Freestyle cast interview
Hot new Brit-flick Freestyle is released in cinemas, Sky Box Office, iTunes, Filmflex and Lovefilm on 26th February 2010 and on DVD on 1st March.
> Buy the DVD.
In January 2009, nationwide Search for a Star auditions were held in London, Birmingham and Manchester to find the best undiscovered talent for the production of teen basketball romance Freestyle. After fierce competition, the winners were announced through the social networking site Bebo.
Lucy Konadu (Ondene) and Arinze Kene (Leon) are joined by Eleanor Wyld (Honest), Rhoda M’Hango, James Hamilton, Tarryn Algar and Loving Valentino Olanrewaju. The production completes the cast with renowned British actor Colin Salmon (The Bank Job) in a cameo role as Joel Carter, rising star Alfie Allen (Atonement), Danny John Jules (Red Dwarf) as Leon’s father Collis and Suzann Mclean (Casualty).
The movie follows Ondene, a beautiful and talented student who has spent her entire life following strict study plans set by her ambitious mother and is destined to read Law at Oxford. However, she soon discovers freestyle and meets Leon who offers to teach her, much to her mother’s disapproval who resolves to end their relationship.
> Watch the trailer.
What was it that first attracted you to the film?
COLIN: I think it’s quite an inspirational story. I think the fact we’re looking at class within an inner city culture is quite an interesting take on it and I didn’t see a gun in it which is always a joy.
ELEANOR: I thought it would be an exciting project to be involved in because it’s people who really care about what they’re making.
ALFIE: I haven’t done a London based film that really looks at the urban scene and I love Kolton. It seems like a really nice bunch of people and that’s just as important as the material when you’re working on films, the people you’re working with.
How hard was it to cast the main roles?
KOLTON: We had to completely broaden our search and have open sessions nationwide to find the people who had some basketball ability and some dancing ability. In the end we selected four people. They all had basketball experience and they could dance though none of them could freestyle and that was the raw material we took and worked with to get them to level of performance that we’re seeing in the !lm.
How did you get involved in the film?
RHODA: I was on a train home from work with my best friend and we came across the ad in one of the underground free papers and they had an audition for Freestyle. It was just by chance that we had free time in the afternoon so we went along.
LUCY: I joined in quite late and it was a risk for them to audition me at that late stage but Kolton and Lincia had that faith in me and without their support I wouldn’t be here.
TARRYN: There were auditions and the director Kolton and the producer Lincia came to one to my training sessions. I was playing for a team and they came looking for freestylers. Me and a friend of mine did some freestyling in a hallway and they liked what they saw. And as they say, the rest is history.
How difficult did you find acting for the first time?
LUCY: It feels like a movement as it’s taken over my life the past two months. But everyone’s aiming for the same thing, everyone’s on the same page.
RHODA: Rehearsals were very difficult because I had no idea what I was doing, especially with the freestyling. A lot of the onus is on you to learn your craft and do the best you can with it but the support it always there, the encouragement is always there.
LOVING: If anyone tells you acting is easy, they’re lying because it’s so tough. I got told by Colin that I have something inside me and I should embrace it. I’ve never had any acting classes and for someone that big to tell me that, I was like wow.
How did the more experienced cast relate to these newcomers?
SUZANN: What’s lovely about people who have never acted before is that the whole thing is so fresh and new for them that it kind of revitalizes me as well.
ELEANOR: When I did my first job, I didn’t understand the marks and everything but I think because they’re athletes they have a sort of muscle memory and they can do it again and again. They have more stamina than I have and the acting really top.
COLIN: I’ve looked down the camera lens at these kids and they look amazing – every single one of them. They’re all really, really bright which is one of the prerequisites of being an actor.
How much experience playing basketball did you have before starting the film?
COLIN: I used to play basketball as a kid and I was a big fan of the Harlem Globetrotters. What I love about basketball is that boys and girls complete against each other.
ARINZE: I started freestyling when I was about 12 and I won the Nike MTV Freestyle competition. I was the London winner.
TARRYN: Basketball is my life, my passion. I wanted to be a good ball player so I wanted to incorporate everything. I used to almost live on the basketball court, just practicing skills, tricks, everything. I’ve used it as an escape, if I had a bad day at work, I’ll just want to go to the basketball court and just work on something, get a sweat and freestyle my troubles away. I’ve been playing 17 years now.
LUCY: I’ve played since I was about 13 and my dad was always against it. He’s old school Ghanian – academics will get you somewhere, don’t waste time with basketball but my sister and I used to play as much as possible.
How did these actors turn into proficient freestylers?
BIG FEN: I went to an audition to be in the film and got a part as a freestyler and I spoke to the director Kolton and explained to him that I was a full time freestyle coach and streetballer. I taught a few of the cast members a few tricks which me look extremely good because they nailed it straightaway and I got a job as a choreographer on the freestyle film.
What’s the difference between regular basketball and freestyle?
BIG FEN: Basketball is a sport and it’s very regimented. You’ve got rules and if you score the most points you win. There’s not too much scope to be creative, you can learn fundamentals but you can’t break the rules. Freestyle is actually more similar to dance than actual basketball. You’re creating a performance and anything goes as long as it’s creative, as long as it looks stylish.
ALFIE: I think an element of freestyle when you bring it into the game is to try and humiliate your opponent; just to try and make him look silly. It’s a very sexy sport, basketball, and it just looks stylish.
How important is it for teenagers to have something positive to do like play basketball?
ARINZE: Getting involved in basketball early definitely gets you to focus on other things like education and enjoying your life because what happens when people don’t have a sport or hobby is that they start walking on the street, looking for trouble, for entertainment.
JAMES: Kids need something to focus on and hopefully this film can show them that there’s different options you can take to elevate yourself and your lifestyle.
BIG FEN: Basketball gives you somewhere to channel your passion. You don’t feel the need to do the other things people do to make them feel good. It’s all about the rush and the adrenaline and I get that from basketball.
ALFIE: I don’t think there’s a lot for kids to do out on the streets. I think there needs to be more youth centres and more encouragement. That’s why they need an injection of confidence.
Do you think this film will raise the profile of basketball in the UK?
RHODA: I think it’s great in terms of general exposure and the amount of support for the sport is very important especially in the UK where it’s up and coming. It’s a great advocate for sport in the UK.
Does the media misrepresent teenagers?
DANNY: Everyone just throws out quotes and we’ve heard it all before. I think it’s unfair as they get tarred with the same brush.
SUZANN: I think it’s really tough for young people right now in terms of how they’re viewed by society. I do a lot of work with young people and quite a lot of time they’ll say people judge them in one way especially if they’re out in a group. They just get labeled and there are so many other things going on in their lives.
JAMES: I think that’s one of the great things about this !lm that it’s showing young guys and girls in a di"erent light. They’re doing something constructive.
LUCY: The media puts out what grabs attention and people don’t want to hear for some reason about young people who are enjoying themselves or are comfortable with themselves but who aren’t doing something extremely negative or extremely amazing.
What do you think people will take away from the film?
LUCY: It captures that energy that is about a lot of young people growing up and doing what they enjoy in a positive way. It’s a real feelgood film and people are going to come out smiling.
ELEANOR: The !lm manages to incorporate the way your background can hold you back or push you forward. It fees like it tells a story that hasn’t been told before – the whole reach for the stars and you can achieve your
dreams.
ARINZE: It’s a very creative film, there’s dance, freestyle, basketball, streetball, gymnastics and all of these are colliding together. They’re going to see this film and they’re going to be inspired.
