Winners' Press Conference Interview with Asif Kapadia, James Gay-Rees and Chris King for "Amy" in the Documentary Category.
Asif Kapadia James Gay-Rees Chris King
Q. First of all, this is a very obvious question but how do you feel? If you could just step forward to the mic and identify yourself?
JAMES GAY-REES: Good, really great, really happy. A lot of work went into it so we've all been recognised for the work.
Q. Why Amy? Why Amy Winehouse?
JAMES GAY-REES: Good question. When we were initially approached about it, we weren't really up to speed with the story, above and beyond what everybody knows about it but I suppose we had a sort of collective gut instinct that there was probably something that needed to be said about what happened because it was such a high profile, sad car crash, played out in the UK media. I think we instinctively knew there were a couple of issues around the story to be examined so we dived in but nothing could have quite prepared us for what we were about to get into.
ASIF KAPADIA: For me I lived in and around Camden for about ten years. There was this story going on down the street and there was something about it, time to make a film about -- it's about Amy, it's also about London I feel, it's about us, about the UK. Somehow we're all involved in this business or the entertainment business or whatever it is. Having made the film everyone is somehow connected to Amy or has a little part in this story so it felt quite personal. That was one of the things that intrigued me and it's about now, it's a very contemporary film about how we feel and art and how people can get built up and all the personal issues she had but also how people can get torn down.
Q. Did you start with an overarching structure in your head and did that change as the film went along? Chris, I imagine your work in this maybe helped shape the film?
CHRIS KING: We had literally no idea what we were doing when we started. We were experienced film makers so we knew we were going to make a film at the end of it but in terms of her story and what was going to be involved in that story, we didn't know. We just started journalistically, asking questions. Who is this girl, where did she come from, what were the influences, who were her friends, who would know about her, what really happened, I suppose. Because anybody could see that she was visibly wilting and dying in front of us and no one did anything about it, which raises enormous questions. So we asked those questions and it took a long time, it took a year at least of solid begging and interviewing, and begging and interviewing and one person leading to another person before we began to get to the core of what really went on. So there was that. But there was also, in discovering what an amazing talent, bright, vivacious, funny and hilarious person she was before it all went wrong. I don't think anyone really connected -- very few people bought her first album, I don't think it sold more than a couple of hundred thousand copies, so most people knew her from her public life. We were on a bit of a mission to introduce this other Amy, the Amy we thought people would really, really like and didn't know before.
ASIF KAPADIA: I suppose one thing we did have, we had her songs. It was always going to be a question of how did these songs play a part in the story. I don't think any of us realised how personal they werebut once we started digging into it, doing the research, the songs and lyrics were there, so it was question of which lyrics, which songs, which performance and which order, which Chris was really brilliant at structuring it all around her lyrics, which is the heart of the movie.
Q. Let's take some questions now.
Q. Hi, I know this is something you've spoken about a lot but what is the current relationship with Amy's family with regards to the documentary, Amy?
JAMES GAY-REES: Nothing has really changed. We have irregular contact with most of them and Mitch is always going to have his own feelings about it. But whether it's Blake or the other members of the family, the communication and relationships are good, nothing has really changed.
ASIF KAPADIA: Some of them like it, some of them do not.
CHRIS KING: Most of her friends, most of the people that we spoke to over the two or three years that we were making this film.
ASIF KAPADIA: 99.9 per cent of the people say it's a very honest film.
CHRIS KING: They say that's Amy and I think we can probably leave it at that.
Q. Why was her brother not featured in the movie?
ASIF KAPADIA: We tried to talk to him. We weren't able to get to him. He was the only one who didn't want to speak to us.
CHRIS KING: He just didn't want to participate whatsoever.
Q. That obviously hasn't changed since the movie's release in any way?
CHRIS KING: No.
Q. Looking forward, the Hand of God, how excited are you about Maradonna?
ASIF KAPADIA: Very early days but absolutely, that's one we're going to get into next, once it all calms down with this one, that's one of the projects we're going to be moving on to.
Q. There's a whole troubled life there, are you going to tackle everything?
JAMES GAY-REES: We don't know yet. We've just cottoned on to. We take a long time on the research of our stories. We don't have a preconceived idea of what the film is going to be so we will have to get stuck in and see what happens in Diego's mind.
CHRIS KING: Were you not listening just now? We say we have no idea how we start these things.
ASIF KAPADIA: We don't know what we're doing. It's a recurring theme. I've got a feeling life is not boring with Diego somehow.
Q. Will this have the same resonance in America, this film?
ASIF KAPADIA: It has had actually. She is huge in the US. The difference between the UK and the US, I've found, is that here most people would have been aware of Amy with her first album, they would have known of Amy around town, she was in the media and press. In the US, because her first album didn't get released, people only became aware of Amy when Back to Black came out and at that point she hardly spoke, she didn't give any press interviews. So that early Amy most of you may have been aware of or come across, no one there did. She never spoke to anyone. So everyone there was much harder on her. They literally summed her up with one word, train wreck and they were really shocked when they saw the film. The film has been a big hit, it's the biggest doc of a year there, but they actually have almost gone on a bigger emotional journey because they didn't know anything about her and they judged her even more harshly than people here.
Q. James, you spoke about in your speech that you hope the media has learned from watching this film and seeing Amy's life played out as it did, do you think the media has learned, do you think they're still hounding people who shouldn't be perhaps?
JAMES GAY-REES: What was interesting to the reactions in America is a lot of journalists took it to heart there, maybe it's the nature of the American psyche, but a lot of them were like my God I've got to rethink everything I do now. We're a bit more cynical in this country. I doubt that much will change in reality just because it's the way the machine works but I do think -- we always said at the outset of this movie that, this is without being sanctimonious but if it could make a tiny bit of difference to one person who was struggling with addiction or to the way one person reported on the subject, then obviously it would be good.
CHRIS KING: I think the other thing is, maybe it would have persuaded a few hundred thousand people not to click that link, to do the clickbait thing and have a look at somebody who is a hot mess.
ASIF KAPADIA: I know my agents and people like that in LA are thinking about how they know certain people with problems and they think it's not my problem, not my issue, and a lot of people are saying, maybe we do need to get more involved, if they know someone has a problem. Whether it's addiction, depression, bulemia, all these issues that are part of film-making, part of the music business, hopefully people will change, I don't know if it's making journalists think but I know a lot of people have said they feel guilty about what they did at that time because they met Amy, they interviewed her and they went out dressed up as Amy Winehouse for Halloween. They're a bit older, they've got their own kids, they maybe feel a bit differently about how they treat people now.
Q. What about the Brits? You must be excited, you're going to win a Brit?
ASIF KAPADIA: I know nothing about the Brits. I've never been, we make films, I know about the filmy side of things. I don't even know when the Brits are. I'm sure it's great but I know nothing about it. I think the Grammys are tomorrow but we're here.
JAMES GAY-REES: We won't win a Brit because Adele is going to win it. There's no way Amy is going to win it. I think Adele might win.
ASIF KAPADIA: I think she's in with a shot. Actually I know nothing about that.
Q. On that note, please give it up for Chris King, Asif Kapadia and James Gay-Rees.
