Mat Whitecross Spike Island Interview

Stone Roses film Spike Island director Mat Whitecross explains how his film is his love letter to Manchester & The Stone Roses & getting the 90s look and sound for the actors. More Spike Island interviews Elliot Tittensor & Jordan Murphy    • Elliott Tittensor & Jordan Murphy Spi...   Nico Mirallegro, Oliver Heald & Adam Long    • Nico Mirallegro, Oliver Heald & Adam ...   Matthew McNulty    • Matthew McNulty Spike Island Interview   & writer Chris Coghill    • Stone Roses film Spike Island Intervi...  

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Spike Island stars Elliott Tittensor (SHAMELESS), Nico Mirallegro (THE VILLAGE, UPSTAIRS DOWNSTAIRS), Emilia Clarke (GAME OF THRONES) and newcomers Adam Long, Jordan Murphy and Oliver Heald, the film is directed by Mat Whitecross (SEX & DRUGS & ROCK & ROLL, THE ROAD TO GUANTANAMO, ASHES), written by writer and actor Chris Coghill (24 HOUR PARTY PEOPLE, SHAMELESS) and Produced by Fiona Neilson and Esther Douglas of Fiesta Productions.

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Mat Whitecross
After editing on 9 Songs and Scott Walker: 30 Century Man, Mat Whitecross co-directed The Road to Guantanamo with Michael Winterbottom, winning the Silver Bear at Berlin for Best Director in 2006. He then went on to make music videos for various artists, including Coldplay, The Rolling Stones and Jay-Z. In 2009, Whitecross directed with Winterbottom again on The Shock Doctrine, an adaptation of Naomi Klein's controversial book. The same year, he travelled to Thailand to film Moving to Mars, a documentary about Karen refugees fleeing from Burma to the UK, which won the Grierson Award for Best Documentary in 2010. Whitecross's next feature Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll was released to critical acclaim, and nominated for Best Actor and Music at the 2010 BAFTAs. Starring Andy Serkis, Naomie Harris, Olivia Williams and Ray Winstone, it tells the surreal story of punk legend Ian Dury. His following film Ashes, a road movie thriller, starring Ray Winstone, Jim Sturgess and Lesley Manville is due for release later this year. He has just completed Spike Island, a coming-of-age drama set against the backdrop of the Stone Roses' era-defining gig of the same name. Upcoming projects include GB84, an adaptation of the novel by Red Riding author David Peace, Going Mad in Hollywood, about David Sherwin, Lindsay Anderson and Malcolm McDowell and the making of the British classic if... Whitecross will collaborate again with writer Chris Coghill on I SWEAR I LOVE YOU an original screenplay in development with Fiesta Productions.

For director Mat Whitecross and producers Fiona Neilson and Esther Douglas this is their second feature together but the revisited collaborations do not end there. Whitecross is reunited with; Director of Photography, Chris Ross; Production Designer, Richard Bullock; Editor, Peter Christelis; and Composers, Ilan Eshkeri & Tim Wheeler amongst others. "For me, it's the most important thing working with people you love and trust. " Producer, Esther Douglas added "Mat has made a real effort to build a creative team that he wants to take from project to project I think it makes a real difference for all of us if you have that immediate shorthand and its an approach that has really paid off."

When moving the film to the big screen Fiona Neilson and producing partner Esther Douglas looked to British director, Mat Whitecross to take on the project. Having previously collaborated on the feature film, ASHES starring Jim Sturgess and Ray Winstone, producer Fiona Neilson saw Mat as a natural choice for the project "Mat is an incredible talent and we love working with him. His previous work on SEX & DRUGS & ROCK & ROLL, and his music videos made him a natural choice for the film -- we also knew he could balance the humour in the script with the emotional rites of passage perfectly" to which producer, Esther Douglas added "He brings an immense amount of energy to everything he does. He's also incredibly committed and focused and is just a real pleasure to work with".

Thanks to London Film Festival http://www.bfi.org.uk/lff