Could each film work on its own?
Well, they're better seen together, because you get a sense of Beckett's work in a much clearer way. But stylistically, they stand apart from each other, to a certain degree.
How on earth did you manage to do it all for £4.5m
It was very difficult (laughs). Well it's worth remembering that all of the directors and the cast worked on a favour-expenses basis, so there was an enormous amount of co-operation and a lot of goodwill that made it happen. I mean there was eleven hours of material in total!
It must have been a nightmare to schedule…
It was, erm, very interesting! We've been shooting now for nearly a year, and by the time we finish it will have been a full twelve months.
Did you shoot them all back to back?
No, nothing that simple! Often we were shooting two at a time, other times there were lots going on, but most of the time it was one after another - we'd do a run of four or five of them and then take a break from shooting. The problem was that no-one had ever done it like this before. No-one has ever shot like this, so there wasn't a precedent.
What's going to happen to them now?
Well, obviously they're going to appear on TV - in Ireland on RTE and in the UK on Channel 4. All 19 of them are going to be unveiled at a week-long event in Dublin in January, followed by similar events in London and New York. Then they will be shown in the US and Canada, followed by transmission on various TV channels worldwide
Would you ever try this again, with another writer's work?
Er, how can I put this politely… (laughs)… No. No, I wouldn't. I think I'm filmed out for the time being! I think I would leave it to someone younger with much more energy.
