onto genres that were pulpier entertainments in their childhood, only to make them into something new. Through films like Jaws, Star Wars, Taxi Driver, and The Godfather, we saw a generation of directors taking movies they loved and reviving them through their own personal lenses. Which is exactly what Quentin Tarantino would do when he stepped onto the scene with Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction; and it’s also why he’s such a staunch supporter of the cinematic experience. 

Advertisement

If this conversation boils down to anything, it’s game recognizing game. Much as Steven Spielberg idolized the movies that helped make Jaws, Quentin Tarantino has reverence for the bearded director and his dedication to making the movies that sparked his love of cinema. Though considering the history his collaborator Samuel L. Jackson has had with sharks, you have to wonder if this has already sparked any sort of humorous conversations between the two?

You’ll be able to watch, and listen, to Quentin Tarantino’s latest appearance on ReelBlend, as it’s set to hit YouTube tomorrow. Meanwhile, Tarantino may not have his tenth and final film in the works just yet, but you can still enjoy the man’s gift for words in two very cool ways. 

Tarantino’s Video Archives podcast, which he co-hosts with friend and collaborator Roger Avery, is currently streaming wherever you find fine listening material. However, if you also want to read the man’s thoughts on ‘70s filmmaking in his upcoming book Cinema Speculation, which you can currently preorder on Amazon (opens in new tab); or any other fine bookseller.

Continue Reading

Interviews

‘Prey’ Interviews With Amber Midthunder, Dan Trachtenberg And More!

Published

1 year ago

on

August 3, 2022

By

The stars of “Prey,” Amber Midthunder (“Naru”), Dakota Bevers (“Taabe”), Dane DiLiegro (“The Predator”), director Dan Trachtenberg and producer Jhane Myers discuss their new “Predator” movie in this interview with CinemaBlend at San Diego Comic-Con 2022. They discuss the “Prey” audition moment that landed Amber Midthunder her role and more!

You can stream “Prey” on Hulu on August 5.

Continue Reading

Interviews

‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3’ | Marvel Comic-Con Interviews with Chris Pratt, Karen Gillan & More

Published

1 year ago

on

July 29, 2022

By

‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3’ | Marvel Comic-Con Interviews with Chris Pratt, Karen Gillan & More

“Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” stars Chris Pratt (Peter Quill / Star-Lord), Karen Gillan (Nebula), Will Poulter (Adam Warlock), Pom Klementieff (Mantis), Sean Gunn (Kraglin / On-Set Rocket), Chukwudi Iwuji (The High Evolutionary) and writer Director James Gunn discuss their upcoming Marvel film and conclusion of the “Guardians of the Galaxy” trilogy in this post-Hall H interview with CinemaBlend at San Diego Comic-Con 2022.

Video Chapters

  • 00:00 – Chris Pratt on Finding “Your Side”
  • 00:35 – Chris Pratt Teases What’s Ahead For Star-Lord and Gamora In GOTG 3
  • 01:24 – Karen Gillan LOVES ‘Avengers: Endgame’ Fan Reactions
  • 02:00 – Karen Gillan Weighs In On Nebula Unaliving Nebula in ‘Endgame’
  • 02:32 – James Gunn Teases a “Darker” ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ Movie
  • 03:20 – Sean Gunn on Baby Rocket’s Difficult Backstory
  • 04:30 –  Pom Klementieff on Welcoming New Marvel Actors to the ‘Guardians’ Family
  • 05:15 – Pom Klementieff Teases A More Badass Mantis In ‘Guardians 3’
  • 05:35 – Will Poulter Teases Adam Warlock Origins in ‘GOTG 3’ 
  • 06:32 – Chukwudi Iwuji on The High Evolutionary and His Motivations
  • 07:20 – Chukwudi Iwugi Praises James Gunn’s Dialogue
  • 08:15 – Chris Pratt Recalls His Last Day of Filming the ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ Trilogy
  • 08:55 – James Gunn Is Literally Always Writing and Rewriting Scripts
  • 09:49 – Will Poulter Wants to Play Adam Warlock Again “If Marvel Will Have Me”

Continue Reading

Trending