![]() Heughan: When we shot SAS: Red Notice, I had just come off shooting Bloodshot, which was very action-heavy. Thompson: Sam, you’re no stranger to doing action scenes. You can have great ambition, you can have a great vision, and if you can do it within the constraints of a smaller budget, it is incredibly rewarding. There’s a great energy and resourcefulness and satisfaction that comes out of being put in that position. Honestly, there’s something very healthy about that, and I really do like that kind of filmmaking where you have to tighten the purse strings. There’s very little wastage on British productions, both independent movies and slightly bigger ones like this. People go the extra mile, all the craftspeople that we have, and there’s a tremendous amount of pride in pulling it off and getting it done. There is a genuine desire and a loyalty in doing that. You put your money on the screen as much as you can. We haven’t, in the past, been used to the luxury of big studio budgets, so we’ve adapted and cut our cloth accordingly. Serkis: There’s a sort of craftsmanship in assembling things. What is about the UK film industry that enables it to pull things like this off? Thompson: SAS: Red Notice doesn’t have a Hollywood blockbuster budget, but it does a lot with the budget. That is where franchises succeed so well, where there are those multiple layers to tap into in the character design.Īndy Serkis is George Clements in 'SAS: Red Notice.' Vertical Entertainment ![]() It would be good to spend time and create a universe around it. There are many good characters in this and in Andy’s other literary work that you could explore and investigate more thoroughly. Thompson: What, from your experience, are the key ingredients of a lucrative franchise? It doesn’t seem to be in our DNA to create them, certainly not as much as the US. You’re right that we don’t have many franchises. If success and other things come out of that, that’s even better. I have done several franchises, but I do like doing standalone movies. Serkis: I hadn’t considered that at all, but it is very true. Other than Bond, the British film industry doesn’t have a significant active film franchise. of the Apes movies and The Lord of the Rings, you’re no stranger to successful franchises. It’s such a rich world, and Andy has so much information and insight into the nefarious or dark dealings of the military and mercenaries. What exactly happened to certain characters afterward. I worked extensively and very closely with Andy McNab and the writer, Laurence Malkin, and when you are all sitting around the table at night having dinner, you can’t help but start to discuss what that would look like. Hopefully, if people watch this one and enjoy it, we can turn this into a franchise. I think it’d be fascinating to go further into his psychopathy and the added twist that he also has emotion. Only by the end of the movie does he realize why he is the way he is. Knowing this story, or this first episode of Tom Buckingham, we’re really at the beginning of his discovery of his psychology. Heughan: I was very aware that there’s the potential there. ![]() Did you look at it as a potential franchise? Thompson: There are three Tom Buckingham stories. Sam Heughan is Tom Buckingham in 'SAS: Red Notice.' Vertical Entertainment ![]() It was a meeting of minds, but obviously, he was able to fill my head with anecdotes and stories and information and training that I couldn’t have accessed otherwise. He’s candid about his psychopathy, and that was very interesting to engage with. When it came to my character, we had our own ideas, and we met in the middle. It is interesting to think that this man has done the things he has done and had the experiences he has had. He’s very upfront and on the level, charming and disarming at the same time. If you sat down with him in a pub, you’d think he was your local plumber or plasterer. Serkis: There’s a great sense of normality about Andy McNab, but he’s lived such an extraordinary life. He also gave me great freedom to explore Tom and play him how I saw the character. He would always be there and give great advice on practical things or if I had a question about what a psychopath would do in a particular situation. As someone empathetic and uses their emotions to portray characters, to sit with someone who doesn’t have that, to have this amalgamation of both sides, was unique and rare. I think it’s interesting that acting is quite alien to Andy, who is a psychopath himself. Thompson: Did having him available and involved in the production make it easier for you to get a handle on things? ![]()
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