'Left For Dead' - the new UK DVD martial arts feature film from Big Cat Productions and Modern Life? - is breaking new ground for UK productions.  A commercial feature film aimed at the international market, it's a huge departure for a country who are renowned for making mainly art house, comedy and period pictures.

The film  includes artists and performers with credits on films such as 'Baby Juice Express', 'Queens Messenger 2', 'Distant Shadow', 'Your Dead', 'New Blood', 'The Accidental Spy', 'A Better Tomorrow 2' and 'Project: Assassin' and is directed by Ross Boyask, produced by Phil Hobden and written by Adrian Foiadelli.

Producer Phil Hobden has been working with most of the 'Left For Dead' team for over 10 years now, having co-directed their first film 'The Gauntlet' back in 1993.  The following is an interview conducted with Mr. Hobden.

So tell me, what’s the basic story of 'Left For Dead'?

Phil Hobden : At heart 'Left For Dead' is a 70s styled revenge picture – 'Fist of Fury' meets 'Point Blank'.  A captain in a large crime syndicate, Williams, decides to leave but no one leaves!  Quickly he is betrayed by his colleagues and left for dead (hence the title).  Kelso is a promising kick boxer whose career is cut short by the same people when he refuses to throw a fight.  Seeking revenge and justice they team up to take down those who tried to kill them.  Okay so it's not a strikingly original story, but what’s in the film has never been seen in a UK film before.  And we have a great script by Ade Foiadelli (Writer) which takes it to another level.

So why martial arts films?

PH: Why not! Firstly these are the kind of movies I have always enjoyed watching.  Not to the same extent as Ross Boyask (Director) but still I've always had a healthy enjoyment for large men beating each other up.  Secondly it's the kind of movie we have been making since '93.  We made over 40 short films together and probably another 20 or 30 apart and most of them had a Martial Arts bent.  And finally Martial Arts genre films are one of the most profitable types of films. 

What's it been like working with the same people for so long?

PH: Crazy.  But I know I can work a fight with Glenn Salvage (Williams) and even though I’m no martial artist we have good timing and trust which comes from doing this for so long. And the same goes for Ross… I know what he wants sometimes before he even says it.  It’s sounds clichéd but it's true.

It's nice because we know our limits and boundaries and that works well.  We also know that if I shout or swear at someone they don't take it personally and it's forgotten soon after!

You mention the lack of money available for these types of films, how did you fund 'Left For Dead'?

PH: Three words – beg, borrow, steel – the independent film makers mantra.  Partly ourselves, partly through other people lending time and support and partly on credit cards. It's a shame that with all that lottery money that was floating about a few years ago, the best we could come up with was 300 Lock, Stock rip offs and a few low-key rom coms.  If we'd have invested that money in a genre industry we would still have a UK film industry which was self-supporting

That must make things a little difficult at times?

PH: Impossible.  Trying to get 20 people with day jobs, scheduled for large shoots, with locations you can't pay for and people who are fated to not be there for what ever reason... but at the same point when it does come together it's amazing. That's when I sit back and let Ross do his thing.

However it's not all bad.  We want to make ourselves a self-funding organisation, funding our next films from the profits of 'Left For Dead' and so on. We don't want to have to rely on lottery funding, government handouts and screen deals which means we have to sell control off and final cut.  Screw that.  We get final cut on our movies, final say on casting and final say on tone.  We don't want to have to give that up.  If we can make this self supporting then we have achieved something that the UK industry hasn't to this date.

What difference would having say a $2-3 million budget make to 'Left For Dead'?

PH: A trailer for me!  With that kind of money we could make something that would rival most Hollywood blockbusters.  What we have been doing is years ahead to Hollywood.  The US thinks that Martial Arts movies began with 'The Matrix' and that Brett Ratner discovered Jackie Chan.  Take away the effects from 'The Matrix' and you have a very unoriginal Martial Arts movie with far too much wire work. 

Lets face it, 'The Matrix' was only ground breaking to people who hadn't seen a Hong Kong movie before.  Period.  And Ross has seen most of them, if not all.  'Left For Dead' is a film made by people with a level of respect for those films.  But saying that our aim isn't just to imitate it's to innovate too and that's why people like First Strike Action Team and Screen Fighters are a key piece of the puzzle.  They bring a level of innovation which reflects back to the early Jackie Chan films. 

As well as on screen drama, you had a fair amount of off screen dramas as well haven't you?

PH: To say the least. I was almost killed in a car crash, which meant rewriting the script with my character out of it.  It also meant I was benched for over 4 weeks, so I missed a lot.  On top of that we've had births, marriages and engagements, broken bones, injured stunt performers and a few disagreements... but that's what happens when you push yourself and others. 

As stated earlier, you have a very impressive cast with some great screen credits.  How do you get people involved in this project?

PH: Again, the answers two fold.  Firstly with people like First Strike Action Team and Gordon Milne (Kincaid), they have a relationship stretching back to 'Pure Vengeance' a few years ago.  They love working for Ross as he pushes them to do their best, and at the same time respects their opinions and lets them getting involved in the project.  In short Ross makes them look their best. 

As for everyone else the buzz surrounding 'Left For Dead' is immense, to the point of people coming to us and asking whether they can be part of the film.  People know how good this film is going to be and they want to get involved.  It's a collaborative effort and people feel that.  Without everyone giving up their time and effort (and often money for transport) this film wouldn't exist. 

Of course It helps that we have a great director and a great script.

You took 'Left for Dead' to Cannes this year, how'd that go?

PH: Interesting.  It was my first Cannes and Ross' first as a director taking a feature film.  And in the tradition of all things going wrong at the wrong time, the print we were taking to screen arrived to us at 2am (30 mins before we left for the flight) out of sync which meant it was unscreenable.  Which meant, in short, we were in trouble.  But luckily we had a screener with fight footage and other bits and pieces so we used that instead.  And it went well.  Everyone loved what they saw.

What’s next after 'Left For Dead'?

PH: We have a few projects in mind.  We still have our long muted Zombie horror 'Even Dead Men Die', but at the moment it's looking most likely to be a smaller action movie set around a French farmhouse.  A straw dogs kinda deal but with kung fu!  But saying that it could be 'Long Day, Hard Night', our homage to US car motor-bation movies like 'Fast And The Furious' or even our ground breaking feature 'Silent Knight'! 

Any final thoughts?

PH: Just some basic plugs - keep checking the website at www.left4dead.co.uk and www.mod-life.com for information on screenings and the upcoming reshoots.  And obviously, please rent the film when it comes out!

Dragon's Den UK would like to thank Phil Hobden and the 'Left For Dead' team for the above interview.