So there was a serious mess-up last week with the City police that resulted from a massive communication breakdown and ended up with their media liaision team issuing retractions to people enquiring about their participation in the film. It was a huge disappointment to everyone, including the officers who had been working with us for a while on planning the “siege” scenes.
On the Monday morning we sent out a press release that went over the wires and used fairly inflammatory publicity language about “carnage” and “ultra-violence”. You can read it down the page, but it was pretty enthusiastic and generally standard practice when you’re generating interest in a film, especially one as special as MR.
A note of advice for anyone working with the police and doing press: NEVER use the word “kill” in a press release. Very bad idea. Even if it’s in a dramatic/fictional context about a film.
On Monday afternoon, the police team came round to discuss the project and plan out some of the logistics and choreography – we’d been in talks for quite a while and we were under the impression that their corporate department had signed off and things were fine internally. The lady who originally OK’d the deal is now off on maternity leave, and as we found out, her replacement didn’t know anything about it.
We had wanted to portray as much realism as we could fit in, including emphasising the “human” element of what the firearms units do, as their job is difficult, stressful and hazardous. Much of the content was very, very sympathetic and supportive. Only 15 people have ever been shot and killed in the history of the British police, and their work is focused on preserving human life in every circumstance as a priority – taking it is an absolute last resort and must be only done for the ultimate goal of preserving life.
What they do is absolutely clinical, the officers themselves are highly professional and at no point should their work be considered glamorous, or necessary force/violence be glorified.
So there we were talking it over, and the phone rang. It was a very, very angry media liaison lady. The press release had made its way to the Corporation of London, who phoned the City Police and demanded to know what was going on. Because of the way the inflammatory release was written, and because we’d linked them to the project publicly without sending it to them for review beforehand, the decision was taken at higher levels to end their involvement with the film. Everyone was very disappointed and the meeting was ended as there was nothing else we could do.
Their line on the matter goes something like this:
“We were in talks with the producers of Michael’s Resignation, but after reviewing the script and due to the violent nature of the film, will no longer be involved.”
Or something to that effect.
Despite a phone call to their media unit, offers to retract/reconcile, that part of the MR story ended last week. We immediately re-designed the “siege” section to be carried out by a considerably more sinister secret team of “black ops” personnel. For that, we’re now building and training our own special forces action stunt team to assault the building.
These things happen. MR is never boring.
It’s a little odd to be honest. In the US, the military *love* working with filmmakers as they make them look so cool. Directors are welcomed on aircraft carriers with open arms simply because recruitment numbers go up, the people look tough as hell, and it’s just fantastic PR for them. Over here, we’re still paranoid over the Jean Charles De Menezes case and its all incredibly sensitive Armed police don’t kill people apparently, we’re cuddly and welcoming. Firearms units are sensitive, caring and cutesy types who genuinely care from the bottom of their heart. We absolutely wanted to show the real life version of what goes on – the hesitation and/or fear of the young officers, the solemn decisions not taken lightly, but also the professionally cold response of highly trained and controlled people who risk their lives to protect us from those we can’t protect ourselves from.
Don’t we want our armed police to be frightening? Don’t we want anyone picking up a gun and threatening others to know that they will absolutely, definitely meet maximum lethal force in seconds if they do? If they make that choice – and it is a choice – we want them to know what the response will be. They will be shot and killed ruthlessly – within 3 minutes. That the most frightening, clinical and brilliantly trained military men will be crashing through the window and putting them down, right away. Don’t you want to know that if your husband, wife, child, boyfriend, girlfriend, niece, nephew or friend is trapped somewhere with a gunman, these terrifying men will meet that evil and stop it with massive violent force?
We understand where they’re coming from, but we don’t understand it.
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