13th April 2006
Hotdog Magazine
Following last months look at the boom in short film budgets, we thought we'd investigate that old chesnut: it's not what you know, it's who you know.
Written, directed and produced by Michael McMahon, Alex McArdell and Matt Jones, all in their twenties, 35 minute short film Hawk was shot almost entirely on location in Snowdonia. Touching on ancient gods and paganism, the tale follows the life of young Rowan, who retreats into a fantasy realm of Celtic folklore.
The film's budget was £50,000 - pretty huge for a short - but where the film really stands out is in the involvement of established filmmakers to help the fledgling project get off the ground. The group managed to coax veteran producer John Peverall (The Deer Hunter, Quadrophenia) out of semi-retirement to mentor their production, while recruiting professional actors to take on main roles. The experienced cast includes Robert Gwyn Davin (First Knight and erm, Casualty), and Philip Madoc, stalwart of many a classic TV series, including Dad's Army, Doctor Who and Porridge. Meanwhile the SFX team were fresh from the set of Terry Gilliam's The Brothers Grimm while costume designer Anna Kovacevic previously worked on The Hitchhiker's Guide to The Galaxy.
The result is professional looking to say the least and the hard work and connections have paid off - producer Matt Jones tells us, " We have managed to distribute our trailer in UK cinemas, which we believe has never been done before."
To cap it all, the crew secured redoubtable TV astrologer Russell Grant as executive producer. At time of going to press, sucess was apparently written in the stars.
To check out the trailer and release details go to hawkthemovie.com
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