Director Ayoade boards 'Submarine' instead of acting in 'IT Crowd' sitcom

CHICAGO - If things had turned out differently, it is possible that film director Richard Ayoade would be a recognizable American television star.

Well-known in Britain as a comedic writer and performer, his distinctly off-kilter sensibility came to bear on shows such as the "Garth Marenghi's Darkplace" (a lampoon of bad TV dramas from the '80s) and "The Mighty Boosh" (a surrealist sketch comedy show). More recently he starred in "The IT Crowd," a popular U.K. workplace comedy about a pair of basement-dwelling computer nerds that was adapted for American television in 2007 with Ayoade reprising his role opposite Joel McHale. The pilot was picked up by NBC, but due to a regime change at the network, not a single episode was shot beyond the pilot, and the show died a quick death.

It is probably just as well. If Ayoade was tied up with a sitcom, he most certainly would have missed out on the opportunity to write and direct his first feature-length film, a coming-of-ager called "Submarine." Set in 1980s Wales, it bears some stylistic and thematic similarities to films of the French New Wave, as well as Wes Anderson's "Rushmore."

Adapted from the 2008 novel by Joe Dunthorne (also called "Submarine"), the film centers on the experiences of Oliver, a 15-year-old boy who meddles in his parents disintegrating marriage when he's not obsessing about his own virginity and an enigmatic girl at school who has caught his eye.

To hear London-based Ayoade tell it, he much prefers to be behind the camera anyway. Through his connection with McHale, he directed an episode of NBC's "Community" last season called "Critical Film Studies," which mashed together elements of "Pulp Fiction" and "My Dinner With Andre."

A shy but unflaggingly polite interview subject, during a recent trip to Chicago the filmmaker talked about his dry sense of humor, his self-proclaimed social ineptitude and his overall discomfort with discussing his own work.

Q: If the American version of "The IT Crowd" had worked out, your life would be very different right now and you would probably be living in L.A. Were you disappointed with the outcome?

A: It seemed so unimaginable because so many pilots don't get picked up - as a betting person you kind of bet against it, so I didn't imagine that it was going to happen. But then it was picked up, and that was kind of terrifying for a short period because it just, I don't know, I had just got married and I felt like I would be uprooting us both. (Ayoade and his wife also have a 15-month old daughter.) And Joel is so suited to "Community," it's such a great fit for him that it's kind of a really good thing that it didn't happen.

Q: I read a quote where you said the making of "Submarine" was excruciating.

A: I could well have been joking.

Q: Are your droll responses frequently misunderstood?

A: Yeah, but that's probably my fault because I'm not funny enough.

Making the film is really enjoyable when you're actually making it; watching it back with other people is excruciating - sort of presenting it and all of that kind of self-regard. It feels completely inappropriate to try to persuade people to see something you've done. It feel like lobbying for your own exam results.

Q: You're not fully comfortable going out and promoting your movie, I gather.

A: It is a bit like an abstract expressionist who would not feel very comfortable expressing themselves verbally, but then be called upon to describe a painting. You have spent your entire life trying to avoid having to verbalize things, and you are immediately put back in that arena that you are fleeing from.

With writers - because you're not terribly socialized or verbally dexterous in reality - you're composing things in a more structured, controlled way. (But once people come in contact with the work) you're immediately thrown back into extemporizing about it in a noncontrolled, potentially trivial and rubbish manner. I literally don't think that the things I say off the top of my head are particularly worthy of record - but they do become worthy of record. Everything is recorded now, I find. I wonder whether there's going to be an infinite archive in the future where everyone has five hours of footage of themselves a day to contend with.

Q: A profile on you that ran in The Guardian a few years back asked, "What's behind the loser act?" and a fan posting online elsewhere answered with this bit of praise: "He's so talented (at) pretending he's not talented."

A: Yeah, well that makes it sound like it's completely disingenuous shtick, which of course, it is - it's incredibly, dangerously, Donald Trump-level arrogance. Yeah. This is a construct.

Q: You've made analogies between "Submarine" and "Taxi Driver," although I'm not sure the connection is obvious.

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In Theaters: ‘X-Men: First Class’ Bullies ‘Submarine’ & ‘Beginners’ At The Box Office

What up, my mutants? It’s time for another summer comic book tentpole! Matthew Vaughn‘s “X-Men: First Class” hits theaters with its stacked line up of stars. If ‘splosions n’ laser beams n’ shape shifting aren’t your thing, you are in luck, as not one but two charming indie dramas also start their roll out: “Submarine,” the debut feature from Richard Ayoade, and Mike Mills’ sophomore effort “Beginners.” There’s also a host of smaller projects on screens, so let’s get started, shall we?

Surprisingly, and in direct opposition to the look of the promotional materials (what is UP with that hideous Beast shot?!) Matthew Vaughn‘s “X-Men: First Class” is not a giant black hole of suck. Yay! McAvoy and Fassbender to the rescue! Despite its limited production and post-production schedule, Vaughn manages to pull off a winning comic book movie that is both intense and fun. How he managed to do that and impregnate January Jones (a rumor! Hearsay!) is beyond me. Look for our feature, “The Playlist’s Top 15 Hookups of the ‘X-Men: First Class’ Set” later today (don’t look for it. It’s not there. It lives in our heads). Anyway, our review says, “crackling with high stakes intensity, yet remaining impressively light on its feet and fun, ‘X-Men: First Class’ is the super hero movie to beat this summer.” Co-starring the hottie parade of Jennifer Lawrence, Zoe Kravitz, Rose Byrne, Kevin Bacon, Nicholas Hoult and Lucas Till. Rotten Tomatoes: 87% Metacritic: 66

Richard Ayoade‘s adorably quirky and winning dark teen drama “Submarine” made a splash at Sundance this year, and now it’s hitting theaters for all of us plebes to enjoy. Starring Craig Roberts, Yasmin Page, Paddy Considine and Sally Hawkins, the film follows teenage Oliver through his romantic and familial ups and downs. Check out our Five Things feature on the film, and a chat with director Ayoade about his influences for more “Submarine”-goodness. Our review says the film is “a remarkably assured debut filled with dry humor, inventive visual wit and great performances.” And did we mention it sports a soundtrack by Arctic Monkeys frontman Alex Turner? Worth the price of admission. RT: 92% MC: 75

Today on indieWIRE: 'Submarine' Goes Down Well & More

Today on indieWIRE 'Submarine' got a nod of approval, Kansas got dealt with a blow, and much more.

With three releases hailing from last year's Toronto Film Festival and one holdover from Cannes 2010, this Friday's roster of releases will have everything from Richard Ayoade's British coming-of-age comedy 'Submarine' and Mike Mills' whimsical romantic drama 'Beginners' to Shawn Ku's take on a high school shooting, 'Beautiful Boy,' and the latest from legendary French New Wave director Jean-Luc Godard, Cannes 2010's 'Film Socialisme.' Want to know which one got the highest approval from our critics? Go here.

How was your Memorial Day weekend? If you're a California filmmaker, it was swell. But if you're a Kansas artist, it was beyond lousy. Over the weekend, Kansas became the nation's only state without an arts agency. Meanwhile, California -- a state that has routinely faced budget shortfalls -- granted a five-year extension to its tax credit program for television and film productions. Click here for a rundown of what happened.

Streaming video site Hulu and Miramax announced a deal that would make hundreds of films from the Miramax library available to screen via the Hulu Plus paid subscription service. The deal will cycle 15 films through the ad-supported free screening side of Hulu each month. Quentin Tarantino's 'Pulp Fiction,' Gus Van Sant's 'Good Will Hunting' and Anthony Minghella's 'The English Patient' are some of the films that will be available.

The self-labeled 'Feel Bad Movie of Christmas,' David Fincher's 'The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo,' debuted its international poster. Warning: This black-and-white doozy isn't safe for work viewing.

Eric Kohn showered love on the indie UK charmer 'Submarine.' The Playlist, meanwhile, sang the praises of Matthew Vaughn's first crack at an all ages blockbuster, 'X-Men: First Class.'

Richard Ayoade takes a 'Community' detour before 'Submarine' hits America

The great thing about Friday's movie releases is not only is there a good movie to recommend, if you live in Los Angeles and New York there are three. For a majority of moviegoers, they'll have the chance to enjoy "X-Men: First Class," but at least for one weekend, before they expand, the big city art house scene will get the first taste of Mike Mills' "Beginners" and Richard Ayoade's hilarious "Submarine."

I first wrote about "Submarine" after seeing the comedy at the 2010 Toronto Film Festival praying that a distributor would take a chance on the very original and creative adaptation of Joe Dunthorne's novel. The Weinstein Company happily acquired the picture and have smartly fashioned it as alternative fare for the summer season. Last week I spoke to director Richard Ayoade about his cinematic debut which has quickly spawned a growing cult fanbase.

"It's not I supposed what you would call a pulpy novel where you find a great scene that you think you'd want to film," Ayoade says of the appeal of bringing "Submarine" to the screen. "I felt that because the [lead character Oliver Tate] was so well drawn, hopefully you could work out a way to translate it with something small that is visual and based on behavior. Sometimes I think it's more interesting to try and adapt something that doesn't seem like it's easy to adapt."

But it's Ayoade's tonal choices that makes the movie work and it all begins with Oliver Tate (a talented Craig Roberts), the teenage hero of "Submarine." A young man living in the small coastal city of Swansea in the U.K., Tate is too smart for his own good, but intent on losing his virginity by 16 and, eventually, stopping his mother (a fantastic Sally Hawkins) from having an affair on quiet, but depressed, old dad. Along the way he finds a headstrong and controlling girlfriend in Jordan (Yasmin Page) whose affection he nearly tosses away for reasons that will only make sense in the context of Ayoade's skillfully crafted film. According to Ayoade, he didn't relate at all to Tate, but was instead "baffled" by his behavior.

"One of the reasons you like Terrence Malick's 'Badlands' is because you go, 'Well, I wouldn't have killed him,' I felt a film where people behave like me would be a very boring film. I really wanted to understand this character," Ayoade says. "I don't think I related to the Christian Bale character in 'The Fighter,' but I'm certainly fascinated by that character and think it's brilliant and really interesting."

As strong as newcomer Roberts is in the lead role, it's really Sally Hawkins who steals the show as Oliver's reserved, but caring mother (well, caring as much as she can). Most moviegoers on this side of the Atlantic know Hawkins from her Oscar nominated performance in "Happy-Go-Lucky" or last fall's "Made in Dagenham." Her work in "Submarine" will seem like a big departure to most, but not to Ayoade. He notes, "She's one of those people who can do anything. She's just really imaginative. She's just got a very big range. It would never be a concern she could do it at all. I guess, to me, 'Happy-Go-Lucky' seemed to be the exception in the way as in it's not quite how I imagined her before seeing that film, but I guess that's become a kind of key note performance [for her]."

Ayoade continues, "She's a bit like Diane Keaton in a way. People who do comedy don't tend to do much other stuff, but they really can. When you think of Diane Keaton you think of how great she is in all those Woody Allen films, but in the 'Godfather' it's such a different performance. So, like Keaton, Sally's one of those people who can do anything."

Almost completely unknown in the U.S., Ayoade has been a key player in the British comedy scene for years writing, directing and starring in TV series such as "The It Crowd," "The Mighty Boosh" and "Man to Man with Dean Learner." Currently working an adaptation of "The Double," Ayoade took some time out earlier this year to direct one of the more acclaimed and memorable episodes of NBC's "Community" this season, "Critical Film Studies."

The almost 34-year-old London native says that because the show was such a "one-off" it gave him more freedom to do something different than a typical "Community" episode.

"It was shot on a set that had never been in the show before. It had the allusions of 'My Dinner with Andre,' so it had a certain stand alone nature of that episode," Ayoade says. "It's also got the Russo Brothers on it who are great directors and they look in, but I was amazed by how undidactic they were. They were incredibly welcoming and the actors as well. It was a real pleasure. And I was just like, 'Don't tell me anything.' I think when people feel confident who they are they aren't worried about people making suggestions because they know whether they are right or not. People who aren't confident get very heavy handed and controlling."

Of course, one of the biggest questions from that particular episode was who on earth convinced Chevy Chase to get in full head-to-toe leather gear? Spoiler alert...

"Well, he wasn't in the leather outfit a lot, because there was a body double a lot," Ayoade admits. "So, when you couldn't see his face we thought, 'This couldn't possibly be good.'"

Smart move. And as to whether he'd return for another guest directing gig, Ayoade says, "I wouldn't presume. I think it's down to timing. I love it. I think they were happy with it. I don't feel particularly exiled."

Unfortunately for "Community" fans, judging from reaction from the industry to "Submarine," free time may soon be hard to come by for Ayoade.

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