Sean Penn is the first cover star of what will be a new quarterly-print magazine, Hollywood Authentic, created by Bond photographer Greg Williams as a love letter to the movie industry. Exclusive images and quotes from Penn can be found in the issue taken during an interview discussing his work in the Ukraine.
Exclusivity can also be found in the form of unseen set images of Eddie Redmayne and the cast of Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore, plus an interview with Bridgerton's Simone Ashley. The digital edition of the first ever Hollywood Authentic is available now, with the print copy available from 15 April.
• Read more: James Bond photographer Greg Williams designs new professional course
Being one of the most trusted and acclaimed photographers in entertainment, Greg Williams is no stranger to having an all access pass and exclusive insight into the world of Hollywood movie stars. Now, he aims to share these connections by giving readers an intimate and unfiltered look at the biggest and most exciting names within the global entertainment industry.
Each issue of the quarterly magazine will have been hand-crafted by Greg Williams having conducted both the interviews and imagery to compliment it, transferred to an editorial format by the brilliant team behind Hollywood Authentic including its editors and contributors.
In the 'About' section on the magazine site, a personal statement from Williams shares that Hollywood Authentic is "a project that is very dear to my heart, and one that has been gestating for the past 20 years."
"Over that time I have developed a particular approach to my shoots, aiming to give people an insider’s perspective and the sense of an authentic, first-person interaction with my subjects...There is a precedent here: back in the day, movie stars would allow photographers and writers into their world. A magazine like Life, in a window that spanned the 40 years from the ‘30s to the ‘70s, would regularly publish intimate profiles of the actors of the day. This type of journalism gave us so many of the iconic images we remember. And brought the magic of the dream factory to a wider audience."
Williams continues describing Hollywood Authentic as a love letter to the movie industry – and not only the one based in California. "The method, whether I’m on set or in someone’s house, is the same. Put them at their ease. No team, just my camera and video camera. I record a chat and then hand it over to a team of great writers. It means the pictures and the conversation has an unusual intimacy."
In an interview he conducted with Sex Education and Bridgerton series 2 star, Simone Ashley, Greg Williams invited her over to his LA home, where she cooked Williams and his family a curry, opening up about her family background and her new position as a role model, plus the importance of South Asian representation.
The main cover story of this inaugural digital issue is the interview Williams conducted with Sean Penn, whereby they discuss his residency in the Ukraine and the impact of the current situation. A quote from Penn speaking of President Zelensky states:
“I originally met him on Zoom, before the threat of more than the border war became real. This was early on in the pandemic in the US. We first started discussing a potential documentary about his country that wasn’t focused particularly on the war. And since then there’s been a lot of exchanges between us. Then I went and met him face to face the day before the invasion. And I was with him during the invasion, on day one.” Read the full interview on Hollywood Authentic.
The publication also joins British Nigerian actor, Ṣọpẹ Dìrísù, for fight training as he prepares to reprise his role in crime drama Gangs of London, where he plays Elliot Finch. Highlights and images taken by Williams from this year’s SAG, BAFTA and The 94th Academy Awards are included on the magazine website, with an additional 'nonsense' interview with dancer and actress, Sofia Boutella.
Not to mention, exclusive images from the set of Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore where Williams snapped some behind the scenes portraits of cast members and discussed the studio changes and growth compared to his last visit.
Subscribe to the Hollywood Authentic mailing list to receive digital issues when they publish, as well as automatically to be entered into a draw to win a 16×12″ studio-stamped fine art print shot by Greg Williams.
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