The Scouting Book For Boys - Tom Harper interview

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Thirty-year-old director Tom Harper was only twenty-six when he got a BAFTA nod for his short film Cubs, about the initiation of a young boy into a street gang. His fascination with alternative youth culture is also evident in his later work for television, including teen soap Dis/Connected and Buffy-style supernatural drama Demons. His debut feature, The Scouting Book For Boys, is similarly dark, telling the story of a teenage boy (Thomas Turgoose) and his obsessive love for the girl next door at a caravan park (Holly Grainger).

Harper tells BBC Film Network his own coming-of-age story and reflects on his working relationship with Jack Thorne, the writer of The Scouting Book for Boys, whose previous credits include Channel 4's Skins.

How important was the BAFTA nomination? Did it lead to any offers of a feature?

Well, I think awards are always helpful because once one person supports you, or backs you, then it's easier for other people to justify themselves in backing you. Certainly I wasn't offered any features off the back of a short film though it did help me move into working professionally as a director for television... One short film leads to other things, but making the jump from shorts to features takes quite a while, unless you're exceptionally lucky.

So, what was the journey that brought you to The Scouting Book for Boys?

For me what happened is that I made Cubs, then Three Minute Wonders after that on Channel4, then something called Coming Up, part of an emerging talent scheme at Channel4. Then I did a pilot for BBC Three and another short film called Cherries, also for the BBC. It was on Coming Up that I met Jack Thorne, the writer of Scouting Book for Boys. The way that scheme worked is that it paired up writers and directors. Jack had written a script that I wanted to direct, but unfortunately, for a variety of reasons, I ended up directing something else. But because I really enjoyed that script, I gave him a call and we met up and had a coffee and got on. I'd also met Ivana McKinnon at that point, the producer of Scouting at Celador, and wanted to work with her. We gave it to her to read and went from there.

It sounds very straightforward for what is a complex film. Did you not have to pitch too hard to get the money?

Yes, but...it was a passion project really. It was something that Jack really wanted to write for a long time and she had given him a small amount of money - not a proper script fee - just to go away and do a treatment, or a first draft. I don't think she was expecting it to be as good as it was, which is perhaps why she was willing to then give it to me. Actually, I'm not quite sure how that happened! It just seemed to make sense because Jack and I really wanted to work together and because she had seen and liked my short film. We all just got on together.

How much input did you have in the development of the script?

Quite a lot. I worked on it for about two-and-a-half years before it got financed. I mean, whilst Jack wrote everything, we talked about it at every stage and I made suggestions. I was very much a part of it.

The story gets progressively darker and you have children at the centre of it, dealing with adult themes. Was that a tricky sell?

Yeah, it's something you're constantly battling in the film world; that question of 'Who is the film for?' For some films that's an easy answer. I'm developing a film at the moment called Cheerleaders and that's about a group of girls in Hackney who get recruited in a cheerleading team and they drink and they smoke and they swear and they dance. It's basically a teen dance comedy and I know exactly who that's for. There's a very specific target audience, but with this, it's much more difficult to identify. But does that mean you shouldn't be make the film? That's a question that came up a lot with financiers. Naturally they would ask: 'Who is the film for?' But then, who was Slumdog Millionaire for, really? There are some films that don't seem to fit for a specific target audience, but that doesn't mean they're not good.

How did you convince those financiers?

Well, there were a few reasons the film got made. FilmFour really loved the script, but the script also came number two on The Brit List; that's where industry people vote on their favourite unproduced screenplays. But Filmfour believed in me and they believed in Jack.

When it came to shooting, did you feel closely watched, being a new filmmaker?

I was relatively left alone. The whole process was a very good one for me. That's not say I was without people making comments and making sure I was doing certain things, but I think there's a perception that producers or executives are often difficult and make you do things you don't want to do, whereas with this experience, they were actually offering me very helpful advice and guidance. There's a huge amount of pressure and sometimes you need that kind of wisdom and someone with more experience to help guide you through.

When working with young actors, do you have to modify your approach? Also, Thomas Turgoose and Holly Grainger have different levels of experience...

I've worked a lot with young actors in my short films and in my pilot for BBC Three, and I've worked with Holly [Grainger] a couple of times as well. Neither of them have been to drama school and been trained so they do share a similar approach. They're both very instinctive and usually respond best in the first, second or maximum third take, whereas other actors will want to spend time analysing motivation and the character's back-story in much more detail. So, they were quite similar in that way because they both learned on the job, I suppose.

When you're on a lower budget and moving quickly, does that mean you don't have time to nurture your actors?

No, I disagree with that really. I think what's more difficult for all actors, and even more for younger actors, is all the hanging around they have to do on some film sets as you're trying to shoot one little bit here, then they're having to wait around for ages again as you set up for the next shot to do another little bit there. I think the momentum of a low-budget film shoot means that everyone is on their toes all the time; you're constantly moving. I think that serves the actors better. But the truth is, every actor is different, regardless of their age.

You shot outdoors in Norfolk and it looks great. The sun shined for you. Was it smooth sailing all the way?

It was very important that the caravan park appear as this magical place. The story then goes to a darker place, but I didn't want it to feel like social realism and particularly from the characters' point of view. You know most films like this are about people wanting to escape their environment, but in fact these kids want to stay in their environment. If it looked grey and miserable and rainy, obviously that would be harder to get across! We were lucky with the weather. There were a few little scheduling things that we did and a few tricks to make the most of the light when it was there. There is a lot of jiggery-pokery that comes along with it, but if the sun's not shining, the sun's not shining. We had a great time on the shoot actually. It was like a holiday atmosphere because everyone was staying in the caravan park and everyone's by the sea and eating and sleeping and drinking in the same place, and that actually makes for a really nice family atmosphere between the cast and crew.

Has the finished product turned out as you first envisioned it, or has it evolved?

I think filmmaking always evolves, unless you're the Wachowski brothers, and maybe even with them a few things turn out differently than they first imagined. But, yeah, absolutely. Like if a location goes down, you have to find another location. Originally the story was set in Wales and then we had to move to Norfolk for the financing, so there are plenty of things that change by necessity, to get the film made. But I like that. It's exciting. If you can open your mind to the different opportunities that present themselves, you can get something magical that you never expected.

Going from Wales to Norfolk sounds like a big upheaval...

We needed regional financing to complete the budget and it was more difficult to get the money out of Wales, which was very problematic because a lot of the film is set in a cave and there are no caves in Norfolk! Not even in Clifton except for this one tiny stretch, so that's where we shot the film!

Interview conducted by Stella Papamichael.

The Scouting Book For Boys is released on Friday 19th March.

Visit Tom Harper's Film Network profile, including two of his short films

Official website for The Scouting Book For Boys