Back in 2010 Film4 FrightFest premiered a film which, in my opinion, was one of the stand out films of the festival. 13HRS is still one of my favourite British horrors to date and when i was given the chance to throw some questions at the films director Jonathan Glendening I jumped at the chance. With his new film STRIPPERS Vs WEREWOLVES coming out this year and 13HRS making its UK TV premiere over on the Horror Channel we talk to Jonathan about his experience at Film4 FrightFest and his journey as a director.
SNAKE BITE: First off 13 HRS was fantastic and was one of my favourites from Film4 FrightFest in 2010. How did it feel to have the film’s premiere at the 2010 Film4 FrightFest and how did you find the reaction from the fans?
JonathanIt was a huge honour to premiere at FrightFest, everyone was so warm and welcoming and given that we were the festival under-dog, the reaction to the screening was amazing. I think the audience was a little uncertain at first and perhaps saw the set-up with Isabella and Gemma and thought it was going to be a teen-soap but they really seemed to buy into the seething undercurrents of a half-family torn apart by hidden secrets, resentments and class and if they didn’t at least we started killing off the posh-kids quickly. Actually, Gemma has a key scene in the film that had the best reaction I’ve had in a cinema ever! It was a brilliant moment and so much better than I’d ever hoped, so the audience and Frightfest will always retain a very special place in my heart.
Given the Success of 13HRS have you considered making a sequel?
I’d love to! Adam Phillips the writer of 13hrs came up with a fantastic premise that saw the story transplanted to India. His treatment was full of secrets, betrayals, twists and turns with the same claustrophobic atmosphere but in the light, heat and dust of the temples of India. If I was ever to return to the were-wolf genre it would have to be for something special and different like that.
For people who may not know much about your past work how did you first get into Directing?
When I was a kid, you could only see films at the cinema or when they got onto one of only three channels, so if you wanted to relive your favourite movies – you just acted them out with your toys. I was always the biggest movie fan anyway, Jaws and Star Wars were my thing, and when Raiders of the Lost Ark came out, it blew me away and ‘the making of’ was on TV; that ‘making of’ was a self-contained film school, so aged 11, I borrowed a super 8mm cine-camera and a roll of film and made ‘Star Wars & The Empire Strikes Back’ with my mate Jason Hill and my toys in the back garden. It was 3 minutes long (the length of a roll of film), completely out of focus, badly framed but I was hooked! So I kept making films throughout my teens, and each film got bigger and more ambitious and I started winning awards for them, so that in turn just fuels the desire to keep on making them. So I progressed from Super 8mm shorts, to 16mm, Super 16mm and then produced my own independent feature on 35mm, that was ‘Summer Rain’. So basically, I got into directing by just doing it. That’s actually good advice, if you want to do something – do it!
Have you always wanted to direct horror?
Most of my short films tended to be psychological dramas, thrillers and adventures so really, I’ve always dabbled in all genres but leaning towards horror. Although that’s one reason I always admired Rob Reiner as he could do ‘Misery’, as well as ‘Spinal Tap’ and ‘A Few Good Men’ all brilliantly, like Richard Donner could do ‘The Omen’ and ‘Superman’. So I love horror but I’m hoping to try a little of everything, like I’m near an all-you-can-eat buffet.
You are following up the success of 13HRS with another film which, again, looks epic. How did the idea of STRIPPERS Vs WEREWOLVES come about?
The producer gave me the fantastic original script by Pat Higgins, it looked like it could be a lot of fun as it was irreverent, grind-house with some great dialogue and it just seemed such a crazy title that I had to do it. I just thought it would be fun.
How did you manage to bag such a big horror icon in Robert Englund? And what was he like to work with?
All credit for all the casting on SvW has to go to the producer. Obviously, I was very excited when I found out that Robert would be joining us and he was a total professional, very respectful as well as a thoroughly nice guy. I’d love to do another movie with him as he’s a superb actor with such an incredible on-screen presence.
How long did it take you to film STRIPPERS Vs WEREWOLVES? And were there any problems during filming?
27 days I think. The biggest problem was just physical logistics I think, I mean if it takes 4 or 5 hours to put the werewolf make up on, and you have a big cast of werewolves – obviously their appearances on set is going to be staggered, and that starts throwing up scheduling problems with scenes in which they all appear, especially if it then takes them a couple of hours to de-rig as well. It was really complicated, so I have to a lot of love and Kudos to Kristyan Mallett, Cesar Alonso and their whole effects make up team as well as my talented first assistant director James Nunn for making it work as well as it could.
You also had two of the biggest UK gangster film stars Martin Kemp (EASTENDERS, THE KRAYS) and Billy Murray (DEAD CERT) in the cast for STRIPPERS Vs WEREWOLVES, how was it working with them?
They were both very professional with lots of ideas and great input.
Your recent films, STRIPPERS Vs WEREWOLVES and 13HRS are obviously both werewolf films is this because you have a soft spot of them or is it just a coincidence?
Just a co-incidence, although if the 13hrs sequel had got green-lit at that moment, I’d still be here with two werewolf films back to back.
Who inspires you the most in the industry?
At the moment directorially it has to be Christopher Nolan, intelligent, thoughtful, blockbusters. I’m also a huge fan of Neil Marshall, how awesome is ‘The Descent’? I hope Neil goes on to have a huge success that matches his talent. Producer wise, I’d love to have the chance to work with Gareth Unwin as ‘Exam’ was fantastic… oh and he did a little film called ‘The King’s Speech’. I also have a soft spot for Kenneth Branagh, he’s a great talent, acting, directing, a nice guy and he really inspired me when I was in my early twenties.
You tend to use a lot of upcoming British actors and actresses in your films, for example former Hollyoaks actress Gemma Atkinson (13hrs) and Tom Felton (Harry Potter films) but is there anyone you would really love to work with in the UK?
The UK has so much talent, it’s hard to just isolate an individual or two. But… I was on set with Naomi Harris once and I thought she was an incredible actress, take after take the director asked her to do her performance in completely extreme ways, and she committed totally to each take, and although totally different, each take looked amazing. Emily Blunt is wonderful too and of course I’d love to direct Kenneth Branagh and rising stars like Joe Millson. Really, it’s hard to narrow the field down – just throw a stone at the Bafta’s and it’ll hit someone you’d love to work with! Oh, and I’d love to do another film with Marc Bayliss (who plays Carlos the punk in SvW)!
This wouldn’t be a Snakebite Interview without asking the following: Books or Films? What do you prefer?
I guess books, as books provide you with the cinema of the mind… so that’s a kind of cheat isn’t it? The distinction between books and films gets very blurred though as a lot of books just feel like screenplays with adjectives rather than committing to their own art form as novels. I enjoyed reading the Da Vinci Code, as it was a page turner but it really did feel like a screenplay not a novel (a very readable script though), so that’s not really a criticism.
If you could recommend one film to our readers what would you pick and why?
Just one film? There are so many great movies out there how can I recommend just one? Jaws is my favourite movie, but I guess you’d have seen that a few times already? So, just a bit left field one of my all time favourite movies is ‘La Reine Margot’, if you want to see a classy French movie about blood, betrayal and revenge with a huge amount of bloodshed and violence set against a historical backdrop… that’s the movie to see. Incredible cinematography, beautifully directed, amazing performances and a wonderful script, it’s a perfect movie to me.
What is next for Jonathan Glendening?
I’ve been very fortunate to have had three screenplays commissioned over the past couple of years, so I’m really hoping that one of those comes to fruition with me as director. Two of them are true stories and the other is an original sci-fi epic. I don’t want to talk too much about them as they’re all developing nicely and I don’t want to jinx them. Adam Phillips (13hrs) also has an exciting new screenplay that I’m attached to direct, we went to Pinewood with the producer the other day to look at potential sound stages which was very exciting. I’ve also just started writing a WWII true story screenplay set in the world of the Polish resistance. As you can tell, I’m working on a wide range of projects but I’m going to bide my time and really work hard to take my next film up to the next level rather than rush another movie out. Patience is the key…
SNAKE BITE: First off 13 HRS was fantastic and was one of my favourites from Film4 FrightFest in 2010. How did it feel to have the film’s premiere at the 2010 Film4 FrightFest and how did you find the reaction from the fans?
JonathanIt was a huge honour to premiere at FrightFest, everyone was so warm and welcoming and given that we were the festival under-dog, the reaction to the screening was amazing. I think the audience was a little uncertain at first and perhaps saw the set-up with Isabella and Gemma and thought it was going to be a teen-soap but they really seemed to buy into the seething undercurrents of a half-family torn apart by hidden secrets, resentments and class and if they didn’t at least we started killing off the posh-kids quickly. Actually, Gemma has a key scene in the film that had the best reaction I’ve had in a cinema ever! It was a brilliant moment and so much better than I’d ever hoped, so the audience and Frightfest will always retain a very special place in my heart.
Given the Success of 13HRS have you considered making a sequel?
I’d love to! Adam Phillips the writer of 13hrs came up with a fantastic premise that saw the story transplanted to India. His treatment was full of secrets, betrayals, twists and turns with the same claustrophobic atmosphere but in the light, heat and dust of the temples of India. If I was ever to return to the were-wolf genre it would have to be for something special and different like that.
For people who may not know much about your past work how did you first get into Directing?
When I was a kid, you could only see films at the cinema or when they got onto one of only three channels, so if you wanted to relive your favourite movies – you just acted them out with your toys. I was always the biggest movie fan anyway, Jaws and Star Wars were my thing, and when Raiders of the Lost Ark came out, it blew me away and ‘the making of’ was on TV; that ‘making of’ was a self-contained film school, so aged 11, I borrowed a super 8mm cine-camera and a roll of film and made ‘Star Wars & The Empire Strikes Back’ with my mate Jason Hill and my toys in the back garden. It was 3 minutes long (the length of a roll of film), completely out of focus, badly framed but I was hooked! So I kept making films throughout my teens, and each film got bigger and more ambitious and I started winning awards for them, so that in turn just fuels the desire to keep on making them. So I progressed from Super 8mm shorts, to 16mm, Super 16mm and then produced my own independent feature on 35mm, that was ‘Summer Rain’. So basically, I got into directing by just doing it. That’s actually good advice, if you want to do something – do it!
Have you always wanted to direct horror?
Most of my short films tended to be psychological dramas, thrillers and adventures so really, I’ve always dabbled in all genres but leaning towards horror. Although that’s one reason I always admired Rob Reiner as he could do ‘Misery’, as well as ‘Spinal Tap’ and ‘A Few Good Men’ all brilliantly, like Richard Donner could do ‘The Omen’ and ‘Superman’. So I love horror but I’m hoping to try a little of everything, like I’m near an all-you-can-eat buffet.
You are following up the success of 13HRS with another film which, again, looks epic. How did the idea of STRIPPERS Vs WEREWOLVES come about?
The producer gave me the fantastic original script by Pat Higgins, it looked like it could be a lot of fun as it was irreverent, grind-house with some great dialogue and it just seemed such a crazy title that I had to do it. I just thought it would be fun.
How did you manage to bag such a big horror icon in Robert Englund? And what was he like to work with?
All credit for all the casting on SvW has to go to the producer. Obviously, I was very excited when I found out that Robert would be joining us and he was a total professional, very respectful as well as a thoroughly nice guy. I’d love to do another movie with him as he’s a superb actor with such an incredible on-screen presence.
How long did it take you to film STRIPPERS Vs WEREWOLVES? And were there any problems during filming?
27 days I think. The biggest problem was just physical logistics I think, I mean if it takes 4 or 5 hours to put the werewolf make up on, and you have a big cast of werewolves – obviously their appearances on set is going to be staggered, and that starts throwing up scheduling problems with scenes in which they all appear, especially if it then takes them a couple of hours to de-rig as well. It was really complicated, so I have to a lot of love and Kudos to Kristyan Mallett, Cesar Alonso and their whole effects make up team as well as my talented first assistant director James Nunn for making it work as well as it could.
You also had two of the biggest UK gangster film stars Martin Kemp (EASTENDERS, THE KRAYS) and Billy Murray (DEAD CERT) in the cast for STRIPPERS Vs WEREWOLVES, how was it working with them?
They were both very professional with lots of ideas and great input.
Your recent films, STRIPPERS Vs WEREWOLVES and 13HRS are obviously both werewolf films is this because you have a soft spot of them or is it just a coincidence?
Just a co-incidence, although if the 13hrs sequel had got green-lit at that moment, I’d still be here with two werewolf films back to back.
Who inspires you the most in the industry?
At the moment directorially it has to be Christopher Nolan, intelligent, thoughtful, blockbusters. I’m also a huge fan of Neil Marshall, how awesome is ‘The Descent’? I hope Neil goes on to have a huge success that matches his talent. Producer wise, I’d love to have the chance to work with Gareth Unwin as ‘Exam’ was fantastic… oh and he did a little film called ‘The King’s Speech’. I also have a soft spot for Kenneth Branagh, he’s a great talent, acting, directing, a nice guy and he really inspired me when I was in my early twenties.
You tend to use a lot of upcoming British actors and actresses in your films, for example former Hollyoaks actress Gemma Atkinson (13hrs) and Tom Felton (Harry Potter films) but is there anyone you would really love to work with in the UK?
The UK has so much talent, it’s hard to just isolate an individual or two. But… I was on set with Naomi Harris once and I thought she was an incredible actress, take after take the director asked her to do her performance in completely extreme ways, and she committed totally to each take, and although totally different, each take looked amazing. Emily Blunt is wonderful too and of course I’d love to direct Kenneth Branagh and rising stars like Joe Millson. Really, it’s hard to narrow the field down – just throw a stone at the Bafta’s and it’ll hit someone you’d love to work with! Oh, and I’d love to do another film with Marc Bayliss (who plays Carlos the punk in SvW)!
This wouldn’t be a Snakebite Interview without asking the following: Books or Films? What do you prefer?
I guess books, as books provide you with the cinema of the mind… so that’s a kind of cheat isn’t it? The distinction between books and films gets very blurred though as a lot of books just feel like screenplays with adjectives rather than committing to their own art form as novels. I enjoyed reading the Da Vinci Code, as it was a page turner but it really did feel like a screenplay not a novel (a very readable script though), so that’s not really a criticism.
If you could recommend one film to our readers what would you pick and why?
Just one film? There are so many great movies out there how can I recommend just one? Jaws is my favourite movie, but I guess you’d have seen that a few times already? So, just a bit left field one of my all time favourite movies is ‘La Reine Margot’, if you want to see a classy French movie about blood, betrayal and revenge with a huge amount of bloodshed and violence set against a historical backdrop… that’s the movie to see. Incredible cinematography, beautifully directed, amazing performances and a wonderful script, it’s a perfect movie to me.
What is next for Jonathan Glendening?
I’ve been very fortunate to have had three screenplays commissioned over the past couple of years, so I’m really hoping that one of those comes to fruition with me as director. Two of them are true stories and the other is an original sci-fi epic. I don’t want to talk too much about them as they’re all developing nicely and I don’t want to jinx them. Adam Phillips (13hrs) also has an exciting new screenplay that I’m attached to direct, we went to Pinewood with the producer the other day to look at potential sound stages which was very exciting. I’ve also just started writing a WWII true story screenplay set in the world of the Polish resistance. As you can tell, I’m working on a wide range of projects but I’m going to bide my time and really work hard to take my next film up to the next level rather than rush another movie out. Patience is the key…
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