Exclusive Interview: Brit Producer Jonathan Sothcott Talks Black & Blue Films

Jonathan Sothcott

Black and Blue Films is one of the UK’s leading independent production companies. Since its formation in 2007, the indie studio has worked with a wide range of British talent, such as Danny Dyer, Steven Berkoff, Ray Winstone, and Richard E. Grant.

The company was originally the brainchild of managing director/producer Johnathan Sothcott, who, after moving through a succession of roles in journalism and television programming, teamed with Martin Kemp to realise his dream of a genre-driven studio. With a major focus on horror – though also delving into comedy and thriller – Black and Blue has established itself as a market leader here in the UK. Last year’s British Horror Film Awards saw the company nab a range of awards for the well-received DEVIL’S PLAYGROUND. This month Black and Blue are set to begin production on their latest comedy-horror offering, the brilliantly titled STRIPPERS VS WEREWOLVES, which will no doubt do exactly what it says on the tin.

Jonathan Sothcott & Billy Murray

The Hollywood News recently caught up with Jonathan Sothcott, who gave some insight into just what it’s like to work within the British film industry, and just what it is that Black and Blue Films are looking to achieve.

Your rise to becoming a successful movie producer came by the way of various roles such as that of a journalist and TV station controller – was film production what you were always aiming for?

I always wanted to work in film but I had no idea how to do it. I grew up in the middle of nowhere where wanting to work in the movie business was like wanting to live on Mars. There were no introductions or connections, and the outlook was pretty bleak. But I had two things going for me – I could write and I had an unquenchable thirst for knowledge about horror movies and how they were made. I read everything I could about Hammer and similar companies and became a little expert. I started submitting articles to magazines like The DarkSide, and soon I was making a bit of money as a journalist. I then met some guys who were producing extras for DVD releases of British horror films from the 70s and they hired me to interview the filmmakers on them. I was incredibly young – 19 or 20 – and a lot of it was blagging. But suddenly I had an opportunity to ask real filmmakers serious questions. During this time I met a guy called David Wickes, who had made the Sweeney feature film and Jack The Ripper with Michael Caine. He took me under his wing a bit and pointed me towards the idea of being a film producer.

Craig Fairbrass in Dead Cert

In the middle of all this I blagged myself a day job as Head of Programming for The Horror Channel before it launched. Dream job for sure, and I rather naively announced all my big ideas having not taken on board the fact that the guys behind it were some lads from up North who’s great idea in a pub had got out of control and were hopelessly underfunded! I did what I could but the studios didn’t want to sell me movies for magic beans, so I had to bow out. Then Zone Vision bought it up and put some money into it and now it is a big success and my buddy Paul McAvoy does a much better job in my old role!

This was all a bit of a blur – I was 24 when I left the Horror Channel. I then met Steve Parsons and Simon Sprackling, and came in with them on WISHBABY, and got my first producer credit. Then I met Martin Kemp in 2006 and we started Black and Blue the following year.

It wasn’t an easy transition – nothing’s easy – but I learned a great deal and met some very good – and some very bad – people along the way. And now it is all starting to pay off!

Jonathan Sothcott, Billy Murray, Craig Fairbrass & Danny Dyer

How easy is it for a production company such as Black and Blue to work within the British film industry?

We are truly independent – we don’t rely on grants or soft funding – and we work on very tight margins. I recently brought in Simon Phillips as a partner because he is a fantastic nuts and bolts producer and he’s getting us much more bang for our buck. We rely on private financing and that has its own problems – there are so many crooks and con men in this business and everyone in the City knows someone who has been burned by film investment. We have now made ten feature films in three years which I think is a pretty good track record, and we work with the same cast and crews regularly which shows integrity. We have been involved with idiots and conmen in the past – the indie film game really does attract them, but in the last year we have consolidated our brand and established ourselves as a kind of mini studio that makes a certain film for a certain price. Sometimes, such as in the cases of ELFIE HOPKINS or AIRBORNE, we step up and make something that’s really good, but we still make them for a price.

Rupert Evans in Elfie Hopkins

The other problem we have is a lack of quality scripts – and almost everything I get the writer wants to direct. In the case of, say, Ryan Andrews, who did ELFIE HOPKINS, that’s no problem, but there is a lot of delusion elsewhere. B-movie writers are just as precious as their blockbuster counterparts, and satisfying ego is one of my daily chores. But we do struggle to get high-concept, low-budget scripts – we haven’t had huge successes like, say VERTIGO, so I either get preposterously expensive fantasy stuff or retreads of things we’ve already made. We also get a lot of what I call Facebook Films – these nutters think that because they start a Facebook page for their idea, fame and riches are right round the corner. Of course it never works like that, but they all come to me! But there’s some very exciting, high-quality stuff on the horizon.

Has the closure of the UK Film Council had a significant effect on Black and Blue?

It hasn’t affected us at all – we never even had a conversation with them. I think film should function like any other business – on strictly commercial terms – so it just isn’t our style to apply for public money like that. I have never thought it was a good idea – things like that are generally run by people who aren’t filmmakers or business people, and they make themselves busy trying to impose their deluded ideas on people who are trying to make a living. Imagine if there was a Building Council – only in the British film industry would you have such a white elephant of an organization.

Strippers Vs Werewolves

What is it that Black and Blue films aim to do differently from other British movies?

I think that, generally speaking, our movies are fun – we don’t take ourselves too seriously – though we do take the audiences’ needs seriously. I go to HMV at least once a week to watch people buying DVDs – it is a great educator. We have a lot of fun and we hope people have fun watching our films – though I appreciate it is unlikely anyone had any fun watching our dreadful comedy JUST FOR THE RECORD – sorry about that one, folks!

I also like to think of Black and Blue as being something of a family – we start STRIPPERS VE WEREWOLVES in a week, and for the costume designer and production designer it will be their third movie each with us. And with actors we often bring in the same people – people like Colin Salmon and Steven Berkoff have both made 3 or 4 movies each for us.

Black and Blue has so far worked within certain genres, such as comedy, crime thriller, and most successfully horror – are there any further genres that you would like to give the Black and Blue ‘stamp’?

Yes, we are going to make a gay western set on the moon! Ha! No, I think those genres are where we’re strong and where we’re safe on our budgets. I don’t ever want to over-reach ourselves by trying to make a £5 million film on a £500,000 budget. I would really like to make a Hammer-style gothic vampire film one day though.

Black & Blue's Dead Cert

Actors I’d love to work with – Sir Michael Caine, John Simm, Jason Statham, David Tennant… bagging Ray Winstone for ELFIE HOPKINS was a bit of a coup. I think Tamsin Egerton’s a fantastic actress. We’d love to do something with Billie Piper too. On the directors front – Daniel Barber who did HARRY BROWN, Mark Davis who did 4, 3, 2, 1, and, of course, Neill Marshall. I’d also like to do more films with Dominic Burns and Ryan Andrews.

Having not directed since 2003’s Directing the Beast, are there any plans to step back behind the camera in the future?

Absolutely not – I know my limitations. Directing video featurettes like that is one thing, but my mind just isn’t suited to directing drama. There’s no shortage of incredibly talented directors out there – the last thing they need is me making a tit of myself trying to compete with them!

Is Black and Blue looking to work outside of the UK, such as in the US, or will you continue to invest is predominantly British productions?

I’m never happier than when I’m in London, but sure we would look at anything that made commercial sense. I think the last 5 films we’ve made have had much more international sensibilities than the first 5 so I’d like that to continue. It would be living the dream to produce a film in America.

Whisper co-producer Lysette Anthony

Having cleaned up at last year’s British Horror Film Awards, what is left for you to achieve within British cinema?

Well we start our comedy STRIPPER VS WEREWOLVES this month. Very smart guy Jonathan Glendenning in the director’s chair, very talented man. Lovely cast lead by Sarah Douglas – who is a cult movie icon and as far as I’m concerned Hollywood royalty – and Adele Silva, who as well as being a lovely actress is one of my really good friends, plus the stunning Barbara Nedeljakova from the HOSTEL movies. That will take me through to June. Then we’re looking at a Sci-Fi action movie that I can’t talk about just yet. And in September we start a very clever, beautifully written horror film called WHISPER, which was brought to me by the brilliant Lysette Anthony, who is now producing as well as acting. It’s about Electronic Voice Phenomena – really scary stuff, a mix of WHITE NOISE and POLTERGEIST. A lovely director called Terrence Gross is doing that and we’re just making a start on the casting. And after that… well, after that I’ll be ready for a holiday with my missus!

What advice can you offer to budding British filmmakers?

Don’t get caught up in the bullshit – when I look back at the time and money I have wasted living the ‘film biz’ lifestyle, I cringe. Going out to Embassy and getting drunk with wasters from Reality TV shows is not going to get your movies made. Work hard, be smart and don’t take no for an answer!