Empire Australasia - 03.2020

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STERLING

K. BROWN

Hi Sterling. You’re in

remarkable shape for

a 43-year-old man.

I appreciate that. I try to

sweat for an hour a day.

Then you have to be mindful

of what you put into your

body. If you want your car to

run its best, you got to put

the right kind of fuel into it.

Can you still have a bit

of fun though?

Absolutely. I’m not a

teetotaller by any stretch of

the imagination. Moderation

in all things. I enjoy French

fries. I enjoy desserts.

I enjoy a cocktail or two.

That’s very comforting.

What’s your go-to treat?

Hands-down, French toast.

A very specifi c one at a

restaurant that I go to in LA

once a week. They make a

bread-pudding French toast.

Bread pudding?

Yes. I look forward to it

every Sunday and every

Sunday it never disappoints.

Do you want to give it a

plug or keep it to yourself?

Good question. No, I’ll give

them a plug because they’ve

been good to me. The name

of the restaurant is Akasha

in Culver City.

If you can’t get a table

there now, it’s your fault.

If I go there on Sunday

and I can’t get French

toast, that will be what’s

upsetting. ANDREW DICKENS

WAVES DOESN’T CURRENTLY HAVE

AN AUSTRALIAN RELEASE DATE

SMALL

TALK

How I accidentally

made a Daniel

Radcliffe meme

No. / 3

THERE IS A chance that a few years ago you

caught an unnerving meme of Daniel Radcliffe

circulating the internet, the wand and wizard’s

hat replaced with two guns and bear claw

slippers. Oh, and he’s not wearing any trousers.

“Harry Potter and the Chamber of Bullets”

read one hot take.

The somewhat alarming snap was taken

on the set ofGuns Akimbo, an “over-the-

top, Mad Max punk” action film from New

Zealand filmmaker Jason Lei Howden. “People

thought that it was a marketing team doing

it, but it was totally organic,” he says of the

viral hit. “Now a lot of the reactions to the

trailer are, ‘Oh look, it’s the movie based on

that meme.’”

For the director and self-confessed meme

fiend (“The one of the two women yelling

at the cat is my favourite”), no-one fitted

the bill for his unassuming hero better than

Radcliffe. “I wanted to do an ’80s homage

action movie where the protagonist isn’t like

Arnold Schwarzenegger,” he explains, though

he does cite The Running Man and The

Terminator as infl uences.

“Dan was the fi rst person we went to,” he

says. “He called and said, “Dude, I loved this

script!”, then spoke passionately about the

character for half an hour straight.” Radcliff e

plays Miles, a gaming developer who is attacked

and awakens the new contestant of a gladiator-

style contest called Skizm (“I wanted it to look

nu metal, like Korn spelled with a K”). He also

has a gun stapled to each hand.

“It was about placing someone who was

really uncomfortable with violence in a very

violent situation. There’s also a scene where he

has to relieve himself with the guns on his hands

that’s great.” Miles is pitted against Nix, an

“insane assassin” played by Ready Or Not’s

break-out star Samara Weaving.

Guns Akimbo has already garnered

a cult following since its premiere at Toronto

International Film Festival. But with its

murderous makeover of Hogwart’s biggest

export, the movie will be hoping that it outlives

the meme. BETH WEBB

GUNS AKIMBO IS IN CINEMAS NOW

Top to bottom: Nice guns, Miles;

Hey, you look familiar...are you any

relation to Bill’s daughter, Thea?

The director behind barmy

high-concept actioner

Guns Akimbo on his fi lm’s

inadvertent internet fame

PREVIEW