IndieFlicks: Interview

Jonathan Glendening is the director of numerous feature films, including the up and coming 13Hrs. IndieFlicks was lucky enough to catch up with Jonathan as he is knee deep in post production of the horror film starring Gemma Atkinson and Isabella Calthope to discuss the filmmaking process.

IndieFlicks: What got you started in filmmaking?

Jonathan: I’m from that Speilberg/Lucas generation of filmmakers, when I was five I saw Jaws three times. Star Wars, Close Encounters, then Empire and of course Raiders were the films of my childhood which prompted me to pick up a Super 8mm camera and make my own versions of those films. Each 3 minute roll cost about 15 quid which was a fortune in those days, and of course editing (4 or 5 films down the line) was a real scissors and sticky tape process. I loved the hands on tactile nature of it all, and of course once you’ve made one awful out of focus film it’s too late you’ve got the bug and keep making more movies, until one day, you’ve made one in focus and that other people (not just your own family) enjoy.

IndieFlicks: How did the idea for 13 Hrs come about?

Jonathan: The writer Adam Phillips wrote a script that he felt could be made on a low budget, in his parent’s house, with a group of friends. Of course, it was a little more complicated than that to do. He also is a big fan of ‘The Thing’ so it’s the group of distressed, trapped people that gives the movie its main dynamic rather than the actual nemesis.

IndieFlicks: How long did the scriptwriting process take?

Jonathan: I think it took him six months, on and off, and of course that was without any deadlines – but then the film starts to get made and the rewriting process gets a little more frantic, stressful and intense. Suddenly other people’s opinions start to matter, not just out of courtesy but because they might be a producer paying for it! So if they want the country cottage to be changed into a stately home, well, that’s a script opinion you have to take seriously. Similarly, our budget was set at a rather low level, so the more ambitious things in the script have to be toned down to be vaguely achievable in the 18 day schedule. So 6 months of writing, 5 years sitting on a shelf, then a sudden 4 week scramble to rewrite it to fit the budget and location.

IndieFlicks: How did you go about securing funding for the film?

Jonathan: I was really lucky, I’d made my second feature film ‘S.N.U.B!’ (in 11 days and a tiny budget) and an advance screener had gone to the producers (of 13Hrs) and they really liked it. Coincidentally, I had worked for these guys as an editor ten years ago, and had left their company to produce and direct my first feature ‘Summer Rain’ so they knew me. Anyway, I’d gone to the AFM in LA, and the first day there, the first phone call I took, was from London, and it was the producers asking me to make a film for them. So, I submitted a selection of synopsis of projects that I like, and they chose 13Hrs based on the criteria that they had. So back in London after the AFM, a couple of meetings later, we were in production (yes, that is the simplified version but it is still more or less what happened).

IndieFlicks: At what point did Gemma Atkinson and Isabella Calthope jump on board?

Jonathan: Casting was a pretty standard procedure. The casting director put character notices out to agents, they submitted suitable people and Fiona the casting director shortlisted them for auditions. Isabella and Gemma got the parts based on good auditions.

IndieFlicks: Was principle photography an enjoyable experience?

Jonathan: I loved principle photography, I had a ball. Well, a stressful, intense, tiring ball, but a ball none the less. We only had 18 days to shoot what is essentially an ‘action’ horror, with a tiny budget so already we were hitting high – and then throw into that over 200 scenes, you can see how complicated and tough it was. Then throw into that added complications ie – we only had the main location (the house) for the first six days of the shoot, and that is compounded by the ‘creature’ sfx not being ready until week 3 of the shoot - you can see how difficult it became. There were loads of other problems like that, but the fun was overcoming them. For example, as the climax of the movie is set in what was called ‘the piano room’ – we had to shoot in that impressive room in the first six days of the shoot BUT the climax with the ‘creature’ also happens in that room. So we ended up shooting all the shots in one direction for the finale on day 3 (or something), and all the shots in the other direction (featuring creature) on a set, built to look like the piano room on day 18 (last day of the shoot) – so filming the finale fight scene was quite challenging. But, I had a great crew (my dp Jordan Cushing deserves a huge special mention) and the cast threw themselves into the demands of such a difficult shoot. So after 18 days I’d done 435 slates on a single camera, which is pretty impressive, thanks to my hard working crew and cast.

IndieFlicks: How long do you expect post production to take?

Jonathan: Fortunately, I’m not having to rush it for Cannes, so to some extent we can take our time. I deliver my directors cut tomorrow, which I think has taken about 7 weeks. So after a couple of producer tinkerings, that’ll take another few days. Then starts the sound, music, Fx process, and grading so those will take another couple of months. So, not in time for Cannes, but hopefully with plenty of time left for the AFM.

For more information on 13Hrs as well as the chance to check out the trailer please visit the official website – click

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1. Werewolf News - 13 Hrs - New Werewolf Movie Starring Tom Felton - News about werewolf movies, games, books and art — May 19, 2009 @ 11:10 pm

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