THE 2O14
DAVID LEAN LECTURE
DELIVERED BY
PAUL GREENGRASS 18 MARCH 2O14
D EL I V ER ED BY PA U L G R EEN G R A S S
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GREENGRASS ACHIEVES WHAT MAY BE THE ULTIMATE GOAL OF CINEMA Ð TO PERSUADE YOU THAT WHAT YOU ARE WATCHING IS ABSOLUTELY REAL.
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OVERVIEW f rom th e bourne sup remac y to Captain Phillips, BAFTA-winning director Paul Greengrass has shown a unique ability to develop characters in conflict and to bring heart to horror. Real stories have always fascinated the British filmmaker. His ability to make them thrilling and involving without ever compromising their authenticity has made him one of the most celebrated and successful directors of his generation. In the 1980s, the Surrey-born Cambridge graduate worked on current affairs television programme World In Action (1985–1987) before bringing his political interests into the dramatic realm, with small-screen successes, including gulf war drama The One That Got Away (1996) and football scandal film The Fix (1997). In 1999, his acclaimed made-for-television movie The Murder Of Stephen Lawrence caused the film world to sit up and take notice. Many of Greengrass’ now-famous trademarks are in evidence here, from the hand-held cameras to the intimate character development. He showed a remarkable talent for the responsible treatment of difficult, disturbing incidents that had made headline news. His next film, Bloody Sunday (2002), would be another recreation of a tragic event, the 1972 Derry shootings. Typically, Greengrass chose to adapt an account that focused on one man: march organiser Ivan Cooper ( James Nesbitt). Reviews were overwhelmingly positive: Variety called it “stunning”, while Newsweek noted, “Watching director Paul Greengrass’ explosive Bloody Sunday, you have to remind yourself at moments that you’re not looking at a documentary.” It’s a comment that could be applied to many films in Greengrass’ career: his dedication to authenticity is unrelenting, yet unshowy. He achieves what may be the ultimate goal of
D EL I V ER ED BY PA U L G R EEN G R A S S
by Anna Smith
cinema – to persuade you that what you are watching is absolutely real. It was a talent he brought to the Bourne series, turning a popular movie into a huge franchise with The Bourne Supremacy (2004) and The Bourne Ultimatum (2007), the latter gaining him a BAFTA nomination in the Director category. With these two films, Greengrass revitalised Hollywood action, proving that a gritty verité style could be enormously effective in the mainstream action genre. Rejecting the stereotypical famous landmark shots, Greengrass shot international locations as they really were: for The Bourne Ultimatum, he filmed scenes at Waterloo station when it was filled with busy commuters. He also delivered one of the most thrilling, memorable hand-tohand combat scenes in modern cinema. No wonder the reinvention of the Bond franchise was partially credited to Bourne – Greengrass shook things up, and action films are all the better for it. Returning to real-life tragedy, Greengrass won a BAFTA for his direction of 9/11 drama United 93 (2006), which scored BAFTA nominations for Original Screenplay, Sound, Cinematography, British Film and a win for Editing. After reuniting with Matt Damon for sensitive Iraq War thriller Green Zone (2010), Greengrass found himself back at BAFTA this year, nominated in the Director category again for Captain Phillips (2013). Gritty, gripping, devastating and utterly believable, Captain Phillips is everything you’d hope for from a Greengrass film. May there be many, many more. Anna Smith is a film critic and broadcaster for BBC News, Sight & Sound, Empire and Time Out, among others
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ACTION IS A GENRE THAT TENDS TO REINFORCE THE ESTABLISHED ORDER. WHATÕS WONDERFUL ABOUT BOURNE IS HEÕS ON THE OUTSIDE; HEÕS ÔUS AGAINST THEMÕ; HEÕS SAYING, ÒYOU'RE LYING TO US.Ó
T4H E B O U R N E U LT I M AT U M (2O O 4)
T H E 2O14 DAV I D L E A N L E C T U R E
IN HIS OWN WORDS ON DAVID LEAN David Lean remains a giant figure, not only in the history of British cinema but also of world cinema. His mastery of storytelling, drama and spectacle, and the manner in which he synthesised all those elements of filmmaking into a coherent whole, is an inspiration to all of us who follow hesitantly in his footsteps. And for me personally, having grown up with and been so profoundly inspired by his films, to be invited to give the lecture which bears his name is a tremendous honour. ON HIS GREATEST FILM INFLUENCE The film that’s most influenced me is the Battle Of Algiers (1966). I can absolutely remember where I was when I first watched it. It was a school film club; I must have been about 17. I must have watched it 20 times since, but it never loses its power. It’s something to do with the world rendered in action, that’s what the genius of that film is. It is a simple, graphic story… There’s very little dialogue, very few scenes played in a conventional sense, but there’s this unfolding physicality that drives you propulsively through the film, allied to a supreme observational eye. The famous scene where the bombs are carried to the cafes is just a masterclass in all the elements you need in a film, whether it’s story, action, editing, music. ON HIS ROOTS I started in television in the heyday, when television was a place where you went to learn how to make films. I started at Granada, which was a fantastic forcing ground for directing talent at the time. I came through World In Action… which was a strange eclectic mix of part news, part reportage, part filmmaking. It was this riotous mix, but it was shot on film and it prized filmmaking as a culture… I grew up in that culture.
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ON FILMM AKING I was taught that filmmaking was a collective activity, a team activity. It’s not a place for auteurs, but you were expected to have a singular point of view, paradoxically. I think that’s terribly important. I’ve always believed films get made by the joining of a creative argument during their making, and that argument, that struggle and that fight is what makes the film exist. ON HOW TO BE A DIRECTOR Make films. It sounds easy, but the great benefit that we have today is that technology has put filmmaking in everyone’s hands… In a sense, it’s never been easier to make films. You can make films on your mobile phone… The director’s job is to inspire everyone with a common vision, roll with the punches and find the creative solutions to arrive safely on shore. That’s the job. But you have to get out there and learn how to do that. ON THE ACTION GENRE The two Bourne films, United 93 and Green Zone are, to my mind, four films that are about the Bush years… Action is a genre that tends, as a general rule of thumb, to reinforce the established order, that’s their shtick. What’s wonderful about Bourne is he’s on the outside; he’s ‘us against them’; he’s saying, “You’re lying to us.” His journey towards the truth, his desire to not be caught and stay on the outside, speaks to a very prevailing attitude that emerged in the last decade, in which we were being lied to, that events and actions were occurring in our name but without our consent. His journey to find out the truth, about assassination plots and the dirty tricks, which has its roots in the conspiracy movies of the 60s and 70s, suddenly seemed highly relevant again.
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I N S P I R A T I O N F O U R CO L L A B O R ATO RS D I S CU S S WO R K I N G W I T H PA U L G R EEN G R A S S
BLOODY SUNDAY (2002)
DINAH COLLIN Costume designer on The Fix, The Theory Of Flight, The Murder Of Stephen Lawrence, Bloody Sunday, The Bourne Supremacy and United 93 I first met Paul in the early 1990s to do the costume design for his film The Fix for the BBC, a story of match fixing in 1963. His response to my lack of experience in the world
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of football was “No problem!” So I set off to Sheffield to meet with journalists and source appropriate pictures. It was the beginning of an exciting collaboration with Paul, which later included Bloody Sunday, The Murder Of Stephen Lawrence and United 93, all of which were always grounded in research. Dressing super hero Matt Damon in The Bourne Supremacy was perhaps slightly more problematic, but that is the baseline that Paul always returns to.
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TIM BEVAN CBE Producer of United 93 and Green Zone Fact-based fiction has become a popular form of commercial contemporary cinema. Paul is at the epicentre of this genre. His immense intellect, forensic search for the truth, derived from his documentary background, combined with in-your-face visceral filmmaking, unparalleled but much copied, make him one of the best directors at work in the world today. Working Title has made two films with Paul – United 93 and Green Zone. Both movies have been unique and intense
experiences unlike any other. From the story and script creation through to the real-life shooting experiences and then the cutting room, where the film is really crafted, they were both driven by Paul’s obsession to detail and truth. I learnt as much from these pictures as I have from any. I suspect that United 93, which was a groundbreaking piece of filmmaking, will retrospectively go down as one of the greats from the early part of the 21st century. It was totally Paul’s vision that brought it to life and drove it, and I am immensely proud that we were part of the journey.
UNITED 93 (2OO6)
D EL I V ER ED BY PA U L G R EEN G R A S S
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BARRY ACKROYD BSC Cinematographer of United 93, Green Zone and Captain Phillips Paul has made a journey that most directors only dream of, not that of crossing the Atlantic to make movies, but of holding onto his particular skills to make breathtaking films on his own terms. In his career, he has taken docudrama and made it into his own brand of world-class cinema, lending his touch of kinetic
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storytelling to his choice of films, which are always imbued with humanity and balance. To work with Paul on three of his important films has been a real pleasure, for the freedom he allows me and the whole crew to express ourselves as much as anything else. Put simply, the director’s skill is to gather a team of actors and crew who can interpret, create and expand their vision. Paul does this, with ease, while always searching out the personal, intimate moment that lifts his filmmaking into an art.
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CHRISTOPHER ROUSE Editor of The Bourne Supremacy, United 93, The Bourne Ultimatum, Green Zone and Captain Phillips I remember when Paul and I first spoke on the phone, before he hired me on The Bourne Supremacy. I’d seen Bloody Sunday and knew he was an incredibly talented filmmaker with a powerful vision. That said, I was still blown away by his incisive insights into the narrative, the characters and, very importantly, the deeper thematic aspects of the Bourne piece. Since then, I’ve been privileged to work on five projects with Paul, a director who makes films in a territory where few others are able. His works are simultaneously intense
D EL I V ER ED BY PA U L G R EEN G R A S S
contemplations of modern society and tremendous pieces of entertainment. I think Paul’s unique ability comes from several places: his strong world view combined with his powerful journalistic sense, his exceptionally literate background, his great dramatic instincts and his enormous heart. And all of those things fuel our creative relationship, in which he has always been enormously generous. Paul gives me great freedom to explore and shape his material in search of the thing that is most important to both of us – dramatic truth. I have the incredible fortune to work with a fiercely passionate, one-of-a-kind filmmaker who inspires me constantly. He is also a wonderful friend. Working with Paul has been the greatest artistic collaboration of my life.
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PAUL GREENGRASS FILMOGRAPHY 2013 2010 2007 2006 2004 1998 1989
film Captain Phillips Green Zone 3 The Bourne Ultimatum United 93 4 The Bourne Supremacy The Theory Of Flight Resurrected
1 Also wrote 2 Adapted screenplay 3 Also produced 4 Also wrote and produced
te levision Bloody Sunday 1 The Murder Of Stephen Lawrence 1 The Fix 1 The One That Got Away 2 The Late Show – Sophie’s World 2 Kavanagh QC – The Sweetest Thing Open Fire 1 Crime Story – When The Lies Run Out: The Ian Spiro Story 1 1992 Cutting Edge – Coppers 3 1987 World In Action – U2: Anthem For The Eighties 1985 World In Action – A Song For Africa 3
2002 1999 1997 1996 1995 1995 1994 1993
AWARDS BAFTA WINS
BAFTA NOMINATIONS
film 2007 Director (United 93)
f i lm 2014 Director (Captain Phillips) 2008 British Film (The Bourne Ultimatum) – with Frank Marshall, Patrick Crowley, Paul L Sandberg, Tony Gilroy, Scott Z Burns and George Nolfi 2008 Director (The Bourne Ultimatum) 2007 Original Screenplay (United 93) 2007 British Film (United 93) – with Tim Bevan and Lloyd Levin
te levisi on 2005 The Alan Clarke Award 2005 Single Drama (Omagh) – with Ed Guiney, Pete Travis and Guy Hibbert 2000 Single Drama (The Murder Of Stephen Lawrence) – with Mark Redhead
te levision 2003 Single Drama (Bloody Sunday) – with Mark Redhead OTHER
(SELECT)
2014 Golden Globe (nomination), Best Director (Captain Phillips) 2014 Directors Guild of America (nomination), Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature Film (Captain Phillips) 2007 Writers Guild of America, Best Original Screenplay (United 93)
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2007 Academy Award (nomination), Best Director (United 93) 2007 London Film Festival, UK Achievement In Film 2002 Sundance Film Festival, World Cinema Audience Award (Bloody Sunday)
T H E 2O14 DAV I D L E A N L E C T U R E
D EL I V ER ED BY PA U L G R EEN G R A S S
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THE DAVID LEAN LECTURE
THANKS
The Academy’s annual David Lean Lecture is generously funded by The David Lean Foundation. The lecture series serves to continue the legacy of the great director David Lean, one of the founders of the British Film Academy (as it was then known) in 1947 and a continuing inspiration to many through his exceptional body of work.
Paul Greengrass Barry Ackroyd bsc Tim Bevan cbe Dinah Collin Amy Lord Anthony Reeves Christopher Rouse Anna Smith
Previous David Lean Lectures have been given by: EVENT PRODUCTION 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001
Pedro Almodóvar Errol Morris Peter Weir Atom Egoyan Lean Centenary Celebration David Lynch Oliver Stone Woody Allen John Boorman Ken Loach Robert Altman Sydney Pollack
Tonight’s lecture will be available on www.bafta.org
Event Host Simon Mayo Producer Mariayah Kaderbhai Event Coordinator Julia Carruthers Event Assistant Evan Horan Event Intern Jacob Silkin Head of Learning & Events Tim Hunter Head of Fundraising Andrew Overin Production Manager Cassandra Hybel Brochure Editor Toby Weidmann Brochure Design Adam Tuck Imagery used with kind permission from distributors/filmmakers (page 2, pp.8-9 and p.11) and BFI Stills (cover, p.4, pp.6-7). All quotes other than ‘On David Lean’ from BAFTA Guru: Big Questions and Paul Greengrass: In Conversation. View the interviews on www.bafta.org/guru The Academy chooses Heaven 42, supporting excellence in print. Publication printed on Heaven 42 150g/m2. Supplied by PaperlinX. www.paperlinx.com
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