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January 2011

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director’s chair Mike Leigh— Another Year H By IAIN BLAIR This veteran British filmmaker and diehard film fan has finally embraced digital. OLLYWOOD — For the past 40 years, since his aptly-named 1971 feature debut Bleak Moments , British director Mike Leigh has amassed a body of work — including Happy-Go-Lucky, Vera Drake, All Or Nothing, Secrets & Lies, Life is Sweet and Naked — that is distinctive and idiosyncratic, and created “under rather curi- ous conditions,” as he puts it himself. In a sense, he operates much like a British Woody Allen, a one-man cottage in- dustry outside the main loop, turning out highly-personal and beautifully-crafted films set in a very specific world, and with the same amount of complete and exacting artistic control, albeit with a much grittier edge than Allen’s. His latest film, Another Year, is another en- semble drama about joy and sadness, set in to do, even if I don’t have the specifics mapped out. I’m 67 now, and after Happy- Go-Lucky, which dealt with youngish people, I just wanted to do a film about life from the point-of-view of people who are getting on in age. It’s about relationships, time passing, caring, loneliness, parents and children, work and the environment — all things I keep coming back to.” POST: You’re famous for your exhaustive research into character and lengthy prepara- tion of a script for each film, so how long did you spend working with the actors on this one before shooting? LEIGH: “About five months — a bit less than usual as this had the lowest budget I’ve had in a long time.” POST: What were the biggest about character acting, and because these actors are intelligent, versatile and very committed types, it means we can go to a different place every time.We just know we can dig deeper and go further.” POST: It’s your eighth collaboration with Lesley Manville, who gives a truly heartbreak- ing, devastating performance as the lonely al- coholic, Mary. She deserves to be nominated. LEIGH: “It never ceases to amaze me, the people who do win the prizes com- pared with the actors in my films, because I don’t think there’s much better acting kick- ing around.” POST: Where did you shoot and how long was it? LEIGH: “We shot it in just 12 weeks in Mike Leigh on set: “I used to talk at length about the dangers of digital editing and so on, and it’s all rubbish! I was wrong, because it’s actually a wonderful invention.” four seasons and starring such Leigh regulars as Jim Broadbent, Lesley Manville, Ruth Sheen and Imelda Staunton, Oscar-nomi- nated for her starring role in Vera Drake. Here, Leigh, whose credits also include Topsy-Turvy, Hard Labour,The Kiss of Death, Grown-Ups and Home Sweet Home , talks about making the film, and his conversion from die-hard film fan to the digital world. POST: How do you go about deciding what your next project will be, and what made you choose this? MIKE LEIGH: “It’s never easy as all my films are about an ongoing range of preoc- cupations, so I have a feeling for what I want 14 Post • January 2011 challenges of making this? LEIGH: “In terms of the script, the usual thing: creating characters, building their his- tories and exploring their worlds and rela- tionships, all the research. And then this film spans a whole year, unlike most of my films which take place over a few days or weeks, which is a challenge with a low budget, but all my key people — DP, production de- signer, editor and so on — did a great job.” POST: You assembled a great cast, includ- ing a lot of regulars. Is it like having your own repertory company? LEIGH: “It is, and there are huge advan- tages for me in working this way. Because it’s www.postmagazine.com London, and the funeral sequence in Derby.” POST: This was shot by Dick Pope, who has shot several films for you, including Secrets & Lies, Naked and Life is Sweet. What does he bring to the mix? LEIGH: “He’s simply a brilliant DP, and it’s interesting that he used to shoot documen- taries in the wildest parts of Africa and illegal sweatshops in Hong Kong, so he’s great at getting out there into the environment. But at the same time, he’s a classicist, with a huge knowledge of cinema. “I’ve been blessed with great cinematog- raphers for a long time now. Basically I like to work with people with whom I have a close personal relationship, people who talk the same language, share the same jokes and enjoy spending time together, and that’s Dick. He’s very smart, very inventive, and we have a great rapport.” POST: Where did you do the post? How long was the process? LEIGH: “We did it all in London at Goldcrest.” POST: Do you like the post process? LEIGH: “I love it. I loathe the whole preparation of the project, and love shoot-

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