In assembling the main cast for Warner Bros.' inspiring musical drama “Jersey Boys,” director Clint Eastwood wanted faces that would be new to moviegoers, and, in fact, the film marks the major feature debut of all four actors cast as the legendary group The Four Seasons at the center of the story. “We weren’t looking for big stars, we were looking for the best actors for each part, and I think we got them,” the director states. “They were all great.”

They are John Lloyd Young, Vincent Piazza, Michael Lomenda and Erich Bergen.

The big-screen version of the Tony Award-winning musical “Jersey Boys,” the film tells the story of four young men from the wrong side of the tracks in New Jersey who came together to form the iconic rock group The Four Seasons. The story of their trials and triumphs are accompanied by the songs that influenced a generation, including “Sherry,” “Big Girls Don’t Cry,” “Walk Like a Man,” “Dawn,” “Rag Doll,” “Bye Bye Baby,” “Who Loves You,” and many more.

John Lloyd Young says he was thrilled to have the opportunity to return to his breakthrough stage role as Frankie Valli, this time onscreen. “It was such a joy to play this character and explore more facets of him in a different arena. I love that Frankie believes in himself and fights the only way he knows how to get himself out there, because his success is in no way a foregone conclusion, considering where and how he’s starting out. He’s not perfect and faces some rough consequences in both his personal life and his career, but it was rewarding to play him warts and all.

“It’s the culmination of everything I’ve wanted to do as an actor, and to do it with Clint Eastwood directing was a dream come true,” Young continues. “He’s so interesting to work with. He offered very pointed direction, and yet he also gave us a lot of creative freedom, so the combination of our input as actors and his as a director went beautifully together. Even though I’d played Frankie so many times on stage, this experience felt fresh and new. I think that speaks to the timelessness of the story and, of course, the music of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons.”

Despite his vocal talents, Frankie might never have performed under anything brighter than a streetlight were it not for the drive of his friend Tommy DeVito, played by Vincent Piazza. “He’s one of those guys who will do whatever it takes to survive and make good,” Piazza says. “His attitude is if obstacles appear, you go around them or run them over, but you get through.”

Unfortunately, Tommy’s street-smart swagger is not enough to help him handle the pitfalls of fame and fortune, which has repercussions for everyone. “Tommy is responsible for some of the group’s early gains but also a lot of the big defeats,” Piazza admits. “He’s been managing the group from the start, but it reaches a point where he doesn’t have the skill set to deal with the club owners and record labels and others in that circle. He also has problems with gambling and whatnot, which makes things even worse. Yet, he never loses his confidence, and on some level you have to admire a guy like that. There’s something freeing about playing someone who’s always right. Even when Tommy’s wrong, it’s not his fault.”

The group’s growing rift with Tommy is felt most by Nick Massi, their vocal arranger and bass guitarist, who rooms with him on the road. Coming into the role of Nick, Michael Lomenda had some insight into his character’s frustration, having toured for months in the company of “Jersey Boys.” “That kind of existence can make your head spin off your shoulders if you don’t find a way to stay grounded,” he remarks. “I think these guys are launched into this situation before they have the skills to cope. So when you mix a scrapper like Tommy with someone like Nick, who doesn’t say a lot, there has to be a breaking point and that creates some fireworks. For Nick, it’s much more about a lack of respect.”

Frankie has the voice, Tommy has the ambition and Nick has the ear, but the formula for The Four Seasons is not complete until Bob Gaudio joins the group. Erich Bergen, who stars in the role, notes, “Bob is different from the other three guys because he not only came from a little bit higher-class background and not from the streets, but he also had a taste of success as the writer of the song ‘Who Wears Short Shorts.’ He brings in business savvy as much as he brings in the musicianship.”

Bob’s songwriting talents take the now complete Four Seasons to the next level. But his impact on the group’s dynamic goes much deeper. Bergen explains, “Early on, Bob has to sit back and let Tommy think he is still running the group, even though Bob is pretty much leading it from the moment he joins. I love that he’s smart enough to be the quiet leader…until it’s time to no longer be quiet. Together with Bob Crewe, he changes their sound and changes all their lives.”

To be shown exclusively at Ayala Malls Cinemas nationwide starting July 16, “Jersey Boys” is distributed in the Philippines by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment company.

We know the songs. We know the sound. But few know the story.

Warner Bros. Pictures' new musical “Jersey Boys” tells of the rise and fall of the iconic rock ‘n’ roll group The Four Seasons, reminding audiences why their songs have remained in the public consciousness—some for more than half a century—but also revealing the surprising origins of this seemingly clean-cut, all-American rock band.

The film is based on the Tony Award-winning, smash hit musical, which has struck a chord with audiences worldwide, becoming one of the longest-running shows in Broadway history and a sensation in virtually every city in which the show has been mounted, both in the U.S. and abroad. Now director Clint Eastwood broadens the canvas and brings all the joy and heartbreak, the music and the memories, to the big screen for moviegoers everywhere.

Eastwood, who also produced the film with Graham King and Robert Lorenz, offers that it was the drama behind the jackets and ties and four-part harmonies that intrigued him most. “I have always loved the music of The Four Seasons, so I knew it would be fun to revisit that, but what mainly interested me was how these semi-juvenile delinquents, who didn’t grow up under the best of circumstances, made it big. They were living on the periphery of the mob, pulling off petty crimes and what have you. Some had even done jail time. Then the music came and pulled them out. It gave them something to strive for.”

Producer Graham King estimates he has seen the stage show “Jersey Boys”between 30 and 40 times, but says it didn’t take him nearly that long to recognize its cinematic potential. “I fell in love with it the first time I saw it,” he attests. “I knew the songs of The Four Seasons, but I couldn’t believe I knew nothing of their real story. For someone like me, who loves making movies like ‘The Departed’ and ‘The Town’ and films of that genre, it was perfect because it had that Mafia, street-smart aspect, and then you incorporate the songs from that period. It had all the right elements for a terrific film.”

Eastwood relates, “Frankie Valli told me that to be a singer in that neighborhood in those years was hard. Just singing under the streetlights, they endured a lot of ridicule…until they became a big hit, of course. But they had to have a great deal of perseverance to get through that.”

The music was one of the main reasons King approached Eastwood to direct the film. “Clint is an incredible filmmaker and I knew he had a love for music, especially jazz,” says King. “The sound of The Four Seasons came out of the jazz and big band era, so I felt this would be in his wheelhouse. Out of the blue, I sent him the screenplay and within two days he called and said he wanted to make the movie.”

Behind the scenes, Eastwood enlisted the show’s original musical director Ron Melrose to serve as music consultant on the film, as well as choreographer Sergio Trujillo. The real Frankie Valli and Bob Gaudio served as executive producers, with Gaudio, together with lyricist Bob Crewe, also credited with writing the unforgettable playlist of Four Seasons hits.

King points out that people today still know the songs—from dozens of movie soundtracks over the past four decades to contemporary remixes. “It’s amazing how their music transcends the years. Just a few years ago, my kid was listening to ‘Beggin΄’ by Madcon, having no idea it was originally a Four Seasons hit.”

Eastwood agrees. “There are so many wonderful songs: ‘Sherry,’ ‘Rag Doll,’ ‘My Eyes Adored You,’ ‘Big Girls Don’t Cry,’ ‘Walk Like a Man,’ ‘Can’t Take My Eyes Off You’… And each was distinctly different, even though they all had the imprint of The Four Seasons on them. Every day of filming, there would be a new favorite. They’d sing ‘Dawn’ and we couldn’t stop humming that. Then we’d go back and film another scene with ‘Rag Doll,’and it would take over and we’d be humming that. It was great fun.”

To be shown exclusively at Ayala Malls Cinemas nationwide starting July 16, “Jersey Boys” is distributed in the Philippines by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment company.