REPORT Mamma Mia! London Press Conference Two days before the world premiere of suggested When I Kissed The Teacher. Judy Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again, the press thought that the point of the stage show as well conference took place in the ballroom of as the two films was to recreate and reinvent London’s Corinthia Hotel, in two sittings to ABBA’s songs, but none of that worked without accommodate everyone involved. In the first Benny being in control of the music. group were Amanda Seyfried, Lily James, Benny continued, “I’ve been trying to be as Christine Baranski, Jessica Keenan Wynn, true to the original arrangements as possible, Alexa Davies, Judy Craymer, Cher and Benny, maybe swapping keys because there are other and group two included Dominic Cooper, singers, apart from one or two numbers like My Pierce Brosnan, Stellan Skarsgård, Josh Love My Life which is totally different. But it’s Dylan, Hugh Skinner, Jeremy Irvine, Ol Parker, a joy; you go into these songs, and I haven’t Andy Garcia and Björn. been working on them for at least 39 years, Judy Craymer began by talking about why and then the band comes in. They want sheet it had taken ten years to produce the sequel, music, but they never look at it because they an issue already addressed at the press know the songs already, so it’s really smooth. conference in Stockholm. And they’re all great singers here.” The first question then went to Amanda, Cher was asked when her relationship with Lily and Cher. It concerned the bond between ABBA’s music began. “In America, we knew the mothers and daughters and whether they had major hit songs but when I heard Fernando, I any fond memories of watching films with their heard a different thing. I knew the story, but I own mums and who they wanted to watch heard the acting of it. I didn’t realise the songs the new film with. Lily said, she thought she were so complicated, and I didn’t realise how watched the first Mamma Mia! film with her well-orchestrated and produced they were, mum and that she was planning to watch the and I’m not just saying that because of him sequel with her as well. Amanda had similar [Benny]. When I thought about how to interpret plans. “It’s my mum’s birthday on the 20th it, it seemed so perfect for Andy and I [sic], and and because she couldn’t be here as she it seemed so perfect for the relationship we’d is a wonderful and beautiful grandmother had and seeing each other again.” and nanny to my daughter, I am gonna take When it came to the question of bonding her myself, just the two of us - I am going to with their fellow actors during filming, Lily said wear a hat and a wig…” Cher reported that about Alex and Jessica, “We became this she had been watching old movies with her girl band, and the power and the joy was just mother. “Early on in my life, my mother started amazing – Dynamos forever. But all of us, we me watching old black and white films, and I were supporting each other, and there was a still love them. We watched musicals, and I beautiful energy on the set.” Amanda added, remember seeing Mildred Pierce. That was “I was crazy, coming back after ten years, and a musical. It was kind of a down movie, but it you guys had really started shooting, and you’d was really good. My mother and I watched all set the tone for the entire shoot by doing the old movies together, and I appreciate that now bulk of your stuff before we even descended more than I can say.” on Croatia. When we got there, you were all A news reporter from Bulgarian television warm and cosy, and you made us feel warm congratulated Benny on the new song and cosy. It’s still daunting, but it’s nice to arrangements. He wanted to know about the ‘come home’.” process and what had been most important Asked about her reaction when reading when he began to pre-arrange the classical the script for the first time, Christine replied, ABBA songs for the new actors, voices and “I agreed to doing the sequel without even the new script. Benny replied, ”I don’t know seeing a script because I’d had so much fun. where to start. In order to create the script, My first question was, are the same people on there had to be a number of songs, and we board, and is everybody gonna agree? Word could not really use the 22 songs from the first was people were gonna move heaven and film. We could use maybe two or three, which earth to arrange their complicated schedules we have, Dancing Queen, Mamma Mia is in to do it. When I read the script, I was so taken because it’s called Mamma Mia!, and a slice of how really original it was. You take this story, I Have A Dream. Having the songs is important do a sequel where you see the maturation of because otherwise there is nothing to write a these characters we’ve come to know, that story around. The lyrics are moving the story they’ve been enformed by loss, things have forward. happened in their lives, you see them coming “Then we had a script, from Mr Parker, who together with a new depth in their lives. And is a lovely guy by the way, and then we said, then there’s the brilliance of taking it back maybe not this one, maybe not that one, we in time, with these six drop-dead talented, swapped one or two.” Judy added that, for the sexy, young performers doing all these sexy opening scene, Ol initially wanted to use Super rock’n’roll numbers so brilliantly, it’s just an Trouper but, during a meeting, Benny had ingenious construct. Kudos to Ol Parker, Judy, Benny – everybody waited ten years to make the opportunity to sit back for a minute, breathe sure it was exactly right.” and be present. Christine commented, “I think One journalist enquired as to what extent she’s a new and improved version.” Lily had managed to make Donna her own Lily thanked Christine for being so character, given that Meryl had played the supportive. “There was a moment when we older version. “Donna is the most beloved, were rehearsing When I Kissed The Teacher brilliant, extraordinary character, and Meryl’s right at the beginning, and it meant the world Donna was everything. I just tried to watch to us that you came in, burst into applause it and learn from what Meryl did and try and and said, you’re doing it, girls. For us that was capture the essence of that feeling, uninhibited everything.” woman. I watched the film over and over again A Portuguese journalist stated that the first to try and get into her body, how Meryl moved, film had broken all records in Portugal, drawing her physicality, how she’s so open to the over one million people into the cinemas. He world. I felt that if I could find my way into that wanted to know from Benny if he had an physicality, my Donna could hopefully grow explanation for its and ABBA’s popularity in into that woman. In the end, it’s surrendering his home country. “I don’t know. Maybe there to the moment, being there with all these is a connection between music from up north amazing people and dancing and singing, I and Fado [traditional Portuguese music]. I think that’s the spirit of the movie as well.” love Fado and listen to it a lot, and it has a For Alexa, Julie had been her hero since resemblance. I mean, you don’t have the big she was a young child. “I think I’ve seen pine forests that we do, and it’s not as dark everything she’s ever done. I watched every in Portugal as it is in Sweden, but there is interview she’s ever done, especially from the a similarity. I think, all kinds of folk music ‘80s to see what she was like at that stage in correspond with each other. her life. Julie has quite a particular voice that Asked what it had felt like to step onto the I was really interested in playing around with. set with such an incredible cast, Cher replied, Luckily, we have quite a similar physicality “I was terrified because everyone had been already in that we look tired all the time. But all together, and my character also wasn’t very these young women are fantastic characters, liked by everybody. But all was great, and it was already there on the page. The really everybody was so nice to me. And then Meryl interesting thing is, you do your own research, was on, she was behind a piece of scenery but as soon as I met Lily and Jess, it took it up and watching me doing my number. It was still another level because what’s amazing about hard to go on a set where I was a stranger to these characters is that they are stronger everyone, try to work your way into the story together, and it adds a whole new layer when and be friends with everybody.