A 20 year guy has shown me the pleasures of being a woman - Cine Revue

Translation from French:

Editor note - This is taken from the original interview by Colin Dangaard.

Olivia Newton-John's career is a curious one; the ravishing little Australian returned to her country of origin (her parents left England just a few months after her birth) to try her luck when she was barely seventeen!

Riding the tidal wave of disco, the young girl was an instant television sensation, with the most famous showmen quickly vying for her attention!

America soon discovered her in turn, and she easily conquered the biggest networks across the Atlantic.

But she never completely severed her ties with London! A wise attitude that would prove fruitful: in 1970, she landed a small role in Tomorrow, filmed in Mississippi and based on a short story by William Faulkner, several records recorded in both Great Britain and the USA, and a highly acclaimed performance at the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest...

However, the beautiful Olivia Newton-John would have to wait almost eight years before the film industry called upon her again: it was for the lead female role in Grease, alongside John Travolta, a huge success that would also be the swan song of disco music...

But the pretty singer's next foray in front of the cameras would not be as convincing: Xanadu received only a lukewarm reception, while the film's soundtrack, featuring the title song, became one of the biggest hits of the previous year!

And it took almost a year before Olivia Newton-John once again reigned supreme on the airwaves worldwide, thanks to Physical, an album that broke all sales records in the United States within weeks.

In recording it, Olivia Newton-John wanted to prove she was capable of reinventing herself, and she succeeded completely. For a very simple reason: the charming performer of this hit album is very different from John Travolta's former partner. A new Olivia Newton-John was born!

And then, everyone kind of suspected it, to be honest, so the confirmed rumor surprised no one: it's love, a passionate love for a young Adonis, that inspired Olivia Newton-John's new album!

And if she insisted on it being titled Physical, without any false pretences, it's because she acknowledges, without any hypocrisy, that her passion is of this nature!

But who is the lucky man chosen by this beautiful 33-year-old? Quite simply, a handsome young man, supple and slender as a vine, aged 21, named Matt Lattanzi.

A superb boy! says the singer, as if that were enough to describe him. They met a year ago on the set of Xanadu, and while the film was disappointing, the feeling that was to blossom in their hearts would, on the other hand, fulfill all their hopes!

Matt, it's true, possesses an irresistibly romantic physique. But what truly captivated Olivia Newton-John was his tender, candid, and innocent air.

"He hasn't been touched by life yet! the young actress explains softly. He's kind... His soul isn't tainted like other men's!

And the way she says this, everything suggests that if it were up to her, Matt would always remain a harmless teenager for Olivia! I would never allow him to...be destroyed by Hollywood! adds the star, with a resolute air.

Some Errors Of Judgment!

A newcomer to the capital of cinema, Matt Lattanzi had obtained a small role as an extra in Xanadu: an anonymous dancer in the corps de ballet, he had been, for his first job, merely the foil for the protagonist...

But, immediately afterwards, another, slightly more important and speaking role was entrusted to him in Rich and Famous, alongside Candice Bergen and Jacqueline Bisset: he played one of the latter's young lovers, and some malicious tongues even claimed at the time that the enigmatic Franco-British actress had not been immune to his youthful charm!

But the real romance blossomed at Olivia Newton-John's magnificent Malibu estate, a luxurious villa overlooking the Pacific and surrounded by vast prairies where numerous horses still roam freely.

The famous actress had just ended a long relationship with her English producer and manager, Lee Kramer, the man who had convinced her, ten years earlier, to accept American offers. Since then, as we know, Olivia Newton-John has become a major figure in music, but she has also made a few mistakes. And that was, notably, the case with Xanadu.

I should have intervened, she observes today, as soon as I realized that this story was going to end badly! The music was truly fantastic, but you didn't have to be a great professional to realize that the script didn't hold water.

To spare him this kind of mistake, if the young man ever reaches the heights of stardom, the ravishing Olivia wants her young protégé to benefit from her own experiences.

I spend my time advising him to be clear-headed, she explains. To be wary of flatterers, to never believe the glowing praise he gets from advertising and to always keep his feet on the ground... I told him he needs to make sure he surrounds himself with the right people: if he manages to build a good team around him, with some capable people working for him and some sincere friends to encourage him, everything should go very well... Because Hollywood is a very tough city for young people who arrive all alone, without friends, without anyone to talk to!

The Joys Of... Sweat!

Despite all this sound advice, Olivia Newton-John doesn't lose sight of the fact that Matt Lattanzi's film career is likely to be much harder to achieve than her own.

Today, for every role offered by producers, there are more than five hundred acting candidates! she explains. On the other hand, every singer is offered more than five hundred songs every week!

Curiously, even though the charming Grease star does everything she can to put Matt Lattanzi on the right track, it's thanks to him that she unintentionally found her way back to gold and platinum records!

At his side, Olivia, who readily admits to being a big couch potato, has rediscovered the joys of... sweating: Matt only truly starts his day after running half a dozen miles, he plays tennis for two or three hours a day, and is passionate about swimming and spearfishing!

I didn't hate lounging around all day! the singer admits with a mischievous smile... But, since we've known each other, I've become more... Physical! Now, we practice the same sports, with two exceptions...

On the one hand, I flatly refused to go scuba diving because, having lived in Australia, I've developed a paralyzing fear of sharks. So, while Matt dives, I wait with our picnic on the beach!... On the other hand, I'm teaching him horseback riding, a sport in which I fear no one!

A New Woman Is Born!

It's this burst of physical activity and her newfound happiness that gave Olivia Newton-John the idea for the album that's currently topping the charts!

I wanted to do something new and very different, the star explains. I feel so happy, so comfortable in my own skin, so at ease in my new life, that I had absolutely no desire to go back to singing those romantic ballads, beautiful of course, but terribly sad!

So I called some of my friends, like John Farrar, Barry Gibb, Terry Shaddick, Steve Kipner or Tom Snow, I explained to them what I was looking for and, not only did they write the songs for me but they also agreed to produce the record!

The style is new, the sound is different... And, at the same time, as if to clearly show that she has definitively turned a page in her life, Olivia Newton-John has changed her appearance: she cut her hair, let it grow back to its natural color, and now only wears a headband.

Suddenly, she observes, I realized I no longer liked my style! Thanks to Matt, I discovered the pleasure of being a woman, in every sense of the word: sensual, of course, but not excessively so, active, enterprising, combative... And besides, my hairstyle no longer suited my personality or our times: my hair was too blonde, too long, and taking care of it took me forever... Moreover, I had worn it like that for far too long!

Now, I definitely feel that my hairstyle better reflects the person I've become!

It's true that everything seems to be going Olivia Newton-John's way. Since she rediscovered love, her every wish comes true as if by magic, both in music and film. She's even just been cast in a movie that will soon be filmed in Australia, the continent that the ravishing singer had to leave school barely out of her teens to try her luck in show business.

My new film is called 'Kangaroo,' she explains. It's based on a novel by D.H. Lawrence, set in Australia between the 1920s and 1930s... As for my co-star, he'll be Bryan Brown, the protagonist of another Australian production, titled 'Heroes or Bastards'

... But I still wonder why my compatriots took so long to discover I existed! Perhaps they thought I didn't want to work there... Yet, every time I was given the opportunity, I made it clear that I was, on the contrary, very interested!... Well! I guess everything comes to those who wait, and I'm now very happy that they've called on me!

The Dolphin Massacre!

Indeed, unlike most Australian expatriates who adapt with surprising ease, Olivia Newton-John remained deeply Australian... So much so that when she filmed Grease, she insisted that her role was completely rewritten: the young American became a native of Oceania, so that the actress could speak with the accent of her continent of origin...

This detail deeply moved Australians, whose press showered the famous country girl with praise as she prepared to return home... So much so that some Hollywood columnists found this outpouring of triumphalist articles somewhat exaggerated, sometimes even inappropriate and in bad taste!

...I can understand a little, Olivia observes without a hint of false modesty. They can't be thrilled to see me go.

But the ravishing young woman is also well aware that this enthusiasm is far from unanimous; she is not equally loved in different countries around the world!

The Japanese, in particular, resent her greatly and make no secret of it — ever since she canceled her tour of the Land of the Rising Sun to protest the dolphin slaughter taking place there!

But I took care to clarify that I had nothing against Japan, adds Olivia Newton-John, and that I would have acted in exactly the same way if the fishermen had been German or English had practiced the same fishing!

Moreover, quite aptly, the singer used this platform offered by celebrity to try to change something.

One of the tracks on her album is titled The Promise, and it is nothing less than a wonderful plea to the world to stop the dolphin slaughter! And, even more commendable, Olivia Newton-John herself wrote the lyrics and music for this beautiful song.

A Human Behind The Star!

Of course, she added, the Japanese didn't appreciate it much, but I'd like them to know this: I'm not only concerned about the fate of dolphins!

I feel terribly concerned about the preservation of life in general, everywhere in the world, including in the United States where nature conservation is becoming a crucial issue. Humanity engages in such waste, such carnage... It destroys everything around it! Yet, nothing is less necessary than this systematic destruction. That is why I will never use a beauty product containing spermaceti. And if all women did the same, cosmetic manufacturers would stop incorporating this substance into their products!

The adorable little Australian girl from Grease is today a wonderfully fulfilled woman. Fully aware of the weight that fame lends to her every move and most innocuous remark, she uses it without letting it go to her head.

It's curious, she says, how people are often tempted by the easy way out... Countless stars identify with the celebrity their profession brings them, to the point of forgetting that behind the star, there's always a human being! Thank goodness I escaped that trap... To my friends, I continue to be myself; I'm just Olivia and nothing else!

Before going home, I leave the singing star at the door! When I read articles about me in the newspapers, I feel like they're talking about a different girl!

And Olivia Newton-John lets out a small, clear laugh before concluding: Thankfully, too! Life would be truly unbearable if I constantly had to think that the star being talked about in the press, adored or criticized, is none other than me!

Photo captions: Olivia Newton-John and her new great love: Matty Lattanzi, a 22-year-old actor.
Olivia Newton-John and Lee Kramer's end of love has caused a profound change for the Australian singing and film star!
Olivia Newton-John has discovered the joys of sweating!

By Colin Dangaard