Tim Godsall on Making Movies and Being Anonymous

The last time we caught up with director Tim Godsall the conversation consisted of talk about his knack for scripted comedy and visual storytelling in advertising for a host of international clients including Southern Comfort, Axe, Old Spice and The Guardian.

Since then, however, a lot has happened and Godsall has taken his credentials to new heights after being offered the chance to direct his first feature film, Len and Company, an indie drama starring Rhys Ifans, Juno Temple and Jack Kilmer.

Working with Anonymous Content CEO Steve Golin to develop the film from script to screen, it was recently announced that the former Biscuit Filmworks director would now be represented by Anonymous for commercials in the US, UK and Europe.

Below, Godsall touches on a year of change by talking about the experience on Len and Company – including casting, challenges involved and how it compared to his previous advertising work – as well as his decision to sign with a new camp for spot work.

Tell us about the idea for Len and Company and how it was born…

It’s a loose adaptation of a play called Len, Asleep in Vinyl, which ran on Broadway in New York a few years ago. The play is about a disaffected music producer called Len Black who is hiding out at his place in the country, and whose self-imposed exile is ruined by the arrival of both his son and the pop monster he’s created.

I loved the basic story and the central character and thought it would make an interesting movie. So I spoke with the playwright and got the film rights, then wrote a screenplay along with my co-writer Katie Knight.

How long had you had the idea for the feature before talking to Anonymous? At what stage did you begin working together?

I’d had the idea for a while. The script itself was finished about a year ago. Initially I tried to raise the money myself to make the film but I hit a wall on that front, so I took it to Steve Golin at Anonymous, whom I’d known for a while. He read it and said he would take it on. Once he got on board, things started moving very quickly.

And did you already have ideas about the cast for the film? Tell us about that aspect…

Yeah, there was never anybody else in my mind to play the lead role. Once I pictured Rhys Ifans playing Len Black, I just couldn’t un-picture him. Luckily he liked it, because there really was no backup plan. That’s where Golin also made a big difference. He asked me who I had in mind… I said Rhys Ifans... and Rhys read the script within days. That doesn’t happen so easily, usually.

A long list of people was put forward for the female lead. But Juno Temple seemed like she would be the best fit. I watched tons of her stuff and thought she was amazing. So we had breakfast in London and talked about the movie and by the time the check came I had offered her the part. I never met with anyone else for that role either.

Jack Kilmer was the third key role. He was one name on another long list. And in this case I met with a bunch of guys who were better-known and had more experience than Jack, but I ended up going with him – even though he had only done one acting job (Palo Alto, directed by Gia Coppola). There were auditions in LA, London, NY and Toronto, but I kept circling back to Jack. He just had the right presence and had an effortless, authentic quality that seemed right.

What was the biggest challenge for you on the project and how has it helped you grow as a director?

This was a very small independent film, so we had to be incredibly efficient in terms of how we made it. We had 20 days to make an entire movie, with a matrix of conflicting actor availabilities.

Since it was my first movie, I prepped like a freak. Weeks in advance I scribbled detailed (but cryptic) storyboards for every scene in the movie, and everywhere I went I carried around bound books full of notes and photos.

During the shoot, each morning at 5am I’d sit with André [Pienaar], the DP, and go over the plan for the day – we’d talk about the feeling and intention of the scenes we were shooting that day and how they affected lighting and lensing etc. I tried to do as much thinking in advance as possible, because once we were on set we were just moving so fast and I wanted to preserve critical time for the actors.

No matter what else was going on, I tried to insulate the actors, so they could focus on performance and not logistics. In the end, nothing matters if the actors can’t deliver a performance that feels authentic. 

It’s a very long day of shooting, and then post-shoot you sit down to a bit of food and a crisis meeting (location issues, flu-ridden actors, weather dramas etc.). Then you pass out for a few hours, wake up and go again. It’s incredibly all-consuming and exhausting. But I loved it.

How did it differ from your advertising work and the processes involved?

On a tiny movie things are very streamlined. Whereas in commercials, it’s possible to spend 10 days making a 60-second ad; on a movie of this budget level there’s obviously no time for indecision or standing still.

On a film, you have no time and you have no money, but apart from those serious constraints you do have freedom. It’s all on you. You don’t have to seek approval for anything or explain anything. As long as you know what you want to do, you can just go do it. It’s a very simple and fast-paced process that way.

On a commercial, you’re entrusted with someone’s idea and someone’s brand and someone’s money. And you need to involve people as you go, and ensure nobody’s feeling like it’s all going off the rails. But with a little movie, it’s just: “Cut... we got it... let’s move.”

A lot’s happened since you started shooting the film earlier this year. Had you always planned to sign with Anonymous having worked with the company on the movie?

Yeah, it’s been a year of change, for sure. I hadn’t always planned on signing with Anonymous at all. In fact, I had been thinking more about starting a little production company than joining an existing one.

But over the course of working on the movie with Golin and the Anonymous team, the idea just started to make more and more sense. They’ve got great directors, and the diversity of opportunities is really inspiring: commercials, movies, TV shows, music videos.

And how hard was the decision to leave Biscuit when it came down to it?

It was very hard. I was lucky enough to work for 10 years with people I genuinely liked at Biscuit, and leaving that behind is a wrenching experience. I’m excited about the next set of adventures, but of course I miss the good people at Biscuit.

Has directing features been the ultimate goal for you since you started directing?

No, the truth is that I’ve never wanted to just make a movie for the sake of making one. I’d much prefer to make smart ads and read books and nap than deal with all the hassles of a studio movie just to make a living. Being a commercial director is a really good job.

Would you like to direct more features in the future?

I got lucky because I was able to make this tiny film the way I wanted to make it. It’s far from a perfect movie, but it’s pretty much the movie I had in mind. That’s an incredible experience and there’s so much adventure and growth in that. So, yeah, I’d do it again. If I could have the same freedom, but maybe add a few more days of shooting and a tiny additional wedge of money, I wouldn’t complain. 

What’s next? Are you looking at any scripts at the moment?

I haven’t been looking at any movie scripts, just trying to finish this one up for now. I’ll definitely try to develop another movie in the same off-the-radar way and see what happens. But, as far as commercial scripts go: yes, please. I just can’t wait to get back in and work on a great project with smart people. I’m very open-minded about what it is exactly.

From prep through edit, this movie has been seven months at this point and I’m dying for the immediate gratification of a short form project.

Len and Company is slated for a 2015 release.