Ten years ago in North London, a homeless addict James Bowen met Bob, a stray cat. Since then, one person, one cat, one end of the world. Bob is not a fuel-efficient cat, and at the premiere of their story being put on the silver screen, he had a "scandal" with Princess Kate who attended the ceremony, and was suspected of scratching the princess's hand by the British "Sun". On the occasion of the London release, this newspaper interviewed producer Adam Rolston to tell the story of "Uncle Cat" James and cat star Bob before and after the screen.
The picture shows the stills of the movie "Bob the Stray Cat". (Image source: European Times UK edition)
An encounter that changes the fate of a cat and a person
Set in 2007, 28-year-old James Bowen is a street singer who frequents Covent Garden in downtown London. Due to the breakdown and displacement of his family, years of unhappiness left him addicted to drugs.
That year, with the help of a drug rehabilitation charity, James had a place to live in North London. It was then that he saw a scarred, dying stray cat outside his residence. As if seeing what had happened to him, James took out all his living expenses and took the stray cat to the doctor. The recovered stray cat lives in James's house, and together they live a life of dependence, which James named Bob.
Bob's appearance has also completely changed James's life, he is no longer alone, Bob is inseparable, accompanied by him to quit drug addiction, with him to go to the streets to sell art, peddle the magazine Big Issue... Bob stood on his neck and sometimes jumped on the guitar, and the clever Bob learned to high-five. The cute Bob quickly became popular with people, and James was also stained, earning 3 times more than in the past. What's more, Bob has become the driving force behind his survival. James once said, "Bob made me feel like I had a home for the first time, and it made me determined to make my life comfortable and make it better." ”
They began to gain media attention, and in 2012, James published his own book to document their story, Astreet Cat Named Bob, published and translated into more than 30 languages, sold more than 1 million copies in the UK, and topped the TOP ten bestseller list in the UK for two consecutive years, and Chinese readers affectionately called James "Uncle Cat london".
Princess Kate interacts with Bob at the premiere of "Bob the Stray Cat". The man on the right is Bob's owner. (Image source: European Times UK infographic)
A touch, opened a journey of dreams
It wasn't just James who changed his life because of Bob, but a British playwright was also silently touched by Adam Rolston, who eventually served as a producer and brought the story to the silver screen.
Adam, who has always loved cats and Chaplin, was fascinated when he saw the book in 2012.
On the eve of the film's release, Adam said in an interview with the European Times, "I especially love cats and animals, and this book tells a story about homeless homeless people. Chaplin's films in the history of British cinema are particularly classic, and the image of the tramp he created is also deeply rooted in people's hearts. As a chaplin fan, I am naturally also full of romantic fantasies about homeless people. ”
A year later, Adam discovered that no one had remade the book, which also touched his dream. As a stage playwright, Adam had been writing scripts for seven or eight years before, and it had always been his dream to become a film screenwriter and enter the film industry, and Bob let him see the motivation to set sail. Bob already had a fairly strong fan base internationally at the time, which gave Adam the potential to make this story into a movie. "Although it is a British story, the global sales of five million are destined to achieve an international impact. Readers around the world can be potential audiences, and it's easier to find investment and distribution," Adam said, "because the bestsellers of the book are willing to go to the cinema to see it, which is a good way to promote it." A man and a cat, a true story, people may like it because it's more novel and quirky. ”
So Adam began to contact James's agent to discuss the copyright. It is said that at that time, there were already American Disney companies and four other companies that were also interested in the copyright of this story. But Adam's words touched James and writer Garry Jenkins (Garry was also involved in James's book writing), when he told them, "I wanted to make a British film that would keep the story and Bob in its entirety, rather than making it a cartoon cat singing and dancing like Disney or Hollywood." "It just so happens that James thinks the same thing as Adam, and the original Bob is what really appeals to this story." Two weeks later, I got a call confirming that the copyright was mine and I was really lucky. Adam said.
As an "electrocution" debut, producer Adam was not involved in the writing in this film, but instead worked closely with professional screenwriters. "It's a big leap for me, and I'm still in the learning phase, it's not enough to just focus on writing and writing, it's also a quick step to learn about business and finance," he says. I work with the most experienced team I can, and the producer in charge of the budget and the director Roger are the best. ”
The picture shows producer Adam in an exclusive interview with the European Times. (Photo source: Photo by Hou Qingyuan, a reporter of the European Times)
A tacit understanding, Bob skilled the cat to "speak for himself"
Although Bob has been a cat star "spokesperson" for many years, he has repeatedly accompanied James on the streets and attended signing parties, causing countless passers-by to fall under his cat's claws. But Bob is not an actor after all, and it is impossible to determine whether after leaving James, facing the actors and camera cameras, will continue to keep the past meow style and follow the shooting schedule.
Therefore, the film crew did not plan to let Bob play himself at the beginning, but only planned to arrange a small scene for Bob to appear. Before shooting, the film crew specially selected 6 specially trained orange cats similar to Bob to undergo 3 months of training in Canada. Trainers let the cats go to shopping malls, parking lots, make contact with people, high-five people, jump on bicycles and buses..." Any training is not excessive, because the hardest thing is that the movie scene will be filmed in the particularly lively Covent Garden, the tourists are too noisy, the cat is a particularly vigilant animal, and Bob in the original has been obediently sitting next to James like a puppy. Adam said.
Sure enough, as the film crew expected, the first week of filming was seriously behind. Because of the dense crowds, even trained professional actors and meows are difficult to control, let alone shoot all day long, so that they sit motionless to maintain cooperation.
Adam said that during the second week of filming, James also came to the scene and brought Bob with him. In that scene, the protagonist was shooting, letting Bob sit quietly next to him, and the director tried to let Bob shoot one. As a result, it sat there, its eyes rolling with the camera lens, as if it knew it was performing, and its attention was not taken away by passers-by at all.
There was another one, there were a lot of passers-by, people kept coming over to put money, and for a moment Bob seemed to be nodding to a person. At that moment, Adam and the director felt that only Bob could play himself. In this way, Bob, who is now 11 years old, defeated 6 special training cats from the "cobain" and became the protagonist of the name, while the other cats could only give him a "stand-in" and appear when they needed special moves.
Insist once, restore the warmth and coldness of human feelings
It has been 3 years since he got the filming rights, and producer Adam has completed his first journey, bringing the stubbornness of James and Bob to the big screen, and Bob has also been promoted from an Internet celebrity to a movie protagonist. The film will have more than 40 release times around the world, and after its recent premiere in the UK, it will be released in the United States on the 18th, which is the third anniversary of Adam's copyright.
During the interview, Adam repeatedly thanked the film's director, Roger Spottiswoode, who shot "Tomorrow Never Dies." He said he asked Roger to make Bob's story because he needed a director who could work with animals. Roger is a good candidate because he has photographed dogs and polar bears, can show the delicate relationship between animals and people, and is very experienced in capturing animal movements and expressions. Roger knew a Canadian animal trainer who had previously trained polar bears for him during the 2014 film Midnight Sun.
Adam revealed that the film has a budget of $8 million, "which may be a small amount in Hollywood, but the UK can be regarded as higher than normal, and it is basically around 2 million here." In his view, the British domestic film market lacks commercialization, pays too much attention to British elements, has a large number of depression and dark tones, and the social message conveyed is not positive. More warm, interesting, and novel stories are needed.
The film was a great breakthrough for the former playwright Adam, and even though he was rejected many times in the process, he finally made it. The film is about to be released in many cities around the world, and he is looking forward to it, but he is a little nervous. "I think this movie proves a kind of hope, for new people to enter the film industry is a process, posterity stands on the basis of the predecessors, if you have a good idea, you should take the initiative to try." 」
As for whether fans of the original will lower their expectations for the movie because they know the story, Adam said that unlike other film adaptations, this movie does not completely follow the original book, and fans of the novel can expect some new surprises. "Because the original book is first-person, the film explores James's role throughout the story and the connection between James and other people in affection, love, and friendship."
In addition, Adam says, some of the understatements in the original book are amplified in the movie. His favorite in the book is the plot of Bob walking through the crowds, hopping on the bus, and looking for James when he first goes on a street show with James. "The book is an understatement of the past, but the reality shooting is still different, and it is particularly incredible to see it restored in the movie."
He also stressed that the homeless people filmed in the film are not actors, but real wanderers. Hope to change people's perception of homeless people, drug addicts and stray animals through this film, this is a film about redemption and hope, he hopes that the audience will be full of confidence in the world after watching it, and live a positive and optimistic life. This winter, if you feel cold, you may wish to go into the cinema to warm your heart.
(Editor: Ze Qin)