Podtalk: Lead Actors, Director of ‘Everybody’s Talking About Jamie’

Printer-friendly versionE-mail page to friendPDF version

CHICAGO – Coming out as one’s true self is a benefit of our evolving social order. In “Everybody’s Talking About Jamie,” which will stream on Amazon Prime Video on September 17th, the title character is an intuitive teenage drag queen, and fights the last vestiges of prejudice against his destiny. Oh yes, and it’s a musical.

Lauren Patel & Max Harwood in ‘Everybody’s Talking About Jamie’
Photo credit: Amazon Prime Video

Max Harwood is Jamie, a different type of teen from his more conventional schoolmates. His best friend is the also-outsider Pritti Pasha (Lauren Patel). His mother (Sarah Lancashire) is an avid supporter of Jamie’s drag ambitions, while his father (Ralph Ineson) rejects his son. Jamie finds a mentor in Hugo AKA Loco Chanel (Richard E. Grant), despite a pushback from his teacher Ms. Hedge (Sharon Horgan). In song, dance and story, the queen in Jamie will rise and prosper, with a screenplay adaptation (from the source stage musical) by Tom MacRae and in his feature debut, directed by Jonathan Butterell.

Butterell began on stage, as a choreographer and director. He developed the stage musical version of “Jamie,’ with Dan Gillespie and Tom MacRae. On Broadway, he choreographed revivals of “Nine” and “Fiddler on the Roof.” He is from Sheffield, England, where the film is set. Max Harwood (Jamie) and Lauren Patel (Pritti) are both making their feature film debuts.

Director Jonathan Butterell, Max Harwood & Lauren Patel in Chicago
Photo credit: Patrick McDonald for HollywoodChicago.com

In PART ONE of a Podtalk with Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com, director Jonathan Butterell of “Everybody’s Talking About Jamie” talks about bringing his stage version to the screen …

In PART TWO, lead actors Max Harwood and Lauren Patel on identity and their roles …

By PATRICK McDONALD Editor and Film Writer HollywoodChicago.com pat@hollywoodchicago.com