Blue Story found itself surrounded by controversy following its release in November, after a mass brawl broke out at one of its showings.
The film follows the lives of two friends growing up in rival South London postcodes and was banned from all Vue and Showcase cinemas last year, after a gang armed with machetes descended on the Star City entertainment complex in Birmingham and fights broke out.
What followed was a huge backlash demanding for the film to be reinstated, with Blue Story’s director Rapman challenging the ban and stating he hopes it wasn’t an ‘indictment’ of the film.
Both cinemas later reinstated the film and now, Blue Story star Michael Ward has said he thinks the controversy surrounding the movie has actually done ‘crazy things’ for its success.
Speaking exclusively to Metro.co.uk, Michael, who has been shortlisted as a nominee for the EE Rising Star BAFTA award for playing the role of Marco in Blue Story, argues that while the ban was upsetting, it helped to put the movie on the map.
‘Initially, I hoped that nobody got hurt or injured and I think that was the case,’ Michael told us. ‘I was upset, but what [the controversy] did for the film was crazy.
‘A whole new demographic, that wouldn’t have initially watched the film, came to watch it because of what was going on in the news, they were seeing it every day, so they were more compelled to come. That was exciting for me.
‘[The audience] literally loved it, so it was good.’
Despite the drama that unfolded, Blue Story still went on to make history by raking in more than £1.3million during its opening weekend two months ago.
Blue Story relays the issue of gang crime found across London and Michael says he was pulled towards working on the movie, as he knew he could do the film ‘justice’ in its bid to educate people on the real-life situation playing out on the streets today.
‘I knew the story and I knew it would have an impact,’ he said. ‘I knew people would feel something towards it and that’s important, those are the stories you want to tell.’
‘I wanted to educate people and show people why these things are actually happening, so people can understand and hopefully help.
‘I feel like, because I know what’s going on – some people are not really out here to be on the streets – I feel like I could do it justice.’
And it seems Michael, who stars in Drake’s Netflix revival of Top Boy, has got a taste for seeking out roles that have a forcible impact on audiences – with him highlighting When They See Us, a limited series on Netflix that follows the story of five teens falsely accused of a brutal rape in Central Park.
‘I really just want to tell some important stories that people don’t know about,’ he said.
‘With When They See Us, I never knew anything about the Central Park situation – to see that and how it had an affect on me. Those are the kind of stories I want to tell.’
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