Trainspotting Notes

Trainspotting Notes

• Made 1996 —> very topical at the time it came out.
• Based in Edinburgh.
• Budget £3.5m —> mid to low budget film.
• Directed by Danny Boyle.
• Originally a novel by Irvin Welsh —> need permission and clearance to make a film on the book —> process of negotiation.
• Need a screenplay and a screenplay writer —> always needed.
• Clashes because the co producers were TV producers, not TV producers.
• Financing the film: need a business plan.
• Can pitch the movie idea to production companies (i.e Warner Bros.).
• Went to an investor who offered $250,000 to film what they desired.
• The rights were problematic —> channel 4 said they would fund the film.
• Channel 4 said they would only fund the film if the rights to the book were sold to the film.
• Danny Boyle and his ‘team’ made a deal of 2% of the film budget go to Noel Gay backing out of the film in return for a share of the profits and name checks on the credits.
• “Pre-production is whats known as the run up period to the film” — Boyle.
• There are always pre-production docs that relate to all departments (sometimes specific to the product).
• Trainspotting took 7 roughly weeks during the pre-production period .
• During pre-production the focus is on auditions, meetings of the departments, location scouting, etc —> The producer is responsible for this.
• Producer is more important that a director .
• In Trainspotting, the cast was the first step taken.
• Casting directors: negotiate with agents, set up auditions, and talent scout.
• Boyle made a list of the top talent they wanted in their film.
• The film was set in Edinburgh but mostly filmed in Glasgow — easier for the cast/ crew.
• When going out to film, they were always cautious of cost and how much they had to spend — one scene filmed in a bar costed the film £500-£1000.
• The look for trainspotting was dramatically exaggerated.
• In order to get props, they brought items from charity shops so they could do whatever they wanted to them.
• A lot of companies refused to lend items to the film due to the topic the movie is about.
• The shoot lasted for 35 days. They did not film during weekends as it saved money (otherwise they would have had to pay cast/crew double).