The International Writers Magazine: Young British Filmmakers

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‘Interview with a Maverick – Where now for Maximilian Day?’ James Evans "With post production on his three years in the making adaptation of Richard III winding to a close, film maker Max Day announced plans for a new project at a low key press conference in Brighton.

Proclaiming it to be his "most ambitious project to date", Day stated his intention to begin work on the piece in the fall. Subtitled "The Psychedelic Experiment", the film will be written, produced, directed and edited entirely under the influence of Hallucinogenic mushrooms.
"Nothing like this has ever been attempted," claimed Day. "I want to be in a heightened state of consciousness at every stage of production. Essentially, I will not be making this movie; the Universe will. I am merely a conduit, if you will, a mouthpiece for the Earth Mother."

The press conference, held in the Bristol Bar, quickly descended into anarchy with Day being ushered out of a back entrance giving a double victory salute as he departed."Max Day has been struggling to get his films made for some time now. But get them made he does, if not always in the circumstances he would like. Always outspoken I arranged to meet up with the reclusive genius to discus his plans. I was early; he was late. I had arranged to meet in a pub because I heard of his reputation for liking a drink, and besides, it gave me us a level or relaxed anonymity conducive to discussion. When Mr Day eventually arrived I was surprised to find he was shorter then I expected. Not that this distracted from a physical presence that was almost palpable. Well built and extremely handsome you just know with an extra foot he could have easily been a model. Dressed in well worn denim with unkempt hair he’s every inch the star. But there such trenchant definitions end. As we talked it became apparent that this man possessed a vicarious intellect. Equally lucid when talking about America’s involvement in Iraq or with the relative merits of Weird War’s latest album it made for an interesting afternoon. On arrival he greeted with a firm shake of the hand, a gesture that was typical of the good sense of manners he displayed our whole time together. Well spoken and polite he listened carefully to the questions at the same time giving exuding a degree of nonchalance that never seemed rude. In short he was the perfect interviewee.

JAMES EVANS: Richard III took reputedly three years to make and cost in excess of £100,00 . That's a lot of time and money. Do you feel it's been worth it?
MAX DAY: Three years and counting! Yes, it has been a long time and beset with all manner of trials and obstacles. But trials and obstacles make us better, stronger people, don't you think? Besides, I made a decision some time ago that I would have to see this out no matter what. You can't dedicate all that time and effort into something and then give up. That would be a genuine tragedy. Is it worth it? I think that will be for the audiences to decide.
JE: I heard rumours that the set of Richard III was rife with tension and conflict, actors walking off set, punches being thrown, people crying.... Is this true or is it just the standard industry bullshit that gets bandied about every time a maverick steps up to the 'mic', so to speak?
MD: Interesting. Yes, I do think an element of self mythologizing goes on in any artistic endeavour. That's just part of the PR machine, right! Because artists, for all their pretensions, are essentially hucksters. You've got to sell your wares and anything that makes people intrigued by what you're doing is a good thing in this business. And people love gossip and stories. However, it has to be said that it is not all "bullshit". There's no smoke without fire, right? Anyone who's worked on a film will tell you that conflict happens all the time. It's not unusual at all. A film set is filled with egos and egos, like peaches, get bruised quite easily. It’s not de facto a bad thing. It creates a dynamic and a tension that, if channelled correctly can result in quite wonderful work. This particular project was quite choppy at times because of the way it was made and I think sometimes people, including myself I have to say, had doubts that the process was going to work. But also, people like to pick on the negative aspects of a process - that's the gossip element, right? And I have to say that I had a lot of wonderful moments making this film and a lot of good relations with people. There was a lot of trust and love at times.
JE: Didn't you fall out with Jamie though? (Jamie Martin who plays the lead)
MD: Ha ha. Gossip, right? Yeah, who doesn't? We're fine now, though. He's done some great work.
JE: It looked for a while like it wasn't going to get made. I heard you just downed tools and disappeared to the States for a couple of months mid production? Why was this and what did you do out there?
MD: Yeah. I get a bad case of wanderlust sometimes. I had planned to try and finish the filming before I went away. But when I got back I was renewed with a desire to finish the movie and have made some great headway since. I got a lot of things out of my system on my trip. Got a lot of drinking done that I needed to do.
JE: OK, let’s move onto something else. Your 1995 film 'The Man who Made Monsters' has been described as both "a modern Gothic classic" and at the same time just plain "Immature". How do you reconcile such diverse reactions to your work? Somebody must be missing the point surely.
MD: I think it’s great when opinions on art are so polarised, don't you? I've always loved Godard and I think MWMM was very inspired by him. I wanted to create a deliberately trashy movie. I was in pre-production on a coming of age road movie but we didn't get a lot of the resources we wanted and some people pulled out so I thought "fuck it", I'm just going to make the first thing that comes into my head and "Man who" was the result. Yes, the initial response was that it was a folly, "immature", right, as you say. But I didn't care too much because I knew the reasons why I had made it. Some years later it did come in for a re-appraisal and I think people started to get it. Oftentimes, it takes one person to say "this is good" and everyone starts to go, "yes, it is". What are you going to do?
JE: You've done a lot of theatre work in your time but you haven't been active for a while now. Was it a conscious decision to get out of acting or has that been just the way things have turned out?
MD: A bit of both I guess. I like acting, but to be an actor is a whole other kettle of fish. Bullshit doesn't even begin to cover what you get dragged through. I find film making more satisfying really and more challenging. And I am a control freak which is good thing as a director! As an actor you can get fed up performing someone else’s vision. Some people have said I'm a good actor but I find it difficult to take it seriously. I'm always laughing during takes when I play my role in Richard III. If someone wants to offer me a cool role, however, I'll definitely think about. It can be a lot of fun and you don't have to worry like a director has to worry.
JE: You new project, perhaps predictably, has been greeted with cynicism. I assume this is of little surprise?
MD: Not really.
JE: Yeah, but as a concept it is self indulgent, you can't argue with that. It will be like the acid scene in Easyrider, but without the cohesion?
MD: Of course it's indulgent! Art is indulgent isn't it? It’s a concept, right? No-one knows how it will turn out or even if it will happen. But wouldn't you want to see a film made that way? I would.
JE: Thank you for your time Mr Day and good luck with your new project.
MD: Cheers.

Max worked as an extra on Oliver Stone's ALEXANDER in both England and Thailand. Max is currently working on Harry Potter. He's 30 years of age.

See also Blur : My New Jumper (Jan 2006)

Interview conducted by James Evans in Brighton (August 2004)
nationofjames@ yahoo.co.uk

See also
Mekong
Cambodia
Bangkok

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