'Jack the Giant Slayer' stars Nicholas Hoult and Eleanor Tomlinson talk Bryan Singer and beanstalks

Bryan Singer fairy tale hits theaters Friday

By Daniel FienbergTuesday, Feb 26, 2013 1:00 AM

RICHMOND, ENGLAND - The recent junket for Bryan Singer's "Jack the Giant Slayer" created quite the clash of cultures.

On one hand, the director and stars were discussing their high-tech reimagining of the story of Jack and the Beanstalk, a classic fairy tale being brought to the big screen with 3D flair and layers of complicated computer imagery used to produce grotesque giants and towering green staircases leading to a kingdom into the sky.

On the other hand, the interviews were being conducted at the Hampton Court Palace just outside of London, a former residence of royalty constructed for Cardinal Wolsey back in the early 16th Century. You can't see much of the palace in the set-up for this interview, but if you listen to the echo in the audio, those are the reverberations of high ceilings and Tudor opulence.

In this conversation, stars Nicholas Hoult and Eleanor Tomlinson discuss the challenges of acting opposite tennis balls for many of their "Jack the Giant Slayer" scenes, as well as Singer's role in helping them all "just create a spectacle, a fun family adventure the people can laugh at and get swept up in the romance between us two," as Hoult put it.

As you can see from some of the behind-the-scenes footage edited with the interview, parts of "Jack the Giant Slayer" actually were shot at Hampton Court Palace and, as Hoult and Tomlinson explain, Singer also made sure they had plenty of "real" beanstalk to work with.

Check out the interview above.

"Jack the Giant Slayer" opens on Friday, March 1. Stay tuned in the days to come for interviews with Singer, as well as co-stars Ewan McGregor and Stanley Tucci.

And check out the video below for my introduction to the junket. Warning, it contains singing.

Daniel Fienberg
Executive Editor

A long-time member of the TCA Board and a longer-time blogger of "American Idol," Dan Fienberg writes about TV, except for when he writes about movies or sometimes writes about the Red Sox. But never music. He would sound stupid talking about music.