Himesh Patel, Richard Curtis & Daniel Pemberton – Yesterday

By starrymag | July 1, 2019

By: Ashlee Dell’Arciprete

 

 

Himesh Patel

 

Q) Huge congrats on being a part of this film! What is it like being able to finally share Yesterday here at Tribeca and soon with the entire world and re-live such a monumental time in music?

 

A: I’m really excited. A, that we’re at Tribeca. I mean, what an amazing festival. B, to be in New York is kind of great. The Beatles had so much life here and they have continued to have such a mark on the city and we’re finally sharing our film with the world, which has been a long time coming.

 

Q) You must be excited for the audience to see it as well. What do you hope they get out of the film?

 

A: I really can’t wait. It’s a film that’s for the people. It’s a film that celebrates people and laughter and joy and love and so I hope we bring a little bit of that to the theater tonight.

 

Q) How was it working with Danny Boyle and Richard Curtis on your first feature film?

 

A: Danny and Richard…When I first realized it was the two of them working together and I auditioned for them and I read the script it was just the perfect combination to be part of this beautiful story of love that is what Richard is so amazing at. But it’s also got this kind of dark underbelly of this guilt of what Jack (Himesh Patel) has done. So, it was just the perfect combination and the way they worked together on set was fantastic and I can’t believe that I worked with both of them in one go, it’s crazy.

 

Q) After having performed nearly every hit Beatles song during the making of this film, do you have a favorite?

 

A: My favorite Beatles song. I honestly can’t name just one, but I was just listening to “I Want You (She’s So Heavy)” in the car, so I’ll say that for now [laughs].

 

Q) And lastly, what do The Beatles mean to you now?

 

A: It’s the joy, just the complete joy with which they made their music and the soul that they brought to it and how it celebrated. So many facets of what it means to be human and they brought it out in the most amazing ways and their integrity as artists.

 

 

 

Richard Curtis (Writer)

 

Q) Imagine this situation in the film were to happen in real life today. What effect do you think the forgotten existence of The Beatles could have?

 

A: It couldn’t be worse. Certainly, my life would be worse. You just think of how often life’s sort of been softened and sweetened by them. When I was living here in America, I was terribly aware of how often you heard Frank Sinatra and I was thinking, “Wouldn’t all these shoe shops be worse without Frank Sinatra to make it less painful?”

 

Q) Did you ever consider any other bands to center Yesterday on besides The Beatles?

 

A: No, and it’s interesting. It was like, “Is there another band?” And I don’t know that there is. A lot of this movie came about because every time I go to see my kids’ school plays, they would always end with a Beatles song. William the Conqueror with Old King Harold’s hand and they both sing “We Can Work It Out” or you do something about the environment and then suddenly sing “Here Comes the Sun.” So, I do think at the moment The Beatles are the most comprehensive band of all.

 

Q) Was there any amount of pressure leading up to it knowing that they’re such a monumental group?

 

A: Well, in a funny way, because they’re so monumental you can’t and you’re not hoping to compete with them and in a way. You can’t equal them in any way. It’s like painting a beautiful mountain. The mountain will always be the mountain and we’re just trying to do a lovely thing based on it.

 

Q) What was the conversation like bringing up this concept to Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr? Were you able to formally speak with them about the concept?

 

A: Well, they know about it now. I wrote to Paul asking if it would be okay to call it Yesterday and he wrote back and suggested we called it “Scrambled Eggs,” which was the original name of “Yesterday.” And he said, “I think that would be a better title, but if you haven’t got the courage to call it ‘Scrambled Eggs’ then I don’t mind you deciding to call it Yesterday.”

 

 

Daniel Pemberton (Musical Score)

 

A: I tried to approach the score in a way where we use the sort of sonic landscape the Beatles play too, from the instruments to the Metatron. We actually used some of the actual instruments from where The Beatles recorded on. We recorded at Abbey Road for the score, so we used things like Mrs. Mills’ piano. We also used the same bass guitar. We used the same mixing decks and the same recording techniques. Then, we tried to write a different score that wasn’t a pasteurization of The Beatles, it had the elements of their works. Almost as if The Beatles had scored this movie what would it sound like.

 

Q) Did you get support from Paul and Ringo?

 

A: Paul and Ringo were very aware of the film and with this we wanted to take a step back because the thing is in this world, The Beatles don’t exist. And we have to keep saying, “The Beatles don’t exist in this film.” So, you have to pretend that the Beatles do not exist.

 

Q) How do you stop yourselves from going into Sci-Fi world where if they don’t exist then this immediately can’t exist?

 

A: I didn’t think of that in this film. If you think about these things too much – every movie you can pull apart in two seconds. With this one, you just have to enjoy the process.

 

Q) Do you believe this phenomenon that occurs in the film could happen today or maybe is even happening now and we don’t even know it?

 

A: Yeah, I totally think one of the most interesting things about this movie is actually you go what if this were to happen today, no way could this guy with a guitar become this megastar. But you look at Ed Sheeran, which is amazing because he’s in the film. Ed Sheeran is like the biggest star in the world and he’s just one guy with a guitar. And how music still has the power to impact people and make them feel loved, it’s such an exciting medium and Ed is a great example of how one guy can have a global impact.

 

 

 

Yesterday held its world premiere at the 2019 Tribeca Film Festival and hits theaters June 28.

View our Review of Yesterday here!

View more of our 2019 Tribeca Film Festival red carpet coverage here.