Out of the historic Kennedy clan has emerged yet another young “prince,” and his name is Patrick Arnold Shriver Schwarzenegger.  The eldest son of Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver, his family tree reads like the who’s who in American philanthropy and politics, ranging from Robert F. Kennedy, Ted Kennedy, and John F. Kennedy, to his grandmother, Eunice Kennedy Shriver, who founded the Special Olympics, and his grandfather, Sargent Shriver, who was a United States Ambassador to France, the first director of the Peace Corps, and the Democratic nominee for Vice President of the United States under George McGovern in the 1972 U.S. presidential election.

Patrick is taking a non-political path and began his career as a model.  He’s a local boy and was educated at the Brentwood School and received a degree from USC’s Marshall School of Business as well as a degree from USC’s School of Cinematic Arts.  In keeping with the philanthropic tradition of the family, with the help of his parents Patrick founded Project360 when he was 15, some of the proceeds earmarked for charitable donations.  24-year-old Patrick’s love of the world of film goes back to his childhood when he hung out with his dad on set and got bitten by the acting bug.  He makes his film debut as Charlie in “Midnight Sun,” in which he co-stars with Bella Thorne as Katie Price.  This is a touching story about a young girl with a terrible disease, how she copes with it, and how meeting Charlie brings her unexpected joy.  Sensitively directed by Scott Speer from a screenplay by Eric Kirsten, the film co-stars Rob Riggle as Katie’s dad Jack and Quinn Shephard as her best friend Morgan.  And yes.  Do stuff some Kleenex in your purse.

Patrick recently sat down with a select group of journalists and the following has been edited for content and continuity for print purposes.

How did you get involved in “Midnight Sun?”

Patrick:  I was the last component.  Bella Thorne was already cast and I got involved through the traditional way of auditioning.  I did the director read and then had to do the chemistry read, which was with Bella.  Chemistry reads are when you do it with the leading person who is already cast.  You basically see if you have chemistry with each other.  I had known Bella a little bit prior to this film and texted her telling her that I was going to have a chemistry read with her and wondered if there was any chance she could meet me.  She texted back, ‘Print out an extra set of the sides,* choose a place, and I’ll meet you.’

Where did the meeting take place and why did you want to play the part of Charlie?

Patrick:  Her mom dropped her off at the Montage Hotel.  We met for over an hour and went through all the sides and just hung out. It was right before the audition and even though we hung out for only an hour, we were much more comfortable with each other.  That helped me a lot.  But to your question as to why I got involved with the project.  I love romance.  I love a love story and obviously this isn’t your ordinary love story because it deals with Bella’s character, who has a real dangerous degenerative disease called XP,** which is deadly if you’re exposed to sunlight.  The story follows their relationship and how my character pulls her out of her life of isolation and helps her to embark on a journey of love and experience what it feels like to be a “normal” teenager.

How would you describe your experience with your first leading role?

Patrick:  It was so much fun. We shot in Vancouver for two months and Bella and I got along just great.  There wasn’t anyone else to hang out with so it was just she and I. We worked and afterwards we went on hikes and bike rides and as the filming process went on, we got closer and closer to each other on and off screen and I think that closeness and comfort was portrayed in the film.

How did Bella help you with some of the very emotional scenes?

Patrick:  You know, when you play tennis with someone who is not good, you’re not good, but when you play with someone who is really good, you become better.  That’s how it worked with Bella.  This was my first starring role and there was so much I didn’t know about acting, and still don’t know about acting, but just working with her was like playing tennis with an “A” player – it brought up my “game.”  Also, I had coffee with Scott before we began to shoot and told him to feel free to dig into any parts of my life that he felt would inform the character and help me get to those very emotional moments.

Were you aware of how much a girl’s best friend influences a relationship such as how Morgan influenced your relationship with Katie? 

Patrick:  I was aware of that because I’ve had girlfriends and know how their friends influence the relationship.  You have to win over the friends.  By the way, it’s the same for guys.  When I met my girlfriend, trust me, all the guys gave me input – do they like her, do they not like her, can she hang out with the boys.  So it’s a vice versa situation.

What influence did your dad have in your pursuing an acting career? 

Patrick:  Obviously while I was growing up my dad made a few films.  (Laughter)  My favorite thing was I could ask him to take me to the set.  He would pick me up early from school, throw me in the Hummer and we would drive to Universal. I wanted to stay there all day because I would watch movies, visit him in the make-up room, and watch him go from dad to “Mr. Freeze” or “The Terminator.”  I would see something on paper become a reality in terms of film.  During breaks we would jump in his golf cart and go on all the rides.  I loved going to Craft Services and getting candy.  (Laughter) This was when films were always shot in Los Angeles and he filmed at Universal Studios.  So I loved going to sets and fell in love with film and always wanted to do film.  I took some theatre classes at school.  I think my parents always knew that I wanted to be an actor but they also wanted me to get an education.  They wanted me to finish high school and go to college.  I’m happy I did.  My dad is obviously someone that had a path in acting, but also has the real estate and business side as well as the political side.  You know with acting you can work for three months and not work for a year.  So having other things you like to do during those down times is important.

Did you have more fun on film sets than when you lived in Sacramento?

Patrick:  (He laughs) Sacramento?  When my dad ran for governor, I was around ten so when you’re ten or eleven – (makes a weighing motion with two hands) the capital or movie sets? (Laughter)  It was definitely a great experience.  I got to learn a lot, but as a kid going to movie sets was more fun.

On which set did you have the most fun?

Patrick:  A lot of the filming of “Terminator 3” was shot on the hillside near the Griffith Observatory so I got to go on a lot of hikes, but my favorite was when he was working on the Universal lot.  You literally got to go to “King Kong” or “Jaws” and it was a dream come true for a kid.

Your name:  Does it help or hinder?

Patrick:  You can look at anything in life as a positive or negative.  I definitely like to see it as a positive.  I’ve gotten to meet so many people from the film industry through my dad – people he’s worked with since he was a young actor.  Does it help open up some doors for me?  Well yes, but again like everything in life, if you’re not going to put the time in, if you’re not going to work hard, if you’re not dedicated, people will care only so much what your name is and then they’ll say “next.”

You and your dad are built quite differently.  Where do you fall and did you have to train for the swimming sequences?

Patrick:  Well before this film, I loved weight lifting, I loved eating, I loved bulking up.  But for this role, I lost almost 20 pounds because I stopped lifting and started swimming. When you start swimming, your body gets wider shoulders and a slimmer waist. I had someone from the USC swim team train me four days a week for the swimming sequences and I actually got pretty good at free-style swimming.

What was your reaction when you watched the film for the first time and who did you watch it with? 

Patrick:  I watched it with my friends and my family. It’s weird to see yourself on screen and to hear your voice.  I was thinking, ‘Do I really sound like that?’  My mom and sisters were tearing up at the end, which made me happy, I guess.  (Laughter) They really liked it and I’m really proud that I got to do this.

How did your dad react to the film?

Patrick: He’s proud.  He actually shed a tear and I don’t know if it’s from the story or from just seeing me on the big screen. Kids want their parents to be proud of them and to be happy for them.  My parents just want us to do what we want to do.  My dad has always said to follow your passion.  It’s not really work if you’re doing something you love to do.

Congratulations.  Your family has good reason to be proud of you.

Patrick:  Thank you….

*Sides: Excerpted pages from a screenplay that an actor can study and read to prepare for an audition or screen test.

**XP: Xeroderma Pegmentosum

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Scott Speer is a quadruple threat with a vast number of credits spanning music videos, television, film, and books. Too numerous to list, here are some highlights of his impressive resume: University of Southern California’s School of Cinema- Television graduate, Speer jump-started his career making music videos for which he won the 2006 MVPA Award for Directorial Debut of the Year, followed by his first MTV Video Music award for his work on “Bella Traicion.” He also received two Dove Awards from the Gospel Music Association.  With his behind the camera experience, he transitioned to commercials working on major accounts including, Colgate, Sara Lee, and Buick. Having racked up numerous video producing and directing credits, Speer directed his first feature film – “Step Up Revolution.” His novels include: “Immortal City,” “Natural Born Angel,” “Immortal City: Battle Angel,” “Angel City Love,” and “Battle Angel: An Immortal City Novel.”

With myriad skills and acute sensitivity, Speer brings to the big screen “Midnight Sun” a beautifully made romantic drama from a screenplay by Eric Kirsten. Co-starring Rob Riggle and Quinn Shephard, the story revolves around Katie Price (Bella Thorne), a young girl with XP,* a rare genetic disease that is deadly if she is exposed to even a drop of sunlight.  Housebound during daylight hours, for years she has watched Charlie (Patrick Schwarzenegger) skate past her window on his way to school and developed a crush on him.  To break up the monotony of being shut in during the day, at night Katie takes her guitar to the railway station where she plays music for commuters. At last, she and Charlie meet and thus begins a magical summer of romance in its purest form, reminiscent of the innocent days of yesteryear.

Speer recently sat down with a select group of journalists to discuss the film, and the following has been edited for content and continuity for print purposes.

You skillfully avoided pathos or turning the film into a “pity party.”

Speer:  Thank you for seeing that.  The emotional tone or color of the movie was really important because when you talk to kids who actually have XP, they don’t want to be a disease. There are presently about 150 confirmed cases in the U.S. and  they think of themselves as normal kids like Bella’s character of Katie. XP is a one in a million condition so we wanted to be very honest in how we presented this story.

Since it is so rare, what are the symptoms and how is it diagnosed? 

Speer:  The symptoms show up when kids are in the playground screaming and crying from pain following a severe sunburn, which is how they are diagnosed.  There’s not a lot of information online so we had to contact people who actually have familiarity with XP.  As we’ve begun promoting the movie, one of the websites that is an authority on XP, tweeted us and said that in the last 24 hours, they had gotten 100,00 hits.  (Audible “wow.”)  It made my day that we could help be part of awareness on some level.  We never set out to make a documentary or a movie about a sickness, but it’s great that we can help with advocacy at the same time.

You really walked a fine line with this story as it could have denigrated into a soppy soap opera but it was anything but that.  It is beautifully done – the directing is superb, the acting is superb, the cinematography is superb.  That said, why did you want to tell this particular story?

Speer:  Because I love love stories and because I love romantic dramas and I feel there are actually very few romantic dramas these days.  It’s a genre that’s under represented.  You know, there are a lot of romantic comedies, and there’s a lot of hybrids but if you go back to my favorite movies like “West Side Story,” or “Love Story,” or “Splendor in the Grass,” or think back to some of Betty Davis’ early work, there was a genre in Hollywood that was this cathartic romantic drama, and that’s what we set out to make.

What was your reaction when you first read Eric Kirsten’s script?

Speer:  I cried and then called a producer who is a friend of mine and said that I thought we could do something very classical and special and great with this movie.  From there it was about casting – can you find the leads who can give you that classic old Hollywood chemistry?  Can you find that kind of quality from two people? That’s why we cast Patrick to co-star with Bella.

Do you think this movie will be Patrick’s big break?

Speer:  I hope so.  I hope you enjoyed him in the film.  This is his first leading role, but he’s got all the tools he needs to do whatever he wants to do – whether it’s what his father did – action movies or something totally different.  He’s a very different man from his father.  I know as humble and proud of his legacy he is, he’s not trying to rely on his background for success.   He really wants to be his own actor and I think he has that quality of the strong, silent type.

Did you see the Japanese film “Song to the Sun” on which Eric Kirsten’s screenplay was based?

Speer:  I know the script was based on a Japanese film of the same name.  I didn’t watch that film until after we wrapped because I wanted that movie and that filmmaker to have his movie and for us to have our movie.  I thought that was the most respectful thing to do.  Every movie is lightening in a bottle so trying to chase something is never the right idea.  By the way, the Japanese film is different, but really a great movie.

What was your thinking behind not having a sex scene, which was refreshing?

Speer:  (Laughs) As a filmmaker, my foundation is fairy tales so every scene in the movie has to have a purpose and has to push our story along.  So, if there’s a sex scene that’s called for, then wonderful, but just putting one in for the sake of putting one in doesn’t feel right.

Nathaniel Walcott’s musical score was spot on.  How do you think music influences a character or a moment on film?

Speer:  Thank you for bringing up the music.  I love the music in the movie.  I use music in everything I do – whether it’s movies or the work I did on MTV.  I feel that music communicates as well or better than images and oftentimes if a character cannot articulate what they’re feeling, then a song can do that for them.

How did you decide on the songs Katie sings in the film?

Speer:  We had always planned to tell the story through music as well as through the narrative and began looking for Katie’s sound.  I listened to hundreds and hundreds of songs but what I was looking for was the same idea as when you’re sitting around a campfire and someone has a guitar and begins to play let’s say a Beyonce song or another pop song. The guitar sounds so much more enchanting and something raw.  That was the quality I wanted for her songs.  Once we found the music, then we dragged Bella into the studio and said that we were going to record four songs, but will only use one.  She was terrified to record these songs.  What you learn about her is that she’s a perfectionist and if she can’t do something right, she doesn’t want to do it at all.  We wound up recording ten songs five of which are in the movie and now she’s doing a ton of her own music.

Were there any surprises during the shoot?

Speer:  Yes.  Always.  This is filmmaking so what does go right?  The biggest surprise for me was probably Pat and Bella’s chemistry in their performance.  We had to shoot the sailboat scene on day two of production because we had only one week of sunshine in Vancouver.  I had to put them in the boat with drones buzzing around getting the wide shots.  They already knew their characters so well that they could just turn on the chemistry. That was one of the greatest surprises.

Any others?

Speer: Another one was Rob Riggle who plays Katie’s father Jack.  I don’t think anyone has ever seen dramatic scenes like this from Rob. It was a pleasure working with him. I think most people see him as this screwball comic.  He can do that in his sleep and he’s great at that.  He has two daughters and he read the part and said that he wanted to do it and put himself on tape, which he really didn’t have to do.  I was already prepping the movie and he joined the cast and gave a wonderful performance.

Katie goes to her first concert.  Do you remember yours?

Speer: I always wanted to portray that. I grew up in San Diego and this might not be the sexiest answer but Punk Rock was a big deal at the time.  At my rival high school was a bunch of local kids who called themselves “Blink 182” and that was my first concert.  It felt like magic – the light, the sound, the people, the sweat on the skin.

What were some of the films that impacted you as a youngster?

Speer: I was a little kid growing up on Steven Spielberg’s movies and crying at “ET,” crying at “The Lion King,” being scared out of my mind watching “Jurassic Park,” and then going back and watching “Jaws,” and being even more scared.  (Laughter)

What age range will this film appeal to and what do you think the audience take away will be?

Speer: Obviously, our core will be teenagers but I hope we can bring in everyone. I wanted to make a movie about hope. Bella Thorne said, live your life like Katie Price.  It’s a hopeful tribute to the power of love, the power of first love, the power of living your life to its fullest despite any perceived challenges.  We don’t all have XP, but we all have challenges.  At some point, everyone in this room has felt as though you were locked in a tower away from the world and wanting so much to be part of that world, but you can’t and you just watch it go by.  That could be anything like moving to a new school in your senior year, which means losing all your friends and even a girlfriend.  This film to me, is like a fairy tale in a way but ultimately, I was trying to make a hopeful, triumphant film that resonated with everybody.

Any special marketing plans?   

Speer:  The marketing department made “Midnight Sun” tissue boxes, which we gave out at some screenings.  (Laughter) At first the audience wondered what that was about and then cut to the end of the movie, and everyone is using them.  That’s when I feel like we’re really communicating and the more we do that the more we can communicate in other things, be it politics or anything else.

Thank you for making a sweet film.  Hurry and do the next one.

Speer: Thank you so much for your kind words.

*XP: Xeroderma Pegmentosum

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