Review of film: “PIRATE RADIO” + Q&A with Dir. RICHARD CURTIS & Star TOM STURRIDGE

2009, 11-09 =

           

Review of film:  “PIRATE RADIO”  + Q&A with Dir. RICHARD CURTIS & Star TOM STURRIDGE   

director: 

Richard Curtis

Writer: 

Richard Curtis

Starring: 

Tom Sturridge

Bill Nighy

Philip Seymour Hoffman

Nick Frost

Tom Brooke

Will Adamsdale

Ralph Brown

Tom Wisdom

Rhys Ifans

January Jones

MPAA Rating: 

R for language, and some sexual content including brief nudity.

MY Rating: 

7.5 of 10 stars (based on an advance screening hosted by the Chicago Int’l Film Festival)

Quote: 

“If you’re the government & don’t like something, you make up a NEW LAW that makes its ILLEGAL!”…

Is it the Rockers or the GOVERNMENT that are the real “Pirates”?!

Before the start of the  film (which is also known as “THE BOAT THAT ROCKED”), we were greeted by VIVIAN TENG from the Festival, who then introduced WGN critic / reviewer BILL ZWECKER.  He spoke of the upcoming film & urged us to stay after it for a Q&A by its Director & young star…

…  Nowadays, there are like a ½ MILLION radio stations on the planet.  But, it wasn’t always like that:  As explained at the beginning of the film, in the 1960’s, England’s BBC radio allotted just an hour or so a day to rock music…

…  To meet the public demand for such music, some people started broadcasting from “PIRATE” radio ships off the coast.  The government ministers did not like that (as shown by one of the lines quoted above), & a particularly stuffy one vowed to STOP such unregulated broadcasts--  a theme shown (via his efforts) thruout the movie…

…  The movie really revolves around the experiences of a young guy named Carl (TOM STURRIDGE), who’s sent to the “Rock Radio” boat by his mother (who’s upset by his attitudes), to stay with his godfather Quentin (BILL NIGHY) who runs the operation...

…  Bit by bit, he’s introduced to various of the DJ’s broadcasting there:  the “big shot” is “The Count” (PHILIP SEYMOUR HOFFMAN), & there’s the hefty but personable Dave (NICK FROST), Tom’s cabin bunkmate Thick Kevin (TOM BROOKE), newscaster News John (WILL ADAMSDALE), late-nite DJ Bob (RALPH BROWN), ladies man Mark (TOM WISDOM), oldtime favorite Gavin (RHYS IFANS), & many others…

…  The film is mainly a “RELATIONSHIP” movie, concentrating on how the boat people get along with each other, certain “hi-jinks” they engage in (such as having visits by boatloads of “willing” women, including one played by JANUARY JONES), & how the the listening public “responds” to their broadcasts…

…  It also chronicles the way the oblivious government keeps trying to shut them down as a “bad” influence--  the machinations to stop their broadcasts & all...

…  In part, it’s about the “coming of AGE” of young Tom --  how certain guys on board try to help him lose his virginity, how one gives him the idea that one of the guys on board may be the FATHER he’s never known, etc....

…  Probably the best element of the quirky but charming film is its wonderful SOUNDTRACK of American & British music from the 1960’s (such as “Whiter Shade Of Pale” & loads of others).  The actors appear to really ENJOY working with each other, but the pleasure comes in their interplay (as characters) rather than any special cleverness to the dialogue…

…  There is some fine work using music cuts as a sort of “counterpoint” / commentary to things happening on-screen, such as what transpires during the playing of Dusty Springfield’s “You don’t have to say you love me, just be CLOSE at hand—”…

…  Eventually, the government tries ever-stronger efforts to CLOSE DOWN the pirate broadcasts (such as via a “Marine Offenses” act)…  Will they succeed in that?…  Who’s involved in a game of “CHICKEN”, & why does that happen?…  Why does Tom say, “You’re the only people in the world who LIKE me.”?…   What happens to Bob’s special record collection, and why?…

 … What is Philip referring to when he says, “These are the BEST days of our lives”?…  Will Tom LOSE his virginity, &, if so, to whom & under what circumstances?…  Who says “I LIVE for music!”…  Does Tom find his FATHER on the boat, &, if so, who is it?…

…  As you might expect, the movie answers those & many other questions in its meandering but engaging “voyage”…

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REPORT on Q&A with Director RICHARD CURTIS & Star TOM STURRIDGE

AFTER the film, Bill Zwecker introduced director RICHARD CURTIS & star TOM STURRIDGE, both of whom had just flown in from London (& Tom looked like he might have a bit of “jet-lag”, appearing somewhat tired & semi-“scruffy” as he wore a knit cap with his shirt & jeans).  They told Bill yes, they had both been to Chicago before….

…  Bill said he’d previously interviewed them in London, & felt this movie was a “true labor of love” for Richard, who agreed with that characterization…

…  Richard commented that he himself had been sort of a lonely kid when growing up, citing how he’d had to be at school at 6 AM & had once purposely leaned on a radiator for a long time so he’d register an extremely high TEMPERATURE in order to be able to stay home from school & listen to music which he loved!…

…  Around this time, in answer to Bill’s question, Richard said the BBC at one time broadcast rock only like 2 hours a week, which was “the most-ever MISMATCH of supply & demand!”… 

…  When asked if he had been familiar with 60’s rock before doing the film, TOM commented that, while he’s comparatively young & wasn’t around when certain famous rock acts were first getting well known, “you’d have to live in a ‘basement’ if you don’t know the BEATLES--!” & similar great entertainers…

…  An audience member commented on how big rock stars are probably in the 90% tax bracket, & wondered how the British government wouldn’t foster more rock music being played if for no other reason than to generate more income for the government... 

…  Richard replied that, “People were still living ‘in’ the [2^nd World] WAR” with their attitudes at that time, & thus the new music of rock was looked upon with surprise & trepidation by “authorities” then.  He remarked on how “THE SOUND OF MUSIC” film was the biggest deal to the public for a great many weeks in a row…

…  In time, AFTER the period of the “Pirate” broadcasting boats, the BBC itself “caught-on” to things & themselves set up “BBC 1” to play lots of rock & similar music for the eager public…

…  Tom commented on how “Rich has a freakish ENCYCLOPEDIC knowledge of music!” & continually amazed him with things in that regard.  Rich appreciated that, & said, he remembers how it was when he was younger:  “I’ve gone on LIVING it.  In a [sort of] ‘sad’ way, I know how it feels to be 15!…”

…  A person in the audience asked a question about, what was the HARDEST part in making the film?  Richard said, “Finding TOM, among all the ‘scrungy’ actors in England!” (to which Tom laughed heartily)… 

…  Some of the hardest shooting work was the UNDERWATER scenes with Tom & Ralph, which were shot over a period of time with a good deal of repetition to get what he wanted.  He & the crew tended to get so involved in things needing to be done, that they had to keep being “reminded” that the guys were still UNDER the water (which Tom sort of nodded in agreement about)…

…  To a question, Tom commented that, overall, “It was a very PEACEFUL time—” between the actors & with the crew. At one point, he said with sincerity that he was in “AWE” at being able to work with actors such as Philip, Bill Nighy, Nick & others…

…  An audience member commented on how the music used was wonderful.  To a question, Richard was asked, how many of the songs used were as planned BEFORE the [135-minute] film was made?  He replied, around 15 were kept in as planned…

…  Then, he ADDED a lot of songs, took out some scheduled for it, & eventually ended up adding about 2/3rds of the total you now hear in it.  Some he wanted to use were simply not available, mainly due to financial considerations--  such as one by the Doors, because they wanted $ 1.6 million just for the use of that one being considered!…

…  A guy in the audience commented on how he liked the way Richard puts in GAY people as a “NORMAL” part of groups, rather than pointing them out as being “different”--  citing his work in making “FOUR FUNERALS AND A WEDDING” (1994) & with the lesbian in tonite’s film…

…  He added that, he liked the way the people around them in the films were so “ACCEPTING” of such characters as people, & Richard said, he appreciated that comment--  he WANTS everyone to seem like they “fit in”!…

…  Tom was asked how it was to work with Philip Seymour Hoffman.  He said, it was a GREAT experience for him, & “I fit in with the other actors amazingly EASILY”, to his great pleasure…

…  Tom revealed that, it was Richard’s idea that he NOT meet Philip until they shot their first SCENE together:  thus, since --  as Richard said – he wanted a feeling of being “spontaneous”, his first meeting was when he walked into the “Broadcast booth” where Philip was working, bringing tea in to him …

…  Accordingly, you saw that he was truly AWED to meet such a highly-regarded character, & he didn’t know just WHAT Philip was going to “DO” during the scene.  Thus, he was honestly surprised when Philip eventually hugged him & especially when he patted him on “my ASS”!…

…  Tom said he  remembers thinking to himself, “I’m a pretty ‘SERIOUS’ ACTOR now!” (an honest reflection the audience quite enjoyed).  Tom added his feeling about Philip that, “He’s a GOOD man!…”

…  To another question posed by the audience, Richard said yes, there was a LOT of IMPROVISING done in the film, as that was a way of getting more “natural” performances out of everyone.  He cited various examples of that, such as what Tom’s co-workers did in bringing the biscuits in to “COMFORT” him when things hadn’t gone as Tom had “hoped” re a girlfriend of his…

…  Bill Zwecker spoke of the differences in working with comedy & tragedy in films…  To a question about how MANY pirate radio stations there were around England in the 1960’s, Richard said, he thinks there were around 12 encircling various areas of the island… 

…  Overall, those stations generally never knew how to really make MONEY off of what they were doing with the broadcasts, & they often MADE-UP supposed “chart” positions of songs, to reward certain singers or punish ones like Tom Jones if they wouldn’t do things they’d requested like visit the boat for a broadcast!…

…  Richard was asked where he got the IDEAS for the various characters.  He said, for the most part, they’re sort of “COMBINATIONS” of elements of various broadcasters of the time, such as Emperor Krum from Radio Luxembourg, a guy called “Whispering Bob”, & various other ones…

…  Tom was asked the HARDEST elements in his work.  He said, he didn’t really get sick in shooting on the BOAT--  he got more ill when they did certain “close-up” scenes in ones shot on sets positioned on the LAND: 

…  They’d decided to place the land-based cabin sets on gimbals (= pivoted supports that allow for rotation) to appear that the cabins were “moving” in the sea--  & that tended to make him MORE seasick on the LAND shots, since the boat shoots were almost “painfully IDYLLIC”!  Strangely, almost “everybody VOMITED” from an excess use of the gimbals on land, tho!…

…  Tom added that, the boat shoots were a WONDERFUL time, since “the cast was always on DECK, practicing things like synchronized SMOKING” or the like!… 

…  Director Richard answered a question by saying no, as the writer, he DIDN’T really go around interviewing people who’d been broadcasters on the boats--  he preferred going on his own generalized MEMORIES of the time & its music… 

…  He said yes, LOTS of the boat broadcasters went on to become SUCCESSFUL on regular radio stations after the “Pirate” boats were banned.  In fact, one, “Johnny Walker”, was just recently fired from a station at age 62 for getting caught taking cocaine!…

 …  To a comment & question from the audience, Richard said, he was GLAD to hear that the person appreciated the fine PHOTOGRAPHY in the film.  As to the hardest thing to shoot, that was probably the scenes of Philip & Rhys climbing up a mast as a “dare”--  since it had to be shot in numerous different ways, from above, from the side, from land sets, etc….

…  He added, he almost felt most sorry for the guys (like Tom) who had to stand on the DECK of the boat, constantly re-doing scenes over like 3 days of them just looking up & “waving” & pointing upwards supposedly towards the 2 guys!  Tom laughed in memory of all that, & agreed…  

…  Tom also agreed with Richard’s comment about how the STUNTMEN on the film (such as in the mast scenes) “did an extraordinary job”…

…  Tom added, it seemed to him that the FEMALE crew members “desperately wanted to have SEX with them” after seeing the stunts they did, & he laughed & admitted Richard was right in saying that he at times came on set & sort of pretended to BE a stunt man, so as to be more “noticed” by the females there!…

…  A guy in the audience asked, was there ever consideration of having “the Count” go DOWN with the boat as it was starting to sink?  Richard said no, they never wanted to have such a despressing ending… 

…  Tom was asked how it was to WORK with the cast, & he replied that “It was incredibly INTIMIDATING at first, and I was in AWE—” of many people he worked with.  But, he loved the FREEDOM he was given to interact with them & with how the film was made by Richard… 

…  Richard spoke of how they usually used 3 cameras, & Tom said it was FUN to watch a periodic series of “giant competitive EGOS” working “to try to ‘seduce’ the camera operator” with what they were doing in their acting… 

…  Richard said no, he had NO concern over the LENGTH of his film, that it might be “too LONG” (as the questioner said).  He added that, descriptive phrases like “too long” made him initially avoid seeing films like “THE DARK KNIGHT”, & he realized the length WASN’T of special importance:  originally, the “first” cut of this film of his was 5.5 hours, so having reduced it to its current 2.25 hours didn’t seem “long” at all!…

…  Richard volunteered the information that, the film has had various different NAMES for its release.  He said, he found the strangest example was, in France, they called it “GOOD MORNING, ENGLAND”--  which was especially odd because, that wasn’t the translation into French, they instead used those words in ENGLISH as the title rather than use its USUAL original English titles or any FRENCH words!  He added, but, “that’s the French for you” [sort of “arbitarary” in what they do at times to be different]!…

…  I asked the LAST question of the evening, inquiring, what are some UPCOMING projects for Tom & Richard?  Richard urged Tom to tell about the PLAY he’d been doing in London.  With a sincere lack of ego, Tom said, he felt sort of “funny” talking about a London play to people in Chicago!  Richard said no, he should be PROUD of his work there!…

…  With a little reluctance, Tom told how he’d acted in a play called “PUNK ROCK” set in a school.  Richard added, it was such a powerful drama, that an ambulance had to be sent to the theater recently because a man in the audience had a HEART ATTACK over some of the strong acting & shocking things that occurred in it!...

…  Proudly, Richard revealed that Tom had just been nominated for BEST New Actor in theater!  Tom looked sort of sheepish about that fact, but thanked Richard for his words as the audience applauded...

…  As to himself, Richard said, he’s been working on a new “DR. WHO” episode, & on a story about an invisible monster… 

…  I nodded to thank him & Tom for the answers to my question, & the theater then emptied out…  I commented to Vivian from the Fest on how fine the event had been overall…

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