Morrissey movie director keen to work on singer’s documentary one day

The man behind Morrissey’s new concert film is keen to work with the singer/songwriter again on a life-spanning documentary. James Russell, who directed the footage taken at the star’s intimate Hollywood High School concert in Los Angeles earlier this year (13), admits he has been pushing to work with the former The Smiths star for years, and was thrilled when he was summoned to California at the last minute to capture what would become Morrissey 25: Live, which will be released around the world later this month (Sep13).
Russell reveals it wasn’t clear if the gig would actually go ahead until days before – because Morrissey had been ill.
He recalls, “We knew he was poorly because earlier on in the year he’d had problems, so it was a bit touch and go… When we actually heard, it was, like, nine o’clock on a Monday night and we were on the flight on Tuesday morning and shooting by the weekend. Two days later he cancelled the whole tour.”
But Russell had a lot of fun working with one of his heroes, adding, “It was a really easy project to work on… He told us what he wanted and we were there to catch the moment.
“Morrissey’s a very private person so he gave us access to people walking through backstage at his show at the Staples Center the night before – like Heather Graham, Joaquin Phoenix and Russell Brand – but when it came to Hollywood High School it really was, like, ‘Just capture the gig’.”
As a result, the filmmaker didn’t get the chance to spend too much time with Morrissey, but he hopes the singer will like the finished film so much that he’ll call on Russell again when it’s time to look back over his career.
The director tells WENN, “I’d love to sit down with Morrissey and have a cup of tea with him and get, kind of, behind the person… I’d love to work with him again in the future, but, for now, I’m proud of this film. It’s very stripped back, very intimate. It’s a thank you to his very close fans.”