May 25, 2012

Nick Hamm Talks Killing Bono

by Nick Hamm | Published November 3, 2011

In Killing Bono, based on Neil McCormick’s 2005 memoir I Was Bono’s Doppelganger, all Neil McCormick (Ben Barnes) wants to do is form a band with his brother Ivan (Robet Sheehan), get signed, become world famous and “pull off the biggest rock and roll invasion of America since the Beatles.” Is that too much to ask? Unfortunately for the McCormicks, while their band doesn’t exactly ascend to the heights of superstardom, some old school friends of theirs manage to form a band that’s quite a bit more successful: U2 (Ivan: “It sounds like a bleedin’ submarine!"). Director Nick Hamm gave MovieMaker the inside scoop on the blend of fact and fiction in his dark comedy, U2’s involvement in the film and working with the late Pete Postlethwaite, whose performance as the McCormicks’ randy landlord Karl marked his final film role before his passing last January.

Directors are constantly looking for original areas in which to work; we are always searching for the unique and different. Indeed, every story has its challenges, and even though Neil McCormick’s had more than most, it was so original I couldn’t resist.

This wasn’t your run-of-the-mill biopic charting the rise to stardom of a now very famous band. This was a story of failure. A tale of how hubris and jealousy can both motivate and destroy. It was funny, touching, provocative and true. Our hero—or anti-hero, in this case—was an everyman whose story asks the audience to reflect upon the question of who among us, at one point in our lives, has not stood in front of the mirror and dreamed of stardom? Most of us give up on the idea very quickly; we either recognize that we posses no discernible talent, or we don’t have the stomach for the fight. Lack of talent or belief did not affect Neil McCormick. He pursued his dream regardless, and he failed—but he failed gloriously.

So why make a movie about failure? Because failure is, ultimately, a more interesting narrative drive than success. It enables and forces introspection, and it spurs and sets up wonderfully comedic situations. Anger and resentment are great motivators for comedy, and in this character I saw the potential for a true anti-hero for our times.

Fact or Fiction?

Neil McCormick’s book I Was Bono’s Doppelganger is a rambling, often hilarious account of his journey through the London rock scene in the 1980s. Our first task was to streamline the story and focus the events.

We were also aware that certain parts of the story are factual, and we retained them because they had some significance beyond our film. Larry Mullen did put a notice up in the school corridor to invite kids to sign up for the band… that was how U2 got started. Subsequently, they did all meet in his mum’s kitchen for their first rehearsal. The Edge turned up with a guitar he made himself, and Larry’s drum kit, because of the diminutive size of the kitchen, stuck halfway out into the back garden.

We went to the original school, we visited their houses and we spoke to their contemporaries. I wanted this part of the film to be accurate; I’m a fan of the band, and I enjoyed replicating those events. But most of the film doesn’t deal with U2. We see the band members in their teenage years and then begin focusing on Neil’s story. U2’s success acts as a comic counterpoint to Neil’s failure; U2 represents everything Neil wanted, everything he needed. As the story progresses, we watch Neil’s relationship with his brother twist and turn as Bono and U2 become more successful.

So, as the film progresses, we are less interested in the reality or historical truth than we are in the character and his journey. I amalgamated some events and characters and focused on an impression of the music scene that I knew would be cinematic and interesting. I fictionalized fact and factualized fiction. I mixed the truth with the dramatically necessary.