The Kid is a 2010 British biopic about the life of Kevin Lewis. Based on his autobiography of the same name, it is the story of a boy growing up in a violent, abusive family on a small council estate called New Addington in the 1980s. The screenplay was written by Mark Thomas and Kevin Lewis with additional writing by Nick Moran.
| The Kid | |
|---|---|
 British release poster | |
| Directed by | Nick Moran |
| Screenplay by | Kevin Lewis Nick Moran Mark Thomas, also development producer |
| Produced by | Kevin Lewis Steven May[1] |
| Starring | Rupert Friend Natascha McElhone Ioan Gruffudd David O'Hara[2] |
| Cinematography | Peter Wignall |
| Edited by | Trevor Waite |
| Music by | Ilan Eshkeri |
Release date |
|
Running time | 90 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
Scottish singer/songwriter KT Tunstall wrote the song 'Boy' for the movie
Plot
Based on the real life story of Kevin Lewis, the film follows his childhood of abuse, his descent into a life of crime and how he put his life together again afterwards. The screenplay was written by Mark Thomas and Kevin Lewis with additional writing by Nick Moran.
Casting
Rupert Friend appears as the adult Kevin Lewis. In order to learn how to box, he was sent to train with former WBO World middleweight and super middleweight champion Steve Collins.[3][4]
Natascha McElhone was cast as Gloria, Kevin Lewis' mother. The film's director explained that the make-up team had to make her less attractive for the role; "Yes we put a lot of make-up on her to ugly her up a bit for the role, but it's not 'Planet of the Apes' type make-up, she still had to act underneath all that stuff and she was amazing and really breathed life into the character."[5] Due to the accuracy of the make-up, Kevin Lewis had difficulty being on set because she looked so much like the real-life Gloria; "It was such a shock and I walked off the set when I heard her as Gloria shouting."[6]
Augustus Prew was not at first meant to be Teenage Kevin Lewis. They were going for the other actor because he looked more like Rupert Friend. To look more like Rupert Friend, Augustus Says that he got his photographer friend to take pictures of him, with the same suit, same pose and blue contacts in his eyes. He then became Kevin Lewis. To become more like Kevin Lewis, He lost over a stone of weight, wore shoes 4 sizes too small and wore clothes that were too small. He was also always hungry during shooting to become the character, because the real Kevin Lewis told him that he was always hungry and his muscles ached.
Also Starring
- Ioan Gruffudd as Colin Smith
- Con O'Neill as Dennis
- Bernard Hill as Uncle David
- Jodie Whittaker as Jackie
- David O'Hara as Terry
- James Fox as Alan
- Kate Ashfield as Madeline
- Ralph Brown as Gordon Peters
- Denise Gough as Patsy
Development
Director Nick Moran was linked to the project after being approached by Kevin Lewis and executive producer Stephen May after seeing his work in Telstar.[1]
British singer/songwriter KT Tunstall wrote a song called "Boy" as an original soundtrack for the album
Various locations were scouted, including Lewis' home estate in New Addington, south of London, but it was ruled out due to the distance. The main locations were filmed on the South Oxhey council estate, on the borders of North London and Hertfordshire; however on the first day on set the filming was disrupted by the Criminal Investigation Department removing a dead body from the local woods.[1]
The decision was made to tone down the level of abuse in the film. "You get the feeling of what goes on and your mind will come to its own conclusions", said Lewis.[6]
The film was affiliated on release with the British children's charity the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, and the film's premiere was attended by the charity's ambassador Kylie Minogue.[5][7]
Nick Moran spoke of his hope that the film would result in a resurgence in this genre in the British film industry, "There's been a spate of rather silly British comedy films being made in the past few years and for a time that seemed to be the only type of film being made in this country so I hope 'The Kid' is a success and it opens the doors for more serious drama to be made in the UK."[5]
References
- ^ a b c Jamieson, Teddy (6 September 2010). "How Nick Moran took The Kid from bestseller book to big-screen movie". Herald Scotland. Retrieved 16 September 2010.
- ^ "Full cast and crew for The Kid (2010)". IMDB. Retrieved 16 September 2010.
- ^ Whalley, Kirsty (16 September 2010). "Silver screen for abuse drama set in New Addington". Croydon Guardian.
- ^ Boxrec. "Steve Collins". Boxrec Fighter Page. Retrieved 16 September 2010.
- ^ a b c "Natasha Mcelhone - Natasha Mcelhone Made Ugly For Kid". contactmusic.com. Retrieved 16 September 2010.
- ^ a b "Kevin Lewis: 'I Could Have Been The First Baby P'". Daily Express. 12 September 2010. Retrieved 16 September 2010.
- ^ "The Kid: Kylie steps out for children's charity". BBC News. 15 September 2010. Retrieved 16 September 2010.