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British Director Stephen Frears discusses his film Tamara Drewe 2010 based on a weekly comic strip by Posy Simmonds, which ran in The Guardian Review section and was based on a modern day reworking of Thomas Hardy's Far From the Madding Crowd. Frears reflects on how enjoyable the process of making it was, from reading the 'fresh and funny' script to filming in sunny Dorset with a great cast. My Beautiful Laundrette 1985 a film made by Channel 4 was a brilliant script and particularly topical at the time. Frears didn't contemplate any potential controversy and the film went on to become a great success. Frears has enjoyed working in Hollywood as well as smaller films in the UK, saying he enjoys the life and money on offer in Hollywood. Dangerous Liaisons 1988 Frears discusses reading the dazzling script, it was gripping, romantic and funny, a very easy film to make. Frears then discusses two low budget films that he really enjoyed making called The Van 1996 and The Snapper 1993. The Grifters 1990 was another Hollywood film Frears relished making, this was produced by Martin Scorsese whom he enjoyed working with as he never visited the set. High Fidelity 2000 was distributed by Disney who instructed Frears to approach it like an 'indie film' which was favourable because he feels lost working on a big corporate film. Frears says he can 'deal with the art but not the budget'. Frears goes onto discuss the Failure of Mary Reilly 1996, saying it was 'economically daft' - it could have been a really good low budget TV film though. Frears is adamant about the script being perfect for a film before he decides to jump on board to make it, he sees this as common sense and not a sign of eccentricity. The Hi-Lo Country 1998 his first and only Western is a film he describes as extremely arcane, pure and complicated. Dirty Pretty Things 2002 was a script that was sent to him, but was not good enough so the writers re-sent a new draft a year later and he agreed to make it. Frears loves the feeling of people liking his work, he finds it intoxicating and satisfying. The Queen 2006 had to be re-shot until the emphasis shifted and they managed to capture it correctly, Helen Mirren was remarkable as the Queen. It was a film they could only make for cinema as the budget was so big, it was hugely sucessful internationally as the the world is fascinated by British royalty and the Queen. Frears explains how important it is to listen to the talented team around him, teamwork is very important. He advises anyone to make films, saying if they are good, people will be full of gratitude, so make them.

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