FRANCE: FILM DIRECTOR SHANE MEADOWS SPEAKS ABOUT HIS LATEST FILM "ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE MIDLANDS"

Record ID: 393020

  • Title: FRANCE: FILM DIRECTOR SHANE MEADOWS SPEAKS ABOUT HIS LATEST FILM "ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE MIDLANDS"
  • Date: 1st May 2002
  • Summary: CANNES, FRANCE (MAY 2002) (REUTERS) SCU: (SOUNDBITE) (English) MEADOWS SAYING: I rang Leonardo, Brad, Kiefer Sutherland and various others, Julia Roberts for Shirley's part but it hadn't kind of spread out quite that far yet so I had to stick with these lot. But no you can't imagine how rewarding it was to know that they'd all seen my work and had heard of what me and Fra
  • Embargoed: 16th May 2002 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: FRANCE, CANNES
  • Country: France
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVA4CCF85AWKQ6TX6OOCNA06O3VF
  • Story Text: One of the hottest directors to emerge from the British film scene, Midlands man, Shane Meadows takes audiences on a spaghetti western style journey of love, jealousy and sorrow with his film 'Once Upon a Time in the Midlands'. The film held its British Gala premiere at the Edinburgh Film Festival on Sunday (August 18, 2002).
    Tipped to be the next best selling film to be exported from the British Isles, Shane Meadow's film 'Once Upon A Time In The Midlands.' set in Nottingham, boasts not only a clever script but a stellar cast including Robert Carlyle, Kathy Burke and Rhys Ifans as well.
    Reuters caught up with the director and cast recently at the Cannes Film Festival, where the film was screened in the Director's Fortnight category - it was highly praised by the critics.
    Set in Nottingham, England a part of the world usually associated with outlaw Robin Hood, 'Once Upon A Time in the Midlands' tells the story of Jimmy (Carlyle), a small-time crook from Glasgow who dumped his wife Shirley (Shirley Henderson) and daughter Marlene (Finn Atkins) years ago.
    Shirley takes up with Dek, played by "Notting Hill" star Rhys Ifans.
    The film opens with Jimmy watching in astonishment as Dek proposes to Shirley live on a television chat show and is turned down. So Jimmy rides into town to win back his woman.
    Cue the spaghetti western music and "High Noon" showdown.
    For director Meadows, the idea of doing a western-style film had been playing on his mind for years, it was just a question of finding the right title to go with it.
    'I've joked at every festival 'what are you making next?' I'm doing this western about these guys from Derby and it just really came out as a joke and then we actually sat down and thought well this idea that we've got of a stranger coming to town is incredibly western like Clint Eastwood always drifts in comes in on his horse and usually that sort of character is the catalyst for the whole film and two guys fighting for one girl, they're all incredibly western themes and so the actual western thing really kicked in when we were looking for a title - we had all these really dodgy arthouse titles like Rat Wizard and Dirty Purple Tie Dye and then this one night just as a joke we put 'Once Upon A Time In the Midlands' and it was really then that we actually sat back and said look we should just really go for this,' said Meadows.
    Robert Carlyle had expressed serious interest in working with Meadows on the movie - even before the script was written. Having done a number of big budget movies, the actor was ready to get back to smaller films - an area he feels most at home with.
    Admitting that he believes small is beautiful, Carlyle is fiercely proud of his role and full of praise for the up-and-coming British director of the film, Shane Meadows.
    "This is the first time I have played a truly three-dimensional character. It is so difficult to get a chance to do that. I have been close to it in other performances but this guy truly is it." He puts it down to Meadow's bravery as a director.
    'Whether you've done one film like Finn or whether you've done ..I don't know how many I've made now, twenty-odd like me, you still need encouragement. And he sits, you see what he's like, he sits behind the camera laughing, encouraging you know and you'd do anything for him, you'd jump through hoops for someone like that because it's so unusual. I've worked with some lovely people, and some great friends that I still have amongst the directors that I've worked with but they are the boss on the set. He just delegates everything wonderfully well, knows what he wants but he's got the confidence to delegate, that's his strength.' The film follows the journey of Dek who struggles to cope with the arrival of Shirley's ex on the scene and the possible loss of his girlfriend - almost losing her to Jimmy when fear overwhelms him. Shirley Henderson spoke to Reuters of Rhys Ifan's talents.
    'He's like a poet and he says the most beautiful things and then makes you laugh two seconds later and I think that's what was needed for that part. He had to be panicked by the thought of what Shirley might do and in fact she had done nothing at this point he almost created it, he almost alienated himself and so the audience has to find all of that absolutely hilarious and then think actually, he is right,he knew what she was thinking all along, but then at the same time you weren't he didn't want you to hate me, he wanted you to think I understand that dilemma that thing that is going on in someone's head where they can't speak, they can't tell anybody but it's there the past is still, you haven't sorted it out,' she said.
    For child actress Finn Atkins, although working with the very best of British on her first feature film, there's one thing that she'll always remember about the film - landing the role.
    'The phone call to say I'd got the part, definitely, it was just mad honestly, cos it was my first feature film and knowing all the famous people that's in it, it was amazing,' she said.
    --
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