Jim Weedon on Getting Taboo with Tom Hardy

Editor Jim Weedon has served as Creative Consultant, Editing on Tom Hardy (Mad Max: Fury Road), EP Steven Knight (Peaky Blinders) and Ridley Scott’s (The Martian) new period revenge drama, Taboo.

Final Cut (FC): Jim, how did you become involved with Taboo?

Jim Weedon (JW): I was contacted by Ridley who wanted to bring me on to Taboo, an eight-part TV series which he is producing with Tom Hardy who also stars. He asked me to create a visual style for the internal landscape of James Keziah Delaney, the character Tom plays. The series itself is heavy on mood and atmosphere as the title suggests, but to add to that Ridley also wanted a commercial editor to go in and abstract it from the norm of British period dramas.

FC: Fascinating. It shows. Does the aesthetic you helped develop inform Hardy’s character’s inner life?

JW: Absolutely. Tom’s character is haunted and traumatised by his past which presents itself in strange otherworldly manifestations. This became a core ingredient, taking the series into a more unexpected prose. Exploring and developing these manifestations was in itself a lot of work to try and convey the character’s thoughts, emotions and added subtext that could not be said by word alone.

FC: What else informed and reinforced the series’ ‘taboo’ themes?

JW: The sound, too, was another vital factor that helped anchor this dark tale into a vital and shocking reality. A similar approach was needed audibly, creating the unexpected that would segue seamlessly between the two worlds and strange characters.

FC: The audiovisual landscape is unique and haunting. We can’t wait to see the whole miniseries!

JW: Thank you. It was an incredible experience and without doubt the series will be a roaring success.

Taboo premieres this Saturday, January 7 on BBC One in the United Kingdom and on Tuesday, January 11th on FX across the pond. It’s going to be a bloody good time!