IN CONVERSATION WITH TERRY BIRD

You may not know Terry Bird’s name, but there is a very high chance you know his face. As a character actor, Terry has had memorable roles in such comedies as 15 STOREYS HIGH, BLACK BOOKS and PEEP SHOW, among many others. Genre fans may know him from the likes of IN FABRIC and JEEPERS CREEPERS: REBORN and will no doubt be interested in his latest project, SWEENEY TODD: SLICE AND DICE. Taking on the titular role, Terry also produced the film, which is directed by Steven M. Smith (THE HAUNTING OF BORLEY RECTORY). The film not only takes a look at the legend of the Demon Barber of Fleet Street from his own perspective but casts him in a socially relevant light that brings up issues of class warfare, poverty and corruption that feel all too familiar today.

In conversation with GORE IN THE STORE, Terry discussed his dual roles here, the film's themes and how the death of his close friend, actor Darren Kent, drove him to bring this project to the screen. 

For a low-budget, British genre film, this is quite ambitious, especially just now when low-budget genre films in Britain are mainly contemporary and set in one easy-to-access location. So what exactly inspired you to take on both acting and producing roles here? 

TERRY BIRD - I've kind of been in the business for a long time, and I was watching those kinds of guys that made films like Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey, how they were using kind of well-known IPs. So I looked at what was available, and Sweeney Todd came up, and that was really interesting to me, with what we could do with the story there. Obviously, when you've set something in Victorian London, you're kind of up against it in terms of locations. So I put the script on the back burner for a little bit while I was researching possible locations. There are Victorian locations, but they're all very expensive, and when you're making a film for not a lot of money, it was kind of pushing it out of our realms of possibility, because I wanted to give it a production value, even though it is still a micro budget film. I wanted to give it a particular look, and then, fortunately enough, I remembered this place that I went to in Cornwall when I was a kid, called Flambards, which is in Helston in Cornwall, and that had a recreation Victorian village in there. I got chatting to the management team, and they said, "Well, come down, have a look". And that's how our conversation developed, and we came to a deal which made it achievable within our budget to film that.

Is this an area of history that's interests you particularly?

TB: It's always been interesting, even when I was at school. The Victorian times doesn't feel like it was a million years ago, it still feels a little bit relatable. So that's always interested me, and I think that era always kind of lends itself to good stories. Obviously, it was a big change in British culture as well, as we started to creep into the industrial revolution, so that interested me as well.

And what was it about Sweeney Todd, particularly, that captured your imagination?

TB: I think he's one of those characters that people have heard of, but he isn't really defined as a proper character. There's been different interpretations of him over the years, so that gave us a flexibility to put our own spin on it, because most people only know Sweeney Todd as a barber who killed people. So, trying to give that whole backstory some kind of depth and reason to it as well, why he actually kind of felt in his head that he was doing the right thing by killing some of the people who he does. Sweeney Todd is really kind of more well known as a musical. It's been on Broadway and in the West End a lot, and obviously, the big film with Johnny Depp as well, that was a musical version, where this is more of a dramatised version of the story.

You've turned Sweeney Todd in this film into a bit of a social vigilante. And the film's got quite an anti-authoritarian streak. Were there any problems you had in development, or even after development during the film, that you encountered because of this?

TB: With this, we had some private investors involved, so we weren't going to the BBC to fund it, or Channel 4, or any of those kind of guys. So we didn't have to deal with that hurdle when I didn't really want to deal with that hurdle because we wanted to tell the story that we wanted to get across to the audience. And with that kind of political spin on it as well, I didn't want to be held back on that. I mean, only time will tell when it gets released if people say “Oh, we don't agree with this!” so that makes it more interesting, hopefully.

One of the things I was wanting to ask is about your friend, Darren Kent and how he inspired you to take this on. Was this particular project something that you had both talked about in the past?

TB: Well, we had been very good friends for a number of years, and Darren had been in one of my previous films as well. So we were always talking about working together. At the time, Darren was looking at shooting a story set in Victorian London as well. So I was kind of working with him on that, to help him with that. And then he was inspiring me too. I spoke to him about this idea, and he was like, "Well, why don't you try and work on that?” I've never met anyone with so much motivation for someone who was so, so unwell physically. So, it's kind of down to him, really. That just pushed me on, because it's very isolating, this business. It really can be, so you do need a few kindred spirits around you who can keep pushing and motivating you. And Darren was most certainly that.

You mention in the production notes that he inspired you, and there were quite a few more of your friends that you grouped together because of this.

TB: The film business is going through some hard times. I don't think it's ever been easy, but recently it's been extremely tough. We shot this last year, in February, and lots of my mates just weren't working. From cameramen to sound designers to editors, all across the board. So every time we'd meet up and say we should really do something together, I'm prepared to give something of my time if it doesn't take too long. So that, again, was kind of another reason why I corralled the troops and went, alright, then guys, let's go for this! We're going to shoot for two weeks in Cornwall, which is a ridiculously short amount of time, 12 days shooting, but that's all we could afford. But they were more than up for the challenge.

You've had quite the career as an actor, so have there been any lessons you've learned as an actor that you took over to producing with this film?

TB: As an actor, you learn many things over the years from across all the departments. That's always been my interest. Just talking to a gaffer on a film shoot and finding out what it is that they do. Watching the cameraman closely, finding out how big their team is and what the individual departments are. When you're on a normal acting job, a TV job, you get quite a lot of time before you're required on set, so I kind of stand back and talk to a few of the crew and just find out what people do, so I've got an understanding of that. That's where my acting experience helped me with the producing side; getting everything together and getting the right people in the right places and positions as well.

You've also had a bit of a background with drama workshops as well. Did you use anything from that background here as well?

TB: I used a couple of actors who come to my adult drama workshops that I run in my hometown. That's really nice, because I'm working with those guys every week in a workshop environment, so you can write and really get a feel for their personalities and what they're capable of. It gives you a chance to cherry pick the right guys for the right parts, so that's invaluable. That's very much my background. When I was a kid, I used to go to a local youth theatre, and that gave me my first kind of introduction to the world of being a creative and it's invaluable. So I've always done community work based arts initiative projects. It's something I'm very passionate about.

I also wanted to say Stephen Brandon is particularly impressive in the film as well. I was wondering how he became involved with the project?

TB: He was in another friend (Jane Gull) of mine's film called MY FERAL HEART, which is a beautiful film. He plays the lead in that film. Originally, Darren was going to play the role Stephen ended up playing here. Because we lost Darren, I still wanted to keep the character close to home and with people who I knew. So Steve was then the natural choice to play that part, and he's great.

What were your influences that you took on as a producer and as an actor for this project?

TB: I think when you're growing up, coming from a working-class background, you tend to connect with those great performers who talk the same way that you do. Michael Caine was massive for me when I was younger, and Bob Hoskins, those kinds of actors. That made me feel "Alright, I look the way that I do, but they also talk the same, and it hasn't stopped their careers! They're still doing theater jobs and TV and film." So that's what really inspired me to think this was possibly a career that I could do something in.

And what about as a producer? Were there any particular influences there?

TB: It's kind of a bit of management, really. When you've got a lot of people, you're always going to get differences with people,so that's mostly what the job of a producer is; to manage. I direct in theatre quite a bit as well, but again, with that, I like to let the actors lead the direction really. When you've got good actors, they know instinctively what they need to do. As a director, you've just got to say, "Okay, that's great. Just hit the mark when you say that line, or maybe give me a bit more anger on that line. And, don't forget, you've got to use that prop to make the phone call next" So you're getting down to more technical stuff rather than actually teaching someone how to act.

Without going into spoilers, the film ends on a bit of an open-ended note. So, what's next here?

TB: Thank you for spotting that. We've got ideas of how that can develop. To open up the world, because there are lots of other characters around that time, so we could create a bit of a universe here with these Victorian characters.

I'm thinking of one in particular from around that time.

TB: Ah, yeah, I'm not sure what to think about that. Sweeney Todd meets Jack the Ripper! That possibility is open, to see where we could go next, and what other revenge he takes out on people?

As I mentioned before, the film's anti-authoritarian streak fits well with its time period, but still feels more than relevant to today.

TB: That means a lot! Hopefully, it's one of those things that people will pick up on, but some of the audience might just enjoy the blood and guts. I just didn't want to do a full-on slasher film. That doesn't really interest me too much, so I think we've got a bit of difference there. I think it's got some heart to it as well.

Iain MacLeod

SWEENEY TODD: SLICE AND DICE is released On Digital and DVD 2nd June