PAUL VIRAGH – CAHOOTIFY – CORRECT VERSION.qxp_Layout 2 29/03/2022 12:15 Page 1
FILM & TV
Make it happen Cahootify – a free software platform empowering independent producers, filmmakers and actors – is hosting a number of industry events including a three-day film conference in Bristol on 22 April, welcoming some of the industry's most established professionals. Here, renowned actor and screenwriter Paul Viragh delves into his career and offers some advice to aspiring writers...
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n a mission to further the careers of independent producers, filmmakers and actors, Cahootify describes itself as a cross between LinkedIn and IMDb. A free software platform, it acts as a professional industry calling card with tools to help people create an impressive online portfolio. It also allows users to advertise or express interest in requirements for their upcoming projects, whether it be a call out for crew members or an announcement about partnership opportunities. What’s more, Cahootify runs engaging events for all those interested in making their creative mark. On 22 April, the team is inviting aspiring filmmakers, producers and actors to join them at their JustMakeIt! Film Conference, taking place at the Richmond Building in Clifton. Hailed on their website as being “probably the most inspiring little film conference in the world”, the three-day event comprises of film screenings, music performances, Q&As and talks from established film industry professionals. On the bill is renowned showrunner Matthew Graham, who will be talking about how to go from being a screenwriter to US-style showrunner; Aardman Animations’ senior creative Gavin Strange, who will be sharing the valuable lessons he’s learned in his career; Fundsurfer co-founder Oliver Randall Mochizuki, who will be explaining how to crowdfund £50,000 for a feature film; and international producer Lorine Plagnol, who will be telling us about the morning she woke up without imposter syndrome. Ahead of the conference this month, the Cahootify team sat down with Paul to delve into his long and illustrious career, which saw him appear in numerous cult classics such as The Bill, Grange Hill, Casualty and Midsomer Murders before going on to write the acclaimed musical Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll, a biography of punk rock musician Ian Dury. Light-hearted yet honest, Paul speaks openly about the hardships of his profession, never failing, however, to encourage budding writers to strive for big things. What follows has been edited for clarity. C: How did you find your start in the creative arts? Did you know what you wanted to do? What did you do to find your way? PV: My mother was an actress, lots of friends of the family were actors, I’d seen what a miserable life it was so I went and did a physics degree. Then that made me realise maybe the world of acting wasn’t so bad. After about 15 years, I got really dissatisfied with the scripts. Around that time a whole bunch of us decided we’d like to try a bit on the other side of the camera. A couple of writers wanted to do some directing, a couple of actors wanted to do some writing, we managed to get a bit of funding together and we started making short films. The reason I chose writing was because it was the thing that bothered me most as an actor. You end up with a job where you get good or bad words, and I decided that I’d be the one to try and fix that. I don’t know if I’m doing any better than anybody that gave me a script, but I thought that was the area to try. 14 THE BRISTOL MAGAZINE
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APRIL 2022
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No 209
What attracted you to telling Ian Dury’s story in Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll? I had a very lucky break in that I got to go to the Berlinale [Berlin International Film Festival]. They have a thing there called the Talent Campus [now the Berlinale Talents] which is where they bring together new writers and directors from all over the world. It was one of the very early ones so people like Stephen Frears were there. It was fascinating. When I got back, I approached one of my mates who I’d done some short films with, Andy Serkis, who of course everyone knows now but at the time we were all just actors running around, jobbing. I said “would you be in it?” he said he’d like to direct it, so we put it together and we had approached actors like Bruno Ganz and Martina Gedeck. We were doing really well, and then the whole thing fell apart, which was unfortunate. I think we were both a bit depressed about that so we met for a pint in a pub called the Blue Posts in Soho. It had terribly sticky floors as I remember and we didn’t have any money with us, which was a bit odd, so we could only afford one pint, which we didn’t even ask for in two half pint glasses, so we shared out the same pint glass outside the Blue Post, and I said “what about doing Ian Dury?” Andy had worked with Ian, he’d done a musical with him and he said he’d be really excited about doing it. So, I put a little pitch together. Then, we go up to Soho again, to the Bar Italia and the producer,
