Hollywood Movies

Across the Universe's Martin Luther McCoy and TV Carpio

with Rebecca Murray

Martin Luther McCoy makes his feature film debut as the guitar player Jo-Jo in the wild musical Across the Universe directed by Julie Taymor. T.V. Carpio co-stars as Prudence, an ex-cheerleader who suffers from unrequited love.

Martin Luther McCoy Photo - Across the Universe Movie Premiere Martin Luther McCoy Photo TV Carpio and Jim Sturgess Photo - Across the Universe Movie Premiere TV Carpio and Jim Sturgess Photo Evan Rachel Wood, TV Carpio and Dana Fuchs Photo - Across the Universe Movie Premiere Evan Rachel Wood, TV Carpio and Dana Fuchs Photo Jim Sturgess and TV Carpio Photo - Across the Universe Movie Premiere Jim Sturgess and TV Carpio Photo Jim Sturgess, TV Carpio and Dana Fuchs Photo - Across the Universe Movie Premiere Jim Sturgess, TV Carpio and Dana Fuchs Photo

Transcript: Across the Universe's Martin Luther McCoy and TV Carpio

Rebecca Murray from About.com Hollywood Movies at the Special Hollywood Screening of Across the Universe.

Martin Luther McCoy ('Jo-Jo')

How did it feel to be a part of bringing these Beatles songs alive on the big screen?

Martin Luther McCoy: "It just so happened that my most favorite Beatles song, I was asked to perform it on screen. I could not have asked for a better gift. That was not an assignment for me. That was like, 'You've got to be kidding? Okay, cool, let's do it.' So I had a wonderful time but I learned so much while on the set as well. And trust me, I'm a student of film. I used to study when I was in school. Now I'm in front of camera and it's all good. So be it. I'm enjoying both sides because musicals are all I really wanted to do in film and in acting, and in pursuing theatrical opportunities. You know what I mean? So it's so fortuitous that this comes like this.

I walked into it… Like somebody sent me an email saying, 'Hey, would you be interested in auditioning for a major motion picture?' It can happen, but it starts here [indicating his head. Because once you avail yourself mentality, you can draw things from the universe that you can use to move forward in your own path. I believe that because there was a time when I shut down acting opportunities because I didn't want to be seen as an actor. So I'm really about my music, you know what I mean? And here comes the opportunity to do both at the same time.

I used to rock the hair all out, carrying my guitar. I still keep the boots. Hold on, get the boots. I still rock my boots but it's like I can bury that whole crusader, that cross I used to bear on my shoulder like, 'I have to do it this way.' Now I just have to show up."

Well you definitely show up in this. Working with Julie [Taymor], what was that like on the set?

Martin Luther McCoy: "Julie is a brilliant visionary but she's also fluid enough to freestyle. On the day of the whole set is set… 'You know what? Let's flip it and go from that angle and catch this. Matter of fact, I was dreaming last night and I came up with this.' She does things [like that] and I love that because I trust her heart. She moves with passion as opposed to just calculation. There's passion behind it and I think that speaks volumes of her work. But her work speaks volumes of who she is as a person."

T.V. Carpio ('Prudence')

Tackling songs like this that people love and have loved for generations, that's kind of a weight on your shoulders. Did you feel that at all?

T.V. Carpio: "I would say yes and no. No, because my song was the one song that's really drastically different so I didn't feel like it was going to be compared compared. Yes, because it is so drastically different. I knew there'd be people who'd be really upset with the way it was changed."

I can imagine that this is a movie that when you get the script, the script actually looks nothing like the finished product. Is that true?

T.V. Carpio: "Well, what was the script - just the basis and the ideas - was good enough. And then you get Julie in the room and her talking about it is just like… She's like, 'Oh T.V. I have a vision of you! You're going to be bodypainted and butoh paints. You're going to be dancing all these grotesque movements singing jai guru deva om. You're going to fall in the water with these masked ladies – masked Vietnamese ladies – when Joe is shooting down all the Vietnamese ladies in Vietnam.' I'm like, 'Okay…' That was day one of shooting. I was bodypainted nude on a 3x3 platform in the middle of a lake, dancing and singing jai guru deva om."

You'll probably never have a more surreal experience in film than that.

T.V. Carpio: "Probably not, but I hope I will because this is what I live for."

People love working with Julie Taymor. What is it that she brings out as an actor for you?

T.V. Carpio: "Well I can only speak for myself, I don't know about other people. But Julie has this thing where you have to go down the rabbit hole with her. You have to be willing to dive and help her create her vision, help her realize that amazing, stunning vision that we may not be able to see but we get convinced when she tells us. We're like, 'Yes, we're there! Tell me what I need to do.' 'Roller skate?' 'Fine.' 'With a horse puppet corseted to you?' 'Yeah, okay.'"