Daniel Smith/STX EntertainmentMusic fans are in for a treat this weekend: two pop superstars are featured in new movies arriving in theaters.
Rihanna stars in Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets, a sci-fi epic from director Luc [Luke] Besson based on a popular comic book series. Rihanna plays Bubble, a shape-shifting alien, and says when Besson described the part, she was hooked.
“Sci-fi movies are always really fun and this one has such a modern twist,” she says. “There’s a lot of reality in this world that’s not real, and that’s why I think I was [attracted] to it.”
Rihanna also liked working with Besson, the director of The Fifth Element, The Professional and Lucy.
“He is very patient when it comes to working and directing me because I’m very new to the movie world and he’s very considerate of that,” she explains.
Even more of an acting newbie is Harry Styles, making his big-screen debut in Dunkirk, a World War II drama from director Christopher Nolan. It tells the real-life story of the evacuation of 400,000 Allied troops from France. Harry says a big reason for taking the part was Nolan, the director of The Dark Knight and Inception.
“I’ve always been a massive fan of Chris’ movies and just getting to watch him work felt like a big part of the whole experience,” he says. “It…felt pretty amazing to be involved in a project with him.”
Harry plays a young soldier who, he says, “will kinda do anything to survive.”
Harry studied the story of Dunkirk in school, but just barely. “I think that was something that’s so great about the movie,” he says. “It’s such a massive piece of history and such an important part that isn’t told that often.”
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