Knightley and Levine pushed beyond their comfort zones in 'Begin Again'
- 10 years ago
Maroon Five frontman Adam Levine is making his acting debut in the new John Carney film ‘Begin Again’.
The film tells the story of Gretta, played by Keira Knightley, and her college boyfriend and songwriting partner Dave (Levine).
They head to New York, where Dave lands a deal with a major record label. His new-found fame soon tempts him to stray away, leaving a reeling, lovelorn Gretta on her own.
At the film’s premiere Levine explained why he decided to take part in the project.
“I would be very hesitant to do a music film because a lot of the time the music suffers. Or the music isn’t as good as the movie. Or the music doesn’t say what it needs to say. Or it’s not good,” he said. “But the music in this movie is beyond fantastic. So that is what glued the movie, what made me want to do it. I heard the music early on and I said, ‘Wow, this is special’.”
While it was Levine’s first acting part, Knightley admitted her role took her out of her comfort zone.
“I was terrified. I’m not a singer. I’ve never really done it before. I sung in one other film, but it was a very kind of like forties theatrical style, so nothing like this. It was very much getting into the studio and see what we can get and base it on the character and keep our fingers crossed.”
Mark Ruffalo plays the role of a disgraced record-label executive. A chance encounter with Gretta forms the beginning of a mutually transformative collaboration, set to a summer soundtrack in New York City.
Ruffalo explained what attracted him to the film.
“The characters feel real. There’s something to sink your teeth into. There’s good drama. It’s romantic. It’s actually really funny,” he said.
‘==Begin Again==’ is out in cinemas Europe-wide from July.
The film tells the story of Gretta, played by Keira Knightley, and her college boyfriend and songwriting partner Dave (Levine).
They head to New York, where Dave lands a deal with a major record label. His new-found fame soon tempts him to stray away, leaving a reeling, lovelorn Gretta on her own.
At the film’s premiere Levine explained why he decided to take part in the project.
“I would be very hesitant to do a music film because a lot of the time the music suffers. Or the music isn’t as good as the movie. Or the music doesn’t say what it needs to say. Or it’s not good,” he said. “But the music in this movie is beyond fantastic. So that is what glued the movie, what made me want to do it. I heard the music early on and I said, ‘Wow, this is special’.”
While it was Levine’s first acting part, Knightley admitted her role took her out of her comfort zone.
“I was terrified. I’m not a singer. I’ve never really done it before. I sung in one other film, but it was a very kind of like forties theatrical style, so nothing like this. It was very much getting into the studio and see what we can get and base it on the character and keep our fingers crossed.”
Mark Ruffalo plays the role of a disgraced record-label executive. A chance encounter with Gretta forms the beginning of a mutually transformative collaboration, set to a summer soundtrack in New York City.
Ruffalo explained what attracted him to the film.
“The characters feel real. There’s something to sink your teeth into. There’s good drama. It’s romantic. It’s actually really funny,” he said.
‘==Begin Again==’ is out in cinemas Europe-wide from July.