Reese Witherspoon has stepped into the world of intercourse, medication, and rock and roll. Her newest mission as govt producer is Daisy Jones & the Six, a wild musical drama that particulars the rise and fall of a fictional ’70s rock band. Tailored from the best-selling 2019 novel of the identical title by Taylor Jenkins Reid, the story facilities on the titular band—impressed by Stevie Nicks and her time with Fleetwood Mac—and unfolds docudrama-style, with the band’s members discussing their successes, drug-fueled amorous affairs, betrayal, and heartache.
“I like that the story reads like a VH1 Behind the Music documentary. It feels so actual, and so specific in a time and place,” Witherspoon instructed Vainness Honest on the Amazon Prime Video collection’ world premiere in Hollywood on Thursday evening. “Something was attainable in that point—the connection between artists was completely totally different. It’s actually stunning. And the music is bananas! The music actually drives the story, and the chemistry between Riley and Sam is simply the very best.”
That might be Riley Keough—daughter of the late Lisa Marie Presley and the granddaughter of Elvis Presley—and British actor Sam Claflin, greatest referred to as Finnick Odair from the Starvation Video games franchise. Keough stars as Daisy, the fiery lead singer who has an advanced relationship along with her bandmate, Claflin’s Billy Dunne. Contemplating Keough’s rock-and-roll pedigree, it’s onerous to imagine that she had no musical expertise or coaching previous to taking this position.
“I don’t take into account myself a singer. My earlier expertise was singing within the bathe. That’s just about it,” mentioned Keough on the arrivals carpet previous to the screening. “Everybody retains on asking me if I used to be born to play this position due to my household, and truthfully, I used to be born to play each position that I’ve performed up to now. I took this position as a result of I’ve been desirous to sing, since I had by no means sung earlier than. I labored actually onerous and put in lots of hours for a yr and a half. It wasn’t an in a single day type of factor.”
Riley Keough as Daisy Jones in “Daisy Jones and the Six.”Courtesy of Amazon Studios.
Earlier than her sudden dying on January 12, Lisa Marie Presley was proud that her daughter had taken on a musical position. “She was so excited. I used to be fearful, and she or he actually supported me,” mentioned Keough. “There have been some actually difficult songs, and she or he helped me focus and imagine in myself.”
“She’s very quiet and soft-spoken in actual life, and she or he actually remodeled herself and introduced such rock star vitality” to the collection, mentioned Witherspoon. “She completely transforms when she will get on the stage. It’s like watching a butterfly emerge from a chrysalis.”
Claflin, who performs the band’s charismatic singer and lead guitarist, additionally got here to the position with out a lot musical expertise. He practiced guitar till his fingers bled, he says—although he had a bit of additional time as a consequence of COVID delays, which remodeled a rigorous 5 weeks of musical coaching right into a yr and a half.
“This was essentially the most daunting position I’ve ever performed. There was a lot to tackle musically. I needed to play the guitar whereas singing and studying the stage motion. I additionally needed to communicate with an American accent, and drop some pounds—it was all a problem, truthfully,” mentioned Claflin, who primarily based his stage persona on Bruce Springsteen. “There have been many moments I assumed, What the hell did I get myself into? It’s nonetheless very daunting that folks might be judging what I didn’t solely actingwise, however vocally as nicely.”
Beforehand, Claflin auditioned for the movie diversifications of each Les Misérables and Cats—and by no means bought a callback. “It was a catastrophe, actually. I failed miserably,” he mentioned. However Billy Dunne, who struggles with drug dependancy and sudden fatherhood, is a task that he related with personally.
“I felt like I actually understood my character. We went by lots of the identical points—not by the dependancy facet, however the wrestle of juggling work and household life. His concern of failure is one thing that I can relate to,” mentioned Claflin, the daddy of two youngsters. “He’s human, and I simply wish to guarantee that individuals perceive him.”
Govt producer Lauren Neustadter and her govt producer husband, Scott Neustadter, instantly noticed Daisy Jones’s adaptive potential.
“I feel the ladies on this present are remarkably multidimensional, and the relationships are so complicated. Despite the fact that there’s battle, there’s all the time dialog, there’s all the time thoughtfulness and sensitivity,” mentioned Lauren, who can be the top of movie and TV at Witherspoon’s Hi there Sunshine manufacturing firm. “I hope viewers will savor the way in which girls deal with each other. We frequently don’t see this on tv, and I actually hope they love the music.”
The music within the present is unique, that includes songwriting contributions from Blake Mills, Phoebe Bridgers, and Marcus Mumford. Every member of the band—the forged consists of Suki Waterhouse, Josh Whitehouse, Will Harrison, and Sebastian Chacon—attended a months-long band camp that consisted of one-on-one instruction and group rehearsal. Through the pandemic, the actors even practiced performing collectively over Zoom.
“When you’re a musician and in case you had something to do with devices, ’70s music had an affect in your life—whether or not you recognize it or not,” mentioned Mumford on the premiere. “They made seven-minute songs within the ’70s. It felt much less algorithm-based. Attending to entry a few of that spirit musically and recreating it for contemporary audiences was actually enjoyable.”
Mumford was additionally blown away by Claflin and Keough’s singing. “Truly, I used to be a bit pissed off, as a result of that is my fucking job. They arrive in with what looks like no expertise and completely smashed it out of the park. I’m a bit pissed off about it.”
