Your upcoming movie Wash Club - in a few words, what is it about?
Wash Club is the strange but true story of one man’s struggle to uncover a
secret society of students who get into tumble driers for fun. Doug is an
undergrad journalist who sees this strange subculture as an opportunity to
kickstart his career - so he investigates. But the deeper he digs, the bigger
the mystery becomes. Before long, Doug finds himself at the centre of the very
cult he was supposed to be investigating. Doug has to decide just how far he
is willing to go for the sake of a good story.
How did the project fall together in the first place, and to what
extent can you relate to Wash Club's rather eccentric subject
matter even?
Wash Club was originally a podcast by the poet Ross Sutherland a couple
of years ago in which Ross retold the true story of how he accidentally
became the leader of a death cult. When Simon heard the podcast he
instantly knew he wanted to make a film out of it. So Simon did a little
investigating and tracked Ross down. Luckily Ross is also a screenwriter
so he came on board to write the script and the project was born!
I can't relate to accidentally starting a death cult but I think
everyone can relate to telling a lie that gets a little out of hand. At
what point do you own up to the truth even if it makes you look bad - I
think the very human aspect of Wash Club is something that makes the
film relatable to everyone. As soon as you hear the story, you wonder
what you would do in that situation? Would you go as far to climb into a
tumble drier to keep your secret?
What can you tell us about your
writer Ross Sutherland and director Simon Dymond, and what's your
collaboration with them like?
Ross and Simon are both great, I feel privileged they're trusting me
with this project. Ross is a poet and his writing is some of the best
I've ever read. He's a great writer always taking on people's notes,
he's not overly protective over the script which makes this a great
collaborative project. Even though this is based on a true story he's
still been open to input from those involved with the project.
I've collaborated with Simon a lot in the last 18 months, from music
videos and commercials to short films. So we have a great relationship,
we're always in production on something together so we just have a very
easy working relationship. We know who's going to do what on each
project and just crack on. So far we've always had similar visions for
projects and I trust him whole heartedly to give Wash Club the treatment
it deserves.
Where do you see the major
challenges on Wash Club from a producer's side of view, and how
hands-on or hands-off will you be on this project?
In a producer's logistical point of view, it's going to be hard to
secure the perfect laundrette. We need a really big one for the film
that can house the on screen Wash Club and the crew, but it also needs
to look and feel right. As always casting is crucial, it isn't
necessarily a challenge but it is so important that we get Doug's
character just right in the casting process.
I'll be very hands-on in this project, that's how me and Simon work
together. I've been attached to the project from Simon's first contact
with Ross, and this is the most excited I'm about a project in a long time
so I want to be there every step of the way.
What
can you tell us about the key cast and crew of Wash Club, and how
much of a say did you have in those departments?
Again all choices are made between myself and Simon, we'll never make a
decision without consulting each other. As we've been working on some
many projects together recently, we've built a crew that we use
regularly. Our DOP Karl Poyzer has worked with us on all our joint
projects so he's been attached since the beginning, as has our
production sound mixer Adam Fletcher. We like to use a lot of the same
faces, as you all get used to the way each other works and it just makes
the set run smoothly. We're still in the process of casting and crewing
up but it'll be a lot of our core team.
As far
as I know, Wash Club is still in its fundraising stages - so do
talk about your campaign a bit!
We are extremely lucky to have already been granted £5000 from Creative
England and BFI as part of their iShorts scheme. But we have turned to
crowdfunding to bump up that budget as we really want to give Wash Club
the treatment it deserves and the resources we need to do that aren't
cheap! However we have plenty of rewards on offer if anyone wants to
help us make this film. You can become an official member of Wash Club
with an actual certificate of membership, we have t-shirts and laundry
bags, a download of the film, the chance to appear in the actual film
and many more laundry related rewards. Hopefully we have something for
everyone.
The first rule of Wash Club is talk about Wash Club so even if you can't
donate any shares or tweets about the campaign is still helping us
recruit new members.
www.crowdfunder.co.uk/washclub
Once the budget's in
place, what's the schedule ... and any idea when the film might be
released onto the general public yet (and yes, I realize it's waaay too
early to ask)?
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We are looking to shoot in late summer, maybe the beginning of August
with the film completed by October. Backers will be able to view the
film first this winter, with the general public having to wait until the
festival run is over.
Any future projects beyond Wash Club? I'm
attached to a couple of projects at the moment but nothing that is really
set in stone until the funding is confirmed. So Wash Club is the main
focus at the moment. Your/your
movie's website, Facebook, Crowdfunder, whatever else?
www.crowdfunder.co.uk/washclub
www.facebook.com/washclubfilm
@washclubfilm
Thanks
for the interview!
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