Andrew Jones (filmmaker)
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| Andrew Jones | |
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| Born | October 6, 1983 Swansea, Wales |
| Occupation | Film Director, Screenwriter |
| Years active | 2004 - present |
Andrew Jones (born in Swansea on October 6, 1983) is a British screenwriter and director.
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[edit] Biography
Began his career in 2004 when he had his first script, a horror film entitled 'Stray Dogs', optioned for a small fee by a US production company. Set up the South Wales based production company Steel & Glass Films Ltd with the proceeds in 2005. Under that banner he then wrote and directed his first feature film Teenage Wasteland, a low budget docu-drama focusing on contemporary teenagers and their dysfunctional families. He wrote the script in three days and then worked as a painter and decorator to raise the meagre £1,500 budget for the film, which was shot on a borrowed digital video camera and featured non-acting teenagers in a lot of the roles (many of which were cast by the director straight from the streets of Swansea). In 2006,the film premiered at the Swansea Bay Film Festival where it won the award for Best Feature Under 75 Minutes.
During this period Jones also spent time with homeless people and heroin addicts in his hometown of Swansea researching his second feature film. Many of the stories relayed to him during that time later appeared in the screenplay for what became The Feral Generation,a gritty urban drama focusing on two young lovers as they live rough on the streets of Swansea and attempt to support their heroin addiction as well as each other. Jones immediately recruited British actors Brooke Kinsella and Ray Panthaki to the project in the leading roles, having been a long time admirer of both. With Panthaki also on board as a producer the film attracted a £500,000 budget and went into production in late 2006. The film is released theatrically in the UK in late 2007.
In early 2007 Jones founded Masterplan Film Productions Ltd with fellow writer and director Keri Collins.
Jones next film as Writer/Director will be the crime/road movie The Beautiful Outsiders. He has also signed up to direct 'How To Make A Movie' in Los Angeles in March 2008. The film is written by Blu de Golyer and will be produced by Integrity Entertainment. Production on a £2.5 million remake of the 1979 cult classic The Driller Killer,with Jones again attached as Writer/Director, also begins in 2008.
[edit] Trivia
- Worked as a Painter & Decorator to raise 1,500 for the budget of his first feature 'Teenage Wasteland'.
- Wrote the script for his first feature 'Teenage Wasteland' in three days.
- Takes a cameo role in every one of his films.
[edit] Awards
[edit] Swansea Bay Film Festival
| Year | Result | Award | Category/Recipient(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Won | Best Feature Under 75 Minutes | Best Feature Film Under 75 Minutes for Teenage Wasteland |
[edit] Reviews
"So here’s my take on The Feral Generation. I think Andrew Jones has pulled off a genuinely objective, dispassionate study of an aspect of modern life about which it is very hard indeed to be either dispassionate or objective. The Feral Generation is not a film that casts judgements - we are left to do that for ourselves - but it simply documents in detail something which we normally only see briefly at a distance...This is terrific acting, this really is award-winning stuff.And it is helped by Jones’ amazing dialogue which manages to be realistic and credible enough to fit in the mouths of these characters yet at the same time erudite enough to hold our attention and make us think about what is being said...
Frankly, some of the direction is astounding; there are some pauses in the interviews that seem to last forever and shots of the couple hugging and tearful which last even longer. This is incredibly assured and confident work for a young director on his second feature. The Feral Generation is a magnificent film, powerful but not preachy, serious but not sentimental. In terms of storytelling it’s simply masterful: stunning acting, excellent script, amazing direction, supremely competent on every technical level."
Review of The Feral Generation by respected film critic MJ Simpson.
[edit] Personal Quotes
BBC Interview
On Filmmaking in Wales:
"A lot of films made in Wales tend to make it look like they've been filmed by the tourist board."
Interview with MJ Simpson
On Hollywood:
"In Hollywood now their lead characters aren't even allowed to smoke! I think the notion that protagonists in movies have to be totally 'pure' to be relatable is bullshit. Every person has their good points and bad points so as a film-maker why not embrace the flaws in your characters? I think audiences are not given enough credit and are sick of seeing these cookie-cutter, mainstream movies where characters are morally black or white. I know I am. I hope every movie I make will have lead characters who are a little fucked up. It's just more interesting to me."
On The Feral Generation:
"I was certainly interested in bringing the lifestyle of the so called 'feral generation' to an audience and giving them a glimpse into a world very unlike their own. But I didn't set out to direct from the top of my soapbox and make an overtly political movie; I'm a film-maker, not a politician. I hate the fact that people like Bono from U2 try to be so political. That guy is a musician, not Jesus; he should know his place and shut the fuck up about saving the world!"
[edit] Quotes about Andrew Jones
"I'd love to work in Wales and I think I'm going to get the opportunity this Fall because there is this young Welsh director, Andrew Jones, who is just really... he's a real visionary in terms of the kinds of films he wants to make. I'd work with him and it’s basically, for me, just constantly pushing the envelope."
Actor David Hess
"One of Britain's most promising young directors."
Christian Sellers; Gorezone Magazine
[edit] Filmography (as writer and director)
- Teenage Wasteland (2006)
- The Feral Generation (2007)
- The Beautiful Outsiders (2008)
- The Driller Killer (2008)
