Your upcoming movie As Darkness Falls - in a few words, what
is it about?
It
is the story of a young teenager called Christopher who lives with his
parents in a converted
railway
carriage on the coast of Kent at Dungeness. After a car crash shatters the
community, he is
left
to deal with the ever increasing erratic and delusional behaviour of his
father, Michael, who
works
at the nearby nuclear power station.
Finding
solace in the beautiful and troublesome Isabelle, Christopher embarks on a
journey of love,
loss
and redemption as those closest to him hurtle towards a darkness which
will forever cast its
shadow
over the isolated community.
At
its heart it is a dark phycological thriller which explores love, family,
loss and the transition from
childhood
into the adult world. I guess it’s a commentary on the loss of innocence
and the dark
passengers
we carry as adults.
What were your inspirations when writing As
Darkness Falls, and is any of this based on personal experiences?
It
all started with a weekend away and a trip down to Dungeness in Kent.
Walking along that lonely
stretch
of pebble beach, the idea for the story started forming in my mind. It was
a really exciting
moment.
I remember going home and pretty much fleshing out the entire story that
evening,
although
it has gone through many many drafts since.
The
original idea was to write it as a novel. Then over the summer I read a
hugely inspiring book
called
Rebel
Without a Crew by
Robert Rodriguez, the director of From Dusk Till
Dawn, and how
he
made his first feature film for about $7,000. After reading that I decided
to sit down and re-write
what
I had started as a screenplay.
I
started writing it in June and it took me until September before I had a
draft I was happy with.
Soon
after we had finance in place and I had a tweet from Robert himself, a
hugely important
moment
for me as I felt it bookended the writing process.
I
have incorporated a lot of my personal experiences into the characters,
not events as such, but
definitely
emotions, thoughts and feelings. An actor said to me that all of the
characters, even the
smaller
ones, jumped off the page for him. I think perhaps that’s because each
of them, at their
core,
derive their feelings and motivations from real events. It was a very raw
process writing such
broken
characters and it took me to some very dark places.
It’s
difficult opening yourself up when you write, you pour so much emotion
into the story and its
characters
you really do bare all. I spent 3 months writing the script and then to
have to hand it
over
for others to critique is a difficult and exposing process but one that is
ultimately very
rewarding.
I was absolutely floored by some of the amazing and heartfelt feedback I
got from the
industry,
which is such a great feeling as this is a culmination of 10 years of my
life.
Since
As Darkness Falls is your debut feature as a director - what made
you choose exactly this story for your first movie?
I
wanted to not only tell a story that I would really enjoy watching but
also make something that no
one
else was making at the moment. That was my core motivation for this movie.
I had spent time
looking
to raise finance for another script by a very talented writer but realised
that we were looking
to
raise the same amount of money as far more experienced producers and
directors in a very
saturated
genre. I looked at what all of the great breakthrough directors had done
as their first
features
and they all defined their genre rather than imitated success. If I can
imitate even a small
fraction
of their success I will be happy.
It
is a daunting prospect moving from short film into features but absolutely
thrilling. Nothing quite
prepares
you for the task at hand.
What
really helps is the support of the team you build around yourself as a director. Making sure
that
everyone has the same vision and can see what you are trying to achieve. I
have a fantastic producer
called Anthony Allin from Timeworks Films who has taken so much pressure
off me and
allowed
me to focus on the creative aspects of the story.
I
am also very lucky to have a woman by my side who has inspired, supported
and encouraged me
through
all those difficult times and the ones still to come.
I
suppose the right locations are key to your movie - so where will you film
it, and what do you expect to be the advantages and challenges shooting
there?
The
location is very important to this story, the environment that Michael,
Christopher and Isabelle
live
and breath within is as much a character in the film as they are.
Dungeness has a real
otherworldly
feel about it. Every location exists and the narrative is intimately woven
around these
locations.
It really couldn't be shot anywhere else.
We
are shooting the internals in London for a week and then on location in
Dungeness for 2 weeks
after
that. A lot of Michael’s narrative is set at night which is going to
provide its own unique set of
challenges
at that time of the year, although we have the advantage that all of the
locations are
close
to each other and privately owned so we don't have to deal with a lengthy
negotiation
process
with the council and have a single point of contact for every location in
the movie. What
can you tell us about the intended look and feel of your movie?
As
with the narrative I want the look of the film to stay away from the tired
stereotypes of both indie
drama
and horror. I intend to use light, specifically coloured light, to enhance
the storyline in so far
as
making it seem even more unnatural than it already does; oranges and reds
for Michael’s story
arc
and more subtle light airy scenes using greens and blues for Christopher.
Christopher’s
innocence
is embodied in the landscape in so far as his scenes are mostly outdoors
and mirror his
own
journey and exploration of the world, whereas his father's scenes are
predominantly internal
and
very claustrophobic in nature even with the external scenes.
What can you tell us about the cast of
As Darkness Falls, and why exactly these people?
Casting
is going on at the moment and we are in talks with some absolutely
incredible actors to
play
Michael and Christopher who, unfortunately, I cannot mention by name at
the moment until
those
deals have been finalised.
I
can mention Emily Haigh however, who plays Isabelle, one of the lead
characters in the film. She
is
an exceptionally talented actress who at only 19 years old has also
written and directed her own
short
films and is really starting to make a name for herself. In fact she is
credited on As Darkness
Falls
as an associate producer because of her contributions in helping shape the
script. I am also
hoping
to work with a superb actor and friend of mine, Henry Garrett, who I have
worked with
before
on two of my shorts; Anonymous and Rabbit Foot.
As far as I know, As
Darkness Falls is still in pre-production as we speak - so what's the
schedule, and any idea when and where the film might be onto the general
public yet (even though I know it's probably waaay too early to ask)?
We
are currently in pre-production as you said but the turn around has been
phenomenally quick
so
far. I started writing the story in June last year and had a first draft
by September that I was
happy
with, so from concept to filming is going to be around 9 months. The
current schedule is to
shoot
from the end of March through towards the end of April before going into
post production, so
we
should have a finished cut of the film in June and within a year from
concept. That should allow
us
to get the film ready for the festival season and distribution.
Any future projects you'd like to share?
To
be honest As Darkness Falls is all consuming at the moment, however I do
have two future
projects
that I have started to craft into a more solid narrative. They are both in
a very early stage
of
development so I can’t say too much about them yet but one is very
existential and follows two
lost
souls set in Paris and I am really keen to shoot it in French. The other
is a sweeping narrative
covering
three generations set in the wilds of Siberia, a very ambitious movie.
I
have also always wanted to turn a series of books I read as a young adult
into movies and am
actively
looking to secure the option at the moment. If I am successful then they
will be my next
films.
What
got you into the filmworld in the first place, and did you receive any
formal education on the subject?
I grew up in a village called Meidrim in rural Wales, a small community of
less than 600 people.
When
I was very young I had an old Commodore 64, a games console, if you can
even call it that.
It
had this really simple programming language called “Basic” and I
realised that by some simple
commands
and using keyboard characters I could make these little Stick figure
animations out of
the
letters so I started experimenting telling these really simple stories.
When
I turned 15 and wanted to go into film for my work experience my school
suggested I work
in
Snappy Snaps. Not quite what I had in mind so I arranged work experience
on my own in
London
and worked at a small animation company called The Hive. Which is where I
started after
leaving
university.
I
realised it wasn't animation I was passionate about but being able to tell
stories. When I moved to
London
I was lucky enough to be introduced to a company called Raindance, a
company which
offers
film training and that is known for its film festival, where I did a
foundation course in
Filmmaking.
I shot my first short film in 2006 shortly afterwards. What can you tell us
about your filmwork prior to As Darkness Falls?
I
founded my company Inspiration Films in 2006 and produced many short films
over the years.
Most
recently I produced three films starting with Anonymous starring Amanda
Drew and Henry
Garrett
in 2012, then a film called The Pugilist's Son in 2013 starring Gary
Stretch (Dead Man's Shoes)
and Paul Barber (The Full Monty), which was financed by an executive
producer called
Mark
Stewart who was involved with The Frozen Ground and Fire with Fire
starring Bruce Willis.
The
most recent film was called Rabbit Foot, a period Second World War film
where we cast Laura
Pradelska
from Game of Thrones and Will Payne who was in Mr Selfridge and
Elfie Hopkins.
Filmmakers,
writers, whoever else who inspire you?
I
love drama. Thought provoking stories about real people in real
situations, specifically situations
outside
of their control. It’s an idea that has always intrigued me; how we are
not only products of
our
upbringing but shaped by events completely outside of our control,
whatever those may be.
A
chance encounter, a glance across a room, a tragedy which might befall a
family. Just being in
the
wrong place at the wrong time. Or perhaps, the right place at the right
time. Growing up my
father
had an extensive library and early on I stumbled across the works of the
likes of Camus,
Sartre
and Kafka and from reading those books I started to become interested in
the idea of
“Human
Existence through Experience”. That one line underpins the stories I
want to tell.
As
far as writers and directors go I have long been a big fan of Cormac
McCarthy as a storyteller. I
always
find myself transfixed by his novels such as Outer Dark and of course
The Road. I think
what
fascinates me with those stories is we join the characters during a short
period in their lives,
focusing
around a series of important, life changing events. It is this idea of
glimpsing a fleeting
moment
in a characters life that I wanted to capture in my story. The idea that
the narrative carries
on
beyond the final page. Or the credits of a film for that matter.
I
also love the work of the Coen Brothers who are such masterful
storytellers, No Country For Old Men
for example (also written by McCarthy, funnily enough) and Fargo which
blended such
beautiful
landscapes with an incredible and brutal narrative.
Also
the work of Terrence Malick such as The Tree of Life for its gorgeous
sweeping story arc and
stunning
artistic visuals.
Outside
of those there are so so many filmmakers who have inspired my journey,
mainly through
their
own grit and determination to make it in the industry: Quentin Tarantino,
Robert Rodriguez,
Christopher
Nolan, Danny Boyle and Guy Ritchie to name just a few.
Your favourite
movies?
I
like a really wide variety of films, so many that it’s difficult to nail
them down. Everything from
drama
to fantasy, sci-fi to westerns. For me it’s the ones that really dig
deep emotionally even if
that
takes you to some uncomfortable places. Films that don't shy away from
subjects and
situations
that we find hard to connect with or breaking the traditional 3 act
structure such as Place Beyond
The Pines and Night Crawler. Most recently I really enjoyed Denis
Villeneuve’s Enemy.
... and of course, films you really deplore?
Deplore
is a strong word. I am not a huge fan of action movies or romantic
comedies for example
but
that doesn't mean there is any less merit. It’s about the story, if you
can connect with the
characters
then it is a good movie. We all connect differently and that’s the
beauty of cinema. Your/your
movie's website, Facebook, whatever else?
www.inspirationfilms.co.uk
www.facebook.com/inspirationfilms
www.twitter.com/inspirationfilm
www.imdb.me/mark-peters
www.twitter.com/Mark_A_Peters
www.asdarknessfallsmovie.com
www.facebook.com/asdarknessfallsmovie
www.twitter.com/asdarknessfalls
www.instagram.com/asdarknessfallsmovie
Anything else
you're dying to mention and I have merely forgotten to ask?
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Growing
up in such a small and isolated community as I did was a fantastic
opportunity for me. I
lived
on a beautiful farm and was surrounded by the most incredible scenery
which really
influenced
some of my early writing. It was an inspiring place to grow up. Wales is a
very beautiful
country,
one I am sure has many stories to tell. There are stories from my
childhood set around
Tenby
and the Pembrokeshire coast that I would like to tell one day.
I
remember every winter, almost without fail, the snow would come and we
would be pretty much
cut
off from the rest of society. The nearest supermarket was 40 minutes drive
away so we used to
stock
up on food before the snow arrived and you could almost guarantee the
electricity would go
out
at some point. Not like here in London, a few hours off and then back to
the warmth and
coziness.
It would be gone for days and days. My parents used to have to cook on
small gas
burners
and we would huddle around the coal fire. I remember we had one of those
old fashioned
candle
holders, almost victorian, and going to bed walking the corridors of our
old Welsh long
house
by candlelight. It was an incredibly atmospheric place to grow up.
A
world away from the life in North London with my wife Chloe. But like I
mentioned earlier about
life
being a product of circumstance and experience, along the way my path has
taken many
different
twists and turns but here I am. I am always fascinated to look back at the
events that have led
me to where I am now. Hindsight is a powerful thing, looking back and
being able to connect
the
dots. All we can do is find what we love doing and what we are passionate
about and push as
hard
towards those goals as we can, maybe those goals change as we get older
but always fight for
what you really want in life. Thanks
for the interview!
Special thanks to Richard S Barnett, founder of IIWYK!!!
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