Shane Meadows
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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Shane Meadows (born 26 December, 1972) is a film director, screenwriter, and occasional actor, from Uttoxeter, Staffordshire, England. He is regarded as one of the rising stars of British cinema.
Shane meadows dropped out of school before he reached his GCSEs because he was more interested in stealing with his friends than getting an education. He started off in Uttoxeter making short films with his friends and family but couldn't show these films to anyone because there were no film festivals in his area. His friends started one in the local cinema which became really popular with the town. His fame started when a film scout found him and took him on as an amateur film director. His entire catalogue of films have been set in the Midlands area. They recall the kitchen sink realism of filmmakers such as Ken Loach and Mike Leigh, with a post-modern twist. He has a relaxed directing style, encouraging the actors to ad lib in order to create a better sense of reality.
Much of the content of his films are semi-autobiographical and based on his experiences in Uttoxeter. Twenty Four Seven was inspired by his youth, both at a boxing club, and also playing in a local football club. Despite some huge losses, the club's coach never lost faith in them. A Room for Romeo Brass was also inspired by his youth. After his best friend, neighbour (and later writing partner) Paul Fraser had a very bad accident and was bound to his bed for 2 years, Meadows instead hung around with some of the town's more undesirable characters. Dead Man's Shoes is based on the more unpleasant side of his youth in Uttoxeter. It was inspired by a close friend who had been bullied, developed a drug problem and then committed suicide. He said "I couldn't believe that, going back ten years later, he had been totally forgotten in the town - it was as if he had never existed. I was filled with anger against the people who had bullied and pushed the drugs on him, and with despair at what drugs had done to that small community".
Five of Meadows' films were shown at last year's Flourish Festival (18--22 June 2007, at Cinebowl), held annually in Uttoxeter, to mark his release of This is England.
Background
Meadows grew up in a council house in the Westlands Road area of Uttoxeter, East Staffordshire, a pleasant suburban area of town. His father was a long distance lorry driver and his mother worked in a fish and chip shop. He attended Picknalls Primary School, Oldfields Hall Middle School, and Thomas Alleynes High School. At weekends he sold fruit and veg on a market stall in Uttoxeter market. His love of cinema was fostered by regular trips to the Elite cinema.
Meadows moved to Nottingham when he was 20. He is widely regarded as a big fan of Notts County Football Club with several refences to this being included in his films by way of imagery and background shots.
Meadows enrolled on a Performing Arts course at Burton Technical College, where he first met Paddy Considine. Amongst other things, they formed the band She Talks To Angels (inspired by a Black Crowes song of the same name), with Shane as vocalist and Paddy as drummer. Lead guitarist in She Talks To Angels was Nick Hemming, who was also a member of The Telescopes. The band also included the talents of Marc Cieslak, who went on to become a TV presenter on .tv, Gamer.tv and the BBC's technology show Click.
Films
While living in the Sneinton area of Nottingham, he made roughly 30 short films with the friends he met there.
His third feature length film, Twenty Four Seven, won several awards at film festivals, including the Douglas Hickox award at the British Independent Film Awards and Best Screenplay at the Thessaloniki Film Festival. Dead Man's Shoes, his sixth film, and third starring Paddy Considine, was nominated for a BAFTA for Best British Film. His seventh film This is England, won the 2008 BAFTA for best British film. Shane was presented with the award by Sylvester Stallone and used the occasion to announce that he was to be a father.
His film, The Stairwell, was apparently filmed on a mobile phone and is just 15 seconds long.
- Small Time (1996)(60mins)
- Where's the Money, Ronnie? (1996) (12mins)
- Twenty Four Seven (1997) (96mins)
- A Room for Romeo Brass (1999) (90mins)
- Once Upon a Time in the Midlands (2002) (104mins)
- Dead Man's Shoes (2004) (90mins)
- Northern Soul (2004) (30mins)
- The Stairwell (2005) (15 seconds)
- This Is England (2006) (100mins)
- Somers Town (2008) (75mins)
