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Jaded with pop promos, one man pursues his film dream all the way to Cannes

TIME FOR A CHANGE

(Guardian 19th May 93)

MARCUS THOMPSON

After four years living and breathing The Changeling by the Jacobean dramatist Thomas Middleton but surviving on a steady influx of three-and-a-half minute rock videos and motorcycle ads, you get to the stage where you realise that unless you chase your dream then that’s all it’s going to be.

Having bored everyone senseless about the project and my ideas I realised I’d got to the stage where actions speak louder than words. It was time to take the leap into the abyss at the end of which I am either a) happy or b) bankrupt, but still happier than before.

In the three preceding years I had visited Fellini in Rome, Fernando Rey in Madrid, and touted my script around a few industry people whose comments had ranged from “Please keep us informed on the status of this project” to “ It’s going to piss a lot of people off and a lot of people are going to love it.” But the demands of rent and living costs kept me from making the leap and I stuck on the pop promo circuit with EMI, Virgin, Chrysalis et al.

Then suddenly everything clicked. I realised I had a first class crew which was highly excited about the project and ready to work on deferment, (all of whom were sick and tired of the insubstantial diet of rock videos and commercials). Plus I had a great story and script and a leading man - I felt it was time to move. So I jumped in at the deep end and on a wing and a prayer went a-calling and a-grovelling.

What has most stunned me is the willingness of people to help - from crews to studios, stunt men to animal handlers - everyone is chasing the dream with me. The money may not be there yet, and the government unsupportive, but as far as the people who make up the bulk of the industry, they are most assuredly alive and kicking.

Having completed six days shooting at Pinewood, I’m heading down to the insanity of the Cannes Film Festival with an overflowing car boot, a large quantity of telephone numbers, an edited video, belief in myself and a passion for this film. I want to entertain people, give ‘em a good time, let them see a classic piece of English literature and how it relates to today.

I’ve got a leading lady in Hannah King who burns her image onto your brain, and a leading man in Ian Dury who, like Deflores, has overcome incredible odds to chase his own dream and won - after all, isn’t that what movie making is supposed to be all about?

I’ve got no grudges to bear. I’m just making a great film on a dynamite story and all I’ve got to pray for is an influx of some money... but then, what’s new?

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