"Tulisa wanted an opportunity to tell her side of the story"
Jonathan Levi is the Executive Producer of Tulisa: The Price of Fame. In this interview he shares his experiences of filming with Tulisa during the toughest period of her life.
Tell us about the film – what should we expect?
You should expect a hard hitting, intimate, warts and all access documentary showing someone at their lowest ebb as they go through the worst experience of their life to date.
Is Tulisa really just your average 25-year-old?
There is nothing average or typical about Tulisa. She has been through more in her 25 years than most people do in a lifetime; she has experienced the dizzy heights of fame, the terrible lows of depression; she has also felt let down by some of the people who should love her most, but she is a fighter and someone that wants to keep going.
Why did Tulisa want to be filmed?
The filming is a combination of Tulisa’s own video diaries and my filming of her. She felt upset that no one knew what was really going on. She wanted an opportunity to tell her side of the story and show the public what it is like to be on the receiving end of one of these stories we all just casually read and then forget about.
You were already filming with Tulisa when she was charged with drugs-related offences – did this change the direction of the film?
A lot of the first few months of filming were about her not knowing what was going to happen to her - whether she would even be charged. When she received that devastating news, yes it did change the direction of the programme. It made it a lot more serious for her and a lot more serious for everyone involved. For her, it was a huge reality check where everything became very real and very official.
Can you explain a bit about the offence she was charged with?
Tulisa was charged with being 'concerned in the supply of a class A drug'. It basically means drugs fixing; she was being accused of handing over a phone number of a drug dealer to someone she thought was a Bollywood film producer, but was actually an undercover journalist. She was not being accused of doing drugs or being a drug dealer herself, but of facilitating a drug deal, and in the eyes of the law this is a very serious charge.
You film in many situations with her – was there anything particularly unexpected?
I wasn't prepared for how much she was being hounded; men in cars with blacked out windows, men following her, photographing her and watching her every move. It really freaked her out as it was not the usual paparazzi and autograph hunters that all young celebrities deal with every day, but something altogether a lot more sinister. I hope we have managed to capture a little of this in a scene in the programme when she goes for an audition and a car that was parked outside her home is already waiting for her outside her agents' offices.
Do you think this is the last we’ve seen of Tulisa, or do you think she can get her career back on track?
We love a rise and we love a fall, but most of all I think we love a comeback in this country. Tulisa is a gutsy, hard-working, dedicated and talented musician and I think she will be back and bigger than ever if she can just get over this very difficult situation she finds herself in.
