Saturday, December 31, 2011

Happy New Year!!!



An amazing U2 year has come to an end. The hugest, most succesful rock tour reached most corners of the world and millions of people vibrate at the sound of the Irish rock legend. 
And now it´s time to rest and celebrate. In the personal sphere I am more than pleased to have been able to see the band that has rocked my world for more than 25 years live in three opportunities and I am proud to say that I joined other fellow ONErs in the local  campaign to make people aware of what this great NGO is capable of doing in the field of ending extreme poverty and fighting against AIDs globally . You know, "together as ONE we can make the difference". 
Waiting for the New Year´s Day listening to U2 has become a ritual, at least my personal one, and surely my choice is (what else?) New Year´s Day , this time I have chosen the version they played at Estadio Unico, La Plata (my hometown), Argentina, on April 2nd (thanks to YouTube user terrosittich).I still recall the goosebumps, the adrenaline rush, the emotion when I heard those first bass riffs and my inner wish coming true, I had dreamed of listening to that song live for years...
Thanks for reading this blog, it´s been a pleasure to see that I share my passion for U2 with thousands of yous... This blog started as a hobby,  two friends united by a common passion (even when they both live in opposite corners of the world) a desire to communicate what the band of our lives was doing and  celebrate what they embody (at least for us): love, friendship, commitment, wish for something better, and above dreaming out loud!!!

Happy New Year!!! May 2012 bring us a new U2 album and  whatever our fave band choose to share with us; but above all  (and more than ever) Peace and Love around the world...


Bono joins Colin Farrell's brother for double celebration party



Bono got into the festive spirit this week with a night on the town alongside Colin Farrell's brother.
After his exploits at the Leopardstown Races on St Stephen's Day, Bono continued partying in Dublin city centre.
The singer joined forces with Eamon Farrell who was celebrating his 43rd birthday at Lillie's Bordello.
Last year, Hollywood A-lister Colin was the designated driver, but there was no sign of the actor this time around.
"Bono showed up a few hours into the party and stayed there until the early hours of the morning. He is friends with the Farrells, he knows Colin really well and has met Eamon a couple of times. He was chatting away to Eamon all night and was happy to socialise with everyone there.
hnews@herald.ie

Thursday, December 29, 2011

Love Rescue Me

Amazing story written by Joshua Brown in The Faster Times.
The Omagh Community Youth Choir 


"I’m going to tell you an amazing story today.  It’s a story about art and collaboration, a story about youth and innocence, influence and homage.  It spans decades and takes place around the world.
But most of all, it’s a story about love…
"Love Rescue Me" is the eleventh track from U2's 1988 album, Rattle and Hum. Sung by The Omagh Community Youth Choir (formed in October 1998 in the wake of the Omagh Bomb atrocity of August 15th 1998, Ireland) for a journey named Playing For Change, a multimedia movement to inspire, connect, and bring peace to the world through music.
This story written by Joshua Brown puts together a teenage boy´s (named Paul Hewson) dreams, Bob Dylan´s songs, and   "the idea that rock and roll can, in fact, change the world"  with the power of songs to redeem pain...
Read the whole story here

Tuesday, December 27, 2011

A Day at the Races



Christmas brings out the best in people as their generosity and love flows to those around them.
Take Bono for instance, who, days after busking in the streets for charity, decided to treat the Irish press to some Boxing Day fizz.The U2 front man was visiting the Leopardstown race course in Dublin with wife Ali Hewson andtheir daughters Jordan and Eve.

While Ali held a tray of glasses, Bono topped them up with some champagne which they then handed out to the waiting photographers

Cheers! The tray now empty, Bono clutched his own glass as he chatted to the photographers



http://www.dailymail.co.uk

Monday, December 26, 2011

Vintage Christmas








An article about old times Christmases in Ireland (Rolling back the Christmases) reminds us of U2´s first time in England , "hoping to crack London".


"...Just before Christmas in 1979, a young Dublin band billed as The U2s arrived in England.


They were hoping to crack London.


"I want to replace the bands in the charts now, because I think we're better'' said the precocious lead singer, known as Bono Vox. (It had to be Bono!!!)


However, only nine paying punters turned up in Islington to watch them..."


To round the memories off, a rare video  of U2 playing John Lennon Cover
 "So this is Christmas"on a TV Show.(probably mid-80´s, after the release of The Joshua Tree)

Bono and Enda: whiskey and waffle

WHEN Bono met Enda (Kenny, Head of the Irish government) the rock star presented the Taoiseach (Prime Minister) with a bottle of Mayo whiskey as the advisers were sent away and the pair discussed affairs of state.




The duo had a two-hour private meeting in the Taoiseach's office last Wednesday during which the U2 singer's offer to act as an ambassador for Ireland was discussed, the Sunday Independent can reveal.
Bono presented the bottle of whiskey, believed to be the niche Inish Turk Beg, to the Taoiseach as a Christmas gift.
A Government spokesman last night confirmed that the meeting had been tentatively agreed at the Global Irish Economic Forum at Dublin Castle in October. At the forum, Bono said he was willing to "hit the road again", not on a U2 world tour, but to resurrect the reputation of Ireland abroad.


The U2 singer told delegates at the forum that he was willing to work for the country in whatever role was asked of him.
Last night the Taoiseach's spokesman said a "wide range of issues" were discussed by the two men during what turned out to be an extended meeting. Mr Kenny asked all staff to vacate the room while he and Bono discussed national and international events.
The meeting, which took place ahead of the U2 Christmas party in Dublin, is the first known occasion in recent years that Bono has had a one-to-one meeting with a Taoiseach. In the late Eighties, the rock star, who is from Glasnevin in Dublin, established a close relationship with the late Fine Gael leader Garret FitzGerald. Bono was also a member of Young Fine Gael in that decade.

Bono: Busking in Grafton Street (Revisited)


As he did last year, on Christmas Eve Bono and a group of friends ( Oscar-winning musician Glen Hansard ,Mundy, Declan O'Rourke and Hothouse Flowers rocker Liam O'Maonlai) went busking in Grafton Street for two local charities: Simon Community   and the Peter McVerry Trust.
Although the group started off in Grafton Street, they were soon moved to the entrance of St Stephen's Green Park due to safety concerns.


The group with cooperation of fans and passers-by sang three songs: "Silent Night," "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)", and Mic Christopher's song, "Heyday".









http://www.dailymail.co.uk

Friday, December 23, 2011

Happy Christmas!!

Christmas bells are ringing and it´s time to celebrate!!! 


May all our wishes come true!!!
And to accompany the feelings of the holiday, what better than listening to a U2 song??? For the occasion...Angel of Harlem...
Happy Christmas All!!


Christmas Celebration


U2 painted their hometown red last night as they threw a Christmas party for staff of the band's management company.Talented comedy rap duo The Rubberbandits and Bono's pal Gavin Friday were among those present at the Principal Management festive get-together. Gavin's dogs Ralph and Stan arrived to the affair wearing Santa hats. The event was hosted at Harry's Cafe Bar on Dublin's Hanover Quay.
The band seemed to be in good spirits as they posed for pictures.Meanwhile, new figures have revealed that the aging Irish rock stars had the highest-earning tour of the year.The band's 360° shows saw them play 44 dates to almost three million people, taking more than €216m at the box office.




Edge´s Christmas greetings:



















Thursday, December 22, 2011

Bono on TIME´s Best Portraits of 2011

TIME’s photo department  select  their favorite portraits of the year; among them is this portrait of Bono which appeared on Q & A (12th December issue).








www.time.com

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Season Greetings from ONE


Join the fight against extreme poverty


A bit of here, there and everywhere...

The awesome U2 year is coming to an end. We are used to the guys appearing here, there and everywhere for this season. Here goes two covers :





Bono and Edge on the cover of French magazine "Rock First".




Bono on the cover of the Spanish version of the book "1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die" which includes War, Joshua Tree, Achtung Baby, All That You Can’t Leave Behind

http://u2fanlife.com/

Saturday, December 17, 2011

BONO ON STAGE WITH IMELDA MAY

Bono made a surprise appearance last night to sing a couple songs with Irish singer Imelda May during her concert at the O2 (formerly Point Depot) in Dublin. They sang U2's "Desire" and then did a cover of "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)," the Darlene Love song that U2 also covered in 1987 on the first A Very Special Christmas  charity album.


You might recognise this one...' said Imelda May, as her band struck up the opening chords of  'Desire', towards the end of her sell-out show in Dublin tonight. At which point Bono walked on stage to join her at the mic and the audience at the O2 went ballistic. 







www.U2.com/www.atu2.com



Friday, December 16, 2011

Bono For New York Times Co. CEO?




Yesterday afternoon, New York Times Co. CEO Janet Robinson abruptly announced her resignation. She may have been pushed out, though she got a nice fat "consulting" paycheck to cushion her fall. The important question now: who takes over?

Bono takes over.


Let's be clear about what's really needed in this job. The next CEO of the New York Times Co. will have the vague and weighty-sounding responsibility of "guiding the company into the digital age" and "navigating the transition of a legacy newspaper company into a multiplatform digital media company" and things like that. What it means is that the CEO must generally figure out how the NYT Co. can survive the next decade or so without collapsing into rubble. Janet Robinson was not a horrible CEO, but there's little question that someone better is out there.

It's a rough time for anyone to be in the newspaper business.(...)The actual nuts-and-bolts job of transitioning the NYT Co. into the "digital era" can be handled by any number of bright, lower-level functionaries. Plenty of those around. Here is what the NYT Co. actually needs in a CEO:

1. A big name. Someone who will help keep the company itself relevant and in the news.
2. Someone who is well-connected to the rich and politically powerful.
3. Someone with an actual personal interest and belief in good journalism for good journalism's sake.
4. Someone who has no personal need to plunder this financially stretched company for millions to line their own pockets.

Allow us to introduce you to Bono. Already writes for the New York Times! Sure, he's a little bit of a self-centered guy, but who isn't? He has quite a few things going for him: he's a real, from the heart, do-gooder. He believes in the mission of the NYT (above and beyond its financial performance), and would be well-motivated to do anything to keep the company healthy. He's as well-connected in moneyed and political circles as anyone this side of Bill Clinton, without being a political veteran himself, which brings lots of bullshit baggage to a media company. He could work for a dollar a year, no problem. The validation conferred upon Bono's own self-importance by such a job would be its own reward


The New York Times Co. needs a figurehead. It needs a symbolic leader more inspiring than Pinch Sulzberger. The process of saving this company from irreversible decline could very well soon involve summoning up the good will of the public, the political establishment, and the financial titans of this world—the good will of the New York Times readership. The NYT Co. must sell itself as a public good. The newspaper business is bad. The business of being the most honest, meticulous, and civically-minded purveyor of journalism left in America is good. Frankly, the NYT Co. needs attention, at this point. Bono could use a real job. He can keep his hobbies. Everyone wins.

For all those little "operational" issues, hire a freaking deputy. Poll the staff. Whatever. Shit. Think big, New York Times! Bono already does.

Read the complete article: http://gawker.com



“The Beginning of the End of AIDS.”



Pictures of Bono, Alicia Keys and other celebrities and world´s leaders at World AIDS Day 2011 Event (RED Facebook album)
Designed to eliminate AIDS -Join RED!!!



Thursday, December 15, 2011

U2 to support musical youth


ROCK giants U2 and the Music Generation scheme will invest €1.7 million to help children and young people in Cork city, Laois and Wicklow get access to vocal and instrumental tuition in their local area.
U2 guitarist The Edge said: "Access to music for children and young people is something that is very close to our hearts. We believe that every child should have the choice to get involved in music, irrespective of their background.

"Music Generation is addressing the gap in individual and group vocal and instrumental music tuition in our education system and we are delighted to be playing a part in nurturing and inspiring Ireland’s young musicians of the future."

Music Generation was launched in 2009 after a €5m donation from U2 along, with another €2m raised by The Ireland Funds.

The donation was the largest-ever single philanthropic gift to music education in Ireland in the history of the state.

The programme, which last year ran in Louth, Mayo and Sligo, is expected to create substantial job opportunities for local musicians over the next five years.

Chairman of Music Generation Dr Tony Ó Dalaigh said: "Music Generation would not be happening without the contributions made by U2 and The Ireland Funds.

"In practical terms it means that Music Generation can provide access to music education which is currently unavailable to the majority of children, as well as employment for musicians in their locality," he added.
By Colin O’Hanlon   www.examiner.ie/ireland




Emotional performance of "Love is Blindness" by Edge taken from From The Sky Down, a documentary film about the making of U2's Achtung Baby, will be released worldwide on Blu-ray and DVD on Monday 12th December, 2011, and in the U.S. on 24th January 2012.







Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Exclusive Huckabee Interview: Bono

Great interview by Huckabee , Fox News








You tube user: BonoVoxRF

Subido por en 11/12/2011
Entrevista a Bono Parte 1

U2 Wishing Metallica Happy 30th Anniversary

U2 Wished Metallica Happy 30th Anniversary at the Fillmore in San Francisco.




You Tube user:  

Bono & Sting Remember "Do They Know It´s Christmas"


The American  show Glee has shown a Christmas episode and this time the programme has chosen the famous song  "Do They Know It´s Christmas?" , originally sung in 1984   by Band Aid to raise money for relief of the 1983–1985 famine in Ethiopia. 
Bono and Sting  remembered the release of that song...



Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Honouring Anton Corbijn





Bono and Chris Martin (Coldplay) were in Amsterdam honouring photographer Anton Corbijn,who received a lifetime achievement award from a Dutch culture funding organization. 


Bono and Chris Martin performed with the Metropole Orchestra, and Bono recited work by late Dutch artist Herman Brood. 
Corbijn received the award for being an important role model to his generation's popular culture and an international example for photographers, designers and art directors.




U2's singer Bono recites a Herman Brood poem to photographer, artist and friend Anton Corbijn, who received the Prince Bernhard Cultuurfonds Prize in Amsterdam. Images: Het Prins Bernhard Cultuurfonds.

Friday, November 18, 2011

U2 by Interview Magazine


DAVIS GUGGENHEIM, STEPHEN MOOALLEM

ANTON CORBIJN



Since coming out of Dublin in the late ’70s, U2 has released 12 studio albums, the majority of which are great, and a handful of which are even greater—which is to say, sharper, deeper, tighter, and more adventurous and all-consuming. Near the top of that list is 1991’s Achtung Baby, a dark record birthed during a series of fraught sessions at Hansa Studios in Berlin in late 1990, and one that’s as important for the succession of dirty, experimental, and indelible songs that it spawned—“The Fly,” “One,” “Mysterious Ways”—as it is for the radical and willful break from the past that it came to represent.



By the time the members of U2—Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton, and Larry Mullen Jr.—decamped to Hansa with producers Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois to begin work on what would become Achtung Baby, they were already the biggest band in the world. But as work on the album progressed in Berlin, and later back in Dublinthe widescreen romance and earnestness of earlier records like The Unforgettable Fire (1984) and The Joshua Tree (1987) gave way to a noisy meld of Manchester-dance and German-electronic influences shot through with a mix of irony, ecstasy, and high-modernist wit. For the tour in support of the album, the band’s previously stripped-down road show was supplanted by the elaborate Blade Runner-esque stage-set and oversize video screens of Zoo TV, with its between-song channel surfing, audience confessional videos, in-show satellite hook-ups, and theatrical flourishes. Then there was Bono, decked out in Jim Morrison’s pants, Elvis’s jacket, and, of course, Lou Reed’s bug-eye sunglasses—the rock star remixed. It was at once like nothing anyone had ever seen or heard before—at least on purpose, in one place, from a rock band—and, at the same time, all too much like everything that everyone was seeing everywhere at a moment when the map of the world was being redrawn, a media revolution was afoot, and the culture itself was in the midst of a tectonic shift.
From The Sky Down, Davis Guggenheim’s new documentary about U2’s struggle to find a new direction—and to stay together—during the making of Achtung Baby, delves into the genesis of the album through the lens of a return trip to Hansa that the band made earlier this year. (The film is airing right now on Showtime.) This month, U2 is also releasing a special 20th anniversary edition of Achtung Baby that includes both the full original album and 1993’s Zooropa, as well as an array of B-sides, outtakes, and alternate versions of songs.
I spoke with Guggenheim, The Edge, and Bono in early September in Toronto, hours before From The Sky Downwas set to premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival. —STEPHEN MOOALLEM













What's Behind The Magic Door Exhibition Opening






Leah Hewson ,niece of Bono and daughter of Norman Hewson, at the launch of her exhibition 'what's behind the magic door ' at KTcontemporary Gallery in Dublin .Pictured at the event was Leah with her uncle Bono and aunt Ali.


Leah Hewson ,niece of Bono and daughter of Paul Hewson,graduated with a first class honours BA in Fine Art from Dun Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design and Technology in 2010. For her graduate exhibition Hewson was short-listed for the ‘Most Promising Graduate Award’ at the Talbot Gallery and Studios in Dublin. Her work is part of the Microsoft collection and she is winner of the 2011 Picture Works competition. Hewson’s practice continues to investigate the boundaries between reality and fantasy and for this latest body of work she explores the importance of preserving imagination, and its relationship with reality. Manipulating childhood photographs, surreal scenes full of nostalgia and colour are created depicting different childish behaviours. Hewson uses varied types of media, minimising boundaries and sometimes employing childlike methods in order to retain the innocence and naivety of a child’s imagination. Nevertheless, in several pieces the darker elements of a certain knowledge that comes with adulthood creep through, and she also uses systems of pelmanism to stimulate the powers of perception. For Hewson the imagination presents a continual stream of infinite possibility and this has become the core of her uniquely honest approach to art making. ©Kenneth O'Halloran





To know more about Leah Hewson´s art,click here.





U2 back in town with wall-to-wall support at studio


Bono checks out U2 fans' graffiti at their Hanover Quay studio in Dublin yesterday


U2 were back in town yesterday to record part of the band's newest studio album at their Hanover Quay studio.
U2 frontman Bono was spotted signing autographs for fans outside the band's Dublin studio, where many of their best-selling albums were recorded after the band bought the studios in the early 1990s.
He even took time to pose next to some of the graffiti left on the studio walls by fans of the band.
He later attended the opening of an exhibition of art by his niece, Leah Hewson, at the KTcontemporary gallery in Donnybrook.

Bono is not a celebrity, he´s a force of nature.


Len Short is truly an online marketing pioneer, heading up marketing at Charles Schwab, AOL and then (PRODUCT)RED. He is now leading Chug, a car buying search engine, as its Founder and CEO.
Len later joined (PRODUCT)RED as its Founding CMO. In this capacity he worked with U2′s Bono, as well as Steve Jobs and a number of other notable celebrities whom Len encouraged to lend their brand equity to bolster RED’s cause.
Earlier in his career, Len worked at NW Ayer where he focused much of his attention on non-profits. Fast-forward a decade and he was the CMO at (PRODUCT)RED. Giving back is clearly in Len’s DNA. He shared the following advice for emerging entrepreneurs who have limited time and money but an unlimited passion to give back philanthropically. “With Red, Africa wasn’t my cause. It was Bono’s cause and Bobby Shriver’s cause. I found an opportunity to take some unique skills that I had (and) to apply them to that model. I invested two years of my life…and it became my cause. The most important things people can give are their talents and innovation. So as an entrepreneur, (talent) is the most valuable currency.
Bono said, ‘Well, OK. I understand your plan but I want a friend of mine who is a marketing guy to vet your plan,’ and I said, ‘Oh yeah, who’s that?’ and he said, ‘Steve Jobs.’ Steve was amazingly helpful and supportive.
RED… is a for-profit endeavor, the profits just go to Africans, not to anybody else. It has made and distributed over $180 million in profits that have all gone…to buy ARVs (antiretroviral drugs). Look at your talents and see what they can lend. Later on give your money away.”
(PRODUCT)RED continues to be immensely successful, having directly impacted the lives of over 7.5 million people. The organization is on track to make the children born in 2015 the first AIDS free generation in decades. Given RED’s immense marketing impact, I asked Len what he would do differently, if he were launching the project today. “If I did it again, I’d be even more adamant about staffing it and creating a culture of relentless, hard-nosed focus on creating results. That goes for pretty much any enterprise and certainly a cause should have the same hard-nosed approach that business does. That was our going-in proposition.”
In addition to its Co-Founder, Bono, (PRODUCT)RED enlisted the support of a number of notable personalities. Due to Rincon Venture Partners‘ focus on sourcing deals within the Southern California ecosystem, we often see deals in which one or more celebrities are involved. From an investor’s standpoint, we view this as a mixed blessing. Even so, I found Len’s counsel regarding how to appropriately manage and maximize an organization’s relationship with high-profile celebrities to be a bit surprising. “Celebrities are tricky. I think it is borrowed equity. Essentially a successful entrepreneur will always be purely driven by a vision. They won’t let distractions or shortcuts distract them. It’s easy to talk yourself into, ‘So and so is interested and it will help me.’ I am not sure it ever does, unless there is a natural connection. The same rule applies, borrowed equity isn’t yours.
I can’t really think of a great case history where a celebrity has really driven a startup. Other than RED, I mean Bono, I wouldn’t call him a celebrity, he’s a force of nature.”

www.businessinsider.com


Read more: http://infochachkie.com/len-short/#ixzz1e59ac0V2

Larry Mullen Jr.: The Man on the Train


The musician-turned-actor talks about his "jump off the bridge" straight into the movie business. Now available in USA on demand via Tribeca Film.

Photo courtesy Tribeca Film / credit: Sophie Girau

Now playing across the country on VOD via Tribeca FilmMary McGuckian's The Man on the Train is an English-language remake of Patrice Leconte's atmospheric L'Homme du Train [2002], which starred musician-turned-actor Johnny Hallyday and Jean Rochefort. In the current film, Irish musician Larry Mullen Jr. makes his acting debut opposite the legendary Donald Sutherland.

Mullen, who did triple-duty on the film—actor, producer, and soundtrack supervisor—recently talked to us about his "baptism by fire," his acting method, and what it was like to work with an icon.


Tribeca: Congratulations on your acting debut! Clearly, you’ve always been a creative man. When did you realize that you had an interest in acting, and was there something particular that prompted you to tackle this new challenge?

Larry Mullen Jr.:
 I’ve always had an interest in doing something that was outside my comfort zone; I had this thing about standing on the edge of the cliff and deciding to jump. I think it’s probably a bit like imagining that you might enjoy shark diving or bungee jumping off a very large bridge. I thought [acting] might be an exciting thing to do—I’m used to sitting and being in the background, and I’ve enjoyed that, for many, many years. But I kind of played with the idea for a while, never believing that anything would come of it.

Then I ran into Mary McGuckian, and we talked about her making films, and what that was about. And she said to me, “If you’re interested in filmmaking, you should watch this film,” which was the original Man on the Train, the Patrice Leconte version. So I had a look at that, and I loved it, and I thought, “Well, it would be great if somebody remade this film and I could get a small part; that would be a rich little idea.” To put a long story short, Mary said, “Look, if we’re going to do this, let’s create a partnership.” So we did, and I got involved in the production—trying to get the rights, etc.—which I enjoyed very much.

And then when we actually got the rights, they said to me, “Well, you’re going to have to play the part of The Man; that’s the whole idea.” And I said, “Well, what the f*&%?” So I was forced into it, but I wasn’t totally an unwilling participant. It was a pretty damn big decision to make. And of course, when Donald Sutherlandsigned up, it seemed like the most stupid thing I’d ever done in my whole life! [laughs] But there you have it. I ended up on a set in Toronto for 17 days working with Donald Sutherland, and it was a very different experience for me, I have to tell you.

The Man on the Train
Photo courtesy Tribeca Film / credit: Sophie Girau

Tribeca: Well, you really held your own. What attracted you to this story? What did you like about the original film, and what did you and Mary think you could do differently with this version?


Larry Mullen Jr.: I think the reason Mary showed it to me was because of how difficult it is for people who are in music, in particular, to make that changeover [to acting]. There’s a long, long list of people who have tried and have not succeeded—not because they weren’t talented, but because it’s difficult to be believable when you’re known as one thing and then you decide to do something else.

Mary’s point was that [French musician] Johnny Hallyday [Mullen’s counterpart in the French film] had made several films and had not been terribly successful, and then he found this movie. And it was a very, very successful transition, and she was saying that this is how it can be done: with a great story, a good director, and so on.

Johnny had not been known as a great actor, and then he ends up in this movie, and it’s the right movie for him, and he’s great in it. So that’s how it started.

Tribeca: Did you find any similarities to performing as a musician, or is that such old hat to you now that it’s not like jumping off a cliff anymore?

Larry Mullen Jr.: I think there are some similarities, but generally speaking, when you’re a musician, you’re playing for yourself: it’s about you, and it is a very personal experience. Whereas, I think with acting, it’s kind of the opposite in some ways. It’s about the non-personal becoming the personal—you’re playing somebody else. I think for a lot of young actors, people who haven’t acted before, the great lesson is that sometimes it’s the stuff you don’t know that really benefits you.

That really stood out to me, I have to say, when I was working with people like Donald Sutherland. I didn’t know any better; I didn’t know what the protocol was meant to be. I succeeded and failed, all at the same time; I had no expectations of myself; I didn’t know whether I could do it. So I just kept on trying to do what I thought was the right thing.

I imagine had I known a little more when I got into it, the prospect of working with someone with the stature of Donald would’ve been too much. He’s an extraordinary actor, but he’s also an elder statesman. It was only halfway through the film that I actually realized how difficult it was for him, I think, working with a novice like me, but by that stage I didn’t care…

The Man on the Train
Photo courtesy Tribeca Film / credit: Sophie Girau

Tribeca: You were already deep into it…


Larry Mullen Jr.: I’d already jumped. There was nothing I could do; there were no parachutes. I jumped, and that was it. But Donald was very generous, in that he didn’t offer me huge amounts of advice and mentor me, and try and teach me. He just stayed out of my way. He just let me do it. And I think that was the great gift that he gave me. I’m very grateful to him, because I think it can’t have been easy to see me muddle through various different scenes, and mess up my lines, and not get things right. It can’t have been easy for him to watch that, given what he’s done, but he just stood back. He stood back and he allowed me to rise and fall.

Tribeca: I think it’s an honor that he respected you in that way, and let you do your thing.

Larry Mullen Jr.: 
Absolutely. And that’s how I see it. I see it as an incredibly generous thing for him to do, to actually just step out of my way. Because I was getting in my own way enough.

Tribeca: So the press notes mention that Mary views the film as a contemporary urban Western. With that in mind, how did you prepare for the character, and was the goatee part of your transformation, or was that something that you’d been playing with already?

Larry Mullen Jr.: You know, I leafed through the Stanislavski book on Method acting many, many years ago, but it meant absolutely nothing to me, because I’d had no experience acting. And when Mary and I decided that we would actually go ahead and do this, part of the issue for me was, “Well, what do I do? How do I prepare for something like this?” She had a very clear idea about how I would prepare to do this, and she’s worked with non-actors before, so I got a sort of binder with all the scenes in it, and I had to build my character. I grew the goatee, and I think I went into a form of Method, although I had no idea what I was doing. I got into the zone of, like, 5 or 6 individuals that I knew, and I sort of put them all together and came up with the character.

The Man on the Train
Photo courtesy Tribeca Film / credit: Sophie Girau

Tribeca: Did you go into a different mental place, or was it really more about outward appearances? What was the process?


Larry Mullen Jr.: A lot of this part was the outward, surly, rogue, tough guy, and the transformation into a “buddy” [to Sutherland’s character, a professor] was actually a nice curve. Because I wasn’t playing the same character through the whole film: I had an opportunity to engage with the professor.

But the way the film was shot—it wasn’t scene one to scene two, etc. It was shot in different sequences: outdoors, indoors… So that was a bit of a challenge. In the morning, for instance, I would be doing a bank robbery. And then in the afternoon, I would be telling the professor over dinner what a wonderful guy he was. It was a challenge just trying to figure out which particular guy I was going to be at which particular time. [laughs]

And did I pull it off? I think I pull it off in places. Is it convincing everywhere? It has its flaws; I mean, I’m not an actor, but it’s definitely something I enjoyed doing.

Tribeca: I think you see the flaws more than everyone else does... Switching gears, you wore quite a few hats on this film: you’re a producer, and you’re an actor, and you produced the score. Which did you find the most challenging? And did producing surprise you?

Larry Mullen Jr.: Yeah, it did. When you’re in the music business, everything is very personal, because you are invested in everything; there’s a very deep, personal attachment to your music. When you’re making a film, it’s very different. I think as a director who’s written the piece, I can understand how you’d feel very personal about it., [but for me] it was not a personal challenge; it was a film. And the production part of this was very matter-of-fact, problem-solving in a very basic form: how do you get the movie out, how do you get the financing, who’s going to release it, and so on and so forth. So I enjoyed that process. I thought I was better at that, in a funny way, than at the acting. The acting was a real challenge for me, although I found it incredibly liberating. Was it the most enjoyable experience of my life? No, but it did something I didn’t expect it to; it didn’t spite me the way I thought it would.

And as far as the score was concerned, that came about by chance. I wasn’t meant to do the score, nor did I particularly want to do the score, but we were kind of running out of time. Mary suggested that I get together with Simon Climie, who Mary had known for years; I hadn’t met him before. He’s a proper musician. So he and I just worked for a couple of days and came up with something. We didn’t have a huge amount of time on it. And that, I have to say, of all the things, that’s probably been the most difficult—I’m used to having time around musical projects, to access resources quickly, and get what [I] need, and this was not like that. This was very different, and it was a challenge. But we did what we were tasked to do. It could have been very different, and probably could have been a lot better. And it’s one piece of music used over the whole film; I would love to have had two or three pieces—but we just didn’t have the time for it.

The Man on the Train
Photo courtesy Tribeca Film / credit: Sophie Girau

Tribeca: So what’s the verdict? Do you think you’ll act again, or have you run screaming from this crazy movie business? What’s your plan?


Larry Mullen Jr.: 
Well, my baptism was a baptism of fire. I didn’t feel humiliated, and I don’t feel I failed, as I thought I might. I didn’t know how it would go. I feel I held my own, and I would absolutely like to do more film. I don’t know what I’m qualified to do, film-wise... So it’s really down to a director or a casting director to find something that they think I could do. To answer your question directly, I would love to do more acting.