Dane Dehaan taking a pill in the Chants of Reign "Can't Sleep" music video
On the plot of the video: "The song is about a guy who is stuck in the friend zone with a girl who is involved in a dysfunctional and abusive relationship and it's from his perspective as he vents his anger and frustrations over her thinking this other guy, because of his looks, is the better option. We wanted to make a song and create a video that really captured the raw and gritty reality of that situation. We did not want to water it down or sugar coat it. We wanted the lyrics and the video to really capture the public's consciousness and have them go 'dang, that's really what it's like, and it's not fun'. I directed the video and I co-wrote the lyrics with Al. We wanted scenes that captured the lyrics of the song. The whole thing with Dane getting drunk and pleasuring himself to her Facebook picture, him getting mad when he sees she's on Facebook even though she said she was at work, reading her boyfriend's posts on her wall, him dating a girl but not really into her because he's in love with Tracy, that's all stuff pulled from real life. I can't tell you how many guys have said to me, 'that's my story'."
On the "rape" sequence: "That was totally misconstrued. There's no rape scene. He's not raping her. Listen, throughout the video, if you pay attention, there are little moments of fantasy where Dane is imagining what it would be like if they were together. Which is why we had the lighting get all bright in those scenes. We did that look on purpose. There's a line where Al says 'we could have held hands like field trips' and we see them holding hands and a part where he says 'our sex would have been epic' and we see them having sex and then the part everyone has been getting up in arms over was when Al says the line about ripping her panties off and we see Dane ripping them off, we never see her face. We probably, haha, should have had a shot of her face enjoying it, because it was one of those fantasy scenes where if they were together as a couple, that's how he'd take them off. But people assumed he's raping her or whatever which makes no sense to me. We're supposed to be rooting for her to choose him, why would we make him do that?"
::On the cast::
::DANE::
"We lucked out. We got everyone we wanted. All my first choices said yes. I first saw Dane in Chronicle like everyone else and became a fan. When I first came up with the concept for the video I instantly thought of Dane playing the lead kid and he said yes right away when we called. He had never really heard any of our music but he just really responded to the story of the video. He said it really moved him and reminded him of stuff he'd been through. He said it felt like a short film, just with music. He was excited to be apart of it. He was just worried he couldn't because the thing was he only had one day to shoot because he was filming some pick up shots for Spider Man 2 so we had to change the setting from LA to New York which is where he was to make it more feasible so he wouldn't have to leave set, fly across country and fly back and all that. So we did that, just for him. Just to have him in the video. He did a great job. He's really acting in the video, which most actors don't do when they appear in a music video. They show up and collect a paycheck. Dane took it serious, he was asking me a lot of questions. He never hung around Dez. Didn't wanna meet him. He spent a lot of time with Tracy. Wrote her letters. E-mailed them to her days before the shoot. He really got into character. It was brilliant."
::DEZ::
"Dez, we all know him from The Voice. I wanted someone with that Abercrombie look to play the hot boyfriend and I thought he'd be perfect. I remembered him from that show and thought he'd be perfect for the part. He had never acted before and was super nervous about that but I coached him through it and just told him to be 'smooth yet heartless' when it came to how he treated Tracy on camera. He also had a ton of questions about the fight scenes where he's hitting Tracy and stuff, since that's so not him, but he was real brave and he went there and it was great. Those scenes were tough to shoot but everyone gave their all. I think he has a future in acting if he wants it. I'm proud of the work he did and he thanks me for putting him in it because he's getting offered scripts now. He says he has the acting bug now, haha."
::TRACY::
"Tracy is an interesting story. I met her last December 2012 at an Intermix in L.A. while shopping with Frankie from the Saturdays. I said to Frankie 'Man that girl over there helping the customers looks a lot like Rachel Bilson'. But I knew there was no way Rachel Bilson was working at an Intermix. I mean I know her acting career isn't exactly popping right now but she can't be THAT broke. It can't be that bad, she's engaged to Hayden Christensen. He got that Star Wars money. She should be good. She shouldn't be folding shirts and asking her boss 'can I take my lunch break now?', haha.
So anyway, I had to be sure, and at least do something to tease this worker and let her know she looks like Rachel Bilson. So as a joke I go up to her and pretend to accidentally bump into her then I say 'sorry Rachel' and she's like 'Huh?' and I go 'oh, sorry you look just like Rachel Bilson' and with a 100% straight face, as if she gets this everyday and is sick of it she replies 'that's my sister' and I thought she was just messing with me. She then pulls out her phone and shows me pictures of her and Rachel. Turns out they really are sisters. She says her name is Tracy and I ask if she's an actor and she says no not really. She's been on a few auditions, never got any parts, and just doesn't really actively pursue it. She just works and goes to school. Which I found super weird yet refreshing at the same time. Most people in this town who are related to someone famous are usually so busy trying to leech off that fame and get to the top, yet here is Tracy Bilson, younger sister of Rachel Bilson, with a Hollywood connection most struggling actresses would kill for, and here she is working at a retail store, going to college, making minimum wage, driving a beat up Honda, and she's completely happy with that.
So, we exchanged numbers and I say one day I would like to work with you. Put you in something, whether it be a film I'm doing, music video whatever. And when coming up with the concept for this video I knew I wanted the girl to be a girl next door type, but sexy. Not some cheerleader type super hot tall blonde or bimbo type. But the type of girl who looks kinda troubled. That girl around the way, college girl hot. That girl in the back of the classroom with the seductive eyes and sick body who every guy wants but is too intimidated to talk to. And Tracy really embodied that.
There's just something about her. I always joked with her. If I was 8 or 9 years younger and not famous and we were classmates or something, I'd totally be in love with a girl like her. She has those eyes. Very mysterious and seductive and troubled. Like she's been through a lot. And she may not be an actress but she is very sensitive and vulnerable and in touch with her emotions. She's a damaged soul but so beautiful in so many ways. She's an extremely private person and the more you try to get to know her the more she puts her walls up and I wanted her character in the video to be just like that. I kept telling her on set, 'Don't act. Just be yourself'. She did a tremendous job. I mean such a natural. Dez, Dane, Nicola who plays Dane's girlfriend, they've all been in front of the camera before. Yet Tracy was the only one to nail it every time on the first take. Funny thing is after we wrapped and I showed her how good the footage was I was like 'you're gonna want to start taking acting more serious now' and she laughs at me and goes 'nah, not my thing'. The next day she went back to work at Intermix."
.........................
The interview then switched to his relationships.
-He admitted he and Nadia broke up early July after finding out she was still using drugs.
-He says he and Rosie decided to just be friends.
-As far as Olivia Wilde, he says they are not friends anymore and do not speak after a huge fight in June where he told her "she could do better" than her boyfriend Olivier and he did not like how he was treating her. Meyers said she could not "handle the truth" and they fought. She is no longer involved in their production company and will not be attending the Truth or Die premiere.
-He says he and Scarlett have begun seeing each other. "It's weird. It all started after she got attacked by those kids. I felt this thing inside, like 'man I hope she's okay'. I realized I really really cared for her. I texted her immediately. So anyway, we got together and I was comforting her about that as she was just comforting me, as a friend, about the Nadia breakup. And one thing led to another. We started kissing. We couldn't stop ourselves. We been dating ever since. She's become not only my girl but a good friend. And I think, I hope, no matter what happens in the future, she will remain a good friend and someone who is always there for me and I there for her. She's one of the nicest most genuine people I've ever met. It's so funny. We went on a date last year and felt nothing, and agreed we felt nothing. Moved on...but it took weird circumstances for us to sort of figure out we need each other. I even told her, 'there's a reason we keep finding each other'. I just want us to keep it private, as private as possible. I'm not talking about my relationships in interviews anymore because I always jinx things. I think I know now why celebrities don't discuss this stuff. You look so stupid shouting from the mountaintop that so and so is the love of your life in an interview then 3 months later it's over. Let's just take things slow and see how it plays out. It's just so weird because we been friends for so long and we just started to figure out, 'Hey! Why don't WE date?', haha!"
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