Stage amps veteran's act

Alan Palmer talks about his role in Hook, Line & Sinker and how the movie was made.
"In Hook Line & Sinker I play Freddie who is married but separated from Ronnie who now lives with PJ. I have gone back to the UK and become a Dean Martin impersonator. I am passing through Wellington and look up Ronnie and our children to see if there is any spark left in our relationship. This puts further pressure on PJ who is losing confidence (and eyesight) because of macular degeneration.
"The Mike Leigh method [used by co-writers and directors Andrea Bosshard and Shane Loader] does not allow for much improvisation on set. The actors spent four to five weeks on improvisation six months before filming began.
"We generate character and story based on the idea that Andrea and Shane have for a story. They set up various scenarios, we play out situations and they annotate, record and sometimes film what we do, then take all that resource away and use it to write the finished script.
"This means that when we come together as actors we know the back stories and objectives and motivations for our characters ... It's very satisfying from an acting point of view to know that we have had a big input into creating the story and our character.
"I had worked alongside Andrea and Shane as tutors at the Wellington Performing Arts Centre [now operated by Whitireia New Zealand]. I also knew Carmel McGlone from WPAC and KC Kelly but I had never acted with any of the cast.
"I have done TV shows like Bill the Minder, some TV movies and a couple of short stints on Shortland Street and also worked on Avatar. But most of my acting work has been on stage. Film can be quite fun, but I love the immediacy of an audience.
"From an acting point of view, I find the process similar but the scale of performance very different. On stage you have to project not just voice but emotion and gesture, etc. On film it is all very contained and focused.
"The most difficult aspect of the small-budget, digital, sustainable model is the difficulty of actually getting people to know it's screening. We have no publicity budget so word of mouth is very important. The film has received great reviews ... We all hope it does enough business to generate enough income to make another one."