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Here's the DJ who taught Zac Efron how to be a DJ in 'We Are Your Friends'
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Aug 31, 2015
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Here's the DJ who taught Zac Efron how to be a DJ in 'We Are Your Friends'
It takes really hard work to be a successful DJ, which is why the makers of 'We Are Your Friends' put in a call to Jason Stewart, a real-life DJ known as Them Jeans.
From writer/director Max Joseph, WE ARE YOUR FRIENDS starring Zac Efron, Emily Ratajkowski and Wes Bentley opens in theaters August 28, 2015. http://facebook.com/wayfmovie http://twitter.com/wayfmovie http://instagram.com/wayfmovie http://wayf-movie.com From Warner Bros. Pictures and Studiocanal comes the romantic drama “We Are Your Friends.” The film marks Max Joseph’s (MTV’s “Catfish: The TV Show”) feature film directorial debut, and stars Zac Efron (“Neighbors”), Emily Ratajkowski (upcoming “Entourage,” “Gone Girl”) and Wes Bentley (“Interstellar,” “The Hunger Games”). “We Are Your Friends” is about what it takes to find your voice. Set in the world of electronic music and Hollywood nightlife, an aspiring 23-year-old DJ named Cole (Efron) spends his days scheming with his childhood friends and his nights working on the one track that will set the world on fire. All of this changes when he meets a charismatic but damaged older DJ named James (Bentley), who takes him under his wing. Things get complicated, however, when Cole starts falling for James’ much younger girlfriend, Sophie (Ratajkowski). With Cole’s forbidden relationship intensifying and his friendships unraveling, he must choose between love, loyalty, and the future he is destined for. Joseph directs from a screenplay he wrote with Meaghan Oppenheimer, from a story by Richard Silverman. The producers are Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner and Liza Chasin, with Silverman executive producing and Johanna Byer serving as co-producer. Randall Poster (“The Wolf of Wall Street,” “Divergent” and “Insurgent,” “Spring Breakers”) is the film’s music supervisor. Joseph’s behind-the-scenes creative team includes director of photography Brett Pawlak (“The Wannabe,” “Hellion”), production designer Maya Sigel (“TiMER” “Gun Hill Road”), editor Terel Gibson (“Phantom,” “The D Train”), and costume designer Christie Wittenborn (“30 Minutes or Less,” “Me and You and Everyone We Know”). Set for release on August 28, 2015, “We Are Your Friends” is a Working Title Films production. It will be distributed in North America by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company. Studiocanal, who financed the film, will be distributing in France, the UK, Germany, Australia and New Zealand.
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It takes really hard work to be a successful DJ, which is why the makers of 'We Are Your Friends' put in a call to Jason Stewart, a real-life DJ known as Them Jeans.

Being a DJ may seem pretty easy. You fiddle with a few knobs on a mixing board, push some buttons on a lap top, throw on a pair of headphones and you're good to go! Right? WRONG. 

It takes really hard work to be a successful DJ, which is why the makers of "We Are Your Friends" put in a call to Jason Stewart, a real-life DJ known as Them Jeans. Stewart took Zac Efron under his wing to prepare him for the role of Cole, an aspiring DJ who wants to make it big in L.A.

"The first thing that went through my mind was, 'This is very strange, I don't know how I feel about it. But it sounds ridiculous and exciting and, why not?'" Stewart said, remembering back to when he was first called to work with Efron.

From there, Stewart was at Efron's house a few times a week. But Stewart says he didn't just have to teach Efron how to DJ -- but also, how to behave like one.

"A lot of it is the subtle nuances of how your body language is moving, how you're sort of fiddling with the nobs in a weird ADD motion that so many DJs do, and tapping of the foot to try to make sure that the two songs that are playing inside of your head are synching up, and for lack of a better phrase, get into the groove," he said.

Getting into the groove is no problem for Efron, whose early days involved singing and dancing on "High School Musical."

"He's a very skilled dancer, and he has a lot of rhythm and musicality in his bones," Stewart said. "But his role in the movie was sort of the timid, up-and-coming DJ guy who wasn't really, very confident in his work. So I had to sort of scale him down and say, 'Hey, don't dance around so much and don't get like too super funky because you need to rein it in and you're still a little unsure.' And then as the film progresses, he gets more confident," he said.

To listen to the full interview, click on the blue audio player above