Exclusive interview with James Pratt: Winner of the European Film Festival
James Pratt, was the only Australian to take out an award at this year’s Europe Film Festival with USA and European films scoring the most awards, Pratt who won Best Talent for his performance as host on the series, Conversation Hollywood is also a director on the series.
Besides hosting Conversation Hollywood, Pratt is about to commence filming on the new US comedy film, Fairway, as the lead actor while in December he’s attached to direct the feature film Skyline Mist in Los Angeles.
We met James to spill the tea on his career and success.
S!: Hi, James, how are you today?
JP: I’m doing great thanks,
S!: The world has dramatically changed is 2020, who would imagine! How did Covid-19 affect your life?
JP: I remember being in New York at the start of 2020 and within 2 weeks, I was back in Sydney and a week after that in lockdown, I tried to make the most of it and so I filmed the feature film, Malibu Crush in Sydney rather than Los Angeles in 2020 so that was a positive.
S!: What in your opinion is a long-term influence of the pandemic to the film industry?
JP: It’s changed the way content is viewed and also produced and at a rapid pace, the streamers (small screen) really took the cinema audience away and you saw films that were originally being made for the big screen, suddenly being released on streamers and in a new format. A lot of viewing content this way will stay in the future.
The other side of it was the rise of the independent film maker, you don’t need to be in the center of Hollywood now to get a film distributed. Streamers will produce and buy content from across the world.
S!: Tell us about your award for Best Talent at the Europe Film Festival, was it unexpected? What were your emotions getting it?
JP: Very unexpected, and very humbling. I’ve loved being on the series so winning was just a bonus. I’m very thankful.
S!: Can you tell us your most embarrassing moment while filming?
JP: Haha, out of acting school, I had a couple of episodes of a TV series as a guest role, but on my first day I didn’t realize the cast trailers were connected, so I started doing vocal and movement exercises in my trailer until the main actor on the show knocked on my door to ask if I was okay because they could hear someone fighting in my trailer.
S!: Who is the best partner to work with on the set?
JP: The director, I think it’s also a respectful thing, the director is the one who wants the best for you and you ride the ride together.
S!: You’ve been spoken highly of by Hollywood film producers, they say you are the next big star! Being talented in both acting and directing, what one is your favorite?
JP: That’s very kind of them, but I’m just someone who loves making films whether it’s directing or acting I absolutely love both.
S!: If you could perform together with anyone, dead or alive, who would it be?
JP: I’d love to work with the Farrelly brothers, Dumb and Dumber is my all-time favorite movie and I think those guys have just nailed comedy for such a long time.
S!: Who are the top 3 actors according to you right now?
JP: That’s so hard, every week that changes, I saw DiCaprio in person act and he did 10/10 perfect takes and was just incredible but I think the old school actors such as Ava Gardner and Audrey Hepburn were the most talented, you couldn’t save a bad performance in the editing suite like you can today.
S!: Who are the top 3 directors you’d like to work with?
JP: The Farrelly Brothers, Kathryn Bigelow, Clint Eastwood.
S!: What is your biggest dream right now?
JP: I think to get make movies that inspire and help people, especially comedies for sick kids and those needing a laugh,
S!: What are your upcoming big projects?
JP: Fairway is an exciting comedy in pre-production, Skyline Mist is a thriller set in Kansas and I have a couple of films being released between now and December.
S!: What is your motivational quote of the day?
JP: As long as you went for it 100% that’s all that matters.
S!: Thank you so much for being with us today!
Thank you so much for the chat, Have a nice day
Follow James Pratt on social media:
IG James_Pratt7
Twitter James_pratt7
YouTube James Pratt Official
