It’s an exciting time for Black and Blue Films. Following their showreel at the recent FrightFest – debuting clips from their upcoming ELFIE HOPKINS, STALKER and STRIPPERS VS WEREWOLVES – producer Jonathan Sothcott was met with an extremely enthusiastic response. This bodes very well for the production house (perhaps Britain’s hardest working filmmakers), which is carving a clear niche for itslef in the UK horror and comedy markets. At present, the rate at which they are not only producing, but releasing films is staggering considering the amount of work involved between story conception and the final product.
‘Well we’re in an unusual position at the minute’ Jonathan Sothcott tells THN, ‘rather than making films almost back-to-back we have films being released back-to-back.’ The first of these is BIG FAT GYPSY GANGSTER, a comedy mockumentary written by and starring Ricky Grover, one of Britain’s favourite comedy talents. Released this week, the film follows Bulla (Grover) a misunderstood but volatile gangland figure who is released from prison after serving 16 years of a 10-year sentence.
‘It isn’t one of ours per se,’ says Jonathan, ‘but I helped Ricky Grover get it through post and into the market place, a role I find myself in increasingly.’
Next on the agenda is STALKER, the directorial debut from Spandau Ballet member and former Eastender Martin Kemp. The film tells the story of writer Paula (Anna Brecon) who retreats to her family home to concentrate on writing her latest book. But when her new PA Linda (Jane March) arrives, Paul is soon dragged into a web of murder and madness.
‘It’s a good, old-fashioned psycho-thriller,’ Jonathan tells THN. ‘It’s in the tradition of MISERY and SINGLE WHITE FEMALE. Slick direction, polished performances and tension that builds to a – I think – fantastic climax. I’m really, really proud of this film. It is a picture made with a lot of love and care.’
STALKER was made on what Jonathan describes a ‘micro-budget’; so small, in fact, that most talent accepted deferred fess, a fact that highlights how much those involved believed in the project. But regardless of cash flow, the film looks stunning, and what little money they had is evident in its glossy visuals (thanks to director of photography James Friend). The big question, of course, is how well Kemp has adapted to role of director after four decades in front of the camera.
‘He took to it like a duck to water,’ Jonathan tells THN, ‘he was just brilliant – the ultimate professional. Martin’s been in showbusiness 40 years and he’s a great observer of people – he isn’t flash, he’s the least ego-driven person I know but he observes everything and that’s what makes him a great story teller.’
STALKER was produced away from the luxuries of a big studio, and Kemp was not privy to the mod cons to which other filmmakers are accustomed. Filmed at an isolated Suffolk location, the shoot ensured a certain about of ‘mucking in’, and even Kemp himself took lodgings on the sofa.
‘He’s totally one of the boys,’ says Jonathan, ‘I know all the actors loved working with him – in fact I’ve never met anyone who doesn’t think he’s the nicest, most genuine guy in the film business. We are looking hard for another project for him to direct, but it has to be something really good to follow STALKER. Watch this space…’
However, there’s still plenty of work to be done before Black and Blue put STALKER to rest. Jonathan and Martin will lead a European tour to promote the film, as well as appearing at some UK festivals, such as Grimm Up North on 7th October and Wales’ Abertoir Festival Halloween Special on 28th October.
Despite its lack of big-name talent, Jonathan Sothcott has total faith in STALKER, and is confident that the story and slick direction will make the film a success.
‘We are working as hard as we can to raise awareness of it – if it isn’t on at your local independent cinema, ask them why not!’
Following STALKER, Black and Blue Films will be unleashing an altogether different kind of horror, this time in the shape of the brilliantly-titled STRIPPERS VS WEREWOLVES.
The film follows a group of strippers who, after accidentally killing a badass werewolf in their club, must band together to stop a vengeful pack of lycanthropes. Starring Adele Silva, Barbara Nedeljakova, Joe Egan, and Alan Ford, STRIPPERS VS WEREWOLVES promises to be howling good fun – a horror-comedy with its tongue wedged firmly in its cheek.
However, as much fun as STRIPPERS VS WEREWOLVES promises to be, it seems that the shoot was far from easy, and Black and Blue encountered monstrous problems in almost every aspect of production.
‘I thought would be a walk in the park,’ says Jonathan, ‘instead it was a jog through a minefield. It was a perfect example of everything that could go wrong, did go wrong. There were delays with the financing, we struggled with the casting, locations fell through – it was nothing but headaches.’
But Jonathan is pleased with the result, describing it as ‘a great concept that has been well executed’, which he compares to Black and Blue’s poorly-received DEAD CERT (2010), or ‘a great concept that was appallingly executed’.
Jonathan considers one of the most difficult aspects of STRIPPERS VS WEREWOLVES to be the monsters themselves, and it’s true that the famous shapeshifters have seldom worked on the big screen.
‘Werewolves are traditionally the hardest screen monsters to pull off ,’ he tells THN, ‘and audiences half expect werewolf films to be bad – probably because of all the sequels to THE HOWLING in the 80s and 90s – so we were up against it, but I think we got away with it.’ This time around, viewers will recognise the monsters as well-know British talent, including Billy Murray, Martin Kemp, Martin Compston, and Freddy Kruger himself, Robert Englund.
Little has been seen of STRIPPERS VS WEREWOLVES to date, though FrightFest audiences were treated to a brief and very rough trailer at the event just weeks ago.
‘The Curse of STRIPPERS VS WEREWOLVES rumbled on – and it wasn’t even a full moon!’ laughs Jonathan. ‘I finished cutting that trailer at 9am on the Saturday morning and delivered it to the festival at 2pm! I knew STALKER and ELFIE HOPKINS would speak for themselves because both are quality pieces of work, but the STRIPPERS VS WEREWOLVES trailer was fuzzy and a bit rough around the edges.’
Despite this, the trailer was well received by the FrightFest audience, which was a relief to Jonathan after Black and Blue’s contribution from last year, DEAD CERT.
‘I got on stage and realised at least half the 1600 people there had probably had to sit through DEAD CERT the year before, so I just thought I’d better apologise. They seemed to forgive us because the reaction to all three movies was great… thank god!’
Undoubtedly, it’s all water under the bridge, and if STALKER, STRIPPERS VS WEREWOLVES, and Ryan Andrews’ intriguing ELFIE HOPKINS live up to expectations, it could be a promising time for Black and Blue Films, hopefully working their way to the very top of the UK film industry.
STALKER is available 17th October, STRIPPERS VS WEREWOLVES will be released later this year, and ELFIE HOPKINS in 2012.
