Why Molotnikov cries with laughter

Published on Friday 12 June 2009 14:02

WITH its cobbled streets, stunn-ing landmarks and distinctive skyline, film-makers have always held Edinburgh in high regard.

But while the castle and the Scott Monument are all very well for the likes of Kidnapped or The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, Justin Molotnikov has chosen to point his camera away from the shortbread-tin vision of the Capital.

Instead, the writer and director of Crying With Laughter, which will be given its world premiere at this year's Edinburgh Inter-national Film Festival, has turned his attention to more unlikely movie locations, including the darkly atmos-pheric Caves in the Cowgate.

In the film, the popular local music venue becomes a comedy club, the Bullpit, where stand-up Joey Frisk (Stephen McCole) finds he has very little to laugh about when old school friend Frank Archer (Malcolm Shields) walks back into his life after 25 years.

"I've always fancied using memory as a theme," explains Molotnikov. "It's fascinating how people can be at the same event and how they can be affected by it and how they viewed it can be very different. Joey is a hedonistic stand-up constantly thinking about making it big while Frank can't move on. Together they go on a bad trip down memory lane."

Although Crying With Laughter is Molotnikov's debut feature film, the director has an impressive back catalogue of short film and television work.

The 40-year-old, who moved to the Capital from Galashiels when he was 17, was co-creator and series director of the Edinburgh-set BBC children's fantasy Shoebox Zoo.

Among numerous and award-winning short films, Molotnikov has also worked on BBC children's comedy My Parents Are Aliens and directed a feature-length episode of Taggart.

Although he admits the latter experience was demanding, the director says he has faced tougher challenges during his career.

"There seems to be a belief that if you can do 90 minutes of television you can do film but, for me, doing 26 episodes of a children's programme was harder work," he says. "But directing Taggart was beneficial because it was a thriller which had to build tension.

"With this film, I wanted to explore different ways of working with actors. I wanted to give them the opportunity to get to know their characters."

Truly getting into the spirit of method acting, McCole completely immersed himself in the role of Joey Frisk.

After taking a lesson in the art of stand-up comedy from Viv Geeto, a well known face on the Glasgow circuit, McCole adopted his character's name and took to the stage in front of a real audience

"The first gig was The Stand in Glasgow," says Molotnikov. "It was jam-packed. He was fourth on, just before the main gig, and his first gag was a little bit ropey but the audience chuckled. And then he never looked back. Within five minutes, that audience were cheering and clapping."

While Molotnikov and McCole had watched comics such as Doug Stanhope and Jerry Sadowitz as part of their research, McCole felt it was important to develop his own jokes for each routine. "Every time I went into a gig, I would think of new material and I would try it and it always worked," he says.

Real-life comedians, including Edinburgh Stand regulars Stu and Gary, make an appearance in the film, and Molotnikov promises that the full show will be appearing as a DVD extra.

Such was the "distillation" nature of the writing process, a script wasn't complete until two weeks before shooting began.

Crying With Laughter, which was shot over the course of 18 days in December, has a relatively low budget of 500,000.

A co-production between Molotnikov's own Synchron-icity Films, based in Glasgow, and Wellington Films of Nottingham, the main funding was secured through Scottish Screen and EM Media.

BBC Scotland has also made a contribution in exchange for securing the television rights for broadcast sometime next year.

The comparatively low budget made choosing the right locations especially important.

Having formerly played full-back for Portobello Rugby Club for 15 years, Molotnikov was keen to utilise the famous beach.

Other locations include a miners' welfare building in Gullane, East Lothian, and the magnificent Marchmont House stately home in Berwickshire.

While the locations proved inspirational, it was the enthusiasm surrounding the project that really impressed Molotnikov.

"The local people were absolutely fantastic," he says. "The film is definitely from Scotland, but it wants to speak to an international audience. We had to try to manage those ambitions on a small budget."

Despite the limitations, Crying With Laughter has been nominated for the Michael Powell Award for Best New British Feature Film of 2009 and EIFF artistic director Hannah McGill had absolutely no qualms about adding it to this year's line-up.

"Crying With Laughter is a vibrant and savagely funny film that has been put together with a breezy confidence that bodes well for its makers' futures in the industry," she says.

"With an absolutely stellar central turn from Stephen McCole, a sense of humour that's right on the edge, and a plot that amps up the tension incessantly throughout, it's a gripping film and one that we are most proud to premiere at EIFF."

• Crying with Laughter, Filmhouse 1, 21 June, 8pm and Filmhouse 3, 26 June, 9.30pm, 8.50 (7.50), 0131-623 8030