Peel back the mystery of the Glass Onion...
AS THE KNIVES OUT SEQUEL COMES TO NETFLIX, RACHAEL DAVIS CHATS WITH STAR DANIEL CRAIG, DIRECTOR RIAN JOHNSON AND NEW CAST MEMBERS TO FIND OUT MORE
ON A private island in Greece, eyewateringly wealthy tech company owner Miles Bron is hosting a murder mystery party.
He has invited an eclectic mix of friends: his company’s head scientist Lionel, ex-supermodel turned fashion designer Birdie and her assistant Peg, politician Claire, Twitch streamer and men’s rights activist Duke and his girlfriend Whiskey, plus his estranged former business partner Andi.
Also arriving on the island is the world-famous detective Benoit Blanc, whose presence hints that everything may not be as it seems at this whodunnit soirée.
Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery follows director Rian Johnson’s celebrated 2019 movie, with Daniel Craig returning as Benoit alongside an ensemble of livewire characters.
Wealth and its power is a central theme of the film, made clear by the brash billionaire persona of Edward Norton’s Miles and those who revolve around him – including Janelle Monae as Andi, Kathryn Hahn as Claire, Dave Bautista as Duke and Kate Hudson as Birdie.
When we meet Benoit, he is suffering intellectually from the apparent lack of high-profile murders during Covid lockdowns.
Former James Bond actor Daniel says that while he does allow some “little glimpses” into the man behind the impeccable outfits and endearing Southern accent in Glass Onion, he is eager to ensure the mystique around Blanc remains.
“I am very keen on just hoping that he remains a bit of an enigma,” says the 54-year-old.
“I think it’s important. I don’t really want to get a backstory... maybe one day we’ll think about that. But I feel like it’s not relevant to the movies – the movies are about his interaction with these incredible, larger than life characters.
“I think it’s important that we’re not sure who he is, really.
Daniel says he spent his time leading up to the shoot building on his character in his own mind, figuring out his quirks and idiosyncrasies, and crafting how the detective will play his role in the mystery.
“I do tons of work when I’m not on set, which is the weeks leading up to when we start shooting, I’m talking and talking and talking about it, every day almost, and thinking about it every day,” he says.
“I think about things and I don’t set anything in stone, because it’s all useful. It doesn’t really matter. On the day when you shoot it, it’s like, if that works, that works.”
Director Rian says of the Knives Out films: “First and foremost, these movies are made as big entertainment, so we put things in them that we want to say, but hopefully that all lies underneath it just being a really fun thing to watch.
“But the other thing about these movies, the whole reason behind them, was to take this genre I love of this classic whodunnit and just unapologetically set it in modern day America, and the modern day
world, and really engage with the present moment.
“So that means we’re going to be laughing and talking and poking fun at stuff that is in all of our minds right now at the moment, and [the theme of wealth and its shortcomings] is something that’s in our minds at the moment, I think.”
Filming in Greece, where a gorgeous villa becomes the ostentatious ‘glass onion’-topped compound for dubious billionaire Miles, was a delight for cast and creator alike.
“It was a big search,” says Rian of finding the perfect house for the occasion. “It’s on the mainland in Greece. It’s not on a little island, that’s movie magic.
“It’s this place called Villa 20, which is this cluster of villas that’s owned by this lovely couple. And with the exception of the ‘glass onion’, which we added in post production, it’s exactly what you see.
“The whole place has this gorgeous design but also slightly eerie vibe to it. It just instantly felt perfect for what we needed.”
Working closely with Daniel in Glass Onion is actor and musician Janelle, who says she was inspired by the production from the moment she read the script.
“It’s an honour to play a character like Andi, who’s this tech entrepreneur, super smart,” says the Make Me Feel singer, 37.
“When I read the script, I was blown away by the whole concept.
“Being able to work with Rian Johnson, the way that he innovates in this whodunnit space, made me want to be a part of it.
“These characters... they just come right off the page. And my character in particular is mysterious. I had so much to play with.
“This is the first comedy I’ve been in. The comedic elements... I needed it, my soul needed that.
“I just think that Andi has a lot to say. She’s a connector. She and Miles have history. And you’ll have to find out why.”
This connection between characters is central to Rian’s storytelling in Glass Onion, encouraging the audience to follow the threads and see what ties them all together.
Hamilton star Leslie Odom Jr., who plays Lionel, says developing this ‘frenemy’ dynamic between the lines of the script was “interesting”, because “Rian’s plotting is so great, but part of the richness is those grace notes, part of the richness is what’s unspoken between the characters”.
“I felt like when we got toward the end of the film, because we’d spent so much time together, we built some of that stuff. Some of that stuff was there without us even knowing it,” he says.
“We really learned how to dance together, and breathe together.”
The 41-year-old adds: “These are so rare, these kinds of projects. It’s a slight risk, of course, because the first movie is now – it’s, beloved. “So it’s a slight risk, but a risk that you got to take if you get invited. If you get invited to be part of a Rian Johnson movie, say yes. It’s pretty great.”
■ Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery is on Netflix from Friday
the summer of 1987, shortly before cinema audiences had the time of their lives with Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey in Dirty Dancing, Whitney Houston bopped to the summit of singles charts around the globe with her infectious anthem I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me).
The world danced with the fresh-faced 23-year-old R&B diva, who was midway through a record-breaking streak of seven consecutive number one singles in America – a feat unequalled to this day – as discontent simmered among some fans about her cultural responsibilities as a black superstar in a predominantly white pop world.
“A common criticism of you is that your music isn’t black enough,” a radio host remarks in director Kasi Lemmons’ glossy biopic, which charts the singer’s fortunes from the pews of New Hope Baptist Church to her accidental drowning in a bathtub at the Beverly Hilton hotel in Beverly Hills.
“I don’t know how to sing black and I don’t know how to sing white either,” counters Houston, portrayed with fiery intensity by London-born actress Naomi Ackie. “I know how to sing.”
Made with the blessing of the singer’s estate and her mentor Clive Davis, Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance With Somebody sings to the rafters, punctuated by impeccably lip-synced performances.
A largely chronological script penned by Anthony McCarten, screenwriter of Bohemian Rhapsody, skips from 1983 New Jersey where Whitney (Ackie) performs in the choir directed by her mother Cissy (Tamara Tunie) to her first encounter with influenIN tial record producer Clive Davis (Stanley Tucci).
“I think I may have just heard the greatest voice of her generation,” he gushes, signing Whitney to Arista Records.
She subsequently hires best friend and lover Robyn Crawford (Nafessa Williams) as her creative director (“I want someone I can trust completely. You’re the only one!”), appoints her father John (Clarke Peters) as head of her management company Nippy, Inc. and conducts a very public romance with Bobby Brown (Ashton Sanders).
Bookmarked by a recreation of the singer’s stellar 1994 appearance at the American Music Awards, Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance With Somebody is a rousing and reverential celebration that doesn’t airbrush history.
Whitney’s romance with Crawford is depicted explicitly for the first time and John Houston’s money-related disputes with his daughter light the fuse on fiery on-screen exchanges.
Ackie confidently surfs crashing emotional waves similar to yesteryear’s musical biopic The United States Vs Billie Holiday.
If you wanna feel the heat of Houston’s rise to glory, Lemmons’ picture simmers beautifully.
In cinemas Boxing Day
I Wanna Dance With Somebody ...doesn’t airbrush history... Whitney’s romance with Crawford is depicted explicitly for the first time