Directing play

Shouting the shots: “Old soldier” Aaron Sayers, below, felt at ease issuing orders to Eric Cantona, right, during the production of Brit flick Jack Says

Interview: Stephen Tyler

HE may have braved Sir Alex Ferguson’s famous hairdryer treatment, but footballer-turned-actor Eric Cantona had to face up to a military dressing down on the set of his latest film Jack Says.

The Manchester United legend and fellow stars including Rula Lenska and the late Mike Reid were kept in check by the authoritative parade ground-style bollockings of producer and assistant director Aaron Sayers.

Taking the initiative among such illustrious company came as second nature to Sayers, who called on his experiences as a serving soldier in the 2nd Battalion, The Royal Green Jackets to make sure his voice was heard.

“Being assistant director for me was a bit like being a lance corporal again,” said Sayers. “I was walking around the set screaming at people and my Army background made that easy for me. I didn’t even have to use the megaphone.”

During his four-and-a-half years in the Army, Sayers saw active service in Kosovo, Bosnia and Northern Ireland and achieved promotion to lance corporal aged just 18. It was during an Op Banner tour that the infantryman began reading up on screenwriting and studying film in his spare time and he decided to quit the Army and enrol at university to study media production.

But rather than cutting his ties to the military, Sayers continued to draw on his experiences and even returned to his battalion to make one of his first features.

“While I was at university I made a lot of short films, including one where I filmed the battalion shooting team,” he explained. “I was given a free run to ask questions and film and it gave me a chance to record something that isn’t really seen outside of the Army.

“I’ve been writing down my experiences from when I was serving and I want to make a feature based on those. It’s not just my time that I want to tap into; there’s also a lot I can use from those who I served with.”

Being drafted in to produce Jack Says, a British film noir set against the backdrop of Paris’s seedier suburbs, came as just reward for Sayers and business partner Toby Meredith after the pair created from scratch their own company, Kalimasu Productions.

The business was originally started as an amateur theatre company and was responsible for a week-long run of 1960s rock musical, A Slice of Saturday Night. And with a second feature, A Pathless Destiny, scheduled to start production this August, it is obvious that Sayers’s military discipline has rubbed off on his fledgling film career.

“If I hadn’t served in the Army then there is no way I could have taken on and managed such a big project as Jack Says,” he admitted. “Working on a film means you have to be able to manage everything from the food to the crew and my military background means I have been able to slot straight in.

“It was hard when I left the military and my head was all over the place for the first three months. I was still getting up at six in the morning and going on runs, so getting used to civvy life was difficult. What I have tried to do is remember the experiences I had and use them in everyday life. I couldn’t have done what I am doing now without the Army because I wouldn’t have learnt to have the ambition and drive to keep pushing.”

Wearing fashionable long hair and trendy attire gives Sayers a definite civilian look, but the former rifleman insists that he still feels close to his roots as an infantryman.

He has recently been back in touch with several of his Army friends and intends to use their skills to give him the edge in the world of film.

“I would definitely consider bringing some of my old friends on board for future projects,” he added. “I’m hoping to bring in my best friend as production manager because he has the management skills and discipline you need in this industry.

“This career is a challenge in the same way the Army was. Becoming lance corporal at 18 was a daunting process, but I made it and I’m so passionate about this medium that I will keep chasing it until I achieve what I want to achieve.”