It’s all go for the alumni of Spaced in 2007. Simon Pegg, Nick Frost
and Edgar Wright have been difficult to miss around these parts as
they launch Hot Fuzz; Michael Smiley (you might know him better as
‘Tyres’) is up to his knees in spooky stuff with a role in Outpost,
currently shooting in Glasgow. Jessica Stevenson meanwhile, has been
keeping busy on the Mitchell & Webb movie Magicians, but also plays
a key role in Garth Jennings’ forthcoming film Son Of Rambow. We
were chatting to Jessica recently, and she told us all about it.
"It’s a great little film, Hammer & Tongs have been working on it
for about six years," she told us during a break on the Magicians
set. "Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy obviously came in the middle
of that, and as a kind of result, that film was successful enough
for them to get Son Of Rambow off the ground. It’s a pair of eleven
year olds starring in this buddy film, as they try to make this film
called Son Of Rambow, which is a kind of hybrid / off-shoot /
‘inspired-by’ remake of First Blood."
With Stevenson clearly on an enthusiastic roll, Empire wasn’t about
to interrupt. "One of the boys, Will, is Plymouth Brethren, who’s
never watched television before, and isn’t allowed to watch
television. But he sees a video of First Blood in the house of his
new best friend, Lee Carter. Lee isn’t Plymouth Brethren, and lives
with his brother but no parents, in a kind of domestic annex of an
old people’s home while his real parents are off in Spain or
somewhere. So they’re kind of opposites, and become friends. Lee
wants to make a film, and Will agrees to star in it and help him,
so the film is about them making the film and becoming friends."
But where does she fit into all of this? "I play Will’s mother,
and there’s a little story going on there. The film’s partly
about freedom - you know, kids on bikes and having total freedom
to do whatever they want. And Will has to rob that freedom,
because he comes from a very strict upbringing, and that’'s the
part of the story that I’m involved in through Will, I make
some quite big decisions, but it’s mainly led by my boy."
When we bring up the subject of films about kids from this side of
the pond, Jessica beams. "It's so terrific having a really good
British kids film. I'm a big fan of the '80s but the films from
then that really stayed with me were American - I love The Goonies,
and Bugsy Malone (although okay, that wasn’t American, but it
projects an American sensibility) and Neverending Story, E.T.
Its so great to be part of a kids film that I think is going to
be really good I can’t see how it couldn’t be it's been
really well shot and well written, that feels like home. So I was
thrilled to be part of that - it feels very exciting."