We’ve all seen spoof horror films like the Scary Movie franchise and on-location ‘mockumentaries’ such as Twenty Twelve and The Office.
But a faux documentary set for its premiere at Stockport Plaza tomorrow night is taking the spoof into new terrain – the making of a porno.
The independent film – pun-somely entitled Shooting on the Rim – was completed on a shoestring budget and shot over a 14-day-schedule across Greater Manchester, Lancashire and Yorkshire.
Movie-goers are promised a fly-on-the-wall view of the highs and lows of the production of a ‘British pornographic film with a difference’.
MM caught up with David Olsen, director of Ask Me Tomorrow Productions, to find out where the idea came from and what audiences might expect from a mockumentary on a porno shoot.
So, how did the idea of applying the mockumentary style of comedy to the making of an adult film come about?
There is something about the absurdity of most pornography that we felt lent itself well to a comedic representation. The situations, the sets, the questionable ‘acting’.
All of these have an element of farce around them, but what if they were your everyday responsibilities? That’s where the humour is. Following the people who see these outlandish situations as mundane.
It’s easy to imagine that the adult film industry could be a rich source of comedic material. Did you research and speak to people involved in making these types of films to get some ideas for the film, or are the scenarios based on imagination and ‘urban myths’/rumours?
There is a website called ‘PornFail’. This site features what can only be described as porn bloopers. Due to the nature of what’s on camera, the bloopers are not always the most pleasant things to witness.
You don’t see things as simple as a fluffed line or faulty set dressing. You see the unseeable. We took a situation like that and thought ‘how would everyday people react to that?’ then applied that logic to the rest of the film.
Did any of the cast need persuading to get involved? It must be quite a leap for Joseph Stacey, for example from family TV like Merlin to a film called ‘Shooting on the Rim’?
There were some scenes that the actors weren’t sure about at first, but it really relied on showing them the comedy within it. The film is about porn, but does not show any. We focus on the reactions. Pornography and our use of sound effects and dialogue to achieve the illusion of it can make people feel a little awkward and that adds to their reactions that we use on camera.
The actors were amazingly focused throughout. Joseph Stacey for example, who I’ve had the pleasure of working with before on other projects, is incredibly professional. The man has an ability to instantly switch on his character. He also has a naturally subtle comedic ability which made him perfect for a character like Lance.
Did any mishaps that actually occurred during the making of Shooting on the Rim itself end up getting adapted and used in the film?
We were lucky to not suffer any real mishaps throughout production, but we did have the chance to add little scenes that weren’t originally in the script. Being a relatively small production crew with no constraints on what we created gave us the freedom to brainstorm and add to what we already had.
If we had some spare time we would just grab a couple of actors and create a new scene, based on a joke that may have only just come to mind. The cast and crew were great at adapting to changes.
What was the atmosphere like on set – from watching the trailers it looks like it must have been a really fun film to make?
It was a lot of fun. For a film like this, it really helps when everyone involved shares a particular sense of humour and we were lucky to achieve that. When you can tell rude jokes and be a little bit childish it definitely helps to break the ice between strangers who will spending a lot of time together.
We managed to assemble a team who almost immediately felt comfortable with each other and I think the style of humour in the film helped contribute to that, and in return, how comfortable they were helped to produce better performances.
Do Ask Me Tomorrow Productions have anything new in the pipeline you can tell me about – will you be working with some of the same cast and crew in future?
There are a few writing projects that we would like to focus on next, including a reimagining of the web-series we made before Shooting on the Rim.
Working with some of the cast and crew would be a dream come true. When you have a collection of talent like this, you’d be a fool not to go after them again.
