Shane Meadows is an Edinburgh Film Festival mainstay, having brought most of his body of work to the festival for the last ten years, starting with 1999’s A Room For Romeo Brass. So it’s entirely fitting that this would be the place to premiere his latest, rock mockumentary Le Donk and Scorz-ayz-ee.
Le Donk (Paddy Considine) is a roadie for the Arctic Monkeys and as he’s roped in to shift gear for their gig at the Old Trafford Cricket Ground, he brings along his new discovery, rap prodigy Scorz-ayz-ee (actually a real unsigned rapper), and a documentary crew fronted by Shane Meadows. Hilarity ensues as Le Donk’s odd personality unravels in front of the camera, and the result is, in the words of critics on the ground, one of the funniest mockumentaries in years. Shot in five days on a pittance of a budget, the film came together quite fluidly.
“The whole thing was one big happy accident,” Shane Meadows told RT yesterday. “We didn’t know which direction we’d go in. When the Arctic Monkeys said they’d give us free reign back stage we sort-of thought, well that could be a lovely journey. The girl who Paddy recommended to play his missus, Olivia Colman, turned up seven or eight months pregnant so we incorporated it in that this could be the Baby Donk. And Scorz-ayz-ee was recommended to us by another filmmaker and we only met him the day before filming. We thought it’d be great to bring him on the road with us. These were all accidents.”
The film, though, is full of Meadows’ trademark heart. Says Andrew Pulver in The Guardian, “Although Le Donk & Scorz-ayz-ee doesn’t aspire to be much more ambitious than an extended skit, Considine and Meadows push some empathetic buttons – the audience was really happy for Donk when he gets his moment in the spotlight. You can’t ask for much more than that.”
According to Paddy Considine, that heart was essential to making the project work, and came from the strange alchemy of the elements coming together. “You have to go with what comes along and make the most of it,” he told RT. “We take for granted just how resourceful we can be sometimes. The heart comes naturally through the process.”
Considine arrived for the church-hall credit-crunch after-party last night in full Le Donk getup, and got on stage with Scorz-ayz-ee to perform Calm Down, the song featured in the film, for invited guests. Meadows and producer Mark Herbert were on the decks all night, while entry cost 75p and the ticket read, “Beer will be provided, but if you want owt fancy, bring your own booze.” As Meadows explained, “We spent so little on the film that it didn’t seem right to have an expensive party. So the whole thing cost £320.”
Le Donk will be out soon and we’ll have more from Considine and Meadows down the line.
What’s On Today
Roger Corman Retrospective by Kim Newman
Every day during the festival, Edinburgh will be showing one of B-movie legend Roger Corman‘s classics, leading up to a Q&A with the man himself — hosted by our very own Kim Newman – on Wednesday 24th. In celebration, Kim will be reviewing each of the films playing as part of our coverage of the festival.
– Wild Angels – Screening at 13:00, Filmhouse 1
Roger Corman’s freewheeling biker movie has an all-time great cast — with cycle savages Peter Fonda, Bruce Dern and Michael J. Pollard and Mommas Nancy Sinatra, Diane Ladd and Gayle Hunnicutt. A surprisingly melancholy, thoughtful movie, it winds up with a bizarre funeral orgy as the Angels throw a party for deceased Dern, propping him up in the middle of a church while his girlfriend is respectfully gang raped. A major precursor of the Easy Rider brand of independent Americana, this features a great surf guitar score by the Arrows. On its original release, the Hells’ Angels put a contract out on Corman’s life.
Today’s Highlights
Keep an eye out for these films amongst those playing at the festival today, Wednesday 24th June.
– The Missing Person — Screening at 17:15, Filmhouse 1
Noir with a post-911 twist as Michael Shannon is a private detective searching for a missing husband.
– Fragments — Screening at 18:15, Cineworld
A shooting at a diner causes the surviving patrons, including Kate Beckinsale, Forest Whitaker and Dakota Fanning, to come to terms with what’s happened in very different ways.
– Humpday — Screening at 22:15, Cameo 1
Lynn Shelton brings her Sundance hit to Edinburgh as she tells the tale of a pair of best friends who get closer than they’d like for an odd art project.
To book tickets for these films, click here. Join us again soon for more on these films and the Edinburgh Film Festival 2009.
