Filming The Iconic Ralph Steadman
- hanktastic
- Jan 10, 2025
- 2 min read
From the conception of Drawing Under the Influence, Ralph Steadman, along with Flying Dog Brewing, was the obvious belle-of-the-ball. With Flying Dog, then still in Maryland (as are we), it was the perfect alignment. Once we reached out and explained our project, dates were soon on the board.
Our team of 3 jumped the pond for a week and stayed in Kent, England, where Ralph and his family reside. To make day 1 smoother, we invited everyone, crew + Ralph, his daughter Sadie, and grandsons to our AirBnb for dinner. It was the perfect way to get to know each other before setting up lights and cameras and asking a bunch for questions for 3 days.
Meeting Ralph was such an honor. What a delightful man. At age 90, he is still full of life and charisma, constantly reciting poetry, singing opera and playing harmonica mid interview. His contribution to the world of art is vast. Known greatly for his collaborations with Hunter S. Thompson, Ralph's work brings an improvised chaos to his ink work matched by incredible precise control. It's quite remarkable. Knowing that we may be the last to film Ralph Steadman, even more so a part of his work that has not been told, we feel a great respect and obligation to share his funny brilliance with new audiences.
Further, Sadie, who runs the collection and merchandise, was so incredibly helpful and knowledgeable. Ralph would mention something in the interview, and amongst 1,600+ pieces of art in a variety of file cabinets, would know exactly where a piece of art is and pull it for us to shoot. Further, her expert knowledge on her fathers timeline, the who, what, where, when and how was not only warming to watch from a sentimental aspect, but incredibly informative for additional information for our film. She has certainly been an advocate for this project and we are grateful!
The cherry on this trip was our wrap dinner at the Loose Pub, where he and Hunter would meet often. Chara, our EP, proposed an art game (very appropriate) - we would all draw a tree in a napkin and based on characteristics of each illustration, she would diagnose who's tree it was. It really tied the nice bow on the shoot.
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