Hotshots: Chris Cooke

First question. How are you feeling?

Alright actually. The film seemed to go down pretty well. Everyone laughed in the right places. There was a ten minute Q&A which was fairly harmless. No sign of the angry mob anyway. The party got a bit overwhelming and emotional. I left my own premiere bash at 1am! I was so knackered.

What do you think they responded to in the film?

I think the audience liked the fact it was character based and that they, as an audience, were left to make their own minds up about the characters. Whether they liked them or not, that is. There's a shift of tone as it gets darker, which I think they appreciated as well. I was relieved because it's not the most light hearted comedy ever made.

What did you want to say that was different from other films in the genre?

What the producer Kate Ogborn (Under The Skin) and I always used to say was, these characters don't change. They don't learn anything. In most storytelling the characters go on a voyage of discovery and come out the other side somehow enlightened. Here, there may be a few chinks of hope but for the most part the characters are still deluding themselves and are not confronting their faults and weaknesses.