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Author and star of ‘Fallen’ on angels, writing, and Rizal
In the young adult bestseller Fallen, teenage beauty Lucinda “Luce” Price is sent off to boarding school, where she meets and falls in love with the handsome and enigmatic Daniel. Luce soon discovers that Daniel is a fallen angel, and that they have both lived multiple lives, chasing each other through the ages, never quite having their happy ever after. This time, they’re determined to beat the odds.
Fallen’s author, Lauren Kate, was in Manila last week to meet her fans and to drum up publicity for the release of the movie based on the book.
“I walked into the mall yesterday with the Filipino readers and to see so many of them, and their enthusiasm is so big…It is endlessly humbling,” said Kate. “I think Filipino readers are unique because there seems to be a kind of—similar to other Catholic places I’ve visited—but it’s just such a joy and deep embrace of love stories.”
Now a bestselling author, Kate said she actually never dreamed she would become a writer in the first place.
“It was not something that my family supported,” she said. “It wasn’t in the culture I grew up in and really had access to. I didn’t know any adults who were any kind of artist. So I didn’t understand that it was something that you could even do with your life.”
That is, until Kate stumbled into a creative writing class in her first year at college “for fun.” On the first day, the professor held up his most recent book—and it was then that Kate realized that writing was a career possibility. “He was very inspirational for me for a lot of reasons, but just understanding that it was possible, it’s kind of a big leap for me. It helped that I was failing in the other courses of what I thought I wanted to do,” she says, laughing.
Fallen was published in 2009 and soon made it into the New York Times bestseller list. Three other books in the series have since been published: Torment (released in 2010), Passion (2011) and Rapture (2012). This year, she published a spinoff book in the series called Unforgiven, which tells the story from the point of view of Cameron, another fallen angel who complicates the relationship between Luce and Daniel.
“I had no idea the following of Fallen would be like this,” Kate said. “It was just something I had to write. And I approach each one of my books that way—that they’re all just as hard as the first one, if not harder.”
Soon after Fallen came out, Kate's agent started sending it out to studios in the hopes of securing a movie deal. It took some time, but Fallen the movie is finally showing in theaters. Kate acts as a producer on the film, which is directed by Oscar nominee Scott Hicks (Shine).
“I’m very proud of it,” Kate said. “I’m really proud of the performances and it looks just beautiful. And big. And I think it’s very moving, and the chemistry is palpable.”
The movie stars newcomers Addison Timlin as Luce, Jeremy Irvine as Daniel, and Harrison Gilbertson as Cameron. Gilbertson, who was in the Hollywood thriller Need For Speed, was also in Manila with Kate last week.
I sat down with the Australian actor and chatted about his acting career, whether he believes in the supernatural and where he stands in the great dog vs cat debate. Excerpts:
GMA News: Thanks for chatting with us today. Hope you’re not too tired.
Harrison Gilbertson: Oh not at all. It’s actually been very relaxing. I just got a gift from these guys (gestures towards a stack of books). Some books about Jose Rizal which I’m really excited to read. I went to where he was shot (Intramuros) and I read his poem Last Farewell. I’m very excited to read his stuff.
Were your parents fans of Harrison Ford?
HG: (Laughs) I think the story is, my dad’s uncle is named Harold. And mom had a Harry on her side. And they went with Harrison as a sort of compromise. Which I like.
I loved Scott Hicks’ film Snow Falling on Cedars. What was it like to work with him?
HG: I met him a few years before this came up because we’re both from Adelaide. We met at an event for our mutual friend (artist) David Bromley.
I’d just come back from doing my first film in America, and he said if I wanted to hang out to just let him know because he understood the difficulties between shuffling between Adelaide and Los Angeles regularly. Then we didn’t talk for about a year or so just because we were both busy, and then he called me up and said he had found a project that he thought we could work in together. And that was it.
The film deals with supernatural and fantasy stuff. Do you believe in that sort of thing?
HG: I believe in a sea of possibilities. I believe mythology stands for exaggerated experiences that we do have. Angels to me are people you meet on the bus that say something to you that change your day without realizing the impact of what they said. I think I believe in the basis of mythology.
Was there any special thing that you did to prepare for this role?
HG: I did a big visual board, printed lots of images of other characters from other films, characters from books, outfits, hairstyles, and then I sat there and I meditated over it for a long time, trying to create a physical character. And then I go in the head of the character, trying to create their back story. The best thing about Cam is that he’s been alive for so long, so it was the most fun back story to create.
As an actor, what sort of role excites you the most? Is it the big-budget Hollywood blockbuster, or small indie character-driven pieces?
HG: I think I would definitely be more inclined to the character-driven pieces. They’re my passion, because the reason I wanted to be an actor is to create characters I can sympathize with and hope other people can sympathize with. Especially those who are in the outer fringes of society. I feel like big action films don’t often give you the chance to do that as much as the independents do.
Would you be interested to revisit your character if they were to do another film in the series?
HG: Absolutely. My intention is to see this thing through, as long as people want to see it through.
Have you heard from diehard fans of the book? What do they think of you in the role of Cam?
HG: I felt very blessed. To my knowledge so far, at least, no one has said to me that they were unhappy with the choice. And that’s been really lovely cause it is nerve-racking to think what if I disappoint people with what they really love. So it meant a lot to hear that.
Time for lightning round. What’s your favorite snack?
HG: Almonds.
Favorite city?
HG: New York.
Dog or Cat?
HG: (Hesitates for a bit) Dog.
Song or band that you like these days?
HG: There’s this new kid that I’ve been listening to called Matt Maltese. He sounds like a modern day Cole Porter.
If Katy Perry, Adele and Beyonce had a concert on the same night, who would you go see?
HG: Adele.
After this movie, anything else fans should look out for?
HG: I have a film yet to come out that I did called Hounds of Love. And I have a film that’s about to start shooting in Canada that will be out next year called Behind the Glass, which is a psychological thriller with India Eisley. — BM, GMA News
Fallen the movie is still out in theaters, and the book is available in National Bookstore.
Paul John Caña is a magazine writer and live music geek. Check out his blog manontheotherside.blogspot.com. Email him at pjcana@gmail.com or follow him on Twitter and Instagram @pauljohncana.
