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Your new movie Nigel
- in a few words, what's it about?
It's a romantic comedy about a very naive young man who's looking for love
and finds... well you'll have to see! What were your
sources of inspiratiion when writing Nigel, and is any of it
based on personal experiences? Before I met my lovely wife
(we've been together 15 years now) I spent 6 years single, and yes, yes I
did delve into online dating and met some interesting young ladies. Not
quite as diverse and colourful as Nigel's but certainly some elements of
them may have made it into the final film!
To what extent could you actually identify with your title
character and the issues he's having? Oh massively! As a
young man I was incredibly naive with the fairer sex and it's a miracle I
ever dated! Even now my wife loves how utterly clueless I am about 'signals' -
I simply don't see them, I really don't have a clue! Do talk about
Nigel's brand of
humour! It's not a film that's going to make people cry
laughing, it's got a very subtle, cheeky humour about it that will make
people smile, and a serious heart that makes it cute, quaint and will
leave people with a nice fuzzy feeling. I also think he's a very relatable
everyman that people will either see elements of themselves in or at least
know someone like Nigel. A few words about your directorial approach
to your story at hand?
As with The Pact
I always see my
scripts as a guideline rather than a 'you must say this.' Of course there
are certain points and phrases that have to be said, but I like to give my
cast the freedom to play. The dates themselves didn't have a script. My
direction to them was 'anything you say has to be, in character, a) the
reason you're the sexiest person ever and his ideal woman, but b) the
reason why he's never calling you again.' I swear, we have about an hour
of outtakes that we couldn't fit in, and all off that is improvisation
gold. Maybe I need a director's cut! What can you tell us about
Nigel's cast, and why
exactly these people? I'm blessed to work with many good
people in my other life as a murder mystery actor. Steven Jobson is a friend and
colleague in this world and a very talented voiceover artist and stage
actor, but he's got such a wonderful, expressive face, he was the only
person I wanted - the person I knew could bring Nigel to life. Sharon
Spink [Sharon Spink
interview - click here],
Ellen Carnazza [Ellen
Carnazza interview - click here], Sadie Stewart and Mackenzie Vee Crompton also run in the same murder mystery crew (Tall Tales Mysteries -
www.talltalesmysteries.com)
and Samantha Fisher is a lady I've known for ages but never worked with. For a pro
wrestler I'm forever grateful to Liam Wakelin of The Magic of Wrestling
podcast (@M0Wrestling on Twitter) for introducing me to the magnificent Kirsty
Love [Kirsty Love
Mcluskey interview - click here]. Kirsty and her partner (also a wrestler, with a small cameo in the
film) travelled down from Scotland for a morning filming, and she
absolutely nailed it in her first film role. As for our Polish lady and
'waiter' I bribed people from my day job to make cameos! You also make a cameo
appearance in Nigel -
so since you're a trained actor, were you ever tempted to expand your role
or take on a bigger one?
Absolutely not. This film was
about Steven and the ensemble having a chance to shine. I saw an
opportunity for a brief and funny Hitchcock-like cameo so I took it, but
never would I ever have done it again at the expense of the spotlight being
on the right people! A few words about the
shoot as such, and the on-set atmosphere? Lively! Trying to
keep a straight face while these ladies were ad-libbing the most hilarious
lines was difficult, but we had SUCH a good time! Everyone was a delight to
work with and really understood what we were looking for. The
$64-question of course, where can Nigel be seen?
We're trying to get a premiere booked for the pub we filmed in, and then
it's onto the festival circuit. As with
The Pact, once it's done the rounds
we'll stick it on YouTube, I don't make films for profit - only for fun!
Anything you can tell us about audience and critical reception of
Nigel yet?
We've done a few test screenings and it's all been very positive so far.
The first couple of reviews have started to come in and we're getting
exactly the kind of response we wanted. People like it!
Any future projects you'd like to share?
The next one is a 1920s film noir American short horror, then I'm looking
to make a cartoon documentary about an autistic colleague who has a
wonderful way of describing the way her mind works. Ants are included in the story!
Your/your movie's website, social media, whatever else?
@realpaulsutton and @NigelTheMovie on Twitter and
Instagram Anything else you're dying to mention and I have merely forgotten
to ask? I just want to thank you for your continued support in getting my
work out there. You're a huge advocate for indie films and I appreciate
the time you spend promoting us all! Thanks also to my wife and son who as well as being super supportive as
always also play small roles at the start of the film! Thanks for the interview! |
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