Robin Hood
Foz Allan interview
If you love the BBC's take on Robin Hood, then Foz Allan is one of the people to thank. Together with co-creator Dominic Minghella, he conceived the radical retelling of the classic myth – but what attracted him to Robin Hood in the first place? And which now-famous star was in the running to play the outlaw?
The success of the reborn Doctor Who has led to a new appetite for thrilling, fantastical teatime telly. But what was it that drew you to Robin Hood in particular?
To use a well-worn but very appropriate phrase, Robin Hood captures the zeitgeist. Despite having been around for centuries as a folk hero, he's actually the perfect hero for our times, right now.The way we looked at it, stealing from the rich and giving the poor is another way of saying, "make poverty history". He's also a bit of an eco-hero, living off the land and respecting nature. As a character, he's on the side of everything people care about today. On top of that, the context of the Robin Hood legend has resonance today. Just look at the Crusades, which mirror our own wars in the Middle East. It's the same "clash of civilisations" that political pundits talk about today.
Did any previous Robin Hood films or TV shows influence your own version at all?
Oh, loads of them did, each in their own way. Myths are a cumulative thing, they evolve and build on themselves. Probably the biggest influence on us was the 80s series Robin of Sherwood, with its lush green settings and Celtic atmosphere. But we also drew a bit on the film Robin and Marian, which had Sean Connery as a brooding, war-weary Robin. That version owed a lot to the discontent over Vietnam, just as our Robin's war-weariness can be seen to reflect anxiety over Iraq.People have wondered if Keith Allen's wicked Sheriff was inspired by Alan Rickman in the Costner film. But actually the bad guy in the old 1930s Errol Flynn movie was just as fruity. So yes, we drew on many sources.
Was it tough to find your perfect Robin?
We saw absolutely loads of actors - different ages, different looks, playing the character in different ways. One of the try-outs was actually James McAvoy, who already had a reputation and of course has since gone global as an out-and-out A-lister.But we realised fairly early on that we weren't actually after a "name" actor. We didn't want people pointing to our Robin and saying "Oh, there's such and such from EastEnders". Jonas Armstrong was ideal that way, because he'd already proven himself in small roles but wasn't a household name. The biggest game we took was over Lucy Griffiths as Marian. She was 19, a complete gamble, and we actually had a contingency plan of sidelining the character if Lucy proved no good. Luckily she was marvellous.
Tell us a bit about the filming. Why didn't you shoot the series in England?
Well, vulgar as it sounds to say so, it's cheaper not to shoot in England. On top of that, Dominic Minghella - one of the brains behind the show - had filmed in Hungary before and realised the woodland around Budapest was perfect for Robin Hood.Hungary actually has a celebrated tradition of filmmaking going right back to the 1920s, so we were in safe hands. The one small problem was getting the local crew to understand our cultural take on Robin Hood. How we didn't want it too silly and kitschy, but also not too gritty and smelly. Communicating your grand vision can be tricky at the best of times, but add a language barrier and you can see how things can go quite slowly.
Did filming go smoothly? And what exactly happened with the missing tapes?
Well, filming itself went like a dream, but then of course our tapes were stolen right from under our noses in Budapest. These were the master tapes which were due for editing, and there were no other copies. As you can imagine, this was pretty devastating.Luckily, just as we were starting to really panic and hurriedly re-shoot scenes, the thieves were apprehended and the tapes recovered. The funny thing was, some journalists began to say it was all a publicity stunt, playing on the thieving theme of Robin Hood. But he robbed from the rich, not from mud-caked, budget-conscious BBC producers in Hungarian forests.
When is it on?
- Robin Hood is next on at 7.05am on Thursday 14th August on UKTV Gold
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