Tuesday, April 21, 1998
Director’s rough past leads to award-winning artistic
presentation
FILM: ‘TwentyFourSeven’ grants respect, new hope
to Meadows’ community
By Stephanie Sheh
Daily Bruin Senior Staff
It may not be as glamorous as being discovered at Schwab’s, but
it’s almost as good.
After roughly two years of making short films for himself and
his friends in Nottingham, Shane Meadows and gang decided to enter
a few film competitions. What resulted was the British filmmaker’s
chance to direct his first feature-length film, "TwentyFourSeven,"
which opens Friday.
"We made about 10 or 15 films," Meadows says. "We decided we’ve
been working together for ages, that people probably think they’re
rubbish, but why don’t we just enter some competitions."
As luck would have it, Stephen Woolley, who produces director
Neil Jordan’s films, was one of the judges of Cable TV Channel
One’s short film competition. Apparently Woolley was impressed with
Meadows’ work and as Meadows recalls: "He left a message on the
answer phone saying that he thought we had one of the best short
films he had seen and he wanted to get together."
It was a dream come true for the filmmaker from Nottingham who
admits he didn’t exactly have the most idyllic childhood. Meadows
has used his background as fodder for several of his short films as
well as the upcoming "TwentyFourSeven," about Darcy (Bob Hoskins)
and a bunch of rough kids who come together to earn the community’s
respect after reviving a local boxing club.
"It’s autobiographical really," Meadows says of the film. "We
had a boxing club that closed down and I was also part of an
unsuccessful football team that this guy ran, you know, a soccer
team."
"He ran this soccer team," he continues. "And we used to lose
every single week. And we were like the kids no one in the town
trusted. And the fact that this guy stood by us. And the fact that
we lost and he still stood by us and the fact that we ended up
getting into a lot of trouble and he still stood by us. When you
get older you realize that there are very few people like that
around. And I think that really inspired me to write this
story."
Though "TwentyFourSeven" was inspired by his own life and the
characters were based on people Meadows actually knew, Meadows
himself is not a character. And Meadows wasn’t much of a boxer as a
child either.
"I got hit a couple of times on the nose really hard. It really
hurt," Meadows says. "Some people who do boxing don’t feel pain. I
feel pain."
Meadows sort of fell into filmmaking after struggling and
dabbling in acting, photography and painting, among other artistic
careers. Meadows actually started out as an actor.
He says he used to do impressions and tell stories about people
he grew up with. And since most of Meadows’ listeners were amused
by his performances, he decided to bring his unique characters to
the stage by becoming an actor.
"What I realized is that there wasn’t really a home for that
kind of performance," Meadows says. "So I was always getting put in
really weird plays, you know like where I’d be tied to a sword or
something very strange like that, some art-house play thing."
But now that he’s nestled quite comfortably into his director’s
chair though, Meadows does not foresee turning back to acting.
"I’m not Quentin Tarantino," Meadows says. "I don’t have any
desire to be like an actor actor. I’d love to do maybe one
performance.
"I always have little tiny cameos in my film just like in the
last film I was sitting in the hospital with a saucepan on my
head," he continues to explain. "In terms of that I’ll always have
little parts. I’m not saying that I’d never do it, but I don’t want
to be an actor. I mean Quentin Tarantino wanted to be an actor and
he’s in Broadway acting and I think he wants to be respected as an
actor, whereas I don’t have those desires."
But for Meadows, the choice has paid off. While he acknowledges
that making any length film is difficult, he says that in terms of
responsibilities making the feature-length film was a lot
easier.
"(A feature) takes a lot longer and there’s all the press and
that kind of stuff, but the actual shooting of the film is
incredibly much simpler in terms of I was doing everything before,"
Meadows says. "I had to cook all the food, you know, direct. I was
acting in all of the films. I got burgled, you know, we kept
getting robbed when we were making them, because the area we were
living in was quite rough."
The feature-film experience was quite different.
"Then when I got to make a feature film there were all these
people," Meadows says. "They were tying my shoelaces for me. I
could hardly do anything for me self. I get up in the morning and
I’m being spoonfed with me cereal. So things became a lot more
simpler."
Along with the simplicity has come the critical acclaim and
media attention. "TwentyFourSeven" has already received the
European Critic’s prize, the Pierrots and the Fipresci Prize.
"I’m obviously really excited about what’s happening to me,"
Meadows says. "From my point of view my life is just completely
transformed and it’s a bit of a mad thing. It’s like a whirlwind.
So I’m just enjoying it really and I’m travelling around in cars in
the middle of L.A."
Despite the whirlwind of attention Meadows has been receiving,
the filmmaker still cherishes the basics in his life. He is excited
about the film opening in his hometown’s only theater. The small
one-screen theater, which normally plays only Hollywood films, will
be playing Meadows’ feature debut. This means a lot to Meadows.
"Drugs have become a big thing where I grew up, like in the
town, especially because there’s been a lack of houses," Meadows
says. "I’ve lost some friends through drugs and some friends have
died and some friends are messed up on it. Some friends have gone
into it and come out on the other side and gone to college you
know, life is like that, I’m afraid, isn’t it?
He continues, "I just hope, not in an egotistical way, but I
hope that me and some of the other guys who’ve gone to college will
just sort of give the other guys that I grew up with a bit more
hope."
FILM: "TwentyFourSeven" opens Friday.
October Films
Darcy (Bob Hoskins, left) and Tim (Danny Nussbaum) star in
"TwentyFourSeven," written and directed by Shane Meadows.