A film with me in it (2008)
Production Notes
Synopsis
Mark (Mark Doherty) is having a bad day. A struggling actor, he’s just been through the ordeal of yet another fruitless audition for a bit part in a movie. With his long-suffering girlfriend about to walk out and his landlord ready to evict him he’s only got his best mate Pierce (Dylan Moran) and their joint ambition of writing a career-breaking film to sustain him.
Life’s not easy, but things are about to get worse…much worse, and then someone dies and things get really bad.
About the Production
AFWMII was shot in Dublin using various city centre locations over a 4 weeks period.
Producer Alan Moloney describes AFWMII - “This is a darkly comic film that makes me laugh out loud, underpinned by a fantastically written script and two great central performanaces by Mark and Dylan with the astute directing talents of Ian FitzGibbon. I loved being involved, it was fun and a breath of fresh air”.
Director Ian FitzGibbon
Ian came across the script after casting Mark in a comedy pilot. “Mark called it slightly odd”, Ian recalls, “and that piqued my interest”. The script was read on a train and after laughing out loud a few times Ian knew there was something to the script. Ian was attracted to the script because it is “incredibly quirky and original and slightly outrageous and I felt it was so important to retain creative control so that it didn’t become something else – that’s why I went to Alan Moloney in Parallel Films”.
I think there’s more of Mark in this film than Mark even acknowledges but even though it was his script he surrendered control and he knew it had to be my vision... I had to be calling the shots – excuse the pun!”
Having trained and worked as an actor Ian’s point of entry with a script is always the characters. “I like to get in with the actors – I end up acting myself and I think myself, Mark and Dylan, all knowing each other helped hugely and helped us push the boundaries for the film – the more extreme the plot became the more serious I wanted the actors to be, to really go for that deadpan element that I love..I mean my favourite film is Withnail and I!”
Ian feels that he is drawn to dark comedy. ‘This script is literally dripping in darkness – which I love but with a film such as this on such a tight budget and deadline it was so important to get cinematic impact”. However Ian points out that perhaps the fact that the shoot was tight and limited enhanced the atmosphere of the film, the viewer gets caught up with the feverish isolation and the overly ripe imagination of Mark and Pierce. Although Ian knew Mark, Dylan and Amy he didn’t know Keith but was impressed with how he embraced the tone of the film. “He was utterly professional and very detailed” about his character.
Mark Doherty - Screenwriter
Irish comedian Mark Doherty not only plays the role of Mark the struggling actor but also wrote the screenplay. He started writing a draft about three years ago but it took a meeting with director Ian FitzGibbon for the draft to finally be read by anyone other than himself. You must have felt very strongly about the screenplay? “ Yes – I remember putting it away around Christmas and hating it, thinking it was terrible and then I worked with Ian. I know his work and I think he’s got a great ear for comedy as well as having a great rapport with actors so I thought he was the ideal fella to give it to”. In comparison to many other film projects this got off the ground very quickly “Ian gave it to Alan Moloney and I think as it’s quite manageable…theres no elephants or aeroplanes of different countries so I think that’s why it went into production quite smoothly”.
Dylan Moran (Pierce) shows himself not only to be a gifted comic performer but a talented screen actor. “ I wrote the character of Pierce with Dylan in mind – well that’s what I told him in order for him to take the part…but it is the truth, I don’t know what I would have done if he wasn’t free and willing to play the role” says Mark. Was Keith Allen your first choice to play the landlord role “ No ..I didn’t have him in mind at all ..I actually had an Irishman in mind but Alan suggested Keith and so I did a rewrite on the part and gave him some freedom. I think he adds a real injection of testosterone into the whole thing which is great”. With regard to Amy’s part as Marks girlfriend “ it’s a difficult part because the relationship is dying and I think Amy found a way to play it with understanding”.
Was there any frustation as an actor and the writer of how Ian as director was realising your words? “No – we worked quite closely on a couple of rerwrites just to make sure that we each understood where the other was coming from. I wanted him to understand my intention on every scene and every line because on day one of principal photogrpahy I’d be handing it over. I had to remember that with Ian he’s the gaffer on the gig, it has to be his..there has to be boss on set and it has to be him.”
If you had to describe the film in a few words what would you say? It’s a comedy really, its quite dark and it’s a bit of a tragedy but its just a story. An amoral little tale…but so is the world out there..I haven’t seen any meek people inheriting the earth so far”
Mark Doherty plays Mark
Summarizing the character of Mark – Mark says “he is the type of man that just doesn’t address things like some men…so problems become greater and the bigger the problem the bigger his desire not to deal with them. Although he shares the same name Mark says that “none of the story is based on his own life”. And for those people who will read so much into naming the character he plays Mark he says “I gave him the name Mark because it was handy..and I could remember it….anything that I do I try to make it as close to myself as possible to make it real”.
As incidents and accidents occur the friendship between Mark and Pierce (Dylan Moran) becomes more binding “I think we are wed together in guilt..I suppose at the end we’ve covered our tracks sufficiently to earn ourselves some freedom but at a very definite price” says Mark.
Dylan Moran plays Pierce
Dylan is one of Ireland’s best known comedians and became involved in the film because of his long standing friendship with writer Mark Doherty. “Mark and I go way back and I read it and knew pretty quickly that I wanted to do it. To be honest I don’t think I have felt so involved in something. This is the closest I have been to something after writing something myself. I just wanted to do whatever I could to make it work for Mark…it didn’t feel like work it was like a pet project”. There are many things to like about the film says Dylan, “It’s very daring and it’s a film that references film pretty heavily..its a kind of nod to different genres and it takes a real risk – which I hope we pull off”.
The character of Pierce is to Dylan “a kind of artist really, he is like dozens of people I know. He lives at the top of a seedy house in Dublin with Mark living in the basement flat.” The relationship between Pierce and Mark gives the film the continuity and Dylan says about their friendship “ they’re very close friends…they are so used to each other that there is not much affection apparent in their relationship but it’s there. And bear in mind that I see Pierce as very much one of those compulsive personalities so that adds another layer to the friendship”.
What was it like working with Ian? “Well Ian has been an actor – we actually worked together on Conor Mc Pherson’s The Actors and he is a friend so the relationship was there between the three of us and I think it really helped in filming”
And Keith? “He has such presence its an overused word but it is what he has – its very powerful on the screen and although I didn’t know Amy before she was very good”.
Dylan answered whether acting or stand up was now the focus for him “ I don’t care what shape the thing is – film, stage, radio..I don’t really give a damn it just needs to interest me and this interested me”.
Keith Allen plays Jack
Keith got involved in the project because “the producer is a mate of mine. But I loved the screenplay its very black, very very dark, very very Irish.
In descibing the character that he plays Keith says “Jack is one of those strange people really who own very very expensive property but it is in terrible disrepair …to be honest I’m not quite sure why Jack doesn’t just sell the house and get out of there.
Keith has never worked in Ireland before (opening for Dexys Midnight Runners in 1982 doesn’t count!) Working with Mark and Dylan was “very comfortable..Mark is the most boring bloke I have ever met and that other fellow…Moran…he’s not bad..he’s proobably got a future in the game” And the director? “ It reminded me the other day of the early days of The Comic Strip in the way that its being shot, its so kind of from the hip so its been great working with Ian”.
Amy Huberman plays Sally
Amy says of playing the role of Marks girlfriend Sally “ She’s not a bitch but shes trapped in a world and in a relationship and she is at odds to work out how she got there. She is not a happy soul and what’s sad is that you can see in the flat there is evidence that herself and Mark had been a happy couple” The character of Sally is different to what Amy has played before “ would you believe but its good fun to be cranky all the time..its very different to anything else I have done and that’s exciting”
David O Doherty plays David
In the film David plays the brother of Mark who is in fact his real brother as David himself says “My name is David...his is Mark so no huge leaps of imagination have gone into the naming of characters in this film!”. In the film David is a quadriplegic with a brain injury so he doesn’t talk or move but as David said about his character “I obviously couldn’t move at all but your eyes are very alert”. Researching for the role David spent time with patient and doctors in the Central Remedial Clinic and noticed very early on how people treat wheelchair users very differently to able bodied people.
For David as a stand up comedian who has just won the IF. com award at Edinburgh Festival Fringe stand up involves a lot of moving and talking and so it took time to get to grips with the stillness that came with the role and something that was made all the more difficult when David found himself in scenes with fellow comedians Mark and Dylan. “Working with Mark was great and I think Dylan does sort of frenzied better than anyone else!” Having never worked with Keith Allen before David said “he comes with a sort of sinister presence...but he’s not scary in real life at all” and found Ian FitzGibbon as a director “great – he had to find the balance between people dying horrifically and ridiculous things happening”. The world of stand up is a late night world so David found the early starts on the film set difficult and often having been in a wheelchair all day he would have to head off to do a gig at night to do his “day job” leaving the wheelchair and the bad haircut behind him.
About The Cast
Dylan Moran - Pierce
Dylan Moran is an award winning comedian (The Perrier Award, Edinburgh Comedy Festival 1996) and BAFTA Best Sitcom 2001 for Black Books. He debuted in The Comedy Cellar in Dublin in 1992 before wining Channel 4 Newcomer “So you think you’re funny ‘ award in 1993.
A hugely popular comedian Dylan has combined touring with his stand up show with appearing in number of films including most recently Rut Fatboy Run (2007) with Simon Pegg, directed by ex Friends sitcom star David Schwimmer. He played the role of Dr Slop in A Cock and Bull Story (2005) with Steve Coogan, he starred in Shaun of the Dead (2004), The Actors (2003) and played a book stealing rascal in Richard Curtis’ Notting Hill (1999).
Dylan from 2000 – 2004 was writer and performer in Channel 4’s succesful comedy series Black Books which also starred Bill Bailey. The 18 episodes became essential viewing for all Dylan Moran fans.
Dylan begins his new tour on the 17th of September.
Mark Doherty – Mark
Mark along with his brother David are well known on the Irish comedy circuit. He is also an actor and has featured in a number of films including The Martyrs Crown (2007), Niel Jordan’s Breakfast on Pluto (2005). The league of Gentlemens Apocalypse (2005), Disco Pigs (2001) and Rat (2000). He has also been seen on Irish TV in series such as the successul RTE series The Clinic (2004)
Keith Allen – Jack
Keith first came to prominence as part of the ensemble cast of The Comic Strip Presents (1983 – 1993). Most recently he has been playing the part of Sheriff Nottingham in the BBC series Robin Hood (2006 – 2007). Over the past few years he has divided his work between film and TV work which includes De-Lovely (2004), Agent Cody Banks 2:Destination London (2004), The Others (2001) and the cultish Trainspotting (1996) as well as Mobile (2007) and Bodies (2004 – 2006).
Amy Huberman – Sally
Amy is today one of Irelands most recognisable actresses due to her role as Daily in the hit series The Clinic on RTE (2003 – 2007) for which she received an IFTA nomination this year. She has also starred in Showbands 1 and 2 (2005/2006) which also starred Kerry Katona. Over the last two years she has been steadily in demand for features and this year completed Satellites and Meteorites (2008) as well as the short films Bog Bodies (2008) and Deep Breaths (2007).
David O’Doherty - David
David O'Doherty is an actor, writer and comedian from Dublin. He has written widely for children and adults and made a late-night television series The Modest Adventures of David O'Doherty in Ireland. He has performed his stand up comedy at festivals in Melbourne, Montreal, New York and Iceland. He has recently received the if.com Award 2008, the top award for stand up comedy at The Edinburgh Festival Fringe. This is his first film.
Aisling O’Sullivan – Policewoman
Aisling is familiar to Irish television audiences for her role in the hugely popular RTE drama series The Clinic for which she won an IFTA award. She is an accomplished stage actress and toured with Druid Theatre in 2004 in the acclaimed Playboy of the Western World, which also featured Cillian Murphy and Anne-Marie Duff. Aisling has more recently on the big screen in Neil Jordan's The Butcher Boy and Martin Mc Donagh's Oscar winning short film.
Ian FitzGibbon – Director
The director of ‘A Film with Me in It’ Ian FitzGibbon was born in Dublin in 1962 and although raised in Brussels came back to Ireland to study at Trinity College before being accepted into RADA in London. After nine years as a successful working actor Ian began directing short films with ‘Between Dreams’ being accepted into the official competition of the 1999 Venice Film Festival. Since then he has written and directed the highly acclaimed and award winning series Paths to Freedom (2000) for RTE as well as the feature film ‘Spin The Bottle’ (2003) which received three Irish Film & Television Awards. He directed the two part series ‘Showbands’ starring Liam Cunningham and Kerry Katona for RTE in 2005 and also the follow up in 2006 before working on ‘The Clinic’ – one of the most popular dramas on Irish television.
Mark Doherty – Writer
Between 1995 – 2000 Mark toured the world with his stand up routine. His play TRIAD won a Fringe First at the 2005 Edinburgh Festival and transferred to the Bush Theatre in April 2006. AFWMII is Marks first film screenplay although he has many TV credits including in 2007 Soupy Norman (RTE) where he was Series co-creator with Barry Murphy and writer, 2006 he was co-writer with Armando Ianucci for Time Trumpet. All Kinds of Everything a quiz show for RTE in 2003 and Bull Island in 2000 where he was Co-writer and script editor.
Alan Moloney – Producer
Alan Moloney established Parallel Film Productions Ltd in the mid ‘90s to produce high quality TV drama and films. Over the years, he has produced a variety of award-winning and commercially successful productions primarily out of Ireland and the United Kingdom. The company has a consistent output of commercially attractive television and film projects and a range of diverse and challenging material that both challenges and satisfies a wide-ranging audience.
In recent years Alan has produced John Crowley’s directorial debut INTERMISSION starring Cillian Murphy and Colin Farrell; Neil Jordan’s Golden Globe nominated BREAKFAST ON PLUTO starring Cillian Murphy, Liam Neeson and Stephen Rea; the acclaimed BECKETT ON FILM project (along with Michael Colgan) producing film versions of the 19 stage plays of Samuel Beckett with film directors including Anthony Minghella, Atom Egoyan, Neil Jordan, John Crowley, David Mamet and Damien Hirst amongst others. Television projects include an award winning adaptation of the Booker prize nominated AMONGST WOMEN by John McGahern, SINNERS directed by Aisling Ward, SHOWBANDS series I&II and THE CLINIC series I-VI (on going). 2006 saw the production of CELEBRATION (with Michael Colgan) written by Harold Pinter and directed by John Crowley starring Michael Gambon, Colin Firth, Sophie Okonedo and Stephen Rea and JOE STRUMMER – THE FUTURE IS UNWRITTEN directed by Julien Temple. In 2007 he produced THE ESCAPIST, a prison escape thriller with a twist, written and directed by Rupert Wyatt and starring Brian Cox, Joe Fiennes, Liam Cunningham, Dominic Cooper and Damian Lewis which premiered at this year’s Sundance Film Festival. He is an Executive Producer of KINGDOM a series for ITV starring Stephen Fry entering its third year and is currently producing TRIAGE (with Cedomir Kolar and Marc Baschet), being directed by Danis Tanovic and starring Colin Farrell, Paz Vega and Christopher Lee.
