With “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” opening today I thought it would be fun to revisit a 2011 interview I conducted with one of the film’s biggest new stars, talented newcomer John Boyega. While I don’t intend to run these “Flashback Fridays” on a weekly basis, I do think they’ll be a fun way to look back at the Moviefreak library in ways that are both entertaining and informative. Here’s hoping you all enjoy.

“I love this movie. I love it so much. I like the father-daughter story because it is representative to what so much of our relationship was like. I love how they’ve depicted Trumbo. I love Bryan’s performance. There is nothing about this movie that I can think of that I don’t like.”
– Niki Trumbo

“When you watch the film, you realize how big the moment was, how this movement represented more than just getting the right to vote…”
– Suffragette director Sarah Gavron

“It’s a measure of a pretty good movie, isn’t it? If it’s a movie that you like and you go back and watch it again sometimes you’re a little disappointed because there isn’t much more there than what there was when you saw it the first time. But, sometimes, maybe a lot of times, it surprises you, and you see things in the movie that you didn’t notice the first time, you start seeing things that no one, not even the filmmakers, could have known were going to be a part of the zeitgeist at the time, that those elements would still ring true ten or twenty years later. I’ve been lucky enough to make a lot of those pictures.”

” I really want people to understand, you cannot call these people stupid who are muddying these debates. They’re not stupid. They’re very, very smart, and that’s why they can get away with telling all of these falsehoods and outright lies.”

“With kids, what’s the first language they speak? Well, that’s emotion…Even if they don’t understand the specifics of what is being talked about, if they see a character is upset or fearful or happy, they respond to that.”

The new film is a revelation…All-in-all, it’s a completely different motion picture, and one definitely worth seeing.

“I think I’m pretty realistic. I’m lucky to be able to do what it is I do for a living and I want to keep doing it. You have to have some caution and you have to be aware of what people think but at the same time you can’t design your entire career around trying to keep everyone happy.”

“It’s a funny thing; this is a very Australian film. The humor. The way we put it together. The places we took inspiration from. It’s all pretty Aussie.”