Cinema Canada (Jun 1978)

Blood and Guts which Lynch, John Hunter and Bill Gray rewrote with a Canadian slant. “T am fascinated with wrestling in the same way I am with country music,” Lynch admits. “I like the idea of the kind of entertainment that the very ordinary people watch.” Lynch says that Blood and Guts was originally conceived as a $1.5 million picture; but that proved too big and expensive an undertaking so Gray and Hunter scaled it down to more manageable proportions ‘“‘in the area of $750,000”. “By that time we had interested producer Peter O’Brian (Love at First Sight) who talked Quadrant films into putting up the private investment money. We also had a financing guarantee from an American distributor plus a distribution arrangement which pleased the Canadian Filn. Development Corporation though this deal later fell through.” Quadrant let the director and producer have considerable freedom in handling the project. That allowed Lynch to get the actors he wanted such as William Smith who normally plays B-movie heavies, Micheline Lanctét and a former football player for the Memphis Southmen, Brian Clarke. It also allowed the production company to shoot in Lynch’s favorite locations, the small southern Ontario towns like Brantford, Paris and Ayr where The Hard Part Begins was also shot. What draws Paul Lynch to these locations? “Obviously it’s the co-operation of the people for one thing,” he says. “I feel that I can establish a rapport with these people. Then too, the places look like anywhere. There’s no definite connection with Canada or the U.S. They are just nice, interesting small towns. Hamilton, for example, is a great looking industrial city that could really be located anywhere in North America. Although Blood and Guts is definitely a Canadian movie, it looks like what I think movies should look like: North American movies. Canadian filmmakers tend to forget that in order to keep making movies in Canada, we have to get American distribution.” For Lynch, wrestling is an ideal North American cultural phenomenon. It’s the entertainment of the blue collar worker everywhere. “I’ve watched wrestling in Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto, down here in Los Angeles and in Montreal. The people really get off on it. It offers them an escape and a means of venting the frustrations they get from working in factories. It’s wonderful to watch what a terrific time the people who go to wrestling matches have. “In the film we decided not to emphasize the crowd, choosing instead to focus very specifically on Dandy Dan and Jim; their life and how they try to survive. The crowds are always there but I didn’t want to capitalize on them. I didn’t want to put them down like Altman did in Nashville, I just ‘ wanted the crowds to be there and record their reaction.” When comparisons are made, Lynch affirms that Blood and Guts would definitely have been made even without the success of the trendsetting jock film Rocky. “I don’t think Blood and Guts is as cornball as Rocky. We tried to stay away from that despite the ending’ (which does have similarities to the end of Rocky). “But the ‘Big Fight’ is really the only logical way to end a wrestling or, for that matter, a boxing film. And in all good B-movies, the battered hero always walks off into the shadows with the girl who has come back.” For now, Lynch is moving ahead with plans for another action film featuring country music. He hopes to be filmming shortly in Hamilton and the other small southern Ontario towns whse inhabitants he depicts so well. 24/Cinema Canada It would seem then that Paul Lynch is developing a solid career as one of our fine young craftsmanlike filmmakers. Surprisingly, however, Lynch betrays a slight hesitation as he explains that graphic design is truly his first love. Laughingly, he admits that this profession is a lot easier than making movies. “Filmmaking is tough in the best of circumstances; whereas with graphic design, I have several faithful clients I can count on in the lean times.” But, after Blood and Guts and the reputation earned with his tough, finely wrought first feature, Paul Lynch need not worry. He’s a filmmaker with a sense of style and a guiding vision that responds to a particularly intriguing cultural milieu. oO Filmography: Paul Lynch Shorts Teenage Marriage (1968). Prod: Glen Sarty, CBC ““Take Thirty”. 45 min. b&w. Be Not Too Hard (1969). Prod: Leo Rampen, CBC ‘Man Alive”. 30 min. b&w. Charlie (1969). Prod: Don Elder, CBC. 30 min. co. What’s You Gonna Be, Boy, What’s You Gonna Do? (1970). Prod: David Peddie, CBC “To See Ourselves”. 30 min. col. A Handy Guy Like Sandy (1970). Prod: Sam Levine, CBC ‘“‘Telescope”’ 30 min. col. Choice (1970). Prod: Don Elder, CBC, Schools and Youth Department, 30 min. col. Big Bus Going to Nashville (1971). Prod: Sam Levine, CBC ‘“‘Telescope”’ 30 min. col. The Late Man (1972) Prod: Paddy Sampson, CBC “Program X”. 30 min. col. The Stock Car Boys (1973). Prod: Sam Levine, CBC “Gallery”. 30 min. col. The Painted Door (1973). Prod: David Peddie, CBC “‘To See Ourselves’’. 30 min. col. Guccione (1974). Prod: Hugh F. Curry, Hupa Productions. 30 min. col. Petrocelli (1975). Prod: Lenard Katzman, Paramount Television/NBC. 60 min. col. Sidestreet (1976). Prod: Brian Walker, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. 60 min. col. Beachcombers (1977). Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. 30 min. col. Features The Hard Part Begins (1973). Prod: John Clifford Hunter, Derrett G. Lee, Odyssey Films Ltd. 91 min. col. Dist: Cinepix Blood and Guts (1977). Prod: Peter O’Brien, Independent Pictures. 94 min. col.