Two of a Kind - Premiere

Translation from Dutch:

Olivia Newton-John started out as just a cute singer, but since the movie Grease, she's become a world-famous star. It was exactly what she needed. With her attractive physique and her ambition, she was finally able to truly find her place in show business.

After a string of successes as a singer, one of the most recent highlights being her album Physical, Olivia Newton-John has finally gotten the chance to prove her worth as an actress.

She'll soon be back alongside the same partner who also backed her in the movie Grease: John Travolta.

Following Travolta's recent comeback in the form of the box office hit Staying Alive, the new film Two Of A Kind promises to be a successful comeback for Olivia Newton-John on the big screen as well.

Australia

Olivia Newton-John must have initially given her family a run for her money when she insisted on becoming an artist. In average families, people would usually look askance if a daughter of the house made such a statement, but in the case of the Newton-John family, it was a different story.

Olivia comes from a respectable academic background, with her grandfather, incidentally, being a Nobel Prize winner in physics. Olivia's parents, born in Cambridge on September 26, 1948, also belonged to the intellectual elite in her native city. When she was five, the Newton-John family moved to Australia, where Olivia's father became principal of Ormond College in Melbourne.

Olivia herself knew early on where her interests lay - singing and performing. Already at school, she found three like-minded friends with whom she could perform. They called themselves The Sol Four, and they were quite the performer at many a school evening. For Olivia, this meant gaining much-needed experience in show business. An experience that would undoubtedly serve her well in her later career.

For Olivia, singing was a kind of life philosophy. School didn't really interest her; what she wanted was to sing. When the group of friends fell apart, Olivia decided to try her hand at it herself. She started performing solo in coffee shops, and eventually, she was encouraged to join a talent contest on a TV show. She was only fifteen when she signed up, but she actually won first prize: a trip to England.

England

Arriving in England, Olivia immediately felt a strong affinity for her native country. So, despite her young age, she decided to stay. Not surprising, given the developments in England at that time, where the pop explosion was just beginning. The Beatles, Stones, Animals, Pretty Things, and singers like Cilla Black and Dusty Springfield created a climate where the ambitious Olivia immediately felt at home.

She also formed a vocal duo with another Australian, Pat Carroll (now married to Olivia's record producer, John Farrar). Under the name Pat and Olivia, the couple performed in cabarets and even appeared several times on English television. Unfortunately, the collaboration came to an abrupt end when Pat's visa expired. She had to return to Australia, but Olivia was allowed to stay.

First she came into contact with the group Tomorrow, set up by former Monkees' manager Don Kirshner as an attempt to regain commercial success, but the project ended in a fiasco.

Meanwhile, Olivia's personal life wasn't quiet either. When she met Bruce Welch of The Shadows, a romance developed, which resulted in an engagement. With Welch, Olivia's solo career finally took off. He became her producer.

The singles Olivia recorded were quite successful. First, Dylan's cover version If Not For You became a big hit, followed by Banks of the Ohio, What Is Life?, and around 1973, Take Me Home Country Roads. Banks of the Ohio, in particular, brought Olivia recognition. The record went silver in England and even gold in Australia.

Thanks to her connections with The Shadows, she opened for Cliff Richard on his European tour and was also a regular guest on the BBC series It's Cliff Richard. In short - Olivia Newton-John, in the early 1970s, was rapidly becoming famous. This was also illustrated by the poll results from the English music magazine Record Mirror, in which she was voted Best British Female Singer in both 1971 and 1972.

USA

However, it was all just a prelude to the great conquest of the most interesting market: the United States. In 1973, however, Olivia succeeded in becoming a star there as well.

The album Let Me Be There for her new record label, MCA, brought the long-awaited American success. She won a coveted Grammy Award for Best Country Female Singer with the single of the same name.

The following year, Olivia was given the opportunity to represent England in the Eurovision Song Contest. She gladly accepts the challenge, but when she finishes disappointingly, she begins to realize that her chances in America are probably better.

So she concentrated on a career there, which, considering her place in music in 1983, turned out to be a good decision. In America, she was almost immediately hailed as the new talented country singer. A label Olivia wasn't entirely happy with, but it at least guaranteed her a promising start. In any case, she can still boast of being the only British singer ever voted best female vocalist in the country and western genre in an American poll.

But anyway, back to the career of Olivia, who, thanks in part to her looks, quickly won the hearts of many Americans. Since her first American success in 1973, the list of awards has grown steadily every year. In 1974, she won two more Grammys, while the readers of magazines like Billboard, Record World, and People's Choice consistently showered her with prizes.

Olivia Newton-John was at the top, which gave producer Robert Stigwood a new idea. Stigwood, originally a record producer and owner of RSO Records.

The perfect combination was devised - a film with an attractive new actor against a disco backdrop, accompanied by music by The Bee Gees. The plan proved to cause a real craze in the form of Saturday Night Fever. The LPs flew off the shelves in millions, and John Travolta became an idol in no time. Stigwood was overjoyed and had his next project ready a few months later.

It would be the film Grease, starring Travolta and Olivia Newton-John. Olivia Newton-John, in particular, pleasantly surprised the film critics and was widely praised. The film also proved to be a huge commercial success. Audience records were shattered, and the albums are sold out.

For Olivia, Grease also represents her most successful period as a singer to date. She scored no fewer than three world hits with it. First, You're The One That I Want, her duet with Travolta, then Summer Nights, and finally the moving Hopelessly Devoted To You.

Since then, Olivia's glittering career has actually only stabilized. Although her role in the film Xanadu generated far less enthusiasm, she scored another number one hit with it in the form of Magic.

And while Jane Fonda may have been quick to jump on the aerobics bandwagon, Olivia also showed her mettle by releasing the album Physical, on which she champions plenty of exercise.

Thanks in part to the attractive promotional clip that accompanied the hit single, Olivia also reached the top of countless charts with this album.

Now that 1984 has arrived, we can finally admire singer Olivia Newton-John, who has achieved immense fame in her vocal field (she has sold a whopping 50 million records), as an actress. Given Olivia's track record (just last year she was named America's Favorite Pop/Rock Female Vocalist)

It would be strange if she doesn't score well again.

By Jim van Alphen

In the 1950s, the duo of Doris Day and Rock Hudson was incredibly popular with audiences. Whenever they appeared on screen, something happened, according to the critics. They were more than just two attractive, kind people doing their jobs. They created a certain chemistry, an elusive atmosphere that made people want to see them together again and again.

That same chemistry was attributed to Olivia Newton-John and John Travolta in the 1980s. They made Grease the most successful musical film of all time, and audiences kept clamoring for a reunion. And luckily for all fans, that reunion of the two stars is in theaters this month.

In Two Of A Kind John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John are in the lead roles. It didn't become a musical, although they did sing one duet, and Olivia also sings two solo songs.

John plays the role of an inventor who isn't very successful and tries to get money through a bank robbery. Olivia is a girl who wants to be an actress but, until then, works in a bank. She sees John in action, and that's how they connect. Meanwhile, a kind of Supreme Being is seriously considering unleashing a second flood on the world, because, in his eyes, humans have made a mess of things. A group of guardian angels wants to prevent this at all costs and makes a deal with the Supreme Being - within a week, they will provide a human couple who will prove that humanity isn't evil, that love conquers all, and that the flood was truly a waste of time.. The Supreme Being has his doubts and gives the group of angels a week...

Harmonious cooperation

John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John have remained good friends since their collaboration in Grease, and they too were eager to appear in a film together again. John Travolta says:"We get along really well, and it shows in the way we interact on screen. We're not just focused on our own roles; we always check in with each other, as if Olivia or I were playing a solo scene. And although the director naturally has the final say, we make suggestions to each other, giving each other pointers about the role and the character we're playing. We always know exactly which opportunities to utilize, and we always listen to each other.

Olivia agrees: John and I are very fond of each other, and you can see that, both on screen and in the photos that are published of us. We feel completely at ease in each other's company. When you respect someone and admire them, that always comes across to the audience.

Not a Sweet Girl

Olivia says of her role in Two of a Kind - I have a certain image with the audience. Something like: that sweet girl next door. In my role in this film, the girl I play has a few ugly traits, and I actually really enjoyed doing that.

John Travolta has a more romantic view of his role in the film. The love between the main characters in the story constantly grows and allows them to overcome all difficulties. He almost becomes a saint when he adds - I would love it if this film gave people a little more faith in each other and in the world.

Charles Durning, who plays the captain of the angels in the film, also says: I found the story very uplifting, very positive. I felt happy reading it. People are fed up with violence, deceit, and aggression. They want nice, cheerful films, especially in these difficult times. I think Two of a Kind meets that need exactly.

The role of the devil is played by the satanic Oliver Reed, who is perfectly suited for the role. The film was directed by John Herzfeld, who also wrote the story. It is his first feature film. Joe Wizan produced it.

L.v.O.