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Your upcoming movie Geezers - in a few words, what's it
about?
This is a high octane crime caper about a stolen bag of money and a war
between the rival gangs who want to get it. Caught in the cross fire are
'The Geezers' a bunch of wannabe criminals who have bitten off more then
they can chew. With 24 hours to grab the cash, London may just go up in
smoke tonight. This is a high octane British gangster film with an
international cast including Shaun Ryder and Bez (from Happy Mondays
fame), Hannaj Bang Bendz (Wrath of Dracula), Sean Cronin (Mission:
Impossible - Rogue Nation), Ciaron Davies, Ashley Hudson and Stephen Woollard. Written
and directed by Ciaron Davies (Grainne Uaile, The
5th Dimension, The Magic
Island). With Geezers being a gangster movie, is that a
genre especially dear to you, and your genre favourites? This is drawn very much from Hong Kong crime cinema such as
exploitation classics like Battles Without
Honour and Humanity, Yakuza
Graveyard or Infernal Affairs. High octane action, lots of parallel
stories that collide together into an explosive and chaotic climax. A
mixture of tradition British ‘geezer’ gangsters and put into an
international vibe, creating an insane gangster action epic that is
akin to being tied to a rollercoaster and let go for ninety minutes of
carnage. (Other) sources of inspiration when writing Geezers?
It has elements of all the greats - Goodfellas, Departed, Snatch,
The Krays, Police
Story (Jackie Chan), the tactical stunt work and
martial arts based action of John Wick or 1970s Hong Kong cinema. The
cast itself is purposefully international with a rich tapestry of
British, Irish, American, Chinese, Dutch and Norwegian, mirroring the
society we live in now. A heavily stylised gangster movie that seems
timeless it’s also a modern take on a theme that us brought into the
21st century with an incendry device. During
the filming of Geezers, rather than giving your cast a
cast-in-stone screenplay you relied a lot on your actors' improvisational
skills - so could you talk about that technique of yours for a bit? Wanted to keep this film gritty and raw and realistic, so some of
the dialogue was improvised but to a heavily scripted structure,
allowing a naturalness to flow through the words which often are
minimalist as I wanted to show rather then tell in this picture. The
action is right in front of us and we are part of it, willing
participants in a whirlwind of chaos. There are of course heavily
scripted scenes also where plot points are key, but all in all it was
important that this film had a fresh energy and that there was a sense
of reality amidst all the über-violence. Do
talk about all the action in your movie, and how were these scenes
achieved? The action is precise and often with large amounts of people.
Tactical stunt work, weapons everywhere, incredible shoot-outs, car
chases, martial arts based hand to hand combat. Everything about this
film is fast and brutal. The actors are all seasoned action performers,
and we had an incredible team of stunt performers and choreographers so
could really push the boundaries of what we could achieve, violence-wise. Building carnage onto the screen requires a certain level of
commitment, endurance and energy from the performers, and also a
structure and imaginative procedure from the choreographers. We pushed
the envelope and what you will see in this film is incredible
adrenslised cinematic chaos that is deeply satisfying for any action
enthusiast. It some ways it feels like you are ‘in’ the action as
you watch it - which is actually where the camera was, thick in the midst
of the carnage!
A few words about your overall directorial
approach to your story at hand? The story has a complexity and intensity so the main key was to
provide the world for the actors to live in where their characters could
breathe. Particular approaches change from day to day, depending on the
individuals, but this film is all about complexities so it was important
to keep them in the zone pyschologically, and also to have a detailed
approached to the technical aspects of the cinematography and violence.
Over all keep everything moving and build a crazy yet organised
atmosphere. The energy shows on the screen with this awesome cast, and
the movie is thunderous. You also appear in front
of the camera in Geezers - so what can you tell us about
your character, what did you draw upon to bring him to life, and have you
written him with yourself in mind from the get-go? I play Mikey, the hardened criminal brother of intellectually
challenged Joey, who has the job of trying to sort out the sorry mess
they are in. An interesting character, strong and stoic but when riled
is a psychotic killing machine. It was interesting to bring depth and
layers into an action antihero and present a character psychologically
scarred, intrinsically good but with an extremely bad side that you
don’t want to wake up. The classic nomadic hero, mirroring icons such
as Clint Eastwood in Unforgiven, Val Kilmer's Doc Holliday in
Tombstone or de Niro’s Taxi
Driver. Mysterious men whith a past of
violence that returns to claim them and in the process sets them on the
road of carnage, seeking redemption yet finding nothing but death.
What can you tell us about the rest ofGeezers' cast, and why
exactly these people? And how did you get some of them even? The cast are exceptional and from diverse backgrounds from all
over the globe. Many are also athletes with martial arts and stunt
backgrounds. Wanted the characters to feel real and also for the action
itself to be dramatic and help fuel the story, so it was important that
the actors all did most of their stunts as opposed to using doubles.
There is a massive cast with 100s of people in this picture and some
amazing talents. The action is as real as the drama is. The whole thing
feels very authentic. The familiar faces that you see in the film also
bring authenticity. Shaun Ryder and Bez (from the Happy Mondays), who
play Mancunian gang leaders, represent the spirit of Manchester and bring
something very dynamic to the movie. Sean Cronin (Mission: Impossible
- Rogue Nation) is
a gripping London crime boss, horror icon Debra Lamb (Blood
Covered Chocolate, There's No Such Thing as Zombies) [Debra
Lamb interview - click here] in a role that will surprise many
of her fans, and Hannaj Bang Bendz (Wrath of Dracula) brings a
ferocity to the screen steeped in martial arts lore. All in all, this
cast is incredibly diverse and authentic. Do
talk about the shoot as such, and the on-set atmosphere! We all became a family, and everyone put their individuals passion
into this film to make it the best they could individually. It was fun,
gruelling and an extreme adventure. Motor bikes, trucks, fast cars and
guns - insanity on a daily basis. As
far as I know, Geezers is still in production as we speak
- so at what stage are you, and when and where will your movie be
released, however tentatively?
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We are in editing now (bar a few pick ups) and looking at an
autumn release. Any future projects
beyond Geezers you'd like to share? Next up is a pirate movie, followed by a western. Your/your
movie's website, social media, whatever else?
www.loosegrippfilms.co.uk
Geezers on Facebook:
www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100095041542456
Anything
else you're dying to mention and I have merely forgotten to ask? 'Geezers' in Britain is a term for criminals. Often likeable but
highly dangerous! Thanks
for the interview!
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