“Remember remember the fifth of November, the gunpowder treason and plot…”
Well any self-respecting pyromaniac would have had a job setting the Leicester Square Empire alight tonight at the premiere of V For Vendetta - with relentless rain and a red carpet that you could have used for bog snorkelling, you could quite have forgiven the cast for staying at home with the papers.
The pyros must have done something right because a massive flaming V hovered above the crowds, while big red and black banners dangled wetly, dripping down people’s necks. Lovely. Empire sneaked inside to keep dry (or at least less damp), which was fortunate because the cast and crew thought it was a damn fine idea too and came over to say hello.
“It’s really nice to be back and doing the premiere here. The weather is how I expected,” grins a relaxed James McTegue, who made his directorial debut on V after cutting his teeth as an assistant director on the Matrix trilogy. V’s no walk in the park either, but as James explained: “Making a film is such hard work that you want a support network and with Joel and the Wachowskis, material that might have seemed daunting was a logical step.”
With two members of his support network away, it’s a good thing that the remaining third is looking rather chuffed. “It’s raining, it’s a great night and I’m very happy,” beamed producer Joel Silver. “It took about 15 years for V to be made - it’s a good story and I think it’s a good time to tell the story.” What about this dystopian future you’re depicting for us then Joel? “It’s a very different world right now and it’s a mythical UK, it’s a UK that never existed and a UK that never will exist,” he says firmly. And if Joel Silver says it, then believe it to be true.
The cerebral back to the film was a great lure to the cast. “It had brains, it had culture,” said Ben Miles who plays the government’s head of propoganda. “It’s got quotes from Chekhov and Shakespeare in with that action and revenge stuff, which is a fabulous thing to have in a modern movie.”
Most of the actors only came to grips with the graphic novel after they’d signed on to do the film. “I’ve never been a big graphic novel fan,” said Rupert Graves who plays police investigator Finch’s assistant Dominic, “but I loved this. It must be horrible for Alan Moore – it’s always horrible for any writer, films don’t do narrative anywhere near as well as a writer can so they do all sorts of shortcuts, but hopefully they get the essence. I’ve seen this film and I think it’s good.”
“It may spark controversy,” said Stephen Rea, whose character Finch is forced to face up to uncomfortable truths about his government while investigating V, “but it’s a movie, it’s a proposition. It’s not an incitement, it’s about ideas and every idea contains its opposite. The graphic novel was a wonderful piece of work and I think this script does it justice.”
The film’s leading lady, pocket-sized Natalie Portman (wearing Balenciaga for those of you who can’t wait for Heat) was understandably none too thrilled to be bombarded with questions about her exercise regime and dress – “I like it and it’s got sleeves” – but relented when it came to talking about the rather faint-making task of having her head shaved, on camera: “It was scary because usually I’m used to getting another chance to reshoot if we mess up,” said the now perfectly-coiffed one. “But here we only had one chance, so I really had to focus as hard as I could, and do the best job that I could on one take.” Whereas Empire would have surely cried.
While the guests disappeared into a cloud of steam for the screening and Empire disappeared into the rain, it was left to the picture’s immoral priest, legendary thesp John Standing, to sum up V’s dystopian vision. “The future is the future. Who bloody knows? We’ll all probably be drowned by then.” At this rate, think Friday.