Skip to playerSkip to main content
  • 6 minutes ago
Nicola Coughlan and Billie Gadsdon chat all things The Magic Faraway Tree.
Billie shares what it was like working on practical sets, while Nicola reacts to starring alongside Sir Michael Palin – a full-circle moment for the Monty Python fan! Report by Nelsonj. Like us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/itn and follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/itn
Transcript
00:00For me, Michael Palin was a big one.
00:01I'm a huge Monty Python fan, have been since I was a little girl.
00:05So being on set with him was quite crazy for me.
00:08I had to really try and rein it in.
00:10Guys, congratulations on the movie.
00:11Thank you so much.
00:12I'm so jealous when I watch stuff like this.
00:14It really does remind you of when your imagination was fertile,
00:18when you could be stuck in a wood or a park or a bedroom
00:21and just imagine all this stuff happening.
00:24And there's a day where it just goes.
00:26And it's kind of, it's almost a bit sad to see it all unfurled in stories.
00:32I wondered, from you being a young actress embarking on your career in film,
00:37is there an element of peering behind the curtain
00:41and it's sort of going, oh, right, that's how all that is made?
00:45Definitely.
00:46And especially with the clouds, that was actually blue screen.
00:51But then it's amazing to see, like, they edit it so well
00:57and they make it look so real and it's crazy to think that's how it actually looks
01:01and to see the behind the scenes and, yeah.
01:05We were lucky on this too, weren't we?
01:07Because a lot of it was there.
01:08It was practical.
01:10Yeah.
01:10I mean, the green screen was maybe the sky or something in the distance,
01:14but mostly it was there.
01:16Yeah.
01:17Like a lot of, like, the Land of Goodies was real sweets that we really ate
01:20and, you know...
01:21Yeah, and, like, they built the trees and everything, so...
01:24Yeah, Moonface's house.
01:25I think that's part of the joy as a grown-up on this film.
01:28You do feel like you're stepping into a storybook
01:31and, I mean, Billie's been acting for a long time.
01:34She's got a serious CV, so I think sometimes in the beginning you go,
01:36oh, that's how it's done, that's not,
01:38but then it sort of turns full circle again.
01:40Yeah.
01:40But you can appreciate the magic.
01:42You understand it and you go, oh, and then you go, oh, no,
01:44and then you realise you're part of making the magic.
01:46How real were those ladders, by the way?
01:48Oh, yeah, they were, some of them were quite scary.
01:50We had to be on harnesses.
01:51Some of them were quite long.
01:52In the movie, people are like, yeah, go up there.
01:54And I'm thinking, I wouldn't go up there at any age.
01:56That's insanity.
01:57No, the health and safety of the tree is very questionable.
02:01I think Silky just thinks this is brilliant and fun
02:03and then the gang get the kids into a lot of very hairy situations
02:08that they shouldn't be in.
02:09Well, I love about movies like this.
02:10It reminds me of stuff like Stardust
02:12and those, like, glitzy kind of children's films
02:15that are jam-packed full of, like, really beloved, like...
02:17Yeah.
02:18...performers and stuff.
02:20And it makes me wonder, like, when you're on that set,
02:22like, Nicola, for you, it must be amazing being like,
02:25holy, that's Michael Palin.
02:27He's a huge hero of mine.
02:29I think you guys have to be pointed out as well,
02:30like, by the way, that person is an absolute legend
02:32and that person's an absolute legend as well.
02:34Well, there were three legends leading this film,
02:36the three kids.
02:37They were just absolutely brilliant.
02:39But, yeah, for me, Michael Palin was a big one.
02:41I'm a huge Monty Python fan,
02:43have been since I was a little girl.
02:44So being on set with him was quite crazy for me.
02:47I had to really try and rein it in.
02:49But there were some, like, real icons on this movie.
02:51Jennifer Saunders playing your granny.
02:53And Rebecca Ferguson, Andrew Garfield, Claire Foy.
02:57It's a pretty, yeah.
02:58I wanted to do the movie before I knew any of the cast
03:00were involved and then Andrew and Claire got attached
03:03and I was, like, sort of amazing.
03:04Like, I really, really want to do this movie.
03:06And it just kept getting better as production went on.
03:08I was, like, it was pretty amazing.
03:11And those things, these kind of stories are very timeless.
03:14Like, even talking about Stardust,
03:16which felt like two seconds ago,
03:17feels like a dated reference now.
03:18It's, like, 20 years back.
03:19Yeah, God.
03:20So we should talk about,
03:21I spoke with your castmates about the eternal appeal
03:24of Simon Farnaby, who I love.
03:25Because I think he's so brilliant.
03:27Legend.
03:27Yeah, and so funny as well.
03:29So we should probably talk about Enid Blyton as well.
03:31Yes.
03:31She needs the press.
03:33She does.
03:33I should imagine.
03:34What do you think the secret is to the,
03:36kind of, eternal appeal of these stories
03:38and why they keep being retold
03:40and why we love them so much?
03:42Well, the book was actually,
03:44she actually wrote the book in, like,
03:47the 1940s.
03:49So a while ago.
03:50And they have kept the main parts
03:52from the book in there,
03:54but they have also updated it
03:55to modern, modern day.
03:58And I also think that's a good thing, though.
04:01So people can also, like,
04:04see themselves as those characters
04:05and hopefully influence them
04:07to go outside
04:08and not just spend your whole life on a screen.
04:11because you don't have too long to enjoy it.
04:17So enjoy, live every day to its fullest.
04:20It does make you want to go into a wood, doesn't it?
04:22Yes.
04:22It really does.
04:23Yeah.
04:24It really does.
04:24Yeah, that kind of magic that it captures.
04:26And I think why people like her as well,
04:28I think, I remember when I was a kid,
04:29I really hated books that felt patronizing
04:32because I feel very much the same
04:33as I'm the same type of person
04:35as when I was six years old.
04:37I'm just an older version of that.
04:39So I think I like books
04:40where the kids were allowed
04:41to be in dangerous situations.
04:43Yeah.
04:43And I think that peril felt like it was there
04:46and all that kind of stuff.
04:47I think that's going to always be popular.
04:50Yeah, I think so, too.
04:51Yeah.
04:52Well, it made me want to throw my phone in a bin
04:54and climb up a tree.
04:55That's great.
04:56And, I don't know, yell at some fairies.
04:58I love it.
04:59But you can.
04:59Who's going to start it?
05:00Who's going to start me?
05:00Yeah.
05:01Who's going to start?
05:01I'm going to do it right now.
05:03Guys, it's great to meet you.
05:04Nice to meet you.
05:05Thank you so much.
05:06Thank you so much.
05:07It was so nice meeting you.
Comments

Recommended