Director Nick Moore and Scarlett Stitt talk about working with Angelica Huston

After the Harry Potter series, it’s fair to say that Horrid Henry is the second most read and appreciated book series and franchise aimed at a young audience in Britain.  Therefore, with the long-awaited release of Francesca Simon’s famous story, finally set to hit our cinema screens.

The Fan Carpet caught up with director Nick Moore and actress Scarlett Stitt, who plays the role of Henry’s nemesis and classmate Moody Margaret. The pair, both inexperienced at this level, spoke about working alongside Anjelica Huston, and what the future holds for Horrid Henry.

 

Due to the success of the books and the TV series, did you feel a certain degree of pressure going into the film knowing there was so much to live up to?

Nick Moore: Not pressure, but a strong sense of responsibility, that we had to not disappoint anybody. We had fans of the books, fans of the cartoons and new people we wanted to win over. So I wouldn’t say there was any anxiety, but certainly we had that responsibility.

 

What’s the reaction been like from those who have seen the film so far?

Scarlett Stitt: They’ve all been pretty pleased with it, because it’s a great film and it’s been put together well and it has the potential to do well. But its not really up to us now, it’s about the public.

 

And were you a big fan of the books or TV series before shooting the film?

Scarlett Stitt: Yeah I grew up with Horrid Henry and it’s become a part of my life now, so to play Moody Margaret is still a little bit surreal to be honest, I still can’t believe it’s all happened.
Nick Moore: For me it was completely new. I live in America and have done for a while and I hadn’t heard of Horrid Henry.

 

Your friends must be quite jealous?

Scarlett Stitt: Actually, they’ve all been really supportive of me and they’ve just been really nice about it. I thought they would be catty but it turns out they couldn’t have been happier for me, which is good.

 

Do you think then by being such a big fan of the Horrid Henry series, that it helped with your preparation of your role and understanding of the film?

Scarlett Stitt: Yeah, because I can picture how things are meant to be and how the characters are meant to act and I felt that I could do the part justice.

 

What was it like working alongside so many big names?

Scarlett Stitt: It was great, and unbelievable. I was quite surprised actually, because I thought that they were going to be aloof and starry, but it turns out that basically they are like us. Anjelica Huston in particular, was such a generous person and she loves kids. On the last day she came down and ate lunch with us, and that was pretty cool.

 

Are you similar to the part of Moody Margaret in real life?

Scarlett Stitt: Well, my parents would say so! I like things being done a certain way and I guess if you really wind me up I can be a bit, erm… I could work with her.

 

As a potential film franchise, is Horrid Henry something that either, or both of you, would like to be involved in again?

Scarlett Stitt: Definitely.

Nick Moore: Yes. Assuming the film works, establishing that would be interesting and fascinating and wonderful to pursue it.

 

 

Do you think the film could have a shelf life as long as the TV series? Are we entering a new world of Horrid Henry?

Nick Moore: I don’t know – the problem is, these young people grow so quickly, that’s what we’ve got to look out for, as we’d have to turn it around quite quickly. I guess that’s the difference between Horrid Henry and Harry Potter, Potter does age whereas with Henry, he is that age and the problems are related to being that age, but who knows.

 

Despite being a children’s film, did you feel you had to put any emphasis on it for adults at all?

Nick Moore: No, I don’t think that should ever be a consideration really. It’s important to remember your focus, and we’re making this for children. Most of the children that go to see it will have to go with their parents anyway, so we’ve got them whether they like it or not! If they enjoy it, that’s great.

 

Nick – this is only your second directing role as you usually work in editing. Is this a path you would like to explore further?

Nick Moore: It was what I set out to do. Some very good advice I got a long time ago was if you want to be a good director, learn how to edit. I didn’t realise how long that would take. But now I feel reasonably confident I can slide across.

 

How about you Scarlett – is acting the career path you would like to go down?

Scarlett Stitt: Absolutely, I can’t think of anything I would rather do to be honest. It’s fascinating to learn about how a film works and it’s a really interesting field that I would like to explore in the future.

 

Is there much in the pipeline for either of you at the moment?

Scarlett Stitt: Not at the moment, but I hope I get offers. If I don’t, then it’s just a great thing to have done.

Nick Moore: For me, directing, a couple of things lined up but I’m back in my day job as an editor right now.

 

Back to the film – was there much research involved before shooting? Did you speak to many kids about it?

Nick Moore: Yes – and the thing I found really interesting was that it’s a second generational thing. Kids of ten or under love it, kids above ten think it’s a bit babyish, and kids of about 15 or 16 go, “oh I remember that when I was little, I used to love that…”, so there was that fondness in hindsight – so maybe our audience will be a little broader than just the little ones.

 

 

So where the kids on set able to give any input into the film when being shot?

Scarlett Stitt: I gave my ideas and I contributed to how I thought I could play the role, but mainly we just followed Nick’s advice as he is a very talented and skilled director and we trusted him.

Nick Moore: She’s short-selling herself, they all came up with lots of ideas and filmmaking is a collaboration and if you don’t listen to ideas then you’re a fool.

 

So if there a chance that in the future you two may work together again at some point?

Nick Moore: Yeah I’d love to. It became a family, every day was great. But it was hard – what worse can you do than to make a children’s film in the winter, during school time, so it was hard and they worked very hard. But everyone was happy.

 

Do you think that Horrid Henry could adapt as a character and, in a similar vein to Harry Potter – move into the school years above we could follow Henry as he gets older?

Nick Moore: Sounds like you’re a writer! There’s a world of possibilities, I mean the life of Henry is always about school and his town – but they must go on holiday, they must travel.

Scarlett Stitt: I think Horrid Henry, unlike Harry Potter who journeys through school growing older with their fans, never grows old, and I think it would be a bit of a shame to change that, but then again, there is that curiosity, at least I wonder how Henry would end up, but I’m not sure if it’s worth throwing all of his timelessness away.

Nick Moore: I think that with Horrid Henry, it’s looking at the problems of growing up, that’s why he is horrid. So it’s that growing up process that you’re looking at.

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