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director’s chair Stephen Frears— T H By IAIN BLAIR This film vet takes on a graphic novel about romance. OLLYWOOD— At first glance the long f ilm career of acclaimed British director Stephen Frear s might look a little schizophrenic. He’s made big Hollywood studio pictures with big stars, such as Mary Reilly, Hero, the Oscar-nomi- nated The Grifters and Dangerous Liaisons. But he’s probably better known for such smaller, grittier, non-star vehicles as My Beau- tiful Laundrette, Snapper and The Van, films that provide a rich palette for Frears to ex- plore stories with a strong social and politi- cal conscience. Either way, Frears has always been con- tent to be seen as “a workman-like director for hire” who cut his teeth at the BBC, where he first honed his abilities to work with tight budgets and schedules. He’s also a director who’s happiest when he’s on loca- tion and working with such longtime collab- orators as editor Mick Audsley, who con- tributed to his latest film, Tamara Drewe. Based on Posy Simmonds’ graphic novel of the same name (which was itself inspired by Thomas Hardy’s classic “Far From the Madding Crowd”), this modern take on the romantic English pastorale comically details the infatuations, jealousies, love affairs and career ambitions of an eclectic group that includes pompous writers, rich weekenders, bourgeois bohemians and a horny rock star. Here, Frears, whose other credits in- clude Cheri, Dirty Pretty Things, High Fidelity, Prick Up Your Ears and The Queen (which won him another Oscar nomination) talks about making the film and looks back on his long, fruitful career. POST: How do you go about deciding what your next project will be, and what made you choose this? STEPHEN FREARS:“It’s whatever just The film’s DI was performed at Pepper Film in London with colorist Adam Inglis. grabs me, and this really made me laugh. I thought it was very sexy and that people would enjoy it, and I felt it’s also very fresh. I loved the idea of adapting a graphic novel, and Posy Simmonds is a brilliant woman.” POST: Had you read her book? FREARS:“I had, and I also knew her, but it never crossed my mind that you could film it.Then I was sent the script and that was it.” POST: Does a graphic novel make it easier to adapt, in the sense that it’s already like a complete storyboard? FREARS:“Yes, and I found it very liber- ating. I wanted to honor her and celebr ate her, and I had the most wonderful time 16 Post • November 2010 amara Drewe making it. Sometimes we’d literally recreate the image she’d drawn, which was part of the pleasure.” POST: What were the biggest challenges of making this? FREARS:“I think graphic novels have their own peculiar rhythms, and I knew I had per Post.We spent about four months, but we took a break for Christmas.” POST: Do you like the post process? FREARS:“I love it, and it’s so different from the chaos of the shoot. It’s far more analytic and methodical, and it’s when you discover your mistakes. Stephen Frears, on set, says he loves post: “It’s so different from the chaos of the shoot. It’s far more analytic and methodical, and it’s when you discover your mistakes.” to translate that to a film, and I really liked the idea that this would be more cartoon- like than my normal films.That was a chal- lenge, to get it right, but it was also a lot of fun. Doing it this way also meant you could cut out the boring bits, which is always the goal in any film.” POST: You assembled a great cast, includ- ing Gemma Arteton as Tamara and Dominic Cooper as the rock star.Was that tough? FREARS:“I knew I could onl y make it with the right cast. I couldn’t make it with fa- mous stars, as it’s an ensemble film and you had to get it right. So I spent a lot of time casting, and I didn’t agree to make it until I’d found Gemma and the others. She was the key — you have to have that very sexy, gor- geous girl in the lead, and she’s wonderful.” POST:Where did you shoot and how long was it? FREARS: “We shot it in West Dorset, a very beautiful par t of England, over nine weeks. I love being on location and we were blessed with good weather. If it’d been bad, we’d still be trying to make the film (laughs). But we were very lucky.” POST: Where did you do the post? How long was the process? FREARS:“We did it all in London at Pep- www.postmagazine.com “After w e’d cut the f ilm, we actuall y went back and rewrote some scenes, just to shorten and tighten them, and then re- shot for a couple of days. So it’s a matter of fine-tuning and dovetailing, and those two extra days were priceless.” POST:You’ve worked with editor Mick Auds- ley on most of your films . How does that rela- tionship work? FREARS:“After 25 years of working to- gether, it’s like second nature. It’s all about having the same values and approach to the film. I remember once working with an edi- tor on a BBC film about a car thief. Because it had cars, he assumed it was an action film, and that’s how he cut it. It just wasn’t very good.Then I slowly realized that it wasn’t an action film at all — it was a char acter film, a drama, and then it worked.” POST: Where did you do the edit? FREARS:“Mick set up his Avid system in a house about 15 miles from the sets, so if we had a problem, I could run over there, or he’d bring me scenes to look at. Mick’s one of a series of longstops that you set up — people just checking on what you’re doing the whole time, monitoring it all. He doesn’t come on the set really, but he’s not far away, and we’re on the phone the whole time. He tells me ALL PHOTOS: PETER MOUNTAIN