In November last year, one of the special events on offer at Cambridge Arts Picturehouse was Josie Long’s Let’s Go Adventure tour. Not the kind of thing you’d find in a multiplex: a combination of short film screening, Q&A and stand-up which attracted lots of JL fans and won lots of new ones too.
Josie Long and Doug King’s first collaboration, the tragicomedy LET’S GO SWIMMING, inspired a sequel titled ROMANCE AND ADVENTURE. Both focus on a central character loosely based on Long and her experiences of Glasgow life. Imagine “Spaced” rewritten by Belle and Sebastian and you’ll get an idea of the lyrically humorous spirit in which these two shorts explore the fictional Josie’s earnest bromances, and her deep affection for the “indie theme park” that is Glasgow. The audience Q&A following the screenings offered plenty of insight into the spontaneous, energetic filmmaking process behind the shorts – we’ve transcribed it below with kind permission from Josie and Doug.
The shot at the end of LET’S GO SWIMMING with the boat going away is beautiful. How did that come about?
Josie Long: The way that I write is not that visual, and it’s been really hard to adapt to writing for screen. A lot of the storyboarding is down to the DOPs and it just shows how non visual I am, because in the script I wrote, “She’s sat on the ferry and she’s looking out to Mull” and [on set] I didn’t really notice that John, the DOP and the camera assistant were going off and filming the ferry. Because that was the last shot of the whole film, me looking out to sea. And so I was like, “God, hurry up, we’re going to have a barbecue, we’re fucking going now!” And now I’m like, “Of course, that’s a really important shot(!).”
Doug King: I think we kinda conned ourselves into thinking that we’d have much more time for improvisation, but that was totally delusional. We really stuck to the script.
“It’s like cough syrup, but like, haunted.”
JL: There’s a bit where me and Darren are playing chess and I blow smoke at him and he bats it away, and I’m like [cackles] and that was just us fucking around. But it was mostly to the script.
DK: We moved the camera a couple of times for LET’S GO SWIMMING and it took an age. There were a lot more scenes and I thought, I just can’t afford to move the camera, so we tried to keep a still frame and get the movement from the actors.
You drank quite a lot of different drinks, including Buckfast. Did you like it?
JL: I hate it so much. I used to go out with a Scottish man (I know you’re jealous – it’s very exotic) and he used to drink it all the time like it was a fun hobby. I find it fucking vile. It’s like cough syrup, but like, haunted.
DK: I must say we don’t all drink it in Scotland.
How much did you rehearse the scenes?
JL: We had a few days where we would read it together and muck around. It’s funny because with the first film, I’d met Darren a few times; obviously I knew Doug more, having collaborated for about four months, but then over that film we all became friends which meant that it felt like we were kind of practising what our the dynamic was when getting to know each other.
DK: We’re not very kind to ourselves when it comes to any kind of pre-production, so rehearsals are still a dream…
“We’re hoping that gangsters will fund it.”
JL: We’re very gung ho as well, we’re like, “We’ve finished it! Yeah! Now it’s done!” I’m not a drafter. I like to do it once and then I’m like, “Finished, guys!” And also with all the editing and stuff, you know, “you don’t have to fucking edit on the *page* … argh … don’t double edit!”
Have you got any more planned?
JL: Yes! We do! We’re writing a feature and we’re going to make it next April, but our main problem is that we don’t have a producer or any budget.
Have you tried Kickstarter?
JL: We did one before and I just find it worrying because I feel so guilty about all the people who have given money. I think we’ve learned some things.
DK: Yeah, we’ve learned a lot of lessons from crowdfunding. We’ll do it a lot differently.
JL: Yeah. We’re hoping that gangsters will fund it. I really want a stocky Glaswegian gangster to show up after one of the shows and be like, “Ah fuckin’ telt ye! I’ll give ye it!” Or like a shady gangster who’s like [Jimmy Cagney accent] “I’ve got a hundred grand, I’ll leave it right here, don’t ya say another word to me – I’ll be back in about a year for my hundred and fifty grand, if you see what I mean”…
DK: Are there any Cambridge gangsters?
JL: Or eccentric millionaire dons? No? Any other questions?
“They’ve got a lot to answer for, have monks.”
What did you learn from crowdfunding?
JL: What I learned is that you have to factor into your budget the making of the presents you have promised to people, and do not wait until you have spent all the money on the crew and equipment and then be like, “How much does it cost to print 500 DVDs? OK. So I’ve promised to send out 31 screen printed… OK.” And also I think I would have asked someone to be a crowdfunding intern because we both do other things. It’s taken a year to finish the film and there are still rewards we’ve not sent out.
DK: If I was to do it again I’d factor in someone to do it once a week for four weeks because it’s a lot of work.
JL: And my rewards would be like, “I will give you a firm handshake. I will say ‘Top of the morning to you!’ if I meet you.” Not, “I will compose you a fifteen page list…”
DK: “… for five pounds.”
JL: Oh yeah, that was the other thing. We majorly under-sold things. But also we put on things like for £500, me and three other comedians would show up at your house and do a gig. Nobody bought it! It made me so upset, but then I thought, who would blow half of a thousand pounds [on that]?
“We’re not money people. I’m more of a buffet person.”
How did you two get together? Also, I think Buckfast is great, so if anyone knows where you can get it in Cambridge, let me know.
JL: I like how that question turned into a public appeal. Like, “We need to sort this shit out!” That’s amazing. You can buy it in Dalston, which is weird. It’s from Devon and they refuse to stop making it even though they’re Benedictine monks, and the government in Scotland keep saying, “Seriously, guys, you’re harming our people”. And the monks are like, “Forget you! We’re busy”.
DK: They’ve got a lot to answer for, have monks.
JL: Yeah! Sorry, what was your question?
How did you get together?
JL: I was doing an anti-privatisation stand-up on an art installation, which gives you a flavour as to my political beliefs. Doug was filming it.
DK: And they all took us out for dinner in this Lebanese restaurant, and me and Josie were the only ones that refused to eat anything vegetarian.
JL: Classy, right, Cambridge? We had a good chat and I sort of had a little hunch that we could work together. A while later I was on the 243 bus and I rang Doug and said, “You don’t really know me, but we should make a film”.
DK: I was at my mum’s.
JL: The following March I came up for a week and we spent all day every day in the Mitchell Library in Glasgow, writing together in the children’s department. Because in the day, there’s no kids – they’re all at school. We’d pretend it was our office and that it was called Mitchellcorp. And whenever a baby came in, we’d pretend it was the boss. “Aw, why’s the boss so furious? He’s crying!”
Have you approached the British Film Council for funding, or is it non-existent after all the cuts?
JL: Our problem is that I’m so impatient that I’m sort of not in the mood for doing any development with any companies. You meet them and they’re great, they’re like, “What we do is we sit you down with your idea, and then over a period of two to three years…” and I’m like, “Nah, I’m alright”. And so I turn up at meetings and say, “[Jimmy Cagney voice] OK, what we need is hard, fast cash.” And they’re like “Sorry, bank’s closed.”
“That’s kind of her casting style – people in bands that she kind of fancies.”
Do they always ask for development plans?
JL: I think there are definitely ways and means, but we’re really into our own part of it, and we’re trying to do all the other production elements like, I’m doing a lot of casting and locations so it’s really hard to try and be money people because we’re not money people. I’m more of a buffet person. My motivations are buffets, and people in bands I like being nice to me.
DK: That’s kind of her casting style as well – people in bands that she kind of fancies.
JL: Shut up! That’s not even true. For the feature I have approached a couple of people on direct messages on Twitter, which I think is above board – and asked if they would like to read for the parts. Ah, I feel weird now! Any other questions?
The first film felt sad, then the second one felt kind of happy.
JL: [Jimmy Cagney voice] That’s a very sophisticated interpretation, sir.
I snoozed through most of it. But the end feels kind of sad. How do you feel the story continues?
JL: I wanted to write two sad comedies, so I think hopefully the second one has more comedy. The next film will use the same characters but more time has passed, so me and Darren are friends still and we’re living together, and the theme is different. It’s about me and my sister living in Glasgow, and we’re very close – and then my sister unexpectedly and very quickly moves to Qatar. And then I’ve got noone. Then my character really wants to get involved with the community and gets involved with this group of mad situationist pranksters, and she’s trying to join in, and it’s about how you feel when there are massive gaps in your life, if you don’t have family, what do you do to fill those gaps? It’s going to be us writing about and talking about friendship. I think it’s an interesting balance to do comedies with sad bits in.
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