Russell Brand caught our attention with his flamboyant style and outrageous antics in Forgetting Sarah Marshall. He played Aldous Snow, an obnoxious rock star whose raunchy and self-important attitude left quite an impression on audiences. He’s back for the spin-off Get Him to the Greek, opening June 4, and while Brand plays the same character, his co-star Jonah Hill does not.
In Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Hill was the awkward fan obsessed with Snow, but this time he plays Aaron Green, an assistant for a record executive who goes to London and tries to bring the singer back to Los Angeles for a show at the Greek Theatre.
“The character I’m playing is just representative of a 25-year-old guy who’s really just trying to be in the music business and doesn’t really know what that means yet. I think this is a taste of what the music business is actually like, sort of the seedier side of it and what seems all fun in making music and being a part of something big. Then you see kind of the darkness of it and what it takes to be a famous person and a rock star,” Hill said. “The sort of, I guess, dark habits of some of these people, like drug use and womanizing and no stability and no home life and no family. He sees, he wants excitement but then he gets excitement and he’s kind of like oh, maybe being normal isn’t the worst thing in the world and being wild and crazy is maybe not the best thing in the world.”
ComingSoon.net was on-set (View Set Photos) at the Greek Theatre and not only watched Russell Brand transform into the character of Aldous Snow, which was exciting to see, but we talked to him and Jonah Hill for a while and saw Brand perform.
THE STORY
1999 was the highlight was Aldous Snow’s career. He was very successful for a period of time but then he got caught up in drugs, wild partying and his band eventually fell apart.
10 years later, the music industry is hit by a recession. Sergio (Sean ‘P. Diddy’ Combs) runs Pinnacle record label and desperately needs a hit to generate more money coming in. Aaron Green suggests bringing back Infant Sorrow and having a big comeback show. Sergio loves the idea and gives Green the job of getting Snow to the States for the concert.
But the task isn’t as easy as it sounds. Green only has a few days to get the rock star to L.A. and Snow fights him all the way. He wants to stay in London to party which doesn’t go over well with Sergio when Green becomes enticed by Snow’s lifestyle.
They finally get out of London and head to N.Y. for a brief press tour which goes well, but then they get sidetracked in Vegas on their way to L.A. and end up in trouble. Sergio comes to find them, but more drama happens when Snow runs into his dad who he doesn’t have a good relationship with.
We all know they make it go the Greek, but it’s the crazy and wild journey that makes the storyline interesting and hilarious.
THE SET
We arrived at the Greek Theatre around 8pm and saw the stage set up for a show. 1,300 extras were there chanting “Aldous Snow.” When Brand came out he thanked the crowd for their patience and then shook his ass at them. Needless to say, everyone laughed and he kept them highly entertained. The extras went absolutely nuts and it felt like we were at a real show.
When he walked out on stage to perform, he commanded the stage wearing a silver jacket, no shirt, a skinny tie and matching silver pants. His presence was incredible. It was almost as if he was a rock star and he was really performing live at a concert.
“Bangers, Beans and Mash” was the first song we saw Brand perform as Aldous Snow which we found out later was one of his favorites to sing.
We also watched him do “Going Up” which Jason Segel wrote as a metaphor for his career getting back on track.
In between takes he addressed the crowd and kept everyone’s energy up with his over-the-top behavior that made us all laugh.
“Yeah, I see you you pissy little b*tch,” Brand shouted at one of the extras trying to get his attention.
He continued to pump up the crowd by asking, “Is anyone here from Glendale, California? You poor bastards. This is for Glendale, California.”
Although Brand really sang the songs, during the scenes we watched he wasn’t singing live – it was playback of the tunes he previously recorded.
It was still an exhausting shoot for him, because not only did he do the 2009 concert and performed the songs all the way through a few times, but earlier before we got to the set he shot the 1999 concert and performed extensively in that scene as well.
It was actually really cool to see Brand play Aldous Snow in person and watch him on stage. He was incredibly humble and thanked the extras a few times for hanging out so long.
THE INTERVIEWS
Jonah Hill on playing Aaron Green
