‘Strictly confidential’ interview: Elizabeth Hurley and Damian Hurley

On April 5, the new thriller ‘Strictly Confidential’, which was directed by Damian Hurley (‘The Boy on the Beach’) and starring his real-life mother Elizabeth Hurley ( ‘Passenger 57’, ‘Austin Powers: The International Man of Mystery’).

Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with Elizabeth Hurley and director Damian Hurley about their work on ‘Strictly Confidential’, Damian’s process as a director, casting his mother, his character, Elizabeth’s experience producing and being directed by her son, and the casting of Georgia Lock. like Mine.

Moviefone: To start, Damián, can you tell us about the genesis of this project?

Damian Hurley: I came up with the initial idea for this movie when I was 17, right after my friends and I lost a very close friend to suicide. It was a horrible time. We were 17 years old. It was the first real loss any of us had known. I was very surprised to see and observe some of the people in my group of friends who absolutely refused to accept what had happened. While I could sympathize with them, I couldn’t really understand it until a year later, when my biological father (Steve Bing) took his own life and I suddenly understood very well this refusal to accept what had happened. I really took advantage of that when I was writing this movie. So the way this film came about was that I made a short film when we were all coming out of lockdown, when the world was starting to heal and rebuild. My life at the end of the tunnel was that of a Lionsgate producer. I got an unexpected call when I was 20 from one of the CEOs at Lionsgate who called me and said, “Hey, we just saw your short film. We love it. We love you. We’d like you to write and direct a feature for us.” Are you in? I was like, “Yeah.” They said, “Cool. Do you have a script?” I was like, “Of course I do.” I had this fabulous idea, which I found in a dusty drawer. I was like, “Yeah, give me some time.” I panicked frantically when I converted this old treatment that I had written when I was 17 before experimenting with something that is what this film is today, and that’s how ‘Strictly Confidential’ was born.

MF: Can you talk to us about how the short film ‘The Boys on the Beach’ prepared you for making ‘Strictly Confidential’?

HD: It was the best experience. I mean, for this movie it was great because I did it with the production company that I made this movie with. That was amazing. She had been to the island and had made a movie on the island. My cinematographer was the same, my composer was the same, a lot of my equipment was the same. That was incredible. It was helpful to have a family shorthand because I was 21 when we did the show. Being in charge decades younger than anyone else on set, and in charge of over a hundred actors and crew would be so terrifying if I literally knew no one except my mother. Fortunately, I had worked with many of them before and filmed on the island. So I wrote it for the island once I knew that was where I was going to shoot. So the island itself is really a character. But no, I learned a lot. For a young creative to tell the story of himself at age 20, I thought that would be the most important thing he could do. For a long time, this was totally unexpected and was the most exciting thing in my life. But I’ve been making short films since I was eight years old, running around with a video camera, torturing every long-suffering member of my family or friend in the world I can get access to. So in a funny way, it felt like a natural progression, especially having a family member to continue torturing. It was a wonderful experience.

MF: Elizabeth, you were originally going to play a character who had passed away before the film began. Did it bother you that your son wanted you to play a dead man in his movie?

Elizabeth Hurley: Not at all. Because she was always going to produce this for him and it made a lot of sense to him because she had promised him that she would be in his movie. Of course, also to the sponsors who wanted a name on a film. So, I always said he would be in it. Which was great, because I knew he was going to have his hands full producing. Because going back to what you said before, I knew Damien could direct the movie. I knew he would be able to run the editing suite and post-production. But what he started to learn in his short film, and what he continued to learn in this one, of course, is everything that has nothing to do with creatives. It’s the horrible logistics of making a movie. It’s programming, it’s timing, it’s putting everything in order. It is understanding when there is a problem, how to deal with it without letting it affect your way of leading. So for me that was always my main role in this movie: to be the person who takes the bullet to be able to move forward with what he needed to be able to move forward, and he did. So when my role got a little bigger, I thought I’d be in front of the camera a little more. So instead of holding a clipboard behind you, it would also have to be in front. But we actually made it work, it was good.

MF: Elizabeth, can you talk about the challenges of producing a project that you’re also acting in?

HEY: I mean, there are pictures of me sitting there talking to someone while someone is trying to curl my hair behind me while we’re having serious discussions. It is a little difficult. I’m always amazed at people who can direct themselves because it must be incredibly difficult. Luckily, we were very prepared and I knew the script very well, because Damien had had it for so long that he knew it inside and out. I’ve been on sets for a long time, so it wasn’t new for me or getting the equipment. But it was a small island, it was a small team. So, I had to be very alert to make sure Damien had everything he needed when he needed it.

MF: Damián, can you tell us about your process as a director?

HD: I’m going to be pretty safe with the number of shots. I like one-shot wonders, but I’ll always get another one-shot wonder right after because I love being covered. I really believe that you can make an edited film. Even with images you don’t like, you can really make something beautiful in the edit. I think that’s my favorite part of the process. So, I like to be covered. The scenes in this are heavily covered, the story walled up to the eyeballs. The thing is that you can’t shoot any other way when you have such a tight schedule, 18 days of filming. You have to keep going and do everything you can. The scenes are then cut with every possible take you could want from whatever scene I made sure to do that day, which saved me in the edits. Whatever you want, I think maybe we count the shots we wish we’d had that we didn’t, that we would have done on reflection if we had the luxury of reshoots, which we didn’t. But if we had, and there are very few because we just tortured ourselves during preparation to make sure we were covered.

MF: Elizabeth, what was your experience working with Damian as a director on set?

HEY: I think his trademark will be that he will be an actor’s director. I think I could really see this in ‘Beach Boy,’ because there’s only one other actor. So, we had a good relationship anyway. But in this movie, I could really see him building great relationships with all the actors who came, of any gender or age. I feel that they felt in very safe hands and the same cannot be said for all the directors. Some are camera directors, or whatever. But I think he is a director of actors.

MF: Finally, Damian, can you talk about casting Georgia Lock as Mia?

HD: It’s very interesting. The Georgia part is complicated on paper. Because when you’re that kind of role, you’re taking the audience on a journey with you, of your suffering, of your pain, while keeping it light and fresh and interesting, and not just grim and depressing. I think Georgia is just a revelation. She has become one of my best friends. She is so phenomenal. I can’t even begin to put it into words. I was very lucky when I found her. So, my other French producer on this had made a film with her. A lot of people auditioned for Mia and they were all great, but she wasn’t all that great. I knew I hadn’t found it. Finally, my producer said, “Oh my God, there’s this fabulous girl I did a movie with last year. You have to see her.” I sat down and looked at her. I would say that within 25 seconds of her appearing on the screen, I thought, “There. Yeah, perfect.” Thank God the stars aligned for that moment because I can’t imagine this movie without it. I think that’s when you know you’ve found the right person for a role. There’s no one I’d rather have played Mia. Georgia is just phenomenal.

What is the plot of ‘Strictly Confidential’?

On the anniversary of her best friend’s (Lauren McQueen) suicide, Mia (Georgia Lock) goes to her house in the Caribbean after accepting an invitation. Mia discovers that each member of the family keeps a secret during her stay. Upon learning this, Mia tries to find out what happened to her best friend.

Who is part of the cast of ‘Strictly Confidential’?

Other Elizabeth Hurley films:

Buy Elizabeth Hurley movies on Amazon