Dog Altogether
Encyclopedia
Dog Altogether is the first film to be entirely written and directed by Paddy Considine
. The term 'Dog Altogether' comes from an Irish expression that Paddy's father used to use when situations got really bad. It was filmed on Jan 22nd 2007 in Glasgow
The lead role of Joseph is taken by Scottish actor/director; Peter Mullan
(Session 9
, Trainspotting
, Braveheart
, My Name is Joe
) who was hand picked by Paddy to play a role loosely based on Paddy's late father (also called Joseph). Mullan is a winner of several BIFA and BAFTA best actor awards. Brit comedy darling Olivia Colman
(Peep Show
, Green Wing
, Hot Fuzz
) fills the supporting role as Anita, Olivia, already having shot British comedy film 'Hot Fuzz' with Paddy was approached to play the part due to her suitability for the role.
Paddy states: "Dog Altogether was made out of necessity. I'd contributed ideas and improvisations to other people's movies and decided it was time I established my own voice. I went through a period of resenting acting and I think it had a lot to do with not having control over the final presentation. I don't have a single director that I could name as an obvious influence, but Dog Altogether is definitely born out of the Ken Loach
/Alan Clarke
movies I watched as a kid. There's a frightening authenticity about their work, and that was the thing that struck me. They were telling stories about people that I knew. Gary Oldman
's Nil by Mouth
was hugely influential. You watch it as an actor with a sense of resentment because the performances are so brilliant. You wish that every director could get those results out of actors, but they can't. He's a brilliant director. I was hoping that I could make up for my shortcomings as an actor by applying myself behind the camera. Dog Altogether is the first of many films that I will write and direct. As I get older and uglier, I'll definitely be spending more time behind the lens."
As of 2010 Dog Altogether is being developed into a feature length film called 'Tyrannosaur
' expanding on the story and subjects raised in the short film. Tyrannosaur will reunite Dog Altogether's principal cast Peter Mullan
, Olivia Colman and Paul Popplewell
with the addition of Eddie Marsan
(Happy-Go-Lucky
, Vera Drake
). Tyrannosaur was both written and directed by Paddy Considine.
), a man who is plagued by a violence and rage that is driving him to self destruction. As he falls further into turmoil Joseph scours the landscape in search of a single grain of redemption that might restore hope to his fractured life.
Paddy Considine
Patrick George "Paddy" Considine is an English actor, filmmaker, screenwriter, musician and frequent collaborator with Shane Meadows. Best known to audiences for his portrayals of dark, troubled, morally or mentally ambiguous characters...
. The term 'Dog Altogether' comes from an Irish expression that Paddy's father used to use when situations got really bad. It was filmed on Jan 22nd 2007 in Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
The lead role of Joseph is taken by Scottish actor/director; Peter Mullan
Peter Mullan
Peter Mullan is a Scottish actor and film-maker who has been appearing in films since 1990.-Early life:Mullan, the sixth of eight children, was born in Peterhead in the northeast of Scotland, the son of Patricia, a nurse, and Charles Mullan, a lab technician who worked at Glasgow University. He...
(Session 9
Session 9
Session 9 is a 2001 American psychological horror film directed by Brad Anderson. It stars David Caruso, Peter Mullan, Stephen Gevedon, Paul Guilfoyle, Josh Lucas, and Brendan Sexton III...
, Trainspotting
Trainspotting (film)
Trainspotting is a 1996 British satirical/drama film directed by Danny Boyle based on the novel of the same name by Irvine Welsh. The movie follows a group of heroin addicts in a late 1980s economically depressed area of Edinburgh and their passage through life...
, Braveheart
Braveheart
Braveheart is a 1995 epic historical drama war film directed by and starring Mel Gibson. The film was written for the screen and then novelized by Randall Wallace...
, My Name is Joe
My Name Is Joe
My Name Is Joe is a 1998 Scottish film directed by Ken Loach. The film stars Peter Mullan as Joe Kavanagh, an unemployed recovering alcoholic in Glasgow who meets and falls in love with a health visitor. David McKay plays his troubled friend Liam...
) who was hand picked by Paddy to play a role loosely based on Paddy's late father (also called Joseph). Mullan is a winner of several BIFA and BAFTA best actor awards. Brit comedy darling Olivia Colman
Olivia Colman
Olivia Colman is an English actress, best known for her supporting roles in various comedy shows, such as Sophie Chapman in Peep Show and Harriet Schulenburg in Green Wing. She trained at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, and has appeared in radio, television and theatre.-Personal life:Colman...
(Peep Show
Peep Show (TV series)
Peep Show is a British sitcom starring David Mitchell and Robert Webb. The television programme is written by Jesse Armstrong and Sam Bain, with additional material by Mitchell and Webb themselves, amongst others. It has been broadcast on Channel 4 since 2003. The show's seventh series makes it...
, Green Wing
Green Wing
Green Wing is a British sitcom set in the fictional East Hampton Hospital. It was created by the same team behind the sketch show Smack the Pony, led by Victoria Pile, and stars Tamsin Greig, Stephen Mangan and Julian Rhind-Tutt....
, Hot Fuzz
Hot Fuzz
Hot Fuzz is a 2007 British action dark comedy film written by Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright, and starring Pegg and Nick Frost. The three had previously worked together on the 2004 film Shaun of the Dead as well as the television series Spaced...
) fills the supporting role as Anita, Olivia, already having shot British comedy film 'Hot Fuzz' with Paddy was approached to play the part due to her suitability for the role.
Paddy states: "Dog Altogether was made out of necessity. I'd contributed ideas and improvisations to other people's movies and decided it was time I established my own voice. I went through a period of resenting acting and I think it had a lot to do with not having control over the final presentation. I don't have a single director that I could name as an obvious influence, but Dog Altogether is definitely born out of the Ken Loach
Ken Loach
Kenneth "Ken" Loach is a Palme D'Or winning English film and television director.He is known for his naturalistic, social realist directing style and for his socialist beliefs, which are evident in his film treatment of social issues such as homelessness , labour rights and child abuse at the...
/Alan Clarke
Alan Clarke
Alan Clarke was a television and film director, producer and writer, born in Wallasey, Merseyside, England.Most of Clarke's output was for television rather than cinema, including work for the famous play strands The Wednesday Play and Play for Today...
movies I watched as a kid. There's a frightening authenticity about their work, and that was the thing that struck me. They were telling stories about people that I knew. Gary Oldman
Gary Oldman
Gary Leonard Oldman is an English actor, voice actor, filmmaker and musician.A member of the 1980s Brit Pack, Oldman came to prominence via starring roles in British films Meantime , Sid and Nancy and Prick Up Your Ears , with his performance in the latter bringing him his first BAFTA Award...
's Nil by Mouth
Nil by Mouth (film)
Nil by Mouth is a 1997 British drama film portraying a family of characters living in South East London. It was Gary Oldman's debut as a writer and director; the film was produced by Douglas Urbanski and Luc Besson. It stars Ray Winstone as Raymond, the abusive husband of Valerie...
was hugely influential. You watch it as an actor with a sense of resentment because the performances are so brilliant. You wish that every director could get those results out of actors, but they can't. He's a brilliant director. I was hoping that I could make up for my shortcomings as an actor by applying myself behind the camera. Dog Altogether is the first of many films that I will write and direct. As I get older and uglier, I'll definitely be spending more time behind the lens."
As of 2010 Dog Altogether is being developed into a feature length film called 'Tyrannosaur
Tyrannosaur (film)
Tyrannosaur is a 2011 British drama film written and directed by actor Paddy Considine .The film depicts an environment similar to what Considine witnessed growing up on a council estate in the Midlands, although the film is in no way autobiographical...
' expanding on the story and subjects raised in the short film. Tyrannosaur will reunite Dog Altogether's principal cast Peter Mullan
Peter Mullan
Peter Mullan is a Scottish actor and film-maker who has been appearing in films since 1990.-Early life:Mullan, the sixth of eight children, was born in Peterhead in the northeast of Scotland, the son of Patricia, a nurse, and Charles Mullan, a lab technician who worked at Glasgow University. He...
, Olivia Colman and Paul Popplewell
Paul Popplewell
Paul Popplewell was born in 1977 and raised in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England.He became a professional Actor aged 16 when he dropped out of college after gaining the lead role of Simon in multi award winning BBC Television Drama ‘Criminal’ for which he won Best Actor at the Golden Chest Film...
with the addition of Eddie Marsan
Eddie Marsan
Edward Maurice C. "Eddie" Marsan is an English actor.-Early life:Marsan was born in Stepney, London to a working class family; his father was a lorry driver and his mother a school dinner lady and teacher's assistant...
(Happy-Go-Lucky
Happy-Go-Lucky
Happy-Go-Lucky is a 2008 British Comedy-drama film written and directed by Mike Leigh. The screenplay focuses on a cheerful and optimistic primary-school teacher and her relationships with those around her...
, Vera Drake
Vera Drake
Vera Drake is a 2004 British drama film written and directed by Mike Leigh, telling the story of a working-class woman in London in 1950 who performs illegal abortions...
). Tyrannosaur was both written and directed by Paddy Considine.
Plot
Dog Altogether is the story of Joseph (Peter MullanPeter Mullan
Peter Mullan is a Scottish actor and film-maker who has been appearing in films since 1990.-Early life:Mullan, the sixth of eight children, was born in Peterhead in the northeast of Scotland, the son of Patricia, a nurse, and Charles Mullan, a lab technician who worked at Glasgow University. He...
), a man who is plagued by a violence and rage that is driving him to self destruction. As he falls further into turmoil Joseph scours the landscape in search of a single grain of redemption that might restore hope to his fractured life.
Cast
- Peter MullanPeter MullanPeter Mullan is a Scottish actor and film-maker who has been appearing in films since 1990.-Early life:Mullan, the sixth of eight children, was born in Peterhead in the northeast of Scotland, the son of Patricia, a nurse, and Charles Mullan, a lab technician who worked at Glasgow University. He...
as Joseph - Olivia ColmanOlivia ColmanOlivia Colman is an English actress, best known for her supporting roles in various comedy shows, such as Sophie Chapman in Peep Show and Harriet Schulenburg in Green Wing. She trained at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, and has appeared in radio, television and theatre.-Personal life:Colman...
as Anita - Karl JohnsonKarl JohnsonKarl Johnson is a Welsh actor, notable for acting on stage, film and television. He is the recipient of an honorary doctorate from Birmingham City University. His most notable role to date was the title role in Derek Jarman's 1993 film Wittgenstein...
as Jack - Paul PopplewellPaul PopplewellPaul Popplewell was born in 1977 and raised in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England.He became a professional Actor aged 16 when he dropped out of college after gaining the lead role of Simon in multi award winning BBC Television Drama ‘Criminal’ for which he won Best Actor at the Golden Chest Film...
as Pub Youth 1 - William Ruane as Pub Youth 2
- Aston Kelly as Pub Youth 3
- Mahesh Soneji as Man in Post Office
- Gaurav Soodan as Youth in Post Office
- Osman Mohammed as Youth 1
- Patricia MacHugh as Barmaid
- Dominic Curran as Kid in Street
Awards
- 2007 BAFTA award; Best Short Film
- 2007 British Independent Film Awards; Best short film
- 2007 Venice Film Festival: Silver Lion for Best Short Film
- 2007 Seattle International Film Festival Short Film Jury Award (Narrative Special Jury Prize)
- 2007 Edinburgh International Film Festival; 2nd place for Best British Short.