In Sugarhouse, a middle-class City accountant (Steven Mackintosh) makes a deal with a hyperactive crack-head (Ashley Walters) to buy some merchandise. But when he discovers that the merchandise has actually been stolen from the feared local villain (Andy Serkis), things start to get messy.
myfilms: What attracted you to Sugarhouse when you read the script?
Gary Love: The Green Light!!! No seriously, I liked the claustrophobic feel of the piece, I thought the characters were very interesting and they all had well formed journeys.
myfilms: You have known Dominic Leyton since school and worked with him closely on the script for Sugarhouse. How did this help in getting the film made?
Oliver Milburn: It helped in the sense that I was completely immersed in the script, and wholeheartedly convinced of it’s worth – something that is not always the case with producers. So when it came to meetings with investors, I could pitch the film as both a commercial opportunity, and a serious piece of cinema.
myfilms: How would you compare directing for TV to making your first feature film?
Gary Love: Pretty much the same in the actual job of directing, although in TV there are a lot of producers who are second thinking what the other channel are doing rather than making the best programme possible, and that makes for Hybrid TV which makes for a very diluted product, sadly. I love working in TV but good quality producers are few and far between.
myfilms: How has your role as executive producer (Subterrain 2001) compared with producing Sugarhouse?
Oliver Milburn: On Subterrain I partly funded the film and sat in the background. On Sugarhouse I worked on the script, on finding a director and funding, casting, hiring crew, finding locations, pre-production, production, post production…it goes on. An executive role is very relaxed, in comparison.
myfilms: Sugarhouse is based on the stage play ‘Collision’ by Dominic Leyton, who also wrote the script for the film. Were there any challenges involved making a play work on the big screen?
Gary Love: Yes, trying to take out the extensive dialogue that a stage play needs to explain a scenario and trying to turn those speeches into actions and feelings, so the film doesn’t feel like it’s wall-to-wall dialogue.
myfilms: You are an experienced actor yourself. Did you have a clear idea of the actors you wanted to work with or was this decided in the auditions?
Oliver Milburn: I had a clear idea of the type of actor I wanted to use, and I think Gary was of roughly the same opinion. Certainly all three of our leads were at the very top of our lists, but the final choices can only be made once you have seen lots of the right type of people. In the end, it was fairly obvious who should play the roles, and thankfully they all said yes. It was fun being on the other side of the room, though.
myfilms: Why do you think people should go to see Sugarhouse?
Gary Love: Because it’s a great slice of London Life and it has something for everyone.
myfilms: Who is your favourite character in the film and why?
Oliver Milburn: I actually don’t have one. I think that to separate them away from the rest of the pack doesn’t work. They all have something to say, and they all get through those few hours with an intensity that is astonishing.
Sugarhouse is out now in UK cinemas.
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