Five Seconds to Spare
Synopsis
The film marks the feature film debut of award-winning commercials director Tom Connolly and is produced by Amanda Posey, who says she optioned the rights to the book in 1995, because of its "vividly cinematic premise". Coe wrote a number of drafts for Five Seconds To Spare before Connolly, also a screenwriter, came on board as director and re-wrote the final draft.
"Tom had a very strong, coherent and complete vision of both what he wanted to do with the script to give it a visual vibrancy, and how that translated into shooting it as a director," says Posey.
Despite his experience as a musician, Beesley, who hit the spotlight with his performance as the BBC's Tom Jones, was not at first an obvious choice for the part of William. "Max is magnetic and confident, in complete contrast to the character of William," says Posey. "But he worked because he counteracted any possibility of William seeming drippy."
Music plays an integral part in the film, which boasts an original score by Ben Pope and even features a cameo by Radio One DJ John Peel.
Five Seconds To Spare premiered at the Greenwich Film Festival in June.
Details
- Year
- 2000
- Type of project
- Features
- Director
-
Tom Connolly
- Composer
- Ben Pope.
- Dir
- Tom Connolly. 1999. 35mm. 102mins. Exec prods: Nik Powell, Stephen Woolley, Peter Fudakowski. Prod: Amanda Posey. Scr: Jonathan Coe, Tom Connolly. DoP: Ashley Rowe. Prod des: Mark Tildesley. Ed: Caroline Biggerstaff. Main cast: Max Beesley, Ray Winstone, Anastasia Hille, Valentina Cervi, Andy Serkis. Budget: $5m. Funding: Matrix Films, Arts Council of England, Advanced, BBC, WavePictures.
Categories
Production Status
Production Company
SCALA/WILDGAZE FILMS 15 Frith Street London W1V 5TS Tel: (44) 20 7734 7060 Fax: (44) 20 7437 3248.
Sales Company
Winchester Films (44) 20 7851 6500 Territories sold: Eastern Europe, France, Germany, Iceland, Israel, South Africa.
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See also
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Five Seconds to Spare
Director: Tom Connolly
Year: 2000
Woven in with a constantly surprising and colourful thriller plot, Five Seconds to Spare is the witty and poignantly observed story of William, a young aspiring musician who pins his hopes in London, the dream city which will bring him rock 'n' roll success and true romance. Only trouble is, in reality, William's life is beset with frustration: his witless band seem intent upon turning his dark, heartfelt songs into commercial pop; the coolly desirable Madeleine hangs out of reach and even catching a bus on a Sunday seems a hopeless act of faith. Things could hardly get any worse, but they do - when he becomes the only witness to a bizarre murder.
About A Bell
Director: Simon Callow
Year: 2026
Sami, a Syrian refugee in the UK, and Bryony, an aimless young librarian, embark on a highly personal quest to preserve a bell from a demolished Christian church. What begins as a civic protest quickly becomes a criminal case when they accidentally near fatally injure a security guard, and find themselves on the run from the police. However, our accidental heroes’ fate is sealed by a kindly police sergeant who is moved by their mission, and our odd-couple achieve their goal of saving the bell and reminding the town they both call home about the importance of remembering its own story.
