Les Chantery Cedar Boys Interview

CEDAR BOYS

When you're on the outside.... all you want is in.

Tarek, a young Lebanese-Australian panel-beater, struggling to realise his dreams, is offereda chance to set himself up for life. All he has to do is follow a plan to outsmart the cops and agang of serious criminals. He wants the prize... but is he ready to pay the price?

Tarek, a young panel beater, lives at home with his parents and little sister. His close friendNabill works in his family contract cleaning business. Sam, his hot-headed mate, tries to makea name for himself on the street.

Frustrated with life out West, Tarek's only escape is his weekly pilgrimage into the bright lights of the city. One night Nabil offer his friend "in" on a heist that could set them up for life. Tarek isintrigued but he's not a criminal and his family already has one son in jail, his older brother,Jamal.

Then temptation starts to get the better of him. Tarek dreams of owning his own workshopand living in a better area. His brother's appeal has also stalled for lack of funds. And thenthere's Amie, the hot eastern suburbs girl he's just met. She's part of another world; exclusive, privileged and out of reach. It's where he wants to be. Tarek and Nabil decide to take a chance.

Nabil and Tarek stake out the suspect apartment and soon discover a dealer's stash ofecstasy tablets. They take them, leaving behind just enough to tip off the police. Tarek andNabil use Sam to off load the pills without telling him their origins. Then the money startsrolling in.

Unbeknownst to the boys, the career criminals they have ripped off are maneuvering theirresources to find out who has their drugs. As the criminals reach out their tentacles, Sam getscareless. Tarek and his friends suddenly find themselves trapped in a deadly game.

Tarek turns to his brother Jamal in jail for help. He gains assurance - provided the drugsand money are returned, the boys will not be harmed. Finally the three boys band together but there are things far more dangerous than getting caught by the law. There are choices that are irreversible, and consequences beyond their worst nightmares.

Interview with Les Chantery (Tarek)

Where are you living, are you in LA?

Yes, Mum and Dad are still in Sydney, but I live in Hollywood. We have a little apartment and its great because it's like a den for Aussies actors. So there is always people on the couch, I wish I had made the decision sooner.


Was it a big commitment leaving home?

I had a scholarship at NIDA, and after I finished there was not a lot of work about, and I was getting offered roles that were really stereotyped. When I got to Hollywood, there was no question about background, and they are not afraid of the word ambition (in fact in Hollywood they expect it).


When you got to Hollywood, you got picked up very quickly.

Yes, when I was over there I made a short film. There were a lot of Aussie actors over there not getting any work, so I made a short film about that. I was editing it and Jon Avnet walked past, he really likes Aussie actors and he asked me then and there if I wanted to be in his film. I was thinking is this a casting couch moment but nope. (laughter)


The film Cedar Boys depicts really close family relationships, do you have a close family?

I come from a family of women, and I am glad about that because they taught me how to dress, and got me into hair gel. In the US guys get manicures, can't do that yet...Its tough being a woman, grooming, there is a lot of work.


What do your sisters think of Cedar Boys?

The girls all have a crush on the guy that plays my brother. Because my role (Tarek) is vulnerable, the girls all come up to me and want to save me.


Really? The role is very much one of vulnerability, and about the need for belonging.

Yep, he cries so much, he just cries all the time, I feel like I need to go around flexing and breaking things, being manly (laughter). But it was good because the role defies the Lebanese stereotype. I wanted to play him more rough but Serhat (Serhat Caradee Director) said no. We have that type of character already, he wanted to show a different type of Lebanese man. He also wanted me to play Tarek as a vulnerable character because of the ending.


I thought watching the film that it brings micro racial issues into the fore.

Yes, even when speaking with girls, speaking with Rach (Rachael Taylor)) Lebanese boys are seen as the bad boys, not marriage material. I wanted to play Tarek against the stereotypical, more sensitive and vulnerable…. Who love their mamma.


What's next for you in LA?

A film called Kingdom Come. It's a big epic film about Jesus. I play a guy called Asop, he is a blind beggar. It's a Warner Bros film, but since the global Financial Crisis it has been put on hold like a lot of films.


Do you think that the Australian Film Industry is changing, regarding the types of films it releases?

Yeh, slowly changing. But that said it took Serhat six years to get the film up. That's a long time since about six films are done a year. Its good to have a different film out there, one without the Sydney Opera House….we need to have a balance.


Is Cedar Boys going to be a National Release?
Yes, on July 30th, but it is up against some big Hollywood releases, but having some big Aussie names like Rachael Taylor on board has been great.


You seemed to have great chemistry with Rachael Taylor....

Yep, we have been friends for ages. It is interesting because seventeen scenes had to be cut out of the film due to time. So you miss out on seeing the characters relationship develop so that's a pity. They fall in love so when Tarek finds out Amie is a stripper, that scene is quite different when you know more about the relationship.


Martin Henderson is in the film, what is it like working with him?

Great, he had just come back from LA, so he had this American accent, he had to ocker his accent up. He was convinced that we really could be brothers so that was good.


It was a stellar cast, what was it like on set?

We had a very lucky cast, the set was really intense because we shot it in twenty-nine days, so more like a TV shoot than a movie. We did a lot of shooting at night on Oxford Street in winter. Like at three am in the morning. Because we had to close down Oxford Street. The cocaine scene was also hard, it was glucosamine, and I had to do about forty takes, so my nose was burning. It was take after take after take...


CEDAR BOYS was released nationally on July 30, 2009 by Mushroom Pictures, in partnership with Hoyts Distribution.

www.cedarboysthemovie.com