Talking With: Director Jack Spring about “Three Day Millionaire”

This edition of Talking With focuses on filmmaker Jack Spring, who turns a bunch of working-class fishermen into heroes by staging a heist to save their jobs, friends, and their Grimsby way of life in “Three Day Millionaire.”

The film stars beloved Irish actor Colm Meaney in conflict with the misfit crew led by Jonas Armstrong, Robbie Gee and James Burrows.

Shot on location in the Northern England ex-industrial town of Grimsby, Spring creates a ride that is fast and fun, sprinkled with wit and wisdom. It’s clear that Spring pulled inspiration from the likes of British favorites “Snatch” and “Shaun of the Dead.”

To learn more, we are Talking With Jack Spring:

What’s “Three Day Millionaire” all about?

Jack Spring: Three Day Millionaire is a phrase used in the North East Coast of England to describe the trawlermen that went to sea for 3 or 4 weeks and then returned home with only 3 days in which to spunk their wages. See it was fisherman folklore that if you went back to sea with coin in your pocket, your ship was done for. So, they’d have three days on land to live it up like millionaires. They’d get suits made, go to every pub in town, treat the ladies before going back out to sea. Carnage. Our film starts like that, then the lads get laid off and it all goes to shit for them. They’re roped into a heist to get the money back their owed from their last ocean floating mission and well, it gets a bit messy.

Why did you want to bring this story to the screen?

JS: It’s all set in and shot in my family’s hometown of Grimsby, so that was a big thing. And the script was just mint full of these big hyper-real characters that were part of this rocking world that hadn’t had the light shone on it before. I knew Grimsby like the back of my hand and it always had this feeling that needed to be brought to the big screen, it’s a proper sexy place when you look beneath the cracks.

You shot it on location primarily in Grimsby; what was that like?

JS: Loved it. Literally had the best 6 weeks of my life. People in the town are unbelievably kind and the whole thing was a bit of a novelty, it’s quite the opposite to shooting in London town. I could even go and watch my beloved Grimsby Town play after we wrapped at night. I don’t think I’ll ever enjoy a shoot in quite the same way again. I cried my eyes out the day we wrapped.

There seems to be great chemistry with the cast. Can you share about your process for working with them on set?

JS: Most of the work, like 99% of it was done before we got to set. They’re playing best mates on screen so they should be mates in real life. You’d be able to call it out if the first day they met was on set, they wouldn’t have that comfortability or chemistry. I took them to a few footy games, on a few Grimsby nights out and we had 2 weeks rehearsals in Grimsby so we lived and breathed with each other, in the town, for ages. It was amazing, we really did become like one big family, and then when the crew came along during prep week that family just grew bigger.

Was the film as fun in-between takes and it appears on-screen?

JS: Totally, it was such a coming together of so many amazingly talented people that I feel so honoured to have worked with. The producer Giles is a lovely human being so the people he recruited tended to follow suit, I was surrounded by so many amazing people that just made my job an absolute breeze. Again, we all lived together, all away from home in Grimsby and the whole thing was just so special to be a part of.

What inspired the tone and style of the film? And, how much of that was written in the original script?

JS: The script multiplied by the town’s aesthetic really dictated it to be honest. Paul the writer tweaked the script based on my style yeah, but the bones of it where there from the off. The town gave us the colour palette and the post-industrial feel, the soundtrack gave us the hope, and then it was just a case of trusting the process and out came the result. I spend about 6 months doing my homework on the script, so I’ve rather simplified the process there, but yeah it didn’t take too much thinking about aesthetically.

Do you have a favorite scene from the movie? And was it also your favorite to shoot?

JS: The stuff with Teapot and Curly together is absolutely beautiful. Andrew Readman (Teapot) came on set that day, having never met any of the cast or crew, and gave that performance semi naked in a freezing cold bath in front of strangers. That along with he location, James Burrow’s brilliant performance and just what those scenes symbolised in terms of the generational shift in towns like Grimsby, still gives me goosebumps.

The film has found its audience in the U.K. Now, what do you hope American moviegoers take away from the film?

JS: Yeah the film hit #5 on Netflix which was mental. To be in and among the real big boys with the budget and scale of our film is a testament to everyone that lent me their talent on the movie. I think audiences across America seeking a new side to the UK that isn’t the Royals, or London, but something a bit more Trainspotting, should watch our movie.

Where do you start whenever you take-on a new project?

JS: I tend to raise the money, so it’s got to be commercially viable, I’ve got to love it enough creatively to give it the next 3-4 years of my life, and I’ve got to build a team around me so that I’m the least experienced one on the ship. I’m very lucky to work with such an amazing team at Shush Films, our production company which means I have exactly that.

Finally, what’s up next for you and the film?

JS: It’s being released across the world over the next few months, in all corners which is great. I hope it finds its audience in each and every territory and that well, we do our bit to help put Grimsby back on the map.

Follow "Three Day Millionaire" on: Twitter: @ThreeDayFilm / Instagram: @ThreeDayFilm / Facebook: /ThreeDayFilm