Dominic Burns
Dominic Burns is back in the director’s chair this week as he tackles the comedy genre with his new movie How To Stop Being A Loser.
I caught up with the actor turned director to talk about the new movie, the transition into filmmaking and the movies that he has been enjoying this year.
- How To Stop Being A Loser is released on Friday so can you tell me a little bit about the movie?
The film is essentially about James, who is the titular loser, and his best friend commits suicide; he commits suicide because he cannot pull a girl. His dying wish is that James finds a girl and settles down instead of becoming a dateless wonder.
So James enlists the help of Ampersand, who is a pick up guru, and he teaches him in the way of wooing women and along the way James learns whether or not it’s more important to pull a woman or actually have a relationship with a woman - and that is his learning curve.
- The script was penned by Chris Grezo and Rupert Knowles so how did the project come to you and what was it about this script that interested you?
Well they actually took the script to Simon Phillips, he is a friend of mine and I have worked with him several times, and he passed it along to me to have a look at and see what I thought. We really felt that we could do something with it, Simon and I did a little bit of polishing on the script as we often do, and we felt that it had something to say and it was fun.
We felt that the intention was there - too often in independent film and film in general the intention is wrong in the first place - we wanted to make something that had a clear and good intention, was good fun and had something to say.
It was also nice to make something that the girls would enjoy as well having just done a gangster film (laughs). So that was how it came about really and we developed it and we saw a part that we thought Richard E. Grant would be a dream for we took a punt and went for him - he was by far the biggest name that we had ever approached - and he took it. And off we went from there.
- You have just touched on my next question really Richard E Grant is the biggest name on the cast list so how did he get involved with the movie?
It was a simple case of brainstorming ideas, Simon and I and then the writers. When we first started the project we were like ‘give us your ideas on who you like’ and we gave them ours and we all kind of reached an agreement. Richard E Grant was top of the list and we just approached the agent and went for him first - we had done enough work for him to consider us.
He read it and asked some questions and we went from there - the beautiful thing about making films on a low budget you know that if you do get those actors on board you are getting them from a passionate point of view because we can’t afford to buy them (laughs).
And so when Richard came on board it became a lot easier because as soon as you say you are doing a movie with Richard E Grant everyone was like ‘well I will have a read of that’. So off it went and we ended up with a really impressive ensemble cast.
- Simon Phillips, Gemma Atkinson and Sheridan Smith are just some of the names on that cast list so can you tell a bit about the casting process?
What we kind of do is put together a list of our dream cast and people that we really like. We wanted to make an English film with an American style so what we thought we would do is bring in names that people would know in England and have a lot of fun with them; Martin Kemp for example playing the god of all pick up artists is just wonderful, he just had a ball with it.
Colin Salmon is also fantastic as the psychiatrist, in fact his role wasn’t originally in the script it was something that we came with later on. So we just thought about who we could envisage in the roles and at the same time is was a bit about networking as well, we brought on Craig Conway; he has a close connection to Jill Halfpenny and that is how that came about.
The casting process is a strange one really because there is no real rule to it but one thing that is certain is the more cast members that you get the easier it is to get more.
- What challenges did you face as a filmmaker on this project?
It was very tough because we had a very low budget on this we also had very little time and no time to prep (laughs) - so pretty much all of the challenges you can think of in terms of making the film.
I remember when we had Sheridan Smith on set I got to the location where we were shooting five minutes before she did and I just had to run around and think on my feet fast.
We can’t afford location managers and we can’t afford four weeks of prep, it’s a case of make the film or don’t make the film, we just thought ‘right let’s jump in with two feet and do the best bloody job we can’.
We are really happy with the result, we have a years more experience than when we made the film; we can look back on it now and think ’I wish we could have done that’ or ’I know how to do that better now’ but that is fine and it is all part of the learning process.
I think people can see that in the progression of out career - I say ‘our’ because I work with a lot of the same guys over and over and I do feel like we are improving together.
- You say that the film was shot on a very tight time scale so do you like working under that sort of pressure? Does it suit your filmmaking style?
I have to admit that I do thrive under pressure (laughs) and I do enjoy it - I get a strange sort of kick out of shooting eighteen hour days and six day weeks.
I think that you do get a very tense and creative atmosphere on something like that and I think that you have to see it to believe if - if you have never experienced something like that you can never really have it described to them as it a very unique atmosphere.
I have still never shot a film where I have had the luxury of time or a massive budget so I can’t really tell you what it is like on the other side other than other than what I have acted in or seen.
I do love what we do and I feel that if we are not maximising the budget and not pushing ourselves as hard as we can then I feel that we are wasting our investors money - so as the money goes up we still have to keep the same work rate up and therefore the improvement will be there.
We could probably make the dame movie as Loser on double the budget and have a chauffer take us to work everyday but that is not going to improve our careers.
- We are always hearing about how difficult it is to get movies made in the UK with funding being cut how difficult a task was it getting this movie off the ground?
It is always tough getting any independent film project off the ground and I know that the UK Film Council has been cut now but that was never something that I ever had anything to do with - we work independently from that.
What we do is we raise private equity, with Loser I wasn’t involved in the process at all as I was approached and asked to come on board; so I wasn’t involved in the money raising process for Loser.
But it is a very tough and it just requires dedication and determination beyond description really and that is why so many people struggle - there are a hell of a lot of talented filmmaker out there who will never get discovered because they may be talented filmmakers but they can’t raise money or they don’t know how to raise money.
Luckily I am surrounded by good people and I have some skills in that myself - I suppose it is just luck really.
- You kicked off your career as an actor so how did you find the transition into filmmaking?
I have really enjoyed it actually and I have found as a director with experience acting I really enjoy and understand the process of directing actors. I find that I can draw performances out of people and I really do enjoy that process.
I think if you have happy actors on set who feel they are getting the right amount of attention, some don’t want any attention while some want loads of it; each actor requires a different process to get the best out of them and it’s important to understand what that process is and how to go about that process.
I have really enjoyed and it and I think that I will continue to do bit parts; I think I am too ugly to play a leading man, and I will continue directing as well.
But the thing about doing different bit parts is you get to work under different directors and you get to learn and take tips and basically nick skills from other directors that you can apply to your own work.
The whole thing is about learning if you get to the point where you think you know it all then it’s time to quit and move on and do something else - every time we look at a shot let alone a scene we think ‘What can we do?’, ‘How can we make this as interesting as possible?’, ‘What can we learn?’ and that is the creative process.
- So how do you find juggling you directing and acting work - and is working between the two something that you plan to continue?
Absolutely. I will never take on a leading role or any role that is too big in a film that I am directing myself because I don’t think that I am good enough yet, I don’t know if I ever will be, but I don’t think that I am good enough to direct myself in a leading part.
But I do like to do little roles and I think that this is where your team kicks in and as long as you have a very strong team around you - I work a lot with a guy called James Nun and he has just finished his first film Tower Block and when I am shooting scenes that I am in I tend to lean on him a bit.
I don’t think that it would be possible for me to continue acting in the films that I direct if I didn’t have such a great team around me.
- 2011 is coming to a close so what kind of movies and performances have you been enjoying this year?
I think that there has been some really good stuff this year I recently saw The Ides of March which I really loved, I think Clooney is a belting a actor.
I also thought a little gem this year was Midnight In Paris, which I saw in Cannes, I know that that is going to be in the Oscar race. I also loved Drive it was a cracking movie and ultra cool.
And the other move that blew me away this year was Super 8, and in fact Super 8 was the influence for the look of U.F.O., that and Star Trek; both J.J Abrams movies, that is a film that I directed this summer.
So I think that it has been a good year for films - I am a film nut to be honest I am always in the cinema.
- Finally what's next for you?
We have both Airborne and U.F.O. in post production - Airborne is nearly finished but I will be working on U.F.O. until next year.
I am doing some writing and there are a couple of projects that we are really close to going on but I don’t think that there’s anything we can announce just yet - but hopefully we have got another couple for next year so it’s looking really nice.
How To Stop Being A Loser is released 18th November.
FemaleFirst Helen Earnshaw
Dominic Burns is back in the director’s chair this week as he tackles the comedy genre with his new movie How To Stop Being A Loser.
I caught up with the actor turned director to talk about the new movie, the transition into filmmaking and the movies that he has been enjoying this year.
- How To Stop Being A Loser is released on Friday so can you tell me a little bit about the movie?
The film is essentially about James, who is the titular loser, and his best friend commits suicide; he commits suicide because he cannot pull a girl. His dying wish is that James finds a girl and settles down instead of becoming a dateless wonder.
So James enlists the help of Ampersand, who is a pick up guru, and he teaches him in the way of wooing women and along the way James learns whether or not it’s more important to pull a woman or actually have a relationship with a woman - and that is his learning curve.
- The script was penned by Chris Grezo and Rupert Knowles so how did the project come to you and what was it about this script that interested you?
Well they actually took the script to Simon Phillips, he is a friend of mine and I have worked with him several times, and he passed it along to me to have a look at and see what I thought. We really felt that we could do something with it, Simon and I did a little bit of polishing on the script as we often do, and we felt that it had something to say and it was fun.
We felt that the intention was there - too often in independent film and film in general the intention is wrong in the first place - we wanted to make something that had a clear and good intention, was good fun and had something to say.
It was also nice to make something that the girls would enjoy as well having just done a gangster film (laughs). So that was how it came about really and we developed it and we saw a part that we thought Richard E. Grant would be a dream for we took a punt and went for him - he was by far the biggest name that we had ever approached - and he took it. And off we went from there.
- You have just touched on my next question really Richard E Grant is the biggest name on the cast list so how did he get involved with the movie?
It was a simple case of brainstorming ideas, Simon and I and then the writers. When we first started the project we were like ‘give us your ideas on who you like’ and we gave them ours and we all kind of reached an agreement. Richard E Grant was top of the list and we just approached the agent and went for him first - we had done enough work for him to consider us.
He read it and asked some questions and we went from there - the beautiful thing about making films on a low budget you know that if you do get those actors on board you are getting them from a passionate point of view because we can’t afford to buy them (laughs).
And so when Richard came on board it became a lot easier because as soon as you say you are doing a movie with Richard E Grant everyone was like ‘well I will have a read of that’. So off it went and we ended up with a really impressive ensemble cast.
- Simon Phillips, Gemma Atkinson and Sheridan Smith are just some of the names on that cast list so can you tell a bit about the casting process?
What we kind of do is put together a list of our dream cast and people that we really like. We wanted to make an English film with an American style so what we thought we would do is bring in names that people would know in England and have a lot of fun with them; Martin Kemp for example playing the god of all pick up artists is just wonderful, he just had a ball with it.
Colin Salmon is also fantastic as the psychiatrist, in fact his role wasn’t originally in the script it was something that we came with later on. So we just thought about who we could envisage in the roles and at the same time is was a bit about networking as well, we brought on Craig Conway; he has a close connection to Jill Halfpenny and that is how that came about.
The casting process is a strange one really because there is no real rule to it but one thing that is certain is the more cast members that you get the easier it is to get more.
- What challenges did you face as a filmmaker on this project?
It was very tough because we had a very low budget on this we also had very little time and no time to prep (laughs) - so pretty much all of the challenges you can think of in terms of making the film.
I remember when we had Sheridan Smith on set I got to the location where we were shooting five minutes before she did and I just had to run around and think on my feet fast.