Paul takes direct approach to films
ACTION! Paul Easter, left, in a scene from When You Owe you pay
MILES JERMY
31 July 2008
AFTER growing frustrated auditioning for parts an actor decided to take the starring role in his own movie.
Paul Easter is also hoping his gangster drama Stagger will provide a further fillip to film-making on the east coast.
Parts of the movie are due to be shot in Great Yarmouth with other scenes recorded in Lowestoft and Southwold.
Yarmouth is increasingly catching the eye of movie makers, providing a location for the fantasy thriller Malice in Wonderland and Circus, starring Richard E Grant, which was filmed in the town late last year.
Professional actor Paul, who lives near Beccles, was spurred into making the film after becoming increasingly frustrated at having to travel to London to audition for often minor roles.
He said: “I wanted to do a movie that was set in this area rather than everything being done from London.
“There are some great locations here like the South Denes that are perfect for a film like this. Hopefully other local actors will get involved so we can showcase all the talent on our turf.
“It is frustrating having to keep going to London for castings and a lot of the time the actors already down there get the parts.”
Paul plays the role of Jake in the film which focuses on the clash between rival gangs organising illegal raves.
Also lined up to appear in the movie is star of The Business, Tamer Hassan, who Paul worked with last year in the film Beyond the Rave.
A short trailer called When You Owe You Pay has already been completed and is due to appear online shortly.
As well as applying for funding from Screen East, Paul is hoping to put himself through the ordeal of appearing on the BBC TV show Dragons Den in a bid to secure more investment for his film.
“The idea for Stagger first came to me watching Shane Meadow's Dead Mans Shoes, and I also met Shane last year,” said Paul.
“He told me if he had listened to other people, when he started making films he would be sweeping the floor in a supermarket and this pushed me to write my own film
I had hundreds of reasons to give up, it has been an uphill struggle, but I kept going and now I'm determined to see this through to the end.
Paul was working as a car salesman back in the in the early 1990s when he told a customer he wanted to become an actor.
She happened to work as a film extra, who put Paul in touch with an agent and within days he found himself with a walk on role in the TV drama series Lovejoy.
Despite not having any formal training he pursued his dreams of an acting career, turning professional two years ago. For more information about Stagger visit
www.filmsuk.art.officelive.com.
