#interview: joe

[noelcowardmovie]

We haven’t started filming yet, but we’ve commenced pre-production to give ourselves as much lead time as possible. It’s a completely different beast to Chicken, a different level of filmmaking with its own set of complications. Whether it be talent diaries or complex finance plans, you juggle everything until it all settles in the right place. It’s frustrating because you set a date, then something out of your control sets it back a few months, but those frustrations come with their own upsides: those few months mean you can do more extensive prep work, or suddenly the actor who wasn’t available now is! It’s a very exciting project, and I think a surprising one in terms of what people might expect from a Noel Coward biopic, so I can’t wait to start filming!

Joe Stephenson

[noelcowardmovie]

4YE Talks To "Chicken" Director Joe Stephenson

Talking of your next project, was there any particular reason in your choice of casting an American in the lead role (Noel) as for many Coward is the epitome of Englishness? As I mentioned before, the most important thing when finding the right person for a specific role is their talent and their energy. That was the case with every cast member of Chicken, and it is the case with casting a film about Noel Coward. Chris Colfer is an incredibly talented actor, he has an emotional intelligence that I believe audiences see themselves in. He also has a comparable energy to that which Noel Coward had at his age, an energy not usually associated with Noel Coward today because of who he became as he got older. It’s that combination of energy and emotional intelligence that has served him so well in Glee, and gained him so many fans. But I also know Chris has a lot more to give as an actor, so I’m going to work him very hard and it’s going to be great. We’re going to surprise a lot of people I think.

[noelcowardmovie]

Chicken's not even out yet and it has mega-hype, but people are also raving about your next project (a Noel Coward biopic), what can you tell us about that? It’s going to surprise people, I think. We focus on Noel Coward's early life; looking at how he found himself as an artist, the people who influenced him the most early on, and how he came to create a public persona so successful that people today think that was actually who he was. Everything people think of when they think of Noel today was designed by him, even the way he spoke was a creation of his. I start shooting next Spring on this, Chris Colfer (Glee) is my young Noel, and he’s joined by Vanessa Redgrave, Sir Ian McKellen and Jonathan Pryce. And more I can’t tell you about yet.