Hummingbird World Premiere Report

HUMMINGBIRD centres around the unconventional rags to riches story of Afghanistan war veteran Joey Jones. Laying down his arms and returning to London, he is forced to survive on the streets of the capital after receiving a court martial, with his pregnant girlfriend Isabelle in tow. Drawing the attention of dangerous gangsters, Joey flees and is forced to break and enter an empty Covent Garden apartment, where he assumes the former owner’s identity in order to escape the gangsters’ clutches. His world is upended as he learns Isabelle’s body was found floating in the Thames. Ignoring the pleas of his sponser Sister Christina, who helped him survive the streets of London Joey gains connections in the Chinese criminal underworld and seeks revenge against the man who killed his girlfriend and child, risking his life and liberty in the process.

THN were lucky enough to seal some time with actors Jason Statham and Agata Buzek from the film, along with director Steven Knight at the world premiere yesterday.

Agata Buzek, originally a polish model, plays Joey’s sponsor, Sister Christina in HUMMINGBIRD. Trying to keep the veteran out of trouble in the underworld she finds herself tangled up in the trouble he eventually finds himself in.

THN: Hello, lovely to have you here. Can you tell us how you got the role of Christina?

Agata: I knew the casting director who was doing this, from Berlin so she knew that I existed! So I came for a casting, I had a few scenes to prepare, and I came to the casting and I got it!.

THN: That’s great! What was it like working with Jason?

Agata: It was great. I mean he’s great as an actor, the way he gets into the role and thinks about it and the way he’s concentrated and never tired and never bored or something like that. But also as a man, willing to talk and rehearse and getting into it. A lot of humour and a lot of energy too, he was just amazing.

THN: And what kind of character is Christina?

Agata: I think she’s kind of closed because of what she’s doing, because of being a nun and she doesn’t really talk about what she has in her heart really deep inside. But that’s the moment when we meet her and when she meets Joey that she can open and we can see much more and we can see the real person that’s underneath.

THN: And would you like to take on more roles like this in the future?
Agata: I think I would rather like to play different characters!

THN: So you’d like more varied characters?

Agata: Of course that’s what I do!

Steven Knight, with accolades from films like DIRTY PRETTY THINGS and EASTERN PROMISES, as well as being given the screenplay of CLASH OF THE TITANS 3 in the future, is a world class director to take on the helm of HUMMINGBIRD. Here’s what he had to say:

THN: How did you arrive at the idea for HUMMINGBIRD?

Steven: It normally begins, as with all the stories I’ve written, with just a snapshot or a scene. And I saw a couple of homeless people in a doorway of a very expensive loft apartment here in London. And there was an iron staircase beside them leading up to it and I just thought if one of those people just walks up those stairs, they’d be going from the very poorest to the very richest. And then it was what would that homeless person do, how would they rehabilitate, so that was the initial impetus.

THN: And how does Joey come into the story?

Steven: He’s a homeless person who breaks into an apartment and he decides to get his life together. We discover that he’s a veteran of the Afghan war, we learn a lot more about him and as he gets himself together, we discover that it’s impossible to escape from your past.

THN: And what was Jason like to work with?

Steven: He was brilliant. He was absolutely fantastic and he really committed himself to the role. He did all the research that was necessary, and he really wants to explore the character. In meeting veterans and in meeting homeless people, he really put together an authentic character.

THN: And did you have a target audience in mind when you started to put the film together?

Steven: Everybody’s welcome!

Jason Statham, with films such as SNATCH and the TRANSPORTER franchise behind him, is a big action name to have attached to HUMMINGBIRD. Playing Joey Jones, the audience will be able to see a more layered character from the star due to his level of preparation and the writing of Steven Knight. Here’s what the actor behind Joey Jones had to say:

THN: Why is the film called HUMMINGBIRD, do you know what it means?

Jason: Yes I do, it’s a generic term for a military drone, so it’s like the all seeing eye so basically it’s what is haunting the character I play Joey Jones who’s trying to come to terms with the bad things that he’s done.

THN: Are you doing any stunts for this one? Do you do your own ones?

Jason: This not really a stunt driven film. Course there’s a physicality to it, obviously I’ve taken care of situations in a physical way but I’ve not done any crazy mad stunts.We’ll save that for other films.

THN: Did you enjoy working with Steven?

Jason: Very much, it’s been one of my best experiences. I just have a lot of respect for him as a writer, as a filmmaker; it went really well and it’s a very fond memory I’ve got of working with him.

THN: Would you like to do more stuff like this in the future?

Jason: Sure, I’d do anything with that Steven Knight, he’s a talented man. If I can do films like this every once in a while then I’m happy.

HUMMINGBIRD comes to cinemas on June 28th in the UK, where audiences will be interested to see the story that Steven, Jason and Agata, among many others, have put together.