SDCC 2011 – Attack of the BlockAn Interview with John Boyega
By Wilson Morales
July 28, 2011
Coming out this week is the film that has captivated audiences since its premiere at the 2011 SWSX festival in Austin, Texas.
From the producers of “Shaun of the Dead” and “Scott Pilgrim vs. the World” comes “Attack the Block,” a fast funny, frightening action adventure movie that pits a teen gang against an invasion of savage alien monsters. It turns a London tower block into a fortress under siege, and a weapon wielding teenage thugs into heroes. It’s inner city versus outer space.
At the center of attention is Moses, played by the crowd pleasing British-Nigerian actor John Boyega, who’s making his film debut.
Directed by Joe Cornish, the cast also includes Nick Frost, Jodie Whittaker, Luke Treadaway, Flaminia Cinque, Joey Ansah, Lee Nicholas Harris, Chris Wilson, Terry Notary, Maggie McCarthy, Jacey Sallés, Adam Leese, Sammy Williams, Karl Collins, Jumayn Hunter, and Danielle Vitalis.
Blackfilm.com caught up with Boyega at the 2011 San Diego Comic Con as he spoke about his role and working with director Joe Cornish.
When you read this script what was the appeal that made you want to do it?
John Boyega: I’ve lived in South London most of my life and I loved the fact that it was going to make my area cinematic. It was going to represent it in a way that it hasn’t been represented before. Normally you hear about Southeast London and you hear about all the stuff that goes on down there, all the negative things and the tabloids kind of stay away from all the positive things that happen that I see everyday which kind of outshines the negative. I was just so excited that there was going to be a film that obviously started as a stereotype, but that was going to challenge that stereotype and make them be our next movie heroes. I knew that’s how ‘The Block’ was going to be. I didn’t really care about all that box office money, success or whatever, but I knew that it was going to be a film that was going to live forever and people would watch and look back and say, ‘That’s the film that started it all. That’s the film that made people from this area the next superheroes.’ I loved that about it and I was just all game to do it.
This isn’t the typical Alien movie where there’s fear and a fight for survival. You start fighting from the start of the movie. Where does Moses get that confidence, the confidence to take it all on?
John Boyega: When we had discussions during rehearsal we always discussed where the characters were before we found them. I know that Moses had been kicked out of school. He’s not allowed in school because of certain anger problems. I knew that he had done epic stuff in the end. I knew that he’d beaten up a couple of people because they’d been talking crap. I knew that he was very tough, but I also knew that there was a certain element to him being the man in the end. He’s much more of a man than Hi-Hatz. He’s much more soft hearted. I knew that he wasn’t just a rogue criminal with no emotions. I knew in the first scene that you meet him he’s at his lowest point. He’s been better before and if he was the way he’d been before he wouldn’t have thought to go rob a woman because that’s the lowest he can ever go. I think with Moses as a character you just meet him at a point where he’s feeling a little bit down or whatever. I just thought that it’d be great to start from that and then at the end of the film just make a hero and a human being.
This movie has gotten a lot of hype. How much back and forth did you and Joe Cornish have in working on the character of Moses when describing him to others?
John Boyega: Most of that discussion was with the boys, the other boys. Moses wouldn’t be Moses without the gang beside him. They’ve been family. Moses doesn’t live with his mom and dad. He lives with his wayward uncle. I knew the boys were his family and he spent most of his time with Dennis, played by Franz Drameh. While we were filming we actually snuck into one of the blocks. We went to the top floor and we had this discussion about, like, ‘Where’s Moses? Where have they been?’ They’ve been somewhere before this, do you know what I mean, and I think that Moses gets the bravery to fight an alien invasion not only from fear, but from the love of these boys. He knows that his boys have been hurt. When you see, I think, Pest’s leg get bitten, that makes him angry. He just doesn’t show it. When you see people getting thrown to the floor and stuff it makes him very angry until he gets to the end scene where he just runs out and kills them all. So, yeah, it was just amazing discussing the character.
This horror film is all black kids and we don’t see the typical run in with monsters in the woods. All the dialogue here is so real. How much of that was Joe’s writing and how much was adlibbing by you and the guys?
John Boyega: Joe did quite a lot of research. He went to speak to kids who are in youth groups and speak to kids in various drama clubs in schools around South London. He basically asked them a question about, like, ‘What would you do if there was an invasion?’ Most of the lines in the film were said by real kids. They brought that in and he used that like a platform to write out the script. So, I think that most of it was due to Joe’s research and then we tweaked little bits that needed to be fixed up because slang changes everyday back in London. You might be saying something like, ‘What is that, cousin?’ It changes everyday, and so we were there to step it up a little bit, but most of it was Joe, I have to say. Due to his good research, it’s great that he didn’t attempt to write it on his knowledge. He went out and interviewed real people and wrote the dialogue which is good.
Joe talked about giving you guys a film to watch. ‘The Warriors’. That’s a classic. What were some of the horror films that you’ve seen growing up that you liked?
John Boyega: Well, he gave us ‘E.T.’. I compared elements of ‘Attack of the Block’ to ‘E.T.’, the chase scene on the bikes. I compared to one of the kids getting out a knife when Elliot first tells him about seeing an alien. He gets a knife from the kitchen, all of those little things. ‘Over The Edge’, about the rebellion of the young kids and all those aspects. ‘The Goonies’ that had the kiddish kind of normal life, but mixed with this kind of pirate chase adventure. All those kinds of films kind of educated me about what ‘Attack of the Block’ was trying to be and what ‘Attack of the Block’ was paying homage to, basically.
People are talking a lot about you based on this one character. What sort of roles do you want to do and what offers have you been getting?
John Boyega: God has given me great opportunity out here in America. I’ve just been signed to CAA, Creative Artists Agency, which is very, very great. The scripts that I’ve been getting are of epic proportion. People want me to lead the big armies. It’s great that people don’t only see Moses as a badass, cliché character, but they also see the sensitive side, they see the manly side. I’ve been getting diverse roles. So, the next one should be very terrific.
What traits do you and Moses have in common?
John Boyega: The traits that we have are the fact that I love my family and the people around me. I cherish them a lot. I love my boys, who are my tight circle. I understand that feeling of being close together with the gang and having that chemistry. That’s what we share, that love for family and friends.
Do you have anything coming up?
John Boyega: After ‘Attack of the Block’ I’ve done another low budget indie called ‘Junkhearts‘ with Eddie Marsan and then after that I filmed a comedy for BBC3 called ‘Becoming Human‘ and then after that I film for ‘Law & Order UK’ which should be out on BBC America sometime soon. I’ve just been seeing what’s out there and trying to stretch myself and stuff, just a warm up for Hollywood.
Why should people go see ‘Attack of the Block’?
John Boyega: Go see ‘Attack of the Black’ because you’re going to have a fun time in the cinema. It’s a good night out. It’s a fun monster movie, action packed horror/comedy. It’s exciting. You get genuine, great characters and a great story and you just get a badass, kickass alien film.
