And the character just finds it very hard to believe that this movie star is interested in her. She's just this wonderful, high-energy lead. HOLMES: Well, for one thing, Jessie, who is played by the show creator, Rose Matafeo, is a kind of rom-com heroine we just don't see nearly enough.
KURTZLEBEN: Well, there is a lot to like about it, but what else is it about the series that inspires so much devotion among its diehard fans? But it does have a very devoted romantic comedy audience. And a lot of people are still catching up with this show. The second season, which is also six episodes, aired a couple of months ago in the U.K., and it's just now coming to streaming here. The first season, which was six episodes, was made for the BBC, and then that started streaming on HBO Max a couple of months later - so in June of last year. So the United States is just getting this second season of "Starstruck," but as I understand it, it's not an entirely new season. KURTZLEBEN: It's great to talk about something that is so genuinely good. Thank you for having me, particularly to talk about this show that I like so much.
KURTZLEBEN: Pop culture correspondent Linda Holmes is here to talk about this unusual and very charming love story.
I have been ruining my own life for, like, years now. ROSE MATAFEO: (As Jessie) I'm sorry I have been having a moderate nervous breakdown for 12 hours. NIKESH PATEL: (As Tom) I'm sorry I booked you a plane ticket home. In the second season, now streaming on HBO Max, Jessie and Tom have to figure out, OK, what now? In the first season, we see the two grow close, culminating in a grand romantic moment wherein Jessie decides not to get on a plane and leave the country as she had planned. Created by and starring New Zealander comedian Rose Matafeo, it focuses on a woman in London named Jessie who lives that fantasy when she starts dating Tom, a popular and very handsome movie star. Set to Gershwin’s effortlessly cool Concerto in F, with extracts from Chopin Starstruck is exactly the evening of entertainment you’ve been longing for.The fantasy of dating a movie star has a certain appeal, but what would it really be like? The romantic comedy series "Starstruck" focuses on this very question. Gene Kelly’s pioneering choreography and much-loved style influenced a generation of directors and dance-makers in Hollywood, Broadway and beyond, and we honour his creative legacy with this playful new film. You’ll be transported into the world where jazz meets ballet, and the stars align.Ĭombining live performance capture with cinematic filming techniques and additional elements not seen in the stage production, Starstruck is directed for screen by Oscar Sansom ( Dive), in partnership with Forest of Black ( The Secret Theatre). In collaboration with Kelly’s widow, Patricia Ward Kelly, Scottish Ballet’s CEO/Artistic Director Christopher Hampson and designer Lez Brotherston ( The Snow Queen, The Secret Theatre) have lovingly revived the original ballet and added a delightful new twist. It has now been given a new set of wings for its UK stage debut and world premiere on screen. His jazzy, joyful Pas de Dieux was highly acclaimed at the time as ‘a breath of fresh air’ but has been rarely performed since. One of the first choreographers to bring the ‘American style’ to Europe, the legendary Gene Kelly was invited to create an original work for the Paris Opera Ballet in 1960.
Inspired by Gene Kelly’s iconic work in Hollywood, Starstruck will be released as a feature-length film in partnership with Marquee TV. In this immersive, theatrical experience, audiences around the world can escape with us to the glamour and grace of Paris, 1960.