DMS Research - Shane Meadows

Shane Meadows is a self-taught, British film-maker who hails from the Midlands in the UK. He was born in Uttoxeter, Staffordshire, UK on 26th December 1972.



After dropping out of school before reaching his O-Levels, Shane Meadows originally set out to become an infamous, criminal mastermind of legendary proportions. Things didn't go to plan however.

After being caught buying a stolen set of limited edition John Lowe darts, and later admitting to stealing and eating an egg-custard tart from the local Sainsbury's, it was clear that he just wasn't cut out for the hardened criminal underworld. The final straw came when criminal charges against him were read out in court and laughter could be heard from the gallery and the judge's bench. The charge was for theft of a breast pump from Boots the chemist. It was after this humiliation that Shane put his breast pump pilfering days behind him and began to put his energy into film-making.

In 1994, Shane's first step into the world of film making was to volunteer his services to the Nottingham based Intermedia Film and Video Ltd. The arrangment was that he would be allowed to borrow camcorders and use editing equipment in return for him working there for free. Shane asked friends and family to get involved in his video experiments, but they were understandably quite wary at first. After Shane had put together a couple of short videos that he had made entirely on his own, many of his friends watched them and became sufficiently impressed to want to become involved in future video shorts. As their enthusiasm grew, they were soon making nearly one new short film every month.

With a growing catalogue of short films, Shane and his friends soon became frustrated that there were no real festivals or venues in which to screen their films. This frustration lead to them setting up there own mini event. The event was called 'Six of the Best' and was held every couple of months in an old local cinema. Anyone could bring along a short film they had made, and for a small fee have it screened to a small audience. The event grew in popularity and eventually became an international video festival called 'Flip Side'.

The first of Shane's short films to grab the attention of the film-industry was 'Where's The Money, Ronnie?'. The acclaim won by this short lead to Shane being given a shot at making a documentary for Channel 4's 'Battered Britain' series. The film was called 'King of the Gypsies' and was a short documentary about Bartley Gorman, a bare-knuckle boxer born in Uttoxeter amd a man that Shane had known for many years. A full length feature of Bartley Gorman's story is still the dream project that Shane is waiting to get underway.

From the Channel 4 documentary, Shane got the money to make 'Smalltime'. Originally to be titled 'Left', Smalltime was a prime example of Shane's philosophy for aspiring film makers. Stick to what you know, and you won't go far wrong.
'Left' was written in Shane's lunch breaks while he was volunteering at Intermedia Film and Video in Nottingham, and was orginally simply written as a basis for improvisation. Smalltime won acclaim at a number of European film festivals and garnered enough favourable attention from potential future investors and distributors that Shane soon had the chance to make his first full length feature film. Twentyfour Seven.

From Twentyfour Seven through to This Is England, Shane has continued to make hearftfelt films that attract an ever growing collection of fans.
Sadly however, the critcal acclaim and success of his films at various festivals throughout the world has yet to be reflected in box office takings. Because of this he still remains a somewhat unfamiliar name to most cinema-goers. Differing reasons for the lack-lustre box office performance of his films can be sighted. The blinkered un-willingness of the majority of modern film-goers to watch a black and white feature (Twentyfour Seven), or the lack of film prints available for screening (A Room for Romeo Brass opened with only ten prints nationwide) and more obviously, the small budget for the promotion of his films (most Hollywood releases in the UK have promotional budgets that exceed the entire budget of one of Shane Meadow's films).
Thankfully this trend seems to be coming to an end with the success of This Is England at the UK box office!

As Shane looks to future feature length projects, he still likes to return to the creation of short films as often as he can. As This Is England was released in the UK, Shane was busy shooting a short documentary about his life-long friend, the singer/song-writer, Gavin Clark.

As well as still returning to short films, Shane is still keen to share his knowlege and experiences with new film makers. After a Room For Romeo Brass, Channel 4 approached Shane to create a video masterclass for budding film-makers. The result was the brilliantly exuberant 'Shane's World', a collection of short films and film making advice. Shane's own no-budget productions not only entertain, but are also there to inspire. Their raw energy and enthusiasm send out the clear message that any one can make a film with a little bit of talent, some borrowed equipment and a tenner for a raid on a charity shop. 

Background

Meadows grew up in the Westlands Road area of Uttoxeter, Staffordshire. His father was a long distance lorry driver and his mother worked in a fish and chip shop. His father discovered the body of child murder victim Susan Maxwell and was initially considered a suspect in the murder case, which led to Meadows being bullied and shunned by other children. He attended Picknalls First School, Oldfields Hall Middle School and Thomas Alleyne's High School. At weekends, he sold fruit and veg on a market stall in Uttoxeter market. His love of cinema was fostered by regular trips to the Elite Cinema.

http://www.shanemeadows.co.uk/who.htm

Career

Meadows left school shortly before reaching his GCSEs, and soon turned to petty crime. He moved to Nottingham when he was 20. While living in the Sneinton area of Nottingham, he made roughly 30 short films with the friends he met there. He could not show these films to anyone because there were no film festivals in his area. His friends started one in the local cinema which became popular within the city.

Meadows enrolled on a Performing Arts course at Burton College, where he first met friend and future collaborator Paddy Considine. Amongst other things, they formed the band She Talks To Angels (inspired by a Black Crowes song of the same name), with Meadows as vocalist and Considine as drummer. Lead guitarist in She Talks To Angels was Nick Hemming, who was also a member of the Telescopes and now fronts the Leisure Society.

The vast majority of Meadows' films have been set in the Midlands area. They recall the kitchen sink realism of filmmakers such as Ken Loach and Mike Leigh. Much of the content of his films is semi-autobiographical and based on his experiences in Uttoxeter. Twenty Four Seven was inspired by his youth, both at a boxing club, and also playing in a local football club. Despite some huge losses, the club's coach never lost faith in them. A Room for Romeo Brass was also inspired by his youth. After Paul Fraser — his best friend, neighbour and future writing partner — had a bad accident and was bound to his bed for two years, Meadows instead hung around with some of the town's more undesirable characters. Dead Man's Shoes is based on the more unpleasant side of his youth in Uttoxeter. It was inspired by a close friend who had been bullied, developed a drug problem and then committed suicide. He said "I couldn't believe that, going back ten years later, he had been totally forgotten in the town — it was as if he had never existed. I was filled with anger against the people who had bullied and pushed the drugs on him, and with despair at what drugs had done to that small community".

Five of Meadows' films were shown at the 2007 Flourish Festival, held annually in Uttoxeter, to mark the release of This is England (a film set in 1983).

His second feature-length film, Twenty Four Seven, won several awards at film festivals, including the Douglas Hickox award at the British Independent Film Awards and Best Screenplay at the Thessaloniki Film Festival. Dead Man's Shoes, his sixth film, and third starring Paddy Considine, was nominated for a BAFTA for Best British Film. His seventh film This is England, won the British Independent Film Awards 2006 for best British independent film. Shane was presented with the award by Sylvester Stallone and used the occasion to announce that he was to be a father. This is England also won a BAFTA for Best British Film.

The film has since had a series of sequels adapted into television serials, the first being This is England 86 (set in 1986 aired on Channel 4 in September 2010). A second series, This is England 88 (set in 1988) was aired in December 2011. A third and final series, This Is England '90 (set in 1990), was originally due to be broadcast in December 2012, but in July 2012, Shane Meadows announced that the production had been put on hold in order for him to complete his documentary about The Stone Roses,and the actors were still waiting for confirmation as to when filming would start.

His shortest film, The Stairwell, was shot on a mobile phone and is just 40 seconds long. It consists solely of a man and woman, played by Meadows regulars Andrew Shim and Vicky McClure, violently bumping into each other on a stairwell.

He is widely regarded as a big fan of Notts County F.C., with several references included in his films by way of imagery and background shot.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shane_Meadows

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