Ryan Corr Not Suitable for Children Interview

Ryan Corr Not Suitable for Children Interview

Cast: Ryan Kwanten, Sarah Snook, Ryan Corr, Bojana Novakovic
Director: Peter Templeman
Genre: A Modern Romantic Drama
Running Time: 91 minutes

Synopsis: If your twenties is the party decade, then Jonah Reid (Ryan Kwanten) is one very high achiever. Impulsive and charismatic, Jonah lives in a crumbling inner-city share-house, surviving off the proceeds of the massive, anarchic house-parties he hosts every week with his best mate Gus (Ryan Corr). All financial considerations and life administration he outsources to Stevie (Sarah Snook) - house skeptic, and queen of the caustic retort.

Jonah might not have a career, a qualification or a serious relationship, but on an effort-to-pleasure ratio, he's unbeatable… Until his life takes a jarring detour.

In the wake of an unfortunate discovery during a one-night-stand, Jonah is diagnosed with testicular cancer. Assured that his life is not at risk, he is warned that his impending treatment will render him totally and permanently infertile. A shell-shocked Jonah goes directly to the sperm bank in an effort to preserve his parenting future. But when his sperm samples fail to freeze effectively, he is left with just one option for parenthood - natural conception. Within the next four weeks.

Suddenly the party maestro and sure-fire reveler has a convulsive shift in priorities. With paternal instincts firing, Jonah becomes determined to procreate before it's too late. He barrels back to his ex-girlfriends - starting with Ava (Bojana Novakovic) - but after failing to convince her to drop her life and offer her womb, Jonah contacts just about every girl he has ever known (and some he doesn't) before being given a reality check by Stevie.

Advising him to ditch the ex-girlfriend strategy and cut out the emotional complications, Stevie assesses his options with razor-sharp frankness, lining up candidates and brokering meetings. But as Stevie's efforts as a 'womb agent' stall, and time ticks away … Jonah soon realises that the perfect candidate might be closer than anyone would think.

Release Date: July 12th, 2012

For more information please see:
Ryan Kwanten Not Suitable for Children: www.femail.com.au/ ryan-kwanten-not-suitable-for-children
Sarah Snook Not Suitable for Children Interview: www.femail.com.au/sarah-snook-not-suitable-for-children-interview

Interview with Ryan Corr

Question: How do you describe the film, Not Suitable For Children?

Ryan Corr: Not Suitable For Children is a left of centre dramedy; our director described the film as "a comedy with a romantic heart". The film brings up all these issues for a young man and is essentially about what would happen in a specific situation where someone is forced to ask themselves questions that they wouldn't have necessarily asked themselves before and now there is a time limit to when these decisions need to be made.

Jonah gets testicular cancer and the film explores the dynamic of the two people he lives with and how that is dealt with including his courting experiences that transpose as a result.


Question: How are you similar to your character, Gus?

Ryan Corr: Acting by nature flows from parts of your personality to match the character although I hope there is not a huge amount similar between Gus and I (laughs) because he is completely oblivious, a bit of a goose and a little bit stuck in a fantasy world. Of course there are elements of me within Gus but I'd like to think he is someone I created opposed to someone I emulate.


Question: Tell us about what it was like shooting in Newtown in Sydney?

Ryan Corr: Wonderful! That is the really great part about the film, that it is shot in Sydney's inner-west and it really showcases some iconic Sydney hot-spots and areas of Newtown. I don't live far from Sydney currently so it felt really close to home which gave the film a truthful nature to it and a really natural feeling and the film captures that. Peter Templeman has shot the film really elegantly and shown a lot of the atmosphere of where the story is centred around. It's home and it is close so it felt very real and when you combine that with the nature in which we started rehearsing and creating the film - it was a very sharing place because Pete (Peter Templeman) gave us the script and said "this is the script and this is the family and where we go to from here is up to us". All these elements were put together to make us feel very safe and enjoy making this fun film.


Question: What was it like working with Peter Templeman?

Ryan Corr: Wonderful! He is such a gentleman; he is really cool, a surfy from Perth, and an absolute family man and a real boy's boy. He took us all under his wing and made the audition process, rehearsal and the film a lot of fun to shoot and made us feel like we had a lot of input, it wasn't ever his vision that we had to match, it was very much about what we could all create together. I think when a director opens it up, like that an enables you as an actor to put your two cents in, chuck some ideas out there and adlib some scenes it makes for a very valuable experience and quiet a rare one.


Question: What was it like working with Ryan Kwanten?

Ryan Corr: Ryan Kwanten is an absolute gentleman! Ryan has a wonderful career overseas and you hear about ego but it didn't exist with him, he was so in there with us and he placed a lot of importance on the dynamic we have with each other and was there with us. We were able to bond over drinks and we got to know his mother because she came onto set, we were able to bond like any relationship develops. It was a really nice way to go about a film with someone who has a lot of profile overseas and he has his feet firmly planted on the ground. Ryan Kwanten is very project based and he wanted to make the film as good as possible, like we did.


Question: If you were in the same position as Jonah - do you think you'd act similar?

Ryan Corr: What's quiet interesting about the film is our characters are a bit older, around the age of 27 and the answer to that question will be very different, at that age, to now as I am 23. The film does throw those types of questions up and I think it's important especially when you have a timeframe surrounding fertility and what you want in your life and if you want fatherhood and if you have that choice taken away from you or you had to make that choice (in a certain amount of time). It's a mind boggle to get your head around and I think it's important that young people come in to the film to have a laugh but at the same time come out asking 'what would I do?'

The way the characters deal with that information and they support each other as friends and develop their relationships is another very important part of the film.

I'm not sure what I'd do in that circumstance, at this stage, let's home that it doesn't happen.


Question: What do you hope audiences take away from Not Suitable For Children?

Ryan Corr: To come out smiling! Not Suitable For Children is a fun film and it does have a very nice romantic heart to it. I'd like audiences to sit there enjoying their coke and popcorn whilst having a tonne of laughs, find themselves squirming at stages and ask themselves the questions that the film puts forward. The film is not a stereotypical romantic comedy - it sits in a world of its own. I hope that people recognise some of the bars that they're in and that it feels quiet close to home, for them.


Question: You've been acting for a long time now, what advice do you have for young Australians wanting to pursue acting as a career?

Ryan Corr: Go for it! I am a big believer in following a dream. It does take work, it's naive to think that it just comes easy and you have to be in it for the right reasons because it's not about chasing fame or glory - it is about wanting to do the work and wanting to be responsible to tell stories because that's very much what our job is. As actors we represent other people within a story that other people go and watch and hopefully can then relate to themselves and there is a lot of responsibility that comes with that.

Work hard and do it for the right reasons because if it's what's you really want to do you will put the steps in place, to get there. Drama class is always a wonderful thing and a really great fun environment to grow up and learn what the craft is. If you want to go and train you need to read a lot because acting is a lot about life experiences and it's hard to play certain characters unless you've been through that, yourself. Acting is like any career, you can't be a tradesman without tools.


Question: How do you feel when you watch yourself of the big screen?

Ryan Corr: You've got a six foot ear (laughs). It's a different experience all together with the surround sound than when you're watching yourself on television because you're normally in your living room with your family; it's very different being in a theatre with hundreds of people that are watching the film. The first time you see it, it is confronting but it's also really wonderful because it's a celebration of the story you've created.

It's been a very exciting journey to watch the film on the big screen at Sydney Film Festival especially because there was a great audience response and I lot of buzz afterwards and people came out with smiles on their faces. We've had a really great receptions so far and that's what we're aiming for; the confronting period is over and now we can enjoy!


Question: What's next for you, are you working on another project at the moment?

Ryan Corr: I am, my next project is a theatre piece, and I am doing a play with the Sydney Theatre Company (STC) called Sex with Strangers which is a really contemporary play that brings up modern multi-media 'what is writing' issues and I get to work with Jacqueline McKenzie for another couple of months. Sex with Strangers will open in September and run through till November. I have to get stage fit; vocally fit and physically fit to be able to carry a performance night by night. I am really excited because theatre is an actor's medium.


Interview by Brooke Hunter