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Stunts To Scarlet
Stunts To Scarlet
I f you want something doing properly, the old saying goes, you should do it yourself. That might be the maxim of industry veteran Stuart St Paul, who recently directed his first fea- ture, The Scarlet Tunic, and is acknowledged as the driving force
behind the film’s release.
Opening in London in June, this
fine looking star packed adaptation of a Thomas Hardy short story has already edged into profit thanks to a bold, some might say foolhardy release pattern in the West Country taken on by St Paul’s own company, Indy UK.
A former stuntman, stunt co-ordi-
nator and actor, the indefatigable 43
year old began his career in radio after
graduating from Sussex University,
before moving into the record business and rising to a key marketing position at EMI. From there he took a quantum leap by switching to film and, under the wing of stunt legend Bob Simmons, worked his way up the lad- der, but as ever, taking great care over every detail.
“Some people have said that only a stuntman could release a film the way I’ve done it,” he laughs. “Maybe that’s true, that the decision to release a film yourself can only come from that ‘let’s do it’ mentality. But it was a deliberate move to release it in the regions first, and in the end I think that worked in our favour.”
With a diverse group of influences working on him, St Paul has a unique insight into the business. When he describes his work as a stunt co-ordinator he talks about character and motivation, suggesting that he is not typi- cal of that craft. Whether called upon to supervise the action in The Krays or the more unexpected Howards End, he has proved equal to the task, but all his experi- ence and powers of self belief were needed when he
came to make The Scarlet Tunic. “When you’ve only got 70,000 foot of film it’s not just a question of being tech- nical, it’s about being able to do an edit in your head. And I think I may have been able to do that as a result of having shot an awful lot of action in the past, because action is far more technical than drama.”
With the cast, including Euro-hunk Jean Marc Barr, rising stage star Emma Fielding, John Sessions, Simon Callow, Jack Shepard and Lynda Bellingham, St Paul admits he called in lots of favours to get the film made. That it looks so good, on such a tight schedule and small budget is remarkable and the subsequent success story of its release is even more astounding.
But this is not likely to be the last we hear of Stuart St Paul. Already signed to direct his next film, Interview With A Dead Man - which will also be a challenge - he has several other directorial projects in mind, and much interest in his distribution company. For now his ambi- tions lie behind the camera, but if times get tough he
could always dust off his kneepads and get back to stunting as he had to after the experience of directing second unit on American Werewolf In Paris last year. “They screen tested the film while I was doing post production on The Scarlet Tunic,” he recalls, “and then called and asked if I could go and do the end sequence. This was supposed to have the hero and heroine getting mar- ried then bungee jumping off the Eiffel Tower. It only lasted 94 seconds, but I had a bigger budget for that than for the whole of my film!”
Employing an English stuntman for the male role and a local stunt woman for the female, St Paul quickly found there were problems executing this tricky stunt absolutely with safety. “They had to run, jump and dive over a
three foot six high steel railing, “ he explains. “She was wearing a wedding dress with a long train which had a rope attached to her leg, and on one of the takes she took a knock. She was okay, but I could see she was a lit- tle daunted by it. “The next thing I know the wardrobe people are measuring me up for the wedding dress and everyone knew what was happening except me. But I did it and that’s what you see in the movie.”
Whether he is directing, stunting, acting or even re- inventing the wheel, as indeed he did with some clever distribution techniques for The Scarlet Tunic it is fair to say that St Paul likes a challenge. “You could say that,” he smiles, “but that’s my life these days and I wouldn’t have it any other way.” ■ ANWAR BRETT
The Scarlet Tunic was photographed by Malcolm McLean and originated on FujicolorMotion Picture Negative It opens in London on 15 June.
Photos: Ex Stuntman and now director Stuart St Paul on set and in wedding dress for difficult stunt sequence and as director on location for The Scarlet Tunic.
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