A Swansea author is delighted that Submarine, a film that has been adapted from one of his books, has been nominated for a Bafta.
The independent movie was a hit and won critical acclaim. The film’s director Richard Ayoade is now up for Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer Award.
Swansea author Joe Dunthorne, who is a former Olchfa pupil who was originally from Mount Pleasant, commented: “I was really thrilled about the nomination. I was surprised because it feels like a long time since the film actually came out. Because it was an independent film it did not have the same machine to generate publicity behind it before its release. It just had to rely on good reviews and word-of-mouth.”
Submarine involved the book being taken on by Richard Ayoade, who is the star of The IT Crowd on Channel 4, for his debut as a director.
Ben Stiller, the Hollywood Star, was an executive producer.
The story is about the coming-of-age of a teenage boy who is coming to terms with his parents’ difficult marriage, as well as the state of his own love life, which is confused.
“I was really happy with the film before it came out and thought it would do well,” said Dunthorne, adding: “But I did not think it would do as well as it has done.”
When he was asked if he was at all daunted at the thought of being counted among Swansea’s most celebrated authors he said: “Yes, it does worry me a bit!”
The author revealed that he and the director are set to work together again.
“I am working again with WARP (the production company behind Submarine) and Richard Ayoade.
“We are looking to adapt my second book, Wild Abandon, into either something for film or TV, we haven’t decided yet. Who knows how far down the road it will go?”
The Bafta winners will be announced at a ceremony at the Royal Opera House in London on February 12. The other nominations are: Joe Cornish for Attack the Block; Paddy Considine, who also starred in Submarine, for the film Tyrannosaur; Will Sharp for Black Pond, and Ralph Fiennes for Coriolanus.