UD: How so?

KA: Well, I made my first big documentary called On the March With Bobby's Army, this 2-hour epic where all the story-telling took place in the lengthy post-production process rather than by the normal, traditional style where you script the documentary then shoot accordingly. And that's effectively how I learned to write. I learned narrative form through that editing process. And in feature films -- apart from using bigger toys and more people -- you just invert that process. You put it back-to-front, so that all the story-telling goes into pre-production rather than post-production.

UD: There's no question that Twin Town is very plot-oriented. But it's also very character-driven.

KA: Oh yes. Twin Town is a piece based on characterization more than anything else. And as an actor, I understood this. Characterization is everything. And I love working with actors.

UD: How much rehearsal did you have?

KA: We had two weeks of rehearsal, which is unusual for a feature film. And the casting was so thorough. I said we've got to have authentic Welsh language people. And it was to be an ensemble piece, I never deviated from that. I was never stifled by a kind of star system hierarchy. We ended up with a good cast.

UD: How did you come to write the film?

KA: It was inspired by events in a documentary that I made about three and half years ago where I conducted my own personal investigation into an alleged miscarriage of justice where two guys were allegedly fitted up for a mass murder which did take place for real 11 years ago (the two guys were subsequently released from prison). So there were elements of making that documentary that scared me shitless. I was terrified by what I learned about an out-of-control aspect of certain parts of the judiciary and police force. It's ironic that I ended up making a feature film where I could actually expose the raw details of what I learned in the documentary in the form of fantasy and drama and surrealism.

UD: But Twin Town is not based on a true story per se...

KA: Not at all. It's not "Twin Town -- based on the story of O." But I do like to inject a bit of seriousness into its background and authenticity because I was genuinely moved by those events, which then went on to inspire me to make a piece that was slightly bananas, and stylized and over-the-top. I have no qualms at all about using very serious issues and enshrouding it in comedy. It's nothing new. Shakespeare did it. The Greeks did it. I think the fact that so much was drawn from real events enabled me to retain a kind of feasibility. Of course for some, it's totally unfeasible. They say, "It's ridiculous, this couldn't happen." But what Twin Town depicts -- that level of revenge escalating out of control -- does happen. People get killed.

UD: Twin Town inevitably invites comparisons with Trainspotting. Is that just a superficial connection made on account of Andrew MacDonald and Danny Boyle having executive produced it? Or did you set out with Trainspotting in mind?

KA: God no. In retrospect, I find it very unfair to all concerned, really, when the film is described as coming from the makers of Trainspotting because that's simply not true. Andrew and Danny simply executive-produced it in a way that any executive producer would over-see a budget. They weren't around when we filmed it, they weren't around when we edited it. But on the other hand, the marketing people have obviously taken it as a marketing tool, which is fine, and the film has attained a higher profile because of Trainspotting. So it's a double edged sword. I can't really complain about it. In any case, it is wearing a bit thin, the comparisons. Hopefully anyone who sees my film will see they are very different films.

UD: In many ways they are different. But I think there is one crucial aspect they share -- and it's what I like about both of them -- and that is a categorical refusal to pass moral judgment.

KA: Oh absolutely. That is something Danny, Andrew and I felt. Otherwise, we'd be making social realism. I don't want to -- I don't have to -- show the Twins' pre-life or history. It's fairly obvious where they're coming from anyway. They want to live, they want to nick cars and smoke dope. They're nihilistic. It's as simple as that. They're free spirits. Whether their activities are illegal or not is not my moral obligation. It's such a ridiculous cliché to say they are victims of their own circumstances. Of course they are. But if nicking cars and smoking dope is what gets them their kicks, then that's it. That moral ambivalence is crucial. I don't think we could have told that story, to be honest, if we had gotten bogged down with morality all the time.

UD: And yet, there seems to be an underlying optimism about them.

KA: Well I agree! I wish more people would see that. Again, I've been accused of having a film with unsympathetic characters. Well fuck me, that's more a reflection of you and your sensibilities than me mate! Maybe you don't empathize or sympathize because you don't know that world. You have no attachment to that world. You live in your cute little houses and live your cute little lives and you think, "Oh, it's ridiculous. People aren't like that." But they are. And, that family loves each other. Just because they shout at each other, they're dysfunctional, she's a prostitute, and he's on the booze, and the Twins are doing what they're doing, doesn't mean they don't love each other. There's a lot of warmth in that family. I feel sympathy for them. Some people just want to write the Twins off as thugs. After all, that's what they do in society. Thugs. Put them in jail. Oh right, okay. We'll put all the young people in jail.

UD: I'm wondering what other criticism you've recieved . . . gratuitous violence perhaps?

KA: Hell yes. The deaths at the end have got to be horrific. But I don't think they're gratuitous at all. They're not even that graphic. Terminator II -- that's gratuitous violence! Fuckin' 'ell! It's all in the context of the story you're telling. Revenge can escalate out of all control. Fisty-cuffs -- baseball bats -- shot guns -- dead people. Like that. Very quickly. It's bonkers, it's mad. And then there's the language, the level of expletives. Where do you draw the line? You dilute and dilute, and what are you left with? You just got to go for it. It won't be everyone's cup of tea. Tough luck. I don't make films for old gits, nor does Andrew or Danny.

UD: Much recent British film and theater has been concerned with the still lingering disastrous effects of Thatcherism. Do you include your film in that body of work? I mean, did you intend any kind of political subtext?

KA: It's a by-product . . . Four terms of Thatcherism is enough to drive anyone stir-crazy. I mean, there are political feelings there, the sense of a miscarriage of justice that I found in the earlier documentary -- that's all about politics. And certainly an out-of-control judiciary and an out of control police force is an obvious effect of a corrupt Britain. But I'm not political, in the way Ken Loach is a flag-waving, issue-led filmmaker who tries to get in as many issues as possible -- and I respect him as a filmmaker. But I think you got to do more with a film, especially if you want people to go see it. You got to make films to make people think, get people talking. Maybe feel uncomfortable. Otherwise, they're just formulaic and normal. People already know when to laugh, when to cry, when to turn left, go straight on, turn right. So I always set out to make something that will make people feel uncomfortable, but will entertain at the same time. And there's no one political statement, it's just a situation being laid on the table really. It's the underbelly of a society, raw to the bone. It's very exposed and vulnerable. For me, the joy is that people who live in council flats go see this film and say, yeah, we're being represented in cinema. But at the same time, there are little issues being hidden away in there. But you have to hide them away, you can't give them little flags.

UD: How will the Labour Party win affect the current climate in British film and theater? Do you think writers will feel like they have less to complain about, hence write about?

KA: I know what you mean. But it will take a long time for the legacy of Conservative government to go away. But I know what you're saying. Good, gritty drama comes out of adversity. That's what makes good drama. But it's not going to change overnight. Not with New Labour. It's not like a bunch of guys are going to get in there and unionize everything overnight and make life hunky-dory just like that.

UD: What are your influences in filmmaking or theater?

KA: I love Shakespeare. Film-wise? Well, Ken Loach and Mike Leigh. Massive influences. Huge influences. But then, you leave your influences over there. You know what I mean? Oh, and Americans -- Alan Parker, Scorcese . . .

UD: Speaking of Scorcese, in that short, Monty Python-esque, pre-title sequence set in the jail in Morocco -- you actually mention Mean Streets, Fargo and Clueless. Is that meant as a little inside clue to your influences?

KA: Well, a bit. You know we only shot that two months ago for the American audience only.

UD: No I didn't.

KA: Yeah, that's an American prologue only for your market. We didn't want to dub for the American market like they did for Trainspotting. Dubbing is expensive, besides, the accent isn't as strong as the Scottish accent. And why don't Americans watch subtitled films?

UD: Because they're illiterate and lazy?

KA: But they're not --!

UD: Of course we're not. But I feel like we've been conditioned to think along those lines...

KA: Well they should be weaned off that. Anyway, we watch Fargo and Lonestar. Christ, in Lonestar, we can't understand half the fucking language in it, it's so mumbled. But it doesn't detract from the enjoyment film. It's a great film. And in Twin Town, you don't have to hear every word. The plot is easy to follow. You get the gist of it. Sit back and enjoy it, you know. In any case, we decided to write over a Saturday morning a quick promo like -- "Yanks, open your ears!" You know what I mean? It's just a bit of fun. But it's just for the American market.

UD: Future plans and projects? Film or theater or both?

KA: Well, I'd like to make another film as soon as possible. I don't want to get caught up in the festival circuit. I've got an idea for a film I believe in. It's a very different kind of film, set in West London, a very cosmopolitan environment filled with supposedly hip people, but again, very dysfunctional in their own way and lonely. I want to film it at Christmas, it's a Christmas film and this group of people are putting on a pantomime. A very deeply intrinsic English tradition. Something we do every Christmas. And it's even more character-based, relationship-based. Seeing how people tick. Contemporary. And I want to improvise it for four months. Mike Leigh-ish. So I got to whip that into some sort of shape as quickly as possible in order to shoot over Christmas. And after that I don't know. I'm not a director for hire. I'm in no hurry to get an American agent. And I've got a third film in mind I'd like to do, a big epic. And I'd like to do some theater one day. I'd like to do a sitcom. I'd like to do it all. I'm not just a film maker. I don't live and breathe film. I'm as interested in football as I am in film.

UD: I assume you mean our "soccer."

KA: (laughter) Yes, our football, the football that's played by the rest of the world! I love it when you guys call these things the world championship when you're the only country that plays it! When we have football world championships, we DO have to play the rest of the world!

UD: Thanks, Kevin. It's been a pleasure.