The Upcoming
  • Culture
    • Art
    • Cinema
      • Movie reviews
      • Film festivals
    • Food & Drinks
      • News & Features
      • Restaurant & bar reviews
      • Interviews & Recipes
    • Literature
    • Music
      • Live music
    • Theatre
    • Shows & On demand
  • Fashion & Lifestyle
    • Accessories
    • Beauty
    • News & Features
    • Shopping & Trends
    • Tips & How-tos
    • Fashion weeks
  • What’s On
    • Art exhibitions
    • Theatre shows
  • Tickets
  • Join us
    • Editorial unit
    • Our writers
    • Join the team
    • Join the mailing list
    • Fund us
    • Contact us
  • Interviews
  • Competitions
  • Special events
    • Film festivals
      • Berlin
      • Tribeca
      • Cannes
      • Sundance London
      • Venice
      • London
      • Toronto
    • Fashion weeks
      • London Fashion Week
      • New York Fashion Week
      • Milan Fashion Week
      • Paris Fashion Week
      • Haute Couture
      • London Fashion Week Men’s
  • Facebook

  • Twitter

  • Instagram

  • YouTube

  • Tumblr

  • RSS


London Film Festival 2014

Whiplash UK premiere: A quick chat with cast and crew

Whiplash UK premiere: A quick chat with cast and crew
19 October 2014
Stuart Boyland
Stuart Boyland
Avatar
Stuart Boyland
19 October 2014

If the reception from critics is anything to go by, Whiplash, the semi-autobiographical feature from fledgling director Damien Chazelle (Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench) could well be the film of the 2014 London Film Festival. Starring Miles Teller as jazz drumming protégé Andrew, and J.K. Simmons as the teacher who moulds him in unorthodox and ruthless fashion, Whiplash provides a compelling study of the dark side so often at play behind the drive for artistic perfection.

The achingly cool jazz soundtrack pumped onto the red carpet at Leicester Square’s Odeon Cinema for the premiere was accompanied, appropriately enough, by the incessant drumming of heavy rain. The Upcoming braved the deluge to chat with Chazelle, Simmons, and producer Helen Estabrook.

Damien, what was it like expanding the short film to feature-length?

Damien Chazelle: It definitely made it easier in the sense that it was kind of like the rehearsal that we didn’t otherwise have, but it’s tough, because you’re trying to get into the tempo of, and redo, something that you’ve already done – so it had its own challenges, but it helped in the end.

Helen, what was the response like at Sundance?

Helen Estabrook: Yeah, it was really wonderful. I think we were all quite nervous going into that screening, because we weren’t sure quite what that screening was going to be like, and we were the opening night film, so nothing had been seen or talked about yet. We were all quite nervous, but the response was everything we could have hoped for it was a true joy.

J.K. would you agree that agree that the final scene represents a portrayal of the extremes of pure art?

J.K. Simmons: Absolutely, I think that at that high end of performance in the arts, people are capable of pushing themselves and others to the very edge.

Stuart Boyland

Whiplash is released nationwide on 16th January 2014.

For further information about the BFI London Film Festival visit here.

Read more reviews from the festival here.

Watch the trailer for Whiplash here:

Related Itemsdamien chazellafilmhelen estabrookinterviewjazzjk simmonsmoviepremierered carpet

More in London Film Festival 2014

Fury

★★★★★
Cassia Morrice
Read More

Mommy

★★★★★
Liloie Cazorla
Read More

Far from Men

★★★★★
Joe Manners Lewis
Read More

Three Hearts

★★★★★
Cassia Morrice
Read More

Wild Life

★★★★★
Alex Finch
Read More

Loreak

★★★★★
Cassia Morrice
Read More

The President

★★★★★
Cassia Morrice
Read More

A Little Chaos premiere: A chat with the cast on the red carpet

Yassine Senghor
Read More

The Town That Dreaded Sundown

★★★★★
Michael John
Read More
Scroll for more
Tap

Tickets

Theatre tickets

  • Popular

  • Latest

  • TOP PICKS

  • Project Gastronomía: How will Londoners eat in 2050? A symposium on gastronomy and multisensory design
    Food & Drinks
  • Gregory Porter at the Royal Albert Hall
    ★★★★★
    Live music
  • Bat Out of Hell at the Dominion Theatre
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
  • Tribeca Film Festival 2018: On the red carpet with the stars of Westworld season 2
    Cinema
  • Half Breed
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
  • 10 cute sandals for spring
    Fashion & Lifestyle
  • Justin Nozuka at the Garage
    ★★★★★
    Live music
  • Mayfly at the Orange Tree Theatre
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
  • Sherlock Gnomes premiere: A chat with James McAvoy, his co-stars and the film’s creators
    Cinema
  • The Outsider
    ★★★★★
    Movie review
  • Sherlock Gnomes premiere: A chat with James McAvoy, his co-stars and the film’s creators
    Cinema
  • Tokio Myers at the Forum
    ★★★★★
    Live music
  • Beast
    ★★★★★
    Movie review
  • Lisa Stansfield at the London Palladium
    ★★★★★
    Live music
  • Bat Out of Hell at the Dominion Theatre
    ★★★★★
    Theatre

Instagram

Something is wrong. Response takes too long or there is JS error. Press Ctrl+Shift+J or Cmd+Shift+J on a Mac.
The Upcoming
Pages
  • Contact us
  • Fund us
  • Join mailing list
  • Join us
  • New London restaurant openings and pop-ups
  • Our London food map
  • Our writers
  • Subscribe
  • What, when, why

Copyright © 2018 FL Media Ltd

London Film Festival 2014: Robot Overlords | Review
The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Them – James McAvoy and Ned Benson on the red carpet