Caffeinated Clint
Admittedly, most men who get busted playing with toys are usually branded pussies, weirdos, big kids, or, ah, trekkies. But in Nick Park’s case, he’s been openly playing with toys since college – a couple of blokes in a dorm giving peculiar voices to hand-controlled puppets, not something you see at uni pre-graduation bash, is it? – and despite the snickering that would’ve gone on behind his back at the time – we’re sure – he’s defiantly turned his soft spot for plasticine people into quite a lucrative business. CLINT MORRIS talks to a chap who really has – had the last laugh.
Nick Park always had a keen interest in animation. He studied Communication Arts at Sheffield Polytechnic and then went to the National Film and Television School, where he first came up with the idea for a comedy film based on a dog and his owner.
When Park snagged a position at Aardman Animations in Bristol, he was able to finish his short film, called “Wallace and Gromit : A grand day out “ . He also completed “Creature Comforts”, which ultimately won Park his first Academy Award.
In 1992, Park gave the instantly popular Wallace and Gromit another outing with “The Wrong Trousers”, and three years later, did a third – “A Close Shave”. The popular comedies scored Park another two Oscars.
Eight years later Park made his feature-film debut with “Chicken Run” (2000), co-directed with Aardman founder Peter Lord, featuring Mel Gibson as the voice of a rooster. It was a resounding success. At the back of Parks’ mind all the way through filming though, was an idea to bring his beloved ‘Wallace and Gromit’ to the multiplex.
After the success of “Chicken Run” – which made over $160 million at the U.S box office – Dreamworks’ (the studio that produced the latter) big-man Jeffrey Katzenberg actually suggested to Park that the studio bring Wallace and Gromit to the big screen. “So it was automatically given the greenlight”, says Park.
“It’s a mammoth thing to do”, says Park, in regards to bringing his short-film characters to the movie screen. “So many times [on the set] I lamented the days working on short films – how you could just come up with an idea and then six months or a year later it’s on screen and you can then move onto something else. With a feature, it’s like climbing upwards with a basket full of eggs, and you can’t see the top for many months”.
Park says he was rather nervous about bringing the TV characters to the big screen, because so many times such transfers just don’t work.
“It had to be an idea that grabbed me…. [An idea that] wanted to be made into a feature, and [one that] really suited the feature film format, as well as being big enough, expansive, and had both the space and the room to develop”, he says. “This one seemed to be the one”.
The inspiration for the story was some of the classic horror movies, says Park – who amusingly describes his film as a “Vegetarian horror movie” – particularly, the werewolf movies of yesteryear. “Steve [Box, co-director] and I would sit down and watch like Werewolf Man, and all those Universal, Lon Chaney Jr, movies – we just had a field day. We also watched, like, Invisible Man, to draw on some of the characters – the sceptical policeman [for instance]. Even the Oliver Reed films – from Hammer Horror”.
The studio – owned by Steven Spielberg – has given Park more creative control over the film this time, compared to his debut. “I think because there were three [Wallace and Gromit] short films already, they were very respectful as to what Wallace and Gromit is and the Wallace and Gromit world we had established already. There wasn’t too much pressure to get Tom Cruise to get the voice of Wallace….or Gromit”, he laughs.
Katzenberg would fly over in his private jet to Britain, stay for the day, and go back the same day, says Park. “He just watches what we’ve done, what we’re going to do and often makes quite good comments”.
Not only did the script change quite significantly over the years, but also it changed throughout the filming too, says Park.
“Right up until the last week. It’s a very fluid process – much more than people think. I always thought we’d [simply] write it and then we’d film it, but it’s so unreal to think like that nowadays, because what you write on paper is so different to what happens visually. You have to work it all out, in reality, and then you get it good enough so it’s ready to go into production, but even after then, you’re re-thinking things and thinking that the dialogue could be better, or not funny enough”, as early test screenings proved.
It’s relatively easy to chop and change ideas with a film like this though, he says.
“In fact, that’s why I like this medium. It’s the kind of medium you can improvise on because it’s all happening in front of the camera…. if we think of something different half-way through, we can go back and change it. If you were working with CG, I’d imagine it’d probably be harder because you’re working with so many layers”.
Having said that, it can take a couple of months to film just five minutes of footage – so anything cut has to be really thought about before someone applies the scissors.
“It’s probably going to go in the director’s cut”, says Park, of the scenes that were cut. “Or go on the DVD as an extra or something. We probably cut out a good five minutes, which was accidental really. It’s only because the script evolved so much, while you’re filming, and you start taking a look at it together and realise [things like] it starts off a bit too slow [and so on].”
Unlike a lot of family films – which are aimed squarely at the kids – Park had to consider adult audiences, because they too, love these characters, but he always set out to make ‘Wallace and Gromit’ appeal to anyone of any age. “I remember seeing Shrek 2 and thinking ‘everybody in the cinema is my age! And they’re all watching a cartoon!’ – that wouldn’t have happened ten years ago. But with Wallace and Gromit I never set out with any market in mind, especially since it was a college thing, I made it for myself – what appealed to me.”
What also appeals to Park these days is having big-name movie stars voicing characters in films like this, and he managed to rope in a couple himself – British superstars Ralph Fiennes and Helena Bonham-Carter. “It’s funny to get these A-list actors and see them putting on funny voices”, he laughs. “We had to describe the character to Helena, with an overbite, so she called home and got Tim (Burton, her husband) to send her false teeth over from Planet of the Apes. They arrived, she stuck them in and (proceeds to give an impression) it was just so funny.”
Park says he’s looking forward to a well-earned rest after he travels the world to promote “Wallace and Gromit : The Curse of the Were Rabbit” and has no immediate plans for a follow-up film. He seems confident that there might be another ‘Wallace and Gromit’ movie in the future – but is in no rush to see it come to fruition.
“I guess if this is successful, there probably will be talk of another one. I don’t quite know yet. It’s a long haul thing. I find every film I do sparks off a hundred more [ideas] – especially with these, they sort of write their own stories”.
One film he does have an idea for is “Chicken Run 2”.
“At the time I thought ‘No Way, I don’t want to see another Chicken as long as I live!’ but I have got an idea for a sequel”, he says. “I don’t want to do it just because you have to – because of commercial pressure [though]”.
Meantime, he’s lending a helping hand on some other Aardman projects, including the highly anticipated “Flushed Away”.
“It’s half-way shooting right now actually. It’s all CGI”, he explains. “It’s about rats in a sewer. It’s looking good. Very funny”.
Also, “John Cleese is writing a film for us as well, about cavemen. I think it’s all going to be in plasticine. It’s called Crude Awakening. I think there’s a lot of jokes in there about the French”, he laughs.
WALLACE & GROMIT : CURSE OF THE WERE-RABBIT Opens September 15
