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BERLIN (Hollywood Reporter) – Rupert Grint, who plays red-headed sidekick Ron Weasley in the “Harry Potter” movies, has moved on to more grown-up pastimes.

In “Cherrybomb,” which had its world premiere Sunday at the Berlin International Film Festival, Grint plays a youth dabbling in drugs, joy-riding and the thrills of teenage sex. It’s a far cry from the innocent excitement of Hogwarts, but an inevitable transition for the 20-year-old actor.

“It was always going to be quite tricky. ‘Harry Potter’s’ a big thing really, so I’ve always known it’s going to be pretty hard,” Grint said. “But doing this film wasn’t really a conscious decision to try something different — it just worked out like that. I got the script, really liked it, and it all happened in a couple of weeks.”

Grint will start shooting this month at Leavesden Studios in England on the final book of the seven in the “Harry Potter” series, which is being made as two films.

“Fourteen months for Part 1 and Part 2, more or less back-to-back,” he said. “It’s going to be long, but it’s going to be good I think. I really liked the book and the script.

“It’s going to be quite a thing when it’s over because it’ll be half my life exactly. I think I will miss it, because I’ve had some good times on it.

“Cherrybomb,” directed by Lisa Barros D’Sa and Glenn Leyburn, is set in contemporary Northern Ireland and co-stars Kimberley Nixon and Robert Sheehan in a tale of youthful high jinks and misdeeds that, inevitably, ends badly.

Grint joined Nixon, 23, on Monday in Berlin to meet the media and talk up the film, which required them to act in a fairly frank sex scene.”The hardest bit for both of us was the love scene,” Grint said.

Said Nixon: “It was toward the end of the shoot, so we knew this day was coming. But the crew were so supportive; they made us feel so comfortable, we just got on with our jobs.”

Original article can be viewed at MSNBC I February 9

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Written by Charles Masters

‘Harry Potter’ actor in Berlin with more mature role

BERLIN — Forget quidditch. Rupert Grint, who plays Ron Weasley in the “Harry Potter” franchise, has moved on to more grown-up pastimes. In “Cherrybomb,” which had its world premiere here Sunday in the Generation sidebar, Grint plays a youth dabbling in drugs, joy-riding and the thrills of teenage sex. A far cry from the innocent excitement of Hogwarts, but an inevitable transition for the 20-year-old actor.

“It was always going to be quite tricky. ‘Harry Potter’s’ a big thing really, so I’ve always known it’s going to be pretty hard,” Grint said. “But doing this film wasn’t really a conscious decision to try something different — it just worked out like that. I got the script, really liked and it all happened in a couple of weeks.”

Grint will start shooting this month on the final book of the seven in the “Harry Potter” series, which is being made as two films at Leavesden Studios in Watford. “Fourteen months for Part 1 and Part 2, more or less back-to-back. It’s going to be long, but it’s going to be good I think, I really liked the book and the script,” he said. “It’s going to be quite a thing when it’s over because it’ll be half my life exactly. I think I will miss it, because I’ve had some good times on it.

Directed by Lisa Barros D’Sa and Glenn Leyburn, “Cherrybomb” is set in contemporary Northern Ireland and co-stars Kimberley Nixon and Robert Sheehan in a tale of youthful high jinks and misdeeds that, inevitably, ends badly. James Nesbit also co-stars.

Grint joined Nixon to meet the media Monday and talk up the film, which required them to act a fairly frank sex scene. (Grint gets his shirt off but does not go full frontal as “Potter” star Daniel Radcliffe did in the stage play “Equus.”)

“The hardest bit for both of us was the love scene,” Grint admitted. “It was toward the end of the shoot so we knew this day was coming, but the crew were so supportive, they made us feel so comfortable, we just got on with our jobs,” Nixon said.

Grint’s presence at the premiere certainly pulled the spotlight onto the film, with a large crowd outside the Babylon theater to greet him.

“It was lovely, because I wasn’t expecting it at all. It’s good that everyone’s excited about the film. I do get recognized pretty much everywhere now, but everyone’s really nice and it’s not a problem,” Grint said.

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I had the chance to see Wild Target at the European Film Market in Berlin in February 2010 – not once, but twice.
Since we did not know much about the film beforehand, I will give you a short summary before the actual review.
After all: “Half now, half later”.

Viktor Maynard (Bill Nighy)is the best and most expensive hitman in London, having taken over from his late father and his mother (Eileen Atkins), who is now residing at “Memory Lane” and would love to see him settling down and getting a heir.
Rose (Emily Blunt) is a thief and sells fake paintings and ends up tricking Ferguson (Rupert Everett) into buying a fake Rembrandt. Ferguson therefore hires Viktor to kill her, but Viktor fails when he begins to fall in love.
When Ferguson’s bodyguards (Gregor Fisher as Mike and James O’Donnell as Barney) take it upon themselves to kill them both, Viktor and Rose go on the run – along with Tony (Rupert Grint), who got caught in the crossfire. They find a room in a Hotel – only two rooms next to Ferguson’s suite.
With some luck (and a baby’s help), Viktor, Rose and Tony once again manage to escape and find refugee at Viktor’s house on the countryside, while Ferguson sends Hector Dixon (Martin Freeman), the second-best and almost-most-expensive hitman, after them…

For those who have seen the original, Cible Emouvante, the film is very similar (up to the headlines on newspaper clippings). Some scenes are quite different however, for example Tony’s introduction.
Overall, Wild Target has a much faster pace than the original and is therefore much funnier, as you have barely finished laughing about one quote when the next funny line comes up. The first part (before they arrive at Victor’s house) is shorter than the original, and more time is spent on the going-ons at Victor’s place.
While Wild Target is very British, there are several little hints and nods to the French original all over the place, including the French style of Victor’s house and Victor’s French lessons. Another one is the score: during Victor’s introduction, the music resembles the music from the original film (like the music you hear everywhere when you spend your summer holidays in the South of France), yet when Rose appears, it’s very modern and edgy.

Bill Nighy as Viktor is very uptight. Always dressed in suits, he looks very much like a businessman, which is also the way he fulfils his jobs. His mother is a big influence, but his attraction to Rose is stronger than his mothers orders to kill her, and little smiles are often the only indication of his feelings for Rose and Tony.
In contrast to Viktor, Emily Blunt’s Rose seems “as free as the wind”. She dresses in quirky outfits, with skirts made of very floaty materials. She wears her heart on her sleeve and has emotional outbursts that Viktor cannot deal with.
Their relationship is hilarious because they are so very different and clash constantly, but it is also very sweet. You are just waiting for Victor to lose his composure, or for Rose to calm down.

Tony stumbled onto the situation by accident, but is trying to make the best of it by enjoying the countryside and becoming Victor’s apprentice. He has his own relationship with both Rose (almost like sibling, teasing each other but having close moments as well) and Victor (a mix of teacher/surrogate father and apprentice/adoptive son).
Compared to Antoine in the original, Tony seems less naïve. Antoine spends much more time with Victor while attempting to kill Renee, so it is easier to understand in the remake that Tony believes Victor is a private detective instead of a hitman, since he does not witness him doing his job (he mainly witnesses the moments when Victor covers up what he failed to do).

The entire “all star british cast” is brilliant. Everyone. Bill Nighy and Emily Blunt make a cute couple despite the age gap, and their interactions range from very romantic to absolutely hilarious. Martin Freeman made me laugh just by looking at him. He may only be the second-best-hitman, but he certainly takes the top spot among hitmen when it comes to tans and toothpaste smiles. Gregor Fisher (Tony’s favourite victim) is brilliant, as is Rupert Everett, who really is intimidating as Ferguson, although still very funny.

Rupert was awesome. He got to show a pretty big range of emotions since Tony is learning stuff and gaining confidence: from a very caring scene with Rose to almost losing his head after his first shot to self-confident business-attitude when discussing his apprenticeship with Victor.
Rupert is absolutely hilarious in the funny scenes. Not in a way like Jim Carrey or Rowan Atkinson, but in a way that is absolutely natural. It’s not forced, it simply is funny because it is spot on because it’s realistic that someone would react or speak the way Tony does if they were in a similar situation.
Ron Who?! The beard definitely makes Rupert look different to Ron, but once again he makes the character look different from any of his other characters. Ron not stay that cool if a gorgeous, drunk woman crawled over him on the bed, Ben wouldn’t tell two hitmen to “Calm down!”, Alan might have realised that Victor was no detective, and Malachy depends on his best friend while Tony is on his own.
Some mentioned that Antione has some similarity to Ben in Driving Lessons. Well, Tony does not. Tony seems like the character who has received the biggest makeover from the original to the remake.

How did the audience react? The reactions were great, and remember, the people were professionals; e.g. possible future distributors. The seats we filled to about 80%, and (in contrast to other screenings), most of these people stayed until the credits and saw the entire film. There was laughter all the time, and Rupert managed to make people laugh in scenes where the focus was actually on Bill and Emily, and he was in the background.

One of the things that I only realised a while later: Tony is Rupert’s first role as a grown-up character. Tony is not a moody teenager like Ron or even Malachy. Young, overwhelmed, scared: Yes.
But he’s definitely a young man.

I cannot wait for everyone to see Wild Target. I laughed more than I did during Keeping Mum (which is saying something), and I am still laughing just thinking about silk handkerchiefs, cows and ice in the minibar. Wild Target is one of those films that will always succeed in putting you in a good mood, and a really, really great film.

The night before the screening I barely had some sleep. You can imagine what it was like for me, lying there just a couple of hours from waking up to see Cherrybomb. This was not the trailer; this was the whole actual FILM! I think I had about one hour of sleep that night, but I helped myself with a cup of coffee (I would’ve hated myself if I snoozed at the cinema!)

We arrived at Babylon about an hour before the film and walked around the block to check it out. It felt cool that Rupert had walked there the week before. Unfortunately I couldn’t be there at the premiere, but hey, better late than never, right?

I was actually not that nervous or what you now call it (yes, if you’re a Rupert fan you know THE feeling), but that changed as soon as we sat on our seats in front of the big screen! My God. I wouldn’t be surprised if everyone in that venue heard my heartbeats. It took a while before all the seats were filled and the curtains rolled aside. Seriously, I am actually having the same sensation just by writing this. It was like pain and pleasure at the same time. I didn’t know if I wanted to scream or cry, jump or sit.

I was so happy to see all those people around me. Almost all the seats were filled (maybe they were, I didn’t pay much attention given the circumstances) but the thing that struck me good was the age difference among all the people there! My dad thought that he would be the only grown up there (don’t hate him, he didn’t know much about this film) but he was so wrong. From grandpas to teenagers I tell ya! It was such a good atmosphere there, all those people looking forward to this film.

Well, where do I begin? Should I start babbling on how oh so wonderful Rupert was on the big screen, or how he acted the shit out of pissedoff!Malachy scenes, or how he could make the devil cry with his emotional doe eyes during the sad!Malachy scenes. Or what about the cool!Malachy sniffing coke, or the famous sex scene? Well, first I have to say that…

…This film was brilliant. And I mean AWESOMELY BRILLIANT! It was such a perfect film for Rupert to do, everything in it was perfect and you’ll see in it all the things you’ve dreamt of. The movie was so artistic, from the first scene. You could see Malachy staring at some girls jumping up and down on a bouncing mat at the Leisureplex with this dreamy look on his face, while surrounded by tons of tennis balls on the floor. Yes, it might sound “huh?” to you, but if you actually saw it, you would know that this was the perfect start for the whole rollercoaster of emotions.

The film started with the end, which I really liked. I love those kinds of films, where you know the end at the beginning. You have no clue about what could’ve happened to poor Malachy sitting there in a police station all beaten up. Even though we read some spoilers before the festival, it all came as a surprise to me.

Before Michelle arrived, it was just Luke and Malachy, and you could see the friendship they shared. It was wonderful to see it, and even though Rupert initial scenes with Luke weren’t dramatic, you could see a whole new side of Rupert’s acting talent. But then Michelle arrived and set the boys’ lives in action. I have one thing to say: YOU HAVE NOT YET SEEN RUPERT ACT. Trust me. It’s not just the fangirl in me talking. I would’ve said the exact same thing if I were a straight old bloke. You have not seen him act. You just haven’t. All the scenes he was in were brilliant. It was like seeing a whole new side of Rupert. You could see him happy, sad, mad, furious, high etc.

The scenes where he was happy, it was mostly with Luke. He was very happy with Michelle too, but that’s another “happy” we’re talking about there (his acting was so good that you could even see the difference in his happy scenes). There is a scene in which Malachy gets high with Luke. They were so happy and high as kites. The scene was really awesome, and if you’ve wondered what Rupert would look like when high, this is the film you should see. I am not talking about fake high, because it didn’t look fake at all! It was perfect. It was just Malachy and Luke being Malachy and Luke. Very touching indeed.

Luke and Malachy are the opposites. Malachy has a good family situation and a really nice home while Luke’s stuck with his alcoholic father. I really liked how they presented the characters and the fact that, despite the differences between them, they still have this strong friendship that even Michelle can’t break.

Malachy’s relationship with his mother is really similar to Ben’s interaction with his mother in Driving Lessons. She is the kind of mother that makes a big deal out of stuff, and actually ends up throwing a “party” for Malachy because of his good grades. She really has her hopes up for her boy and doesn’t want him to hang out with Luke – which pisses Malachy off to the edge.

The scenes which show Luke’s relationship with his father were really emotional. They were really heartbreaking to see, and you could really forgive Luke for acting like an ass. He does have his reasons for his behaviour. Luke’s father Smiley is dealing drugs for Luke’s brother Chris. Chris doesn’t really care that much about Luke, and when Smiley leaves Luke, Chris just pats him on the back and tells him he can handle it like a man. There was one scene before Smiley left him where Luke came home finding his dad passed out on the floor with the gas on from the oven. He asks Smiley in anger if he is trying to kill himself and ends up beating him. I loved that scene because it showed how much Luke cared about his dad, even if he didn’t show it in the best way. At one point he actually referred to his dad as “just Smiley” when he spoke to Michelle. Just by those words you understood his relationship with his father. It was really intense.

The scenes with Malachy and Michelle were so brilliant. You could see the difference in Malachy when he was with Michelle. He shared some happy/horny/mad/sad moments with her. There was a scene where he was upset over Michelle leaving town. It was so sad to see those puppy eyes almost crying when he tried to convince Michelle to let him go with her. The scenes when he got pissed were very intense: you could spot Malachy’s furious eyes miles away when Luke messed with Michelle. In the big party scene Luke was really rude to Michelle at one point. He asked her to blow him too, and actually used some harsh words and a threatening body language against her. Malachy just flipped and gave him the right fist. It was so amazing to see how Rupert acted the mad, or should I say the furious side of Malachy. It was a never seen before side of Rupert. That was a big part in the “You have not yet seen Rupert act” sentence. I can’t even describe how good he was in those scenes.

Luke’s relationship with Michelle wasn’t nearly as serious as Malachy’s. Luke was just doing it all for some fun action while Malachy actually started to feel something. Luke was just trying to get her in bed for fun and didn’t really care so much about Michelle’s feelings. But this side of Luke actually attracted Michelle. She really showed interest in Luke in the beginning, but then just went more serious with Malachy – she really started to like him and his sweet personality. He wasn’t into it for just fun, he really cared about Michelle. I think that’s the reason for Michelle for actually kind of choosing Malachy in the end. Malachy was really the only man that cared about Michelle. Her relationship with her dad Crilly was a disappointment for her and she found comfort in Malachy.

Now to the famous sex scene. It was so cute and sexy at the same time. There was a very cute moment when Michelle couldn’t undo her bra and needed Malachy’s help. They shared many many kisses in and hugs in the bed. The face Rupert made when he got Michelle down there was so cute. It was not an o-face, it was just a big fat smile covering half of his face. Unfortunately Michelle’s dad interrupted them. The scene started intensely and passionately but ended humorously (the audience roaring with laughter) when Malachy just ran of after seeing Crilly. It was a really classy sex scene, and even if I know you would love to see Rupert really doing it, you will not be let down by this scene. It was perfect. It was Malachy and Michelle.

Cherrybomb is just this crazy ride that everyone should join. It’s about teenagers being teenagers. Everyone can relate to this film. Parents, teengares, everyone. They all carry a role that displays the life we live today. You will not leave the cinema bored out, trust me.

This film was one of the best I’ve seen, and my top list doesn’t involve any Rupert movies.

The acting was spot on and this is the best role Rupert has done so far. Robert Sheehan (Luke) and Kimberley Nixon (Michelle) were also brilliant, especially in their crying scenes. They all did a wonderful job with their parts, and the actors just fitted perfectly to their characters.

I was so lucky to see this film, and that’s all thanks to my dad (I love you)! It was the cherry on top of our Berlin trip, and I can’t wait for you all to see this film too. It was fantastic, it was awesome, it was the new trio, it was CHERRYBOMB.

xxoo
Negin “Neglo” Ameli

I am going to write this review without giving too much away that hasn’t been said in the official summary, which you can read here.

Note of Warning: Major NC-17 word and spoiler near the end: Mentioned one word used in the film…

I will eventually work on a thorough recount of the film which will contain the major spoilers, but this one is safe, so here we go:

As everyone on this site, I’ve been excited about Cherrybomb ever since we learned about it being Rupert’s new film on 2 July 2008. Unlike most of the people on this site, I was among the few who had the chance to see it at it’s World Premiere at the Berlin Film Festival on 8 February 2009.

After everything we had heard about Cherrybomb beforehand, I had pretty high expectations. And usually, it’s difficult to have one’s high expectations fulfilled.

Cherrybomb is a film that works on various levels: Although the summary might give the impression that the story is about to be told for the millionth time, the psychological journeys of the characters are acted out perfectly, while the acting is surrounded by a wonderful soundtrack and great visuals.

Due to its artistic style, the film is a true “eye-candy”, whether it is the way the kids text messages appear on screen or the colours and camera-angles of various scenes. Scenes in which emotions run high come up in an almost collage-like way, with lots of close-up shots, some of them clear and some blurry, so one rarely gets to see the entire scene, but only bits and pieces of it.
No air-brushing has been done, so the characters appear on screen as in real life (aside from their hair-styles), but that makes the scenes appear much more realistic and therefore much more honest.
It’s also the tiny details like the trio’s necklaces, or Smiley’s tattoo (two smiley faces on his throat) or even Michelle and her dad wearing clothes with the same pattern, that are amazing. Overall, it is a film so visual that it makes the audience notice something new each time they see it.

It is easy to understand why the Cherrybomb soundtrack was nominated for the Irish Film and Television Awards. The songs styles are very different, ranging from flyKKiller’s eclectic Cherrybomb to Exmagician’s pop and Robyn Shiels’ acoustic music. Yet they all fit their respective scenes perfectly and are an amazing representation of Belfast’s colourful musical scene.

The pace of the film is very quick. The cut-and-paste style of the party scenes give the feeling everyone knows who has been to a great party: The better it is, the quicker it’s over. More, but not too much time is spent on the emotional scenes between the different characters. No scene seems to long, but there are many scenes where one wishes to spend a bit more time with the characters (not because the pace is too quick, but because one wants to stay with the characters to get an even better understanding of them).

It is always difficult on a low-budget film to find suitable sets for the scenes to take place.
Cherrybomb’s Lifeboat club looks cozy enough for a great night out with your mates, while the Titanic Leisureplex seems to be a cool place to hang out at.
For example, the three main characters’ rooms are a perfect representation of their family lifes:
Malachy’s room is full of things (including pictures, books, music stuff), and has a protective atmosphere, showing how much his parents care for him.
Michelle’s room is pink and very sappy, yet entirely different from Michelle’s own style. Very suitable for the daughter who is always named “Princess” by her dad, who in turn does not know what she wants from him.
Luke’s room is, just like his family life, the saddest. It is a cold, white room, with only a huge painting (showing a yellow and red kind of whirlwind), a mattress as his bed, and six polaroids of him and Malachy above the “bed”.

Cherrybomb is set in Belfast, and everyone knows that the actors had to speak in a Northern Irish accent. As far as I can judge their accent (and that is mainly based on the interview with David Holmes), I think they did an amazing job!
Luke’s family has the thickest accent, and it was sometimes quite difficult to understand his drunk and very distraught father. Malachy’s family and Crilly had an obvious, but easily understandable accent, while Michelle’s was very light. Not being a native speaker, I couldn’t tell apart which of the actors were indeed from Northern Ireland and those who weren’t.

The actors were all brilliant.

James Nesbitt and Lalor Roddy play David Crilly and Smiley, Michelle’s and Luke’s respective fathers. While Crilly appears to be a “good” father on the first look (button-up shirt, tie, etc), he most obviously is not. Smiley – in contrast to Crilly dressed in an almost Keith-Richards-like way – is an alcoholic who is incapable of taking care of his son Luke.

While many of the scenes with Crilly and Michelle have very funny dialogues, the scenes with Luke and his dad are incredibly touching.

Kat Kirk plays Sharon, Conor MacNeill plays Fanta, and Niamh Quinn plays Donna. Sharon and Fanta are mates of Luke and Malachy, while Donna is Michelle’s best friend and Crilly’s lover. They play the kids that appear in each gang: One with a secret crush, one who tries to be cooler than he is, and the other who keeps a secret.

Kimberley Nixon portrays Michelle, who is the cyclist for the boys’ crazy actions. She gets to show a huge range of emotions and, as sneaky as her actions are, it is easy to understand her reasons for them. Kim gives the perfect image of the daughter who knows what she expects from her dad, but cannot tell him because both her parents neglect her, while Crilly is oblivious to her needs.
Luke is played by Robert Sheehan. He has amazing scenes with his dad where the audience can easily feel both their pain. It’s visible that they both know what they would want from each other, yet are not able to get there. Luke only has one good and stable person in his life, and that is Malachy.

Rupert Grint plays Malachy, the only one of the trio who has a family he could rely on, yet he wants the exciting moments he shares with Luke, and he wants Michelle.
Rupert’s portrayal of Malachy is amazing. Rupert turns into a completely different character than the ones we already know, and does it in so many different ways: A new walk, a different posture, a different sound of his voice, a new hairstyle and different facial expressions, among them a smirk that could give any Malfoy a run for his money! He IS Malachy, and noone else. No trace of Ron, Ben, Alan or Rupert himself. Only Malachy.
Rupert also did many things that surprised me. He used to say he would not want to do a sex scene, he always said he would want to do comedy, not romance, and yet in Cherrybomb he does all that.

The trio on screen are like a match made in heaven. All three of them are very expressive without overacting, so every single scene seems very natural, and the fact that the actors are on the same level of acting helps to make the scenes even more intense.

The trio work great together, but the scenes with only two of them are also amazing. Whether it is Luke and Malachy hanging out without a care in the world or at the point where their friendship appears to be over; whether Luke and Michelle get cozy or he makes her cry; or whether it is Michelle teasing Malachy or him being completely smitten, the scenes are great and the emotions are easy to read on their faces.

As everyone is interested in the “love scene”:
It is filmed in that cut-and-paste/blurry-and-clear-blending-together sort of way, which makes anyone watching it feel very close to what happens on screen. There are no noises, only the music (“Fear” from FlyKKiller), and one never gets to see the two of them completely, but mainly their skin.
It is very artistically done, and not, as the word “sex scene” might suggest, in a lewd way, hence the description “love scene” appears much more suitable.
I am usually frustrated with sex scenes is films, as they often don’t serve a purpose to the story and simply appear to be there to make the audience watch the acting star naked. The love scene in Cherrybomb DOES serve a purpose to the story, and while it is very hot, it is also sweet and very tender, and as much skin as it shows, it doesn’t reveal anything inappropriate. To me, this has been the best scene of this sort I have EVER seen.

Overall, I enjoyed Cherrybomb immensely, and the film even managed to top my expectations. The cut right before the love scene begins (when the scene in begins, not the love-making itself) could have been a tiny bit tidier, but a week of reflection after watching the film twice, I haven’t found anything else to complain about.

So why did Cherrybomb not win at the Berlin Film Festival?

First of all, the jury consists of teenagers between 14 and 18 (as far as I know), who have been to the Festival the year before and filled out a form to be chosen for the jury.
I think there were two main problems for the jury:

1. While the Festival is open for everyone, it is usually visited by people with a somewhat better economic status. Hence, the jury members of Generation are most likely to come from stable families and are enjoying a pretty good education. I doubt that they have partied, taken drugs and faced similar problems as the main characters. Some of them might feel a bit like Malachy, but Malachy is the least tragic character in the story, and unless the jury members have ever been in love as much as Malachy, I can understand that they could not identify that well with either of them.
2. As well as their education maybe, German students learn Oxford English at school. Not all of them go on a student exchange to learn “normal, everyday” English, and only few watch films in their original versions. I do not know how good the jury’s English is, but for me (having gone to school here in Germany) it is easy to imagine that some of the scenes were quite hard to understand, especially for people with little training in hearing different accents and with a VERY different vocabulary (at least in English) compared to the one used by the teens in Cherrybomb. Cherrybomb was shown without subtitles, and it was hard enough to understand Smiley, with a very heavy accent coupled with a drunken’s mumbling, and I seriously doubt that the jury knows what the word “spitroast” implies.

Even though Cherrybomb is a film ABOUT teenagers growing up, I think it is difficult to be understood by a younger audience. Even though some younger people might enjoy it, I would give it the German rating of 16+, because of the language, and because I think that the subtle messages in the film are difficult to grasp for someone who is struggling with exactly the same things in real life.

I loved Cherrybomb – not just as a Rupert fan – and I think it is an incredible for first-time-feature directors to create such a harmonic piece of art!

Monday, 9 February 2009

9 AM CET (3 AM EST)
*BEEEP*
My alarm again. I remember the day before and want to stay in bed. But I get up as I know I get to see Cherrybomb again, and get ready for the day. I also put the videos and pics on my laptop. I’ll kill myself if they get lost!
I text Jo that I’m on my way to their hotel, and can’t help but remember the text messages in the film. I check if there’s no ray of light coming out of my mobile. There isn’t. Too bad.
I get to AJ and Jo’s hotel. When they open the door, I see that they overslept. Jetlag apparently got them, as it’s only 4.30 AM EST. The two get ready, and we eventually leave for breakfast.

11 AM (5 AM)
We have breakfast at Dunkin’ Donuts and go over the questions again. Trying to find the best one. Which are interesting? Which won’t be asked by others.
Ivana texts if we keep the Live Ticker today. No. Back to the questions.

2 PM (8 AM)
We’re done with the questions and leave for the site of the Berlin Film Festival.

At the tube station, there’s a graffiti. Coincidence that Malachy aka “Basquiat” is the “Graffiti king” in Cherrybomb?! No way. We take a picture, then we take a tube, and we’re there.
We go to the Berlinale Film Palast (the huge theatre), where the interview will take place. I give Jo the camera in case she’s allowed to film. She leaves us.
AJ and me decide to go to the mall to go online, but right before we arrive the computers, Jo calls “Come back! Interview was pushed back”. We hurry back, get Jo and get a coffee at Starbucks to re-plan.
Seeing as the interview has been pushed to the time when the second screening begins, Jo won’t be able to watch Cherrybomb again.
Time passes, while we’re texting back and forth with Ivana. I keep seeing rays of light coming out of my mobile. This film has had a very bad influence on me…

4 PM (10 AM)
We go to the theatre, but the doors to the screening room are still closed. Jo leaves for the Film Palast again for the interview, while AJ and me wait for my two friends two arrive.
It’s weird. I’ve been staying at their place for the past two days, but have only seen them for about an hour, as I was always gone and returned and left while they were asleep. They arrive, and we can enter the screening room. It’s much bigger than the one yesterday.
I talk to the lady in charge of the room to tell her that Jo is doing an interview, and if she PLEEEEEASE could let her in once she comes. Yes, no problem. Text to Jo.
The lady in charge tells the audience that there will be no Q&A, but we already figured that because of the interviews that were pushed back. Good thing we got our Jo out there.
The light goes off, and I make sure to catch as many details as possible for our ICMers.
Re-watching is brilliant. This is one of those films where you will always notice something new, like the fact that Michelle wears a shirt at one point that looks like the universe posters in Ben’s room in Driving Lessons.

6.04 PM (12.04 PM)
Film’s over. I won’t see it again for ages!
Text from Jo: “OMG!” Great. What is that supposed to mean?
AJ and I say bye to my friends, and hurry off to find Jo at the computers. Jo’s online talking about her interview. What follows are discussions about certain rumours that were spread, and we eventually decide to “Keep Calm and Carry On”. We have too many things to share to focus on that.

9.45 PM (3.45 PM)
We return to the Alex, have dinner, talk, discuss, and have fun listening to the audio of Jo’s interview. Once we finished eating, we return to the hotel and start what we’ve been planning. Our review of the red carpet and the film. This turns out harder than we expected, but we eventually get it done, and I say my final goodbyes to Jo and AJ at 1.45 AM (7.45 PM).
I go to the tube station and once again had missed the last one. Well, spent all my luck on Cherrybomb, so I get the next taxi.
Of course my friends are asleep already when I get there. I pack my things for the next day, secure the audios of the interview and our review on my laptop.
Before switching of the lights, I can’t help but watch and listen to all our audios and videos again. Our ICM friends will be soooo happy…

Tuesday, 10 February 2009

8 AM CET (2 AM EST)
*BEEEP*
My alarm again. To get my train, I get ready quickly and leave my friends’ place. I really didn’t get to see much of them.
I arrive at the station at 10 AM, get some breakfast and a huge hot chocolate and leave Berlin at 10.30 AM on the train. While texting Ivana that I’m going to be online about 5 hours later, I can’t help but smile that I will never ever be able to send text messages again without thinking of Cherrybomb.

2.44 PM (8.44 AM)
I’m back home. With autographs, pictures, videos, audios, a new film in my mind, lots of questions to send to Ivana for Dublin, stories to share, amazing memories, and with the knowledge of a huuuuge amount of news, comments and forum posts I had to read.

I expected this weekend to be exciting. I expected that we’d be able to get some good stuff for the fans. I expected to see a great film, and I even expected to see Rupert up close.
However, this was just so much more. If I had known that before we left, I guess we might have put up a message that appears in the film. It is one of the text messages the trio send to their friends as they invite them to a party:

Fuck boredom, jump overboard with us!

8 February 2009

8.00 AM CET (Sunday 1.30 AM EST)
*BEEEEP*
My alarm goes off. Once I realise what this means, that I’ll be seeing Cherrybomb in only a few hours AND get to be on the red carpet and do the Q&A with Rupert, I’m fully awake, despite having gone to bed only 4 hours ago.
I take a minute to sit down and let everything sink in. This is it. I pick up my mobile and type a text message to Ivana:
Let the Live Ticker begin! Good morning! I just got up after 4 hours of sleep. The weather is cloudy but dry. And cold. Only 6 1/2 hours till the Cherrybomb explodes!
A quick shower, putting on my Cherrybomb shirt, checking I have everything in my bag, and I leave quietly, as my friends are still asleep.

9 AM (3 AM)
Text to Ivana: Just left my friend’s place to pick up Jo and AJ. Got Rupert’s present, got the cameras, got more excited! 5 hours and 14 minutes left!
When I arrive at the hotel, Jo and AJ are in the middle of getting ready. I flick through their Berlinale magazine and cannot believe how close we are to actually seeing the film. Once the girls are pretty enough we leave.

10.36 AM (4.36 AM)

We’re there, about 2 minutes from the hotel. There’s the red carpety carpet, and we can take pictures on it. The film screened before Cherrybomb begins at 11 AM. Although the lobby of the theatre is packed, there is no security, no fans, no reporters or paparazzi. Only us, and a few stray people.
Jo sends Ivana pictures via her mobile for the Live Ticker. We get inside, because it’s cold and there’s noone outside yet anyway. We get a cappuccino as we’re all tired and start to work: Jo writes the questions into a notebook, AJ tries to figure out our new dictaphone, and I write a letter for Rupert, wishing him good luck and explaining the t-shirt we got for him.

12.30 PM (6.30 AM)
The buzz starts about two hours later. Photographers arrive, and on a monitor, we can see that the film before Cherrybomb is over. We start to get nervous, when the people inside the theatre become active. The crowd outside grows, so we leave the theatre to get good places along the red carpety carpet.

1 PM (7 AM) Some people arrive and take off the red carpet, only to replace it with a new one. German dialogue between two of them:
“Weren’t you supposed to change the carpet tomorrow?!”
“Yes, but he’s coming, so we were told to change it now.”
More and more fans arrive, as do the media people. The security guys make their rounds, and a police car goes back and forth on the street. Where is he?! Well, more text messages to Ivana for the Live Ticker, and more time for us to make plans:
AJ is to ask for the autographs on our high-quality photos. Both Jo and AJ take pictures. I will be filming and make sure he gets the t-shirt. AJ keeps losing her earring, and at one point it seems lost. We find it again after a long search: It’s in the bag we will give to Rupert, the one with the shirt and the letter. Wonder what he would have thought about that huge golden earring…

1.30 PM (7.30 AM)
The media people make their rounds. We are interviewed, and as Jo and AJ came all the way from the US, the reporters seem impressed. Text message to Ivana: “Tell someone to record that!”
The press people see our high quality pics and start filming them, impressed at us. A voice says: “I took those.” We look up. Helen Sloan. No way! And Conor MacNeill. Helen tells us who everyone is. We want to talk to them a bit more, but can’t give up our front-row spots on the red carpet. They go inside, we get back to waiting.
Georg arrives, and we decide that his girlfriend saves the seats inside for us, while we wait. The three of us remain at our spot at the end of the red carpet, while Georg will take pictures and film from further away.
More text messages to Ivana.

2 PM (8 AM)
The doors to the screening room open. Part of the crowd goes inside, but we pray that Sabine saved good seats for us and remain where we are. Last checks: Photos for autographs and pens prepared? Camera at the ready? Present for Rupert in hand with no earring in it?
A woman and a guy walk along the red carpet. Giving out info papers with pictures and saying, “we know everyone’s here for Rupert, but these are also great actors: Kimberley Nixon and Robert Sheehan, and these are the directors”. Well, the three of us are here for Cherrybomb, AND for Rupert. We’ll make sure to greet them.
We wonder what goes on at ICM, and what everyone thinks about our text messages.

2.05 PM (8.05 AM)
A black van arrives. This is it. No way to send any text messages now. Everyone will understand that. We’re working on some more exciting stuff.
We see blonde hair. Kim?! Yes, it’s her. The rest is covered by people on the red carpet. A dark, curly-haired head. Must be Robert. It is, and he actually starts filming himself. A pretty brunette in a bright green dress, and a guy next to her: Lisa Barros D’Sa and Glenn Leyburn. And then it happens.
Karo: “There he is.”
Jo: “Who? Where?”
Karo: “Over there. The red hair”, cause that’s all I see of him.
We get more glimpses of Rupert, while he and his co-stars are busy giving autographs, posing for the press, giving interviews. Most of the time, they are with the fans. Rupert gets interviewed by the same people who had interviewed us before.
We can’t help but fall in love with Robbie, who goes back and forth over the red carpet, making all the security people step aside to let him pass, filming again, going here and there and never standing still.
Kim is gorgeous! She looks pretty in all those pictures, but she’s even more beautiful in person, and really nice. She even made sure to get the correct fan name on the autographs. Can’t wait to see her in the film.
At some point, Nigel Grint rushes into the theatre. We say “Hi Nigel”, and he smiles, gives a wave, and is inside.
Glenn and Lisa stay on the red carpet and let the trio do their work, but appear a bit surprised that there are so many fans. Well, considering the amount of people along the red carpet for the film before…
Robbie and Kim are with us, and I turn my camera back to find Rupert again, who steps right into the frame. I look up, and he’s only about one arm length to my left. The crowd presses in from behind. I hear AJ “Karo, you’re arm’s in my way”. Well, I can’t film otherwise. Rupert goes over to the other side of the carpet. Damn. I call this PR lady with him, but there’s too much screaming to hear her reply. Well, time to film his backside.

He eventually comes to us again, and signs, and agrees to do the message for ICM. What follows is too amazing to describe, and made it hard to hold the camera up because he cracked up laughing. Matthew Lewis was right all along: if this isn’t an infectious laugh, I don’t know what is.
He gives the message to ICM fans, we get our hugs, and at the last minute I remember the present. He says thanks, and he’s taken inside.

2.25 PM (8.25 AM)
We finally made it inside and got our front row seats. We’re all a bit hyper, but elated. AJ got the autographs, we got pictures, a video, the message. And all of us got a hug. Jo texts Ivana, and I send another text message to her as well, realising three days later that I wrote utter rubbish. He owns a nice pair of shoes (or rather boots), but the present from ICM was a shirt, not those shoes. Well, at least I have a good reason to be so confused…
I turn around and see the Cherrybomb crew in the balcony. Camera out. Check with Jo if I shall record that. And film again.

Unaware that there were pictures of him leaving the hotel, I text Ivana again once I’m done with filming the balcony, about what he’s wearing.

2.50 PM (8.50 AM)
There’s a greeting, and the lights go off. Another text message to Ivana to let everyone know that the Cherrybomb explodes. And the film begins…

[Karo’s film review will be up soon!]

When the first text message in the film is sent, I’m gobsmacked. It can’t be true that we’re doing all this Live Ticker stuff with texts, and here we get to see the text messages between the teens come up on screen. I can’t wait until everyone has seen that! We were sooo spot on doing that!
During the film, Jo gets out her mobile twice to send out text messages for the Live Ticker. I’m too busy watching the film to think about that. Can’t miss one second.
The audience’s reactions are great. At one point, when a funny dialogue comes up between Michelle and Crilly, a loud, female laugh is heard. Sounds like Kim Nixon in that radio interview. I can’t help but giggle as well. Talking about infectious laughters…
AJ and me sit on either side of Jo, and in three scenes we simply looked at each other with big eyes, very surprised at what was going on on screen. Has Rupert been reading ICM and tries to fulfill everyone’s wishes with this film?!?!?!?
The credits come up. We’re blown away. We had high expectations of the film, but this was simply so much more than what we expected.
The Q&A begins, and once again, we’re in the top spot with our front-row seats. The only problem is that AJ’s arm holding the dictaphone always gets in front of Robbie Sheehan. Eventually, the five are taken out of the theatre, and we have to use a different exit.

4.56 PM (10.56 AM)
Once the Q&A is over, Jo texts Ivana again. I wait until we’re outside to text her. We stay at the theatre for a few more minutes, hoping to see Rupert again. We don’t, so we decide to return to the hotel and go online to talk to everyone about the film.

5.33 PM (11.33 AM)
Another text message to Ivana, which feels so weird after all the texts in the film, letting her know we’re coming online.
Jo and AJ rush off to the restroom, while I wander around the lobby and eventually go outside to get some fresh air.

I stop dead. Conor. Little cute Conor MacNeill. And Helen. And the rest of the Cherrybomb team save the trio and the directors. All of them on the red carpet, taking group pictures. We need one. I run over, ask if I can take a picture for ICM (“Yeah, sure!”), do so. I ask for autographs on one of the HQ pics. Once again, “Yeah, sure!”

Another problem arises. Jo still has my pen. I ask if they can wait only one minute for me to get the pen (another “Yeah, sure”), and I hurry inside to find Jo. There she is, and I take her and AJ outside. We get the autographs, and some pictures. Conor loves my shirt, and I fall in love with Conor.

At some point, AJ says: “Is that Sarah?” Yes. AJ rushes over, and Sarah, whom we know from behind-the-scenes-of-Cherrybomb pictures, is thoroughly surprised to be recognised. We ask for a pic, she agrees, and we go back to the red carpety carpet.
Helen Sloan herself takes the picture of us with Sarah, making the comment “I’m used to bigger cameras!” when she takes them with ours. She also asks us to send in the photos. This is soooo surreal…
They leave eventually, and we hurry back to the hotel to go online. The ten minutes we mentioned in our text message about coming online had turned into 50 minutes because of the Cherrybomb guys, but we agree it was worth it.

6.20 PM (12.20 PM)
We’re online. And shocked. So many updates?! Pictures?! Videos?! THAT many comments?! The forum is bursting, and we haven’t even written anything.

The Cherrybomb made a huge impact. We open the new thread, and what happens next is crazy. We try to read and write at the same time, keep missing questions, take ages to reply because we have to discuss what we post.
The number of people in the forums rises, and when we get the note “Site cannot be reached”, we fear that the server broke. A few minutes later the site is back. Then it’s gone again. Brilliant. If Rupert knew this. If Lisa and Glenn did. We decide to tell them tomorrow.

11 PM (5 PM)
We eventually take a break to eat (breakfast for us…) and to calm down. When we get back, the site is still busy, and we’re still overwhelmed.
Almost three hours later, I decide to go home. I go to the tube station. Missed the last tube by ten minutes. I go back outside and take a taxi.
Shortly before we arrive, the taxi driver asks me if I’m in town for the Berlin Film Festival. I tell him that I am, and that I’ve seen a great film today. He wants to know which one. I reply: Cherrybomb. He says: “So you met Rupert Grint?” I reply yes. He says “Good night then”. I thank him and get out. Unable to keep the smile from taking over my whole face.
What a day…

Go here to read Part 3 of Karo’s Berlin Report!

Well, here it is. The report about what happened at Berlin – ASIDE from the film Cherrybomb itself.

Too bad, you’re missing the boat!

My report is long, but it was a very long weekend. It was amazing when I came back and went through everyone’s posts that came up while we were there, and I absolutely adored your reactions to our live ticker! I don’t want to talk about the film here so as not to give anything away (and what I do give away is just very little), but I’m still amazed that most of the communication between us staffers (and the Live Ticker) were done via text messages, because the text messages are soooo important in the film! I still can’t believe how spot on we were with that idea!
Anyway, I already know what happened on ICM, so here’s what happened to me:

Saturday, 7 February 2009

8 AM CET (2 AM EST)
*BEEEP*
My alarm goes off. This means there’s only 36 hours left until the Cherrybomb World Premiere.
Quick shower, packing the last things into my bags and praying I haven’t forgotten anything important, my mum and me drive off. To the next supermarket, where I ordered some High-Quality-Photo versions of Helen Sloan’s amazing Cherrybomb stills, to try and get autographs on those. Got some money from the bank, then proceeded to the train station.

10.01 AM CET (4.01 AM)
Texted Ivana that I’m on the train to Berlin. I really am. And the woman next to me is reading an article about the Berlin Film Festival. I don’t even try to suppress my smile, because, YES, I’m going to Berlin, I’m going to see Cherrybomb, AND I’m going to see Rupert!
The ride is about 1 ½ hours, so I’m finally able to not do anything but think. No internet. No worries about any soundtrack interviews, about last minute panic attacks from those going to Berlin (“I’m sending you all the logins for the pic sites, make sure to check them all the time and DON’T MISS ANYTHING!!!”), no worries about my patients at the hospital or about my dissertation. Right now, it’s all about Cherrybomb, so I can lay back and listen to my iPod.

11.30 AM CET (5.30 AM)

Just arrived to Berlin and got a text message from Jo that they are on the taxi to their hotel. Problem. Jo’s text was sent at 5 AM. 5 AM German time, or 5 AM US time?! Damn. Have they been here for hours, or did they just arrive? Jo’s email from a few days ago doesn’t help. It said that they arrive on “Saturday morning”. I text back: “Where shall we meet?”
I leave for my friends place, where I’ll be staying for these few days. Few more texts from Jo arrive: “Where are you?” “We need to meet that press person before 12 o’clock” Press person?! I wonder. I drop off my things at my friends’, get a key for their flat and rush off to the main Berlinale location. On the way I call Jo, but only get half of what she says as I’m in the tube and some meters below Berlin. “I’m on my way to the Potsdamer Platz” I say. Phone call ends. Text from Jo: “It’s okay, we have time till 6 PM to go there.” Thank god!

12.30 PM (6.30 AM)
I’m at the location of the Berlin Film Festival, which is a huge area with many places. And I have to find two people who I only know from the pictures on our site. And there are MANY people here. I call Jo. “What are you wearing?” she asks. “Black jacket” I reply, and realise that almost EVERYONE around me wears a black jacket. Well, it’s icy today. Jo says they’re at the theatre, so I go over there and, yes, there they are! And I can tell them that this is the theatre where we get to see Cherrybomb on Monday.

In one of the buildings, we find a Berlinale magazine. Of course we check it for Cherrybomb, and yes, there is an article, with picture.
My two Americans must be jetlagged, though, as Jo has been up for 24 hours. But they say it’s okay, so we leave for…

1 PM (7 AM)

… the Generation Group Tickets counter! Thank goodness we tried everything to get tickets! I have no idea how many emails we sent to each other, but we had everything planned to get them. It was a great plan. But even great plans can fail.
However, I had found this tiny little information that group tickets (5 or more) could be ordered ahead of time, so after finally getting through at the hotline, I had ordered 5 tickets, even though we didn’t even know how many of us would be going. And now we were to pick them up. I said my name, and then the lady pulled out those tickets, which are almost exactly the same colour as our site. That cannot be a coincidence.

Anyway, Jo and AJ are even way more happy than me, because they have never even heard of the possibility to pre-order tickets without actually paying ahead of time, but only when you pick them up (which is very common here in Germany). Jo was so panicky after not getting online tickets that she emailed the Generation staff, who called me on my mobile just to tell me that, “yes, of course these tickets are yours, as you have ordered them.”
I tell them that I emailed a guy called Georg from our friends at rupertfans.de, and that I offered him the additional tickets, and that he’s happy to see the film.
Jo tells me that while we travelled to Berlin, the other staffers have been busy organising things for us so that we do get our interview. What would we do without those girls?! And thank God for modern technology that we get informed about that by our international text messages…
We go back into a mall that’s on the Berlinale site to buy an adapter for Jo and AJ. When passing a cassette recorder, we start talking about our electronic devices for the events. “Do we have a dictaphone as well? Just in case we’re not allowed to film…” Of course not. Ah well, if they tell us we’re not allowed to film, we can always come back and buy one.

1.15 PM (7.15 AM)
Back outside, the tickets are safe in the depths of my Cherrybomb-bag, We decide to go to the “House of 100 beers”, as Jo wants to try German beer. We order our food and spend some time talking about Rupert, ICM, Rupert, Cherrybomb, Rupert, Germany, Rupert, Harry Potter, Rupert and what we’re going to do in the next two days. Our food has arrived, and while Jo enjoys her beer and AJ her whatever-they-mixed-together-drink, I finally get to know those girl a bit more than I ever did online.

5 PM (11 AM)
We set of for the press office. Take a wrong turn, go back, and find it. And not just it.
There’s this huge, nice and most of all REAL Cherrybomb poster in one of their windows. And it has the Berlinale sign on it.

We want to squee, but as the press people might see us, we stay in a professional mode and go inside. Jo gets the time and place for her interview with the directors and Kim and Rupert. “Do you have a dictaphone?” Claire asks. “Yes, sure” Jo replies. We exchange glances and keep quiet. We need to go back to that shop.
We go outside and finally let out the laughter we were trying to hold in, and take our picture of the poster. We text Ivana we got everything.

6.30 PM (12.30 PM)We rush back to the store to buy the dictaphone, with me trying to talk about electronic devices (which never work when I use them anyway) with the salesman in German, and translating and discussing with AJ and Jo in English. We decide which one we want and buy it. For ICM. And we need to send it to Ivana once Berlin is over for her Dublin coverage. We’re becoming really professional…

7 PM (1 PM)
While AJ and Jo go back to their hotel to finally check in and freshen up, I return to my friends place to get my laptop, camcorder and most importantly the 15 pages of printed questions from the questions threads in the forums. I hurry back to the girls’ hotel, texting Georg: “Meet me at the Alex at 8 PM under the world clock so I can give you the tickets”.

8.15 PM (2.15 PM)
We go to the Alex, which is short for “Alexanderplatz”, a big open place with shops and a world-time-clock. There are lots of people under said clock, but we find the right one: Georg. I finally tell him that we’re from ICM (which I didn’t do before so as not to scare him), and he’s so happy to get tickets that he offers us to get some coffee with him. We join him, as Jo is in desperate need of caffeine after being up for so long, and instead of finally sorting out our questions, we chat with Georg about Rupert and Cherrybomb. When he leaves, we finally start working on the questions for the Q&A…

Sunday 3 AM (Saturday 9 PM)
We got our questions together, and I’m on the tube to my friends to get at least some sleep. As the hotel has internet, we can leave some messages in the comments and forum, but tomorrow we’ll be doing the Live Ticker. At “home”, everyone’s asleep, so I pack my bag quietly, just so that I don’t need to worry about forgetting anything tomorrow.
As I have been sleeping no more than 4 hours for the past 2 ½ weeks (because my private life, ICM and work got too busy), I’m asleep as soon as I hit the pillow. No weird dreams. I’m off to Rupertland…

Click here to go to part 2 of Karo’s report!