With films, We Still Kill The Old Way and We Still Steal The Old Way still doing exceptionally well on the home formats, it comes as no surprise that a third film is on the way to round out the crime trilogy. We caught up with the series’ producer Jonathan Sothcott to get the inside scoop.
IS THERE A THIRD MOVIE ON THE WAY?
Jonathan Sothcott: Yes! We start shooting early next year. I have a director on board who I really like and am excited about and we’re aiming to wrap up the trilogy with a bang.
WHY DID IT TAKE SO LONG FOR THE FIRST SEQUEL ‘WE STILL STEAL THE OLD WAY’ TO BE RELEASED?
The first two films were made for the distributor Anchor Bay UK which became Platform and was then sold to another distributor Kaleidoscope. The film was made right at the start of the corporate process so sat on the shelf until the deal was completed. Of course, what happened in the meantime is that the first film played on television, very successfully and really found a whole new audience there, particularly on Sky where it has been phenomenally popular.
WHAT CAN WE EXPECT FROM THE NEXT FILM IN THE SERIES?
People dying the old way! Haha. Not everyone will make it out alive, put it that way! But Ian Ogilvy, Chris Ellison, Tony Denham and Lysette Anthony are all coming back. The villain this time out is the father of Danny Boy Hatchard’s character in the first film. But he doesn’t know he has a son. In fact, he’s a friend and contemporary of Ritchie’s – another villain. He’s similar – an old-school gangster. But he’s almost the other side of the coin, the dark side. He hasn’t retired to the Costa del crime, he’s very much an active villain on a major scale. And to find he has a son and then loses him the same day turns him a bit crazy. So he sets out to destroy the Archer gang.
CAN YOU GIVE US ANY HINTS ABOUT WHO ELSE MIGHT BE JOINING THE CAST?
We’ll be making an announcement in due course but there’s one name who I get asked about/suggested for a villain constantly and its fair to say he’ll be making an appearance. The joy of these films is working with all these great actors I grew up watching and giving them substantial parts in good films. In the last one, I had Billy Murray, Patrick Bergin, Vas Blackwood, Deborah Moore and Julian Glover, in addition to the core cast. I’m hoping we can top that this time.
WILL THIS BE THE LAST OUTING FOR THE ARCHER GANG?
Well, it IS called We Still DIE The Old Way for a reason… but you never know, you’ll have to wait and see. The love for these films is overwhelming and we enjoy making them a lot, but I’m also conscious of the fact that nothing lasts forever. But let’s see how this one plays out first.
WHAT ELSE ARE YOU WORKING ON AT THE MINUTE?
Mostly American films at present. We have a horror shooting right now and an action movie going early next year called Assault on Hazard Rock which is in the same vein as the ‘we still…’ movies and I’m having some fun casting that.
THE BRITISH GANGSTER FILM SCENE SEEMS TO HAVE BEEN QUIETER OF LATE: WHY IS THAT?
I think these things are cyclical. I think there’s still a knock on issue of Danny Dyer going into Eastenders which is that another bona fide leading man for the genre has failed to emerge. There was also a patch of really crappy micro-budget genre films – Hooligan This, Essex Boys That and the audience isn’t stupid, they can sniff out the crap. But Rise of the Footsoldier 3 has a lot of buzz and it’s a good movie with a powerhouse Craig Fairbrass performance and well directed by Zack Adler, who I rate. It will perform strongly on DVD at Christmas and doubtless kick-start another slew of Range Rover films (though I feel I have done more than enough and won’t be tipping my toe in that pool again). What I’d like to see is a return to the more light-hearted Guy Ritchie type movies – gangster films with style and swagger, not just big lumps swearing at each other in Southend. That’s what I’d like to be doing next year.
We Still Kill The Old Way and We Still Steal The Old Way are both available on the home formats now. We Still Die The Old Way is coming soon. More as we get it.
