大象传媒

The Salford born and bred writer was already used to writing in his native tongue, having been principal writer on the Manchester-based, landmark 大象传媒 Three series, Burn It, but Control was his first script for the big screen, a task that he didn鈥檛 take lightly even before he put pen to paper.

"The research was heavy, but I enjoyed it. I probably researched for about four months and I could have gone on. With any project, you can research and research, especially when it鈥檚 something like this, where you want it to be so right for so many reasons.

The cast as Joy Division in Control

"After four months, I felt I鈥檇 had enough. I鈥檇 met the major players and you know it鈥檚 time to start when the voices start talking in your head. That鈥檚 when you sit down and write it, because research doesn鈥檛 write scripts."

Something of substance

That in-depth delving into the characters involved may have been hard work, but it was worth it. Control has been commended for its characters, particularly the depiction of the troubled Joy Division front man, a portrait that Matt is particularly happy with.

鈥淚 am happy with how I鈥檝e written Ian. It鈥檚 so hard to tell the story of a mind that鈥檚 so complex in two hours, but overall, I鈥檓 happy with it.

鈥淚 came out of the Cannes screening, which was the first time I鈥檇 seen it, and turned to my wife and said 鈥榯hat was really quite good, wasn鈥檛 it?鈥� And then I had to go for a quiet pint on my own, because it was.

Ian (Sam Riley) + Annik (Alexandra Maria Lara)

鈥淚t is really good and that was unexpected, because I鈥檇 written it three years ago, I had some distance, I鈥檇 written three more scripts since it, so coming back to it was like watching an adoptive son grow up.

鈥淚 found very little fault with the film and normally I find lots of faults with the films I do.鈥�

Getting closer

For Matt, the crux of the script was to make sure it wasn鈥檛 about Joy Division but about the relationships Ian has with his wife Debbie and his mistress Annik, though he鈥檚 happy to have had the band鈥檚 music to underscore his words.

"I never wanted to write a Joy Division film, because the music could take over and get in deep water, making a film that鈥檚 not far off a music promo.

"But if you鈥檇 concentrated on the music to the detriment of journeys and characters, then you鈥檇 have ended up with a film that is wafer thin and doesn鈥檛 stand up."

Of course, the main difference between Control and Matt鈥檚 previous work is that he was putting words into the mouths of people who actually exist, something that he did find difficult but thinks he鈥檚 succeeded with.

"No-one鈥檚 hit me yet, so that鈥檚 a good sign. No, at some point, you have to forget the fact you鈥檙e writing words of, if you like, real people.

"I was getting stuck down in the fact that these people are alive and I鈥檓 making up what they say and situations that they might have been in.

"But I got through that and got on and wrote it. I think that the people who are in it are ok with it because they are intelligent enough to know that this is a dramatic and, to an extent, fictional film, and to drive it, you have to have dialogue that is made up.

"There鈥檚 certainly no-one who鈥檚 come up to me and said 鈥業 never said that at Bowdon Youth Club鈥� or anything like that."

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