| Essexboys -
Film |
JEFF POPE
Producer & Co-writer
ESSEX BOYS is the third project Jeff Pope has written as well
as produced, the previous films being Fool's Gold (on which
he collaborated with Terry Winsor) and Place of the Dead. Currently
Head of Factual Drama for Granada Television, Jeff has also
produced Open Fire and The One that Got Away.
He sees ESSEX BOYS as a logical continuation of his working
partnership with Terry Winsor: "I started working with
Terry in 1993 on Fools Gold. I'd admired Party, Party and we
just hit if off. I think it was a natural progression from Fools
Gold to ESSEX BOYS - I had the gangster idea in my mind even
then. Possibly down ultimately to Sean playing in it, because
that was such a good experience. The more I thought about it
the more it seemed to work - it was fresh and cliche-free, and
had a great coherent style.
"Some of my favourite films include Once Upon A Time in
America and The Godfather, Get Carter and The Long Good Friday,
so the idea of a gangster picture really appealed.
"I think setting the movie in Essex really helped us. When
I looked at some of the others since Long Good Friday I felt
that there wasn't anything new about them. The sense of place
just wasn't huge - they were all like production-line British
gangsters. All the actors had London accents, but you didn't
know where they lived, the places where they did the robbery,
their local pubs - you didn't know where any of this stuff took
place. If they traveled from one place to another you had no
sense of geography. So they ended up like pastiches of gangster
films, with nothing distinctive about them.
"In contrast, Essex has a real sense of identity. There's
a thrusting, wannabe feel to it. It's an impatient sort of place
that doesn't have a sense of history like London has. It only
really came into its own in the 50's and 60's, and in many respects
it's similar to Australia or America. Essex now has these huge
American malls, with big cinema complexes and all the fast food
outlets - and like the States, the car is really important.
I thought it was a really interesting place to set a movie.
Then of course there is Southend, which says everything with
its neon signs - it could be Monte Carlo or Las Vegas or New
York - and actually it's still Southend seafront! By day it's
an English seaside resort, but by night there is this fantastic
transformation with the neon, and you can see that it wants
to be something else.
"I think it would be a problem if people felt that ESSEX
BOYS was a British film trying to be American - it would certainly
turn me off. There is a big distinction. This is a movie about
an area which is following in the footsteps of America.
"If you want to pinpoint the big difference between us
and say Lock, Stock ... it is that whilst you sense that the
people who made that film were inspired by America and Americana,
in ESSEX BOYS it is the characters themselves who are inspired
by America and Americana. Certainly Terry and I wanted to make
a British film, albeit one that will travel.
"Being set in such a comparatively unknown location I don't
think will hurt the movie internationally. I believe what cinema-goers
want is an integrity, an honesty. If you take the example of
Fargo: I had no real concept that that part of the US was so
heavily influenced by Sweden. But because it was so faithfully
done, it became interesting - it became a character. The same
is true of The Full Monty, which was not a picture postcard
view of Sheffield - in fact they take the piss out of it at
the beginning, but they then stay true to place after that.
If you get your location right, then it becomes a character
and adds interest to the project.
"The way that Terry and I work is to borrow a lot from
real-life. We approach a project journalistically - only becoming
screenwriters once we have the raw materials. I think it's interesting
that London never enters the film. It is entirely self-contained
within Essex. To me The Long Good Friday painted a great picture
of villainy on the cusp of the new era - it accurately predicted
what would happen in Docklands, and Bob Hoskins' character was
just at the vanguard of the old style families moving into new
territory. And I think that here we are, the best part of 20
years later, and it's all come to fruition - that type of villain
doesn't really exist anymore. They have moved out of London,
not just to Essex but to Kent and Hertfordshire. They are the
Essex Boys!" |
| Contact : bernard.omahoney@bernardomahoney.com |
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