Release Date: July 11th 2008
Running Time: 108 minutes
For further information please contact:
Emma Pycroft/Benjamin Lee
OPTIMUM RELEASING
T: 020 7534 2700
F: 020 7534 2701
Emma@optimumreleasing.com
Benjamin@optimumreleasing.com
Short Synopsis
CASS is the incredible true story of one man’s identity struggle and ultimate
redemption. The film follows how a Jamaican orphan baby, adopted by an
elderly white couple in 1950's London, changed from being the most feared
hooligan in the country to Britain’s best selling black author. CASS grew up in
a time before political correctness and as a young child, was forced to endure
racist bullying on a daily basis. One fateful day the pent up years of anger
surfaced in an explosive burst of violence and from then on, CASS decided he
would never be bullied again. Through violence, CASS found the respect he
had never had, but he’d become addicted to the buzz of fighting and the
power it ultimately gave him. As a boyhood fan of West Ham United, CASS
rose through the ranks to become the leader of their hooligan gang, The
Intercity Firm (The ICF). Being a six feet five black man in a predominantly
white social sphere, CASS was an instantly recognisable target for his
adversaries and the authorities. CASS was eventually given the first long term
prison sentence for football related violence, when the Thatcher regime made
it their main priority to rid the country of the ‘English disease’. After enduring
years of racial abuse in childhood, CASS was again faced with the same
problem, but now from an element of black prisoners who regarded him as a
‘Choc-Ice’ (black on the outside, white on the inside). On his release, CASS
fell in love with ELAINE and tried to change his life, but his violent past
eventually caught up with him and he was shot three times at point blank
range, as a result of a previous feud with an Arsenal gang. CASS was left with
the terrible dilemma; to seek vengeance as the street had taught him, or to
renounce his violent past.
Long Synopsis
It’s 1993. We open outside a nightclub in South London where The Assassin
(Bronson Webb) and CP (Paul Kaye) lie in wait with a loaded gun. They are
from a rival Arsenal gang. (“My old man says ‘cos he a nigger and he’s West
Ham, kill the c*nt twice”). Cass (Nonso Anozie) a 35 year old black man
arrives in a taxi and goes to enter the club. The Assassin and CP pounce BANG! Cass is shot three times from point blank range.
As Cass lies motionless we fade to black and the opening titles begin. Cass’
voice over explains that his life up to that point had been saturated in violence
(“I’d been shot, I’d been stabbed and I’d been kicked senseless, but I’d
handed out my share of retribution n’all. It had all been part of the game up
until then.”)
We jump back to 1972. Young Cass at 14 years old (Daniel Kaluuya) and his
friends Young Prentice 14 (Jayson Wheatley) and Young Freeman 14 ( Rory
Jennings) are in Woverhampton on their way to a West Ham away game.
They witness some West Ham fans being beaten up by some Wolves
supporters and run away, but they bump into Stevie Hogan’s (Jamie Kenna)
South Bank Crew (“West Ham’s top firm back then.”) Cass and friends lead
Hogan and crew to where the Wolves are and a vicious fight starts. Cass is
wary at first but joins the fight. As he is arrested Cass explains in V/O that
(“this Saturday was the start of the good times because I became part of
something”) and as the shot fades to black he laments (“but you know what, it
wasn’t always like that.”)
We jump back further to 1958. Doll Chambers (Linda Bassett) a 50 year old
white woman is carrying a black baby (Baby Cass). We see the overtly racist
attitudes of the time as a passer-by comments on the black child (“they’re still
cute at that age before they get the curly hair and big lips.”) Cass explains
how Doll adopted him from a Dr Barnardo’s orphanage.
It’s 1968 and Young Cass now 10 years old (Verelle Roberts) scrubs his skin
furiously trying to remove the black colour. (“All I ever wanted was to look the
same as everyone else.”) At breakfast Young Cass is obviously unhappy and
nervous about going to school. Doll tells her husband Cecil (Peter Wight) to
have a word with the boy, but the 60 year old Cecil appears a weaker person
than his wife. They appear an unusual family - through age and colour. Young
Cass walks to school and as per the daily occurrence, is confronted by a
group of white bully’s - including 10 year old Billy (Brandon Robinson). They
subject Young Cass to severe racial and physical abuse until his two friends
arrive, Young Prentice 10 (Calum Ruane) and Young Freeman 10 (Jack
Johnson). Billy calls Young Cass by his real name (“Carol”) and he snaps.
Young Prentice and Young Freeman encourage Young Cass and he fights
with Billy.
Doll is angry with Young Cass for fighting again and also addresses him as
Carol. He explodes and says he will only answer to Cass. Doll is confused
(“don’t blame me blame them that gave you away. I didn’t give you that
name.”) He explains that he wants to be called after the boxer Cassius Clay
who everyone likes, even though he is black. Doll tells him she will but
(“people don’t like you just because you can bash people up son.”) The advice
does not sink in.
Cecil takes Young Cass to his first West Ham United game. They’re in the
Britannia pub before the match and Young Cass is as usual, the only black
face around. It’s obvious there is no connection between him and Cecil.
Stevie Hogan approaches and stares at the nervous Cecil and Young Cass,
commenting on the child’s skin colour (“I don’t know what the East End’s
coming to.”) Despite this Young Cass is hooked when he hears the fans
singing the Bubbles Anthem and the V/O explains how the Britannia was
home to (“the hardcore of the West Ham following. You had to earn respect to
be accepted at the Britannia.”) We fade outside and we’ve jumped forward to
1972 again where Young Cass 14, Young Prentice 14 and Young Freeman
14 approach the entrance. It’s the week after the Wolves fight. They are
stopped from entering by a drunken pub regular (“no nig nogs allowed. Try the
Sambo’s snooker club up the road.”) The man is suddenly smashed to the
floor by Stevie Hogan (“he aint a Nig Nog, he’s West Ham.”) Young Cass 14
has finally been accepted despite his skin colour, after joining the fight at
Wolves. Stevie Hogan invites the boys into the pub. They enter.
Inside the pub and the boys enter but it’s now 1982 and they are young men
in their early twenties. Cass, Prentice (Gavin Brocker) and Freeman (Leo
Gregory) have taken over from Stevie Hogan and they are now West Ham’s
top gang, The Inter City Firm (The ICF). They approach a tough looking man
sitting in the corner Ray (Tamer Hassan). They are surprised to see him but
he is out on bail. Freeman makes a joke and Ray cuts him dead. Its obvious
Ray is in a different league to the boys and he commands their full respect.
We see the boys in their mundane day jobs as painter decorators and office
workers. Cass explains (“you had to give yourself something to look forward
to at the weekend.”)
It’s a Leeds council estate in 1983. The boys arrive to fight one of their rivals,
The Leeds Service Crew. Cass and Prentice draw the Service Crew out of
their pub and lead The ICF into battle, while an unseen Freeman leads a
splinter group to smash up the empty Leeds bar. As the Service Crew return
to find their spiritual home destroyed Cass explains, (“we were the famous
ICF and humiliation was the business we specialised in.”)
The following day Prentice arrives at Cass and Freeman’s flat with the
Sunday papers. They are furious that they’ve not made the front pages - the
main motivation for their violent actions. Cass vows that they will make the
headlines in two weeks time in a specially planned revenge attack on
Newcastle who had thrown a petrol bomb into the West Ham end the previous
year. The boys discuss raising their profile and Prentice unveils business
cards. Cass is impressed but wants to go a step further to enhance their
status and reputation.
The boys are interviewed in the Britannia for a television news report on the
(“English disease”) of hooliganism. Cass surprises the presenter with a
monologue about how the media are partly responsible for the phenomenon
by (“feeding the flames”) and giving them headlines. Doll watches the rant on
television and is dismayed at what she hears her son saying. On his return
home Cass and Doll argue about the interview. He is proud, she
embarrassed. Doll warns him he’s setting himself up for a big fall.
The following week Cass selects an Elite band of ICF members to travel to
Newcastle for (“the big one.”) This is inter-cut with archive footage of PM
Margaret Thatcher promising to rid the country of hooliganism. The ICF arrive
at Newcastle and Cass delivers a rousing speech about showing the country
(“who the number one football firm is.”) They invade the Newcastle pub and
an extremely violent bar brawl ensues.
As a result of the Newcastle incident, Cass is given the first long term prison
sentence for hooliganism and sent to HMP Wormwood Scrubs for 3 years. He
is instantly recognisable to the racist prison guards as he’s now definitely the
front page headlines.
Cass’ first cell mate is Zulu (Winston Ellis) a racist black prisoner. Zulu fights
viciously with Cass after an argument about Cass’ ‘white’ accent and inability
to understand patoi (“you’re not a real black man.”) Cass is moved to a new
cell with another black prisoner Marlon (Robbie Gee). They discuss Cass’
racial identity and the complexities of being brought up by a white mother
(“who didn’t have an instruction manual on raising a black kid. How was she
supposed to know about platting up my hair.”)
Cass is taken from his cell but given no explanation from the guard. His
destination is Ray’s cell. Ray has recently been moved from Wandsworth
prison into Wormwood Scrubs and is the new (“guvnor”) Ray is intrigued with
all the coverage of Cass and The ICF and see’s the potential for a business
venture on the outside. Cass is unsure as he (“isn’t into anything criminal.”)
The irony is not lost on Ray.
To relieve the boredom Cass writes a book (“about the darker side of football
culture.”) He explains this was always his dream (“They’d written about the
Punks, the Mods and the Skins. So why not about the football Casuals?”)
Three years pass and Cass is released. He plans to go straight (“this book
was going to be my passport to a new life outside the firm.”) but his book is
confiscated by the officious and racist discharge guard, Sergeant Mullins
(Ralph Ineson).
Prentice, Freeman and The ICF have thrown a welcome home party and
Cass is immediately drawn back into his old life style following the
confiscation of his journal. It’s at this party he meets his future wife Elaine
(Natalie Press) whose friend Linda (Lorraine Stanley) being a West Ham fan,
has dragged her along to. During the evening Cass intervenes when a
skinhead Shaun (Johnny Palmiero) knocks Linda to the ground after an
argument. There is a standoff but Cass surprisingly does not react with
violence to Shaun’s provocation. Cass is trying to impress Elaine.
Cass visits Doll and Cecil. Doll is nervous as Cecil urges her to tell Cass that
his biological family are trying to reach him through some Dr Barnardo’s
letters. Doll is delighted when Cass exclaims, (“you two are my family, not
them.”) Doll urges Cass to find a girl. He tells them of his interest in his new
girlfriend Elaine.
Cass and Elaine go on their first date to a Greek restaurant. Cass is nervous
and Elaine realises it, winding him up about the origins of Greek food, “I like
the sheep’s testicles best”. She falls for his vulnerable side and we witness
their mutual attraction and feel something big about to start between them.
It’s now 1987. Prentice is returning home from work and is ambushed by the
Arsenal gang including CP and The Assassin. They cut him up badly.
Cass and Elaine have their quiet night in playing cards interrupted by
Freeman who bursts into the room to explain about Prentice’s stabbing. There
is obviously tension as Freeman resents Cass spending time with Elaine. She
walks out and Cass and Freeman nearly come to blows when Freeman says,
(“she aint that f*cking special anyway.”) It’s obvious that Cass is torn between
his friends and his girl.
On their lunch break, Elaine and Linda discuss Cass. Its obvious Elaine is in
love, but is still wary of his involvement with The ICF (“they’re like little kids in
the playground.”)
Cass, Prentice, Freeman and The ICF ambush CP, The Assassin and the
Arsenal gang in an early morning raid on their café. The ICF deliver a vicious
beating but CP stabs Cass in the groin.
They return to the flat not knowing that Elaine is there waiting. There is a huge
row and she tells him she’ll leave him unless he gets a job and quits The ICF
as she is now pregnant. Cass is in shock as she tells him he’ll either get
locked up or killed if he doesn’t stop fighting. (“Can’t you see, you’re a
violence addict.”)
Cass is desperate not to lose Elaine and visits Ray who is now also out of
prison and back running his nightclub business. Cass offers to run his door
with (“the best doormen in London.”) Ray is not convinced as he sees the
football crowd as (“toy soldiers”) but is impressed with Cass, so gives them a
trial.
It’s Christmas day 1992 and Doll and Cecil are now a lot older. They visit
Cass, Elaine and their five year old son Martin (Carl Fairweather). The
doorman business has obviously been a success as Cass has a nice new
house. Doll jokingly points out that Cass (“must be doing well if he gets his
Christmas crackers from Marks and Spencers. We only get ours out the
catalogue.”) Life is going well for Cass but his past is about to catch up with
him.
CP makes a phone call to the Assassin. He has seen (“that black b@stard
working on the door of some shithole club in South London.”) The fuse has
been lit.
Its four months later. Elaine is holding her new baby whilst she and Martin
wave goodbye to Cass, who is leaving for the nightclub in the taxi we saw at
the opening of the film. The taxi arrives at the club and Cass is shot.
The following morning and a tearful Elaine returns from the hospital to tell an
emotional Freeman, Prentice and Linda that Cass has survived.
2 months later and Ray visits Cass to tell him they’ve found the Assassin, but
Cass is acting strange. He has Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. The following
day Cecil turns up with the devastating news that Doll has died. We see Cass
contemplating opening the Dr Barnardos letters.
A florist arrives later that week with a wreath for Cass. He is touched with the
kind thought but when he opens the card it’s from the Assassin, “only a matter
of time, bang bang”.
At Dolls funeral the vicar asks any family member wishing to speak to come
forward. Cass is still weak following the shooting and struggles to the front.
The vicar seeing a black man is confused, (“It’s really only family members.”)
Cass is hurt, (“but I’m her son.”) Cass reads an emotional tribute to his mum,
(“I never ever thanked you for all you did for me.”) As Cass and Cecil say their
goodbyes Cecil urges Cass to open the letters but he says he has thrown
them away. Before leaving, Cecil becomes serious for the first time and warns
Cass not to do anything stupid. Ray has been waiting and approaches Cass
to reinforce that they are going to take revenge for the shooting. It’s a turning
point as Cass makes the decision that (“this one’s down to me.”)
Cass is grieving for Doll when the phone rings. It’s the Assassin who asks,
(“Didn’t you like the flowers then Carol?”) Cass screams into the phone and
tears it out of the wall.
Cass starts to dream about shooting the Assassin and revenge is dominating
his thoughts. The police arrive again looking for information on The Assassin,
but in the tradition of the East End Cass tells them nothing.
Martin sits playing with a toy car which is infuriating Cass. His nerves are on a
knife edge as the shooting and thoughts of retaliation play through his mind
repeatedly. Cass snaps and screams at Martin who is terrified. Elaine has had
enough and leaves with the children warning that if she finds out (“you’re
planning to do that no mark that shot you, I aint coming back.”)
Cass stares at his reflection in the bedroom mirror when suddenly The
Assassin appears behind him laughing. Cass spins round but there is nobody
there. He looks back and again the Assassin is there taunting him. Cass is
hallucinating but speaks to The Assassin in a resigned tone (“come on finish
me off then.”) The Assassin laughs and as he speaks the voice of 10 year old
Billy comes out, (“didn’t you like the flowers then Carol?”) Cass explodes in
rage and smashes the mirror into pieces. Elaine returns home to find the
house empty and discover that Cass has smashed everything into pieces.
CP and The Assassin are blissfully unaware of what is about to happen as
they verbally abuse a barmaid in their local pub. Two black limousines with
their windows blackened out follow a funeral hearse car along a quiet street.
The procession arrives outside of The Arsenal gang’s pub. Ray, Cass,
Prentice and Freeman emerge from the sinister looking vehicles dressed in
long black coats. Two of Ray’s huge doormen also get out and take the coffin
from the hearse. Cass grabs a wreath and as the coffin is opened we see an
array of violent weapons which are selected by the group. The two doormen
stand on guard outside the pub beside the opened empty coffin as Ray leads
the boys inside, pointing a handgun.
CP and The Assassin are both in shock as Cass thrusts the wreath at them.
Ray hands Cass the gun (“you said this one was down to you.”) Cass cocks
the pistol, placing it to the Assassin’s head. Ray urges Cass to shoot him but
as Cass stares at The Assassin he only sees a frightened boy looking back.
Ray is confused as Cass turns to him handing back the pistol before walking
out the pub.
Cass emerges and exchanges a knowing glance with the two doormen. He
stares into the open empty coffin as he passes it and walks up the street. We
hear Cass’ voice explaining that this was the moment he realised that he had
to break the cycle of violence and become a real man.
As the picture fades to black we read title cards that explain Cass went on to
write his book and open a publishing company. We also find out Cass and
Elaine are still happily married.
A photograph appears of Doll and Young Cass with a caption reading “In
memory of Doll Chambers”. The picture of the actors slowly changes to a
photograph of the real Doll Chambers standing with the real Cass Pennant as
a ten year old child.
PRODUCTION STORY
Cass Pennant and director Jon Baird discuss bringing a remarkable British
story to the big screen
The story of Cass Pennant begins with a bang, literally. The film opens as
Cass is gunned down in an attempt on his life before flashing back to 1958
when a black Dr Barnardo’s boy was adopted by an elderly white couple in
Slade Green, Kent.
Although the film is based on his autobiography Cass, for many years one of
the most feared football hooligans in the country, always saw his life as a
movie.
For his first feature film, director Jon S. Baird was looking for a story that
hooked him from the very beginning. “Cass gave me his autobiography to
read on the train and by the second chapter, I was absolutely lost in his
world,” says the Aberdeen-born film maker. “No one could say he’s the most
sophisticated author in the world, but Cass writes in pictures, he talks in
pictures and the film was immediately taking shape before my eyes.”
Cass agrees: “I’m not an educated author but people say my simplicity is my
virtue, so that’s how I told my story. My life is the story of a certain section of
British society, about race, class, music and fashion and friendships that cut
across those divides.”
Such is Cass’ reputation, however, that Baird was initially wary of approaching
him. “You look up at this huge guy and every thought runs through your head:
this is a big man, very intimidating, dangerous. I was overawed by his
charisma though - it was like the Keyser Soze effect. But Cass can adapt for
every occasion.”
Baird also felt a strange connection to the Cass story because his
grandmother was a key figure in the Dr Barnardo’s charity movement. He
recalls his childhood of being sent out in the Scottish winters to shake his
collection box outside supermarkets. “When I realised Cass was a Barnardo’s
boy, it seemed like this was the story I’d been collecting for all my life,” says
Jon.
Writing the film script required the director to be introduced to Cass’ close-knit
world. It became a story of mutual trust, with Baird attending West Ham
football matches for a whole year to meet and get to know the notorious
former ICF members. “The nod from Cass opens up a whole world,” says Jon,
“but I was apprehensive about stepping into it. But he couldn’t have done this
without me and I couldn’t have done it without him. He was there every day on
set.”
Not only did he feel that the main narrative ripe for a big screen story but the
people Jon met when hanging out in Cass’ world were immediate candidates
for characters. According to Jon, every face told a story. “ One of my first
entries to that world was a big boxing night at the Hilton in the West End,”
remembers Jon. “There were all these East End types there and I just soaked
it all up. I couldn’t believe the look of these men and women - it was as if they
were straight out of a movie.”
Jon and Cass tried to put as many of these “real” people in the film as
possible. Cass himself had been an extra and a “consultant” on previous
football hooligan movies such as Football Factory and Green Street, so he
was familiar with the concept of getting local faces into the background and
how it helps the film crew become accepted in the areas and communities
they are filming.
“For me, a film only works if it’s authentic,” says Cass. “The clothes, the
music, the locations, they’ve all got to be as true to life as possible, so I got as
many real people from my life to be around as I could.” Sharp-eyed audiences
can spot cameos from boxing legend Frank Bruno, West Ham scoring legend
(on and off the pitch) Frank MacAvennie and World Champion East End boxer
Charlie Magri.
Having authentic extras also helped in sometimes unexpected ways. In a key
scene when a gangster, played by Tamer Hassan, enters a well-known
watering hole brandishing a shotgun, Cass didn’t need to give out many
acting lessons. “Everyone there knew what it was like to have a gun go off,”
he says with a huge laugh. “From the old geezers to the barmaids - they’ve
all experienced it in real life, so I told them to just do what they did when it
was for real.”
Although the film is about one man’s colourful life, there’s no escaping that
some of Cass’ activities have not found favour with the authorities. Many of
his associates have been part of the East End underworld; he was a ring
leader for many notorious hooligan fights and instances in the 70s and 80s.
He spent three years in prison and was, as the film makes clear, the victim of
an assassination attempt, an event which made him turn his life around.
“I think we’re just coming into a period now when there’s enough time and
distance from the events of the past,” says Jon. “The film’s more a story of
one man trying to get accepted and be respected but the only way he knew
was with his fists. That’s what we hope to show - it seeks to understand the
man, and I don’t think it glamourises him or his life, at least no more than
American gangster films have for done for ages.”
Cass is understandably proud that his life is up there on the big screen. “The
film is an unrecorded social history,” he says, with a clarity one might not
expect from a man labelled a thug by the press. “With a bit of distance now,
we can see that it wasn’t just about mindless fighting but that there was a
whole culture to the life, a fashion, a music."
“But there’s also a change that’s happened to Britain, in terms of racism laws
and political correctness - it’s a completely different world here now to the one
I was born into.”
Neither Jon nor Cass believe their film could be accused of encouraging the
return of football hooliganism. “No way can it go back to how it was,” says
Cass. “Arrest figures haven’t gone up since Football Factory or Green Street
or since I published my books. Our film is about showing how things changed
through the 70s and 80s. People can seen that that was then, this is now and
it sits comfortably with them.”
According to Cass, the younger generation are keen to find out about what
came before them because stories such as his have passed into local folklore.
“I’m not saying they were heroes at all, but on a local level, you’re talking
about larger than life people who touched many people’s lives,” he says. “You
go into any community in Britain and they’ve all got these strong characters
and street legends. And they were known throughout their whole
communities - six days of the week, they weren’t fighting in football grounds,
so they were mixing with local people in pub scenes and club scenes and
everyone will have stories to tell about these men.”
The British actor appearing in his first lead role as Cass is Nonso Anozie, a
young London actor who’s appeared in Atonement and Mike Leigh’s HappyGo-Lucky. “The hardest thing for him was to get the voice of Cass right,” says
Jon. “We worked him really hard on it, getting the 1980s cockney accent
down, as it’s so different from today’s street slang. So we got him working in
the gym in the East End, not just to beef him up, but to also get the voices of
the old boys in there. He also had to play Cass from his early 20s into his mid
30s, so he got that ageing really well.”
Says Cass: “The lads, who I’ve known 30 years, said it was too weird - they
said he’s got you to a T. He’s done a terrific job, brilliant. But I’m also proud to
bring on another black British actor, you know. There aren’t many parts for
black people in British films and especially not lead roles and I hope people
see how Nonso really shines.”
As well as a magnetic central performance, the many period settings and the
pop music were crucial to the film. “We go from 1958, to 68, 72, 83 and 87 to
1993,” says Jon. “We had to get the fashion right each time and the music.
We’ve managed to get tracks from Booker T and the MGs, Desmond Dekker,
The Beat, The Jam, Madness, S-Express and Ride. I’m very pleased with the
way the music came together because I’ve seen too many films let down by
getting the music wrong.”
Another method for ensuring authenticity was to shoot as much as possible
on location around London’s East End. Locations took in Bethnal Green,
Shoreditch, East Ham, West Ham, Canning Town and even dipping into
South London for some scenes around Elephant and Castle.
The Director’s statement
After reading Cass Pennant’s autobiography, I was convinced that there were
many lessons to be learnt from his experiences. Previous films with similar
subject matter have inadvertently glamorized the world of football violence
without exploring the motivations behind it and the ultimate repercussions it
can lead to.
I spent a year getting to know Cass Pennant before making any attempt to
write the film’s screenplay, as we both felt it important to build up a trust which
has ultimately led to a strong friendship. Cass remained a constant presence
from script through to shoot, bringing integrity to everything from the fashion,
to the ever changing language of the time periods covered.
In addition, the film’s producer (Stefan Haller) and I endeavored to be faithful
to the reality of Cass’ life during the process that involved transforming the
existing literature, in this case a true story, on to the big screen. Everything
from selecting the authentic costumes to filming at the real locations was
factored into the overall production before one roll of film was shot.
CASS is predominantly set in Britain’s darkest recent years (the 70’s and
80’s). Miner’s strikes, mass unemployment and a youth disillusioned by the
unrealized promises of the 60’s, found themselves abandoned by the state.
Cass Pennant’s ultimate redemption and the lessons drawn from his life are
as relevant for today’s youth gang culture as it was to his contemporaries from
a previous disillusioned generation.
Achieving the right look for CASS - by Director of Photography
Christopher Ross
When I was first approached by Jon to photograph CASS, the two of us
discussed at length the protagonist’s life story and the huge transformation of
character that occurs because of this. The film spans five decades of British
life in varying degrees and it was felt that it would be great to convey each of
the time vignettes with a distinct look that would evolve subtly as time passed.
Jon and I isolated particular moments in Cass Pennant’s life that best defined
character transformation and set that decade’s look accordingly. These looks
are then juxtaposed or evolved to convey passage of time. Each look
therefore should both ground the audience in a reality-based timeframe whilst
also pushing the story elements in an atmospheric way.
The Music
‘The music in CASS is one of the most important pieces in the jigsaw and for
it to truly work it also had to be real. By that I mean the tracks not only had to
reflect the mood and sentiment of the film, they had to act as a mirror on
Cass’ life and Britain as a whole over the time periods featured - i.e. from the
late 1950’s to the early 1990’s. The creation of the soundtrack was been a
detailed and thoroughly enjoyable process and I am delighted we have an
exciting eclectic mixture including: rock, ska, funk, soul, punk, pop and acid
house.’ (Jon S. Baird)
The CASS Soundtrack:
Title
Melting Pot
The Isrealites
The Liquidator
This Perfect Day
One Step Beyond
March of the Swivel Heads
The Stripper Song
Jackpot
Fu Manchu
Land of Hope and Glory
Happy Hour
Down In The Tube Station at Midnight
Never Knew Love Like This
Click Click
Theme from S Express
Step into Christmas
Leave them All Behind
Artist
Booker T and the MG's
Desmond Dekker
Harry J And The All Stars
The Saints
Madness
The English Beat
The Dave Rose Orchestra
The English Beat
Desmond Dekker
Performed by the BBC Orchestra
The House Martins
The Jam
Stephanie Mills
The English Beat
S Express
Elton John
Ride
The challenges of a modern period piece – by Production Designer
Daniel Taylor
It’s not every day you’re standing in an East End underground walkway
wearing a disposable decorating suit, daubing racist slogans in 6ft high letters.
Myself and two other members of the CASS art dept stood back and reviewed
our work that included; ‘You f*cking black c*nts,’ and ‘Malcolm is a nig-nog’.
The strange things you find yourself doing when working on a feature film.
The run-down location in the middle of a sink estate was the set for our 1972
Woverhampton Subway, where the opening fight scene was to take place.
The morning had been spent erasing the 2008-brand of graffiti ranging from
the standard banter about someone’s parentage, to the football punditry of
‘Ronaldo is a wanker’. We were charged with the task of replacing it with
some suitably hideous 1970’s style racism. Our set was ready but the only
problem was, it was only a set to us. To everyone who lived in the area it was
still a 2008 walkway. First of all an older lady glanced curiously at our
decorating suits, probably assuming that racist thugs were now more
concerned of splash-back than they used to be. A group of black teenagers
then rode up on bikes and looked at us in disbelief. To them, continuing to
paint must have seemed incredible. Some laughed as they could not
comprehend our audacity. One of their fathers arrived and immediately put his
hand to his mouth. He was in total shock, ‘My son said you were doing it, but I
had to come down to see it with my own eyes. What the f*ck are you doing?’
We tried to explain the situation. We were doing it for a film and it would be
gone tomorrow. ‘I don’t care, you can’t leave that there’. ‘Well, what can we
do?’ we said. ‘I could take off the “c*nt” probably’, offered one of my team. I
tried to explain that this maybe wasn’t the most offensive word. The man was
forthright. It all had to go and go immediately. It was clear that others would
be far less reasonable than him so we got back to work and left the walkway
gleaming. We did eventually manage to paint the graffiti early the following
morning and only for the duration of filming. It was a valuable lesson learnt as
we’re often naïve and film things in a bubble. Sometimes even set-dressing
can be a contact sport.
CREW BIOGRAPHIES
JON S. BAIRD – WRITER / DIRECTOR
Jon S. Baird was raised in Peterhead; a fishing port in Aberdeenshire. His
father ran a small roofing firm which Jon worked for at weekends and school
holidays.
Before going into further education, Jon wanted to experience real life and
undertook a variety of jobs including; Hotel Porter, Docker and Salesman in
an electrical store. It was during this two year period he met many of the
characters who provided the inspiration behind several of his script ideas.
After graduating from the University of Aberdeen in 1996, Jon moved to
London to pursue his ultimate ambition of becoming a film maker. Jon started
in production as a runner and quickly progressed through the ranks. He has
worked as a freelance Director and Producer for every major television
network; however the majority of his work was within the BBC’s comedy
department.
Jon had always wanted to make a short film about the culture of football
hooliganism and the Casual movement, since witnessing the phenomenon as
a young boy growing up on the terraces of Aberdeen F.C. In 2003 he directed
and produced the fifteen minute film IT’S A CASUAL LIFE, which screened at
numerous international festivals and sold worldwide. The film also went on to
receive a mini cult following on YouTube.
In 2004, Jon was employed as Associate Producer on the feature film GREEN
STREET after its director viewed a copy of IT’S A CASUAL LIFE. It was on
this project that Jon met Cass Pennant, the former football hooligan who was
making a cameo appearance, ironically as a Policeman. Cass introduced Jon
to his autobiography (CASS) and he was immediately drawn to the potential
for an enthralling film.
Jon completed the screenplay for CASS in October 2006 and it was picked up
by Optimum Releasing at the American Film Market in Los Angeles the
following month.
Jon’s next project (DISCOVERING CARLOS) is a black comedy thriller set in
his native Scotland.
STEFAN HALLER – PRODUCER
Stefan is an independent producer based in Los Angeles. He was part of the
original nine person team at Warner Independent Pictures (MARCH OF THE
PENGUINS, GOOD NIGHT GOOD LUCK), working in production and
acquisitions.
After leaving Warner Independent, Stefan exec-produced LIFE AND LYRICS
and also produced COMA, the first film made exclusively for mobile devices.
BERRY VAN ZWIETEN – CO PRODUCER
Berry van Zwieten studied economics in Holland and started his film career in
Luxemburg in the early nineties. Since then he has produced and line
produced numerous film projects across Europe. Berry also developed the
Dutch version of UGLY BETTY.
DANIEL TAYLOR – PRODUCTION DESIGNER
CASS is Daniel’s first feature film as production designer, having designed
Jon’s short film. Jon always felt Daniel would be the ideal candidate for the
position, following his work on the BBC’s modern period piece, LIFE ON
MARS
CHRISTOPHER ROSS – DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY
Chris’ feature credits as Director of Photography are; THE COTTAGE (2008),
EDEN LAKE (2008) and LONDON TO BRIGHTON (2006)
Chris has worked as a Visual Effects Unit DP on ATONEMENT (2006) and as
a Camera Operator on CONTROL (2006), His Commercial credits include;
BARCLAYCARD, ACTIMEL and TWIX for RSA Films and his Music Video
credits include; FRANZ FERDINAND, BADLY DRAWN BOY and JACK
SAVORETTI.
GUY SPERANZA – COSTUME DESIGNER
CASS is Guy’s first feature film in the role of Designer. His credits as
Assistant Designer include: BATMAN BEGINS, HARRY POTTER AND THE
ORDER OF THE PHOENIX and DIE ANOTHER DAY.
“Working on the film was a great experience from a costume point of view, as
we had to separate the periods from 1968, 1972, 1982, 85, 87 and 93. We
had the added bonus of having Cass Pennant advising us and referencing
him constantly.”
CATE HALL – HAIR and MAKE UP DESIGNER
Cate has worked mainly on feature films, but has also done a variety of
promos and commercials. She has designed a wide range of projects from a
contemporary interpretation of Monteverdi's fourth book of madrigals, to a
comic expedition to the North Pole.
“CASS was the most ambitious project I've ever worked on. We shot a huge
cast over a story period covering the 1950s to the 1990s. I was really proud of
my team as we contended with large crowd scenes, character aging and
casualty make-up, on a low budget. We worked hard, had a great time and
really bonded as a crew. “
DAVID MOYES - EDITOR
David is an award winning Editor who first met Jon when they worked as
runners together. Several years later Jon invited David to edit his first short
film and when CASS went into production David was again brought on board
to edit what would become his first feature.
David relished the challenges CASS threw up. “The material is diverse in its
nature ranging from intimate dialogue scenes to complex action sequences.”
He also had to face the inherent difficulties of biopic films, namely the
complex compression of time and the use of transitions to move the story
forward.
PAUL CROCKFORD – MUSIC SUPERVISOR
Paul Crockford has been a leading music industry professional for 30 years in
both band management and concert promotion. Paul has produced shows for
artists including Genesis, Eric Clapton, Bryan Adams, Dire Straits, and Paul
McCartney.
“I first met Jon several years ago and coincidentally had just finished reading
Cass autobiography. Over the past 18 months Cass, Jon and myself have
had many discussions about the role that music played in Cass's life and the
resulting soundtrack is a culmination of those conversations. It has been an
amazing journey, from an idea hatched over a few drinks to the gritty and
realistic vision that is CASS the movie.
DAVE LEA – STUNT ARRANGER
Originally from North London, Dave now lives in Los Angeles. His credits
include: BATMAN, THE ROCK, DEMOLITION MAN and WILD WILD WEST.
“When I was asked to become involved in this movie, I flew right over. Cass is
someone whose real life experience is a story well worth telling. The realism
achieved in the fight scenes is second to none.”
CAST BIOGRAPHIES
NONSO ANOZIE - CASS
Nonso’s impressive list of film credits include; ATONEMENT, THE LAST
LEGION and HAPPY GO LUCKY. Before making the move into feature films,
Nonso was a highly established theatre actor. In 2002 he became the
youngest person in history to play King Lear and in 2005, was given the Ian
Charleson Award for his performance as Othello.
NATALIE PRESS – ELAINE
Natalie’s outstanding performance in MY SUMMER OF LOVE brought her a
best actress nomination at the British Independent Film Awards. She was
always Jon’s first choice as ELAINE.
LINDA BASSETT – DOLL
Linda received a BAFTA nomination for her fantastic character portrayal in
EAST IS EAST. Throughout her career Linda has always been a familiar face
in a variety of films including; THE HOURS, CALENDAR GIRLS and KINKY
BOOTS.
LEO GREGORY – FREEMAN
Jon was extremely impressed by Leo’s performance in GREEN STREET. Leo
was the first actor attached to the CASS project.
GAVIN BROCKER – PRENTICE
Gavin is an extremely exciting newcomer and fought off stiff competition for
the role of Prentice. He is definitely one to look out for in the future.
TAMER HASSAN - RAY
Having started his acting career relatively recently, Tamer’s impressive list of
credits already includes; LAYER CAKE, BATMAN BEGINS and EASTERN
PROMISES.
PETER WHITE – CECIL
A seasoned professional, Peter’s credits include; SECRETS AND LIES,
VERA DRAKE, BABEL and HOT FUZZ.
PAUL KAYE – CP
Since coming to fame as Dennis Pennis, Paul has gone on to star in a variety
of film roles. His leading turn in IT’S ALL GONE PETE TONG highlighted his
undoubted talent.
BRONSON WEBB – THE ASSASSIN
Bronson is a star in the making. Still in his early twenties he has already
featured in; HARRY POTTER, KINGDOM OF HEAVEN, ATONEMENT and
THE BANK JOB.
LORRAINE STANLEY – LINDA
Lorraine’s outstanding performance in LONDON TO BRIGHTON earned her a
London Critics nomination for best actress. Lorraine made her film debut in
GANGSTER NO. 1
RALPH INESON – SERGEANT MULLINS
Best known for his character of Finchy in THE OFFICE, Ralph was also one
of the first actors attached to the CASS project. His film credits include;
SHOOTING FISH, FROM HELL, FIRST KNIGHT and the new HARRY
POTTER film.
ROBBIE GEE – MARLON
Robbie is an extremely professional actor whose credits include; SNATCH
and the PIRATES OF THE CARRIBBEAN trilogy.
VERELLE ROBERTS – AGED 10
Verelle was chosen from over a hundred child actors for the role of Young
Cass (10 years old). He worked extremely closely with Barbara Berkery
(dialect coach) on his 1960’s London accent. Verelle was in good hands as
Barbara was responsible for helping Renee Zellweger and Gwyneth Paltrow
with their English accents on BRIDGET JONES and SHAKESPEARE IN
LOVE respectfully.