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TALENTSPOTTING
FOCUSING ON TOMORROW’S GENERATION OF MOVERS AND SHAKERS
COMPILED BY BEN IRVING
New Talent, New Media
TALENTSPOTTING
JAMES RICHARDSON
With a cast that includes Stellan Skarsgard, Chris Penn and, er, Martine McCutcheon, British pro- ducer James Richardson’s (standing above) first film Kiss Kiss Bang Bang is very much an international affair.
The 30-year-old - who works at Pagoda Film & Television under Norma Heyman - also brought in the offbeat action comedy (directed by Stewart Sugg) under budget and he hopes, with the min- imum of stress. “I don’t think I was too panicky and mad,” he laughs. “I’d like to think I cajole and support, rather than rant and rave.”
But in an era when pretty much everyone wants to be a director, writer or actor, Richardson’s approach is particu- larly refreshing. “I did train as an actor just after university,” he says. “But when I realised my career path wasn’t going to be the same as Tom Cruise, I thought I’d do something different. And since I’d be dreadful as a director, I thought I’d pro- duce instead.”
After spending five years in a video shop and then five months on an inten- sive training course at the Media Business School in Spain, Richardson finally found his vocation - and a mentor in Heyman. “It’s great,” he says. “I think we should encourage more relationships like it.
“I think the industry has done itself damage over the last few years,” he con-
tinues. “But I get the impression that there’s new generation of producers and filmmakers who want to make good, fun movies. I’m not knocking the more seri- ous films, but I would be really sad if a film I make only gets seen by five people in an art house cinema somewhere.”
And more excitingly, he also got to work with ‘Tiff’ from EastEnders. “It was brilliant,” says Richardson. “Stewart and I think we’ve found a new movie star. Martine totally lights up the screen. So to anyone else who wants to cast her - do it!” ■
ROOHI HASAN
Everyone knows that television is increasingly a young person’s indus- try. And there’s no better current example than Roohi Hasan. Having worked at ITN for just over four years, she’s now a news editor at Channel 5 News - at the ripe old age of 24. But she admits: “Not everyone knows how old I am and I don’t give the impression of being 24.” She laughs, “So this article is revealing a lot.”
After deciding to be a journalist when she was 10, Hasan, who grew up in Swindon, dedicated herself to achieving her goal. During her final year of university, she scooped work experience slots at Pebble Mill and Reuters, before landing her ITN job soon after graduation. It’s been a heady ride ever since.
“I was working at ITN and was about to go on holiday,” she
remembers. “I had always wanted to visit the Washington bureau, so I organised it. On the first night of my first day there, the Lewinsky story broke.” She ended up helping the White House correspondent with his reports.
With a passion for documentaries that she hopes to indulge in the future, Hasan is happy for now to continue co- ordinating the news. Especially if she gets to repeat her proudest moment.
“I was working on a Saturday and I got a phone call from a girl saying she had just crossed the road in Brixton and a bomb had gone off,” she recalls, vividly. “We were the first people to get a reporter there. I sent a courier bike to get the pic- tures back and they were used on the first bulletins by us, ITV and Channel 4.” ■
J.J. KEITH
JJ Keith was checking Teletext when he suddenly discovered he’d been nominated for a Hollywood Oscar. His stylish Holiday Romance was up for Best Live Action Short in the 1999
Awards. It didn’t win but the fall-out for the 29-year-old director was considerable.
“I got offered four features from America,” recalls the Old Harrovian. “But as soon as the hype died down, they just went on to the next big thing.”
Having been burned by Hollywood (“they wouldn’t even return my agent’s calls”), Keith is
now back doing commercials and work- ing on his own projects. “I recently did a bra advert,” he says. “That was good fun to cast. I’m also developing a feature film. It’s a high-concept black comedy called Aftermath.”
And while he’s maintained his artistic integrity, he understands the dog-fighting required to make it in the film business. “It’s a tough industry,” he says, “but there was nothing else I wanted to do. If I could have come up with an easier life, I would have done.”
For the moment though, he has to watch as Holiday Romance’s producer Alex Jovy released his own feature directorial debut, Sor t ed (you may recall Jovy’s progress charted recently in C4’s revealing Movie Virgins series). The pair no longer speak, but Keith admits Jovy helped him get into the position he is today.
“Alex funded Holiday Romance out of his own pocket. He is a good producer, he makes things happen. I respect his drive and ambition, but I don’t commend the way he goes about it.”
“But you know what,” he continues, “I’m focused more on the creative side. I’d prefer to be making commercials and be behind the camera learning, than just try- ing to get my one feature made.” ■
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