On reading Thomas Middleton and William Rowley’s tragic drama it became former film editor Marcus Thompson’s dream to bring it to the big screen. It is a powerful and obsessive play with a story and message so strong it is still being performed over 300 years since it was written, yet never before filmed for the cinema.

The struggle to make Middleton’s Changeling began in the summer of 1990.

An eight minute test incorporating the seventeenth century paintings of El Greco and Velasquez combined with a Hendrix soundtrack confirmed Marcus Thompson’s belief that the story could be brought to a modern day cinema audience.

The tale is that of Beatrice Joanna, daughter of the most powerful man in Alicante. Already engaged to be married she now falls in love with another young nobleman, Alsemero, and in desperation conspires with her father’s servant, the hideously disfigured De Flores, to murder her fiance, Alonso. But having committed the crime the servant demands the reward of her virginity and so begins a tragic spiral of lies, deception and murder.

In casting De Flores Marcus chose Ian Dury. He was impressed by his film work, and how Dury, through sheer strength of character and personality, had overcome exhausting physical disabilities to reach the top of his profession, just as De Flores realises his own ambitions in The Changeling. Together, and guided by talented of Fay Hammond, they completed makeup tests to achieve the look that was later to have children in Alicante running for their parents.

It was estimated that the movie was to take five weeks to shoot on location and five weeks in a studio; plus six weeks to build the sets. It wasn’t until two days prior to shooting that Thompson, after endless searching, stumbled across the young actress, Amanda Ray-king. Technicians working with her on Ken Russell’s Alice in Russialand knew of Marcus’ predicament and suggested he audition her. She was successfully screen-tested in costume and went straight from Russell’s set onto The Changeling’s makeshift scaffolding stage built on the back lot at Pinewood studios.

The Changeling is a costume drama and Marcus wanted garments designed specially for the movie. He was introduced to Elizabeth Emanuel who enthusiastically took on the project of designing the spectacular costumes.

Colm O Maonlai as Alsemero

Five days of material was shot and the director/producer rushed down to Cannes in May 1993 with a four minute taster. The BFI said it was too commercial, British Screen that it was not commercial enough and Channel Four rejected it on the basis that they didn't back 'straight' adaptations. However, Miramax showed interest and having viewed early rushes encouraged Thompson to complete the film, though no financial support was forthcoming.

By November 1993 Thompson was desperate. Having turned down lucrative offers to produce and direct more music videos in order to pursue his dream, Marcus was now struggling to pay the rent.

Furthermore, the task ahead was the equivalent of shooting 65 music videos, with budgets that were usually around £30,000 without enough money to make even one.

Thompson was now bound for Alicante, via Paris and Madrid in search of backing. He went to meetings across Europe with executives who would wish him a good flight to the next capital city unaware that the journey would involve days of rattling around in a beaten up camper van and sleeping on the roadside.

In January 1994 he was living in Madrid. Marcus had always wanted Fernando Rey (Bunuel’s Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie, The French connection, etc.) to head the cast, but as he was Spain’s most respected actor it was going to be difficult with no money yet committed. He met several Spanish agents and producers including a young aristocrat called Maria Figueroa, who eventually became one of the executive producers, raising desperately needed cash.

In February 1994 Marcus had a break-through in Madrid. He visited Fernando Rey’s agent, explained his financial position and pleaded with him to ask the actor to star in the film. Having read Marcus’ adaptation Fernando Rey agreed to play the part of Vermandero, father to Beatrice, providing it was shot during June and July. Thompson hurried back to London to start organising the rest of the cast and crew.

It was during this visit to England that Peter and Carole King became involved in the production. As an artist Peter had a natural curiosity about the process of film making, and the couple had spent their lives doing things that most people would consider insane. They had lived in caravans, up to their knees in mud, whilst building their own houses, and had a zest for challenges. They had pursued their own dreams and come through intact, so joining the quest to realise Middleton’s Changeling came naturally.

Later in Madrid the production received a terrible shock, Fernando Rey had died. A few days later Marcus sat in a bar, watching the T.V. as Fernando's coffin was lowered into the ground, taking, he felt, the movie with him.

The schedule that had been arranged around Fernando Rey was still workable. By mid April 1994 and with only six weeks to go he returned to England once again to cast Beatrice's father. Actress Julia Tarnoky strongly recommended the veteran actor Richard Mayes to replace Fernando. He possesses all the qualities required to play Vermandero; a mixture of authoritative presence and kindness.

Rank Film Laboratories had supported the film ever since it started. Agfa offered a 50% reduction on stock and camera equipment was supplied by Joe Dunton Cameras on the strength of the early rushes and Marcus’ persuasive passion.

Four days prior to setting off for Spain to commence principle photography the actor to play Alsemero failed to make a definite commitment, leaving the production in the lurch. Thompson and Ray-King were having dinner in a pizza restaurant in Notting Hill Gate when their gaze fell on a guy at a table across the room. On the way out Marcus introduced himself to Colm O'Maonlai, who by chance turned out to be an actor. They met up a couple of days later, and O’Maonlai did a test reading with Ray-King on the street, Thompson offered him the part and two weeks later he was in front of the cameras in Alicante.

Ian Dury as Deflores

The Production finally turned over on the 31st May 1994.

Two weeks into the shoot Peter Greer, a friend of the director of photography came to visit the unit in Alicante. He realised that the production was in deep trouble financially and a few days later a man arrived at Alicante airport with some cash to tide the production over until further finance was in place.

The cheap plane tickets the production had been forced to buy meant that people could only go home on the dates booked. This meant that they had to keep going at any cost, or be stranded. Half way through they ran out of film stock and food.

At the eleventh hour, Maria stepped in and saved the day by raising further funds from businessmen she knew in Madrid. The crew had food, petrol and roofs over their heads and another 30,000 ft of stock was shipped over to Spain. After many trials and tribulations the location shoot in Alicante finally wrapped on June 24th 1994.

In England they had three weeks in which to recover, build sets and start shooting the rest of the interiors. The production had completely run out of money once again. Thompson went to talk to Pinewood and pleaded with them to allow him to build his sets on the back lot once again, for a small fee. The production were allotted derelict car park 4 which meant working day and night for the next month, as the location was scheduled for resurfacing, so all sets would have to be struck in time.

Peter Greer, by now the co-executive producer, stepped in and helped raise the final finance for the rest of the shoot. Meanwhile, Thompson cast Billy Connolly, Moya Brady, Campbell Morrison, Joe Dixon and Duncan Duff in the remaining rolls. On the last night of filming Connolly went up to the exhausted director as dawn broke and said -' It was great to be part of your dream'.

Amanda Ray King preparing for a scene

By December 1994 Thompson had a rough cut of the film. In January 1995 the production moved into a cutting room at Pinewood studios to finish the sound, an enormous job in which hundreds of thousands of feet of soundtrack was laid as preparation for the awesome Dolby digital surround-sound mix.

Ever since Marcus had started the film people had told him that he would never be able to acquire a licence to use Hendrix music as a soundtrack. He contacted Alan Douglas from the Estate in L.A. and on a visit to London screened the cutting copy of the film to him. When the lights came up Douglas turned to Thompson and said 'The movie is as weird as you said it was - you can have the music; for a small fee deferred until release date’. Gary Moore also wrote a haunting theme for the film.

A month later Alan Douglas signed his contract regarding the Master use rights to the Hendrix tracks, and Thompson awaited a similar contract from an associate of Douglas' relating to the synchronisation licences. The soundtrack to the film was mixed at De Lane Lea Studios in Soho over a period of ten days during March‘96.

Another outstanding contract was punk poet John Cooper Clarke's, and in an attempt to get it signed Thompson met up with Richard Cotton, a record producer, who came up with the idea to premiere Middleton’s Changeling at the Glastonbury Festival, where at night movies were screened in a field. The idea appealed to Thompson especially because it would be the twenty-fifth anniversary of Hendrix' death, and also of Glastonbury festival. The first ever Glastonbury festival had been held the summer Jimi died. The film was finished the very day it was due to be screened and was rushed down to Somerset. It was screened to four thousand people at two o'clock in the morning on Sunday 25th June 1996. Dawn was breaking as the end credits rolled six years after Thompson had started the project, but the story was far from over.

On September 17th 1996 at 10am the film was screened at the Empire, Leicester Square to an audience of a thousand, in an attempt to find a suitable international sales company. Meanwhile Alan Douglas assured Thompson continuously that there was no problem with the unsigned synchronisation contract. He was involved in a complicated rights issue with the Hendrix family and was due in court. The Hendrix family eventually won the case and control of all rights to Jimi's music reverted to them. Despite continued assurances even from those now working for the Family, the synchronisation agreement was never signed and permission to use Jimi's music was withdrawn, leaving Thompson devastated.

Once again, Peter and Carole King now associate producers, came to the rescue, persuading other backers to stump up the extra cash required to remix the sound track. In all Middleton’s Changeling had twenty private backers and a £1.6 Million total budget.

Brian Gray, the composer, had heard about Middleton’s Changeling three years earlier and had bombarded Thompson with requests to help with the soundtrack. Thompson now approached Gray in the hope that he could create an entire score to the movie as quickly as possible.

On the 24th February 1997 the remix of the new soundtrack was completed at De Lane Lea Studios in London and the film went into the labs for the final print to be struck. The picture was screened at Cannes and was received with both rapture and hostility. It opened theatrically in the West End at the Prince Charles cinema, Leicester square. Mel Gibson’s Icon Entertainment took on foreign sales and the film went out theatrically through Odeon cinemas around the UK in their ‘Odeon Late’ autumn schedule. Plans are currently underway for theatrical releases in New York, Paris and Madrid.

The UK Release was the realisation of a dream achieved through sheer determination and the combined efforts of all those who dedicated themselves to the making of Middleton’s Changeling.

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