As Jonathan Sothcott’s Hereford Films celebrates its first success of the year with the DVD release of The Exorcism of Karen Walker, the prolific producer appears on The London Power 100 List for the first time. We caught up with the ‘Godfather of British gangster films’ to see how 2019 is shaping up for him.
How does it feel to be number 92 on The London Power 100 List?
Well I’m still a little dazed. It was a pleasant surprise to say the least – but I’m very grateful. I’m not at all convinced it has added to my power though – I spent most of the day it was announced telling the dog he had to obey me now but he completely ignored me as usual! Its incredibly nice to be on lists but its like winning awards – you can’t take it seriously, or at least I can’t. I’m incredibly lucky in that I make a living from something I’m passionate about and every day I do it is a privilege.
Although you’ve made horror films in the past, The Exorcism of Karen Walker is your first one in five years. What brought you back to this genre and do you have plans for more?
I love horror movies, particularly the classic ones, but it’s a genre I’ve had decidedly mixed success with in the past – either the movies didn’t click or they weren’t very good. The problem with horror, of course, is that the market is incredibly over saturated. Its one of the very few genres that consistently works at the box office, whether it’s the Blumhouse films or the It remake, but aside from those films its harder on home video because there is such a glut of cheap product and audiences find it hard to spot the quality ones unless they have that theatrical awareness. I’ll give you an example – if you go into your local supermarket (which is where probably 90% of DVDs are sold in the UK) you will see those big horror movies but then you’ll also see what we call ‘drafting titles’ – low budget, independent films that are made to look like Hollywood blockbusters (or sequels/prequels/whatever). Often these feature evil clowns (It), giant sharks (The Meg) etc. You would be surprised how many people buy them. So the distributors will very often take this approach because it is the only way the supermarkets will stock the films (and believe me, competition is fierce – if you’re not in the grocers, your film has zero chance of success on DVD).
So anyway, we made this film called Aura at the very end of 2017 and it was released as such in the US last summer. It didn’t make much of a splash as the distributor didn’t spend any money promoting it (which is usual) but it has had some nice reviews and I think it’s a slow burn. I should say at this point it is, in my opinion, a decent film. As a horror fan I enjoyed it. The cast are excellent and its creepy and has a good atmosphere. Anyway, when it was presented to the supermarkets in the UK they didn’t like the title or the artwork. So the distributor reworked the art and changed the title and it immediately became a more commercial prospect. It got good reviews here and has been selling steadily.
However, to put it in perspective, Karen Walker has done less than 10% of the business of The Krays Dead Man Walking, which we released last year. So the core business at Hereford is and always will be the crime/gangster/action stuff which the company is best known for. We have a Hereford Horror division and interesting it gets probably 20 times the amount of scripts and ideas that the main company gets but we are incredibly selective about it. Moving forward with the horror we really want to focus on established genre brands (to give you examples I wish I’d made the new Critters film or I’d love to have a go at a new Howling movie) or really high concepts, preferably based on true stories.
On the subject of these ‘drafting titles’ its something your own films have been subjected to?
Yes, on a number of occasions and to be honest I’m quite flattered. The most recent example is, I guess, King of Crime which was clearly marketed to look like We Still Kill The Old Way. I remember Chris Ellison, who is one of my best friends, telling me about it a few years back when he filmed on it for one day and it was called something like Milk and Honey. So the way I see it is – good luck to them, its bloody hard getting a film made and distributed and if I’ve made films good enough that people want to mimic them then that is a big compliment.
You’ve been an outspoken critic of reality TV – why is that?
I just hate it. I can’t think of anything worse to watch. I’m not including Strictly in this as that isn’t what I’d call reality TV: its light entertainment. But Big Brother, Love Island etc fill me with dread. I grew up in an era of prime drama and light entertainment. Reality doesn’t make people think and its so overwhelmingly negative – in its portrayal of people, in its depiction of what is ‘normal.’ I think Reality TV has really contributed to the malaise that has set in in this country. I’m not a fan of British television at all – its something I rarely watch. And I don’t think men are particularly well served by it – the only show that for me fills the void left by the Sweeney, The Bill etc is Bullet Proof on Sky – I thought that was absolutely brilliant and I can’t wait for the second series. More stuff like that, reality.
How do you think Netflix has impacted on the DVD market?
Less than people think. We are constantly told that digital, streaming etc is what has hurt the DVD market but there are other more important factors which have recently been brought to light by the HMV administration. First, the British high street has been collapsing for years with the rise of the big out of town retail parks, all of which have huge supermarkets. People started buying their DVDs (and clothes, homeware etc etc) in supermarkets rather than the high street so lots of shops closed, be it Virgin Megastore, HMV or BHS and Woolworths. The difference between buying DVDs in big high street stores and supermarkets is shelf space – the supermarkets only stock super commercial films eg a far more limited choice, because those DVDs are competing with clothes/groceries/disposable BBQs/whatever. So it isn’ts o much that the DVD market is dying, it’s that the ones that are readily available to people still sell through well, but there are far less of them to buy. The British gangster stuff is of course a perennial supermarket favourite and these are always successful, whether its my Krays film or The Hatton Garden Job or Rise of the Footsoldier 3.
Netflix is of course brilliant at marketing itself – my kids are far more impressed when one of my old films shows up there than if one is at the cinema. But I think people see it as different to DVD. Certainly the people I speak to who buy my films still like a meat and potatoes product – they like to own something tangible. And I’m exactly the same.
Which of your films is your favourite?
The two that I think are the best are Vendetta and We Still Kill The Old Way. Vendetta is a more accomplished film – Stephen Reynolds is the best writer/director I have worked with and I think what he achieved on a tiny budget is almost unique. Steve should be directing $100 million Hollywood action movies. He really gets it. Despite the dark vigilante storyline We Still Kill has a certain lightness of touch and the performances are really fun. They are both good movies I’m proud of. They are the two films I have made that people know when they ask me what I do.
Who have been your favourite actors to work with?
Amongst the group of people I work with regularly its too hard to pick – Martin Kemp, Billy Murray, Chris Ellison, Nick Nevern… they’re all my very good friends so it never feels like work. We have such a good time making these films. Over the years I have been incredibly lucky to work with some amazing people – Sir Roger Moore, Jason Statham, Sheridan Smith, Ray Winstone. I loved working with Mark Hamill: he was a joy. What a brilliant guy and such a big part of my childhood. But I’ve also worked with my partner Janine, on The Krays Dead Man Walking and The Exorcism of Karen Walker so she has to be my favourite! Janine is involved in every aspect of my business and I trust her judgement implicitly. Before she became an actress her background was legal and accounting so she understands every aspect of what I do. The fact that she’s very talented as an actress really helps too: I was so proud of her performance in Karen Walker – she’s been acting a couple of years and was more than holding her own with veterans like Shane Taylor and Rula Lenska. I can’t really stress enough how much having Janine in my life has changed it for the better: she focuses me and motivates me and she’s helped me cut out a lot of the dead wood in my life. I’m nearly 40: I don’t need an entourage.
What are your plans for Hereford Films this year?
I have spent the last 6 months or so patiently raising finance and structuring the business while preparing a 3 year production plan. We’ll start this spring with Reckoning Day, The Krays Marked For Death, Trappers, We Still Die The Old Way and Pretty Boy. All top quality British crime films. We’ll be in control of our own marketing on these films so we won’t be as reliant on the distributors as we have been in the past. The demise of Revolver, Metrodome, Anchor Bay UK et al has left a bit of a void in the UK distribution landscape but we can’t let that be an excuse for not pushing our product as hard as we can. It is the most exciting period of my career – the production programme we are about to embark on will make us the busiest indie company in the UK and we’ll be producing quality films by quality film-makers. We’ll also be giving more opportunities to new writers and directors alongside their more established counterparts. And as well as the films we will be dipping our toes in the TV waters, exploring online webisodic shows and launching a comprehensive range of merchandise to compliment our films. My ambition has no ceiling when it comes to growing Hereford Films.
