Everything about Dead Man's Shoes.

[johartley]

Hello....come in,

Nekrow, Sparrowface and deadmansrockports....Gosh those names are pretty whacky!...Sounds like im addressing the cast of a new sci-fi sitcom!..... Nice!!

Thanks alot for your kind remarks, it means alot!! You don't get many opportunities to work with a brew of talent like i did on 'DMS', but it sure tastes good. I just tried to do my best, follow my instincts, be honest, think about what i was doing and just went with my heart. 'Watch and listen'.... Its nice to be given the opportunity by such a talented director. I had goose bumps on my neck at certain points making that film too! Lovely memories.


.....and DMRPorts don't be shy about having a crush on anyone, its healthy. I have loads. Fantasy is always better than reality in truth .... im not sure about the mum thing though, its a bit wrong!But there are no rules when it comes to yr own choices in life. Lets face it only you know what you like. Go for it!

All take it easy, speak soon.....tanks,

Jo

[Morelllovesladine]

Jo you are great for a newcomer to the big screen.
Looking forward to seeing more of you in 'England' and hope you get a wiff of Hollywood like Toby did after DMS.

I really felt your anguish as the mother in DMS and your disappointment in Norther soul keep up the good work.

p.s Love the perm in 'This is England'

[deadmansrockports]

"Lets face it only you know what you like. Go for it!"

HHHHHMMMMMM, that sounds like a 'cmon' to me :-) only kidding. Look forward hugely to seeing you in 'this is england'.

xXx

[johartley]

Thank you Morelllovesladine. A wiff would be nice, we'll see. Hangin in there. Workin hard. Not countin any chickens just yet....... Yes the perm, well........I secretly loved the perm.

....and mr DMRP's, yr gonna frighten me off the site, im gonna get dave on ya! he he he!! DAVE...... HELP!!!!!!!! (just kiddin). Lookin forward to seein 'TIE' myself, exciting.

Anyway, i must dash im off to china for a cup of tea with me pal.

be happy, remember winter doesn't last forever, the sunshine is a comin!!!!!

miss h.

[Hyde]

now in years to come when I watch this film I'll be all like SHE SAID MY NAME ON A FORUM!!!

haha so thanks much appreciated, looking forward to seeing you in This is England aswell!

[jill]

I've been trying to persuade my son to watch one of Shane's films for AGES (he just not much of a film fan) and tonight he just stuck DMS on. At the end I ask him what he thought.......said it was great!!! At last!!!

Everytime I watch DMS it gets better. Paddy is brilliant, but Toby Kebbell's performance is amazing . The last 15 minutes still chokes me.

[sunhouserising]

Hear Hear.

Loved all the previous films.

Jo you are great in both ''Northern Soul'' and ''DMS''

I just cant wait for ''TIE''

I remember the days of Ska, Skins and Punks etc.

Great music. And er ... does Gavin do any tunes on TIE ??

Great work guys.

Best wishes.

Tyler

[Dave]

sunhouserising said:

Great music. And er ... does Gavin do any tunes on TIE ??

Gavin does a solo acoustic cover version of "Please, please, please, let me get what I want" by The Smiths..... and it's stunning.

Oh... and welcome to the site Sunhouserising. Saw your other introductory post which was a good read. Hope someone can sort out the Smalltime sessions. Gavin Clark does take a peek at this forum every now and again, so you might get super lucky!

[sunhouserising]

I already have a copy of the ''Acoustic Album'' which has Please, Please, Please. And so I have shot myself in the foot with that in hindsight.

But agreed it is a beautiful song.

I understand that gavin Clark is starting work on an album (solo) with a documentary to go with it made by Shane ??

Well look forward to it plenty.

And many thanks for the welcome and the details above.

All the best.

Tyler

[jill]

I came across a review of DMS on the 'net the other day where the reviewer criticised the advertising, which he thought 'ludicrously' and misleadingly represented the film as a 'slasher.' This was, he thought, responsibly for DMS not attracting a wider audience.

While I think he went a bit over the top-personally I really like the art work on DMS-I wondered if the point about how marketing can put people off might be valid. Last year I gave a friend (a woman my age) a copy of DMS to watch along with a few other films. She looked at the cover front and back, passed it back to me and said, 'no thanks, I don't like that sort of film.' I persuaded her otherwise and, needless to say, she thought it was fantastic and has since become a big fan of Shane's work. Admittedly, my mate is perhaps overly influenced by first appearances (she thought Edward Scissorhands was a slasher - no kidding), but interesting as an explanation for why DMS didn't received the box office success it undoubtedly deserved.

What do others think?

[Davros]

Was the reviewer American or English Jill? As the DVD Artwork for the American version was 'slightly' different than the UK version.



Tooled up to the max.

Obviously the film is about revenge, and in this case physical revenge. To convey the film in an image is very difficult, I think the UK artwork is excellent, and at the budget it probably had the marketing was effective. I didn't in the slightest think the advertising made it out to be a slasher movie. Although the subject matter could be a bit heavy for some people.

It would be stupid to think the marketing didn't put some people off, but the problem is you cant please all of the people all of the time. If there was a solution on how to market a product knowing that no one mis-understands the communication, doesn't appreciate the message and wants the product, then i'm pretty sure we'd all be wearing Nike's right now.

This type of film would'nt have had the budget of classic films like Space Jam, and so thrive on the cheapest and most affective form of marketing, word of mouth. Personally I find it amazingly effective when convincing mates to watch DMS (although I do tell a few theres some hot naked action in the middle).

[jill]

It was the British version. Yes Davros, I take your point entirely-you can't please all of the people and I suppose building up a fan base does initially depend on word of mouth, especially if you don't have big stars or massive resources for blanket marketing. I suppose the problem in selling a film like DMS is that while the central theme is revenge; it's so much better than many films of that ilk and certainly appeals to a different-wider?- audience from the (teen market?) slasher or (young) bloke ganster flick. Like I say, I liked the red/black artwork, but after that conversation I did wonder if, I hadn't already been familiar with Shane's work, I too might have been put off. One person I discussed DMS with went off into a little monologue about Albert Camus, but then if it was marketed as a 'deep' commentary on violence, morality and murder, it would put off a whole lot of other people......I suppose the 'problem' of not being easily pigeonholed is a compliment to Shane's work and I'm not sure what the answer is, but it does puzzle me why it didn't reach a bigger audience.

[scot]

I think it's because alot of audiences wouldn't know a great film if slapped them real hard around the chops. I love dms, as i do all shane's films, there is always way more going on than meets the eye which is probably why people don't get it. They are not being fed like a baby as most big films do to make profits. I love the anti drug undercurrent in it, not explicitly in your face but there as an overall part of the narrative.

[sunhouserising]

I not only loved the graphics on the poster et al, I also thought the promo web site was one of the best I've ever seen.

www.godwillforgivethem.com

[johartley]

Hi all,

Thanks for your earlier comments sunhouserising, welcome to the site. ive not been on this thread for months.

I agree the DVD cover does tend to scare people off. However, i think the word of mouth buzz has been the most exciting part of the reaction to 'dead man's shoes'.

What prompts my return to this post, is on monday this wk, i was driving home from the gym around 1pm, i had radio 1 on, edith b was reviewing current movies... 'Last King of Scot', 'Babel', etc etc. Listeners were e-mailing her with their views on film. she mentioned how 'Dead Man's Shoes' was one of the most popular choices, with all the stuff in the press about bullying recently,(BB), people had text and said 'DMS' is a great film to watch re: the topic. It keeps being mentioned as one of the best british films, over and over.

She championed Shane as a genious and really loves all Paddy's work too, saying she would love to get to meet them one day.

Ive heard her talk about Shane and Paddy twice in 12 months on air prime time. Its deffinatley getting its good press.

Its a good reward for such a little movie.

jo