Interview by
Benjamin Poole
Hi Martin! Congratulations on the cinema release of
The Martin Decker Show. I was hoping you could introduce our
readers to yourself and the film: what's the concept?
Hello. My name is Martin Decker, and I am an ex IT worker for a firm I
cannot mention for legal reasons, bearded dragon owner and father to two
little rascals, Charlie and Rose. I was born in Cardiff back in
197…you don't need to know that. I went to school here, Cardiff, the
teachers in the infants didn't really get me. I remember in form 3 being
accused of crayon theft, when everyone knew it was Gareth John Williams
with the unibrow who'd swallowed one and left the others behind the
radiator to melt…probably too much detail…anyway the film, yes.
Basically, I've become a YouTube sensation and the film charts my
stratospheric rise to fame (1.8k subscribers) as well as dealing with some
family stuff. It's mostly set in the family bathroom. Me and my wife Naomi
are going through a rough patch at the moment and the film opens a
bathroom window onto that if you will. It's a documentary about my life
really, although not like one you might see on Netflix. There's no murders
in it.
Write, film, present, edit, produce, stunts: you do everything. As far
as I am concerned, it places you in an auteur tradition. Were there any
particular filmmakers or content creators who served as inspiration for
The Martin Decker Show?
Well, you know I take inspiration from the greats. Truffaut, Antonioni,
Eisenstein with his mise en scene and of course, the bloke who did
Human Traffic. Spielberg was also an inspiration especially for the kinetic action in
the film; I tried to get the glowy light thing to happen but it's hard to
do that on an Iphone or a Go pro. Also there are animated sequences in the
film, so I used Studio Ghibli as a reference point and Aardman, and of
course seminal '70s cartoon Rhubarb and Custard.
You make it look so easy, but I would imagine that producing a
multi-faceted show like The Martin Decker Show comes with its own
set of challenges! What difficulties did you face when making the
initial shorts and/or the movie?
A lot of the trouble I had was getting people to collaborate with me, or
even if they did they wanted something in return, like Elin my stalker.
Other people just wanted to be involved to belittle me or try to get back
money I owed them. Luckily once the kids and the wife moved out of the
house I has the whole house, garden and particularly bathroom at my
disposal. All those empty rooms. I used to wander around them for hours.
On my own. Staring at the walls. The silence. Just memories echoing amidst
the desolation. Good job I had my bearded dragon Spikey to keep me
company…until he started hiding from me. Oh, and there were a couple of
moments with the police.
As we see during certain points in the film, haters are going to hate.
What has been the general reaction from Joe Public regarding
The Martin Decker Show? How do you manage being recognised in the
street and how do you deal with over-eager fans?
Well, yes, fame has its downsides. The other day, this lady said to me on
the bus, the 2C I think it was, she said you look just like that Martin
Decker, but not quite as fat. Then of course there are the stalkers, well
stalker, Elin, but hopefully that restraining order is in place so…I still
see her going through my bins though and she keeps leaving dead animals on
my doorstep. Still, it's better than nothing and if you want to play in
the sandpit you got to watch out for hidden turds.
What I found quite inspirational about
The Martin Decker Show was the way in which it demonstrates that
no matter what station someone is at in life or however old a person is,
it is never too late to dream and to make that dream a reality. What
would you say to the people who claim you are "too old" to be an
influencer?
You're never too old to influence people. Look at Santa, he's still
influencing loads of kids around Christmas time and he's probably 200 or
so. I may not understand what some of these younger poodepie Kardashian
people are going on about at times, but we are all put on this planet to
communicate with each other. It's like that show isn't it?
Catchphrase. No, I mean, that posh one, Only Connect.
During The Martin Decker Show you are very candid and
emotionally transparent (about your family, for example). We all know
what Garde-Hansen and Gorton (2013) had to say about the nature of
sharing of personal experience on social media (that networked
activities in social media create what they call "emotional noise" where
emotions are presented as universally felt experiences, with,
furthermore, the spreadability of social media offering new
opportunities for emotions to spread "horizontally" - across e-mails,
blogs, social networks and online video sites - and "vertically"
-through journalism, television programmes, print media and radio). It
seems that with an online video site and a television programme of
sorts, you control both the horizontal and the vertical! With that in
mind is there anything you wouldn't share via content? Where does Decker
draw the line?
I didn't understand most of that question, but as for where I draw a line,
I won't do full frontal. Bums are fine but not front bits.
You've conquered YouTube, made friends with Hollywood A-Listers and,
with The Martin Decker Show, commandeered the independent cinemas
of Wales. What is next for the man Martin Decker?
Well, I need a new car, so I'll be looking into that. See if I can get a
loan for it first. Also, now that I've conquered the documentary format,
I'm thinking of branching out into other genres of film making. I've got
loads of ideas. Got an action film planned about a 16th century Italian
Monk who does espionage and Parkour, called Spy Da Monk, hopefully going
to film that around Castell Coch, just the woods outside though because
they wouldn't let me inside. Got a sci-fi idea too. It's about a robot
called Martin who becomes sentient and tries to get access to his kids
whilst foiling an evil IT corporation who fired him. It's got a working
title of Revenge in the Diff. And then there's a horror idea called Please
Call Me Back, about a man who calls from the other side, but his wife
won't pick up the phone.
Do you have any funny anecdotes regarding making
The Martin Decker Show?
No.
Last question! If you were to programme
The Martin Decker Show with two other films (perhaps as part of a
Deckfest), what would they be and why?
Ah, fabulous. Although very hard. I guess the films that would best
compliment my film, the ones that share the same DNA, the pieces of bread
to a Decker sandwich would probably be Citizen Kane and
Gremlins 2: the New Batch.
Cheers Martin! See you in Pontardawe!
What's happening in Pontardawe? I paid that speeding fine.
Martin is such a silly goose! I was not referring to a driving penalty
but to his tour, which takes place next month and will stop at the
following venues:
September 7th- Ffwrnes Theatre, Llanelli
September 14th- Block Cinema, Manchester
September 20th- Pontardawe Arts Centre
September 21st- The Riverfront, Newport
September 23rd- Ucheldre Centre, Anglesey