THE NEW PRODUCERS ALLIANCE: NEW WAVE IN BRITISH FILMMAKlNG

The New Producers Alliance was founded in 1993 by some young producers who wanted to make commercial films for an international audience. This is an interview with Richard Holmes co-producer of Soft Top, Hard Shoulder and Harriet Bass, administrator/editor of The New Producer, the NPA's monthly magazine.

Richard Holmes studied Philosophy at York University, where he formed a comedy double act with Stefan Schwartz, called The Gruber Brothers. They produced the feature Soft Top, Hard Shoulder, which won the 1992 London Film Festival and was nominated for three Scottish BAFTA Awards. They also produced The Lake and Bonded, broadcast by the BBC. The last film Richard produced was Solitaire for Two, directed by Gary Sinyor. Holmes' next two films are Entrepreneurs and Walking the Devine.

Who started the NPA in 1993?

Jeremy Bolt phoned Paul Trijbits, Mark Blessing and me, All people who had produced a film or who had worked on the financial side of film-making. Our aim was to make commercial films for an international audience. And we wanted to share our knowledge of how to get a film off the ground with coming up producers, When you want to make a fundamental non-commercial film in England, films that don' t have a good chance to make their money back, you have several options. You can go to the BFI, BBC, Channel 4, British Screen, The New Filmmakers Fund, The Lottery, etc. There were not many places to go for people who wanted to make more commercial films. For those films is it more important to make money, than making a good film.

I honestly think that those two things go hand in hand. The Mask is a brilliantly made film and is also incredibly commercial. For me a good film is entertaining, and you either want to see it again or it makes you feel something. The Killing Fields, by Roland Joffe was an immensely entertaining, tremendously exciting movie, which also said something about humanity and the way we treat each other.

How do you qualify as a producer, what are the criteria?

Absolutely no criteria, we had this discussion many times with potential sponsors, the whole point is to have a non-restrictive access. Organisations like PACT can be very intimidating for people who want to start out. In Hollywood they say to be a producer you need a script. Every waiter is a producer or an actor. I don' t think producing is alchemy, when all the producers die tomorrow, it wouldn't be very long before new producers came through. When you are reasonably organised, hard working you can be a producer. When you add taste and a creative input to it, you can be a very good producer.

I heard that 52% of British films last year, were made by members of the NPA.

Yes that is true. One of our members researched that. Some of the members like David Parfitt who co-produced The Madness of King George, do not need our organisation to give him the knowledge to produce. A lot of films were very low-budget. Some examples are Shopping by Jeremy Bolt, Young Americans by Trijbits, Solitaire for Two by me, to name a few.

Do you think that a quality film always sells?

Not necessarily. My first film Soft Top, Hard Shoulder is not a brilliant film, but is still a quality film. With good acting, nice photography and a solid script. Critically it did well, commercially it covered it's costs. On the international market, the film did nothing.

What makes a good producer?

Hard work, imagination and good organising qualities, and a knowledge of financing and marketing. But in the end what makes the difference between a good and a brilliant producer is taste. It has to be, Something undefinable, that is the only tiny bit of alchemy in producing. Duncan Kenworthy, who co-produced Four Weddings and a Funeral was always convinced that this was a film, which everyone would like to see. I don't think he knew it would make 200 million dollars. The annoying thing is that you work just as hard on a bad film as on a good one. Harriet Bass worked For NPA new chairman Paul Trijbits' production company, before she was asked to run the NPA. According to Richard Holmes she is exactly the right person for the Alliance, Full of energy and always smiling.

How many members are there at the moment ?

950 members, a year ago when I started there were 700. At the moment every month 30 to 40 new members join us.

How do you find the events?

We have deals with the Prince Charles Cinema and the Everyman. We also have good contacts with the supply and distribution companies. They realise that we are the new generation of film-makers, and that is the card we play.

This year you had a NPA stall in Cannes, was it a success?

Yes a big success. A lot of people, also in the UK, still don't exactly know what the NPA is. Some people think it is a club of wannabees, who haven't made films yet. We screened 15 to 20 clips from films which all had theatrical releases. It served also as a point of contact, where NPA members could find a friendly face to talk to.

The NPA is a very dynamic and active organisation, but I think they can do a bit more for non-established, new film-makers. Like a screening of shorts from members for instance.

Yes, we did that last year and we will organise it again. At the moment it is more a matter of showing people and talking to people, but we have the Script Workshops with British Screen. We also run seminars on Low Budgeting and on The Writer/Producer Relationship, together with the London Screenwriters Workshop.

Richard Holmes told me about NPA's great ambitious plan called Filmopolis. What is it exactly?

It is a huge building which we are going to run together with the First Film Foundation. It contains about thirty subsidised offices for pre-production and development of films. The offices are fully computerised and there will be projection facilities for meetings, screenings and training courses.

There will also be a cafe in the building, which will give an opportunity to meet other film-makers. Filmopolis will serve as a focal point for all people working in film to meet, inspire each other and it is likely that this will result in more films being made.

The NPA got a feasibility grant of £30,000 from The National Lottery, the next step is to secure the new building and co-funding. If everything goes as planned, Filmopolis will open it's doors in the beginning of 1998.

Jaap Mees

Update, Spring 98: A new glossy NPA directory is available listing the now over 1200 membership. Filmopolis is still not a reality. Harriet Bass has moved on and Jane Ivey, ex London Film Festival, takes her place aided by Rebecca Johnson and Phillida Lansley. Paul Trijbits' Roseanna's Grave has been released, Adam Page and Neil Peplow (Shooting Fish, Waking Ned) are currently sharing the NPA Chairmanship, and it's a small world as 'Peeping Toms' originator Kaprice Kea joins the committee.

 ©Talking Pictures ISSN 0964-8364

Elliot Grove: Knowledge is power from issue 18