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Interview: Jonathan Butterell, Max Harwood, And Lauren Patel Of 'Everybody's Talking About Jamie' | Hype | LIVING LIFE FEARLESS
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Interview: Jonathan Butterell, Max Harwood, And Lauren Patel Of ‘Everybody’s Talking About Jamie’

Interviewed by:
Stephen Silver
Interview date:
September 2021
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Follow Lauren Patel:
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When was this filmed? What was the time frame of the production?

JB: We shot from June 2019, and we finished principal photography in September of 2019, so a long time ago. We did a lot of pickups during last year, during COVID, but everything had to stop. So I didn’t actually finish the edit until Christmas of last year. So since Christmas last year until now, we’ve just been waiting to share it with the world.

SS: It was not originally an Amazon film, is that correct?

JB: The producers are Warp Films, who literally come from Sheffield. And they made This is England and Tyrannasour and Four Lions and Submarine, and our execs are New Regency and Film Four. So they are the filmmakers… this felt like a good opportunity for us to share the film now, this minute, and not have to wait. And we have both the theatrical release here.

Richard E. Grant stars in Everybody’s Talking About Jamie
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How was Amazon to deal with?

JB: They’ve been absolutely fantastic. And I was told when we first came, by outside sources, that they’re really going to support you as filmmakers, and they’ll really support you as storytellers. They have a massive platform, and this is a very particular story, and stories like this, from parts of the community that really don’t often get to tell their stories, they’re promoting in a massive way, and I have respect for them in that.

My question for the two actors: What did you do to prepare for these roles?

MH: Well for me, obviously Jamie New was based on Jamie Campbell, so I wanted to root my performance in that original person. So I spent some time with him, to observe him and get to know him, and spoke to him about his personal life, stuff that isn’t included in the documentary. Obviously, I do a lot in the film, singing, dancing, acting, so me and Lauren had some wonderful coaches who we worked with to make sure we were fit and healthy and able to deliver on the days when we were in heels and a dress and a wig all day. So yea, lots and lots of prep.

LP: Yes, like I say it was kind of a bit of a whirlwind. I kind of did what we referred to as “Jamie Boot Camp,” where we would just be in a studio all day with dance lessons, acting lessons, and accent lessons, and they gave us just everything we needed to be the most prepared.

What does Jamie Campbell think of the film?

MH: I think he loves it, doesn’t he?

JB: It’s kind of a complex thing, you can imagine, as a young person from the Northeast [of England], who never thought this story was important enough to tell, he wanted obviously, and he had the chutzpah to get it out there as a documentary. But he’s so proud of the story now, and he’s proud of our film. We call it Jamie Family, and you know, his Ma Margaret, and his Nan, and they celebrate it, really.

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So in the U.S. in the last few years, and I guess in the U.K. as well, there’s been a lot of, for lack of a better word, culture war nonsense about gender. People fearmongering about trans people, and drag, and that sort of thing. Are you anticipating that anything like that is going to happen?

If someone on Fox News were to say “Amazon is coming out with this movie about a kid who wants to be a drag queen” ― is this a fight that you’re ready for? Are you dreading that, or are you hoping that happens? What’s your stance on people who might object to this movie, sight unseen?

JB: Well, they’ll be objecting to a lot of joy, that’s what they’d be objecting to. I never set out to do this movie to wave flags, at all. This kid is openly queer, unashamedly queer, and for me, it’s really important that I’ve never seen an effeminate young hero of a story out in a film, and I want Jamie to represent us all, he doesn’t just have to represent one part of the community. He can represent every person.

Our community, our world, is so gloriously queer and diverse. Every single one of us has a bit of queerness in us. We’re complex, we’re a mess, we’re gorgeous. And what happens is, a bit of fear comes into play, and we have complex conversations with ourselves. And I think fear brings out, a bit of what you’re talking about, a sense of hatred. And I want this film to just communicate simple joy. And in that joy people open up people’s hearts, and just experience that joy, maybe they can push out a bit of that fear, and we can make a tiny shift in which people can be safe to be themselves. I don’t need that fight, I don’t want to get into a fight. It’s just simple joy.

What do each of you having coming up next?

LP: I just finished shooting a short film in Newcastle called White Pudding Supply, which was a lot of fun, and I’m currently being a cartoon fly for Aardman Animation, which I’m just having the best time doing.

MH: Lots of stuff coming up, I’m working on music, and I’m going to shoot a film when I get back to England called Magpie, which is very different from this, it’s a dramatic thriller about an isolated community in the moors in England… and I’ve been working on quite a few things during the pandemic that aren’t been announced yet.

JB: I’ve been writing a TV series for Warp Films, and I just finished a screenplay for something new.


Damaged City Festival 2019 | Photos | LIVING LIFE FEARLESS

CULTURE (counter, pop, and otherwise) and the people who shape it.

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