sourced from http://www.cinematical.com/2006/10/05/interview-michael-apted-director-49-up/
Jesuit maxim: "Give me the child until he is seven and I will give you the man." That's the inspiration for the 7 Up documentary series, which has been interviewing the same group of British subjects at seven year intervals since 1964, when they were each seven years old. In the first film, they are seen in sharp black and white, bouncing off the walls and full of quips like pre-school Beatles. At age 21, we see them in the gauzy color of 70s film stock. They are faux-rebellious chain-smokers, reflective and cool-headed, with all the time in the world to spare. At 28, they are still young, but they've made choices that can't be un-made. They are like adults-in-training. At 42, they are heartbreaking. Youth has quietly slipped away. Spouses have come and gone, and the answers they give to the interview questions are things like..."We both knew it wasn't going any further..."
Now at 49, old age is rapidly approaching, but they are still the same people. The ones who have always seemed buoyant are still that way. Tony, the poor Eastend kid who was hustling as a taxi driver at 28 now owns his own taxi service. He has kids and grandkids and seems bemused at the minor celebrity bestowed on him by the 7 Up series. Jackie, who in her twenties mocked the women she saw pushing baby carriages down the street, now seems lonely and regretful. Simon, a black orphan whose white mother wanted nothing to do with him, is now compelled to open his home to the most hopeless foster children. "One child had two knives in his hands," he tells us.
Cinematical recently spoke with director Michael Apted, who began his involvement with the series as a young researcher on 7 Up and now keeps the project alive. Although he's too mannered and too British to admit it, Apted seems to have internalized what many critics have already noted: that 7 Up may be the most important documentary project of all time.
There's an interesting moment in the film when one of the subjects, I think it's Tony, makes an indirect comparison between the 7 Up series and reality television. The show "I'm A Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here" is mentioned. It was surprising to hear such a comparison -- did it rub you the wrong way?
MA: It's a major issue. I think it was the big gorilla in the room between 42 Up and 49 Up, because reality television didn't exist under those terms, when we did the last one. I think it's really confused some of the people in it. They wonder 'What is this? Is this a reality show? Is it high-entertainment? Should we be making tons of money? Are we being exploited?' I try to explain to them that I think there's a distinct difference. With reality television, some of which is very good and illuminating and some isn't, you create a situation. You contrive it, and the point is to see how people will react when you put them in a foreign culture or a foreign environment and give them something to do. You create the atmosphere. But with a documentary, whether it pulls it off or not, is supposed to capture people's lives as they are, rather than constructing something different. So I think that's a big difference and I was trying to persuade them of that.
This project began in 1964. If you were starting it over in 2006, what would you do differently?
MA: Well, I think 50 percent would be women. I'd rather draw more from the middle strata of society than we drew originally. We tended to draw from the extremes. The middle areas tend to have the most movement in their lives. But of course, times have changed since 1964. So it's interesting being involved in the American one. When we did 7 Up, the original one, we had no idea it was going to be more than one film. When you do some of these kinds of spin-offs, like the American one, you know you're in for the long haul, so you can try to anticipate things. You can try to see what you think the big social-economic, racial movements in America over the next few decades will be and try to pick subjects that you think might help you with that. It's a whole different kind of dynamic than what I was doing.
Speaking of the long haul, what happens if the 7 Up series outlives you?
MA: I don't know whether it would survive after I'm gone. A lot of the people are quite reluctant to do it and need quite a lot of persuading. But I've stuck with it and I interrupt my American life to go back and do it, and there's a bond we all have after sharing this experience for 40-odd years, and I think that if someone new comes in, obviously they might not have that history with them that sways them into doing it again.
Some of them apparently can't be swayed. What kind of effort do you make to persuade the drop-outs to change their minds?
Do you make an effort at all?
MA: It's a constant effort. If you've seen any of the other films, you've seen that people come and go. Some people drop out and then come back. There are only two that I've lost. One I lost at 21 and one I lost at 28. There's constantly an effort to get them back -- not so much the one I lost at 21 but the one I lost at 28 I always try and get back in. The more I can get in, the better it is.
The ones you have a good relationship with -- do you keep in touch between films?
MA: Yes, some of them. It's a bit like an extended family -- some I'm closer to than others. Those that I'm close to, we do speak a lot and they come to Los Angeles to meet up. Sometimes if I have a film opening in London and there's a screening of it, I'll invite them. It's nice to be able to do something for them without asking for something in return. It varies from person to person. Some I never see from one seventh year to the other, and others I'm in touch with.
Since the series has grown more popular over the years, do you ever return to do your interviews and find someone's entire
family wanting to sit down and be interviewed by you?
MA: No, not really. I sort of established the currency of the film, originally -- I didn't want it to get out of control. But because I don't really have enough women in the film, I'm very interested in interviewing some of the wives or significant others. But beyond that, I've sort of resisted bringing the children into it. There is a tiny piece of an interview of the Australian, Paul's daughter, but I very rarely do that. Otherwise it gets out of control, with so many people and so many faces to remember and so many stories to figure out.
Before you start the new interviews, do you ask the subjects to review the earlier films?
MA: No, I don't. In fact, I don't review them either. I think it's important for me to start each film with a clear mind. I don't want to make it just a follow-up or make it about 'what might have occurred after 42' when you're doing 49. Each of the films, if you watch all of them, are quite different. I think one of the reasons I can get that is that I've learned not to second guess or try and preempt, but instead to take each generation as I find it. I want to figure out what their lives 'are', rather than making their lives just a continuum of the last film.
How much original footage is filmed for each episode of the series? Do you do one long interview or do you shoot tons of footage and then edit it down?
MA: It's usually one long interview. It's a style I devised, almost accidentally I suppose, rather than a kind of modern documentary where a lot of interviews are done on the move. I think the most important element I've got going is the face, the close-up -- that's what guides us through the generations. So I tend to do one long interview. I'll maybe supplement it with other ones, but it's basically one interview that's two to three hours, I think.
Once you're in the editing room, how do you decide who is going to open the show and close it? I notice you chose the once-homeless Neil as the closer this time.
MA: I think the whole thing, the structure of it, changes over and over. It is a piece of drama. It's a piece of entertainment. You don't want to get stories that are too similar together and you don't want a story that's sad with another one that might be downbeat. So it really is put together like you put a film together, like a piece of drama. Usually we start out with Tony because he's very bright and fun and he gives the film a kind of energetic start. And we usually end with Neil because I think he's the one people are most curious about. He has, in some ways, the most dramatic life in terms of what we're doing. He's really my big gun that I like to finish off with. But again, I wouldn't want to put the Australian guy next to the American guy and I wouldn't want to put women together, so it is a question of carefully plotting it and seeing what the strengths and weaknesses of each one are, and getting the most energetic force out of it.
One of the PR reps for 49 Up made a comment to me that some preliminary work was already going on for the next installment of the series. Is that right?
MA: No. I won't even think about the next one for a few years. I'll take a break from it. Aside from occasionally speaking to some of the people in it, there's no work being done on it at all.
So now that you're off the hook for another seven years, what's on your plate for the near future? What do you have coming up?
MA: I've got a movie coming out in February about the anti-slave trade movem ent. That's a feature film called Amazing Grace. I just delivered the official DVD of the World Cup. I've got another documentary about football that's nearly done. I've just done a TV episode of my wife's show, What about Brian? Also, I've just finished the sequel to Married in America. I don't know when that's coming out -- I think in February of this coming year.
Very few directors walk that line between documentary films and major studio features like you do. Do you see yourself as more of one than the other?
MA: I like to spread it evenly, but I would say that I think I have the spirit of a documentarian. Even when I do my movies, I tend to approach them in a documentary way. You know, the whole idea that truth is stranger than fiction, and even when I've done something as fantastical as a James Bond, I was interested in seeing what the reality was. Mine was about the Caspian Sea, getting gas out of the Caspian Sea, so I made them all go down there and have a look at it, and we got some pretty startling images out of it.
Ok, last question -- since you brought it up, my editors would kill me if I didn't ask -- are you or are you not in negotiations to direct the follow-up to Casino Royale?
MA: No, they didn't come back to me. I can categorically deny that one. It's a nice rumor, but not true.
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Background information on the UP series and participants:
Background information on the UP series and participants:
Sourced from Wikipedia Edited by: Dee
The Up Series consists of a series of documentary films that have followed the lives of fourteen British children since 1964, when they were seven years old. The children were selected to represent the range of socio-economic backgrounds in Britain at that time, with the explicit assumption that each child's social class predetermines their future. Every seven years, the director, Michael Apted, films new material from as many of the fourteen as he can get to participate. The latest film, 49 Up, was released in September 2005; filming for the next instalment in the series, 56 Up, is expected in late 2011 or early 2012.
The fourteen subjects are Bruce Balden, Jackie Bassett, Symon Basterfield, Andrew Brackfield, John Brisby, Peter Davies, Susan Davis, Charles Furneaux, Nicholas Hitchon, Neil Hughes, Lynn Johnson, Paul Kligerman, Suzanne Lusk and Tony Walker. In Seven Up! the narrator mentions 21 children taking part, and this number can be counted at both the zoo and the party that they take part in. Apted mentions in commentary that they chose the original children, but not all of the original 21 filmed well. The only child named other than the fourteen acknowledged participants is a girl named Michelle, who is from the same East End school as Tony and is interviewed as his girlfriend.
The participants were chosen in an attempt to represent different social classes in Britain in the 1960s. Apted admits in the commentary track of 42 Up DVD that he was asked to find children at the extremes. Because the show was not originally intended to become a repeating series, no long-term contract was signed with the participants. The interviews since Seven Up! have been voluntary, although the participants have been paid an unknown sum for their appearance in each film, as well as equal parts of any prize the film may win, says Apted. In more recent films, each subject is filmed in about two days, and the interview itself takes more than six hours. The director admits this is a long process, but a very necessary one. The filmmakers want to capture the most of each character: scenes from work, family and whatever is relevant to give depth to them. After filming each participant is shown the edited footage and can request further alterations if they choose.
John, Charles and Andrew
These three boys were chosen from the same pre-preparatory school in the wealthy London suburb of Kensington. They are introduced to us in Seven Up! singing "Waltzing Matilda" in Latin. At the age of seven, when asked what newspaper he read, if any, Andrew stated that he read The Financial Times (although he later revealed he was in fact just repeating what his father had told him when asked the same question), and all three could say which prep schools, public schools and universities they planned to attend (Oxford/Cambridge in all cases); two even named the specific Oxbridge college they intended to join.
John, who was vocal on politics by 14, attended Oxford and became a barrister. In 21 Up, John expressed his dismay at how the first two entries had portrayed him as having his whole life laid out for him, and not mentioning all the hard work he had put into getting there, and chose not to appear on 28 Up. He returned in 35 Up, although he did so only because he wanted to publicise his Oxfam relief efforts for Bulgaria (his mother is Bulgarian and he married the daughter of Sir Donald Logan, a former ambassador to Bulgaria). He would only appear in 35 Up under the condition that a member of the Up series crew other than Apted interview him. He did not appear in 42 Up, but returned again in 49 Up, by which time he had ascended to the rank of Queen's Counsel.
Of the three, Andrew's academic career most closely followed the course laid out in Seven Up!, culminating in his matriculation at Trinity College, Cambridge, exactly according to plan. Andrew subsequently became a solicitor, married, and raised a family. He is the only one out of the three to have been in all the "Up" films.
Charles did not make it into Oxford, although at 21 he said he was glad to have avoided the "prep school-Marlborough-Oxbridge conveyor belt" by going to Durham University instead, attending Oxford as a post-graduate student. He has worked in journalism in varying capacities over the years, including as a producer for the BBC, and in the making of documentary films, including Touching the Void (2003). He has chosen not to appear in the series after 21 Up, other than with a single photograph in each new film. During an on-stage interview at London's National Film Theatre in December 2005, Michael Apted revealed that Charles had attempted to sue him when he refused to remove his appearances from the archive sequences in 49 Up.
Suzy
Suzy comes from a wealthy background, and was first filmed at a boarding school. Her parents divorced around the time of 7 plus seven, and she seems rather lost at that point. One of the interviews with her takes place on the lawn of her family's Scottish estate. At 21 she is chain smoking, rather taciturn, and is clearly unsure what to do with her life. However, by 28 Up she has made an astonishing turn-around that seems to be entirely the result of a successful marriage (only 18 months after 21 Up) and having children. Her husband Rupert Dewey is a successful solicitor in Bath, England and they have three children; two boys and a girl, life seems to have treated her well in the end. In a review, the Spectator magazine once reported on her father's title. In 49 Up, Suzy says that she has grown tired of being involved in the series and may not participate in any future entries.
Jackie, Lynn and Sue
These three girls (clearly good friends at 7) were chosen from the same primary school in a working class neighbourhood of London. Jackie and Sue eventually went to a comprehensive school, while Lynn went to a grammar school. Jackie and Lynn got married at 19, Sue at 24. Lynn became a children's (and later, school) librarian at 21 and has remained in that career since then. Jackie and Sue each went through several different jobs, got divorced, and raised children as single parents. Apted insists on getting them together for a group interview for at least a short time, as it creates a parallel image over time. The shot is generally taken on a couch with the three in the same positions. There is also a picture of the women at 49 on the couch, holding a picture of the women at 42 on the couch, holding a picture of the women at 35 on the couch...
Tony
Tony was chosen from a primary school in the East End of London. His outgoing, active nature is obvious from the beginning. He wants to be a jockey at 7, and was at a stables training for it at 14. By 21 his chance had come and gone, after riding in three races before giving it up. However, in a moment he still recalls as the best of his life, one of his races also featured Lester Piggott, one of the best jockeys of all time. He then "did the knowledge" and made a comfortable life for himself and his family as a London taxi driver. His later dream of becoming an actor has met with modest success; he has had small parts as an extra (almost always playing a cabbie) in several TV programmes since 1986, including Winston Churchill: The Wilderness Years, The Bill, and twice in EastEnders, most recently in 2003. He has been one of the most enthusiastic supporters of the project, and he and his wife, Deb, have been very honest about the ups and downs in their marriage. Most notably, in 35 Up Tony admitted that being in a monogamous relationship was becoming a strain, and by 42 Up he had actually committed adultery, though he and his wife have got past it and are still together. By 49 Up, he had moved to Essex and owned three homes including a holiday home in Spain.
Paul
Paul was at a charity-based boarding school at 7, his parents having divorced and been left with his father. As a child he talked about how he "[didn't] like greens" to explain his concerns about how having a wife might involve unwelcome lifestyle changes. Soon after Seven Up! his father and stepmother moved the family to Australia, where he has remained in the Melbourne area ever since. In Seven Up! and Seven Plus 7, Paul seemed very unsure of himself, but by 21, he had more presence, long hair, and a girlfriend whom he later married and remains with today. After leaving school he was employed as a bricklayer and later set up his own business. In 49 Up he is working for a sign-making company. Although he has led a full and varied life with its typical ups and downs, his lack of confidence has never left him, and he needed treatment for depression some time after the filming of 42 Up. In both 21 Up and 49 Up, Paul was reunited with Simon, who had attended the same boarding school; portions of their time together are included in both films.
Simon
The only participant with an ethnic minority background is mixed race Simon, who was chosen from the same charity home as Paul. He was an illegitimate child, who apparently never got to know his black father, and had left the charity home to live with his white mother by the time of the Seven plus seven filming; her depression is alluded to as the cause for him being in the home. In 21 Up Simon was working at Wall's sausage factory, and took a nostalgic walk with Paul through the now empty buildings of their old school. As the filming for 35 Up was taking place, he was going through a divorce, and he elected not to take part in that film. Simon returned for 42 Up and 49 Up, and seems very happy in a second marriage, though two of his five children from his first marriage are not on speaking terms with him. He and his second wife have become foster parents themselves, in addition to raising the child they had together, and her child from her first marriage.
Nick
Nick was raised on a small farm in Arncliffe, a tiny village in the Yorkshire Dales and educated in a one-room school, and later at a boarding school. He went to Oxford University and ultimately became a nuclear physicist. By 28 Up he had moved to the USA for a job at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he has remained and is now a full professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. In 42 Up, Nick admitted (somewhat tongue in cheek) that one of his goals was to become more famous for his work as a scientist than for being in the Up series, but he was beginning to doubt it would happen. His work involved research into nuclear fusion. He has published many scientific papers and some books, such as Plasma Processes for Semiconductor Fabrication.
Michael Apted freely admits in his commentary on the DVD for 42 Up that he erred in thinking that Nick's marriage to Jackie would not last, but it did. Consequently, he unfairly anticipated this in his questions to them during the filming of 28 Up, and in the film's presentation. This upset Jackie, with the result that he was unable to interview her for either 35 Up or 42 Up. Jackie also decided to keep their son, Adam, out of the project. Soon after 42 Up, Jackie and Nick divorced, but he has since remarried, to Cryss, a professor at the University of Minnesota. 49 Up shows them splitting time between Madison and Minneapolis, and Adam makes a brief appearance with his dad.
Peter
Peter went to the same middle-class Liverpool suburban school as Neil and, at seven, both wanted to be astronauts. Peter drifted through university, and by age 28 he was an underpaid and seemingly uninspired school teacher. Peter dropped out of the series after 28 Up, when he lost his job as a teacher following a tabloid press campaign against him after he criticised the government of Margaret Thatcher in his interview. Although it was not presented on film, Peter dramatically changed his life after 28; he remarried, became a lawyer and eventually a musician and singer-songwriter. Michael Apted remains in contact with him, and hopes he will return to the project eventually. Unlike Charles, who has similarly declined to participate after 21 Up, Peter's absence is not mentioned, nor are any of the archival interviews from his youth included (though he can be briefly seen in segments with Neil from the first two films as they were interviewed together). He is in a Liverpool-based country-influenced band called The Good Intentions.
A picture of him from 21 Up is included on the DVD cover for the US release of 49 Up.
Neil
The story of Neil has turned out to be one of the most unpredictable of the entire group. At seven he was funny, full of life and hope. At 14 he was doing well in comprehensive school, but was more serious and subdued. In one of the biggest shocks of the series, however, by the time of 21 Up he was homeless in London, having dropped out of Aberdeen University after one term, and was living in a squat and finding work as he could on building sites. During the interview he is clearly in an agitated state, and it becomes apparent that he has mental health issues and is struggling to cope with life; he mentions he had had thoughts of suicide. This is something he continues to battle with throughout 28 Up and 35 Up. At 28 he was still homeless, although now in Scotland; by 35 he was living in a council house on the Shetland Islands, off the north coast of Scotland. Although still out of work, he was showing signs of progress. No mention is made of whether developments in medication have been helpful, but Neil does discuss his renewed religious faith and how he believes it has had a helpful influence on his mental state. By the time of 42 Up he had finally found some stability in his life (with some help from Bruce--he was living in Bruce's apartment in London and Bruce had become a source of emotional support) and was involved in local council politics, as a Liberal Democrat in the London Borough of Hackney. By the time of 49-Up, he is a District Councillor in the Eden district of Cumbria, in northwest England.
Bruce:
Bruce was presented in Seven Up! and Seven Plus Seven as an idealist who was concerned with poverty and racial discrimination—he wanted to become a missionary. He was attending a prestigious boarding school, which it seems he has attended since the age of five. At the age of seven, he said that his greatest desire was to see his father, who was living in Rhodesia, and he seemed a little abandoned. At 7 Bruce wanted to be a missionary, although at 14 he felt he wasn't good at speaking in public. Bruce studied mathematics at Oxford University and used his education to teach children in the East End of London and Sylhet, Bangladesh. Apparently shy, Bruce didn't date much, and Apted comments in the commentary track of 42 Up that he thought it might be possible that Bruce was gay. But finally, just before 42 Up, he married, and Apted broke the seven-year structure of the films to film Bruce's wedding, which was also attended by Neil. Eventually becoming burned out with teaching in the East End, Bruce currently teaches at St Albans School, Hertfordshire, a prestigious public school. Between 42 Up and 49 Up, he had two sons, and is happily married to a fellow teacher. In 49 Up, when asked to reflect back on his life, Bruce indicates that he would have loved to be an international cricket player. He has continued his love of cricket, teaching it at St Albans, and playing in a local league.
Influence on the particpants:
Over the course of the project the programme has had a direct effect in varying degrees on the lives of the participants. The series became popular enough that the participants often speak of being recognised in public. As a testament to the popularity of the series, after 7 Plus Seven, the film in which Simon discusses how he cannot afford a bike, hundreds of bikes were received at Granada Television from viewers. A lot of mail is also sent for the participants, which they can receive from Granada if they so choose.
The opinions of being involved in the series are often mentioned, and vary greatly between the participants. John refers to the programme as a poison pill that he is subjected to every seven years, while Paul's wife credits the series for keeping their marriage together. 49 Up begins with Jackie, who confronts Apted on his questions, his assumptions about her life and his choice of editing.
Paul and Nick were flown back to England for the filming of 35 Up and 42 Up respectively; the trips were financed by Granada. Paul was flown back again for 49 Up and visited with Simon. By the time of 21 Up, Neil's mental problems had surfaced and he was homeless. Another one of the series subjects, Bruce, was affected by Neil's plight and offered him temporary shelter in his home shortly before 42 Up, allowing Neil time to get settled in London. Despite Neil's eccentricities during his two-month stay, they clearly remained friends, because Neil later gave a reading at Bruce's wedding. Apted keeps in contact with all of the participants during the intervening seven-year periods and they are paid for taking part in each film.
In his interview with Roger Ebert, which is included as a special feature on the US DVD release of 49 Up, Apted points out that this was the first of the films to be recorded digitally and that this changed the nature of the interviews, as they did not have to take a break every ten minutes to change film in the cameras. Apted feels that this allowed some of the participants to become more at ease as they could talk without interruption.
Sourced from Wikipedia Edited by: Dee
The Up Series consists of a series of documentary films that have followed the lives of fourteen British children since 1964, when they were seven years old. The children were selected to represent the range of socio-economic backgrounds in Britain at that time, with the explicit assumption that each child's social class predetermines their future. Every seven years, the director, Michael Apted, films new material from as many of the fourteen as he can get to participate. The latest film, 49 Up, was released in September 2005; filming for the next instalment in the series, 56 Up, is expected in late 2011 or early 2012.
The fourteen subjects are Bruce Balden, Jackie Bassett, Symon Basterfield, Andrew Brackfield, John Brisby, Peter Davies, Susan Davis, Charles Furneaux, Nicholas Hitchon, Neil Hughes, Lynn Johnson, Paul Kligerman, Suzanne Lusk and Tony Walker. In Seven Up! the narrator mentions 21 children taking part, and this number can be counted at both the zoo and the party that they take part in. Apted mentions in commentary that they chose the original children, but not all of the original 21 filmed well. The only child named other than the fourteen acknowledged participants is a girl named Michelle, who is from the same East End school as Tony and is interviewed as his girlfriend.
The participants were chosen in an attempt to represent different social classes in Britain in the 1960s. Apted admits in the commentary track of 42 Up DVD that he was asked to find children at the extremes. Because the show was not originally intended to become a repeating series, no long-term contract was signed with the participants. The interviews since Seven Up! have been voluntary, although the participants have been paid an unknown sum for their appearance in each film, as well as equal parts of any prize the film may win, says Apted. In more recent films, each subject is filmed in about two days, and the interview itself takes more than six hours. The director admits this is a long process, but a very necessary one. The filmmakers want to capture the most of each character: scenes from work, family and whatever is relevant to give depth to them. After filming each participant is shown the edited footage and can request further alterations if they choose.
John, Charles and Andrew
These three boys were chosen from the same pre-preparatory school in the wealthy London suburb of Kensington. They are introduced to us in Seven Up! singing "Waltzing Matilda" in Latin. At the age of seven, when asked what newspaper he read, if any, Andrew stated that he read The Financial Times (although he later revealed he was in fact just repeating what his father had told him when asked the same question), and all three could say which prep schools, public schools and universities they planned to attend (Oxford/Cambridge in all cases); two even named the specific Oxbridge college they intended to join.
John, who was vocal on politics by 14, attended Oxford and became a barrister. In 21 Up, John expressed his dismay at how the first two entries had portrayed him as having his whole life laid out for him, and not mentioning all the hard work he had put into getting there, and chose not to appear on 28 Up. He returned in 35 Up, although he did so only because he wanted to publicise his Oxfam relief efforts for Bulgaria (his mother is Bulgarian and he married the daughter of Sir Donald Logan, a former ambassador to Bulgaria). He would only appear in 35 Up under the condition that a member of the Up series crew other than Apted interview him. He did not appear in 42 Up, but returned again in 49 Up, by which time he had ascended to the rank of Queen's Counsel.
Of the three, Andrew's academic career most closely followed the course laid out in Seven Up!, culminating in his matriculation at Trinity College, Cambridge, exactly according to plan. Andrew subsequently became a solicitor, married, and raised a family. He is the only one out of the three to have been in all the "Up" films.
Charles did not make it into Oxford, although at 21 he said he was glad to have avoided the "prep school-Marlborough-Oxbridge conveyor belt" by going to Durham University instead, attending Oxford as a post-graduate student. He has worked in journalism in varying capacities over the years, including as a producer for the BBC, and in the making of documentary films, including Touching the Void (2003). He has chosen not to appear in the series after 21 Up, other than with a single photograph in each new film. During an on-stage interview at London's National Film Theatre in December 2005, Michael Apted revealed that Charles had attempted to sue him when he refused to remove his appearances from the archive sequences in 49 Up.
Suzy
Suzy comes from a wealthy background, and was first filmed at a boarding school. Her parents divorced around the time of 7 plus seven, and she seems rather lost at that point. One of the interviews with her takes place on the lawn of her family's Scottish estate. At 21 she is chain smoking, rather taciturn, and is clearly unsure what to do with her life. However, by 28 Up she has made an astonishing turn-around that seems to be entirely the result of a successful marriage (only 18 months after 21 Up) and having children. Her husband Rupert Dewey is a successful solicitor in Bath, England and they have three children; two boys and a girl, life seems to have treated her well in the end. In a review, the Spectator magazine once reported on her father's title. In 49 Up, Suzy says that she has grown tired of being involved in the series and may not participate in any future entries.
Jackie, Lynn and Sue
These three girls (clearly good friends at 7) were chosen from the same primary school in a working class neighbourhood of London. Jackie and Sue eventually went to a comprehensive school, while Lynn went to a grammar school. Jackie and Lynn got married at 19, Sue at 24. Lynn became a children's (and later, school) librarian at 21 and has remained in that career since then. Jackie and Sue each went through several different jobs, got divorced, and raised children as single parents. Apted insists on getting them together for a group interview for at least a short time, as it creates a parallel image over time. The shot is generally taken on a couch with the three in the same positions. There is also a picture of the women at 49 on the couch, holding a picture of the women at 42 on the couch, holding a picture of the women at 35 on the couch...
Tony
Tony was chosen from a primary school in the East End of London. His outgoing, active nature is obvious from the beginning. He wants to be a jockey at 7, and was at a stables training for it at 14. By 21 his chance had come and gone, after riding in three races before giving it up. However, in a moment he still recalls as the best of his life, one of his races also featured Lester Piggott, one of the best jockeys of all time. He then "did the knowledge" and made a comfortable life for himself and his family as a London taxi driver. His later dream of becoming an actor has met with modest success; he has had small parts as an extra (almost always playing a cabbie) in several TV programmes since 1986, including Winston Churchill: The Wilderness Years, The Bill, and twice in EastEnders, most recently in 2003. He has been one of the most enthusiastic supporters of the project, and he and his wife, Deb, have been very honest about the ups and downs in their marriage. Most notably, in 35 Up Tony admitted that being in a monogamous relationship was becoming a strain, and by 42 Up he had actually committed adultery, though he and his wife have got past it and are still together. By 49 Up, he had moved to Essex and owned three homes including a holiday home in Spain.
Paul
Paul was at a charity-based boarding school at 7, his parents having divorced and been left with his father. As a child he talked about how he "[didn't] like greens" to explain his concerns about how having a wife might involve unwelcome lifestyle changes. Soon after Seven Up! his father and stepmother moved the family to Australia, where he has remained in the Melbourne area ever since. In Seven Up! and Seven Plus 7, Paul seemed very unsure of himself, but by 21, he had more presence, long hair, and a girlfriend whom he later married and remains with today. After leaving school he was employed as a bricklayer and later set up his own business. In 49 Up he is working for a sign-making company. Although he has led a full and varied life with its typical ups and downs, his lack of confidence has never left him, and he needed treatment for depression some time after the filming of 42 Up. In both 21 Up and 49 Up, Paul was reunited with Simon, who had attended the same boarding school; portions of their time together are included in both films.
Simon
The only participant with an ethnic minority background is mixed race Simon, who was chosen from the same charity home as Paul. He was an illegitimate child, who apparently never got to know his black father, and had left the charity home to live with his white mother by the time of the Seven plus seven filming; her depression is alluded to as the cause for him being in the home. In 21 Up Simon was working at Wall's sausage factory, and took a nostalgic walk with Paul through the now empty buildings of their old school. As the filming for 35 Up was taking place, he was going through a divorce, and he elected not to take part in that film. Simon returned for 42 Up and 49 Up, and seems very happy in a second marriage, though two of his five children from his first marriage are not on speaking terms with him. He and his second wife have become foster parents themselves, in addition to raising the child they had together, and her child from her first marriage.
Nick
Nick was raised on a small farm in Arncliffe, a tiny village in the Yorkshire Dales and educated in a one-room school, and later at a boarding school. He went to Oxford University and ultimately became a nuclear physicist. By 28 Up he had moved to the USA for a job at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he has remained and is now a full professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. In 42 Up, Nick admitted (somewhat tongue in cheek) that one of his goals was to become more famous for his work as a scientist than for being in the Up series, but he was beginning to doubt it would happen. His work involved research into nuclear fusion. He has published many scientific papers and some books, such as Plasma Processes for Semiconductor Fabrication.
Michael Apted freely admits in his commentary on the DVD for 42 Up that he erred in thinking that Nick's marriage to Jackie would not last, but it did. Consequently, he unfairly anticipated this in his questions to them during the filming of 28 Up, and in the film's presentation. This upset Jackie, with the result that he was unable to interview her for either 35 Up or 42 Up. Jackie also decided to keep their son, Adam, out of the project. Soon after 42 Up, Jackie and Nick divorced, but he has since remarried, to Cryss, a professor at the University of Minnesota. 49 Up shows them splitting time between Madison and Minneapolis, and Adam makes a brief appearance with his dad.
Peter
Peter went to the same middle-class Liverpool suburban school as Neil and, at seven, both wanted to be astronauts. Peter drifted through university, and by age 28 he was an underpaid and seemingly uninspired school teacher. Peter dropped out of the series after 28 Up, when he lost his job as a teacher following a tabloid press campaign against him after he criticised the government of Margaret Thatcher in his interview. Although it was not presented on film, Peter dramatically changed his life after 28; he remarried, became a lawyer and eventually a musician and singer-songwriter. Michael Apted remains in contact with him, and hopes he will return to the project eventually. Unlike Charles, who has similarly declined to participate after 21 Up, Peter's absence is not mentioned, nor are any of the archival interviews from his youth included (though he can be briefly seen in segments with Neil from the first two films as they were interviewed together). He is in a Liverpool-based country-influenced band called The Good Intentions.
A picture of him from 21 Up is included on the DVD cover for the US release of 49 Up.
Neil
The story of Neil has turned out to be one of the most unpredictable of the entire group. At seven he was funny, full of life and hope. At 14 he was doing well in comprehensive school, but was more serious and subdued. In one of the biggest shocks of the series, however, by the time of 21 Up he was homeless in London, having dropped out of Aberdeen University after one term, and was living in a squat and finding work as he could on building sites. During the interview he is clearly in an agitated state, and it becomes apparent that he has mental health issues and is struggling to cope with life; he mentions he had had thoughts of suicide. This is something he continues to battle with throughout 28 Up and 35 Up. At 28 he was still homeless, although now in Scotland; by 35 he was living in a council house on the Shetland Islands, off the north coast of Scotland. Although still out of work, he was showing signs of progress. No mention is made of whether developments in medication have been helpful, but Neil does discuss his renewed religious faith and how he believes it has had a helpful influence on his mental state. By the time of 42 Up he had finally found some stability in his life (with some help from Bruce--he was living in Bruce's apartment in London and Bruce had become a source of emotional support) and was involved in local council politics, as a Liberal Democrat in the London Borough of Hackney. By the time of 49-Up, he is a District Councillor in the Eden district of Cumbria, in northwest England.
Bruce:
Bruce was presented in Seven Up! and Seven Plus Seven as an idealist who was concerned with poverty and racial discrimination—he wanted to become a missionary. He was attending a prestigious boarding school, which it seems he has attended since the age of five. At the age of seven, he said that his greatest desire was to see his father, who was living in Rhodesia, and he seemed a little abandoned. At 7 Bruce wanted to be a missionary, although at 14 he felt he wasn't good at speaking in public. Bruce studied mathematics at Oxford University and used his education to teach children in the East End of London and Sylhet, Bangladesh. Apparently shy, Bruce didn't date much, and Apted comments in the commentary track of 42 Up that he thought it might be possible that Bruce was gay. But finally, just before 42 Up, he married, and Apted broke the seven-year structure of the films to film Bruce's wedding, which was also attended by Neil. Eventually becoming burned out with teaching in the East End, Bruce currently teaches at St Albans School, Hertfordshire, a prestigious public school. Between 42 Up and 49 Up, he had two sons, and is happily married to a fellow teacher. In 49 Up, when asked to reflect back on his life, Bruce indicates that he would have loved to be an international cricket player. He has continued his love of cricket, teaching it at St Albans, and playing in a local league.
Influence on the particpants:
Over the course of the project the programme has had a direct effect in varying degrees on the lives of the participants. The series became popular enough that the participants often speak of being recognised in public. As a testament to the popularity of the series, after 7 Plus Seven, the film in which Simon discusses how he cannot afford a bike, hundreds of bikes were received at Granada Television from viewers. A lot of mail is also sent for the participants, which they can receive from Granada if they so choose.
The opinions of being involved in the series are often mentioned, and vary greatly between the participants. John refers to the programme as a poison pill that he is subjected to every seven years, while Paul's wife credits the series for keeping their marriage together. 49 Up begins with Jackie, who confronts Apted on his questions, his assumptions about her life and his choice of editing.
Paul and Nick were flown back to England for the filming of 35 Up and 42 Up respectively; the trips were financed by Granada. Paul was flown back again for 49 Up and visited with Simon. By the time of 21 Up, Neil's mental problems had surfaced and he was homeless. Another one of the series subjects, Bruce, was affected by Neil's plight and offered him temporary shelter in his home shortly before 42 Up, allowing Neil time to get settled in London. Despite Neil's eccentricities during his two-month stay, they clearly remained friends, because Neil later gave a reading at Bruce's wedding. Apted keeps in contact with all of the participants during the intervening seven-year periods and they are paid for taking part in each film.
In his interview with Roger Ebert, which is included as a special feature on the US DVD release of 49 Up, Apted points out that this was the first of the films to be recorded digitally and that this changed the nature of the interviews, as they did not have to take a break every ten minutes to change film in the cameras. Apted feels that this allowed some of the participants to become more at ease as they could talk without interruption.
Topic addressed on the Up series: The changes and influences through age.
At 7-14, most children are under a greater influence of their parents and obey decision and options laid out for them especially seeing that as a child they are too young, naïve and vulnerable for making important choices.
At 14-21, especially during puberty, the young teen or adult decides who they are, who they want to be, what they want to do and are the main control panel for this stage in this life. With the hormones kicking in sometimes parents are hated or even driven out of the picture.
At 28+ the adult has settled down and bigger choices are coming into play; such as work, relationships, romance and moving away from home. The adult has most likely completed their education and is usually on the right stage of their career. Parents are helpful and they offer input and advice, which their matured son/daughter accepts.
By Deanne Woodman
At 14-21, especially during puberty, the young teen or adult decides who they are, who they want to be, what they want to do and are the main control panel for this stage in this life. With the hormones kicking in sometimes parents are hated or even driven out of the picture.
At 28+ the adult has settled down and bigger choices are coming into play; such as work, relationships, romance and moving away from home. The adult has most likely completed their education and is usually on the right stage of their career. Parents are helpful and they offer input and advice, which their matured son/daughter accepts.
By Deanne Woodman
Profiles on the UP people at the age of seven:
Tony:
- Comes across rough, fights with the other children.
- Down to earth, poor background.
- He wants to be a jockey.
Predictions:
I think he will have a practical life and might even become a thug, gambler or deal with drugs and alcohol.
Jackie:
- Lives in east end London, from an average family.
- She seems really appreciating, excepting and bright.
- She has good qualities and is very social and friendly.
Predictions:
I think she will finish school, marry and have kids, maybe be a stay at home mother.
Lynn:
- Lives in east end London, like Jackie.
- She is quite pretty and cute, not overly talkative like Jackie.
- She seems quite popular, happy and peaceful.
Predictions:
I don’t think she will end up working for Woolworth’s.
Sue:
- Lives in east end London like Jackie and Lynn.
- She is quite shy and reserved from the others.
- The other girls seem to talk over her and she is a bit boring.
Predictions:
I think she will marry later, in her 30’s and have 1 kid.
Simon:
- Lives in a children’s orphanage.
- He is shy, scared and so vulnerable.
- He is coloured and understands the nature of the term.
Predictions:
I think he will end up on the street, and can’t find a job because of his skin colour and harshly poor background.
Paul:
- Lives in the children’s orphanage like Simon.
- Seems really frightened and vulnerable.
- He looks quite sad and lonely.
Predictions:
I think he will become very introverted and uncomfortable around others because of the way he grew up in the orphanage.
John:
- His parents are wealthy to give him such a high education at an early life.
- Programmed into thinking about his further education and career.
- He has a toffy upper class English accent.
Predictions:
I think he will go to Oxford University, and become wealthy.
By Deanne Woodman
- Comes across rough, fights with the other children.
- Down to earth, poor background.
- He wants to be a jockey.
Predictions:
I think he will have a practical life and might even become a thug, gambler or deal with drugs and alcohol.
Jackie:
- Lives in east end London, from an average family.
- She seems really appreciating, excepting and bright.
- She has good qualities and is very social and friendly.
Predictions:
I think she will finish school, marry and have kids, maybe be a stay at home mother.
Lynn:
- Lives in east end London, like Jackie.
- She is quite pretty and cute, not overly talkative like Jackie.
- She seems quite popular, happy and peaceful.
Predictions:
I don’t think she will end up working for Woolworth’s.
Sue:
- Lives in east end London like Jackie and Lynn.
- She is quite shy and reserved from the others.
- The other girls seem to talk over her and she is a bit boring.
Predictions:
I think she will marry later, in her 30’s and have 1 kid.
Simon:
- Lives in a children’s orphanage.
- He is shy, scared and so vulnerable.
- He is coloured and understands the nature of the term.
Predictions:
I think he will end up on the street, and can’t find a job because of his skin colour and harshly poor background.
Paul:
- Lives in the children’s orphanage like Simon.
- Seems really frightened and vulnerable.
- He looks quite sad and lonely.
Predictions:
I think he will become very introverted and uncomfortable around others because of the way he grew up in the orphanage.
John:
- His parents are wealthy to give him such a high education at an early life.
- Programmed into thinking about his further education and career.
- He has a toffy upper class English accent.
Predictions:
I think he will go to Oxford University, and become wealthy.
By Deanne Woodman
Sunday, October 19, 2008
General Reflections on the UP series:
I believe that the series demonstrates a lot in the themes of culture, background and youth.
Firstly, the theme of culture & background is present through the class system. Whether you are from a middle class east end London area, a Liverpool suburb, out in the country or really wealthy and privileged it defines who we are. Our attributes; our family, friends, foes, likes, dislikes, habits, are all connected some way or another to the environment in which we live in.
Secondly, the theme of youth is very intriguing and mostly explored by the directors and makers of the series. In the life of a young child what ideas, hopes, dreams, likes & dislikes do they have? When did cognitive thinking, perceiving and reasoning develop or influence from at a young age?
- I believe that the film delved into all issues surrounding us in the past and present time as well as exploring how our personality is programmed into society.
- The series is also valid in reviewing how the lives of children in 1963 differ to our lives in 2008, for example; clothing styles, hobbies, schooling.
- How will this documentary influence the children’ lives and future expectations compared to other children of the same age?
- How do our choices and mistakes vary and how or why do we change through our lives?
Firstly, the theme of culture & background is present through the class system. Whether you are from a middle class east end London area, a Liverpool suburb, out in the country or really wealthy and privileged it defines who we are. Our attributes; our family, friends, foes, likes, dislikes, habits, are all connected some way or another to the environment in which we live in.
Secondly, the theme of youth is very intriguing and mostly explored by the directors and makers of the series. In the life of a young child what ideas, hopes, dreams, likes & dislikes do they have? When did cognitive thinking, perceiving and reasoning develop or influence from at a young age?
- I believe that the film delved into all issues surrounding us in the past and present time as well as exploring how our personality is programmed into society.
- The series is also valid in reviewing how the lives of children in 1963 differ to our lives in 2008, for example; clothing styles, hobbies, schooling.
- How will this documentary influence the children’ lives and future expectations compared to other children of the same age?
- How do our choices and mistakes vary and how or why do we change through our lives?
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