The Joke’s on You is the first script I have written. I wrote the first half of a story about Davina and Mark, a couple who play pranks on each other at two am. I completed the first draft the following day. The film is based on my parents who have ridiculous arguments but stay together.
I showed the script to my friend the filmmaker Stella Scott and told her about a former work colleague who bought weighing scales for his girlfriend on Valentine’s Day. I then added the scene on the river with Davina’s best friend Mandy. When I had a reading of the script with some friends from an improvisation class; the characters really came alive. Nine drafts later, the script was ready to shoot!
I was very fortunate to have the brilliant comic actors Liam Bewley as Mark and Naomi Cooper Davis as Mandy. The scene on the river where Davina throws up was not in the script – I was so sick before and during filming that I threw up twice in The Thames by Tower Bridge. As well as playing the musician lady in the film Blair Barnette kindly brought her lovely cat Mau to play Davina’s cat Mimi in the film. Mau hit her mark first time when Davina opened the door.
The Joke’s on You was not selected for the first few festivals I entered but it was longlisted for The Winchester Short Film Festival. The first festival The Joke’s on You was selected for was the ECAFF Eddie Comedy Awards film festival in Milan where it won best short comedy of 2016. The film was also screened at Shelburne Falls Fabulous Fringe Festival in Massachusetts, a women’s international film festival.
I teach children to swim at a local leisure centre and I got a little interview with work colleagues about my film.’is it a porn film?’ ‘Is there nudity?’ ‘Does a plumber knock on the door?’ ‘Does a pizza delivery guy knock on the door?’
Answer: You will have to look elsewhere on the internet for that. If you would like to see a silly, funny love story watch The Joke’s on You!
