Films by Geoff Thompson
Bouncer
This was my first short film, developed with producer Natasha Carlish and Michael Baig Clifford. I met Natasha though her brother Ben, they were making award winning documentaries at the time and Tash and Michael were interested in making a docu on my life. While they were trying to sell the documentary idea they asked me if I fancied writing a short film for them, they both loved my book Watch My Back and were interested in seeing if it would translate to film. Thinking big (I always like to think big) I wrote it with Ray Winstone in mind as the lead. We put the film in for funding with Screen West Midlands/Film Council and won £10,000 to make it.
This was wonderful but – I was assured, not enough money to pay for Ray Winstone’s lunch, he was commanding Hollywood type fees at the time. I suggested that we approach him anyway. He loved the script and agreed immediately to do it. He didn’t charge us a penny. We then got Paddy Consadine on board and Sean Parcs and Ronnie Fox. It was an amazing experience working with such a stellar cast on our first film. We got a BAFTA nomination that year which really put us on the map. I went on to work with Sean and Ronnie again in Clubbed and Ronnie in Brown Paper bag, Paddy Consadine has become a very good friend too, and is now signed up as the lead in my next feature (in development) Last Will And Testament.
Brown Paper Bag
On the set of Bouncer I became very good friend with all the actors. Ronnie fox and Ray Winstone were like a comedy double act, telling hilarious stories about their antics in and around drinking establishments. Ronnie told me a lot of stories from his time in AA and in NA. I loved the stories, not only were they funny and tragic by turn they also reminded me of my lovely brother Ray who had died from alcoholism. I said to Ronnie, ‘I could write you a great film based on these stories and the world of drinking.’ So I went off and wrote Brown Paper Bag, pretty much off the cuff. I showed it to Tash and Michael; they both loved it and helped me to sculpt it with some great notes. When we gave it Ronnie to read he cried.
It really moved him. We needed someone to work opposite Ronnie with the same kind of passion and personality. We were introduced to Jo McInnis who we all loved. Initially we put the film in to Extreme Shorts to try and win a grant to fund the shoot. We were shortlisted to the last four, and if we won we would have been given £50,000 to make the film. As it turned out they loved the film, but thought that we were not ready to make it yet. This got Tash’s back up and she said, we’ll make it our self then. She is a massively passionate producer, very dynamic, and if she says she is going to do something you can be sure that she will.
She raised the money herself, by taking a loan on (re-mortgaging) her house. It was a very stressful time for her, she went to the edge, at one stage she was so exhausted with the pressure on her to make this film for such a small budget that she sat down in the middle of Euston Station and cried. Our budget for the fifteen minute, four day shoot was £3,500. I chucked in some money to look after food, Mark Leveson, the co-producer paid for accommodation for the actors and off we went.
It was another emotional and amazing shoot, we knew when we were filming that we had something special, there was a real buzz on set.
We found out later that year that we had been BAFTA nominated again. It was a very exciting time, especially as the second time around we won.
Clubbed
This one was a labour of love. I was first approached some fifteen years ago by producer Martin Carr and playwright Jim Cartwright. Jim had read Watch My Back, he said there was something very raw in it that he loved. He asked me if I would consider writing it into a screenplay for cinema. Of course I was delighted and arrogant enough in those days to believe that I could do anything - and in fast time. I imagined that it might be on at the cinema by the following summer and my career and screenwriter would be secure.
I still believe that I can do anything (but not everything) but I no longer presume to know how long it will take. Over the fifteen years of writing, re-writing I developed and deep respect and love for both Martin and Jim, and through Jim began working in theatre too, starting at the Royal Court in London.
What I learned from this very long process is the need for massive patience in this business, I also learned that friendship is more important than anything else, and this process really does test your patience and your friendship. If you are smart, it will develop and hone both. We had a lot of interest in early drafts of Clubbed, and had meetings with just about anyone that is anyone, but we never got the finance in place. Or if it was offered, it came with restrictions that made the offer untenable for us as film makes with integrity. So eventually, after Martin met with the larger than life Director Neil Thompson (no relation) who told him all about EIS fund raising for independent films, we went the self financing route.
It was hard. Let me tell you that self financing is very hard. More so for Neil and Martin who traversed the country looking for sponsors. It took a couple of years to find the £2million that we were looking for, but find it we did and eventually we got our wonderful cast together and we made our first feature film for cinema.
We had a premier in London’s west End, and a premier in Paris so it was all wonderful.
Clubbed is now on DVD.
Romans 12:20
This is a short in the long for, it runs at about 28 minutes and I would say that it is my favourtie of all my films so far. I met the directors, Paul and Ludwig Shammasian, a few years ago. They had read Watch My Back and loved it (there is a theme here) and wanted to make a docucmentary about me.
Which they did, it was called Know Fear, and in making the film we forged a strong friendship. The lads are very spiritual and had been particualrly drawn to a story in Watch My Back about forgiveness, it was the true story of a martial arts teacher who sexaully abused me when I was a boy, and my subsequent revenge many years later, when I met up with him again as an adult. They asked me if I would consider making it into a short film. I had predicted that these lads would be great filmmakers some time before, their vision, their passion, their determination was very affecting. I know I wanted to work with them, but was not sure how and when this would come about.
When they asked me to write Romans I was initially unsure. I had written a fare bit about this incident, more as a catharsis than any thng else, and was unsure if I wanted to go there again. actualy I was a little scared to go there again. That is ultimately why I wrote this film, because I always head towards the things I fear most.
I wrote the film very quickly. Or should I say the film wrote itsself, it was one of those that just came out. I showed it to the lads, they really liked it and gave me me some really good notes that helped to transform the film into the piece of art it is today. Once the script was in place it was just a matter of finding the finance. It is always a matter of finding the finace. It is hard to make a film on good will alone. You need money, and in this case we raised £30.000. Actually our co-producer, Johnathon Willis raised £30.000. He is an amazinfg fund raiser. We got to casting, we needed an amazing lead and I suggested Craig Conway. He is an amazing actor, he toured my one man play Doorman and has testicals the size of coconuts. The lads loved him, so we built the rest of the cast around Craig and started shooting.
I was on set for most of the shoot, and it was a brilliant expereicne but I have to say that I was totally unprepared for what the lads deleivered. I could see that they worked beautifully together on set, the actors loced them, the crew loved them, and I could see that they were getting amazing performances out of the actors, but I was not prepared for the material they deleivered.
The moment I saw it I thought, ‘this is Oscar level!’ Now whether that will happen or not is in God’s hands not mine, but I did and I do know that they had created something wonderful. Sharon, my wife, cried when she saw the first cut of Romans. The combination of a story, music, and photography was directed better than anything in the short form I had see thus far. And the awards that followed concured. Especially in the US where we won loads of major award, eventualy screening in a Los Angelis cinema for three days to qualify it for the Oscar long list.
The Shammasians are directing my next feature last Will and Testiment. I am planning to do as much work with them as possible.
