We meet up with Paul Hills at our festival Goggleheads on the Saturday night. I don’t get there until ten o’clock as I have had to work (that is another story) and as a result the film aspect of the festival has finished. I am pleasantly surprised to find Jonnie Hurn and Drew Cullingham in attendance, they are colleagues from “Umbrage” and “Monk3ys”.
Both of them are excited for Drew he has finally got release dates for his Cowboy Vampire movie “Umbrage” in the USA his distributor is part of the Lions gate family and in the UK it is Left Film distribution.
As for Jonnie, he has just been given the part of Paul (Magda’s husband) in Paul Hills dark psychological thriller “the Power”. The Joy is Formidable (sorry but I like a pun). Even legionary Reading celeb Caleb Lindsay son of the great Lindsay Shonteff is in great form. It is wonderful to have him back in such great spirits especially after the ill-fated “Seven Seconds to Heaven”. Although I quickly learn that from the ashes this phoenix may still yet rise. I cross my fingers.
After much hugging and slagging off of rev’s (my employer) we all find a table. Paul Hills starts to regale us with stories of last night’s Second unit shoot. For full details of this follow this link to Paul Hills blog on the power the movie web site.
We are joined on the table by Tori Ruskin from Ruskin castings and Mr Hyde (not his real name). Mr Hyde is possibly best known as a musician and a stills photographer on films. However, he is making his director debut on a feature that he has been working on for nearly a year.
Tonight Mr Hyde is smashed drunk and is looking for a fight. This is a common trait with him, if he sees someone trying to achieve something his instinct is to destroy it. If he can’t have it no one can. He starts shouting down Paul Hamer telling him “You’re not an artist not like me, you are a cock sucking yes man. There is no art in that” The table falls silent and people look at each other we are not shocked or embarrassed any more. We have seen it too many times with him. Paul Hamer does the right thing and ignores him.
Mr Hyde changes track and starts to attack Paul Hills by telling him that he is an “Exploiting capitalist and not an artist and that xxxxx hates him” (xxxxx is protecting the innocent they were not there to defend themselves) At this point Paul Hills very calmly takes Mr Hyde apart pointing out some really big home truths. He was really left with egg on his face I confess I felt really sorry for him, he had made himself the victim of his own poison. All Hills did was lift up the mirror of truth and let him take a look. It was kind of heart-breaking. Silence.
We tried to get back to normal and start up conversations again. I ask Drew how the pre-production for “Black Smoke Rising” is coming along. Before Drew could answer Mr Hyde was at it again picking on Paul Hamer, I saw Hamer take a deep breath and new he was about to say something. When Paul Hills intervened and said “I’m not having this bile from you. Come on. You and me outside lets settle this like men. Come on.”
STOP… PRES PAUSE … HOLD THAT THOUGHT … I need to do a little scene setting.
Googleheads film festival is part of the Outside Inside Pop Up Festival; a music, film, theatre and arts festival that takes over Reading for the month of July. To put it into perspective it is like an emerging Edinburgh festival. Our final weekend this year bought all the disciplines together under one roof. The roof is the five star Penta Hotel where we stage a 36 hour none stop event. It is fantastic, opulent, beautiful, inspiring and more importantly the accumulation of 11 months of really hard work by a group of volunteers. We don’t do this for money, in fact truth be told we all lose money doing this. This is the one night where we get to celebrate and get something back for all our hard work.
Press Play (sorry for any inconvenience caused)
It is also the night where Paul Hills asks Mr Hyde outside for a fight on four separate occasions and never once getting satisfaction. Which leads me to two things I don’t understand!
One. Mr Hyde is much bigger then Paul Hills and as a result much more likely to win. So why is he such a coward.
Two. Now that he has shown his cowardice and lost all credibility with anyone. Why does he continue to sit at our table trying to pretend that nothing has happened.
It is awful I hate fighting (even though there was none) still the sense of violence hung pungently in the air like dog shit. And that shitty smell ruined my Jack and Coke and started to ruin my night. A night that I had put 11 months in to, it is mine and Paul Hamer’s reward for months of hard work, It is not fair.
Later we catch Jonnie Hurn trying to sneak off to bed (it is half One). We drag him back and force feed him Tequila. By this time Mr Hyde has totally calmed down and becoming a little more sober, playful even. Tori and I start playing degrees of Kevin Bacon trying to take the most elaborate route we can. As always in gatherings like this Film and Film Making become the order of conversation. I mean what else is there in life. It felt strange to be at this table to be in on one of the branches of the Independent British film industry. I did some mental arithmetic and counted the number of films and the number of awards that were attached to this table. For the record I don’t have any awards. But I do now dish some out. How Ironic. I guess that joke is on me.
In the morning I get up. I am eager to find a place to watch the F1. As I walk into reception with my SWAG (The Penta Hotel in Reading is a thief’s paradise; Great Shampoo, Shower Gel, Soap’s and towels are all of a really good quality. I mean it the Penta gets my endorsement any day of the week. It is Cheap/value for what you get/steal. Maybe A bit of guilt is lingering here but I would recommend it to all) Mr Hyde is sat at the bar. He is in good spirit but drinking already. I check the clock behind the bar it is quarter to twelve. He offers me a drink. I accept a coffee but say I am going to have to go really soon. I am desperate for a McLaren win. Mr Hyde goes to the toilet but asks me “Wait there” he is almost pleading. I ask the bar man how long has he been drinking he tells me he started at just gone ten. How bad can it be…..
When he returns he talks to me about his film and how much pressure he is under to deliver. He has had so many obstacles to overcome it really is a test of endurance as much as it is film making. This I am sure has been real tears at bed time. He has put his heart and soul into his project and still it is so venerable. So fragile.
I really hope that he pulls it off. Don’t get me wrong it won’t be a success in the Hollywood sense of the word. But an audience will find his film. And if they are like minded, open and spiritual and prepared to use their imagination there is some magic to be had, Of that I am sure.
I can tell that last night has taken its toll. He has clearly been thinking about his actions and is regretting everything he can remember. He is sat in limbo dreading the other shards of memory that will stab him as they fall in to place over the next few hours or even days. I can’t bear to be around him. It is too painful to watch.
In the style of a tabloid journalist in a whore house I get the prices and make my excuses and leave. EMPTY.
Ian Manson Film Maker