THE RUNAWAYS is in UK Cinemas from January 10th 2020.
BritFlicks welcomes writer, producer, director, Richard Heap to talk about his family adventure film THE RUNAWAYS. Facebook.com/TheRunawaysFilm
THE RUNAWAYS is in UK Cinemas from January 10th 2020.
Q: Tell us about the film?
I’ve a couple of kids so had starting to feel an itch to do an old school adventure film for them. I’d got a little tired of seeing animations and felt there was an opportunity to do something where they could feel part of something, imagine it was them inside the adventure. I always remember seeing ‘Across the Great Divide’ and ‘Bugsy Malone’ as treats at school on 16mm. I’m not putting my film up with those but that feeling of seeing real kids on screen certainly was part of my thinking.
Q: You also wrote the film, where did the idea come from?
I was doing some commercial work where I cycled coast to coast, from Whitehaven to Tynemouth. Seeing the sea again at the end was unexpectedly emotional and it got me thinking how profound this could be if the journey really meant something. So the idea started as a C2C but morphed in to what it is now.
Q: W. C. Fields once famously said “Never work with animals or children”, In THE RUNAWAYS you work with both, how was that and did it throw up any unexpected surprises or obstacles?
When I first met Mark Addy he said I was a brave man. But actually it was a joy. Macy and Rhys are such good company, Rhys being incredibly quick witted. In fact Rhys is so nice that Molly and I had to wind him up to get him to play out the scenes where there are big arguments. The donkeys were great to have on set too, as you could get a bit of animal therapy. If things were going badly you could go up and give them a cuddle and you’d feel better. They were a nuisance sometimes, as they’d always eat grass (sometimes the actors coats) and wouldn’t start walking on command so the kids had to be strong with them. They also hate puddles. And don’t go in reverse either.
Q: It’s a fantastic cast with great music and the child actors are an absolute joy, how did you go about casting?
We were really lucky with Molly (not really a child) as she’d just come off ‘3 Girls’ and wanted to make something a bit more uplifting. Rhys and Macy have quietly been making a reputation for themselves in the North and were well and truly on the radar of our casting agent Michelle Smith. When we put them together you realised they could argue like buggery, just like a proper brother and sister.
Q: Tell us how you acquired the services of the beautiful donkeys?
My producer, Mario Roberto, and I did a tour of the North York coastline and met various people who ran the donkey rides. Ours used to ply the Scarborough beach front. Then it was a case of auditioning the handlers and Anthony and Marilyn, you knew they would care. They were fantastic.
Q: The scene in the boat where Ben (Rhys Connah) falls overboard was brilliantly done, how challenging was it to get that scene right?
Some was done on the sea at Runswick Bay and some in a tank near Middleborough. Obviously it is Rhys underwater but the world underwater was expanded out with CGI. In a funny way I think Rhys really enjoyed it although he got pretty cold and tired. It was his big scene and almost like a stunt so he really committed to it. I’m most pleased in the way it feels like an age to get back to the surface of the water and feels desperate in that respect. I did chop the whole scene out of the cut once only to get pressed to put it back in. I was told it’d look good in the trailer and give it scale. In truth I love how Molly and Rhys hug after. It’s worth it for that.
Q: What are you most proud of about the film?
That the kid’s performances are so watchable. We were incredibly pressed for time (children have limited hours on set and have to be schooled too) so much of the film is one or two takes. There are a few weak points but I worked hard to never put pressure on them and they felt enabled and free. But to get it made on our budget to the scale we did was a real achievement. The background production team, particularly Joe Gradwell on locations and Sarah Barker as line producer, were outstanding, worked themselves in to the ground.
Q: Was the hut that Reith (played by Mark Addy) lives in made for the film or did it already exist?
It was made. In the script it they were meant to live on a caravan park. Again Mario and I toured the whole coast and didn’t quite hit on the perfect caravan site with a great view and then we found this old quarry we could get access to. We were going to put a static caravan on it but the production designer, Mike McLoughlin, said no way I’m going to build you something.
Q: This is your debut narrative feature, what has been the biggest learning curve?
It’s from the producing side. We should have got some industry money!
Q: One thing we know about making indie films is you need patience, has it been a long journey and was it difficult to get the film into Cinemas?
It’s been a long journey but nothing less that interesting all the way. We’ve done a few preview screenings in Yorkshire so started to meet cinema programmers then. The release has really expanded out from there.
Q: So what’s next for Richard Heap?
I’ve another script written, The Last Rhino, about a father looking for his daughter in the jungle of Sumatra. She’s an eco activist gone missing. So father’s and daughters again!
Thank you Richard Heap for talking with BritFlicks.
THE RUNAWAYS is in UK Cinemas from January 10th 2020.
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