- Title: Martha - Meet Frank Daniel and Laurence
- Date: 2nd April 2000
- Summary: Film 4
- Description:A COMEDY IN WHICH THREE MEN FALL IN LOVE, UNAWARE THAT THEY HAVE ALL FALLEN FOR THE SAME WOMAN. SHORT SYNOPSIS Martha (Monica Potter), disillusioned with her life in America, has 99 dollars to spend on an airline ticket to freedom. She decides on London, and as a result becomes entangled in three men's lives, Frank (Rufus Sewell), Daniel (Tom Hollandar) and Laurence (Joe Fiennes). First of all she meets Daniel at Minneapolis airport. He is smitten, contrives to sit beside her on the plane, and offers to put her up in London at his company's hotel. Her next encounter is with Laurence, who she meets by chance at the airport in London, while he is unsuccessfully looking for Daniel. Laurence travels back to her hotel with her, spends the evening and fails in love. Her third meeting by complete coincidence is with Frank, in a cafe in a London park. He is also taken with her. Unbeknown to Martha the three men are lifelong friends who have a fractious relationship at the best of times. Their entanglement with Martha brings their relationship to a head, forcing each one to stop and examine his life. Laurence distraught and unable to cope with the competition for Martha, decides to get out of London and inspired by her, buys a one way ticket to Reykjavik. He boards the airplane to find - Martha, unexpectedly waiting for him! PRODUCTION NOTES Martha Meet Frank Daniel and Laurence, began life as an idea that Peter Morgan (writer) pitched to Grainne Marmion (producer) one evening. She was so taken with the story line that she phoned up his agent the next day and commissioned it to be written as a script. Martha is a romantic comedy, which Grainne saw as having wide- appeal because, " romantic comedies cross all sexes, and age groups, and are pure entertainment. This story has romance on different levels, both boy meets girl, but also Frank, Daniel and Laurence are all romantic figures in their own right, because of the way that they all hang onto a non-existent relationship with one another Ultimately however it is about one of them failing in love with Martha"Grainne sees Peter Morgan (writer) as being London's Woody Alien. She says " I think Peter is good at expressing people's insecurities. He is a really good observer of people The way that he sees life and the way that he talks himself goes into the script, that is what is so unique about his work." Nick Harrim (director) says of Peter Morgan"Pete's humour is always dipped in a poisonous pen, so while he is giving a humorous line to a character he is also commenting to a certain extent on that character and the world of that character." Peter Morgan feels that although Martha is a romantic comedy, it is also about reinventing oneself and examining one's life. Peter says,"The most important message in the film is about examining the contents of your life, the circumstances of your friendship - and having the courage to reshape your life, in the way that Martha does". In the film Martha chucks everything in, she has a life that she doesn't like and decides to completely abandon, she gets on a plane for $99 and it doesn't matter where she goes. The three men that Martha meets are also all men who, on closer examination of their life, could do with a serious overhaul. Peter believes that crucial to the whole premise of the movie is the ability to believe in this concept of starting afresh. "Whatever the amount of commitments one has, whatever excuse one comes out with, in the end it is all bollocks, you can do it - you can change your life. I took time out at one point in my life, when I encountered freedom for the first time, and I used this opportunity to change direction in my life". Peter also sees the film as being about a particular moment in people's lives - in their late twenties to early thirties, when people are growing apart and growing up. I have this theory that anywhere between 27 and 32 people go into a dreadful turbulence, but once through this phase you come out a totally different person. At this stage in my life, I found that I was parting company with friends that I'd had all my life, which inspired me to write this story, and the squabbling relationship between the three men is loosely based on a squabbling trio of friends that I have." Peter had worked with Nick Harrim (director) before on a project for Granada called Mickey Love and felt that he was ideally suited to direct this film. I lobbied really hard for Nick, because I knew that he would instinctively understand the story and its setting". As Grainne explains "to a certain extent he was one of the characters in the film. He has got a very good sense of humour and he was able to see the layers in the film, the pain that is underneath the humour in Peter's dialogue" Nick Hamrn loved the script of Martha. Peter had talked to Nick about his original ideas for Martha, about wanting to write a movie "about men, coffee and cigarettes. .men talking about themselves...". Nick sees the film as being about men more than anything else. 7he movie is interested in the way men are, the egotistical selfish nature of a very close triangular relationship of these three guys, who are friends and all the bitterness and jealousies and tirades that go with that. In this film the men are all trying to find something to establish who they are. Meeting Martha is the catalyst to make them all in some way decide. Martha is on a delightful journey, and you enjoy going on it with her. You enjoy her behaviour and her braveness. She, in turn, affects those she comes into contact with and makes them rethink their lives." Nick was also attracted to the film because he "felt comfortable with material that is contemporary, satirical and comedic. I was also very keen to do a picture set in contemporary London I think that there is a real renaissance happening in London, that it is a very positive and exciting place to be at the moment." Nick was also drawn to Martha because it is a romantic comedy " I think that romantic-comedies work because they offer people hope, they offer people a journey, and a fairy-tale. This film is a fairy tale, Laurence is Cinderella, Daniel and Frank are the ugly sister's and Martha is the prince, it's completely reversed!" In casting the film Nick felt the key was watchability and freshness. "What I really concentrated on was trying to find three guys in England that I felt were fresh and young and coming through". Daniel the lawyer is a pompous arse, but in the hands of Tom Hollindar is very funny. Rufus Sewell who plays Frank, an out of work actor, gives a great performance as the Withnail of the 90's and Joe Fiennes who plays Laurence, the romantic lead, is the perfect romantic hero, there is shyness vulnerability and charm about him that is reflected in his character.As Grainne says, "What is very important in the script is the way that pain and humour interact with each other and I think that the boys did it very well" . Many leading Hollywood actresses were auditioned for the role of Martha but once again Nick wanted someone fresh. He chose Monica Potter because, "she is quite unique, she has a comedic ability and also is appealing to both women and men. We had to find an actress who was beautiful and sexy enough for three men to change their lives for, who they would fall in love with, but also we had to find a woman who wouldn't alienate the females in the audience, who wasn't a bimbo". Monica Potter was drawn to the script of Martha, she loved the comedy in it and says, I think a lot of people, like myself, can identify with the character of Martha, wanting to start afresh, without anybody knowing who you are, just taking off and going to another country" She sees Martha, "as being a hoot, definitely a woman's woman -who despite her vulnerability knows what she wants." In the film all three men are drawn to Martha for different reasons. Monica explains, "Laurence is drawn to her in a spiritual way, Daniel makes her laugh, and he fails for her physically and with Frank it is more of a sparring partnership". Monica has enjoyed working in London which she has never visited before and has also loved working with Rufus Sewell, Tom Hollindar and Joe Fiennes, " I laugh all day long, they are so funny and so much like the characters they play, although they wouldn't want to admit to it'. She has a lot of admiration for Nick Hamm, "he is a terrific director, he knows exactly what he wants and he gets it." Tom Hollander describes his character Daniel as, "being stuck up, rich, arrogant and full of himself! But he is also vulnerable. In the film he is very beaten up because he doesn't get the girl and this has never happened to him before." Tom sees the film as being about, " this wonderful American girl who comes to England to meet three cooky Brits. The film is about friendship and love, it's about London in 1997." Joe Fiennes who plays Laurence feels that the films is "about venture gained. I guess there comes a time around the age of thirty that you begin to question where you are and to confront those questions, which in life some people do and some people don't. In this film Martha does and in turn inspires my character to do the same. Joe sees Laurence as "shy but with a slightly sarcastic streak, which keeps him in with the other two very wild, dynamic colourful creatures who are his friends. He is not aggressive or abrasive and doesn't have huge wants or needs." Rufus Sewell was keen to be involved in Martha because he loves doing comedy. He sees Frank as someone who "has gone slightly wonky! Who came into his own as a child actor and has since gone out of public favour. He drinks a lot, smokes a lot, he is very very cynical and sarcastic, quite quick witted. Ultimately I think there is a lot of self pity and self hatred in him". ONICA POTTER (Martha) Monica Potter made her screen debut as Nicolas Cage's wife in Disney's Con Air. She also appears in Pre for Warner Brothers. RUFUS SEWELL (Frank) Rufus Sewell's recent film credits include; Hamlet, Carrington, A Man of No Importance and Cold Comfort Farm. He is due to feature in The Woodlanders, Venice and Dark City. Rufus starred in BBC Productions of Middlemarch and Henry IV. Among various acting roles he has appeared in The Seagull and As You Like it at the Crucible Theatre. He also won the London Critics Best Newcomer Award for his role in Making It Better. TOM HOLLANDER (Daniel) Tom Hollander's film credits include True Blue and Some Mothers'Son. His numerous theatre credits include; Tartuffe, Mojo at the Royal Court and The Threepenny Opera at the Donmar Warehouse. He also starred in As You Like It for the Cheek by Jowl Theatre Company. On Television Tom has featured in the BBC's black comedy Gobble. He also made an appearance in the award winning comedy Absolutely Fabulous and played the title role in the BBC's John Diamond. JOSEPH FIENNES (Laurence) Joseph Fiennes worked with the Young Vic Youth Theatre and then went on to train at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama where his work included; The Threepenny Opera, West Side Story and the title role in Macbeth. Since then his Theatre Credits have included; The RSC's As You Like It, Troilus: and Cressida and Les Enfants Du Paradis. Joseph has also appeared in The Vacillations of Poppy Carew for television, and starred opposite Liv Tyler as Christopher in Bernado Bertolucci's Stealing Beauty. He is currently filming Shekhar Kapur's Elizabeth 1. NICK HAMM (Director) In 1995 Nick Hamm directed the feature Talk of Angels for Miramax. He has directed numerous films for Granada Television including Dancing Queen, Mickey Love, written by Peter Morgan, and Briefest Encounter. He has also directed the BBC Play Out Of The Blue starring Colin Firth and Catherine Zeta Jones; and The Bottom Line, a documentary about the crisis of culture featuring Arthur Miller and Dustin Hoffrnan. Nick was resident Director with The Royal Shakespeare Company for five years during which time he directed The Crucible and Nick Darke's The Body, amongst others. Following this he worked with the Sadlers Wells Theatre Company as their Artistic Director. In 1992 Nick's 1/2 hour Drama Harmfulness of Tobacco won the BAFTA Award for Best Short Film CAST Laurence JOE FIENNES Pedersen RAY WINSTONE Frank RUFUS SEWELL Daniel TOM HOLLANDER Martha MONICA POTTER Florida Jewish Lady DEBORA WESTON Senior Partner JAN PEARSON Male Info. Official STEVEN O'DONNELL Female Info. Official REBECCA CRAIG Hotel Employee PAUL BIGLEY Travel Agent GEOFFREY McGIVERN Iceland Air Official HAMISH CLARK US Ground Stewardess LORELEI KING Taxi Driver STEVEN SPEIRS Bus Driver ROBERTBRYDON Actor 1 LUKE DE LACEY Actor 2 SAM RUMBERLOW Actor 3 STEPHEN MANGAN Director NICK HAMM Producer GRAINNE MARMION Writer PETER MORGAN Line Producer LESLEY STEWARJ Production Co-ordinator KATE LEDGER Production Assistant TANYA FREEDMAN Production Runner CHRIS KWOUK Location Manager ROBERT HOW Location Assistant KEVIN RAMSAY Production Accountant FREYA PINSENT Assistant Accountant SARAH KAYE Casting (UK) MARYSELWAY Casting (LA) VICKIE THOMAS CASTING Director of Photography DAVID JOHNSON Camera Operator NICK SCHLESINGER Focus Puller SAM GARWOOD Clapper Loader SARAH BARTLES-SMITH Camera Trainee RICHARD CARROLL Grip ROBIN STONE 2 n, Camera TIM DODD Gaffer GAVIN WALTERS Best Boy PETER CHESTER Electrician GRAHAM CUSSELL Eiectrician/Genny Op. CLIVEJOHNSON Stills Photographer LAURIE SPARHAM Sound Recordist TIM FRASER Sound Maintenance Engineer ORIN BEATON FT2 Sound Trainee PAUL WITHERS Lst Assistant Director KIERON A. PHIPPS 2 nd Assistant Director OSCAR 13EUSELINCK 3rd Assistant Director JONATHAN HAM 2 nd 2 n' Assistant Director VICTORIA CONNELL Script Supervisor SUSANNALENTON Additional Continuity ARABELLA CECIL Production Designer MAX GOTTLIEB Art Director MARK RAGGETT Assistant Art Director ANTHEA RICHARDS Production Buyer REBECCA ALLEWAY Art Department Runner TAYLOR HUGGINS Property Master JOHN MILLS Stand-by Props GUS LUPTON Dressing Props TERRY WOODS Dressing Props MICHAEL MILLS Prop Trainee TOM HAINES Apprentice Painter AMANDA WADDINGTON Apprentice Carpenter JOHN WALPOLE Construction Manager MIKE HOUSEMAN Make-up Assistant KIRSTIN CHALMERS Editor MICHAEL BRADSELL Assistant Editor DARREL JORDAN 2 nd Assistant Editor JOHN NUTH FT2 Trainee SHANI DUNCAN Minibus Driver JIM ATKINS Runner/Driver PAUL COYNE Runner/Driver TARA VIGNOLES Camera Car Driver CHRIS WEIGHTMAN Costume, Make-up and Artists Trailers JEFF EDWARDS Make-up Vehicle Driver PETER KNIGHT Costume Vehicle Driver ROY Dining Bus Driver LUKE CHISHOLME Caterers CLARKSON CATERING Publicist EMMA CHAPMAN A COMEDY IN WHICH THREE MEN FALL IN LOVE, UNAWARE THAT EACH OF THE OTHERS ARE BOTH IN LOVE THE SAME WOMAN.
- Broadcaster:Channel 4
- Collection: Channel 4
- Transmission Date:02/04/2000
- Decade: 2000s