'BLUESMOKE 2000'   1999

"The success of 'Bluesmoke - names are for tombstones' on the independent film and video circuit, and the good word of mouth the film was getting meant it was only a matter of time before we came back and did it all again. We managed to get some proper backing and had a budget of sorts this time, we (Full Cry) even rerecorded the title song (Bluesmoke) again, which ended up on the doomed soundtrack album" - Marcos Dinsdale

"We were using top of the range digital camera's and editing equipment, we had a lot of pressure on us this time and all sorts of deadlines to keep to this time. We were shooting three, usually four nights a week often until 1am, we had the filmmaking equipment on loan for nine weeks, we managed to get finished in just over eight weeks. I then had a race on to get it edited, I had the editing room for a month and then I was due to get locked out, I lived in that editing room for a month. I actually made myself ill, I was in there editing fourteen hours a day, seven days a week most of the time" - Ian Burnett

"From the moment the film was green lighted the script was developed and written inside six weeks, I wrote most of it on holiday on a beach in Turkey, for a while we thought about calling it 'Bluesmoke - Turkish Delight'. Within a week of getting back from my holiday we were shooting, everything, the script, the shoot and the editing was on a tight deadline." - Marcos Dinsdale

"We went for loads more film references, as well as the usual 007 and Star Wars we got some Lethal Weapon gags in there. We did a great job with the Dirty Harry homage where Marcos is going from phone box to phone box and we even finished with a Butch Cassidy freeze frame style ending. You can see how the quality of acting had really improved on this one, the success of the last film had given everybody more confidence" - Ian Burnett

"It was a nightmare shoot, everyone had an ego. Anybody who was in the film thought they were the star of it, we had major players constantly threatening to quit unless they got headline billing. Nobody wanted to work with Richard Usher as he stole every scene he was in, he ended up having to play about four roles. One actor, who shall remain nameless was convinced he was starring in a serious political thriller that was Oscar winning material. We had people demanding salaries this time, they ended up getting paid in merchandise, action figures and toy cars." - Marcos Dinsdale

"There was some bad feeling amongst cast members as to which actors got action figures of their characters produced, we had to lie and tell some people they were going to get their own action figure. We had loads of merchandise to tie in with the release, most of it though was either too limited to find, scrapped or faulty when it was released it didn't help promote the film at all, in fact it probably gave the film a bad reputation." - Ian Burnett

"By the end of shooting everyone was totally burnt out, a lot of cast had fallen out with each other, It had been a long hard shoot. Various members refused to come to the premiere, certain members were feeling typecast. Pik was getting recognised as a real life drunk, even getting banned from certain pubs that he'd never even been in. We all needed some serious time away from Bluesmoke before we could ever think about doing another one." - Marcos Dinsdale

"Due to cast members fallings out with each other, It was left to myself and Marcos to promote the film, we ended up losing the cover story for 'Rolling Stone' magazine. Sir Adrian Parker also did some press interviews but ended up scaring all interviewers off because of his inability to get back to reality, he truly believed he was Sir SIngen Smythe, he was shouting and snapping at interviewers, he was unbearable." - Ian Burnett

"We got the film we set out to make and everyone did a great job, but the pressure and success had driven everybody a little insane, one cast member had a total breakdown and another ended up in rehab, my stomach has never really recovered from eating all that flour in the scene where my character Brett Weir is forced to eat his own drugs." - Ian Burnett

"By the end of shooting it had become hard work instead of fun for a lot of people. It's taken nearly two years for us all start talking again, though some of us will only communicate through lawyers. We've now almost got a complete script and all have a renewed interest in Bluesmoke, mostly because of the lack of acting offers. We're all now ready to return to Bluesmoke and make the best one yet." - Marcos Dinsdale

"The critics mostly liked the film and were starting to understand the humour now, we got some good reviews and even picked up a few awards. though the fans favourite still remains 'BLUESMOKE - NAMES ARE FOR TOMBSTONES'."  - Ian Burnett