Page 14 - Fujifilm Exposure_37 Candy_ok

I WANT CANDY
“Comedies often look flat, and they lack
a sense of style... I thought we could have comedy and we could have a good-looking film.”
continued from previous page
Despite the risqué subject matter, one of the most impressive achieve- ments of the film is the degree of whimsical charm it takes into this crude, rude world. In part, this is due to the tone set by writers Peter Hewitt & Phil Hughes, and Jamie Minoprio & Jonathan Stern, as well as the influ- ence of Canadian director Stephen Surjik, whose best-known film to date is Wayne’s World 2.
“I’m a big fan of British comedies,” Surjik explains. “They’re more intelli- gent, more character driven and there’s more of a sense of reality to them, whereas American comedies are more optimistic and tend to have higher pro- duction values. That was something we strove for in terms of the look, the blocking, the colour balances, the light- ing and the design – in fact all the design elements refer back to these production values, so we strove to combine the best of both our worlds.”
“Very early on this film had a cer- tain number of American qualities,” Piers Thompson adds. “To me, a Friday night film is one in which you go and see people through whom you live vicariously. I don’t see the point in trying to make people empathise with someone who’s not charming, uplifting and some sort of inspiration. It’s a wish fulfilment film story, and you don’t really get that here, people set- ting out on a path to try, in this case, make a movie.”
Wishes were certainly fulfilled when Carmen Electra agreed to play Candy Fiveways, forsaking her Californian home briefly to work in the film’s less salubrious setting of Leatherhead. “As soon as you say Carmen Electra is the porn star then everybody knows exactly where you’re pitching it,” opines Thompson. “Saucy but not sleazy.”
Her iconic presence adds a fris- son to the film, for sure, and offers a natural balance to two far less famous leading men. Yet in spite of their lack of experience before the cameras, director Surjik admits he was impressed by what they brought to the movie.
“They’re both extraordinary actors, and in the auditions they both brought tremendous insight into the roles. In some cases, the roles are slightly underwritten; it’s a broad com- edy so there’s more emphasis on the comedy than there is often on the character. They were able to bring great insights into the nuances that made their characters real, so I felt very comfortable with them.”
Equally significant on a relatively low budget movie was the choice of cinematographer, someone who could offer intelligent collaboration while bringing his own thoughts and energy to the production. In the end, Thompson and Surjik settled on UK- based New Zealander, Crighton Bone.
“Comedies often look flat,” Surjik asserts, “and they lack a sense of style. The comedy comes first, but I thought we could have comedy and we could have a good-looking film. I wanted to find someone who was more open minded to that aesthetic, and at the same time I wanted somebody who had a lot of experience in terms of all the technical aspects of the camera. When I looked at Crighton’s reel, I knew he was the guy.”
In terms of camera movement, Surjik admits he is quite a hands-on director, taking an interest in the way the camera travels within the frame.
“I’m obsessed with blocking and location,” he affirms. “I get into the geography of the location, I draw every scene and every shot. We con-
ferred about stock, he did a lot of tests and showed me a lot of different light- ing styles. He would research that material and run in by me but basical- ly that was something he controlled, and he controlled it very expertly.”
The whole film, in the end, was shot on the 35mm Eterna 400T 8583, and in scenes from the sleepy suburbs to the denizens of Soho, via a finale at the Golden Cockerel Awards, the widely con- trasting challenges are seamlessly met.
Shot on locations around London and at Ealing Studios, which is these days run by Piers Thompson’s brother and co-producer, Barnaby, I Want Candy feels like a curious throwback.
Far more sweet and innocent than a certain generation of British sex comedies, yet more knowing than the classic Ealing tales, it creates a tone of its own. Thompson professes himself delighted, even when his production crossed paths with a veteran filmmak- er whose own thoughts on love and sex have long been a source of inspira- tion in his work.
“There was one moment at Ealing,” he enthuses, “when we were just break- ing for lunch and I saw Woody Allen and his mob down the other end of the lot. It was a bit like a Peckinpah movie, but I looked at my crew and thought, ‘you’re young, fit and good looking, I’m pleased I’m with you’. They all had a ball, and I think that comes across in the movie.” ■ ANWAR BRETT
I Want Candy, which opens in the UK on March 23, was originated on 35mm Fujicolor Eterna 400T 8583
Photo main: Carmen Electra as Candy Fiveways; above: scenes from I Want Candy
with Michelle Ryan, Tom Riley, Rasmus Hardiker, Colin Michael Carmichael, Tom Burke and Carl Prekopp
12 • Exposure • The Magazine • Fujifilm Motion Picture