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IT’S DOUBLE OR
How Richard Greatrex BSC recreated Michigan and Oregon, USA, for The Upside Of Anger and Big Nothing.
C inematographers are well used to using convenient
location stand-ins. For Richard Greatrex BSC, the Hebridean island of Taransay was, for example, an easy double for neighbouring
Scarp as he helped recreate the late- 30s world of German scientists and inquisitive Scots for a recent film com- edy-drama, The Rocket Post, based on a real-life story.
A rather odder thing about the production is that it was actually made five years ago and is now only getting a very belated UK release with the addition of a touching dedication to its British director, Stephen Whittaker, who died of cancer in 2003.
Boasting a slightly shorter shelved life is The Upside Of Anger, which Greatrex lit three years ago and despite rave reviews in the States when it was released there way back is now only getting a deserved showcase here. The delay might be slightly shorter than The Rocket Post, but its ingenious geographical recreations make the ear- lier film pale by comparison.
For Detroit, Michigan, read Walton-on-Thames, Surrey, Hampstead NW3 and Ealing Studios. The Upside Of Anger, filmed here to take advantage of local tax breaks, was written and
directed by Mike Binder who also co- stars with Joan Allen, Kevin Costner, Alicia Witt, Evan Rachel Wood, Erika Christensen and Keri Russell.
It’s a bitter-sweet comedy-drama about an American family coming to terms with a father, missing-believed- AWOL with his young secretary.
It was Mike Binder’s script that first drew Greatrex to the project: “It’s tremendous, very funny at times and it has some of the best dialogue I’ve ever come across.”
BAFTA-nominated no fewer than four times (Truth Or Dare, Warriors, Shakespeare In Love, The Woman In White- which won him the award in 1998), Greatrex seems to have been non-stop of late.
There have been a pair of Wesley Snipes’ action thrillers (Chaos, The Detonator), Big Nothing, a scam come- dy with David Schwimmer and Simon Pegg, and the 60s-set crime drama, Flawless, with Michael Caine, Demi Moore and Nathaniel Parker. He’s cur- rently re-united with David Schwimmer for another comedy, Run, Fat Boy, Run, which is being directed by the former Friends star.
The Upside Of Anger marked his return to using Fuji stock since first using it abortively about 18 years ago. He explained during shooting at Ealing
8 • Exposure • The Magazine • Fujifilm Motion Picture