Kenton Bar Celebrities Pre-1988 - Denea wilde – a follow up
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| Denea Wilde - The STAR of Get Carter. |
Hi - whilst searching online for some Get Carter stuff I came across the following interview:-
Denea Wilde Pub Singer:
Deana Wilde aged 40, singing 'How about you' in the Vick & Comet pub, now O'neils, in Get Carter.
How did you get the singing part Denea?Well it all started when I heard there was a film crew in the area looking for local singers they wanted for a part in a movie, and I thought hey, why not. So I went along and had an interview with Irene Lamb (casting director, who also was the casting director in a small little film called Star Wars) at the Royal Station hotel. We chatted for a while, she seemed keen and said she would get back to me. She rang me later that day and said I was exactly what they were looking for but they needed to see me perform. Well I wasn't working at the time so I had to think of somewhere I could get a spot in short notice. Luckily I was really friendly with an agency who had a job at a local pub to supply the strippers for a stag party. Well I wasn't going to strip obviously but I asked them if they could get me guest spot singing so I could audition for a film crew that were in the area. They agreed and when I got up to do my number I was greeted from the local men with comments like, ' Get em off , Get ya tits out!' to which I replied "why they wouldn't bloody fit you, do you want one on your lip for a blister" Irene Lamb said "this is perfect your just what we're looking for, and your voice is perfect for the part, will you do it?" Sure I Will.
What happened next?
The first day I went down to choose the song and to get my costume sorted out. The original song that was picked 'Don't get around much anymore' couldn't be used because it had already been used in a film and couldn't be used again for a certain amount of time, so we settled for the old Sinatra number 'How about you'. The second day we actually started filming. Although it looks like the scene was filmed at night we actually started shooting the scene at nine-o clock in the morning. It went on all day breaking for lunch and for scenes (Post Crematorium scene) that were being filmed on the other side of the bar at the same time.
How many takes were done?
If I remember correctly it took about three takes for the fight scene and I sang the song three or four times. When I sang 'How about you' the first time I was just told to start singing and then in walks Michael Caine, I didn't know he was going to walk in at that point so that double take I gave him in the film was completely natural. They asked me if I could give him that same look as he walked in the bar on every take because it looked so good. I tried but they ended up using the first natural double take I gave because it was, so natural. I also remember things weren't going completely to plan that day, extras were getting in the wrong place between takes and tension was getting quite high in the room and on one of the scenes Hodges had just ordered action, and instead of singing how about you, I burst out into the song " Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you" and a birthday cake was brought in. It was Mike Hodges birthday on that day, he fell face to the floor and said 'Thanks I really needed that' we all laughed, it lifted a lot of the tension from the room, gave us all a bit of a breather as well.
Any other memorable moments ?
Well when I was singing the song and I start to walk across the room and the first guy I kissed was gay and in-between scenes I remember him saying 'your doing nothing for my image darling' 'well your doing sod all for mine' I replied. We had a laugh about that. Also I remember I started shooting the scene in the morning with these really high gold stilettos on, well by the time lunch time came my feet were killing me so I asked how long we had for lunch. 'An hour and a half' they replied. Great I thought, I have time to go home and change out of these heels. When I came back I had my bright royal blue, fury slippers on and I kept them on all afternoon for filming, including the fight scene. I got away with that as I was filmed from the waist up. Just as well really!
Funny you should mention the fight scene, when I was listening to the Hodges commentary on the DVD he mentioned that the fight scene was very realistic because you girls didn't get on much.
Was that true?
(Denea chuckles) Well I knew Tracy Star very well, she was a entertainer like me, I wouldn't say we were the best of friends, but I wouldn't of said we hated each other either. But we did really go for it during the fight scene, there wasn't much acting required. On the first take there was no beer in the glass and when we grabbed each other her finger went right up my nose. I remember they wanted a natural reaction 'We will do one more dry run and then we will go for it'. On the next dry run they put the beer in the glass without my knowledge so when Tracey throws the beer in my face they got a natural reaction. If you listen carefully just as the beer is thrown you will hear me shout 'Ba…' well that was the start of bastard, they cut it out because they said that was too natural. But what I have never understood is why they left 'tear her fucking hair out' in which was said just seconds later. I suppose only MGM can answer that one.
Do you mind me asking how much you were paid?
Thirty bob and a plate of sandwiches darling, (chuckle)
Well you made it into the film credits Denea, thats something.
Yeah, fifth from the bottom, cant be bad (another chuckle)
How did you find Michael Caine?
He was a lovely guy, he had such a good sense of humour. I'll never forget the day when he was telling me about the time he was shown the Britt Ekland scene for the first time without any audio. He was shown it up here somewhere, the one where she is touching herself up on the bed, and I remember him saying in his cockney voice, "I don't know what I'm saying here, but I can't wait to find out because it will come in handy for later." Related link: http://www.sabotagetimes.com/tv-film/michael-caine-people-forget-that-i-know-a-few-gangsters/
The interview which I did with her back in 2002 at her home in Washington.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure she lived next door to us in KBE
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