There are many scenes at gigs, in nightclubs and even at the Brit Awards where they hit the dancefloor intoxicated so Damo could have knocking out the dance moves in a number of them.
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"You know you remind me of a conquest back in Madrid 1784. I wooed her with a thousand tulips."
I think we can conclude it isn't going to be a major part... the castings have been done for those, but in a cool film like this with SUCH a cast, a small part is a thrilling prospect and has a lot of cred! I keep thinking of Svengali, Martin Freeman has quite a small role in that, but it is a cool, memorable and from the tweet above, it sounds like Damien's character is going to be pulling off some memorable moves !
Now let's hurry up and hear something offical on this so I can begin a new 'Kill Your Friends' Section' on the forum.
by the way.... the Kaiser Chiefs (who were formed in 1997.. maybe they were the second wave / post britpop but still of the lineage!) are suddenly becoming very mainstram popular due to their frontman being in BBC The Voice. seems like the movie might be tapping into a very on-trend vein....films that fit the current zeitgeist always become smash hits!
So I have begun reading the book, it's narrated from the protagonists point of view, Stelfox, the character Nicholas Hoult will be playing, he is debauched and as a book it doesn't pull any punches! Makes me wonder how much they will tone it down for the film, if they want to make it s 15 they will have to exclude quite a lot! I've been trying to guess which character Damien could be playing, there is a scene at a nightclub in Cannes where one of the character's plays air guitar....
But after this photo appeared on Twiiter yesterday of the cast on their way to Cannes (presumably to film this and other scenes) I don's think Damien will be one of Stelfox's crew or atleast not the main crew!
Here is the cast lst so far on IMDb (remember IMDb is not an official site!) interesting James Corden isn't on there yet.
I've finished ths book now.....and it is brilliant! Yeah, very dark, and debauched....but very funny too. There are loads of characters...it's impossible too guess who Damien could be....being on the dancefloor doesn't really narrow it xown either, because - as becca pointed out - they are constantly at gigs or clubs or parties....
I agree, domino...it'll have to be toned down - but I can see it being a great film and I'm really quite excited by it...as you say it's got a pretty good cast (btw - James Corden is listed - 5th....as Waters)
On thur, damien, predictably, said he couldn't tell us what the sideburns were for.....
Thanks fifi, how could i overlook that! I blame the impending flu at time of posting for that oversight - i think it was because he wasnt listed for a while and i didn't looke properly again..that'll teach me!
I finished the book too, not sure if it is because i read it with a fever but I found it hard to connect at all with the protagonist i know it is dark and funny but he is just so vividly offensive on every level (I'm not talking about the adult themes i am talking about the sicko that he is!)! It's a brave thing writing a book from a psychopath's point of view, without any shred of material you can sympathise with (I am thinking of something like A Clockwork Orange as a comparison, which had a context for the behaviour) some of it made me feel physically sick (again probably the fever) but at the same time it was funny, an unusual combination, for me at least!
Interesting article written by John Niven (the author of the book) about the film. Looks like it will be out March 2015 and it also looks like they may not be toning it down too much (I'd be surprised if they went all out though!)
I stood in a huge hangar at Pinewood Studios and watched as a team of carpenters hammered away, putting up beams and drywall. Electricians were running cables.
Two men were moving a big fireplace into position. Others were discussing what colour to paint the kitchen. They were, effectively, building a couple of flats from scratch.
Meanwhile, upstairs in another studio, another team of technicians were building a detailed, full-size replica of the office I used to work in nearly 20 years ago.
Across the lot, in the real offices, as opposed to the made-up ones, there was a room for props and wardrobe and make-up, a room for the producer and director, for the location manager, a communal area with half a dozen desks, a photocopying room, and an accountant’s office.
There were dozens of people scurrying back and forth, asking questions and answering phones. There was a catering van serving hot food from 7am.
All of this was happening because, nearly 10 years ago, I sat in a room on my own and typed a sentence that began, “I’m standing at my office window, smoking...”
Yes, after several years in development, the movie of my first novel Kill Your Friends started shooting last Monday.
The film is set in 1997 and stars Nicholas Hoult (Skins, A Simple Man, X-Men) as 26-year-old A&R man Steven Stelfox, a psychopath hell bent on (literally) slashing his way to the top of the music industry.
There’s also a great ensemble cast including James Corden, Joseph Mawle (Game of Thrones), Craig Roberts (Submarine, 22 Jump Street) and Edinburgh’s very own Georgia King (Chalet Girl, Cockneys v Zombies).
As some of you may know, in addition to writing books I also earn a crust as a screenwriter, so it’s not the first time I’ve been on a film set, but it’s really something to see your own novel, and one that frames 10 years of the lives of you and your friends, become a movie.
The experience has also brought home one of the big differences between writing novels and screenplays for a living.
A novel, of course, is a fully self-contained work of art. You pick it up off the shelf, open it and there it is – a whole universe waiting for you to enter.
A screenplay is just a blueprint for making a movie. Until the movie is actually filmed, the script really means nothing.
When you work on screenplays that never get filmed (and I know many writers who make a very good living this way, hundreds of movies are developed every year and very few go into production) it is like you are an architect who is forever designing buildings that never get constructed. It is financially rewarding, but creatively frustrating.
It’s also brought home to me the practicalities of movie making.
I was asked at one point if the dog in a scene could be awake rather than asleep. “Sure,” I said.
It turned out they might use a different dog if it was awake rather than asleep and the dog handler had to know which dog to prepare.
“Dear God,” you think. “All of this because I typed the words, ‘A dog is asleep on the sofa.’”
I pictured a whole world of wee dog prima donnas, all with their own managers and agents and demands for bigger trailers and stuff.
It was also very pleasing, from a practical point of view, to sit in a production meeting and hear the words, “OK, so for that scene we’re going to need cocaine, a severed limb, a urine rig and lots of blood.”
I held my hand up at that point and said: “I am John Niven and I deeply apologise for all this filth.”
Someone once wrote that “there is no stranger country than the recent past”. 1997 is not so long ago for some of us, yet it already feels like another era.
It certainly does for much of the cast, many of whom were born in the 90s, who were just small children when I was blasting my way through some of the events they are portraying.
I went along to the first day of filming, just to hear them shout, “Action!” for the first time.
But being on the set is difficult for a writer. Your job is done and it is in the hands of the director. (Thankfully, the director of Kill Your Friends, Owen Harris, has worked on Black Mirror and Holy Flying Circus and is brilliant.)
In the end being the writer on set is a bit like having organised a big party but you’re not allowed to eat or drink anything. You just have to stand in the corner.
If you follow me on Twitter you’ll know I expressed this sentiment earlier in the week, but in more, ah, robust language.
So I’ll leave them to it for the next five weeks. Break a leg guys. All being well we’ll get to see the results in the cinema, about this time next year.
When I’ll be the one at the back, shouting “I am John Niven and I deeply apologise for all this filth.’"
I usually listen to Sean Keaveny in the mornings...but missed this cos I'm on holiday at the moment! 6music seem to be having a Britpop season at the moment...thanks for the link, domino - and the article.
You're right - Stelfox really doesn't have any redeeming features at all...he is a completely loathsome character. But his total absence of a moral compass and his complete lack of remorse are very entertaining.......all the more so because, initially at least, it is just a bit shocking.....
I was in Camden last night, and have plans for tonight. And I don't have any clubbing clothes, let alone 90s stuff. The only time I was in the Electric Ballroom was during the day for a cinema fair.
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"Nothing sucks more than that moment during an argument when you realise you're wrong."
good morning to all then, tell me it is true that Damien will take part in this new film "kill your friend" ? keep me updated because, of course, here in Italy I can notget news !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Upcoming Britpop movie Kill Your Friends is currently filming in the uk and already has a stellar cast attached, including Nicholas Hoult, Tom Riley, James Corden, Georgia King, Edward Hogg, Craig Roberts and Joseph Mawle, but we are excited to report our favourite actor is also likely appearing.
There has been no official announcement of Damien’s casting, but the clues in the tweets below are pointing firmly in that direction.
The first from Georgia King:
Secondly from Damien himself this morning, on the day Kill Your Friends is being filmed at The Electric Ballroom, Camden London:
Directed by Owen Harris (Misfits, Black Mirror), Kill Your Friends is based on the 2008 novel by John Niven, who has also written the screenplay for the film. Set in 1997 London, the book – described as “wonderfully nasty” on its front cover – is an unadulterated, no-holds-barred fictional exposé dark satirical comedy based on the music industry at the height of the Britpop era, centred around an offensive, psychopathic A&R agent Stephen Stelfox (to be played by Nicholas Hoult) and his crew.
It is not known who he will be playing yet, but latest photos of Damien, at the EFG Short Story Awards last week, reveal the character will be sporting impressive Britpop-worthy sideburns.
(c) WordTheatre
Whatever the part, we are thrilled for Damien being cast in his first feature-length film, which looks set to be an iconic, on-trend British movie smash, and cannot wait to see his debut on the silver screen!
Watch this space for news as it happens.
Comment and discuss Damien in Kill Your Friends here!