Steve Coogan Philomena Interview

Philomena

Cast: Judi Denc, Steve Coogan
Director: Stephen Frears

Synopsis: Philomena is an emotional story inspired by true events, tinged with both tragedy and comedy, about two very different people who join forces for a remarkable journey. They are seeking to uncover the truth behind a heartbreaking story that has remained a mystery for half a century.

Philomena Lee, an Irishwoman in her 70s, became pregnant as a teenager in 1952. Her family abandoned her for shame and send her to a convent in Roscrea, Co. Tipperary, where along with other young girls in the same predicament she was regarded as -a fallen woman.' In compensation for the nuns taking her in and looking after her during childbirth she was made to work in the laundry there and only allowed access to her young son Anthony for an hour a day. When he was only three, Anthony was taken from the convent against her will; the nuns at Roscrea had agreed to sell him for adoption by an American family. Philomena spent the next 50 years trying in vain to establish his whereabouts.

Through a lucky set of circumstances she happened to meet Martin Sixsmith, an ex- BBC foreign correspondent and former director of communications for Tony Blair's government. When Philomena tells Martin about her long search for her son, he realises that hers is a remarkable story. He arranges for the two of them to visit the United States to and find out what happened to Anthony.

Philomena and Martin make an odd couple. She's a plain speaker and a trusting soul who takes people at face value and keeps her feet planted firmly on the ground. Despite all the injustices she has suffered, she still retains her religious faith. In contrast he is sophisticated, highly educated, a man at ease around important people and opulent locations; yet having lost his job in politics and been publicly humiliated, he's cynical and without religious conviction.

Together they embark on an extraordinary road trip. On the way they learn from each other, see a different point of view – and find reasons for laughter and joy in a quest that is often underpinned by sadness.

These two contrasting real-life characters, Philomena Lee and Martin Sixsmith, are played by two actors at the very summit of their respective fields: the legendary Oscar-winning actress Dame Judi Dench (Skyfall, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, Shakespeare in Love) and Steve Coogan (The Look of Love, 24 Hour Party People), one of Britain's leading comics and creator of the legendary TV and radio -personality' Alan Partridge.

Philomena
Release Date: December 26th, 2013

Interview with Steve Coogan

Question: You're a producer, a co-writer and one of the leads in Philomena. How did all this come about?

Steve Coogan: 'In 2010, I read an online article in the Guardian while I was in New York. The headline read: -The Catholic Church sold my child.' 'It was an interview with Martin Sixsmith about this book he had written, -The Lost Child of Philomena Lee,' and it contained the details, the bones of the story. I was very moved by the article. 'Soon afterwards I bumped into Gaby Tana, the producer, and told her about it. She said: -It sounds an amazing story, do you want me to co-produce it?' I got in touch with Martin Sixsmith, found out from him the rights were available, so I optioned them - in the hope I could develop it as a project."

Question: What was it about Philomena's story that felt special to you?

Steve Coogan: 'I already wanted to find a project I could believe in and do something with, between the other normal things I do, which are mostly comedy. This one touched me and spoke to me, with regards to my own background as a Catholic. And I thought the story was very universal. It's about mothers, babies, children – something everyone can identify with.

'Also, the story took us to America and Ireland – the New World and the Old World. I thought it would resonate with a lot of people, particularly because of that Irish-American connection.

'What captured my imagination was a photograph of Martin Sixsmith next to Philomena on a bench. And they just struck me as an odd couple. Martin Sixsmith was a journalist, an intellectual, middle-class, Oxbridge-educated, who had got to know this retired working-class Irish nurse. Their relationship struck me as interesting."


Question: Did you see it at first as an opportunity for you as a producer?

Steve Coogan: 'Yes. I didn't intend to write it at first. But while I found the book interesting, it wasn't the story I really wanted to tell. So I needed to find a co-writer. Gaby set up a meeting with Christine Langan at BBC Films and she suggested the screenwriter Jeff Pope. I knew of Jeff Pope and liked his work. I'd seen Pierrepoint, which he wrote and I really loved. He'd produced Mo (the TV biopic about politician Mo Mowlam) and Appropriate Adult (a TV dramatisation of the case of serial killer Fred West). So I knew he had the right sensibility.

'And when we met, we really hit it off. We had lots in common and really connected. That's what propelled the project. We developed a script and wrote it together – both of us between other projects. It was a labour of love. We crafted a story that became a road movie in a way - about these two people who have different world views but come to accept other world views and change how they view their own lives.

'I don't want to sound pretentious, but the story is about tolerance and understanding. That really is what it's about."


Question: It's interesting, that contrast between them. Martin Sixsmith's sophisticated, savvy and educated, while Philomena comes from a humbler background and she's impressed by the luxuries he takes for granted. Yet she often -reads' social situations better than he does.

Steve Coogan: 'That's right. Jeff Pope and I also wanted the story to be about intuition versus intellect.

He and I met up with Philomena and Martin Sixsmith several times, chatted to them and drew on those meetings. A lot of their conversations in the script are based on them."

Question: So apart from producing and writing, what made you also decide to play Martin yourself?

Steve Coogan: 'You get strait-jacketed. I love doing comedy - but I've done it. You get hungry for something more. I love laughing and making people laugh, but I've never been defined by funniness. I'd hate that. I don't want to sit back. I want to do things that are creative and a challenge. So you do things outside your comfort zone that risk failure.

'I want to explore life and different issues. I'd rather use comedy as a weapon in my arsenal to do other things. It can be used to sugar the pill of serious material. How do you make a story like this an enjoyable, uplifting experience? Challenges like that make it exciting. One way, of course, is to introduce elements of comedy between these two people - and that makes you laugh."


Question: Having said that, was it hard, playing Martin?

Steve Coogan: Things about it were. It's a bit of me, a bit of Martin Sixsmith. A lot of it comes from Martin Sixsmith's experience. It's a composite, really.

'The hardest thing was resisting my comedic instincts. Martin Sixsmith often visited the set when I was playing him, and I told him to watch me for what we called the -mug-ometer.'

He -directed' me, like traffic. He said very few words, but he would motion his hands to say -less' or -more' or -slow down' in terms of the way I played him. Martin Sixsmith had several comments and notes about the script, and they were creative and critical. They weren't like -this happened, this didn't.' It was more like advice about how to make the script better. And of course he knows, because he's a writer himself."


Question: It's a masterstroke, having Judi Dench to play Philomena.

Steve Coogan: No question about it. When we were writing, I said to Jeff Pope: -It would be amazing if we had Judi Dench to do this. So let's aim high.' But we hit the top when she agreed to do it."


Question: And what did Stephen Frears specifically bring to the process?
Steve Coogan: 'Stephen Frears makes you justify stuff. He's fastidious and rigorous in a way that's very good. I was a bit intimidated by him at first because of his canon of work. But we were able to have robust discussions about the script. He's far more collaborative than I thought he'd be. It was a proper dialogue."

'We talked a lot about the story and the fact that it has elements of tragedy as well as comedy. Stephen Frears mentioned the films of Billy Wilder, who he loves. And I'm a fan of Jack Lemmon, who appeared in a lot of Wilder's films. Together they made films that aren't easily defined – they're many things. They managed to walk a line between what's funny and what's tragic."


Philomena
Release Date: December 26th, 2013