Watch: Michael Fassbender, Domhnall Gleeson and Carla Azar Reveal the Musical Secrets of ‘Frank’
Shipra Harbola Gupta
Fans waited in line outside the Soho Apple Store in New York City for hours to secure a place in the audience for the most recent installment of Apple’s “Meet the Filmmaker” series, featuring “Frank” co-stars Michael Fassbender, Domhnall Gleeson and Carla Azar.
READ MORE: Watch Michael Fassbender Rock Out in a Paper Head at ‘Frank’ Premiere
Directed by Lenny Abrahamson, “Frank” is based on Frank Sidebottom, the real-life comic persona of Chris Sievey. The film follows a young man named Jon, played by Gleeson, who joins Soronprfbs, an experimental band led by Michael Fassbender’s character, Frank. Jon accompanies Frank and the other members of Soronprfbs to a distant retreat in the wilderness, where they make preparations to record the band’s first album.
According to Gleeson, Azar’s background in music (she’s the drummer in the band Autolux) played a critical role in getting the entire cast on to the same page. “The way we got to know each other was through music rehearsal,” he said at one point during the discussion at the Apple Store, which you can view in its entirety below. “So we met up for a couple of weeks and Carla was kind of — Steven Rennicks wrote the music — but Carla was kind of in charge of the band, and when Carla liked the music it made all of us just so happy and confident. It brought everything together and I think she looked after us brilliantly,” continued Gleeson.
“Frank” made its debut at Sundance earlier this year to rave reviews and will open in the U.S. this Friday, August 15.
