Northwest Vision and Media, create the bigger picture
Liverpool's Likely Lads
LIVERPOOL’S LIKELY LADS
TWO Liverpool lads are to star in a Granada TV documentary, which charts their amazing journey to the big screen - in a community-made feature film which took five years to make.
Mick Colligan and Lenny Wood were among the cast and crew of Under The Mud, a film which was created, written and dramatised by a group of Liverpool teenagers – none of whom had ever experienced the media before.
"Our documentary has exclusive clips of behind-the-scenes on Under The Mud and you can see the young stars growing up before your eyes during the five years the movie was in production,” says Gerrie Byrne, Series Producer for Granada Edition, which goes out on July 17 on ITV1 at 7.30pm.
"The movie is testament to the talents that exist in the
Northwest and we hope that viewers of all ages and walks of life
will get some inspiration from it,” adds Gerrie.
In recent months, Under The Mud has taken the
international film festival scene by storm. Critics at
Canada’s Victoria Film Festival compared the
“invigoratingly, innovative, fiercely funny and achingly
compelling” movie to early Mike Leigh films. And acclaimed
professionals such as Kathy Burke and Jimmy McGovern are among a
growing army of the film’s fans.
Produced by Liverpool-based Hurricane Films, and with support from
Northwest Vision + Media, the Granada Editions documentary
charts some of the highs and lows of filming.
“It’s been an amazing journey, and I think it’s far from over!” says Hurricane Films’ Sol Papadopoulos, who directed Under the Mud, and also filmed the Granada documentary.
“In the documentary I follow Mick and Lenny, two of the Under The Mud writers and actors,” explains Sol.
“I travelled with them to the Sonoma Valley Film Festival, in California, where everyone raved about the film. There’s also footage of them mixing with the great and good at Cannes’ International Film Festival, where they attended Northwest Vision + Media’s Liverpool Plus party.”
Chris Moll is Head of Funds for Northwest Vision + Media, which works on behalf of the region’s TV, film, radio and digital content industries. “We’ve followed Under the Mud’s journey right from the start, and it’s wonderful to see everyone connected with it enjoying well deserved praise and acclaim. It’s a fantastic film!” says Chris, who also appears in the Granada documentary.
“Making the documentary was a thoroughly enjoyable, hilarious experience, and I’m sure everyone who watches the programme will be impressed,” adds Sol, who with the support of ACME has just returned from Cambridge Film Festival, where Under The Mud played to packed houses and received rave reviews.
Shot in and around Liverpool’s Speke and Garston areas, Under The Mud shows the lives and loves of the Potts family, who seem set on a course of self-destruction. The lead character, Magic, is played by Bootle comic actor, Lenny Wood.
“It’s been an amazing experience. I can’t believe the places I’ve visited and the opportunities I’ve had as a result of doing Under The Mud,” says Lenny.
“Travelling to America to attend the film festival was fantastic, and I’ve met some really famous people and had some great conversations! But I think the highlight for me was the Liverpool premiere at the Philharmonic Hall. It was a packed house, and all the cast and crew got back together again. It was one of the best nights of my life,” says Lenny, 27.
Although he had acted before being cast in Under the Mud, Lenny admits his career was in need of a boost. “That certainly came once Mud started to be shown,” adds Lenny, who has just been cast in the lead of comedy horror film, Tree of Death, and is due to star in Lost Soul at Liverpool’s Royal Court.
Hurricane Films’ Sol Papadopoulos, together with one of Under the Mud’s producers, Roy Boulter, are also enjoying a higher profile, in part thanks to the success of their film.
Sol has just been awarded a Cine Golden Eagle Award, an American documentary award, for Warplane, a series he worked on with fellow director/producer Tony Bulley.
And together with internationally-renown director, Terence Davies, (Distant Voices Still Lives) Sol and Roy have been selected as finalists in Northwest Vision + Media’s prestigious Digital Departures micro-budget filmmaking initiative, which will see three feature films made in Liverpool over the next 12 months.
The icing on the cake for Hurricane Films, however, would be have Under The Mud snapped up by a distributor.
"The entire cast and crew have all worked really hard and shown great dedication to the project, and that shows on the big screen,” says Gerrie Byrne.
“The reward now would be to see them attract the support of a big film distributor and the documentary shows Lenny and Mick at festivals in San Fransisco and Cannes, trying to do just that.
“With the help of some big names in the movie business, the lads learn to accept the knock backs – but they keep on fighting!”
· Granada Edition, featuring Under The Mud, is broadcast on July 17, ITV1 at 7.30pm. It will also be available on the ITV Local website www.itvlocal.com/granada after transmission.
