INTERVIEW: Raffaello Degruttola

- By @TheBlueTook

Raffaello Degruttola is a busy boy. All the way from The Bill and Press Gang to Saving Private Ryan and Quantum Of Solace, from London to LA via the rest of the world (including the arse-end of Liverpool!) his career so far is fascinating.

Thankfully, the actor/writer/director/producer is also a top fella, and I recently managed to chat to him for a while about films, The Krankies, and drinking with Dennis Hopper…

***

RAFF! How are you, sir? Thank you for sparing some time.

Chris, great speaking with you the other day, and reminiscing about my House Of 9 shoot. Dennis (Hopper) gave some interesting advice for actors and told some amazing old Hollywood stories that captivated the rest of us on that shoot.

My wife and I recently had a mini Degruttola film fest in our house – Rush, and your latest project, Flim, which we’ll talk more about shortly. Was this something you’d dreamed of as a kid, a Liverpool-based celebration of your work?!

Humbled that anyone would take that much time out for any movie with hardly any budget (obviously I don’t mean RUSH). I remember the cast and crew screening for RUSH and the producer said “This is actually a low budget movie”, and I’m thinking, “If this is low budget then where does that leave FLIM?” But yes I did dream that my work would be shown in a house in Liverpool. Thank you Chris for making my dream come true!

I was quite taken aback when I first spoke to you because you look Italian, talk like an American in a lot of your films, nail an Indian accent in Flim, but you’re a cockney. Many would suggest I’m an idiot for being tricked as you’re a skilled ACTOR after all, but still. My question is this: how’s your Scouse accent?

I’ve actually never tried it. At this point I don’t think I could pull it off but I’m always up for the challenge. I don’t think I would ever be cast as a Scouser. Are there any Italian/American looking Scousers up there? I’m more of a North Londoner that’s lived in the US a lot of my life. My wife says my accent changes daily and always asks “Who are you going to be today!?”

You’d be surprised, Raff. There’s a LOT of tanning shops, hence more sallow skin than you could possibly imagine for the grim climate. Then again, it’s more ‘Orange Squash’ than ‘Latino Lover’.

As well as acting, you’ve also written, produced and directed a number of shorts and now a feature – how different are the pressures each role brings?

I realise now that acting roles are easier and more selfish in a way. The producing and directing require such commitment on a daily basis, people management. Constant thinking the project through from every aspect, as a director it’s all about the choices you make and the people you ask to be involved, as that’s your vision effectively.

Your new project, Flim, is honestly one of the best films I’ve seen this year, no bullshit – bizarre, hilarious and brilliant. It’s SO funny yet poignant. Can you tell our readers a bit about it?

Thanks, Chris. I started playing around with the character of Ravi years ago in an improvisation workshop while filming a different project in Bulgaria with Kacey Barnfield, Steven Waddington, Ian Virgo, Michael Worth and Steven Monroe. We came up with other characters and a basic early plot for Ravi to play with and we filmed it on a small DSLR, then I came back to London and cut it on iMovie. I took it to my editor Charlie (who edited FLIM: THE MOVIE) and he cleaned it up, which gave us a short that worked, so I thought I’m not going to waste that, it looks rough and that’s how I wanted it to look, so I went about working out how to develop it into a feature….. Then 4 years later, filming an average of 1 day a week, going home and figuring out the best route for the plot en route, we had a FLIM.

I’d asked all my friends if they wanted to be involved and then some of them asked others, like Collette Cooper asked Sadie Frost and Rebecca Atkinson and so on and so forth and 4 years later we got our BIFA nomination, which was a great achievement for a piece that was built in improv and fun rather than years of fixing a script.

Ravi is such a brilliant character – funny, ignorant, chauvinistic, yet tragic, innocent and vulnerable. How do you go about creating/playing such a role?

Really having a chance to experiment with different characters in workshops is the key, I was influenced also by many directors over the years and listening to them talk about films they wanted to make rather than actually make them. A lot of ego’s with nothing to back it up… then Ravi was born. There was a Ravi director friend of mine that everyone thinks this is based on, but the real Ravi is a successful film maker with a get it done attitude, so he was actually an inspiration in film making. So really it was just the name that was the same. I wanted the Ravi I played to have floors but come from a very human place, rather than just be a character to laugh at or with. That way the audience can understand that any person comes with different sides, its never clear cut, grey rather than black or white.

The Slaughtered Bird doesn’t really cater for comedies, but I’m sure the readers can forgive when they finally see how fucking brilliant Flim is (although any horror fan will recognise Sadie Frost). Are you a horror fan?

I’m not really if truth be told, but I watched The Conjuring and really enjoyed that, and the one film that still haunts me is The Exorcist.

Flim’s a real shot in the arm for indie filmmakers who maybe can’t raise much of a budget, etc, as it’s a great example of a smart idea nailed by a cast and crew who share the same vision. As I’m trying to get into the screen-writing/filmmaking world myself – with little cash to pump in! - it’s great to know.

How did you pitch it to potential stars and investors?

I showed the actors the scenes I’d already shot and edited with Charlie, and they liked where it was going so they kept showing up. Sometimes I’d arrange to shoot a scene with certain characters in it and at the last minute they never showed up, so I had to change the plot and make it work regardless. I would also show them the short I directed before ‘The Other Side Of My Sleep’ - they seemed to like that too. I used Twitter to gain interest, then I tweeted/Facebook paged that we were trying to raise money for post production, possibly in group funding. I got a reply asking if I was interested in one investor, “Of course”, I said. I thought it was a joke but after a few emails back and fourth this lady from LA, Lori Pettlon, sent us some money to finish the film… How amazing was that!! I met her in LA a few months later and she was really happy with the finished product.

Brilliant! Although I’m not surprised she was happy with it. I honestly couldn’t breathe for laughing during certain scenes – it’s that awkward style of comedy associated these days with Ricky Gervais, Chris Morris or Steve Coogan’s Alan Partridge. Who were your influences when writing?

All of the above, I love that kind of comedy. The Office was genius, it felt so real at times and that’s the tone I wanted to get close to, at the same time letting the film find it’s own feet on route so it would develop its own style

Are there any pitfalls you’d warn budding indie filmmakers of and things they should be doing? You’ve also mentioned previously you run film workshops when you can?

I think that there’s no clear answer to that, just when you want to do something, look for ways to make it happen rather then reasons why not. With regards to the workshops, it’s a really good way for me to work with actors and explore different ways to play scenes and really get underneath the characters they are playing, so it stops feeling like an act and more of encompassing a person.

Away from Flim, your list of co-stars is mind blowing. There’s too many A-Listers to even BEGIN a shortlist, in fact. BUT I’M GONNA! Hanks, Damon, Firth, Schneider, Rapace, Hopper, Van Damme, Henriksen, Watts, Craig, Hemsworth, Bullock, Douglas, Malkovich, Reedus…….. That’s a long way from Press Gang, my friend!

Its always just a job, and I’m very grateful whenever I get one.

Have you ever been/do you still get starstruck? I met The Krankies once – theirs is a GLARING absence from your CV, if I may be so bold.

In reference to being starstruck by the names I’ve worked with, I’d say I’m more often impressed by their work than starstruck.

I’ve just asked my mate, Lee Boardman, what The Krankies are! He just sent me a link…. I remember them from school. Hahahaha!

Who do you admire (past or present) and wish you could work with?

Meryl Streep. She’s incredible, so many different characters and so convincing. Her performance in DOUBT with Philip Seymour Hoffman and Viola Davis is one of my favourites.

We’ve got to talk about Saving Private Ryan - can you tell us a bit about working with Spielberg?

He worked quickly. He arrived, introduced himself, asked for us to read the scene, then told us where to stand, adjusted things when he needed to, then moved on…. Next day I was happy when he came over and said “Saw the rushes, really liked it, well done.” I went home, told my mum and she said, “Who is he again?”

We can all rely on our mums to keep us grounded, brother… It was the same after I met The Krankies.

Are there any techniques you can take from top-end blockbusters and apply to smaller productions such as Flim, or are they so far removed they’re incomparable?

Be as committed to any role or project as if it was the last one. Your work should always be the best it can be, the pay check wont.

How tough is it adjusting from working on a huge epic then maybe coming back and working on an indie short?

Indie is much harder to keep the motivation. The big budgets are easier because you are looked after by a team, that doesn’t happen on an indie, just your get up and go…

Not to take anything away from other directors you’ve worked with, but 2 others that stand out from your past are Ron Howard and Richard Attenborough – is there a vast difference in the way such celebrated filmmakers work?

They don’t over complicate scenes, they usually get the people they want and let them feel comfortable, that’s what a good director does. A bad director thinks he has to be authoritative and make sure everyone knows who they are. Ron Howard was brilliant, it felt like working with a close friend in an acting workshop. I could tell he was an actor once upon a time, there was a hidden code of communicating. Richard was amazing too, although I never had as much to do in that film.

You seem to gravitate back to director Steven Monroe’s projects time and time again – what is it about the way he works that attracts you? (the scene you share in Flim nearly killed me, btw!)

He was great in that scene and he showed his acting skills too. Love working with him, he’s easy and I feel in safe hands. Love it when I get an email from him saying ‘I’ve got this role, take a look and tell me if you want to come on board?’ Truth is I don’t need to see a script with him, the answer is ‘Yes, where do I stand?’ He also did the remake of I Spit On Your Grave, which I’m sure your readers will know about.

I’m also aware you’ve worked with your missus (actress Simone Lahbib) on several cinematic ventures, including Flim – great stuff. Although, my missus would STILL disagree with what I was saying even if it was scripted.

She’s a big part of why I’m still working today. She tolerates me walking around the house trying different characters out and I’m constantly asking if we can try something else out in the same scene. She’s very patient and was very supportive all the way through FLIM, not to mention how solid she is as an actor, and she helped produce FLIM.

I’ve got to ask about Dot.Kill – a feature you filmed in Liverpool with Armand Assante no less! How did that come about and why here?

I had such a great experience in Liverpool, they filmed there to use the docks as a NY/Brooklyn backdrop. Armand loved it, and I learned loads just watching him work. Liverpool is where I first met Steven R Monroe and Sonny Marinelli, 2 very good friends now and great memories.

Is there any chance you can help spread The Slaughtered Bird word amongst your friends?

Absolutely! Thanks for talking about FLIM, I know it’s not a standard film for your site, so it means a lot.

@TheBlueTook