Friday 10 July 2009

Pop Foto, February 1983: Agnetha was being seduced by the producer of Dallas

An article from Dutch Pop Foto magazine about Agnetha’s activities outside the ABBA-frame: the Swedish movie Raskenstam in which she played a leading part and her soon to be released first international solo album. The ABBA-poster included here comes from the same magazine.
She’s very good at singing. There’s no doubt about that. But Agnetha wants more. Acting, for example. Therefore, she didn’t hesitate for a second when the producer of Dallas offered her a fantastic part.

There’s no harm in trying everything in life. And even though you have numerous hits credited to your name, and you are really world-famous, even then it’s never too late to try something completely different. ABBA’s Agnetha thinks exactly the same about that and accepted a part in a Swedish movie.
“In the beginning, it wasn’t particularly easy,” the blonde singer explains candidly. “To be good at acting, you have to be able to enter into your part. And coincidentally, the character that I’m playing isn’t like me at all. In the movie, I am Lisa, the sweet and innocent daughter of a poor fisherman. The story is set in the forties. In that time, a notorious womanizer was living in Sweden, named Raskenstam. This Casanova has seduced at least 120 women. Inconceivable, isn’t it?” Agnetha bursts into a laugh, before she continues. “Gunnar Hellström, a well-known Swedish director and actor, thought this story was so remarkable that he’d love to make a movie about it. Gunnar has become very famous as the producer of Dallas. He’s playing the part of Raskenstam himself and he is my co-actor. As one of the many women, I’m seduced by him as well. So there’s no lack of romantic scenes.” Agnetha winks naughtily.
“Because the entire movie is being made in the style of the forties, I’m dressed in a terribly outdated way! When I saw myself in the mirror, I couldn’t stop laughing for ten minutes. No, it doesn’t look good on me at all! But oh well, you get used to everything and in the end I didn’t even change my clothes anymore when I had to run an errand in between. It really was a magnificent experience,” she says enthusiastically. “I’m very curious whether the movie will be a success, and whether I will be a accepted as a movie star. But my fans won’t have to worry that I’ll say goodbye to music,” she continues reassuringly. “At the moment, I’m very busy with an album that will most probably be released this spring. Michael Chapman is producing the record. He is very good, because he recorded several hits with Smokie, The Sweet and Suzi Quatro. As you can see, I’m not resting on my laurels. And I’m definitely not planning to do that in the time coming. Michael sees me as a challenge. He wants to do his job equally well as Phil Collins, who produced Anni-Frid’s album so masterfully. So he won’t be lacking in dedication, and where I’m concerned, well, I’m not in the studio for the first time either. No, I am really very confident about it all. It’s going to be splendid!”

No comments: