Q&A with Sam Campbell, writer, creator, executive producer and ‘Sam’

How would you describe Make That Movie to viewers and where did the idea for the show come from?  

Gather round viewers, fasten your eyeballs, I am ready for my exclusive TELL ALL. 

Make That Movie is a television programme for thrill-seekers and people who like ogling the IMDB trivia section after they watch a flick. It’s about a group of film-makers who scour the land looking for regular Joes with fantastic movie ideas and use their expertise to bring them to the big screen. 

I guess REALLY it is about people who find themselves in predicaments, trying to untangle them in unhelpful but hopefully funny ways.

I really like high concept / batshit premises and this felt like a neat way to do a whole bunch of those within the sitcom structure. 

What was the journey like, taking it from the original nugget of an idea up to the complex journey and characters we see on-screen? 

First and foremost. Thank you for declaring the characters and their journey to be complex. I bow to you. I honour you.

We spent a lot of time on the outlines for each episode. I had the tendency to get carried away with a zillion set pieces and going full Gosford Park and adding loads of characters. I needed reigning in. I needed to be admonished. Money does not grow on trees Samuel! 

With the show, did you feel like you were building a world that people can step into, or more like you’re inviting them into your way of thinking for a bit? 

I was usually too panicked to have those kinds of feelings. 

My desire is that a disenfranchised teen will stumble upon the show and what do you know? It excites them. Their older siblings wander in and are slowly won over. Their parents hear all the commotion and perch on either arm of the sofa. They too are in awe. Before long grandparents, neighbours and high-profile influencers are spilling into the living room and experiencing what they all collectively describe as ‘That, Make That Movie Magic!’

This is my only wish.  

Were there moments where something shouldn’t have worked on paper, but ended up becoming central to the show?  

The title sequence had a way different vibe originally, sort of aping Mission Impossible graphics and with heavier, industrial music. Director Joe Pelling played a beautiful piece he had made using this dreamy world music pan pipe synth plug in and I feel like it really helped the tone of the show. Made it less like a parody and more of its own thing. I love that music man.

And likewise, were there ideas you were convinced would make it in, but didn’t survive the process? 

I still want to do an episode where they make a movie for an airplane pilot’s last ever flight. To play on all the passengers’ screens. 

Plane screens are so advanced and have so many movies but the TV section is wild. Often only two episodes from the fifth season of a TV show. And not even episodes 1 and 2 it will be like 7 and 8. I just don’t get it.

The people involved feel really intentional. What was the process like for finding the right people to get involved?  

One word – Lighting. Wait sorry – Casting.

We had a very amazing casting director called Lauren and also a bunch of scumbags from the comedy circuit managed to weasel their way in. 

Tell me about your role and what was it like to play yourself as a ‘hotshot director’?   

My guy has a helluva lot to learn. Don’t we all?

I like to think I am playing a pretty exaggerated version of myself. I promise I am not nearly as villainous and have not done a lick of human trafficking.

At what point did it hit you that this wasn’t just an idea anymore, but a full-on production with lots of moving parts?

There is a pretty gnarly shot they built a big water tank for. A bastard rising from the depths of a swamp. Watching all that being finagled made me smile from ear to ear I must say.  

How did the ideas for the feature films come about? 

A lot of them are genuine ideas I have had, only to be told I was something of a nutjob. A few from riffing. A guy called Olly Cambridge who helped get the scripts into shape and I spoke a lot about if ET was found by some Millwall fans and that slowly morphed into The Yooglet idea. The film in the last episode appeared to me in a dream. 

Tell me about the rest of the cast – what was it like working with everyone? 

Let’s just say I’m glad there was a make-up department. Boy did they have to lay it on thick!

The core cast are all people I know pretty well. Only David Hargreaves who played Winnie I had not met before we started. I am so glad to know him he is a shining gem and would often recite an ancient poem about the battle of Hastings to lift morale.

What do you hope audiences take away from watching Make That Movie? 

I hope they get really into it and start smashing up all their furniture and try to enter the show by diving headfirst into their TV.  

It looks like you had a lot of fun filming. Were there opportunities to improvise, or did you stick to the script?

A few choice ad-libs made it in. I read a book by a director recently and he said you should always do one take with no dialogue at all, just the emotions. I would like to try that in future a great reaction shot is priceless.

If you had to describe Make That Movie in three words, what would they be and why? 

Perfect Stocking Filler. I happen to think we should use stockings to carry gifts all year round not just at Christmas. Who’s with me!?

Finally, can you describe your own movie idea in a couple of sentences?

A romantic comedy about a guy who owns a stationary store falling in love with a lady who runs a revolving restaurant. Against all odds they make it work.