After discussing a lot of movies featuring Placebo songs on the soundtrack, today we will talk about a film where Brian Molko and his bandmates also appear as actors. So, this part of ‘Placebo & films’ series is dedicated to iconic, ‘lipstick-kissed’ ๐๐๐ฅ๐ฏ๐๐ญ ๐๐จ๐ฅ๐๐ฆ๐ข๐ง๐.
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Photo credits: Official poster, screenshots of the film / edit by Olga |
Acting was Brian’s first artistic passion which he consequently followed by studying at Goldsmith and getting a degree in drama.
๐พ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐
๐๐๐ ๐
๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐'๐ ๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐?
๐ข"I think I would have probably tried my hand at acting, because it was my first love."
(๐พ๐๐๐๐๐๐ "๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐ค๐๐กโ ๐ต๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐", ๐๐๐ก'00)
๐๐๐ฅ๐ฏ๐๐ญ ๐๐จ๐ฅ๐๐ฆ๐ข๐ง๐ (1998) is a musical drama film written and directed by Todd Haynes, co-produced by Michael Stipe (REM), starring Ewan McGregor, Jonathn Rhys Meyers, Christian Bale. The film won the award for the Best Artistic Contribution at the 1998 Cannes Film Festival. and a BAFTA Award for Best Costume Design.
You may read more about the costume design for the film in this article:
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https://bit.ly/3fHkfOF |
Scene from Velvet Goldmine |
Set in Britain during the early 1970s, the movie is an exploration of the glam rock era. Taking its name from the ๐ซ๐๐๐๐
๐ฉ๐๐๐๐’๐ ๐๐๐๐ of the same name, Velvet Goldmine tells the story of a fictional glam rock star Brian Slade, sexually fluid and androgynous person, who was patterned after David Bowie, Jobriath and, to a lesser extent, Marc Bolan [original writer of 20th Century Boy].
๐ข๐๐จ๐๐ ๐๐๐ฒ๐ง๐๐ฌ explained he had ‘a very modest goal’ for his experimental film: “I want to turn every gay person straight, and every straight person gay.” (๐ท๐๐ง๐๐, ๐๐๐ก๐๐๐๐ 2018)
David Bowie initially disapproved of the film and its many similarities with his life story, and threatened to sue. So, the script had to be rewritten to create more distance between the character and the real man. Obviously, Bowie vetoed the proposal that his songs appear in the film.
All three then members of Placebo got the roles in the film: ๐๐ซ๐ข๐๐ง ๐๐จ๐ฅ๐ค๐จ and ๐๐ญ๐๐ฏ๐ ๐๐๐ฐ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ were playing members of the Flaming Creatures (Malcolm and Billy respectively) and ๐๐ญ๐๐๐๐ง ๐๐ฅ๐ฌ๐๐๐ฅ was playing Polly Small's bassist. Another member of the Flaming Creatures, Pearl, was played by ๐๐๐ฏ๐ข๐จ๐ซ (Paul Wilkinson), former lead singer of the band DexDexTer and, later, in 2003-2005, a keyboard player for Placebo on tour.
For the soundtrack, Placebo created “one of the best and most glittery musical performances in the film – the fictional band The Flaming Creatures’ biting, almost gothic rendition of T. Rex’s ๐๐๐ญ๐ก ๐๐๐ง๐ญ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ฒ ๐๐จ๐ฒ.” (๐โ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ค๐ , ๐ด๐๐๐๐ 2007)
Brian also sang a small part of the song ๐๐ข๐ญ๐ญ๐๐ซ๐ฌ๐ฐ๐๐๐ญ, performed by another fictional band, The Venus In Furs.
๐๐ท๐๐๐
In 1984, British journalist Arthur Stuart is writing an article about the career, withdrawal from public life and death hoax of 1970s glam superstar Brian Slade by interviewing those who had a part in the entertainer's career. Recalling their thoughts, each person contributes to revealing a particular segment in Slade's personal and professional life.
Part of the story involves Stuart's family's reaction to his homosexuality, and how the gay and bisexual glam rock stars and music scene gave him the strength to come out. Rock shows, fashion, and rock journalism all play a role in showing the youth culture of 1970s Britain, as well as the gay culture of the time.
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Scene from Velvet Goldmine |
✨๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐ป๐๐
๐
๐ฏ๐๐๐๐๐' ๐๐๐๐๐-๐๐๐๐๐
๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ฝ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ฎ๐๐๐
๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐
๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐
๐๐-๐๐๐๐
-๐๐๐๐๐๐
-๐๐๐-๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ท๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐
๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐'๐
๐๐๐๐๐๐. ๐ป๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐
๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐
๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ '๐๐๐๐'. ๐ป๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ด๐๐๐ ๐ฉ๐๐๐๐'๐ 20๐๐ ๐ช๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐๐, ๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐
, ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ ๐
๐๐๐๐. ๐ฉ๐๐๐๐ ๐ด๐๐๐๐ ๐
๐๐๐๐๐, ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐, ๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐
๐ '70๐ ๐๐๐๐๐, ‘๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐
๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐.' ๐ป๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐
๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ด๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐
๐ท๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐
๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐บ๐๐๐๐ ๐ฏ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐
๐ป๐๐ ๐ญ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ช๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐; '๐๐๐๐๐
๐๐๐๐๐,' ๐ด๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐, '๐ 1920'๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐.'
'๐ด๐๐,' ๐๐๐๐
๐๐๐ ๐ท๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐บ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ถ๐๐๐
๐๐, ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐. '๐ฐ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐.'
(๐บ๐ข๐๐ก๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ง๐๐๐ "๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ข๐กโ๐ ", ๐๐๐ก'98)
๐ฅ๐๐๐ฅ๐ฏ๐๐ญ ๐๐จ๐ฅ๐๐ฆ๐ข๐ง๐ – ๐ฆ๐จ๐ฏ๐ข๐ ๐ญ๐ซ๐๐ข๐ฅ๐๐ซ
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https://bit.ly/2COej7Y๐ฌ๐๐ฅ๐๐๐๐๐จ ๐ข๐ง ๐๐๐ฅ๐ฏ๐๐ญ ๐๐จ๐ฅ๐๐ฆ๐ข๐ง๐
๐
https://bit.ly/2OUNcep๐ถ๐๐ฅ๐๐๐๐๐จ - ๐๐๐ญ๐ก ๐๐๐ง๐ญ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ฒ ๐๐จ๐ฒ
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https://bit.ly/3hkM8we๐ฌ๐๐ฅ๐๐๐๐๐จ ๐๐ญ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐๐ฅ๐ฏ๐๐ญ ๐๐จ๐ฅ๐๐ฆ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ฉ๐ซ๐๐ฆ๐ข๐๐ซ๐, ๐๐๐๐
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https://bit.ly/2CMUpKxNo doubt, it was an interesting experience for Placebo mixed, at the same time, with some contradictions. The fact that David Bowie disliked the script made the movie a bit complicated topic to discuss with him, but, noteworthy, it never really became a bigger problem for their friendship with Brian. And more, David performed 20th Century Boy together with Placebo at the Brit award ceremony in 1999.
We can also follow Brian’s opinion on this experience changing over time. First, he was excited about trying himself as an actor in a big project and getting a chance to work with one of his favorite directors. He really enjoyed acting and was quite ready for another proposal. Although, later, the idea started to look not so attractive as they didn’t want Placebo to become kind of a ‘band on a rent’ for movies.
I gathered some quotes and excerpts of the articles and interviews from different years, so you can make your own conclusions.
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Making of Velvet Goldmine |
๐ข"It's a subject we don't bring up with David because he's doing his own Ziggy Stardust movie, but he's not holding it against us," Molko explains. "We became the Flaming Creatures, a trashy group obviously inspired by The New York Dolls. We did a cover of T-Rex's `20th-Century Boy'; we wanted to drag it up to the Nineties. It's a real high point of the film, full of colour, it really grabs you. This could be the end of my movie career, but I would like to do more."
(๐ต๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐, ๐ผ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ก, ๐ด๐ข๐๐ข๐ ๐ก 21, 1998)
๐พ๐๐ ๐
๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ฝ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ฎ๐๐๐
๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐-๐๐๐
๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐?
๐ข๐๐ซ๐ข๐๐ง: Because you obviously didn’t understand it. It’s a great love story, it’s a feast of colour and music.
๐ข๐๐ญ๐๐๐๐ง: And it has the most beautiful scene of two men kissing, ever.
(๐๐๐ธ "๐๐๐ ๐ ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ด๐ก๐ก๐๐๐", ๐ท๐๐'98)
๐๐๐๐๐๐: Brian, you played a part in the movie Velvet Goldmine and I heard that you have a drama background...
๐ข๐๐๐๐๐: I like acting. I really do and I wish I could do it more often – at least I’m more qualified than Courtney – but still, I don’t think I will have all that much time for it, you know, but it’s something I’ll keep in mind. I need to do something creative, that was always my motivation. At the moment it’s music, and the band has become my life, but there is always a possibility that I might go back to acting. After all, I graduated from drama school, Goldsmiths College.
(๐๐ ๐
๐๐๐ "๐ผ๐๐ก๐๐๐ฃ๐๐๐ค ๐ค๐๐กโ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐", ๐ฝ๐๐'99)
๐ข"It had its problems, including budget, but I think it's a beautiful film. It's a fantasy. People shouldn't expect it to be a docu-drama on glam rock because it's a love story. But it's the bane of our experience, we have to defend it in every interview. If I hear the 'Are you a glam band?' question one more time I'm going to explode."
(๐ป๐๐ก ๐๐ข๐ ๐๐, "๐๐ข๐ก๐ ๐๐๐ ๐โ๐ ๐ฟ๐๐๐", ๐ด๐๐๐๐ 29, 1999)
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Promo for Velvet Goldmine |
๐ข"… Take for instance, a recent backstage incident at San Francisco's Warfield Theatre … As the discussion moved on to movies, Todd Hayne's Velvet Goldmine was mentioned, which instantly brought one young hotshot out of his aloof shell. "That picture sucked!" he boldly declared. "Every last frame of it ... I hated it so much, I walked out on it near the end!" Molko's eyes brightened, like a cat when it's just scented a mouse in the house. "Oh yeah?" he asked, moving to face his opponent. "Is that how you truly feel about it?"
The loudmouth didn't even see it coming. "Hell yes!" he shot back. "Velvet Goldmine was a complete waste of time for everyone involved." "Really?" grinned the Placeban with barely contained delight. "Well, guess what! I was in that film, you fucking idiot! The director is a friend of mine, I worked really hard on all my scenes, and we all love how the movie turned out. Soooo ·" and Molko raised his right hand, middle finger extended, until it was directly in front of the poor pretender's nose. "FUCK YOU!" A guillotine beheading couldn't have been more effective. The kid could only stammer, turn red and bleatingly admit that he hadnรขt really seen the flick - he was only parroting some reviews he'd read. Too late - Molko had already turned his back."
(๐๐ข๐๐ ๐ "๐บ๐๐ก ๐๐ข๐ก ๐๐๐ข๐ ๐ถ๐๐๐ค๐ ", ๐ด๐๐'00)
๐๐๐๐ฌ๐ข๐ฑ: You didn't keep it a secret that you worked on the movie The Velvet Goldmine. How do you feel about having worked on that movie?
๐ข๐๐ซ๐ข๐๐ง: I'm content with it. The rest of the band has another opinion about it though. I think the film really suffered from the budget being cut down with 50%. It was a bit too long and some of the rolls didn't have the right actors for it. But it's the only film I've been in and I'm proud of it.
๐๐๐๐ฌ๐ข๐ฑ: Any further movie ambitions?
๐ข๐๐ซ๐ข๐๐ง: To be honest, no. I've been offered some parts but as the years go by I become less interested in one. We have been offered the part of Judas Priest in the movie Rock Star with Jennifer Anniston and Mark Wahlberg. But I've learned that I don't want to end like some band in a movie. And other than some Vampire parts I haven't been offered anything I like. And the more I think about it the more I find that it's dangerous for someone that makes music to become and actor. It just has to be something good.
(๐ท๐๐ด๐ ๐๐ฅ "๐ต๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐", ๐๐๐'03)
๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐ ๐
๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐
๐๐๐๐, ๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐'๐
๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐?
๐ขNo, again, I don't have the same concerns as these hip-hop guys like Ludacris who need to have a parallel film career along with their music career. I don't have time, being in this band takes up all of my time and I'm ludicrously out of practice.
(๐๐พ! ๐๐๐๐๐ง๐๐๐ ๐ด๐ข๐ ๐ก๐๐๐๐๐ "๐ต๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐", ๐ฝ๐ข๐'09)
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Scene from Velvet Goldmine |