We're all friends round here you know, so it was with great pleasure that we trotted along to the Courthouse Hotel last Thursday to see the premier of four films master-minded by our old chum Rankin.
First we were shown 'Rachael' directed by Rankin and written by Irvine Welsh (ohhh ahhh). It goes like this: girl masturbates in bath before sexual revolution. Kettle boils. Sister bangs on door. Mother shouts. Father reads paper. Girl comes.
'Will You Marry Me?', written and directed by David Allain was rather engaging in terms of dialogue. It's set on a radio station. A guy has to get his ex girlfriend to agree to marry him live on air to win a holiday. We won't tell you what happens but let's just say it would make a good T-Mobile ad.
The third, and possibly the one with most merit was entitled 'Ablution' written by Freddy White and directed by Vicky Lawton. It's set in the men's loo of a really nasty bar and the set made me wince in disgust. I absolutely refuse to believe there are really toilets as filthy as that anywhere in England. It's about stage fright. And glory holes. And cystitis. Things like that.
'Shoot Me!' written and directed by Kate Hardie was fun because it's essentially taking the piss out of Rankin. It's a pretty accurate account of what goes on in wanky photography studios all over the world. Remember the scene in Lost in Translation where he has to advertise the whiskey? It's a bit like that. It's good to know that Rankin can laugh at himself, and doesn't mind having fun poked at him. We'll keep that in mind for the future.
It's interesting to see our photographic peers begin to venture more and more into film making, and there can only be more of this to come in an age dominated by short, fast, muti-media entertainment.
