Q: The locations in the film, such as the Bradshaw’s pub, are very authentic.

It was difficult to get a pub that size to film in, there’s not that many left that size with that vibe. But we found one pub in Kilburn. We took it over for a week or more. We even hired a genuine East End shabby style pub singer to cue up Deacon's first appearance. The only set we built was the gang's office and Deacon's kill flat, we were based at the old Old Central St Martin's School in Holborn for those scenes. Everything else was locations.

Q: And filming that early key scene in the Natural History Museum?

I wanted just one grand location in the film and put this team of knuckleheads in it, and have them seriously mess up, so its a good antithesis and sets you up for the funny tone of the movie. When you go in to the Natural History Museum to film all you're thinking about is: we move in at 6 pm, we've got to get out by 6 am. We've got to get the shots. You're just looking at things and thinking, “This is not moving quickly enough!” And then they've got to light the place which takes another three to four hours, so you're sitting around in agony for hours just waiting to start. And then you're just filming and filming and trying to get what you need: because you've got action, you've got fight choreography, complex stunts, you've got a crowd of extras and the clock is ticking so fast. Good luck! It was the most challenging location of the whole shoot.

Q: So what's next for Hajaig?

It's a thriller called All Mine Enemies. My script again. It's a cross between Scarface and The Count of Monte Christo, set in the drug underworld of Thailand and New York, very violent, intense and action filled. I’m considering Peter Ferdinando for it: another very unusual role, in which he will need to transform his physique completely and manner again. And, also, of course, my shabby style karaoke singer, Dino Laine.

Ends.

Special Thanks to director H Hajaig for permission to use this interview on my site. A version of this interview is also incorporated into the official press kit for the film.

HADI HAJAIG’S SCHOOL DAZE, A 1990 CARTOON

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Blue Iguana: Filming on Location

Images: Top bit-part singer Tom Tunney in the Prince of Wales pub.

Below; director H Hajaig is the tiny face to the right of the pillar in this view taken at the end of a night’s filming at the Natural History Museum.

Bottom: the Natural History Museum main hall during a break in the night’s filming. Click on the images for larger versions and the stories behind them. All photos this page by S Starshine.