(PCM) Who would have imagined that four pals from New Jersey could make music history and then have a Broadway show and a movie musical made about their lives.
But that’s exactly what happened with The Four Seasons and who better than to take theater, film, and music lovers on this glorious ride than director Clint Eastwood. The film version of Jersey Boys opens on Friday, June 20.
Jersey Boys, the story of the trials and triumphs of The Four Seasons, is accompanied by the toe-tapping hit pop songs that influenced a generation, including Sherry, Big Girls Don’t Cry, Walk Like a Man, Dawn, Rag Doll, Bye Bye Baby, Who Loves You, Lightening Striking Again, and many more.
Clint Eastwood does a masterful job of directing the big-screen version of the Tony Award-winning musical, Jersey Boys.
The movie transports us back in time with Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons; foot-tapping music, the acting, the emotion, the family ties – everything is there to have us swaying and much more. This is a movie that both music lovers and movie lovers must see and hear!
Starring in the big-screen film is John Lloyd Young, who reprises his Tony Award-winning portrayal of the legendary lead singer of The Four Seasons, Frankie Valli. Erich Bergen stars as Bob Gaudio, who wrote or co-wrote all of the group’s biggest hits.
Michael Lomenda, stars as Nick Massi, and Vincent Piazza portrays Tommy DeVito, two original members of The Four Seasons. Oscar-winning actor Christopher Walken (The Deer Hunter) stars as mobster Gyp DeCarlo.
The film was directed and produced by Eastwood; and Frankie Valli, and Bob Gaudio, were hands-on executive producers, so everyone in involved knew that it was in excellent hands from the first day of production.
These classic hits are being embraced by a new generation of fans through the award-winning stage musical, which has been running on Broadway, and touring around the world, for more than eight years.
Michael Lomenda, a stellar theater actor from Canada, makes his feature film debut in Jersey Boys. He previously played Nick Massi on stage in the first national tour of the award-winning musical and in the Toronto company, where Eastwood noticed his mastery of the part and picked him for his movie.
Having Eastwood as the film’s director took what could have been a daunting and terrifying first film experience and made it a cake walk for Lomenda. “Let’s face it; I was worried. But, Mr. Eastwood dispelled any worried for me and the other guys – he made the set really comfortable and home-like.”
If Lomenda expected tough-guy Dirty Harry to be at the helm, he was in for a pleasant surprise. “He was there telling us to take risks and dive in and it was a supportive and collaborative place to work every day. Mr. Eastwood also has a great sense of humor – so there was an incredible balance of humor, focus, and hard work that made it pure joy to show up each day.”
While this stage actor was used to the electricity and exchange “the synergy you feel with 3,000 people” in the audience every night in the touring company of Jersey Boys, making it into a film was a totally difference experience. “We would never hear the applause or laughter you expect from performing it on stage. We would get ‘okay, that’s enough,’ from Mr. Eastwood, instead of the word cut. But the smiles and laughter from the crew members gave me the confidence similar to the theater audience. So I felt that the audience was behind the lens.”
Lomenda was so thrilled with his first film experience he is in the process of moving to L.A. to pursue a movie career – something he never thought about before making the Jersey Boys movie. “I really never expected to fall into film or TV acting or to go to L.A. But it really lit a fire under me. Anybody on a Clint Eastwood set sees what we do for a living, and after 10 years or acting, this experience made me feel like a kid again. Now that the movie is out I will definitely hit the ground running.”
If there is one memory of making Jersey Boys Lomenda’s will never forget it was watching his father interact with Eastwood during a visit to the set. “We were in a smoky club and I looked at the back of the house and saw my dad and Mr. Eastwood sitting there chatting. That picture is permanently etched in my brain. When I meet Mr. Eastwood the first time I thought he shared a lot of characteristics with my dad, the same vibe and the same economy of words. He told my dad: ‘These guys are the pros; I’m the only one who can mess this up.’ That was such a great moment for me personally and professionally.”
The iconic of macho movie stars, Eastwood has become a standard in international cinema. Born in 1930 in San Francisco, the son of a steelworker, Eastwood briefly attended Los Angeles City College but dropped out to pursue acting.
He found bit work in such B-films as Revenge of the Creature and Tarantula in 1955) until he got his first breakthrough in the long-running TV series Rawhide in 1959. As Rowdy Yates, he made the show his own and became a household name around the country.
In addition to his stellar film acting career, he made a name for himself as a major film director in Million Dollar Baby, J. Edgar, Invictus, Gran Torino, and now, Jersey Boys.
So tell me Mr. Eastwood, are you a fan of this kind of music?
CLINT EEASTWOOD: I was never a fan of the music of that particular era because I came along before all that! But I did like The Four Seasons a lot.
In what way did it speak to you?
CE: I thought their music was far superior [to others in the era.]
For example?
CE: I think that Can’t Take My Eyes Off Of You is one of the real classic songs of that era. And it would have been a classic song in the ’30s, ‘40s or ’50s, or any time in history.
Why is that overall?
CE: All of their stuff is very energetic music. And they are great fun, great fun songs. I believe it is certainly superior for that particular time in history. So it was a pleasant challenge to do it. And then it was great to work with these actors, the original people, who had a great influence on the play; and on its runs throughout the country.
Why did you decide to make Jersey Boys into a movie?
CE: Ha! It seemed like something to do! But you know; it’s funny. Because I hadn’t seen the play. But I had heard a lot about it over the years. And somebody said, ‘Would you be interested in doing this?’ And I said, ‘I would certainly be interested in looking at it.’
So I said, ‘Where is the script of the play, where can I find it?’ And a friend of mine said, well I represent the guys who did that. So I said, ‘Well maybe I ought to look at it.’ So I looked at that, and I liked it very much. And then I went and saw three different versions of the play – in New York, San Francisco and Las Vegas. And I saw all these wonderful actors and thought, ‘What a nice project to be doing?’ And so I said, ‘Yeah.’
Have you met Frankie Valli?
CE: Well, I first met Frankie Valli years ago, in passing. Anyway, I met him again over the years.
What did you take away from him?
CE: Frankie Valli told me that to be a singer in that neighborhood in those years was hard. Just singing under the streetlights, they endured a lot of ridicule…until they became a big hit, of course. But they had to have a great deal of perseverance to get through that.
Tell me about that cameo of yours in the movie.
CE: Okay, you’re talking about my Hitchcock moment kind of thing! Well, we were sitting around talking about a scene where they’re watching Rawhide on television. And I started thinking, ‘yeah. It could be.’ After all, that was about the era, about the right timing. I mean in 1959 and 1960, I was doing – it was my first break. After years of doing bit parts. And unappealing roles. Then I put it out of my mind. But a woman who works for me and handles all our television stuff, just went ahead and did it. Afterwards I just said, ‘Okay, I’ll live with that!’
How would you compare your approach to music in this movie, with how you handled it in Bird?
CE: I’ve done movies about jazz, and country music. I like music of all kinds; including pop music of the ’50s and ’60s, so I just immerse myself in it. I love doing films that have music in them, or are about musicians. Or in this case is about singers.
How did you cast this movie?
CE: I said, ‘Okay, I think we’ve got the guys here.’ By that time, I had seen three plays of it. And a lot of good actors; in all of them. But it seemed like the group just all came together so well. And like 1200 hundred performances, that’s an experience you just cannot buy. So you’re getting actors who have done 1200 performances. So I was just lucky. And casting a film is to me, one of the most important things. Next to the writing. Because if you cast it properly; everything kind of takes place very easily. But if you cast it improperly; you’re fighting an uphill battle.
Do you identify with any of these guys, more than the others?
CE: Well, I try to relate to the whole thing. You know, I grew up in a neighborhood and went to a school that was about half Italian American. And in an era, it was quite an interesting era in Oakland, in California. So I thought I understood something about that community. I had a lot of friends in that community.
What do you see for your future?
CE: I’m just very lucky. And I’ve been very lucky with knowing all these actors. And watching them perform. And you know, there’s an old saying – I play a little golf once in a while. And I always have that saying, ‘I’d rather be lucky than good!’
The post Lighting Strikes Again for Clint Eastwood in the film version of Jersey Boys also appeared on PCM Reviews.