Interview: Shane Meadows

Benjamin Crossley-Marra:  Could you describe your upbringing?  Was it anything like the characters you depict?
Shane Meadows:  Well although I would never say this is a biography of Shane Meadows I think the characters (specifically in This is England) are based very much around my youth growing up in the hills and small towns.  I would go around with a certain type of kids, participate in the random acts of violence, was very into the skinhead movement because all of my friends were skinheads.  I wasn’t the most popular kid in school so I went around with a group of older kids, some of whom were good to me, some who just liked to have me there to pick on.  But they did make me feel like a part of their group, which is why I did a lot of what I did. 

BCM: Could you talk about your relationship with small-town England?
SM: Well I like the way the characters act within that microcosm, it’s like the random acts of violence have a greater impact within that society.  I think instead of having tons of violence within the frame, having one act of serious violence is emotionally shattering.  I think that small towns can feel the violence more then the larger cities, especially the threat of violence.  People who live in London or New York expect to see violence, it’s part of their daily life, but when violence strikes a small town it’s far more jarring.

BCM: Could you talk about that sense of impending violence that runs throughout your films?
SM: Yeah there’s a lot of light and dark that runs throughout the film.  A lot of times there’s moments of brutal violence followed by moments of extreme comedy and that’s what I remember as a child.  The times were never always bad nor where they always good but the tone always shifted dramatically, almost every hour!  Life is really about contrast, especially the contrast that happens daily.  So I would never say my films are light or dark but they explore the contrast between the two.  Hollywood makes violence seem stylish, which has its entertainment value, but I think in the end it takes away from how powerful violence really is.  Violence can’t be horrible and cool at the same time.

BCM: How important is it to add elements of realism in your films?
SM: I think the actors add a lot to that.  You know I never really work with classically trained or so-called “professional” actors.  Generally I cast the majority of my films from the small towns they’re filmed in.   I do this because I want the actors to look like the character’s they’re playing.  Because it’s not like the actors are flying in for a week and approaching the character from an intellectual standpoint.  I want the character’s to come from inside the actors.  Then there’s no question of trust or trying to “understand” their characters actions.  We do an immense amount of pre-production, lot’s of rehearsals so that the actors get comfortable with their roles.  In fact, we could probably put together a whole new movie based on the rehearsal footage.

BCM:  Do you feel all this prep insures good performances?
SM:  Yeah definitely.  In fact, we shot lots of scenes that weren’t in the film.  Like events that happened before the film’s storyline started.  We did a lot of scenes with Shaun and his mother and Shaun getting in more trouble at school.  We also did a lot with the gang hanging out before they meet Shaun.  All in all I think this elevated their belief in the characters, and they literally transformed into them.

BCM: How was it casting Shuan?
SM: Rather interesting, Tommy demanded five pounds just to audition!  He really grew up a lot on the set.  He’s mother was sick a lot of the time we were shooting so it was extra hard.  But his attention span grew dramatically from the first shots to the wrap.  At first he would only be able to pay attention for a few hours at a time.  By the end of the film not only was he interested in the physics of the camera, he wanted to direct a whole film himself.  He’s a really amazing kid and is in a new television show here in the UK. 

BCM: Why did the Falklands conflict give rise to such a sense of nationalism?
SM:  I think it had a lot to do with what the government was trying to achieve verses what the public actually wanted.  Much like today, our soldiers were being sent off to die in the name of the government’s borderline imperialist policies.  It was really a pointless war.  I remember people I knew fighting abroad and for what?  Nothing in the Falklands had anything to do with the economic crises facing England and our fathers and brothers we’re being sent off to die for nothing. 

BCM:  Do you think the media, at the time, distorted the skinhead movement?
SM: Yeah, I mean most the movies I’ve seen about skinheads have used them more as a plot device then actually exploring the philosophy and culture behind it.  It derives a lot form music and cultural alienation rather than any one specific ideology.  Many times the media portrayed them as indistinguishable from neo-Nazis, which is ridiculous because Caribbean music was a significant influence on bands like The Clash.  When people think skinhead they immediately think “right-wing” I hope this film showed another side to that.

BCM:  Do you think there are any differences between American skinheads and British?
SM: I think the racial hatred is innately different in America.  America has a lot of issues with it’s past that still fuel a great deal of underlying hostility today.  But Ideologically I don’t think the movements are that different.  I mean, I also think that the movement has changed a great deal since its inception, so I can only really go on what I remember.  Toady the skinheads have really blended with a bunch of other different movements so it’s really not the same.  I remember I used to go to the National Front meetings and I’d be seeing all kinds of people from different racial backgrounds.  I spoke my mind and I’ll admit I’m not proud of all the things I did, but you can’t change history. 

BCM: How hard was it to find financing for your films?
SM: Well my films don’t really cost that much money and generally I’m known for coming in under-budget…so no, not really.  (Laughs)  I think the UK is in an interesting place right now, as many more private firms are willing to back UK directors.  It’s great that Danny Boyle et al. are getting money to be able to make their dream projects.  Personally I don’t know if I’ll ever take advantage of the growing studio presence, but you never know.

BCM:  What’s your next project?
SM: I’m looking to shoot a film in Eastern Europe, among the gypsy community.  I think I’ll always stick to what I do best and I really feel a connection to those smaller communities and I think it’ll come together really interestingly. I’m working again with Paddy Constantine and this is a film he’s been excited about for a long time.  It’ll be nice to shoot abroad as well.   

IFC First Take releases This Is England in theatres July 27th.