From: owner-seven-seas@smoe.org (seven-seas-digest) To: seven-seas-digest@smoe.org Subject: seven-seas-digest V6 #203 Reply-To: seven-seas@smoe.org Sender: owner-seven-seas@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-seven-seas@smoe.org Precedence: bulk seven-seas-digest Thursday, October 18 2007 Volume 06 : Number 203 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 18 Oct 2007 16:05:42 +0100 From: "Raj" Subject: seven-seas Suddenly the reality hit me - Pt1 How does it feel to watch the life and death of your father being re-enacted on film? Natalie Curtis, daughter of Joy Division singer, Ian Curtis, went on set, camera in hand, to find out Natalie Curtis Saturday September 22 2007 The Guardian I was about three when my mum first told me that my father, Ian Curtis - who died when I was one - was a singer, but it just seemed normal, like having an uncle who was a tradesman or whatever. I remember hearing Love Will Tear Us Apart on the radio and realising he was known in some way, but I never thought of him as famous. When I was growing up, neither myself nor my mother were in the public eye, and Joy Division were more cult than mainstream. The first time I heard their album Closer, I thought it was out of this world. I assumed all music was done with that level of style and intelligence. As I grew older, it was a shock to discover not everything was that amazing. Initially I was dead against visiting the set of Control, the film about my father's life directed by photographer Anton Corbijn. Although it took my mother's memoir, Touching From A Distance, as a starting point, books are read in private, whereas a film is something much more public, an experience shared with an audience. When filming began in Macclesfield, I declined the opportunity to go. Macclesfield was somewhere I'd always associated with lush, green, rolling hills and I didn't want to associate it with a film about my father's suicide. Gradually my curiosity got the better of me, though; after all, I did study photography and am interested in film. Also, I felt that seeing the process would make it easier to watch the finished thing. In July 2006 I went to Nottingham, where most of the film was being shot. I was on edge. It felt too weird. A bungalow had been given a 70s makeover to recreate my parents' engagement party. Of course, I've no idea how realistic it was, because I wasn't born. I first met Sam Riley, who plays my father, outside the bungalow. Sam looked really sweet with his 70s Ian haircut; as it was the pre-band Ian he was playing, he wasn't the Ian Curtis we all imagine. He felt a bit awkward at first, I think. But I had a sneaky cigarette with him, so when I saw that scene where Ian says, "You can't be in my gang if you don't smoke!" I couldn't help but giggle. In between scenes, I was introduced to Samantha Morton, who plays my mother. Later that night we got a call to come along to a restaurant in some dark, trendy club, and afterwards we went to the flat where Samantha was staying with her fiancé. She held my hand as we crossed the road, just like my mum used to do when I was younger - I think the cast saw me as the baby of the set, because I am the baby in the film. Samantha didn't have on the Debbie wig when we met, but we talked until dawn about her role and I saw her notes - thoughts and reflections on how to play the character. She'd made them from my mum's book, but also from her own experiences as a mother. She had her daughter at a similar age to my mother when she had me. She also had a "Debbie playlist" - songs my mother would have listened to in 1980, such as Bowie and Durutti Column's Sketch For Summer, one of my own favourites. Every day before filming, Samantha would listen to the music to psych herself into character. Spending time with her had reassured me; I knew that whatever happened she'd do a damned good job, even if she didn't seem quite like my mother. Both she and Sam are in their late 20s playing my parents in their teens and early 20s, so they seem older. I think the film has made Mum slightly dowdier, too - I certainly don't remember her wearing such awful clothes. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ **************Bunnymen Online Presence******************** ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ http://www.bunnymenlist.com * http://www.bunnymen.info http://www.bunnymen.com * http://www.fotolog.net/sgtfuzz/ http://www.villiersterrace.com/ * http://www.angelfire.com/wy2/discog/ http://homepage.ntlworld.com/stevedoughty/index.html ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ * ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 18 Oct 2007 16:05:58 +0100 From: "Raj" Subject: seven-seas Suddenly the reality hit me - Pt3 It was hard to watch the finished film, but it is just a film, after all. Toby Kebbell - who plays Joy Division manager Rob Gretton - is one of my favourites, but he's not how Rob was. Rob was always around, but in the last year of his life I worked in a nearby office and got to know him much better; he was so gentle and wise. I never heard Rob swear like he does in the film and there's a bit where he's mean to Alan Hempsall. Rob would never have been like that. I don't think the film captures how lovable Tony Wilson - - the Factory Records boss who used his life savings to fund Joy Division's debut - was either. However, my mother and I agree with what Tony once said: if it is a choice between the truth and the legend, take the legend every time. I miss Tony terribly and remember him arriving on set with his mad Weimaraner William bounding on to a scene and someone yelling, "Cut!!!" Four days after I saw the finished film, Tony died of cancer. So, a year after hanging out on set with a pretend Steve and a pretend Hooky, I caught up with the real ones, not at a glitzy film premiere but at a funeral. I have mixed feelings about the film - I feel so excited for the band and the music, but repulsed by the idea of people watching a film about my family. It's probably the same for all those left behind. The band must have been very excited when the film got an ovation at Cannes, but it can't be comfortable watching people be very happy about sad things in your life. I felt sad reading recently that they said they feel guilty; but if anyone let Ian Curtis down, it was the NHS, not musicians too young to help. Tony never got to see the film, but for me it is for him. It feels like Joy Division are finally going from being an enormous cult to a household name - just as Tony always believed they should. Additional reporting by Dave Simpson ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ **************Bunnymen Online Presence******************** ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ http://www.bunnymenlist.com * http://www.bunnymen.info http://www.bunnymen.com * http://www.fotolog.net/sgtfuzz/ http://www.villiersterrace.com/ * http://www.angelfire.com/wy2/discog/ http://homepage.ntlworld.com/stevedoughty/index.html ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ * ------------------------------ End of seven-seas-digest V6 #203 ********************************