Michael Darlow on Record:

MIcheal Darlow left school at 17 to train for the theatre. After National Service in the RAF as a radar officer he began his professional career in 1956 as an actor in the theatre, appearing for the first time in the West End 1959. At about the same time he started, more or less by accident, to make documentary films. He was asked to make a short film to raise money for a refugee appeal. The resulting 30 minute l6mm film, made with two friends, was seen by a national film critic and recommended for showing at the 1960 Edinburgh Film Festival.

Two more short films followed and then John Boorman (at the time a senior BBC producer in Bristol) invited Michael to make a documentary for him.  This led to further TV work, including four years at Granada TV where he directed programmes ranging from Coronation Street to What The Papers Say and Johnny Cash in San Quentin, rising to become the company’s Executive Producer responsible for arts and music programmes.

In 1969 he left Granada to become a freelance journalist. He has been a member of many industry committees and in the 1970s was one of the leading campaigners for the creation of Channel 4.  He helped found the independent producers’ organisation IPPA (later PACT) and was its chairman from 1989-91. He was one of the principle advocates of introducing independent production into the BBC and ITV.

In the 1990s he was a member of the Arts & Low Budget Committee of the Arts Council’s Lottery Advisory Panel On Film, an external assessor of the documentary directing department of The National Film And Television School and a member of the advisory panel for the school’s post graduate diploma in screen music. He was frequently called on by Channel 4 as an executive producer and consultant on programmes made by younger filmmakers and on international co-productions.

In 1996 he gave evidence at the public inquiry into the future of broadcasting in South Africa and at the EC conference in San Sebastian into television for the Basque region. Michael has written for a wide range of publications including The Guardian, The Times, Daily Telegraph, New Society, Broadcast and Sight And Sound.

Q. Could you tell me a little bit about yourself?

A. Well I’m Michael Darlow, and I’m seventy six year’s old. I’ve been in show business and what ever, one way or another all my life. I left school when I was seventeen, giving up the thought, to my father’s horror of both medicine, law, and Cambridge and all of that. I said to him that I’m going to drama school to become an actor. Simple as that.

I did an audition at RADA and I got in, I was very very happy to say well, go fuck your self, I’m not going, you know, little boys gesture and all that, so I went and After this I went to a drama school in the North of England, which had been started by someone much more radical and progressive which JB Priestly was the patron of. This which was an eye opener to me as a middle class boy from a small public school, I was suddenly meeting people who had worked down the pit and people who were communist.

Q. What advice would you give to young people who are starting out in the Photography industries, giving that it is such an over subscribed and cut throat industry?

A. I would say two things, its very important when taking those jobs early on, when you have to get a toe hole in, that you really remember what it is that you really want to do, don’t stay anywhere too long, unless you know that its going to take you towards your goal.

Secondly, Save up some fuck off money. A lesson actors taught me in my early days was that you must, from each job, save up enough money to be able to say to the job you are offered “go fuck yourself” I’m waiting for the one I do want. Also, don’t let the fucker’s mess you around too much, you know, it’s a strange business, all businesses have the people who ass lick, but this business more than most. One of my mentors gave me a very good bit of advice, which was, “never nock Awards because they’re good for business”. Another guy who I used to work with said, “Why go spend the evening with people you’ve have been trying to avoid all day.” Those two things are actually right. They are good for business. Now I can say that because I’m in the happy position of having had a few awards, it’s a slightly dangerous piece of advice, but, don’t nock it, it’s good for business, but don’t believe in it either.

Q. How do you feel the government cuts, have and will, affect independent film/The T.V and Newspaper Industries.

A. Almost certainly disastrous, you know, they seem to know the price of everything and the value of nothing. Even in the Second World War when we were fighting for our lives, it was felt to be important to keep alive and to make more available to people the values, the culture and all of those things that we were fighting for. If you remove regulation from broadcasting and Media, which they have removed too much of already, it destroys the quality of our independent sector.

When the forth channel was being introduced as ITV2, along with the BBC, me and a whole bunch of colleagues led by wonderful people like Stuart hood, Philip whitehead and Neil Asherson decided we wanted something different. The first big meeting was in a hotel called Churchill hotel. I remember Philip Whitehead saying “this feel like a very suitable venue to stand-alone” so it started very much in that spirit. Channel 4 was very much a fight to make sure that Mrs Thatcher did not get her way, she had come into the election with it in her manifesto that the channel was to be named as ITV2 and it was our job to fucking stop it. We stuck our heads over the parapit and risked getting shot at, and thank god, it turned out fine.

Q. Why does it matter to you so much, seeing independent production succeed?

A. Because of the independent voice. It matters that there be that independent voice that isn’t big businesses dominating the industry.

Q. As channel 4 get’s less independent, what do you feel the future for the station is?

A. I don’t really know. There is no real reason for it to, the slacking off of regulation makes its much more difficult. As it has to now compete further down market more of the time and what they are talking about now is encouraging more of a free for all. So much depends on having good journalism, particularly as the newspapers are getting worse and worse.

Q. What was your most terrifying moment when you were filming Johnny Cash at San Quentin?

A. Afterwards was the worst, as two guys with a gun mugged me the day after we finished filming, in Harlem, just out side of San Quinten. The whole event had strange moments; there was one moment, which was slightly worrying. The thing we learnt very quickly was basically; the senior guards tipped us off about this. The protection you need is from the prisoners, because “There is only so much we can do fellas” said one of the senior guards. A delegation of the prisoners came to us and said “in effect You want protection?; you get us front row seats at a concert!.” If you look at the footage they are all on the front row.

I went to see him after the show and I said, “Mister Cash, Is there anyway you could write one about San Quentin, kind’a like Folsom Prison blues?” he said “Go fuck yourself!” and then walked off. June Carter-Cash stops me and whispers “Its alright, that means he’ll do it”. Sure enough, we are at San Quentin Cash walks on and says “These fucking guys” and pointed at us, And were stuck in the middle of the audience, with camera kit blocking their views. “These guys from England were trying to get me to sing a special song for you, but i aint gonna sing for you, I’ve got one for you San Quentin!” and launches into song. Throughout the whole time Johnny Cash was saying this. He was making sure that we were all filming and our sound was in sync. Whilst giving all this against us, he was actually checking we were rolling.

Q. Looking back over you career is there anything you would have done differently?

A. Probably been a bit less intolerant to be honest.

Link to the original Johnny Cash video and other productions of Michael Darlow.