Tag: paddy considine

EIFF23 · Interviews

Dead Man’s Shoes Interview: Shane Meadows – ‘I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t the best fun I’ve ever had’.

Garry Arnot1 Comment

Around twenty years ago, writer and director Shane Meadows made psychological thriller Dead Man’s Shoes and it changed his life. The film premiered at Edinburgh International Film Festival in 2004 and has gone on to become a cult classic amongst film fanatics. Paddy Considine co-wrote the screenplay and also stars as Richard, a violent soldier who comes back to his hometown after years away. While he was gone, his vulnerable brother Anthony (Toby Kebbell) was targeted by a local gang fronted by drug dealer Sonny (Gary Stretch), so Richard is out for revenge. This year, Shane Meadows returned to Edinburgh to celebrate the anniversary with a retrospective screening, and I was delighted to chat with him beforehand…

How do you feel about the cult following and legacy that Dead Man’s Shoes now has, decades after it was made?

It’s mad and comes as a real surprise when something like that keeps earning fans. When it first came out, there was another film called Saw that came out literally at the same time. That ended up with sequels and was a bit of a revenge horror thing…so we ended up not being in the cinema for very long and didn’t really make a splash! Then it became one of those films that got handed around on VHS and DVD as the years rolled by. I don’t get recognised a lot but when I do, people want to talk about Dead Man’s Shoes. It’s kind of mind blowing. 

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Interviews

Wolf Interview: Nathalie Biancheri – ‘People will love it or hate it, but should take George Mackay seriously’.

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Writer and director Nathalie Biancheri released her debut Nocturnal in 2019, which caught my attention and marked her as one of the directors I’d love to talk to about their craft. Her second effort Wolf explores the dark and unusual subject of species dysphoria, as the protagonist, played by George Mackay, believes he is a wolf stuck inside a boy’s body. I was fortunate enough to chat to the filmmaker about this piece…

As Wolf is your second feature film, was there anything in particular that you’d brought forward into it from the learning experience that came with directing your debut?

Wolf was such a crazy, demanding, and very insane film from a performance and directing actors’ point of view, so I think it was really reassuring was to have made a first film before going into it. I think what was what was amazing was to have had that first feature even though it was very small. Knowing that it was possible somehow, and not having this unknown of making a feature film and the absolute fear that comes with that was great.

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Interviews

Red Carpet interview: Paddy Considine – ‘My challenges are always with myself.’

Garry Arnot1 Comment

English actor Paddy Considine poses for pictures on the red carpet for the world premier of the film 'The World's End' in London's Leicester Square on July 10, 2013. AFP PHOTO/ANDREW COWIE (Photo credit should read ANDREW COWIE/AFP/Getty Images)

From starring in Shane Meadows’ cult classic ‘Dead Man’s Shoes’, appearing in movies such as Hot Fuzz and Pride, to writing and directing the brilliant ‘Tyrannosaur’, multi-talented Paddy Considine has been a key player in the British film scene since the turn of the century.

This year he goes Shakespearean alongside Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard to play Macbeth’s best friend Banquo in Justin Kurzel’s anticipated take on the iconic play. At the premiere, I was lucky enough to fire some questions his way…

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