Paul Hills

"As soon as they start contacting people they started dealing with the management. Oasis was a big problem. We had Noel & Liam to agree to
give a song. We approached them in February 1995. So when Zomba started doing it they were getting a "no we're not interested". Creation have a policy
for not releasing any songs for any films and for some reason when we approached them we circumvented that and went straight to Noel and Liam."
I asked about the conspiracy theory of filming in Stevenage. Basically Paul endured some problems. His film even had to be vetted by the local theatre. The argument was "you never vetted any films before", the reply "only ones made in Stevenage". The local cinema burnt down in 1994, six months later
it was replaced by a multiplex cinema where 'Boston Kickout' was premiered. Question is how was the film received in Stevenage?
"A lot of people went to see the longer version there. It got a great response.
I was overwhelmed by it. It was fantastic. In a way of course primarily
the film was made for people in Stevenage and other new towns and other small towns and those with similar experiences. It's been showed a lot
of times in a lot of places. It's been to 18 film festivals. It's gone all over
the globe."
What would you describe the role of a director?
"Well it actually depends. There are some directors who think the role of
being a director means fuck all. They sit back on a chair smoke a big cigar
and let everyone else do everything. I kid you not. I know of people
and they are successful people that sit back in a chair and 99% of the time
dofuck all and they don't deserve any of the credit. Ideally I would say that
the role of the director is the guy who orchestrates and co-ordinates
everything and takes responsibility for everything to do with that film."
Isn't it the case directors start off doing everything, from before they get
the deal, they get involved and as time progresses, as the deals come in,
they do less and less and eventually smoke that cigar?
"No there are some straight from the start that have no clue what's going on. There are people who have directed films in this country which have appeared at the cinema, who don't have a clue." >>
pg1 :: pg2 :: pg3 :: pg4 :: pg5 :: pg6
More interviews
There's more great interviews from the vaults here and much more that you may have missed recentely...
_links_
official site