What compelled you to
make a gangster movie in
the first place?Michael
Barnes:
After many years
of writing scripts
and making short films to
try and get a start in
the industry and
having those works
rejected without even
being read/watched we
decided to take Peter
Jackson's lead (Bad
Taste) and finance
and shoot the film
ourselves. Little did we
know what we were letting
ourselves in for!
You actually
started shooting Fatigue
over five years ago - why
did it take so long to
complete?
Michael
Barnes: When I
first started looking
around at other ultra
low-budget movies an
obvious one to look at
was El Mariachi by
Robert Rodriguez. In his
book Rebel
Without A Crew he
states that he shot the
entire production in just
over a week so quite
naturally we thought we
could do the same. A week
into shooting when we
hadn't even got an eighth
of the film in
the can we realised
just how ambitious our
script was with a new
location almost every
minute! This slowed the
shoot down considerably.
Also we had to stop each
time our budget ran out
which was often - sixteen
millimetre film costs a
bomb to purchase and
develop, at one point we
had shot for a year
without seeing any of the
rushes! We just
couldn't afford to get it
developed - it seems
madness just
thinking about it now.
What was the
total cost of making this
film? Do you think the
economic constraints
imposed upon you actually
inspired even greater
levels of creativity.
Michael
Barnes: The
total cost was approx
£16,000 give or take a
few hundred. £12,000 of
that was on film stock!
Without doubt the
economic restraints
created the look and feel
of the film - we
were restricted in what
we could do with camera
movement, sets and
design; we wrote down
every location that we
thought we might be able
to get for free
and crafted the
script around them.
Because of these
restrictions the story
came together very
quickly.
The term
'multi-tasking' could
have been invented for
yourself
(director/writer/camera/lighting);
Mark Faiers
(producer/writer/soundtrack/art
direction); and Chris
Dawson (asst.
producer/soundtrack/art
direction). Did the
distribution of jobs
between the three of you
fall into place quite
naturally or was there
all kinds of squabbling?
Michael
Barnes: Oh you
missed a couple! I
edited, tracklayed and
dubbed the film too! And
Mark and Chris did many
more jobs than they
credited themselves for
as the films end credit
roller just looked
ridiculous. I've
never really thought
about it before but yes,
I guess we all slipped
into our specific roles
naturally which looking
at it now was a major
blessing. I'd be lying if
I told you it was all
plain sailing though.
There were a couple of
times during shooting and
post production when
opinions differed but we
got through that
and looking back I
really appreciate that
Mark and Chris trusted me
to deliver with the
directing and editing
because it must have been
frustrating for them at
times. Thankfully we all
loved the end result so
they didn't feel the need
to beat me up and dump me
in the Taff.
You've done
loads of television work
in your career - did that
influence the aesthetic
of the film at all?
Michael
Barnes: No,
nothing I've ever done on
TV influenced Fatigue.
Television has become so
restricted regarding
drama production - stale
- so many rules, Fatigue
doesn't have
any rules!
Fatigue
is mainly set in Cardiff
and London - what kind of
potential does the Welsh
capital have as a
cinematic setting?
Michael
Barnes: Well
Cardiff is undoubtedly a
beautiful city but as
with
every metropolis it
has its dark
corners and Fatigue explores
that perverse, dark,
underbelly because it
reflected the main
character's predicament
and state of mind. I
don't think the Welsh
Tourist board would use Fatigue
to attract holidaymakers.
Cardiff also doubled up
for London (low budget
remember) apart from the
underground of course!
Personally I always think
it's great when you see a
film at the cinema that's
set in a
location that you
know. When it's done well
it can only add to the
aura and mystery of a
city.
Tell us some
of the specific locations
used.
Michael
Barnes: Most of
the locations we filmed
at have been knocked
down. I wish I was joking
- the hippo club, the set
for the big dance floor
gunfight has gone
and has now become
offices! The house we
shot in was repossessed!
The Cafe Alba
disappeared! The
scrapyard is now a block
of flats! The car park is
now a building site! And
the covered indoor market
has become a shopping
precinct! Talk
of a 'Fatigue
curse' started to be
heard around town but I
have a simpler
theory - if you
stand still long enough
you'll be cemented into a
large ugly building.
Is it fair to
say that Fatigue
has a harder, more
psychological edge than
some of the
style-over-substance Brit
gangster flicks of recent
years?
Michael
Barnes: I hope
so, most of that crop of
late 90s gangster films
were played for laughs
but Fatigue is
very dark, there's a
couple of gags in there
but blink and you'll miss
them. We really wanted to
make something that would
feel odd, surreal and
different but still have
a recognisable genre
feel.
As well as
being a gritty thriller Fatigue
is also an excellent
portrait of a man
suffering deep
psychological despair.
How did the character of
Mitchell Willow, the
guilt-ridden former drug
dealer, evolve in the
writing process?
Michael
Barnes: Well we
started with
Mitchell, the script
evolved from his
character and to be
honest he came from
myself and Mark - not
that we were ever drug
dealers you
understand! I mean
we really were Mitchell
Willow at that point in
time - no hopers with no
jobs, money or prospects
and we really didn't know
what our next move was,
and the story really
sprung from taking that
character one step
further - what would
I have done if I'd been
offered that job? You
know, just deliver some
slightly dodgy parcels? I
mean the money's okay?!
At the time I'd have
probably done the same as
Mitchell, out of the
frying pan into the fire!
There's plenty
of kudos in making an
underground film but if
you had access to an
unlimited budget what
kind of movies would you
make?
Michael
Barnes: Well
that's a bit of a dream
situation and to be
honest I haven't given it
much thought. The only
thing that's important
to me is to keep
working because when you
stop the rot sets in. At
the moment everything I'm
writing is aimed at a low
budget because it's
so much easier to
raise the finance. It
really is a jungle out
there. Woody Allen's
latest film won't be
getting a cinematic
distribution in the UK
despite its undoubted
genius so if a giant
like that can't get his
work seen it really makes
you realise that the most
important thing is just
to try and keep working
and if that
dream ticket arrives
then thank you very much
but I'm not gonna sit
round and wait for
it.
Cannes, LA,
the Great Lakes - have
you had fun touting Fatigue
around the film-festival
circuit or is it as much
business as pleasure?
Michael
Barnes: Well
it's just fantastic. The
response around the globe
to Fatigue has
really justified all the
effort that we put in -
we walked away with Best
Picture at the Great
Lakes Film Festival late
last year and this week
we've just been selected
for festivals in Brussels
and Luxembourg .....
pleasure well deserved!!
Any plans to
make another movie in the
near future?
Michael
Barnes: Of
course, though all three
of us agree we could
never make a film the
same way we made Fatigue,
it almost killed us and
tested friendships. The
next one will be financed
the normal way with a
budget, a full crew, and
a break for lunch!
Thanks Mike
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