This week I had the pleasure of interviewing the very talented indie filmmaker and writer Richard Dutton, who is getting ready to unleash his very ambitious debut movie 'Shadows of a Stranger' on the world. Rich and I have been friends for a long time now and I have worked with him on several projects, including 'Shadows' which I am Associate Producer of and I also acted in.
Me: What inspired you to become a filmmaker?
RICH: As a very young child I was mesmerised by a lot of films of the time, Star Wars, Superman, Indiana Jones, Flash Gordon etc. etc. and my young mind felt some sort of draw to being a part of those sorts of adventures. Eventually when my mind was able to separate fiction from reality, I then had a big ambition to be an actor. When I was about 10 I started making ‘back-yard’ films with my cousin. He would usually be in control of the camera while I pranced around in front of it. But gradually as I got older I migrated towards being behind the camera as well. I spent a lot of my youth making my own films and, admittedly, made a lot of dross, but it gradually became an important tool for self-expression and learning how to communicate with audiences.
Me: What can you tell us about 'Shadows of a Stranger'?
RICH: Shadows of a Stranger is a project I’ve worked on now for about 5 years. I’d initially written the script back in 2002, and then one day in 2009 I decided to dig the script out again and I thought to myself, You know what? I rather like this story! I showed it to my friend Chris Clark and he had an instant belief in it and suggested we should make it ourselves (even though it wasn’t really written as a film that no/low budget filmmakers like us would take on). Chris came up with a plan to shoot it all on blue screen. Fast forward 5 years and we’ve finally just about finished it.
In terms of the film, it’s a dark, psychological thriller in a similar vein to Se7en, about the friendship between two different individuals that fragile circumstances throw together. One is a washed up private investigator, the other is a reclusive psychic. They team up on a job that promises a big reward, as they search for a stranger, a journey that causes them to do a lot of soul searching.
Me: How did you find the process of making such an ambitious project on such a small budget?
RICH: We knew it was always going to be a major challenge, and at times it was maybe seat of our pants stuff. But I think our bull-headed determination sort of forced the universe into letting it happen for us. I felt early on that if we were going to tackle such a project ‘by the book’ then we’d just get bogged down by the boring practicalities of raising finance and such, so we effectively threw that aside and focussed on the art. We said, This is what we’re doing and we’re doing it… well, like Frank Sinatra did things.
Me: Several famous faces worked on the film with us, how did this come about?
RICH: I think it was a combination of being confident enough in ourselves to think bigger than we’d thought before, of not taking no for an answer, for just going ahead and asking these famous faces the question, and finding that they were actually responding to what we were trying to create.
Chris had known the Rainbow actors Jane Tucker and Malcom Lord for some time, and Chris was talking to Jane one day when she mentioned that she was having dinner with Colin Baker soon, and we just thought Colin Baker… he would be great for this film! So we were really cheeky and asked Jane to have a word with him.
Me: Looking back now the finish line is in sight, would you attempt something like this again?
RICH:I don’t think so. Shadows of a Stranger was absolutely the right thing for us to start work on back in 2009. I wouldn’t want to repeat the same journey, because we’ve learnt so much, we’ve grown as artists and individuals, and we’re simply not the same people we were 5 years ago. I definitely wouldn’t want to make a film solely on blue screen again, because for a small filmmaking team it’s very time consuming. So I’d want to go about another film differently.
Me: You were writer and co-director on the film, how was it sharing the directing role with your co-director Chris Clark?
I think Chris and I worked together exceptionally well on the film. You often see with famous directors that they’re described as an ‘actors’ director’ or alternatively with others they don’t have an affinity with actors and they’re more about the look of a film.
As I’d written the script and knew the characters, it made sense for me to direct the performances out of the actors. As Chris had suggested the blue screen route and had already worked with these filmmaking techniques, it made sense for him to direct the technical side of things, particularly the camera. Chris gave me a lot of confidence. It was great having a co-director I could turn to.
Me: Where did you get the idea for 'Shadows'?
RICH: As I wrote it so long ago, I can’t quite remember how the initial kernel of the idea for Shadows appeared in my brain. At the time I was very intrigued about the powers of the human mind in terms of psychic abilities, and remember hearing about incidents where police forces worked with psychics to track down criminals. I think it’s recognised by scientists that there is a lot about the brain that we don’t understand, and people generally accept that they have intuitive feelings. So I guess I wanted to explore these ideas and push them as far as they would go, because that would make for an exciting film in my mind!
There was always a spiritual bent to the film, a contrast between characters becoming bogged down in their ‘worldly minds’ as they work 9 to 5 jobs and the trivial concerns that brings, and individuals who don’t quite fit in with that system and spend time in their own natural minds, unpolluted by these worldly and trivial concerns. In some ways I think Shadows of a Stranger is about how those two worlds come together.
Me: As someone who has written both novels and screenplays, like myself, how does the writing process differ for the two mediums, and which do you prefer?
RICH: I enjoy both processes, but I certainly find writing novels a more involved process. With a script you’re effectively writing a blueprint for a final product, and of course the more visualisation you put into it, the stronger influence it has on creating a strong final film. There’s so much more work to be done though once you’ve written a script.
With a novel, other than the front cover, that’s it. There’s your final product. You’re responsible for everything, but it also gives you the liberty of having full control over the portrayal of characters and execution of story. It’s liberating to know that you can go wherever you’d like and have characters do whatever you like. But within that liberty comes a lot of need for discipline.
Me: How long did it take you to write the screenplay for 'Shadows'?
RICH: I can’t remember how long I spent on the first draft back in 2002. Maybe 6 months or so. The next draft took a few months I guess. So probably around a year at most in all. I was still making changes though even when we were filming.
Me: With the film nearly finished, what have you got planned for the future? Any other projects in the pipeline?
Well, with post-production starting to wrap up, I’ve been doing a lot more writing recently. I do have a novel that I’ve been meaning to release for some time. It’s currently being read by my cousin, and if he doesn’t find any gaping plot holes, I’m going to release that soon. I’m already working on the sequel to it, too. I’m writing the books as stand-alone stories, but there is continuity to them, so that’s a bit of a challenge.
I’ve also been writing another script this year – it’s been a similar process to Shadows, as I wrote this other script back in 2003, and recently dug it up again and reworked it. This one has undergone a lot more development though. I think it would make an awesome film, but then I would say that…
Me: Bonus question. If for your next film project you were offered either a) a documentary about the history of blancmange making in France. b) a biopic of the life and times of Harry Styles? Or c.) a sequel to the film 'White Chicks'. Which would you chose and why?
RICH: Wow. Erm… what a decision. The blancmange is definitely out, I’m afraid. I’ve never seen or heard of White Chicks before, so I’m going to guess there isn’t much of an audience for its sequel. A Harry Styles biopic on the other hand… yeah, Harry Styles all the way. I’ll start watching One Direction’s music videos on Youtube right now…
Thanks to Rich for a great interview, to find out more about the film got their website www.shadowsofastranger.co.uk
