Have you ever wondered what goes on behind the scenes of your favourite film? What really happens when the director says 'cut'? Or what it would be like to experience the hustle and bustle of a real life movie set? A good film isn’t just about what happens on screen, there are many unsung heroes from runners to producers, gaffers to stunt men, all of whom contribute to the on-screen success. One such man is Steve Truglia, a bona-fide stunt co-ordinator and performer who is joining us live to provide a behind the scenes insight into blockbusters such as Bond Classics, Tomorrow Never Dies and The World is Not Enough.

Steve has had a great deal of experience working across film and TV and will be sharing his stories of daredevil stunt escapades, lucky escapes and what is was like working with some of the biggest stars of the big screen. Without talented individuals such as Steve, the films we know and love would look very different and would not have the same levels of production. But whoever remembers the stuntman in a Hollywood blockbuster?

Joining Steve will be Claire Travers Smith, a TV assistant producer who can provide real-life anecdotes of life behind the camera lense from her colourful career placements on Trisha Show, MTV, This Morning and Big Brother 2007, as well as top tips for getting into the world of television.

If you’re passionate about film and television, you probably wouldn’t like to think of a world without Die Hard, Casino Royale or music television, which is why it’s so important to protect the careers of stunt professionals like Steve and assistant producers like Claire. Paul Archer, from the Industry Trust, which promotes the value of UK copyright, will be talking about its Backstage Stars campaign, which hopes to do just that. By working with unsung heroes like Steve and Claire, it hopes to demonstrate how the importance of respecting original works which reward creative talent, rather than settling for illegal copies which put livelihoods like theirs at risk.

Join our guests for more…

H: Murray Norton, Host
C: Clare Travers Smith, Assistant TV producer
S: Steve Truglia, Stunt man
P: Paul Archer, Industry Trust

H: Hello and welcome to the Entertainment Show, I’m Murray Norton. Now if you’ve ever wanted to know what it’s like behind the scenes of the TV and film industry, stick around because we’ve got some people around here who know exactly what it’s like and you’re going to learn something. You certainly are. Let me tell you who we’ve got in the studio first of all, we have an assistant TV producer freelancer to boot at that, and that’s Clare Travers Smith, Clare nice to have you with us

C: Hello

H: We’ve also got your actual living professional stunt man, someone who throws himself out of buildings and all the rest, and that’s Steve Truglia, Steve thanks for coming along as well

S: You’re welcome

H: And our third guest is somebody who has worked in the industry for some 25 years in the film and TV industry and these days works in copyright, and he’s representing the Industry Trust, and that’s Paul Archer, Paul thank you very much for joining us

P: Morning, thank you

H: Good to have you all with us. Now this is a live show, and that means that you can take part in this show just by putting your question in. It’s very simple, little box at the bottom of the screen there, you just fill that out, send that in to us here and we’ll get the guys to answer the questions as quickly as we can. Haven’t got much time so don’t delay, get them in as quickly as possible. So it’s all about television and it’s all about film – Clare, you – like me – work in an industry that is over subscribed is the media – how on earth do you get in these days? Have you still got to make the coffee and hang around?

C: It’s a bit more than that actually, you have to be prepared to do anything, I mean you have so many media graduates who are taught you know basic industry skills, so they come out of university raring to go, so basically you have to get into any company, any which way possible, so if someone asks you to make tea, you do tea, if someone asks you to find something on the internet within two seconds, you have to do it. You basically have to be indispensable, and that’s how when you’re time doing free work experience is over, they look at you and say do you know what you’ve done a really good job, we’ll actually pay you, and they kind of move you up the ladder within the company

H: But it’s more or less expected these days, you’ve got to do a work experience and impress someone, it’s almost a trial period isn’t it?

C: Yes it is, but I mean for an industry that’s so over-subscribed, there are so many people that want to be in it, you really do have to go the extra mile, and it’s quite possibly one of the most rewarding careers, I mean you know I’m doing it myself so I guess I’m a little bit biased, but if you really want to do something then you do have to go the extra mile, but once you’re in it’s just remarkable, you can find yourself doing one thing one day, you can find yourself abroad the next day, you can be doing absolutely anything, it’s so broad

H: When someone says working in television and working in films you don’t – you know, it’s not glamorous – don’t believe them!

C: It’s not glamorous, no, I’ve been up to my knees in mud before, I’ve been up to my knees in sausage meat before

H: There’s a heck of a story, we’ll come back to sausage meat in just a second – save the sausage meat story, I’m coming back to it in just a sec! Clare thank you. Steve now you actually for a living get paid for being thrown out of buildings, down stairs, jumping out of cars, working with all the dangerous things, and taking punches on the chin as well –

S: Absolutely

H: You’re a professional stunt man – do you set out from the age of five saying that’s what I want to do?

S: I’m sure some people do, I personally didn’t, I had a life of extreme sports, I had some life in the military as a military reservist, so I got to do a lot of action things in my life, and I was naturally jumping out of aeroplanes, sky diving, rock climbing, swimming, fencing, boxing – all of those things – a bit of junior motor sport, and I couldn’t find a job that I wanted to do, I stumbled across this business (pardon the pun) –

H: Fell into it, yes

S: And fell into it

H: Come on, get them all in!

S: There you go, we’ve done them all in one go shall we! And quite literally it’s been a blast! That’s it they’re all done now! So quite literally I found the business by mistake like some people do. There is a career route, but I just saw it and thought that’s it, this ticks all the boxes

H: So you’re the person that does these things but you never get recognised for being the person doing it, because you’re usually doubled up as someone else, or you’re coordinating someone else doing it

S: Yes often I’m behind camera now as a stunt coordinator, I’m designing the stunts with the production team, with the director, and bringing the stunt people in that are good at that job or perhaps a stunt double and making the whole thing happen safely

H: What do you work on? What sort of things would we have seen and not known it was you?

S: I’ve done a couple of James Bond films, Saving Private Ryan I worked on, Entrapment, I do a lot of television, Hollyoaks, some of the big disaster scenes you’ve seen on Hollyoaks in the past few years, I was Toby Mills, I doubled Toby Mills falling off the – for those that - people that remember it back in 2004, that fell off the roof. We blew up the pub in Hollyoaks last year, killed five cast members off, the Dog exploded, I was responsible for the stunts on that. The Dog, not a dog - it's a pub

H: Yes – no real dog was actually harmed during the making of that –

S: Yes no real dog was harmed. I was responsible for Clare falling off the balcony and the fall and Clare’s death in Hollyoaks recently. So – and a Grange Hill skateboarding scene that some kids might have watched, that has probably just been screened, so yes

H: So a lot of different things?

S: Very varied

H: With all of those things there, one thing I have noticed when I’ve been anywhere near a film set, which isn’t that often, but when I do, is that the stars, the real people that everyone wants to get the autograph of, are in awe of the stunt man. Do you find that?

S: Yes, generally. I think it’s because we’re doing something that’s dangerous, that physically they feel that they can’t do or wouldn’t want to do. And it’s just different skills isn’t it?

H: Sure

S: They probably make a much better actor than I make an actor, so they are different skills, but I think the fact that we risk our lives, quite literally and our physical health often when we do work, causes them to have some respect for us that we will do that and make them look good

H: Ok well let’s just have a look at Steve in action

Video footage

H: Congratulations, great work. Yes, great, really enjoyed, thank you very much. We’ll come back and talk some more in just a second, but I did mention my third guest and he’s sitting here on my right and on your left, and that is Paul Archer from the Industry Trust, talking about and looking after these days the copyright if you like of DVDs, of programs that are being made and films that are being made. What’s this all about these days? Seems an awful lot of this in the news and in the press at the moment, but surely a little bit of file sharing isn’t a bad thing is it?

P: Well there’s a real misconception in our industry, 20% of our revenue is actually lost to counterfeiting and illegal downloading, so that’s a hell of a lot of money

H: That is a lot of money

P: And that’s money that’s then not reinvested and taken back into the industry and further developed. There’s a lot of people that work, 200,000 people work in the TV and film industry and really it’s affecting their livelihoods, our campaign, it’s about bringing these people forward, these unsung heroes of our industry, they’re not necessarily the stars – the George Clooney’s of this world, but they’re the people that work behind the scenes and we talk for the industry, the whole industry, from studios to TV companies, to retailers, to distribution companies, and it’s about getting a product to market and that’s you know basically what we do, so it’s about putting these people forward and letting people know what affect they have on the business

H: By letting them know that you’re asking people to be a little bit more honest, are you – because it’s difficult to track these people down that are downloading DVDs that are counterfeiting – it’s very difficult to catch those people isn’t it?

P: Yes I mean I think, what we’re trying to do is we’re trying to cause a pause. We’re trying to make the consumer actually sit back and think, and think hang on a minute, this is affecting the livelihoods of real people. You know there’s no doubt about it that people who are putting this illegal product out are criminals, and it’s the criminals that are benefiting from it, not the real people that are working in our industry

H: Because people will be convinced, or some people will be convinced, certainly that they’re benefiting by getting a cheaper DVD for instance by you know getting one from some dodgy geezer in the pub or wherever, but they’re not actually doing any good for anyone

P: No, there’s no – they’re not doing any good for anyone. I mean our industry is about reinvesting and investing again in new programmes and new product, and taking the business forward and that’s what – and you know, rewarding the people that are in the industry as well and giving them, you know a fair wage for their work

H: It’s not the richest industry in the world despite what people think

P: Oh it’s not no, no not at all

H: Alright. Well we have a real tradition in this country of making quality television and films, let’s hope it stays that way. Incidentally there is a website isn’t there? We’ll mention it later but let’s mention it now as well

P: copyright – www.copyrightaware.co.uk

H: Copyrightaware all one word?

P: Yes

H: Copyrightaware.co.uk. Have a look on there for more information. We’ll take some questions, it is a live show so please do send in your questions to us right now, you’ll see the little box at the bottom there, just fill it out, press the send button, come straight through to us in the studio. We’ve got some questions coming up now guys so let’s take a couple of those while we can. Luke is first of all, Luke says, “I’m 18, I want to work towards a career of directing, should I go to uni or should I just get out there and get experience?” Clare this is definitely a point for you isn’t it?

C: Well I think there are two schools of thought, I mean certainly when I, my first ever interview for television you’re normally asked to ask something intelligent so at the end I said what’s the industry view on people who’ve done a degree, and the guy actually told me to my face it was a waste of my time. But that said, I told him I had three years learning how to operate cameras in a studio, how to you know produce short films, so it really wasn’t a waste of my time. I would never discourage anyone to go to university because it’s such a life affirming experience, but there are people who can do equally as well going into the industry straight after you leave school. It’s all about work experience. I personally did work experience during my degree, so on my holidays, you know when I was supposed to be doing my dissertation I was running on shows like Never Mind the Buzzcocks, and it meant that when I left university I had contacts then, so you know it depends on what they want to do, but I would never ever say don’t go to university, I’d never say, you know do go to university, it really depends on what they want to do

H: Try and get a bit of both?

C: A bit of both would be perfect yes, as long as you get work experience in and get your contacts, that’s all you need

H: Steve, for you, I mean would – what would you say on that, because there isn’t anywhere you can’t go in Britain where there isn’t a media course being run somewhere

S: Sure

H: So there’s a lot of people coming out of that with media degrees, waving around one form or another, and of course they’re then, there’s a deluge then on the industry but of course the guy that got in there at 16 making the tea, by the time he’s 18 he’s probably doing something more, so –

S: Well even my experience as a stunt coordinator, working with production companies, leaving stunts aside for a while, is exactly the same as Clare – I’ll come back to that point. People that get on are the people that are working in production companies because they’ve started out, they’re on work experience and as Clare rightly said the people that are indispensable, they’re easy to work with and they’ll go the extra mile, the people that will give their producer the information they want quickly and give them an abundance of information, so they make life easy for them. They think well I want to keep this person around because I want to say I need x, that person goes out and find it immediately and they’re keen and that’s really the way to get on, once you get in to absolutely pull all the stops out and don’t think what am I getting back from this now, play the long game

H: Ok so regardless of university or not university, it’s what you are as a person

S: Absolutely

H: Ok. Question come in from Susan from Glasgow which I’m going to pass over to Paul straight away. Do you think it’s because DVDs are too expensive that people buy counterfeit DVDs from places like the Barrows in Glasgow? Susan by the way is in Glasgow, so is it that they’re too expensive? I mean they’re not the cheapest things in the world, they don’t cost much DVDs?

P: Well I think there’s a misconception here as well on price. The average price of a DVD sold in this country is £9.46

H: Yep

P: Now I went and bought a magazine the other day and it was £3.99 you know so I think actually in comparison to something like that I think a DVD offers excellent value for money, and that’s also and that price is also worked out –

H: People look at the hardware of a DVD and say well a blank DVD doesn’t cost very much, so you know a recorded one’s not costing you guys very much –

P: I think – there’s a lot more to the price of a DVD than just recording it. You know you’ve got the royalties that are involved, you’ve got the marketing costs you’ve got the distribution costs, you know so there are lots of costs that go in to make that price, so it’s not just the cost of a disc

H: But not everything on one DVD means that someone is making a million somewhere?

P: No absolutely not

H: Alright, so it’s about people thinking about what’s gone into making that?

P: Yes yes and again –

H: It’s about paying these poor guys isn’t it?

P: Yes that’s exactly right, there’s lots of people that go into the process of making a program and putting it into the cinemas and putting it DVDs and putting it into stores, you know and people aren’t doing that for nothing, they’re looking to make a living out of it, and they do a very very good – very very good job

H: Ok, we’ve got another – thank you for that by the way, we’ve got another – just take one more point on this, DVDs, expensive, inexpensive, is that the reason why people are doing it?

C: Well, see I don’t know, I mean if a new release comes out and I desperately want it, I’ll pay full price, otherwise I go wandering around these DVD shops and you know you can get them for 3, 4 quid so I really don’t see what the excuse is, if there’s a film that you love from your childhood or from years ago, you go for a rummage around in these massive superstores and you will be able to get them for cheaper

S: The other thing is, I know from the stunt stuff that I do and the action movies that I work on the shows, somebody buys a DVD they get all the extras on the DVD, the quality is pristine, it’s going to stay in good condition, it’s not the sort of thing that if you put it on your coffee table and don’t pick it up it won’t play any more, so you’ve got a quality product there, and you are supporting the industry, and what I would say to people is if you’re a fan of a particular genre, a fan of a particular actor or actress, whoever it might be, you’re supporting them in their industry by buying the original product, and you get the benefit of all the extras and something that’s going to last

H: It’s a very good point, very good point. Talking of films, Jennifer with a question – “how important are film festivals in promoting home grown talent in the UK? Such as I don’t know, the London film festival’s coming up, so is that an important thing? Is that really crucial?

S: I think it is yes. I’m often asked to work on lower budget things, people always calling me and saying look will you come and help us out on this because we’re trying to climb the greasy pole as it were

H: Yes

S: We’re trying to get into mainstream film and television, and I think that’s something that should be actively encouraged because it shows off the talent, it shouldn’t just be the people who are already in the business, I think it should be wide open. And there is a huge amount of talent in the Indie scene the independent producers, the independent directors, there’s some fantastic films and some massive talent out there

H: Talking about talent, it’s one of those things, whenever you see Oscars coming up and technical awards, they’re always British, 9 times out of 10 it’s British technicians working, even on American films

P: That’s because we’re the best in the world at it, we’re biased but we are aren’t we?

C: I’d say so yes

H: Absolutely. Why is that, why are we so good at it?

P: I think that we’ve got a heritage in this country and I think that we’ve built on that heritage, and again I think it is all about reinvesting and developing and taking this business forward. You know it is part of our heritage and you know we shouldn’t stop, we’ve got to keep reinvesting in it and developing our product, and we are leaders in the world and I think we should all be proud. I’ve been in the industry for 25 years and I’ve worked with some fantastic people, really skilled people, and they put a product together that is real value

H: And stuff like the London film festival is just showcasing it?

P: Absolutely yes and then it moves on from there, it then can move onto DVD, a lot of those films – the great thing about DVD is it does offer another form of distribution so that more people can enjoy some great products

H: Ok well let’s talk about the future, we’ve talked about the industry as it is and the skill factors there are there. Question that’s just come up from Martin, “indie bands are releasing albums for free” – everyone’s talking about this – “Radiohead, they’re on the net with their honesty box, so you just pay what you think is about right. Is this something that film distributors could do?” Is that a possibility?

P: I think that the music industry business model is different to the film industry so I really don’t see that would work for the film or TV industry, you know there’s lots more people involved, there’s much bigger budgets and product does need to be covered. I think the music industry have taken, or some people are taking a different route. I think if you look at music there are various messages coming out there, there isn’t really a consistent message. What we’re saying in the TV and film business is actually that there is a value to our product and as such there’s a price that people need to pay so that the business can be developed and reinvested

H: Ok. And what do you feel about that?

S: Yes I would agree with exactly what Paul said, there is a difference in that if you go and watch the Radiohead, the new video, you’ll probably go and buy it or download – you’ll pay ultimately to download the song, and listen to the song perhaps on your IPod or what have you, so I think that yes ultimately there is an end game there, and with the film there isn’t quite that and with television shows in quite the same way, so it is a different type of business yes

H: Alright. And in terms of free download and honesty?

C: Well I mean I think to compare as both Paul and Steve said, I think to compare the music industry and film and television are two completely different things, because for example the arrival of Myspace and the Arctic Monkeys phenomenon, that’s something that I don’t think could ever happen in film and television, and I think the bottom line is both film and television are industries that you know to keep our heritage, to keep the good content coming out we need to have the capital coming in, and the less money that goes in the less skilled worked you’ll have and you know the work will become marginalised, less people will watch it

H: One thought that just occurred to me and we’ll go to the stunts in just a second because I’m fascinated and we might actually do a stunt, but before we do – yes, let’s get dangerous! Before we do all of that, let’s just talk about technology for a second because technology’s a good and bad thing in this industry. It’s a good thing in – there’s an awful lot more, you just talked about Ipods and people being able to watch stuff, you know when they’re walking round hand held, there’s – flat screen TVs have come down enormously in price, people have been watching more films and reliving the experience with surround sound and everything else, but on the other side of it you’re having a hell of a job stopping people file sharing, so is technology a good thing?

P: Technology is a good thing, yes yes without doubt, it’s advancement, and I think the consumer will at the end of the day determine how product is delivered to them, so I think it is definitely an advancement and a good thing

H: Bring it on, more work

S: Yes. Well it is an exciting area, and the whole of television is changing, the whole of the music industry is changing because of that. That technology is wonderful in some respects because a lot of talent that would be out there – we probably wouldn’t have heard of Lily Allen if it wasn’t for Myspace in the same way

H: It’s true

S: There’s some fantastic talent out there that is being seen by people and the viewers now, or the listeners are judging, rather than the record companies and the production companies deciding and the commissioners deciding

H: It’s public vote isn’t it?

C: Well exactly and I think the problem is, you know I mean new technology I’d say for the vast majority of people is an amazing thing, but you know with more computers and more software there are always going to be that small proportion of people that want to take the mick, and you know, beat the system and do things in the way that they shouldn’t be doing, such as illegal file sharing and that sort of thing. But it’s always a minority proportion that for everyone else, you know technology’s an awesome thing

H: Ok, Ruth in Devon wants to know Steve – you are funny Ruth in Devon I think – wants to know what’s the most dangerous stunt you’ve ever performed?

S: Quite a few actually, the most dangerous probably I did a high fall in Hollyoaks, killing off Toby Mills the character, the serial killer

H: Yes

S: Which was a hundred foot high fall but backwards, I had to fall, have a look at the bag, turn around and do it backwards, completely blind. That scared me a lot

H: Yes

S: And earlier this year I’m the resident stunt driver on Channel 5’s Fifth Gear, and we do one or two episodes a year, a big behind-the-scenes how Hollywood works crashes, and earlier this year I drove a car under a lorry

H: Does that take the top –

S: It takes the roof off the lorry and the lorry was quite literally at the bottom of the windscreen, so when I leant over onto the passenger seat it was less than an inch from my shoulder and hitting that at 30 miles an hour was probably one of the scariest stunts I’ve done

H: Ok. Don’t try this at home

S: It focuses the attention

H: Ok, we’ve got a fast car outside, it’s on the top of the building – no, I’m just thinking about a stunt that we can do in here. Is there something we can do in here, I mean can I give you punch?

S: You can give me a punch if you want

H: Because you take a lot of punches don’t you in different things –

S: Yes

H: And –

S: I mean you know how to throw a stage punch, because it’s not a real punch is it?

H: No no I –

S: You’re not seriously going to hit me are you?

H: I’m going to really hit you, ok ok, here we go – can I do it again?

S: Go on

H: One more, one more. There we go

S: That’s enough

H: That’s enough, alright, alright. Do you know I’ve always wanted to do that to a guest, but never really had the time before. Thank you for that. Thank you very much indeed. Before we go, I was looking at these glasses but I’m going to move those out the way. You’ve got a bottle I can smash over your head?

S: You want to smash a bottle?

H: Yes yes yes

S: I can take you punching me around

H: Well I gave him the roughhouse treatment now, this is great – so this is –

S: You’re going to enjoy this. Mind your eyes

H: Ok this is a special bottle

S: It’s a special sugar glass bottle; it’s a resin that is designed not to hurt me

H: Ok, so this won’t hurt

S: It’s quite straightforward; just smash me right over the head with it

H: Please do not try anything like this at home –

S: Really don’t, absolutely

H: Because this can be a bit serious

S: It can be, they’re a danger with eyes with these things because there are small shards and stuff and obviously you would never do this with a real bottle, ever on TV

H: This man is a professional, I’m not, but let’s go with this.

S: Didn’t hurt at all actually.

H: That was great

S: It’s quite realistic

H: That’s terrific

S: Didn’t feel a thing, fantastic

H: well as you can see. You can’t eat this sugar glass?

S: You can’t, it’s not really sugar, it’s a resin, but it’s very breakable

H: Ok well as you can see we’re now covered in sugar glass all over the place. Thank you very much indeed Clare, thank you very much indeed Paul. Just to mention once again that if you want more information about the campaign at the moment it is called –

P: copyrightaware.co.uk

H: Well said sir. And you can log on there and you’ll get all the information so far and you’ll even get some top tips on the industry and how to get into the industry as a career, so do have a look at that. So Paul, Clare and indeed Steve now I’ve slapped you around and smashed a bottle over your head, thank you very much indeed for coming in

S: You’re welcome

H: And good luck with everything you’re doing. Thanks very much and we’ll see you next time. Bye bye

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