I bring you our follow up our Premiere report with exclusive photos over here! we bring you some exclusive albethey too brief video chats with the extremely talented team behind Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Sailor. We caught up with the stars and filmmakers as they walked the Red Carpet at the UK Premiere of Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy at the London BFI last week. We were very fortunate to be able to chat with a treachery of spies (the closest the Internet could come up with for a collective noun for spies) including; Tomasz Kowalski, Konstantin Khabenskiy, Simon McBurney, David Dencik, Stephen Graham, Mr. John Hurt and George Smiley himself Mr. Gary Oldman.

We also managed to get a few words from Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy Producer & Working Title Working Title co-chairman Tim Bevan, film writer Peter Straughan and Director Tomas Alfredson.

As well as once inside the BFI we exclusively managed to document some heartfelt insight into the making of Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy during the introduction to one of the premier screenings from Author Mr. John le Carré, Producer Tim Bevan, Director Tomas Alfredson and Mr. Gary Oldman. Apologies for the shoddy camera work I had to rush into the screening.


Peter Straughan
First on the carpet was Screen Writer Peter Straughan. Straughan has steadily been amassing a enviable body of work and as well as Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy he has another tense drama coming out this month called The Debt and has just Directed is first short film - Gee Gee. I ws curious to know given that John le Carré’s Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy is possibly the foremost and most iconic spy thriller of all time what drew him to such a challenge?

I managed to catch Peter Straughan and Producer Robyn Slovo’s live chat at Empire Big Screen which you can find over here!

Apologies in advance for the video quality we were still getting to grips with the equipment and set up.

Tomasz Kowalski Next up it was Tomasz Kowalski who seems to be on a mission to make a film in every country in Europe. Tomasz plays the pivotal role of Boris, a violent Russian dignitary based in Turkey. Like most of the characters in Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy you never definitively know who they really are, and this was echoed in our chat with Tomasz as he told us the role was a challenge for him as he is nothing like Boris in real life. In fact both him and his mother are genuinely surprised he is chosen for roles like Boris.
Tomasz has some of the more challenging scenes in the film but felt very supported by the entire production as well his co-stars during the shoot. There were some magical moments for him during the shoot including his final day when he had just finished singing a song and everyone broke out into applause. Next up for Tomasz will be a less bloody and lighter TV based show. Konstantin Khabenskiy Next was a bit of a treat for me as I am a huge fan of Timur Bekmambetov’s innovative Day Watch and Night Watch films which Khabenskiy plays Anton Gorodetsky the lead character. In Tinker, Tailor Khabenskiy plays Polyakov. In the video below Khabenskiy (and his translator) talk about his part as Polyakov in Tinker, Tailor as well as deliver some disappointing news for fans of Day Watch and Night Watch.
Stephen Graham Then I got the chance to chat with Stephen Graham briefly. I was expecting a bit of a Jack the Lad based on what I have seen of Stephen Graham on screen and was surprised to find soft spoken, self effacing and very charming. In and amongst his other roles which seems split between low key indy roles and big budget blockbusters Stephen Graham is currently winning critics over with his role as Al Capone in Martin Scorsese’s spectacular Boardwalk Empire. Graham told us a little bit about his role as Jerry Westerby in Tinker, Tailor as well as some upcoming projects including reuniting with Shane Meadows for This is England 90.
David Dencik Next up, it was my distinct pleasure to chat with Mr. David Dencik who was erudite and made me feel hopelessly inadequate with his ease and breadth of conversation. He seemed to be the kind of man that could easily be a successful foreign diplomat if he pursued that as a career. In the clip below David Dencik tells us a little bit about Toby Esterhase his character in Tinker, Tailor.

Amongst Denick’s catalogue of work he has actually played a part in almost every screen adaptation of Stieg Larsson’s The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo including David Fincher's upcoming version. Unfortunately I did not get a chance to go into any detail about what we can expect from Fincher’s The Girl With The Dragon.
Simon McBurney Then we got to chat with Simon McBurney. McBurney has a large body of stage work, and in comparison less screen work but he is one of the most memorable actors working today and whatever role he is in, he eats up the screen. Unfortunately due to technical issues Simon McBurney video interview was left with some bad audio. So I have transcribed what he said for you below:

He spoke a little bit about Oliver Lacon the role he plays in Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy. Who he described as the Civil Service undersecretary that sets the whole story off, he is actually the man that calls Smiley in to take a closer look at The Circus. Despite my prompting he would not give away any secrets about shenanigans on the set while shooting Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy but did tell us a little about what is was like working with such an esteemed cast. Many of whom are in his theatre company Complicite or are friends of his. And working on Tinker, Tailor was a pleasure it was like coming back into a group of people that he knew very well.

“But the scenes with Gary Oldman were a particular pleasure as Gary is an incredibly generous, delightful, and just a real pleasure to work with.”

Simon McBurney can currently be seen on TV in The Borgias and will be back this autumn as Archdeacon Robert in The Rev and his wife had to remind him that he is also starring in Cary Fukunaga’s Jane Eyre which is currently out in cinemas. Tim Bevan Next up was a heavy hitter Mr Tim Bevan Co-chairman of Handmade Films and Producer of Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy. In the clip below Tim Bevan tells us about how Tinker, Tailor came into being and the process of getting it onto screen as well as why Tinker, Tailor was the chosen John le Carré novel to be adapted.
He also spoke briefly about 2 forthcoming features that Handmade Films has coming up – the very light hearted and funny take on the spy genre: Johnny English Reborn starring Rowan Atkinson, Rosamund Pike and Dominic West. Which has it’s UK premiere on Sunday 2 October in Leicester Square and will be out in cinemas on Friday 7 October, 2011. And the forthcoming Mark Wahlberg starrer action thumper Contraband, which also stars Giovanni Ribisi and Kate Beckinsale. He promises that Contraband will deliver in both all out action and drama. Contraband is scheduled for a Friday 16 March, 2012 release in the UK. Tomas Alfredson Then it was the turn of Director Tomas Alfredson. Alfredson tells us a little bit about what drew him to Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy aside from the obvious, what he hopes audiences will be left with. As well as the challenges in getting the cast together for the film.
Unfortunately by now we were behind schedule, in fact I’m pretty sure that the premiere screenings of Tinker, Tailor should have already started but the cast gave us a little more time, we were however limited to the number of questions we could ask. John Hurt Then an acting legend graced us with his presence, sharp as a tack Mr John Hurt. Does the man really need an introduction? John Hurt gave us some time to chat about his role as Control in Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy as well as a little about what it was like working on Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy.
Mr. Gary Oldman Finally it was the turn of the man of the hour. Mr. Gary Oldman himself. It is probably worth noting that by now most of the cast had gone inside without chatting to anyone by now but Mr Oldman gave us some time. All the questions I did have for him went out the window as we were bunched together and limited to one question for the group. I was fortunate to interview Mr. Oldman at the Jameson Empire Awards where the night was crowned with Oldman receiving the prestigious Empire Icon Award. In a similar situation time was short and we were limited to one question. Again all my planned questions went out the window. Then the question I did ask him: "which is his favourite cult film of all time?" Was a little left field and he had to think about it. Throwing the throng of reporters into a frenzy as they saw the opportunity for more questions, but Mr. Oldman never waivered and after a think had his answer. The answer to that question will be up soon, but I always regretted not asking him how it felt to be Gary Oldman right then? As surely this was his time, his moment? Sure he may have been holding an Icon Award in his hands and generally accepted as one of the most talented actors living today but there was time when I’m sure that his path was uncertain and could have gone a different way. And I was wondering how the man at the top of his game felt about being acknowledged for his talent. Again I was in a similar situation and I am in no doubt that Gary Oldman will be heralded for his sublimely outstanding performance as George Smiley in Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy and I really wanted to know how Gary Oldman prepares for each of his memorable and uniquely iconic roles. I also wanted to know about his working collaboration with Christopher Nolan on the Batman trilogy. But all those and many more questions went out the window.

As I asked: “How does it feel to be Gary Oldman today?”

His answer drawing on his pre-success experience of the BFI - rounding out what an Icon and gentleman he actually is.
My final video is ultra exclusive and will be seen anywhere else. It is a clip of the introductions to Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Sailor from Author Mr. John le Carré, Producer Tim Bevan, Director Tomas Alfredson and Mr. Gary Oldman.

The Establishing Shot: Exclusive Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy Premiere Introductions from Tomas Alfredson, John le Carré and Gary Oldman

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy is released into cinemas on Fri 16 September 2011 Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy In the bleak days of the Cold War, espionage veteran George Smiley is forced from semi-retirement to uncover a Soviet agent within MI6's echelons. Director: Tomas Alfredson Writers: John le Carré (novel), Peter Straughan (screenplay) Stars: Gary Oldman, Colin Firth and Tom Hardy