Writer/Director Oliver Irving chatted with RadarOnline about casting, shooting the drunken pub scene in How To Be, as well as Rob's co-star who plays his girlfriend in the film.  She's evidently not a fan.

Before he set foot on the Twilight set, Robert Pattinson threw himself into the film How to Be so fully that one especially debaucherous evening will forever be recorded in cinematic history. In the coming of age story Pattinson plays a twenty-something musician in the midst of a quarter-life crisis and in real life, he went through a normal growing pain when the actress playing his girlfriend was insistent in turning a blind eye to his now-famous brooding good looks.

Director Oliver Irving tells Radaronline.com about that special night when he took the crew to film a scene in a pub: “That was method acting, that was perfect method acting. I got them all hopelessly drunk. I would tell them what would have to happen in the scene and tell them what they should be doing but they just got completely drunk. A lot of time when you see them laughing in that scene they’re having a hoot, and when they’re laughing it’s because someone would say something and they would all crack up and I would just keep rolling the film and knew that it would be fine. Usually when people laugh in films it looks phony and I wanted them to laugh. You go to a pub, you get drunk and laugh. I wanted them to lift the mood a little bit. All that was for real, that’s Rob cracking up. When he’s drinking beer and smoking that’s for real. When he’s getting slapped across the face that’s for real and when he’s standing in the cold selling all his stuff that’s for real. He’s standing there getting very, very cold and he looks miserable and he is.”

The folks at Pattinson Music had the opportunity to speak withWriter/Director Oliver Irving andComposer Joe Hastings as they prepared for the How To Bescreening tour. They have graciously allowed us to repost the interview here.

1. How long did it take for this film to come to life, from the original concept to now?

Oliver Irving: I started developing the idea in 2003 I guess. And after a year or so of having rehearsals with the actors I had and developing the script I found a producer and we started raising the money –which took about 2 years. In the meantime I was developing and adapting the script and casting. So we shot in February and March 2007, edited for about 6 months, then had to hurry up and get the grade and the sound mix. We finished just in time for it to premiere in Slamdance in January 2008. Since then we have been playing festivals mainly in the States, and are taking the film on a U.S. Tour starting in LA on April 14. I’ll be at all the screenings

2. Where did the inspiration for the film come from?

Oliver Irving: I think I was observing my peers at that weird time of life – not yet stuck into careers, but no longer in that protective cocoon of studying. As people become more adult they start to analyze their upbringings. I had read some self help or therapy books and found them just hilarious and fascinating. I wanted to apply that same mid-life crisis ethos to the quarter-life crisis I saw some of my friends going through…

Joe Hastings: I remember Oliver asking me to write down any ideas I had for a tentative concept pertaining to a young man going through a ‘quarter-life crisis’. I think this was in the summer of 2002. I wrote ideas relating to friends I knew and my own experiences and frustrations, and other things that I just found amusing.

3. How many people auditioned for the role of Art? What was it about Robert Pattinson that got him the role?

Oliver Irving: We did auditions for this for well over a year in bursts. I feel like I must have seen every young male actor in London! I was looking for someone who would work well with the others actors I had in place to play Art’s friends. These were non-actors whose approach had been tailored while we made home movies over the years, so the actor for Art needed not to seem like he had been to drama school. Rob has said that at the time he was thinking of giving up acting and pursuing music as he was unhappy with roles he was getting offered – But pretty much straight away I knew he was right for the part. He had a sort of playful energy perhaps even naivety which he brought to the part and he really seemed to understand the characters.

Writer/Director Oliver Irving and Composer Joe Hastings screened How To Be twice Friday at the Las Vegas International Film Festival.  They also talked with fans for several hours about the movie afterwards as well.

Uyen from Pattinson International was there, and she wrote this review of the film.

Last night I went to go see “How To Be” with my friend,Kate, at the Las Vegas Film Festival. I was amazed to see the variety of different people that showed up for the screening. We were fortunate and smart enough to get there early because with every glance backwards the line got increasingly more crowded and lengthy. It was a sold out show after all. Among the group, I saw a multitude of young girls with bright and beautiful colors in their hair (purple anyone?), mothers with their babies strapped in the front, overexcited girlfriends dragging their non-enthusiastic counterparts (many of which were trying to look busy with their phones…Tetris perhaps?), and everyone in between. The screening took place in the Capitol ballroom, which looked more like a lengthy, over sized hallway with comfortable chairs. It was set up to look like an actual movie theater. Did I mention that there was an impromptu concession stand outside? Anyways, after a brief introduction from 2 men with badges around their neck (very official looking I might add), the lights dimmed, and the film began.

The How To Be filmmakers have updated their official site to let us know that a brand-new version of the trailer for the film will be premiering tonight!

This Friday night, April 10, Access Hollywood will world-premiere the new How To Be trailer! If you’re in the United States, check your local listings and tune in. If you’re elsewhere, Yahoo! will also be showing the new trailer beginning tomorrow night, so you can check it out online.

So check your local listings to find out when Access Hollywood is airing in your area!

After a very quick sell-out for the Sunday, April 19th screening of How To Be at the Nashville Film Festival, a second date has been added.

Tickets are now on sale for a Tuesday, April 21 showing at 3:30 pm.  Regular tickets are $11.00.  The film will be shown at Green Hills Cinema - Theater 15.  You can purchase your tickets online here.

The How to Be Official Website has been updated with some additional information pinpointing which cable companies carry IFC Direct. 

How To Be will be available on demand on IFC Festival Direct in the United States for three months beginning April 29.

IFC Festival Direct can be found within your cable provider’s movies on demand platform. These five cable providers offer IFC Festival Direct. Follow the menu instructions to access the service. Each purchase of the film lasts for 24 hours and can be watched multiple times during that period.

• BrightHouse: Movies On Demand → IFC In Theaters
• Cablevision: Movies On Demand → IFC In Theaters → Festival Direct
• Comcast: Channel 1 → Movies & Events → IFC Festival Direct
• Cox: Channel 1 → Movies On Demand → IFC In Theaters
• Time Warner: Movies On Demand → IFC In Theaters

Unfortunately, IFC Festival Direct is not yet available on Verizon Fios, Dish Network, Direct TV, or other cable providers not listed above. Note that IFC Festival Direct is different than the IFC Channel, which is a cable network.

Mark your calendars for April 29th!  It will be here before you know it.

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Here's your chance to show your How To Be pride! Due to demand, the filmmakers have opened two online stores that feature a nice line of merchandise with the film's logo.

Cafe Press
ships worldwide

features posters, t-shirts, pillows, stationary, mugs, bags stickers andmuch more

Spreadshirt
ships to Europe and Japan

bags, buttons, t-shirts, hats and more