Director explors new subculture

Sitting in his expensive hotel room downtown, film director Iain Softley seems quite relaxed, considering his flight into SFO was four hours late due to fog.

Promoting his latest film, "Hackers," Softley, 38, admits he "missed the bus" when it comes to his knowledge about the information superhighway, but he says movie-goers won't be left behind.

"'Hackers' is a look at a new subculture and a new world," said London-born Softley. "It's something that is happening now, and I'm interested in the way the world is changing."

Softley directed his first feature film last year -- "BackBeat," which explored the early days of the Beatles and the fifth Beatle, Stuart Sutcliff.

In his most recent film, " Hackers," cyber-teens use the power of their laptops to hack their way through a corporate conspiracy and clear their names.

Even though Softley is a fairly new name in Hollywood, he said filmmaking has always been an interest of his.

"It started when I was younger," he said. "On car journeys, I was looking out of the window, making up stories and thinking of them as film."

After graduating from Queen's College in Cambridge, England, Softley directed music documentaries for the British Broadcasting Corporation that included work with guitarists Robert Fripp and Andy Summers.

While working at the BBC, Softley came up with the idea for "BackBeat." After receiving a grant from British Screen to write the script, he sold it to Paris Pictures.

Unable to finance the film, Paris Pictures went bankrupt, before releasing their last film -- " The Crying Game," according to Softley. Finally, Scarlet Productions released its first film, "BackBeat."

Thousands of actors across the United States were interviewed, and cast members got their parts because of their willingness to become the characters. Angelina Jolie (the only female hacker) said she would cut off all her long hair for the part, Softley said, and she did.

A month before production, Softley enrolled the young cast in a hacker workshop, bringing in hackers to prepare them for their roles. Computer experts designed all the software themselves, making all the laptops interactive. Cast members were actually able to do hacks on the streets, according to Softly.

Shot in London and New York, the film used many familiar sites -- Times Square, Grand Central Station and the top of the Empire State Building. "Hackers" also used an abandoned swimming pool in London to create "Cyberdelia," a futuristic clubhouse with life size video games.

The locations were not the only challenge for the director.

"So much of it was special effects that it was difficult to help the actors with their dialogue," Softly said. "They were acting into thin air."

Music also plays a pivotal role in the shooting. Many of the scenes are small music videos, while the hackers crunch their keyboard to a techno beat pulsating in the background.

"Music influences me as well," said Softly. "I sometimes shoot scenes to music because I think it really creates a mood."

So what's next for Iain Softley? He says there is nothing in the works, but he said he could use "a sub-culture holiday."

[ back to Golden Gater Online September 19, 1995 ]

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