Do Something, Jake (2018)
Director: James Smith
Writer: James Smith, Caroline Spence
Stars: Vicki Glover, Mia Mills, Caroline Spence, Nenaa-Jo Uraih, Ed Bergtold
Jake is an introvert, illiterate, and unable to hold down a basic job. Unbeknown to those around him, however, he is intelligent and ingenious – strengths he uses to secretly observe his neighbour, Alice, the woman he loves. But Alice lives with her boyfriend, Guy, a small-time criminal and drug pusher. Events escalate when Jake crosses the line from Alice’s voyeur to direct manipulation of Guy’s illicit dealings. Things come to a head when Alice is assaulted by Guy and his accomplice. After an unconvincing appeal to the Police, Jake decides to rescue Alice in his own ingenious, yet ultimately dangerous, way.
The Southend-on-Sea Film Festival will be returning for its 11th year from 23rd May to 27th May. In preparation for the event I got an opportunity to ask co-writer and director James Smith a few questions about what we can expect from his new crime-thriller Do Something, Jake which has been selected to play at the festival.
Q. Do Something, Jake has been selected to play at The Southend-on-Sea Film Festival. What can we expect from the film?
Do Something, Jake is a rather odd mix of thriller, humour, and crime. Indeed, the lead protagonist is an unlikely hero who finds it difficult to form relationships with people and communicate in ways that the rest of us would perhaps consider ‘normal’. Jake is essentially different and is often underestimated. This sets up an intriguing situation when he becomes involved in some pretty dangerous characters, including low-level drug pushers and their boss, Morten, a tough gangster from New York.
Q. You co-wrote the film with Caroline Spence. How did you come up with the original concept for the film?
I came up with a basic story of a lonely guy who lives in a house and interacts with various people, both good and bad. My idea was that by filming in just one location (the creepy house), we could film on zero budget and borrow gear, etc. I’m no screenwriter, so Caroline Spence took on the job of turning my rudimentary ‘one man in a house’ idea into a feature-length screenplay. That’s when interesting things started to happen, since many cast and crew members, local businesses and enthusiasts put their hands up to help out, thus expanding our ‘little idea’ into a full production with large cast and crew, and multiple locations. New York actor, Ed Bergold (who plays Morten) even flew himself over to England to become involved. In some ways, this broke the rules of ‘no-budget’ filmmaking by coming up with increasingly ambitious, and thus risky, embellishments to the story. We pulled it off, but only just. Lesson learned!
Q. Did you have any actors or actresses in mind when you were writing the script?
We had an actor, who we had worked with before, in mind for the lead character of Jake. We made an approach to him some months prior to the shoot, mentioning the great idea and also the some of the difficulties of getting the film made (everyone, including myself and Caroline, are working on a deferred fee basis if the film goes on to make money). He went quiet, and so we approached Jamie Alderson with whom we’d spoken to previously about another project. He loved the idea and took the risk – travelling to the Midlands for the three-week shoot and doing an excellent job of depicting the character. Do Something, Jake has been quite a success so far, and an incredible experience for those involved. So, this an example of one actor missing a great opportunity and another swiftly taking up the challenge. We also had Mark Benton in mind for the comedic role of Bob, a chap who works in an employment agency. Caroline put a call out on Twitter for an actor to ‘unleash his inner Mark Benton‘ and contact us for an audition. Mark Benton himself replied and said to contact his agent. A familiar story – his agent didn’t reply and so we offered the role to Leicester actor, Mike Simpson, who had us in fits of laughter at the audition – it was a perfect fit.
Q. Where there any elements in the final film which were different from your original script?
A number of scenes changed from the original script, and this was usually due to locations and facilities available to us. In one classic scene, we wrote Jake to be chasing the bad guys in a Morris Traveller (the model with the wooden back doors) driven by a grumpy old man. We were going to hire one and drive it from Birmingham, however, this would have been madness in the schedule, so we almost scrapped the scene until I saw a three-wheeled Reliant Robin buzzing around my mum’s house. This turned out to be her neighbour, Dave, who she duly visited and persuaded to be in the film replete with ‘Scamp’, a cute dog who is now a feature of our big car chase! Other scenes changed in similar ways. We planned to shoot the bad guys’ den in a barn, but this turned out to be a derelict old school and a pizzeria ended up being the location for some cocaine dealing, and so on! We also changed the gender of some characters in the film – this due to actors’ availability, not to mention suitability for the roles. For example, Mel in the newsagent was originally written for a male, as was DCI Uphill. These roles were filled by Lily Portman and Imogen Hartley respectively.
Q. What were your influences for the look and style of the film?
I prefer a dynamic way of shooting, somewhat akin to Paul Greengrass’s handheld, documentary style. This to some extent defined the look of Do Something, Jake and was also a necessity at times, since we needed to shoot quickly out in the street or in working restaurants and businesses. I’m also keen on using natural light and colour and we were fortunate that the English autumn (we shot in November 2015) delivered some wonderful scenes. We were also using a range of borrowed lenses, most of which had manual controls and a ‘retro’ style to them, so this also defined the soft aesthetic that we have with this film.
Q. Did you experience any challenges whilst making the film?
There were many challenges during the three-week shoot – the usual stuff, such as cramming everything into the time available, getting everyone scheduled in, cars breaking down, weather and high winds, and so on – but by far the biggest challenge was the three-year post-production phase. We originally wanted to turn the film around in six months but with no funding available, we had to use our own in-house editing skills and the help of sound designers and visual effects experts over the internet. These great people, from places as far afield as Los Angeles, Portugal and various other European countries, loved the project and willingly gave their time. The music was incredibly difficult, and eventually, after much experimentation, was realised by a simple approach one acoustic guitar!
Q. What were some of your favourite moments during filming?
Ha ha! Well, sometimes I liken directing a film to my rugby days: it doesn’t seem like fun when you’re playing, but it’s a great laugh talking about it in the pub after! I remember on one occasion at the start of the shoot we were filming some scenes on the stairs of a busy apartment with residents coming-and-going, noise, lighting problems, and all sorts of director-hell kicking off. I had a moment of self-doubt as to what we were trying to achieve. Producer (Caroline) was getting very twitchy about our slipping schedule and things were tense. But in a wonderful moment, actor, Tom Loone (who plays Guy), turned up absolutely 100% brimming with enthusiasm regardless of any perceived issues we were confronting. And when we rolled cameras on him, and then Jamie, we realised we were on to something really special. These people could really act! There were other, similar moments during the shoot – all sorts of problems, quickly extinguished by moments of acting brilliance and great humour. When you’re directing, focussed actors like Tom give you a well-needed boost and a reason why you’re putting yourself through it all.
Q. Do you have any new projects which you are working on?
Since Do Something, Jake, we have shot two other films called Agent Kelly and Cyberlante. These are in post-production and we hope to release them later in 2019. We are also shooting a horror-thriller called Surveilled, also a feature film. These are all very different ideas with their own unique challenges, and we have benefited greatly from the experience of Do Something, Jake, which really set the platform for these other projects.
Q. If someone is looking to direct their own film, what advice would you give them?
To direct your own film, I believe it’s important to read widely. Not just about the filmmaking process and technical aspects but also novels, screenplays, non-fiction works, and pretty much anything that provides some background and context from which to authoritatively direct. Watch films from many different genres and languages. Watch so-called ‘bad’ and ‘good’ films, remembering that it’s all subjective. You should aim to make a film with which you are ultimately satisfied, but be aware that you have a responsibility to entertain and/or inform the audience who might be paying to watch your work with their hard-earned money.
You can find out more about Do Something, Jake on the websites: www.dosomethingjake.com and www.rayafilms.com
You can also keep up to date with news regarding the film on the following social media pages;
James Smith Twitter
Raya Films Twitter
Do Something Jake Twitter
Do Something, Jake Facebook
The Southed-on-Sea Film Festival runs from Thursday 23rd May to Monday 27th May. You can find out more about the event and purchase tickets on the website https://www.southendfilmfestival.com
Published in various websites, Philip is a reviewer who is best known for his interviews and media coverage of independent projects including; films, books, theatre and live events. Always on the lookout for something different to cover!
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