Well I am very, very pleased to be able to bring you a World Exclusive!!!!
I have been very lucky to be given an interview with Brett Dunford, Sad Vacation's co-writer and Producer.
Interview with Sad Vacation co-writer and producer, Brett Dunford
PH: Now that Sad Vacation is ready for release how do you feel about the finished product
BD: I feel fucking good about it. I was able to view the documentary at various creative stages, so I had a pretty good idea of how it would turn out. But you can never be one hundred percent sure until you've seen the end result. And it goes beyond what I expected.
PH: How and when did your involvement start?
BD: I was brought into it during the final months of production. As you know, I run a leading Sid and Nancy blog and Facebook community, and have been writing a biography on Sid called Vicious White Kid for a couple of years now. We first hooked up when I interviewed him for my blog in April 2014, which was one of his first interviews for Sad Vacation, funnily enough. Exactly two years later and he's interviewing me!
Phyllis Stein set the whole thing up, really. And the more I talked to Danny, the more I realised we were totally on the same page. Other than the anecdotes that I give in the film, I was also consultant, oversaw some of the London reenactment shoots, and helped write part of the narrative.
PH: Reenactments?
BD: I dragged Conor Hussey of The Sex Pistols Experience out in the pissing rain for a couple of days, poor lad. I was present on the first day and it was uncanny watching him walking around London and acting like Sid; he really looked the part.
PH: What are you most proud of about the film as a whole?
BD: I'm happy that we made a solid documentary that presents facts instead of the usual unprovable distractions. I think it's as close as we're ever going to get to solving the events of the Chelsea Hotel.
PH: Tell me something exclusive.
BD: Huey Morgan of the Fun Lovin' Criminals does the narration, although I think that information is up at IMDb already. Um, what else? Sad Vacation contains more unseen photographs of Sid and Nancy in one place than anything else on the market right now. It's a photo collector's wet dream, and some of them are quite "personal".
PH: When can the public see it?
BD: It opens in London through the Doc' n Roll Festival. At Picturehouse Central, Shaftesbury Avenue on November 6th.
PH: Apart from the London premiere, are there plans for a wider theatrical release?
BD: We have one other date already in Philadelphia, and screenings for Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, and Texas are being ironed out as we speak. Territories outside of the UK and US are also in the works.
PH: Will there be related merchandise?
BD: Yes. The DVD drops on December 9th worldwide, and there will probably be the usual related stuff like t-shirts and posters, but I have no idea of when they might be available to purchase. The safest bet would be around the time of the DVD release. You can stay up-to-date via the official Sad Vacation Facebook page, and at the Chip Baker website.
PH: Are there any extras?
BD: You'll get a behind-the-scenes featurette, some promotional material like the theatrical and teaser trailers. and a couple of music videos. Another thing I should mention is that Sad Vacation has a great soundtrack.
PH: Anything special planned for the premieres that you can divulge?
BD: Maaaybe! But if I divulged them now, they wouldn't be special.
BD: The truth. Or as fucking close to it as humanly possible at this juncture. If you have seen Danny's previous film, Looking for Johnny, then you will know what to expect. He's a guerrilla filmmaker and gets shit done on half the budget of other documentarians. And Sad Vacation is his best film to date, in my opinion.
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Well there you have it, a true first with some exclusive info for you all - A MASSIVE THANK YOU to Brett for taking the time to speak with me and letting me get this interview to you all.
Be sure to check out Sad Vacation very soon - the must see Punk film for Punk's 40th Anniversary
