Fun Lovin’ Criminals’ Huey has already dabbled in the world of acting, appearing in films such as Once In The Life (2000) and Headrush (2003). He’s currently involved in filming a new British made film Clubbing To Death, and this time he’s joined by FLC’s Frank in the film.
www.flcnyc.co.uk’s Lexy was given the chance to interview the film’s creator, Lee to find out more about the film and FLC’s involvement in the production.

flcnyc.co.uk would like to thank you for taking the time to give us an exclusive interview about your forthcoming film Clubbing To Death.

FLCNYC: Firstly, please tell us a bit about yourself and how you got into film-making:
Lee: I was in the music industry for more than 20 years. I was a musician (a bass player), doing mostly session work. I got to a stage in my early 20s when I couldn’t tour any more due to illness. I owned a recording studio in late 80s early 90s when programming was really coming into the music business and got involved in that – in fact I was one of the people who was using computer programming for backing tracks pretty early on.

I started a record label and a management company in the mid-90s. We had a rock band called “Intro 2” on the label and they needed a music video. We had a very small budget and, having a rather punk work ethic, thought it would be a good idea for us to do it ourselves. We made a music video that ended up going to to 64 countries and being shown on MTV. Surprisingly, it did quite well. Myself and the drummer (Matt Ware) had edited it themselves. We knew that we had to do something interesting for the American market and had been friends with the Red Dwarf guys for years, so I contacted Craig Charles, Norman Lovett and Danny John Jules and convinced them that it would be a good idea to do a music video for nothing, which they did! Apparently you can see the video on the Red Dwarf Series 8 DVD. (Lee thinks it’s an “Easter Egg” on there) All I had to do was ask Craig Charles to do a short film as payment for the guy who filmed the video. However, the camera-man never got around to making the short film, and so it was left to myself and Matt to do it (which we did sometime in 2002). We’re actually in the process of trying to get funding now to make that short into an actual feature.

Since then we have filmed Nick Moran’s “Telstar” play which is being made into a film with Kevin Spacey right now. We also did a children’s TV pilot with P.H. Moriarty and Shaun Williamson.

FLCNYC: So what made you want to become a director?
Lee: Actually, I’m more of a producer really because I’m an excellent blagger! I’m really good at getting people to do things for me for next to no money. I managed to convince John Thompson, Dave Courtney and Craig Charles to be in the short film, despite the fact that there was no money. During the filming of that, I managed to blag Rochester Cathedral, 3 limousines, and a 5 bedroom house…all for no money!

I’m actually not very comfortable with doing the director side of it. Clubbing To Death was being made on a very low budget, so I stepped into the breach. Matt was always an excellent computer programmer, but was never really interested in film. However, he knows the technical side and concentrates on that while I do the blagging – we make a great team!

This is the first feature film I’ve done, although I’ve been involved in other projects. I wrote the script. We got it storyboarded, but obviously things have been re-written and jigged about as we’ve gone along. The idea for the film has been kicking around since 2005.

FLCNYC: Can you give us a brief synopsis of the storyline of Clubbing to death – it’s a gangster/horror movie, isn’t it?
Lee: Yeah, Dave Courtney plays a really nasty man in the film – a bit like Brick Top from Snatch. He’s so unpleasant that not even his family like him! He owns the biggest clubs in London, running all the drugs in those clubs. It’s all going well and he has a middle man who sells all the drugs to him. This man offers to give him all the details of where the next consignment of pills is coming over and Dave Courtney’s character decides to hijack the next lot of pills. However, the pills are owned by a psychotic yank (played by Huey) who is wanted by just about every country so he’s hiding out in Morocco. But the sand sends him a bit mad because he hates the stuff! Huey’s character finds out that the consignment is going to be hijacked and so sends a dodgy batch of pills which sends everyone that takes them a bit crazy (think 28 Days Later sort of rage).

The guy who wrote the short film was also a musician, so it was three musicians editing the film like a music video which gives really choppy effects. We are using the same techniques with Clubbing to Death.

There’s a main club seen all the way through and other bits are shown in flashbacks. The films starts with Huey’s character explaining what’s going on in Morocco and then jumping off to follow one protracted evening in a club (told in real time) with flashbacks explaining the rest of the story. Most of the soundtrack is what the DJ is playing in the club, so if there is a scene outside of the club scenario (for example in an office), you can still hear the music from the club in the background.

FLCNYC: What was it like working with Dave Courtney and the like – he’s a bit of a legend, isn’t he?
Lee: Dave Courtney has been a friend of mine for years – the same with Craig Charles. Being a session musician I practically lived in clubs and a lot of the people you spoke to were gangsters, prostitutes or doormen, who were mostly the people left hanging around in the early hours of the morning in the West End, and Dave Courtney ran the door of most of the clubs in the late 80s/early 90s, which was how I got to meet him.

 

FLCNYC: So how did Huey and Frank come to be involved in the film?
Lee: I had met Huey a while ago now, probably the late 90s, in various clubs in and around London. I had been given his number from a friend, and I called him up and said that I was making a film; I mentioned Dave Courtney and the idea of the film, and Huey said he’d love to do it. He brought a hell of a lot to the part, and had obviously really thought about it before coming to filming. He helped Lauren Pope (who plays his girlfriend in the film) with her accent, thought of her name (“Pookie”) and had fleshed out a good 60% of the character. Huey brought Frank along to the filming as Frank has known Dave Courtney for years as well, so he came along to see Dave and hang out, and ended up, almost accidentally, being in the film! The idea is that Huey’s character is almost like a recluse…so most of his scenes are indoors. Frank ended up playing the part of the Moroccan chess player in one of the scenes.

When they were on set, I thought it was a good idea to get Frank to wear a Fez, but he flat refused! We used the Sugarhut Village in Brentwood, Essex as the set for the Moroccan scenes, and when Huey and Frank walked into the area that had been done up as his “boudoir” he turned to Frank and said “Look Frank, it’s my lounge!”.

The orange/red shirt that Huey is wearing in the photos was actually worn by Shaun Williamson in a children’s TV programme that I had previously done.

We’re also hopefully going to get Huey to do a voice-over for the whole film to tie it all in.

FLCNYC: Do you have any funny stories from on-set that you can tell us about without fear of either getting a custom-fitted pair of concrete boots, or possibly getting sued?
Lee: They all ended up as part of the script now…but…

During the Moroccan scenes, I handed Huey a Hookah Pipe and said “do you fancy lighting this up, I have a feeling you know how to use it”. Frank pulled out an enormous bag of weed, and there wasn’t much left at the end of the shooting.

It was ironic that it was supposed to be Morocco, as it was freezing and had been pouring with rain when we were filming at the Sugarhut Village and we were trying to warm the cast up between takes!

FLCNYC: Do you have an estimated release date for the film yet?
Lee: This has changed as I was seriously ill last year with pneumonia for the third time. The release date, in fact, should have been last January. However, filming is moving forward, but slowly because we are having to work around the cast as they are all very kindly working for very little money. I can often plan 10 scenes in a day, and end up only doing 3 due to casting issues.

I’m guessing that it will be released sometime near the beginning of next year.

We haven’t signed any distribution deal yet, but there have been offers. We will be going for a full European and American release.

FLCNYC: And if you weren’t a director, what do you think you would be doing instead?
Lee: I would probably still be in the music industry, in some capacity or other – either managing or doing festival organisation.