Ray Winstone is urging the UK industry to make British films more culturally, ensuring that they don’t lose their talent for American filmmaking.
Speaking during a masterclass session at the Sarajevo Film Festival, the British actor was asked about his four favorite films of all time. He talked about his favourite actors, including Richard Burton, Bob Hoskins, Peter O’Toole and Michael Caine.
“I wish we could make more films like that,” said Winstone of those actors’ works.
“The French do that, they make their own cultural films. The Germans do that. Hopefully they do it here (in Bosnia and Herzegovina).
“The trouble is that (the British actor) is dragged into America and working with the studio, and they break their hearts,” Winstone said. “It’s the fact that you make something about you. That’s what I want to do and what I like to see.”
Blockbuster Studio titles such as Marvel Films are reducing the space available for British “cultural” films, Winstone believes. “What’s going on with Marvel in Hollywood? There’s space. We like to watch those films, and it’s fun, but we take them from the best cultural films for actors,” Winstone said.
The UK-based actor said he didn’t want to live in Los Angeles.
He criticized the actor for describing the actor as a casting trend to record auditions remotely instead of staying in the room with casting directors and filmmakers. “I can’t grab my head around it,” Winstone said. “Part of the chemistry that makes a film or a series is chemistry between the director and the actor. That’s what we’re losing more and more. In the UK, you call on your side – it’s bullshit. It’s dangerous. We lose something there.
Winstone insisted, “I’m sitting in the room with the director, just talking, not reading that part. Some people are terrible readers, but they can act.”
The role of social media in casting was another target of the British actor’s rage. “If you’re not on social media right now, you’re not even thinking you’ll be in a movie because they want to come to that with the fanbase,” Winstone said.
“You have to go to Instagram – I don’t want to go to Instagram!”
“I don’t know whether it’s good or not,” he continued. “If it brings people to cinemas and creates more jobs, it creates all the power. But I want to see more cultural films being made, and I think that’s the best cinema.”
Amazing
Winstone also recalled his unpleasant experience working for the 2021 Marvel title Black Widow. After working with “Amazing Director” Cate Shortland to develop his character and then filming his scenes, he called him saying that all of his scenes needed to be re-shot.
“They did my hair well, put me in a suit and I couldn’t do it,” Winstone said. “I thought, ‘I’m not doing it now, it’s over.’ “However, he admitted that he had to complete the reshoot when he was signed for the film.
The 90-minute Sarajevo session included numerous clips from Winstone’s career, including Gary Oldman’s lead role in 1997 nil in mouthhe was nominated for Best Actor BAFTA.
Asked if Oldman would return to director, Winstone said, “He’s talking about it, he loves it. You’ve become a cycle. He’s had a new dawn in his acting career.
“If you’re lucky, it takes three or four years to make a film,” the actor said. “And you have to pay the taxman. That’s the reality.”
Winstone recalls the appearance of his debut film in Arranchrak Scumsays the 1977 TV-play version, which retreated from broadcasting due to violence, is better than the more widely known 1979 film.
His future roles include whiteAnnulyn Bernard takes the lead in the upcoming biopic of snooker star Jimmy White. Winstone said the film is “edited… they need to see some things.”
Sarajevo’s masterclass program will continue on Thursday with Willem Dafoe. The festival will run until Friday, August 22nd.
(TagStoTRASSLATE)Festival (T)Production (T)SARAJEVO (T)UK/IRELAND
