SIX OF THE BEST: Downhill Director James Rouse

29th April 2014

Welcome to another edition of SIX OF THE BEST, the semi regular part of BRWC where we fire six questions at lovely people. This time, we talk to Downhill director James Rouse.

How did we get to Downhill?
We wanted to make a road movie, which is virtually impossible in England, because it isn’t big enough. So we decided to make ‘a road movie, on foot’ where four old school friends take on the classic coast to coast walk from St Bees on the west coast to Robin Hood’s Bay on the east. The fantastic thing about such a gruelling physical test is that it puts my characters into an environment that brings out the best and worst of their personalities. The results are both very funny and very poignant, something that as a director I’ve always loved to try and balance.

What was your first day on set like?
Ah. It rained, almost constantly. So I remember being very wet. It’s not easy, directing with water pouring down your face. We shot the film in June 2012, a June noted for being the wettest for several decades, and we were shooting exteriors in the Lake Distict, a region as famed for its extraordinary beauty as it is for it’s leaden skies. I remember waking up every morning, pulling back the curtains and thinking that ‘maybe today’ there would be some sun. There never was… although in retrospect it makes the film look fantastic.

Any British comedy you come back to/ take inspiration from?
There are two comedies that come to mind in relation to Downhill. The first isn’t British, but was a personal favourite of both Benji Howell (my producing partner) and I, and I think subliminally influenced us both. Sideways, the wonderful film by Alexander Payne, a story of two middle-aged men who go on an ill-fated holiday together (something that sounds very familiar). It’s both funny and touching in equal measures. The second is Withnail and I. One of our characters has Withnailian qualities (not intentionally I may add), we shot in locations very close to the famous farm they holed up in, and our premier is going to be held in the same cinema that they held theirs in, the wonderful Zeffirellis in Ambleside on 27th May. It’s going to be a green carpet event!

Did you know from a young age that you wanted to be a director?
No, not at all, I used to want to manage hotels! By an extraordinary chance I sort of fell into directing and never looked back. It’s such a fantastic career, one that completely consumes me, I can’t quite believe how lucky I was.

So what are you working on at the moment?
I’ve got another film in the pipeline scheduled to shoot in 2015, called Monumental, a wonderful story based on the slightly bizarre phenomenon in the Baltic states to erect statues to Hollywood heroes. It’s a lovely script, penned by the brilliant Greg Swartz. Like Downhill, it’s a story full of both comedy and pathos.

Are British comedy films in a good place right now?
We have so much incredible talent in this country, and yet so few British comedies make it to the big screen. It’s very, very difficult to get an independent movie into the cinema, something I’ve learnt in the process of making Downhill. It’s a David and Goliath struggle against Hollywood blockbusters that can often outspend you at a rate of about 100 to 1. We’re incredibly appreciative to everyone who has supported us along the way to get us to this point, including battleroyalewithcheese.com!

Downhill is available on DVD and digital platforms from the 16th June

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