Irish producer Redmond Morris (The Reader) will be attending the Galway Film Fleadh this Saturday, 11 July, to participate in an “In Conversation With…” special event organised by the Fleadh and the Irish Film & Television Academy (IFTA). IFTN catches up with Morris ahead of the event.
Redmond Morris, who grew up in Spiddal, Co. Galway, has become one of Ireland’s most successful producers working on a variety of high profile productions. In the very early days of the Irish film industry, Morris’ father, Michael Killanin, worked closely with John Ford on films such as ‘The Quiet Man’ and this initial introduction fuelled his passion for filmmaking.
His credits include 'Michael Collins', 'The Wind that Shakes the Barley' and 'Notes on a Scandal as Co-Producer, and 'The Miracle', 'Splitting Heirs' and 'The Actors' as Producer. In 2009, Morris received a Best Picture nomination in the US Academy Awards, alongside producers Sydney Pollack and Anthony Minghella, for ‘The Reader’, which also earned its star Kate Winslet her first Oscar win.
IFTN caught up with Redmond Morris on the set of his latest film ‘London Boulevard’, which stars Colin Farrell and Keira Knightly, to get a quick insight into his career prior to his appearance at this weekend’s Fleadh.
IFTN: Your father worked on a number of films with the great John Ford and consequently film has been a part of your life from a very early age. Can you describe how this contributed to you carving out your own path in the industry?
R.M: ‘The Quiet Man’ was indeed the first film set I ever visited. I was very, very young, but do I have a vague memory of the train arriving at the station with John Wayne on board. John Ford and my father made several films together so there must have been an influence instilled in me as I decided quite early that I wanted to work in film. Having begun as a Runner, I went up a fairly traditional ladder at that time to 3rd AD, 2nd AD, Location Manager, Production Manager etc
Of all the people that you have worked with who has made the greatest impact on you as a filmmaker?
Directors: Stephen Daldry, Ken Loach, Neil Jordan and Bill Douglas. Producers: Stephen Wooley, Simon Relph and Scott Rudin.
Can you tell us how you started working with Stephen Woolley and Neil Jordan?
The first film I worked on with Stephen Woolley was ‘Scandal’ followed by ‘The Big Man’. It was then he was working with Neil Jordan and he asked me to produce ‘The Miracle’ for Neil. Many films with Neil and Steve followed that, ‘The Crying Game’, ‘Interview with The Vampire’, ‘Michael Collins’, ‘The Butcher Boy’ and ‘In Dreams’. My last film with them was Conor McPherson's ‘The Actors’. Each film was a worthwhile experience and I like to think my contribution was collaborative.
How did the passing of the legendary Sydney Pollack and Anthony Minghella affect the creative process on the set of ‘The Reader’?
Everyone was affected by the deaths of Sydney Pollock and even more so Anthony Minghella as Sydney had been ill for a while. Stephen Daldry fulfilled their vision for the film and I was thrilled to be able to be part of that process and see it have the success it did.
What has been the most challenging/memorable project of your career to date?
‘The Reader’ was most certainly a "journey" for me and being able to be part of the producing team, leading to the Oscar nomination, was something very special. I still can't quite fathom it. The film was both challenging and memorable.
Every movie has its different challenges, from Ken Loach's shooting in continuity in Cork on ‘The Wind That Shakes the Barley’, to the rigours of the Canadian Arctic on ‘Map of the Human Heart’.
Where do you see the Irish film industry in ten years time?
I’m not sure to be honest, but what I would like to see is a continuing and flourishing non-parochial indigenous industry that can continue to hold it's own internationally but in greater numbers. I would also like to see a return to the level of international productions as there has been in other years. It is important to get the international perspective.
The American Academy has invited you to join the Academy. How does this invitation impact on your career?
I am honoured to have been invited to join the Academy. It will not have an affect on my career but it is a nice endorsement of the work I have done.
You are currently working in London with Colin Farrell and Keira Knightly on ‘London Boulevard’, written by Ken Bruen - who lives in Galway, what can audiences look forward to seeing in this project?
‘London Boulevard’ is a South London crime drama directed by William Monahan who wrote ‘The Departed’. Colin Farrell plays a recently released con who goes to work for a paparazzi hounded young actress, Keira Knightly. A strange coincidence is that Ken Bruen, the author of the novel, was an extra in ‘Alfred the Great’ my first real film! I may easily have been the one who told him where to lie down and die!
- In Conversation With… Redmond Morris, in association with the Irish Film and Television Academy (IFTA), takes place at The Galway Film Fleadh this coming Saturday in the Cinemobile at 4pm.
- Also screening at the Fleadh will be some of Morris’ projects including:
‘The Butcher Boy’, Wed 8 July, Omni 7, 14.30pm.
‘Quadrophenia’, Thurs 9 July, Omni 5, 13.00pm.
‘Alfred the Great’, Sat 11 July, Cinemobile, 17.00pm
