Helen Franks went to interview him
HF: How
did it all start?
 TC: I
was going to Cannes Film Festival as a lawyer involved with a number of UK production
companies. I’d go and see these films, damned
good ones, which never saw the light of day in the UK , often because they were not
aimed at the popcorn generation.
HF: You were
taking a big chance…
TC: I’m
divorced, I have three sons aged 14, 17 and 20, and we’re great pals. I’d turned fifty and was getting bored with being a
solicitor. I wanted a change of direction, and the idea of film distributor seemed to fit. It seemed like a good time to set up a high-risk venture.
HF: Why
older audiences?
TC: My father is 88 and he loves the cinema, ‘phones me
every week and asks what’s to see. I looked at the listings and found little to suit
his taste, or, increasingly mine.
HF: So
what do you think we laterlifers are missing?
TC: Films that are
character-driven, though they don’t have to be about older people. The French film Amelie was enormously popular across all
age groups because it had charm and unusual characters.
HF: Would
you avoid films featuring swearing, explicit sex, violence?
TC: Not necessarily. Everything
would depend on whether the action was right for the characters.
HF: What
are your favourite films?
TC: LA
Confidential, On Golden Pond, Casablanca (of course), anything by Truffaut, Being John
Malkovich.
HF: Quite
a mix. What do they have in common apart from good
characters?
TC: They are all
life-affirming. I like the idea of elders behaving
badly. We have a new film Now or Never about a
70-year-old woman robbing a bank. A movie we
didn’t get was a Czech one about a 70-year-old man nearly destroying his marriage
when he went off the rails. . I like the idea of older people breaking the rules.
HF: It
must be a very competitive world. How do you
make out?
TC: Let me tell
you about the dirty tricks department at the Cannes Festival.
If you like a film, you back off, play cool, then check
the gossip to see what the competition is. You go back for a second viewing without telling your
colleagues, and then sign up. Sometimes, a rival
will express interest in some movie and when you go to see it you realise it’s just
to get you out of the way while they go in for the kill. It’s
fun. The hunt of the chase.
HF:
Which films have you signed up?
  TC: We’ve got six so far.
Our first MatCine movie was released earlier this year. It is the Australian
award-winner entitled Innocence. It is about a young couple who fall in love, separate,
and meet up again some 40-50 years later. We’ve had screenings at the National Film Museum in Bradford , the
Broadway Cinema in Nottingham
and the Tynecastle in Newcastle upon Tyne . The last two used the movie as part of their
regular programme of movies for the older crowd.The special deal at Newcastle is certainly worth looking out for as the
cinema admission plus liquid refreshment costs a mere £2.00!
HF: Presumably, Innocence included an older cast?
TC: Julia Blake plays the older lover, and she’s
66 – from Bristol
. And
by the way, Bristol has 60-odd screens and there were no takers
there.
HF:
What’s next on the schedule?
TC : Later in the
year we will be releasing a French movie entitled Strange Gardens . It’s a moving tale set in occupied France ,
about humanity among simple people. Older
audiences in particular will be interested in the Second World War setting. And for
Christmas we will be releasing a  Swedish movie entitled In Bed with Santa. It’s a Swedish sex comedy for grown-ups. All about a shrink who’s great at advising others
but lousy for himself. It should appeal to all fans
of the television show Frazier.
HF: At
the moment, you are aiming at small, independent cinemas. Where do you want MatCine to go?
TC: Everywhere of
course. The big chains, television. We are working towards it now. My vision is to create ‘armchair cinema’. That would mean special screenings for older audiences,
afternoon or evening slots. And instead of popcorn
and soft drinks, it could be a glass of wine to sip as you view, organic ice cream for
discerning taste buds, coffee and carrot cake.
MatCine will be showing its listings on
www.laterlife.com . For more information and
for the listings take a look at the Matcine page.
|
MatCine, pronounced matsinney, short for
‘mature cinemagoers’.
A great idea, yes?
