Joel Kinnaman RoboCop Interview

This morning we spoke by phone to?actor Joel?Kinnaman in London about his upcoming contemporary romantic comedy,?Lola Versus, which opens in theaters on June 8th.? We will run the full interview later in the week, but we wanted to share today what Kinnaman?had to say about his upcoming role in the?RoboCop reboot which starts shooting in September.? He talked to us about working with director Jos? Padilha, being a fan of the original film directed by Paul Verhoeven, how Padilha plans to make the remake different from Verhoeven?s version while still throwing nods to the original film in, why he believes retelling a story can break new ground, and his excitement at having the opportunity to work opposite Gary Oldman whom he considers a master at his craft.? He also revealed his favorite Oldman films and why he believes Gary should have won the Oscar for his role in?Soldier Tailor Tinker Spy.? Check out what he had to say after the jump.

When do you start filming?RoboCop?

KINNAMAN:? In September.? It?s very exciting.

Are you surprised by the level of interest?

KINNAMAN:? A little bit, yeah.? It?s like when you say one thing, it?s everywhere, and that?s pretty awesome and a little bit intimidating.? It makes you realize you have to think before speaking.? That?s a quality I?m continuously evolving.? For some reason, it seems like I?m bumping my head into the wall a little bit too many times, but now I think I?m doing alright.? It?s fantastic.? I used to be like ?Why are we doing a remake? What are remakes being done for??? But then, we do that all the time in the theater.? If we weren?t doing remakes, nobody would know who Shakespeare was.? I?m not saying that?Robocop is Shakespeare, but it?s a way to ? we?re retelling.? That?s what we do as human beings.? We retell our favorite stories.? That?s what we?ve done since we were sitting around campfires.? It?s a part of the human spirit.? It doesn?t have to be negative to creativity.? It can be completely opposite.? That?s how you can break new ground by rethinking something that?s already been done.? Jos??has a completely different take on this than Verhoeven had, and with all respect, everybody that?s involved in this movie loved the original and we have a lot of respect for it.? We?re going to have a lot of throwbacks and there?s going to be a lot of fun stuff for the fans of the first movie.? It?s a new story within the old one.

Were you a fan of the original?

KINNAMAN:? I?ve seen it maybe 20 times before I got this part.

Have you been reading the online sites and forums about the?RoboCop reboot?

KINNAMAN:? No, not really.

Were you nervous when you signed on for a few movies as part of a multi-picture deal?

KINNAMAN:? No.? I mean that sort of comes with the territory, and so far, everything that I?ve been promised and everything that I?ve heard about the project has really come to life.? Everybody is trying to make something real, something with a core of substance, and of course, an exciting action movie with a lot of terrific stuff and fantastic visuals and everything, but at the core of it, it?s a movie with substance and something that is going to make people think.

How excited are you to work with Gary Oldman?

KINNAMAN:? That feels about as surreal as me being RoboCop.? I couldn?t be happier.? He?s pretty much the grand master of the game.? I still think it made everybody that voted for the Oscars look bad that they didn?t vote for Gary Oldman, because what he did is so difficult in?Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy.? It?s a completely different kind of thing.? I mean, I loved?The Artist. I thought it was fantastic.? I saw it early before the whole hype of it and I thought that French actor (Jean Dujardin) did a great job, but he?s more like that guy.? I?ve seen him in interviews and he is a bit animated like that character.? But, Gary Oldman disappears into his character.? It?s so subtle.? It?s so difficult what he does, and it?s something that I don?t think maybe two or three other actors could do on their best day in the world right now.? It was a master?s performance and he?s on top of his game right now.? He?s in his golden age.? So, I?m very, very excited and we have great scenes that have a lot of the substance that I was talking about.? It?s very much a relationship between Gary Oldman?s character and Alex Murphy.

It must be fun to work opposite an actor like that.

KINNAMAN:? It?s like going to school?for Gary, of course. (laughs)

What are your favorite Gary Oldman movies?

KINNAMAN:? I have to say there are so many.??Leon: The Professional, The Fifth Element, Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead, and then most definitely?Nil by Mouth, a movie that he directed, and then?Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy.

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Queen's Jubilee: Rock concert at Buckingham Palace

Britain's Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip leave from Chelsea Harbour in London on a launch on the first part of their journey in the Diamond Jubilee River Pageant Sunday June 3, 2012 . More than 1,000 boats will sail down the River Thames on Sunday in a flotilla tribute to Queen Elizabeth II's 60 years on the throne that organizers are calling the biggest pageant on the river for 350 years. (AP Photo/Eddie Mulholland, Pool)

Britain's Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip leave from Chelsea Harbour in London on a launch on the first part of their journey in the Diamond Jubilee River Pageant Sunday June 3, 2012 . More than 1,000 boats will sail down the River Thames on Sunday in a flotilla tribute to Queen Elizabeth II's 60 years on the throne that organizers are calling the biggest pageant on the river for 350 years. (AP Photo/Eddie Mulholland, Pool)

The Royal Barge is seen passing the Houses of Parliament during the Thames Diamond Jubilee River Pageant in London, Sunday, June 3, 2012. More than 1,000 boats were to sail down the Thames on Sunday in a flotilla tribute to Queen Elizabeth II's 60 years on the throne that organizers are calling the biggest gathering on the river for 350 years. Despite cool, drizzly weather, hundreds of thousands of people are expected to line the riverbanks in London, feting the British monarch whose longevity has given her the status of the nation's favorite grandmother. (AP Photo/Tim Hales)

Sue Ridley waits on Westminster Bridge for the Royal Barge to pass the House of Commons and the Big Ben clocktower during the Thames Diamond Jubilee River Pageant in London, Sunday, June 3, 2012. More than 1,000 boats were to sail down the Thames on Sunday in a flotilla tribute to Queen Elizabeth II's 60 years on the throne that organizers are calling the biggest gathering on the river for 350 years. Despite cool, drizzly weather, hundreds of thousands of people are expected to line the riverbanks in London, feting the British monarch whose longevity has given her the status of the nation's favorite grandmother. (AP Photo/Tim Hales)

Britain's Queen Elizabeth II smiles during the river pageant commemorating her Diamond Jubilee, on the River Thames in London, Sunday June 3, 2012. (AP Photo / Dylan Martinez, pool)

Hundreds of boats make their way down the River Thames past for British Royal Navy cruiser HMS Belfast towards Tower Bridge as they take part in the Thames River Pageant for the Queen's Diamond Jubilee celebrations in London,Sunday, June 3, 2012. More than 1,000 boats were to sail down the Thames on Sunday in a flotilla tribute to Queen Elizabeth II's 60 years on the throne that organizers are calling the biggest gathering on the river for 350 years. Despite cool, drizzly weather, hundreds of thousands of people are expected to line the riverbanks in London, feting the British monarch whose longevity has given her the status of the nation's favourite grandmother. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)

LONDON (AP) ? The celebration of the 60-year reign of Queen Elizabeth II is ready to rock 'n' roll.

A gala concert kicks off at Buckingham Palace on Monday evening with Sir Elton John, Sir Paul McCartney, Dame Shirley Bassey, Sir Cliff Richard and Sir Tom Jones heading the line-up, along with younger artists.

Will the queen enjoy it? Her musical tastes are a mystery, and the Press Association news agency reported that she brought a pair of earplugs with her to a similar concert a decade ago. According to The Guardian newspaper, the only song the queen has ever been known to request is "Some Enchanted Evening" from the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical "South Pacific."

"It may not be that pop or rock is her favorite music, but she has certainly supported us over the years and in return of course we have supported her," said Cliff Richard, who had his first hit in 1959. "I think she'd probably rather go and see an opera."

The small Pacific island nation of Tonga claimed the honor of lighting the first of more than 4,200 beacons to be set alight in Britain and abroad to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee. The queen will light the final beacon following the concert.

One beacon will be lit in Kenya at the Treetops Hotel, where Elizabeth was informed of her father's death in 1952, making her the queen.

"We set out to have 2,012 beacons, which would have been the most ever for this type of occasion," said Bruno Peek, pageant master of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee beacons.

"To have reached double that figure reflects the national and worldwide respect and affection for the queen and the desire to celebrate her 60-year reign."

After a drizzly, gray start, the weather looked better Monday morning, with a forecast of some sunshine by the time the concert starts. Despite threatening weather, more than 1 million people estimated to have turned out Sunday to watch the queen's barge lead a 1,000-boat flotilla down the Thames endured heavy downpours at time.

Six participants in the pageant were treated in hospitals for exposure to the cold and wet, and medics attended to about 40 spectators along the river.

Margaret Watson, 73, in the crowd near Buckingham Palace on Monday, remembered watching the Coronation on the television set which her family bought especially to watch the event.

"I am here to say thank you to the queen for all she has done," said Watson, who came to London from Yorkshire with family members. "I am just so pleased to have lived through her reign."

Others were less happy to have lived through the rain.

"I have run out of dry clothes and my sleeping bag is soaked through. My tent is ruined," said Chris Wittington, 46, from suburban Essex County. "But apart from that, it has been excellent."

"Whether you believe in the monarchy or not, this is just fantastic," said Beverley Clements, 44, who was with 37-year-old sister Harriet Poppleton. "There may not be much to celebrate at the moment, but there is a great sense of Britishness here at the moment."

Exercising her royal prerogative, the queen is expected to attend only part of the concert. Ten years ago at a similar concert celebrating 50 years of rule, the monarch reportedly came prepared with a pair of earplugs.

Elton John is set to perform "Your Song," ''I'm Still Standing" and "Crocodile Rock." Tom Jones will pose the question, "Why? Why? Why?" in the song "Delilah," while Annie Lennox will sing "There Must Be An Angel."

Kylie Minogue and Stevie Wonder will play a medley of greatest hits, and Paul McCartney will play "Live and Let Die," his James Bond theme. American soprano Renee Fleming will perform with the BBC Concert Orchestra.

The 262 residents of the remote island of Tristan de Cunha, a British territory 1,500 miles (2,400 kilometers) from any other land, are combining their Jubilee beacon with some environmentally conscious gardening. They are lighting their fire with invasive species including the New Zealand Christmas Tree, loganberry and other alien plants.

"You don't get more patriotic than saving U.K. wildlife on the queen's Jubilee, so we decided to make the occasion by lighting a beacon made from all the plants we remove," chief islander Ian Laverollo said.

Associated Press

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