'Ironclad' Conceived in Hollywood, Writer/Director Says

If you like castles, sword fighting and medieval times, head to the theaters on July 8 to see Ironclad. The film, which was written in Hollywood by Jonathan English, with the help of Reick Kastel and Steven McDool, is an action-packed romp through the 1215 siege of Rochester Castle by the tyrant King John.

In order to capture the essence of the medieval period, English and his producing partner Andrew Curtis, took a cast of Hollywood actors including Paul Giamatti (Sideways, Shoot 'Em Up), James Purefoy (Rome, Resident Evil) Brian Cox (X2, Troy), Mackenzie Crook (Pirates of the Caribbean), Jason Flemyng (Clash of the Titans), Derek Jacobi (Gladiator) and Kate Mara (127 Hours, Shooter, Entourage) to Wales where they filmed their independent production inside a replica of Rochester Castle.

LACMA’s Bing Theater hosted a Los Angeles premiere of Ironclad on Thursday with a cast question and answer session after the screening. Several days later, Hollywood Patch sat down with the film’s director/writer, Jonathan English, who explained how a leisurely visit to Rochester Castle inspired him to dedicate his first year in Hollywood to writing this film.

Hollywood Patch: How did you become inspired to write this story?

Jonathan English: I had always been a complete castle nut when I was a kid. As I started to make films, I really wanted to make a movie about the medieval period and sword fighting and particularly about a castle. As much as I loved films about that period like Braveheart, Kingdom of Heaven … nobody had ever made a film just about a castle and what happens to a castle, the people that live in the castle and the hierarchy— the lord and the lady and all the servants—particularly what happens to a castle during a time of war and during a siege.

Patch: And visiting the castle gave you the idea for the script?

English: I had never been to Rochester Castle even though I kind of grew up in that area. I went there for the very first time in the winter of 2005 and visited the castle and as I was walking around and reading the history of the castle I was just struck by one of those moments when you just think, ‘Wow that would make a great movie.’ I had that idea as I was walking out of the building through the gift shop looking at all the miniature castles and miniature plastic swords.

Patch: Where was the film written?

English: Within a couple months of visiting the castle, I had packed up my life in London and I was moving to the U.S. I arrived here in February of 2006 and I pretty much started working on the script for Ironclad straight away. That’s pretty much what I did in 2006. It was kind of weird to write a movie set in the 13th century—a very cold, bleak period of English history sitting in the sunshine of Los Angeles. The script was written in Hollywood and with the help of Andrew Curtis, the project was then developed and cast and financed out of Hollywood.

Patch: You said that if it weren’t for Hollywood, you wouldn’t have been able to make this film. Why is that?

English: The film really only happened because I was here in Hollywood. It was being in Hollywood and meeting Rick, my producing partner, and him having all his connections to the agencies and the studios and having just made this film with Paul Giamatti, Shoot 'Em Up. … If I hadn’t been living and working in Hollywood at the time, I don’t think the film would have happened.

Patch: In the Q&A at the screening, you said that shooting this movie required taking a cast of actors to Wales where they worked in a variety of extreme weather conditions—continuous rain, robust winds, etc. Was it difficult to convince Hollywood actors used to shooting in studios to spend months filming in such difficult conditions?

English: You’d think it would be but everybody was incredibly enthusiastic and committed. Actors really love those kinds of adventures and most people that are living and working in Los Angeles, it’s a wonderful adventure to get on a plane and go somewhere like Wales, which is a beautiful place, despite the weather. The hills and the countryside are amazing. The actors love it. If they would have loved it after a year of suffering it, I don’t know… I think most people were happy for several months but they were happy to get back home.

Patch: What is your background as a writer and a director?

English: I went to art college to be an illustrator and then I went to film school and then I got into producing for about 10 years. I produced a number of films like The Good Woman with Scarlett Johansson and Helen Hunt, then I started directing and writing the movies that I love, generally action and adventure films. I’m particularly interested in stories sort of set in history. What I really find myself doing now is sort of turning back to all the things I loved as a child. I find I’m going back to all the things that used to fuel my imagination as a kid. The more I turn to those early ideas and those influences and I use them now in a way the more successful you become. You end up writing stories and films and it sort of fills people’s imaginations as well.

Patch: Why should people go out and see Ironclad?

English: It tells you a little bit about the period and some of the significant events of the period. It’s an entertaining movie for people who like action and adventure and also for people that like castles. If you like anything to do with this period, and most people do, then it will give you a little view of the world that a lot of these other big studio movies don’t do. As an independent film, that’s a significant thing because we were able to make the film in a way and not compromise the vision of the film and the violence of the film like a lot of these studio movies have to do. Hopefully, it will give you a slightly alternative type of experience than if the movie had been made with a $100 million budget from a big studio. I’m excited that we got the chance to make the film and it’s now getting out there and I hope that people enjoy it and it gets well received.