MRH: That’s funny because Anderson was part of the form-breaking Free Cinema movement. I guess Watkins could be regarded as part of the next wave of filmmakers after the Free Cinema, since he also tried to break the rules within the documentary and docu-drama formats, and examining British culture.

OG: I never spoke with Peter about the Free Cinema movement, but at that particular time, Peter was making his amateur films as well.

MRH: It was pretty ballsy with what he was able to pull off with virtually no money.

OG: It was the same approach as the Free Cinema filmmakers because none of them could afford setups involving dialogue. It was all basically shot mute, and the audio was laid down afterward.

MRH: In closing, I imagine that you find Watkins must be to some degree happy that his work is now in circulation.

OG: I understand so. Yes.

MRH: There’s the strong emotional connection, because he’s directly tied to these films; in their creation, and the way he fought to have them properly handled.

OG: Oh, absolutely. Very much in the way you expect filmmakers to be, he definitely considers his films to be his sort of umbillically attached; they’re all his children. Even with a film like Privilege, which was a project before he was involved with. The script was originally written by Johnny Spate, and it was an idea that was developed from a conversation between John Heyman, the producer, and actor Terence Stamp.

Why it didn’t happen with Stamp as Steve Shorter I’m not sure, but I did see an unsigned draft agreement between John Heyman’s production company and Terence Stamp for the role, but of course, it was never signed, it never happened, and why it didn’t happen, I don’t know. Peter’s never spoken about it, and I suspect that probably fell by the wayside before his involvement.

That is probably the only film that was not a Watkins film from the get-go; everything else was developed and researched very intensely by him, and they were projects and ideas and subjects that he basically took on board and took forward to broadcasters or production companies. Even so, he sees Privilege as his film. Some filmmakers may see it as a job for hire, but it’s very much part of his oeuvre.

MRH: I think it’s because during the course of his career, he did manage to make quite a number of films. He didn’t just make a handful of films then fell out of service and disappeared for about a ten year period. There are some filmmakers who disappear altogether, and they never managed to make another –

OG: He’s had some gaps, though. When you consider The Free Thinker was made in 1993, and La Commune was probably shot in 1999, and he’d like to make another film. Somebody should actually get out there and give him the opportunity to make another film, which he could make for a very small amount of money – a fraction of what’s thrown around films these days. He’s got another film left in him. I know that.