Outlaw
After scoring independent success with The Football Factory and
The Business, uncompromising British director Nick Love reveals
the master plan for funding his next movie Outlaw.
Nick Love is in a decidedly chipper
mood. It's no surprise when you do the math. Pre-orders for the
DVD release of last year's The Business are doing “very
nicely” and with 1.6 million fans of his first two movies
signed up to his website he's confident his plan of getting the
audience to stump up the readies for his next project is a winner.
In a nutshell Love wants people to get
“bang involved” by investing £10, £50 or
£100 in Outlaw. In return they will get exclusive email
updates on the films progress, their name on the credits, a finished
DVD and the chance to be an extra in the film. Admitting that
the funding idea is “a bit of a gimmick” Love has a
genuine passion to get people involved backing a British film
and reckons that this PR stunt is a “no lose situation”
that could raise around £250,000 of the £1.5m budget
he needs to complete the film.
Backed by cult film specialists Vertigo
Films (It's All Gone Pete Tong, The Business), Outlaw looks set
to be a move away from Love's stylised depictions of the macho
underworld of football hooligans and a 1980s Costa del Crime
focussing instead on “the ghosts in the system”. It's
not that Love has lost sight of what entertains his audience
it's just that this time some “nasty violence” is backed
by a strong message. “It's about the break down of law and
order in this country. Essentially a vigilante tale following
a group of guys who decide to take the law into their own hands.
People want to see a change in this country and I want the street
feel of Outlaw to reflect that.” While admitting that he'll
have to get the balance right to avoid gratuity, or the sermonising
feel of edutainment, he promises “a fucking big riot with
the old bill” complete with brick-throwing and petrol bombs.
This no-nonsense director shuns comparisons
with Dead Man's Shoes maintaining that his next film has a more
national focus: “This group of men come from different social
backgrounds and form the gang to fight a collective sense of
injustice. It's a slow burn as their lives cross over and shared
experiences force them to stop talking and start doing. This
sparks a chain reaction of consequences as the media lionise
them, the police go after them and they become outlaws…
before it all ends in tears.”
Love explains that the gang will be
made up of five guys but with the added twist that the copper
on their tail decides to help them. Unlike his recent work this
is not a 'Sarf London' film, “it starts in London but ends
up in the home-counties and new towns”. Love has yet to
fully cast the film but promises some “familiar faces”
and “exciting new talent”.
Love sees Outlaw as a “fucking
big undertaking” which will form the focus of his filmmaking
efforts over the next 18 months but he's also looking at doing
a film adaptation of grimey 70s cop show The Sweeney.
To check on the progress of Love's latest
or if you fancy the chance of becoming an extra in the film,
the official website is up and running where you can check out
a “very violent” CCTV-style trailer.