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Interview with creator Jamie Hewlett and Phoo Action writer Mat Wakeham
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Phoo Action originally started life as a Jamie Hewlett (Gorillaz, Tank Girl) comic strip in the Nineties cult magazine The Face but it makes its TV debut in February as a new drama on ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Three.
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Together with long-term collaborator Mat Wakeham (who wrote the TV script for Phoo and worked with Hewlett on the international phenomenon Gorillaz) Hewlett has seen his and Wakeham's long-held ambition for Phoo come to life.
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They originally came up with the idea to turn something on paper into a live TV drama 10 years ago, but other work commitments have meant the pair have finally been able to see their idea come to fruition in 2008.
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"It's fantastic this has been made into a TV drama," says Wakeham. "It's been 10 years on and off. It's been in my head for so long, and then to go on the set and see how great a job the production team had done was amazing.
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"Phoo looks exactly how I imagined it to be. It's wonderful and a dream come true for me. Though it can be a bit embarrassing seeing your dreams on display, like having your dirty washing hanging out… in a good way!"
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Creative director Jamie Hewlett adds: "It's exciting, it really does look great and it is so good to see the comic strip turned into a TV drama. The costumes, the sets, the creatures are all really faithful to my original stuff. Annie Symons, the costume designer, has done a great job."
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Yet, as writer Wakeham readily admits, it's proved quite a challenge to bring a comic strip to life for the TV screen.
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"I had to try and keep true to the spirit of the characters," he explains.
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"It's been hard. There are differences between the comic strip and the drama. We wanted to make sure there was more emotion in the TV drama. It's one thing having a satire in a style magazine running once a month, but you want viewers to come back again, and so there have to be human elements that you can connect with."
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Wakeham describes Phoo Action as "a brooding comic book adaptation meets the Farrelly brothers in a back alley for a fight".
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"It's a comedy drama and it's entertaining," he explains.
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"I used to love comic books and I love American comedy and neither are afraid to tackle big themes. What I hope we have done is to try to tackle big themes with an added British irreverence."
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Getting the right actors and actresses to play the parts was crucial, say Wakeham and Hewlett.
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Wakeham explains: "You can write and write, but if you don't have someone who can nail that character, it's never going to live."
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Jaime Winstone was their number one choice to play the role of Whitey Action.
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"Mat and I always wanted to get Jaime Winstone," he continues. "We had seen her in a few things. She had the right attitude. She is Whitey in real life. Stick a red wig on her and you are off. We were determined to get her.
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"“Eddie Shin [who plays kung-fu cop Terry Phoo] was great too. There is great chemistry between his character, Terry, and Whitey, and you really pick up on that straight away. There is a ‘will-they-won't-they get together' element to it."
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Wakeham echoes Hewlett's sentiments. "Jaime is just Whitey. And Eddie was fantastic as Terry too. He actually spoke like Terry on set. Because he is American and he was speaking with a Chinese accent as Terry, he didn‘t want to mix the two. It was amazing. I loved it.
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"I have walked around with Terry and Whitey in my head for 10 years and so to have them by my side was wonderful."
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Wakeham threw himself so much into the making of the project that he even ended up being one of the extras, making several appearances as a criminal hench man.
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"It was fantastic," he says, laughing. "There is a long tradition of people making cameos in their own comics, shows and films, from Stan Lee to Alfred Hitchcock! I got to fight Terry Phoo and pop up all over the place. It was brilliant, it really blurred the lines of my imagination and the real world even further!"
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Hewlett was not, however, quite as keen to see himself on the TV.
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"Mat is all over it," he says. "They asked me to be in it too, but I didn't want to be. I would rather not look at myself on TV! I'd rather stay behind the camera."
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Both Hewlett and Wakeham stress that a lot of hard work went into the project. They believe it would never have been as good as it is, if it had not been for the time and energy that the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Scotland production team put into it.
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The production team worked around the clock to make the drama, which was filmed in just three weeks.
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"There was a great buzz on set, there was a spark when I shook people by the hand," says Wakeham.
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"Nothing was too much of a problem for the people working on the shoot. They worked so hard and, if people hadn't pulled their weight, it wouldn't have happened. When you watch the drama, you really can see how much work has been put into it."
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The pair are incredibly proud of Phoo Action and delighted with the finished piece.
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Hewlett says: "Phoo Action really works. I laughed all the way through,and it really is good. We have had a lot of fun and it's been great working with Mat again."
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"I am really pleased with it," says Wakeham. "And I really hope viewers will be inspired when they watch Phoo Action.
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"There was lots of TV that gave me a sense of wonder when I was growing up and I don't want to get above my station but if we introduced a little bit of that to a new generation, I would be really happy."
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Hewlett adds: "Phoo Action is a little bit more crazy than Doctor Who but I know my sons, who are 11 and seven, will love it. I really hope it will inspire people."
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And if the show proves a hit with viewers, both would love to make a series of Phoo Action. Hewlett says: "I hope it will grow and become a much bigger idea. We have already had discussions about future stories and it gets very interesting."
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