Midnight Sun is a new love story in theatres March 23rd starring Bella Thorne and Patrick Schwarzenegger, and I recently had the unique opportunity to send a teen/young adult contributor to a special, roundtable interview of the two actors and the director, Scott Speer, at the Mall of America!
Thankfully I had a great teen on hand, as her family has contributed to my blog in the past.
I’m excited to introduce Cassie, a high school student here in the Twin Cities! Cassie attended an advance screening of the movie, followed by a private interview at the Mall of America the next day with a few other teens from local blogs. (The actors did an appearance and autograph signing for guests at the Mall of America Rotunda following the interview.)
Here’s Cassie’s recap of the movie, her interview and what it’s like meeting Bella and Patrick!
About the Movie (Official Synopsis)
MIDNIGHT SUN is a romantic tearjerker about 17-year-old Katie Price (Bella Thorne), sheltered at home since childhood with a rare genetic condition, a life-threatening sensitivity to sunlight. Having only her father Jack (Rob Riggle) for company, Katie’s world opens up after dark when she ventures outside to play her guitar. One night, her dreams come true when she’s noticed and asked out by her longtime crush Charlie (Patrick Schwarzenegger), whom she’s secretly watched from her bedroom window for years. As they embark on nightly summer excursions, Katie’s risk to sunlight grows and she’s presented with the gut-wrenching dilemma of whether she can live a normal life with her newfound soul mate.
Watch the trailer:
Cassie’s review of the movie
Katie Price is a girl with a very rare recessive genetic disease known as Xeroderma pigmentosum, or XP. XP is which the ability to repair damage caused by ultraviolet (UV) light is deficient; Meaning, she can’t go in the sun without her brain starting to contract. She has lived with it her entire life and yet, hasn’t let it define who she is. She has become an inspiration to all, teaching them to not define yourself by a disease or a challenge you face. Through the teenage love story of Katie and Charlie, you can visualize yourself in their places. The awkward romance. The towering parent figure. The protective best friend.
The movie was different than I expected. I thought it was just going to be another John Green books where it is completely cliche and I can’t find myself or any other teenager I know. But this movie was different. There was a over protective dad who made Dad jokes that everyone in the theatre laugh hysterically, there was a very awkward romance that every teenager can relate to and can account that they have had awkward interactions with their crushes.
Everything about this movie is the most perfectly awkward love story. A story that everyone should watch.
The Interview
During a roundtable interview I participated in with Patrick Schwarzenegger and Bella Thorne as well as their director, Scott Speer, we delved into the topic of dealing with the pain and loss of a loved one.
Question: So your character [Patrick] falls in love with Katie, Bella’s character, who has XP. How did you come to channel the complex emotions of being in love with someone while also facing pain and loss?
Patrick: At first it’s kind of the “I don’t even have the opportunity” to really express any feelings because Bella’s character kind of shuts me off, she doesn’t want to put me in a position where she knows it’s going to have to end. What’s great about my character is he understands this side and also understands this time limit and he’s just at the point where he’s like “why not? Why don’t we just make this the best time? We’re already having the most fun, I’m in love for who you are, not because of the disease and I know that there is this time table but let’s enjoy the now and let’s embark on this journey and continue to have the best summer of our lives.” Because Katie really tries to cut off Charlie. Not because of me but because of it’s almost like she doesn’t want me to have to go down that road.
Bella: Also she knows that she has her Dad that’s already going to lose her and it’s like now we just add another person who loves you that’s also going to feel sad once she’s gone.
Patrick: I think that’s why he doesn’t really combat the idea of her wanting to go on the boat, because she’s going to be able to feel all these emotions and what it’s like to actually go on the ride on the harbor with me and all of these different things. That’s what she is giving up to experience the full idea of love.
Director: And I think that Charlie realizes that you can live or you can try and not die. At the end of the would you rather live.
Patrick: Everyone dies, but not everyone lives.
The ending statement by Patrick Schwarzenegger invites us all to live everyday as our last. See Midnight Sun when it premieres March 23rd, 2018. Don’t waste a single second.
About the Interview Experience!
Cassie was thrilled to meet and interview the actors and director, and I asked Cassie some follow-up questions about her experience!
Did the actors share anything about their personal lives? Their families – such as, Patrick’s famous parents, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver?
They talked about Patrick and his parents and if he felt as if he was trying to live up to their expectations, but he said he felt that he had a lot of support from his parents to go on his own path and forge his way to make a name for himself, he wanted to do exactly that as well, he wanted to make a name for himself instead of being in his parents “shadow” (which he didn’t believe was a thing).
What was it like meeting Bella and Patrick? Were you nervous? Did they ask you about yourself? Were they like their characters at all?
Since I didn’t know who Patrick was and I didn’t really know Bella (only seen her in Shake it Up) I wasn’t that nervous for meeting them on the movie day and the round table interview but I didn’t realize how close the quarters were during the interview. The fact that I was about 2 feet away from them made me a little nervous but with the other high school reporters there it felt great and it was such a calm environment that everyone just wanted to have a good time and we did.
They did ask about ourselves but only what grade we were in and asked the seniors what they wanted to major in or if they had any idea of what they wanted to do once they graduated.
I believe Bella was like her character as she is a very outgoing person, she is like Katie once Katie gets out of the house during the night to hang out with Patricks character Charlie. I don’t think Patrick is very much like his character. During the interview he was partly quiet, maybe because the questions were mostly pointed at Bella.
Did Patrick and Bella talk about being friends in real life?
They did talk about being friends in real life, they filmed the movie in 23 days all in Vancouver, Canada. Every chance they had they hung out with each other, the two had the connection that pairs need when auditioning for such a romantic movie. They did the typical teenager hang out, went to restaurants, slept, hung out, slept some more, and then ate some more, something that me and my best friend would do. They became really good friends during the movie because there weren’t as many characters in the movie that were their age or that were filming at the same time, it’s almost as fate pushed the two together to become friends as fate pushed Katie and Charlie to be together.
More information about the movie:
In theatres March 23rd!
The film stars Bella Thorne, Patrick Schwarzenegger, and Rob Riggle.
Directed by Scott Speer.
Total running time: 91 minutes. Rated PG-13.
Official website: http://midnightsunmov.com/