King of Thieves premiere: On the red carpet with James Marsh, Michael Caine, Ray Winstone
Since the notorious Hatton Garden job took place three years ago, three different screen representations have already emerged. This is testament to this true story of ageing criminals all coming together for “one last job” to pull off one of the greatest, and biggest-value (£14 million), diamond heists the UK has seen, being too good for movie makers to resist.
For this instalment, it’s award-winning director James Marsh at the helm, known for his documentary films (his Man on Wire won him an Academy award) but also beautifully made features (Theory of Everything). He’s assembled a team of serious heavy-weights, whose previous film roles as criminals mirror the profile of the criminal careers the real-life robbers brought with them.
We were there for the film’s premiere in London’s Leicester Square to hear from the director and cast. James Marsh spoke passionately about why he thinks the story is alluring, the need to balance such big personalities of his high-profile cast, and how the movie is as much about ageing and how we deal with it as it is about the robbery.
Leading the pack was the one and only Michael Caine, whose character, Brian Reader, opens the film mourning the loss of his wife and who channels his grief into prompting the diamond robbery. He stopped to talk about what drew him to the story and his experience of making the film.
Ray Winstone, who plays Danny Jones and whose films such as Sexy Beast set him apart as a British gangster figure, also spoke about the fun they all had on set.
Tom Courtenay, John Kenny Collins in the film, chatted to us about working with the cast and director.
Jamie Cullum was also there to tell us about the track he contributed to the soundtrack, the sense of bringing alive the gangster’s heydey through 60s and 70s jazz, and the need he felt to introduce a feminine voice in an ultra-masculine movie.
Francesca Annis, who plays Michael Caine’s wife in the movie, told us about how she wished she could have had a chance to play a character taking part in a heist.
Sarah Bradbury
Videos: Marta Starczynowska
King of Thieves is released nationwide on 14th September 2018. Read our review here.
Watch the trailer for King of Thieves here:
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