Last Chance Harvey: Joel Hopkins interview

The director of the romantic comedy starring Emma Thompson and Dustin Hoffman reflects on his eight-year hiatus following an early-career BAFTA win.

Winning a BAFTA for your first feature might seem like an open invitation to the A-List, but it hasn't worked that way for British writer-director Joel Hopkins. He made his award-winning big screen debut in 2001 with Jump Tomorrow - a cross-cultural romance set in upstate New York - and eight years later has only just unveiled his second film. Last Chance Harvey is another love story between foreigners, this time starring Dustin Hoffman as the titular New Yorker and Emma Thompson as the quirky Brit who prompts a last-minute change to his plans at Heathrow airport. The film is also a love letter to London for the 38-year-old director who was born and raised in the capital but has spent most of his life in the Big Apple.

In the end, after several years of slaving over the script and attaching himself to other ill-fated projects, it was Emma Thompson who turned Hopkins' vision into a reality. She'd been big a fan of Jump Tomorrow and was keen to work with him on a 'grown-up' romantic comedy. Her involvement helped to get Last Chance Harvey bankrolled, especially after she brought the legendary Dustin Hoffman on board (shortly after they'd worked together on Stranger Than Fiction). That money was crucial for Hopkins who was determined to shoot much of the film outdoors on the streets of London, but it also threw up other challenges for him, most notably having to re-write the script with the actors in mind.

Last Chance Harvey is released nationwide in UK cinemas on Friday 5th June 2009M

Interview: Stella Papamichael; Video: Stephen Bailey Published 5th June 09