My latest assignment is for the latest cover story with the ever so popular Jake Wilson. He’s got a busy schedule at the moment so we’re having the interview on set of his upcoming TV show Of Monsters & Heroes & Men there’s people rushing around the set, various actors and actresses rehearsing their lines and in the middle of all of this is a very calm and cheerfull Jake Wilson.
He walks over to me and offers his hand to shake, we exchance pleasantry’s and make our way into the rehearsal audiences seats.So is this show going to be recorded in front of a studio audience?
“No, we’re still at the early stages, It’s been pushed back a little bit so we’re just trying to perfect things right now and I think the best way of gauging certain scenes is to have an audience in during rehearsals. But the show isn’t really gonna be shot in a studio. We’re heading into a small town which will remain anonymous for obvious reasons and we’ll be filming in actual buildings, for the school scenes we’re gonna be shooting in a real school, we’ll be doing the same for all the other buildings in the show, the houses and the local mall will be used heavily, it’s a pretty long process which relies on timing.”
And it’s a bit of a change for you?
“Well yeah, I guess it is. I’ve mainly worked in film, but It’s slightly different for me, I’ve written the script from scratch, I’ll be directing and pretty much everything apart from acting in it, it‘s a very bizarre thing for me not acting in it because I‘ve got this vision for it and I know what I want from it but that‘s something I‘ll learn to ease off on with time. I’ve got a cast that I believe I can trust and a crew which I’ve worked closely with before and have a very good working relationship with.”
So any big names going to be popping up on this show?
“I wanted the main core of the cast to be unknown actors and actresses. There’s a girl called Jenna Meyers, she’s 19 years old and she’s playing one of the lead roles and she’s such an incredible actress, her attention to detail is impeccable, really something special and I think this could be a great springboard for her career. There’s also the actor who plays the male lead called Edward Ritter and again he’s incredible, he’s 20 years old and his ability to change from serious to care-free is great, it’s tough to find that balance but he does it with such ease. I think they’re both gonna be huge and the supporting cast is a fantastic ensemble.”
What about guest stars, you’re a pretty well known name and I’m sure you’ll have a lot of pull within the entertainment industry?
“There’s a couple of names I’ve got on board already and I’ve got a couple of names that I’m gonna be trying my best to get on the show. Brittany has a brief guest starring role in the first season which is good because I’ve seen her ability and she could break into film pretty easily if she wanted to. There’s also a very good friend of mine who will be appearing in the first season as a recurring guest star, that’s Mikki, she’s an amazing actress so it’s a pretty great coup for us to get her on the show so early on but I think she’s interested in the show.”
Now I don’t want to cause problems because I’ve read that your in a relationship but there’s been a little bit of flirting between yourself and Mikki?
“Oh, I like Mikki she’s very entertaining to say the least and we get along great I think it was evident when she appeared on Late Night but we’re just very good friends, I don’t think there’s anything more to that really, Mikki’s a flirty kind of girl but it doesn‘t mean anything.”
So are the rumours about yourself and Brittany true?
“Well it’s hardly been a secret. We try to avoid the question because we’re both focussed on our own things right now and it’s important for us to be known for our working achievements rather than being in a celebrity relationship, but yeah the rumours are true. We’re both very different but we’re also both very similar, I think she’s amazing. I think that’s been evident since “that joke”, I have a tendancy to say things that I later think, what was I doing. But she was incredibly fine with the joke, she came up to me after the show and congratulated me on hosting it so well and we just got talking and things just blossomed from there, but we never really spent much time together after that show until she became my first guest on late night and I just became head over heels. In the face of all the critisim she has been so noble and just got on with what she was doing and took all the punches and kicks and continued to get back up and right now she’s enjoying the adulation of most of her peers which is so pleasing to see, I know how hard she’s worked at her music.”
And Late Night was a massive hit, series 2 coming soon?
“Yeah it’s been a surprising success, I love music so to get to interview some of the best musicians around is like heaven. There will definitely be a series 2 and I’ve already got a couple of guests lined up, I have no idea when it will return but I’m sure it will and hopefully it will be better because the first series was me just sort of learning how to do the job, hopefully the second season can eclipse the first because that’s always the aim.”
Any dream guests?
“I was lucky enough to interview some of the best acts in music in my first series and that was incredible. Ryan Ross Hernandez, Stephanie Fierce, GirlSpice, Mikki Moo and Brittany Knox was an amazing list to kick off the 1st series. Miss Vanity is someone I’m gonna be trying to get on the show at some point, but we‘ll see what happens.”
You’ve also taken over Junction Records, any changes planned?
“No, I want to try to build on what Max and Lucy created, I won’t be making radical changes. There’s some names I’d look at signing but right now I think we’ve got some of the best acts in music. It’s going to be tough to challenge the other labels but I’ll try to do everything in my power to keep the artists happy.”
Does your sudden fame surprise you?
“Yeah it does. I guess my most succesfull work prior to the hall of fame was mainly behind the scenes. I mean sure I’ve played the lead roles in a couple of moderately succesfull films but I’ve always been more interested in the creation process of directing or writing or producing. Being the lead actor is of course great and it has it’s perks but for me direction and writing is something I’m probably more interested in. But I surprisingly got the call to host the hall of fame awards and I of course accepted it straight away and it kinda threw me into the limelight from that opening joke to the chat show. It’s been a big whirlwind and I think I’m handling it pretty well.”
And what are your plans beyond the TV series?
“So far nothing, I think this series will take quite a lot of my time, probably take me into maybe May 2011. Hopefully I’ll be doing other things during that time and I’d like to see Late Night return before the end of this year. Running a label takes up quite a bit of time also and I kind of just want to try and live my life. I’m 28 years old so hopefully I don’t peak too soon. I’m also looking to do some album production. But for now I’m happy with things.”
And what about say 5 years down the line, what would you like?
“I’d like to continue to be working in film, preferably direction. I’d like to be in a serious relationship, I guess I’d like to be married maybe have a kid or be planning on having kids. But the main thing is for me to be happy, hopefully I’ve got the same group of friends and hopefully I’m enjoying life.”
And is Brittany the person you could see yourself marrying and having kids with?
“I’d rather not answer that question. We’ve only been dating for a short amount of time and we’ve not even come close to discussing the future. I’m happy right now and I’m pretty sure she’s happy right now. If you ask me in two years then I think I’d be able to give you a definitive answer but would I be happy being married to Brittany, of course but like I say it‘s at an early stage and it may last a couple more weeks or it may last forever you just don‘t know.”
We hope you get everything you want, it’s been a pleasure talking to you and good luck on everything from the TV Series to the relationship to the label, you deserve it all.
Edited by user 18 November 2010 04:47:00(UTC)
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