As a child, the screenwriter of the movie Dingo sneaked secretly into Neumann’s attic – “There we sat among his things”

Gravel crunches under silvery, pointy-toed boots. Dingo – the frontman of the band Pertti “Nipa” Neumann walks from the portico into the courtyard of an apartment building in Pori, carrying a guitar case and a blue suitcase.

Except that it’s not actually Neumann, but the main star of a movie about the band Saku Taittonen. They are running Restless Cinderella -film descriptions.

Although the character is not real, the resemblance is. Also, the yard where we are standing watching the filming is actually Pertti Neumann’s home yard in the golden 80s.

The yard and the stone crabs on Neumann’s front door have also become familiar to the screenwriter Hanna to Leivonniemibecause he was a big fan of the band in his childhood.

– Among other things, I have tripped over Neumann’s attic, where someone had already made a hole. There we sat and looked through his things. We were also often on the stairs waiting for him to come home. Sometimes I pedaled 15 kilometers to see him play football, Leivonniemi recalls.

The cult reputation brings pressure to the role

The former fan background has given Leivonniemi a strong foundation for writing the film. Still, it is important to him that he no longer counts himself among the band’s fans.

– Then it would be really difficult to look at things objectively, because I would be too involved in it all.

Leivonniemi, who comes from Pori, has written the entire script in the Pori dialect.

The dialect has indeed been used by the film’s lead role Saku Taittonen one of the most challenging sections. Even during the interview, the dialect does not go away, but stays up regardless of the interlocutor.

– I talk about it all the time so that I can keep it up. Fortunately, our director Mari and our screenwriter Hanna are from Pori.

According to Taittonen, filming has started well. Although the schedule has been tight, it has been kept very well.

It’s fair to say that with the role, Taittonen, who studies at Teatterikorkeakoulu, has jumped straight into the deep end. Taittonen admits that there is a little tension in the air.

Dingo’s cult reputation also brings pressure to the role.

– Dingo was such a significant thing for so many people. Some even experience it as personal, very intimate and close. If you get them to buy me as Neumann, then I think I’ll be safe, Taittonen smiles.

Unreasonable self-confidence as a unifying factor

Taittosen has had several months to prepare for the role of Nipa. He has watched all possible documentaries, read through books and articles about the band, listened to songs and browsed through photo archives.

There has been plenty of material.

– I also read Lasse Norrensen mixed Pave Maijanen stages of life, in both of which Dingo has its own role.

Through pictures, videos and texts, he absorbed Nipa’s essence and learned her manners. However, the biggest magic happened when the masks and makeup were put on.

– From then on, everything happened as if by itself.

In addition to the fact that Taittos has been made to look startlingly like Neumann, there is also a similarity between them in the real world. According to Taittonen, both are even insanely self-confident, people with a clear vision who pursue their own dreams.

– Nipa knew exactly what she wanted, and pushed towards it as hard as she could. I myself come from Kuortane, which is a small town. Although there were no stimuli that would have pushed me forward, I had an innate, unyielding desire to become an actor. Just like Neumann wanted to be Finland’s hardest rock star, and eventually became one.

Taittonen urges everyone to watch the film, as it offers a completely extraordinary leap from the hype of a decade ago.

– This is a time travel to the barracks. In addition to outrageously good music, this offers those who lived in the barracks very authentic nostalgia. For those who haven’t seen the real 80s, this opens up a whole new world of great hair, clothes and other barracks.

With the role, I acquire a new skill

Also Dingo’s original drummer, Juha “Quuppa” Seitonen selected for the role Valtteri Lehtinen is on the verge of a new one, because the man’s previous roles A new day – and Beat -series have been very different.

– My previous roles have been soft, sensitive and calm. Quuppa, on the other hand, is playful, loud and lively. He is a maracatte. I think it’s great that I can jump like this, Lehtinen is happy.

In the spring, when Lehtinen got the role, he was informed that he should be able to play the drums for the role. He hasn’t found that kind of skill yet, but Lehtinen didn’t make a problem of it.

– I said, well then, let’s play, yes I’ll learn it. I trained all summer. Independently, with the teacher and then also with the band of this film. I’ve been practicing a lot.

Since drums play an important role in Quupa’s role, Lehtinen wanted to look as authentic as possible with them. In order to achieve a Quuppa-like playing style as much as possible, he videos himself with a practice drum.

– When Quuppa played, every blow was like the crack of a whip. I wanted to achieve the same style. I videoed myself for an hour, then I watched and shook my head that it wouldn’t work, too stupidly. In the end, I was wet with sweat and said that it’s okay, now we’re close.

The goal is not to make identical characters

Like Taittonen, Lehtinen also prepared for his role by looking at all the material he could find, from documents to books and newspaper clippings.

Although he has cursed for hours behind the drums to achieve the essence of Quupa, he emphasizes that the goal is not to imitate every look and gesture.

– The film is based on a true story, but the characters are fictional. The goal has not been to make an identically similar character.

During the preparation, Lehtinen noticed to his joy that he also found a surface of identification with his role. In the past, his true nature has hardly been visible in the workplace, but with the role of Quupa, it is downright a requirement.

– I’m playful and lively, such a mischievous person. Before, it was probably only visible to those closest to me. It has felt really good to show it to the workplace as well.

While familiarizing himself with the role and the band’s history, Lehtinen also encountered a surprise. Previously, he had not understood how huge the hype around Dingo really was in the past.

– Sure, I knew about Dingo from before, but only now do I understand what kind of phenomenon it has been. There has been nothing like this in Finland before or after Dingo. It blew me away, and it’s great to be a part of Dingo’s story this season.

The Restless Cinderella film focuses on the explosive breakthrough of the band that sparked teenage hysteria, the years of popularity, but also the sudden destruction through the eyes of the band’s singer, frontman Pertti “Nipa” Neumann. The story opens up about Neumann’s personal life in the midst of Dingomania. The film will premiere in autumn 2024.