2019-07-01_Uncut_UK

He’s not

the messiah!

8 • UNCUT • JULY 2019

A

CCoRDIngto

RayCooper,

handmadeFilms

beganwhena “bunchof

mateswantedtohelp

anotherbunchofmates

maketheirfilm”.What

thatmodestsummary

omitsis thatthefirst

bunchofmatesincluded

georgeharrison,the

secondwasMontyPython,andthe

filmtheywantedtomakewasLifeOf

Brian. Cooper– whohasbeenelton

John’spercussionistsince1971,aswell

asheadofproductionathandmade

• contributestoa newAMCUKdoc,
  AnAccidentalStudio, whichtellsthe
  storyofthecompanythatmadeThe
  LongGoodFriday,MonaLisa,Time
  BanditsandWithnail& I.
  Cooperhadjustfinisheda two-man
  tourwitheltonwhenhegota callfrom
  georgeharrisonin1979.“hesaidhe
  thoughthe’dstarteda filmcompany,
  andwouldI ‘behim’intheoffice,”
  recallsCooper.It allbeganwith
  MontyPython.LifeOfBrianwas
  initiallypickedupbyeMI,whothen
  gotcoldfeetwhensomebodyactually
  readthescript.harrison,a Python
  nut,steppedinandraisedthefunds
  tofinishit bymortgaginghishouse.
  “georgewasa dreamfulfillerandif he
  believedyouhada passionhewould
  anonymouslymakeyourdreamcome
  true,”saysCooper.“hedidthatforso
  manypeople,andforthePythonshe
  wantedthemtomakeLifeOfBrian.”
  Asa youngman,harrisondidnot
  turntoCooperbychance;the
  percussionist had worked as a “spear

carrier”withtheRoyal

ShakespeareCompany

andtheoldVic.“After

hetheatreclosedevery

vening,I’dgotoSoho

andmakeanextrafew

bobinthenightclubs,”

herecounts.“Igotasked

todosessions,and

musictookover.Theatre

stopped,butnotmy

passionforit.georgeunderstood

that,andheunderstoodthatmusic,

like film, is an artform based on

collaboration.Asa musician,our

trainingis tolisten,tosupportandto

havea voicewhenneeded.It’sa

wonderfultoolforanybodyworking

intheothervisualformsofart.”

WhileCooper’smainjobwas

managing the relationship between

thebusinessandcreativesidesat

handmade,healsocommissioned

scoresandplayedonsoundtracks.“If

weneededsomepercussivewriting,

I’ddothatandthenperform,asthere

wasonlyonepersonpreparedto

bleedforhisart!georgethoughtI was

absolutelynuts.Therewasbloodand

sinewalloverthestudio;myfingers

splitprettymucheverytime.

everybodyelsecanturnupthe

volume,butI havetoplaylouder.”

Therewasa touchofthehaphazard

Applespiritabouthandmade,but

it wasa sourceofbrightnessduring

a bleakperiodfortheBritishfilm

industry.Cooperwouldmeetharrison

a coupleoftimesa weektodiscuss

ongoingprojects.“hewasincredibly

bright,hedidn’tsufferfoolsandhe

couldsmellbullshit,soheknewwhen

thewheelsmightbecomingoffand

he’dneedtostepin,”saysCooper.

harrisoneventuallysoldhandmade

aftera conflictwithbusinesspartner

Deniso’Brien,whowantedtomake

filmslikeShanghaiSurprise– a flop

starringMadonnaandSeanPenn.

harrisonwasalwayshappierwiththe

likesofWithnail& I, a filmthatCooper

hadtosavefromshutdownbecause

o’Briendidn’tgetit.“Withnail...was

george’sfavouritefilmalongwithLife

OfBrian,” hesays.“WhenDhani

[Harrison’sson] wasgrowingup,

they’dthrowthelinestoeachother

andre-enactthescenes,likeevery

studentinengland.helovedcomedy,

buthealsoengagedwithfilmslike

MonaLisaandTheLongGoodFriday,

interestingandwell-madethrillers.

It wasaboutgoodstorytellingand

helpinga communitywitha passion

formakingfilms.”PETERWATTS

AnAccidentalStudiois available

now on BT TV on-demand

LifeOfBrian

(1979):(l-r)Idle,

Harrison,Palin

and Cleese

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...ButhewasthesaviourofirreverantBritish

filmmaking.RayCooperremembers

GeorgeHarrison, the movie mogul

“IfGeorgebelieved

youhada passion,

hewouldmakeyour

dreamcometrue”

RAY COOPER

PaulMcGann

andRichard

E Grantin

Withnail & I