Joe Bor: "I've got a standup show about me trying to make a film with Nicholas Cage."

[00:00:00] Music

[00:00:29] Hello everyone and welcome to the latest episode of You Shouldve Been Here Last Week,

[00:00:36] the podcast that deals with the ins and outs of the comedy biz that we call show.

[00:00:41] I'm hosted by myself, Steve Gribbin and my fellow comedian Paul Ricketts.

[00:00:46] Today's guest is a stand-up comedian, writer, film director, film producer,

[00:00:51] author, should we say, and the very wonderful Mr Joe Boar.

[00:00:57] Thank you for being on the show Joe, welcome.

[00:01:00] Cheers mate, thanks for having me. I love the title. It's a great title.

[00:01:04] It is isn't it? Well, it's been said so many times.

[00:01:08] Yeah, yeah, yeah. First question we often ask people is, you know, how did you actually get involved in the comedy biz in the first place?

[00:01:15] What made you want to get involved?

[00:01:19] I'm not one of those people who was like, oh, I'm really funny.

[00:01:23] I don't know if I am that funny in person.

[00:01:25] I thought, what happened?

[00:01:28] I went to the Edinburgh Festival, I had a film that went to the Edinburgh Festival and did pretty well.

[00:01:35] This film that I made at film school and while I was there, the Edinburgh Festival was, it went to the film festival

[00:01:41] and at the same, the Edinburgh Comedy Festival was on at the same time.

[00:01:48] And yeah, I went to the comedy festival, really enjoyed it.

[00:01:53] And I thought, I'll give that a go.

[00:01:57] I thought it was a nice way of trying out my writing to, and you know what?

[00:02:02] I made a comedy film and the comedy film got laughs.

[00:02:06] And that was a big thing just hearing those laughs from stuff, something I'd made.

[00:02:11] It gave me the confidence, I think.

[00:02:13] And then just seeing some comedy around the same time.

[00:02:17] And I think that was it.

[00:02:20] Then I just booked in downstairs at the King's Head, was my first gig, the oldest comedy club in Britain.

[00:02:31] But is it?

[00:02:33] Apparently, but Stuart Leith said it was the oldest comedy club in Britain.

[00:02:37] So that was, I'll go with him.

[00:02:40] But yeah, and I just started and I got the bug and then I think a few,

[00:02:44] I think a comedian called Michael O'Donovan was there and he said,

[00:02:48] oh, you know, I'll get you in with some other gigs.

[00:02:51] And they just sort of snowballed, I think.

[00:02:53] When you first started, was it as your, did you used to do a character as well?

[00:02:58] I do a character as well.

[00:03:00] Yeah, but I didn't do my character for a while, maybe about eight years, seven or eight years.

[00:03:08] I always liked character stuff and I always sort of filmed character sketches,

[00:03:15] but it took me a while to sort of do it live.

[00:03:19] You don't see a lot of character comedy on the search engine.

[00:03:22] Yeah, I mean, we were talking with several of our guests

[00:03:25] and that is one of the big things, you know, sketches,

[00:03:29] they sort of come back into fashion, but like double acts, trios, character acts,

[00:03:34] they've all sort of fallen by the wayside, haven't they?

[00:03:37] You just, yeah, there's only a handful on the circuit.

[00:03:40] I mean, it's, I don't know, it's quite made, well,

[00:03:44] I consider myself on the mainstream circuit, I suppose.

[00:03:47] And it's quite, it can be quite a tough thing to make work, I think.

[00:03:54] It's really fun to do.

[00:03:55] I do love doing the character, especially in tough situations.

[00:03:59] I do, when I do a cruise, I often do two shows and one show is made

[00:04:03] and one show is my character.

[00:04:04] So it's good to be able to have that in the back pocket

[00:04:08] and you can get away with stuff when you do a character, you know.

[00:04:11] He's quite fun to do because he's an idiot.

[00:04:14] He thinks he's high status, but he's really an idiot.

[00:04:19] So it's a fun dynamic to play with.

[00:04:21] I mean, it's essentially the Tory cabinet, most of the Tory cabinet.

[00:04:27] He's a posh explorer, isn't he?

[00:04:29] Is that what he does? He's an explorer.

[00:04:31] Yeah, he's a posh explorer.

[00:04:33] He's sort of a Bear Grylls kind of all the gear and no idea.

[00:04:39] Wasn't he originally rugabugger?

[00:04:41] Yeah, I do have some rugby, it's rugabugger type material.

[00:04:46] I used to really enjoy.

[00:04:49] So, I think it's a funny world.

[00:04:55] Yeah, I mean, I often admire the difficult thing with doing a character act

[00:05:00] is when it's being in the moment occupying every single bit of that.

[00:05:05] So if someone heckles, I imagine that's really hard to do

[00:05:10] in reacting as them rather than yourself.

[00:05:13] I always think that's a very difficult line to walk.

[00:05:16] Yeah, it's a good point. Do you know what really helps?

[00:05:19] I don't know if I should give this away.

[00:05:20] But I think what I would say is he's slow, because he's a bit slow.

[00:05:25] He's a bit stupid.

[00:05:27] Yeah.

[00:05:28] I could be a bit slow and stupid.

[00:05:30] And so it's like, and he had sort of phrases which I could sort of go over

[00:05:38] and say stock phrases that you know, good for you.

[00:05:43] Do you know what one of the funniest things I ever saw?

[00:05:48] And I've told all the story before it actually happens in Liverpool

[00:05:52] at the Royal Court when they're raw had comedy.

[00:05:54] We're doing this guy called Valentine Fly Guy.

[00:05:57] The character guy used to play an American Pimp.

[00:06:01] He had to hold the gear, the fedora hat and then the whole thing.

[00:06:05] And just to put on this fake New York accent.

[00:06:09] But there was a brilliant bit.

[00:06:10] He goes, I'm from New York and there's somebody at the back goes,

[00:06:13] which better New York you from mate?

[00:06:15] You went, I'm from Brooklyn.

[00:06:17] He goes, which part of Brooklyn?

[00:06:19] He goes, well, I'm from the east side.

[00:06:20] Which part of the east side?

[00:06:22] And then eventually he cracked me.

[00:06:25] Look, mate, I'm from North London.

[00:06:27] All right.

[00:06:31] They just broke in that home, God.

[00:06:35] Because you made that film that got laughs.

[00:06:38] So then, yeah.

[00:06:39] And then you did comedy and then you decided to go back into

[00:06:42] into doing more film stuff.

[00:06:44] What made you do that?

[00:06:48] Do you know what it was?

[00:06:49] I was writing some scripts.

[00:06:51] I think this is probably what it was.

[00:06:53] I was writing a few scripts and about sort of seven years in

[00:06:58] I was getting, they were getting, you know,

[00:07:01] it was quite hard to get people to read them,

[00:07:04] you know, sitcoms and things like that.

[00:07:07] And then YouTube sort of was taking off a bit.

[00:07:10] So I just started putting some stuff on there a little bit.

[00:07:14] And I found the first film that I made got picked up by

[00:07:18] production company, just a little short film and was

[00:07:21] developed for us as a sitcom.

[00:07:23] It never got made obviously, but it got picked up.

[00:07:26] And I just found that just filming a thing was just

[00:07:29] really nice, you know, and I could do it.

[00:07:33] And I started working with the guys from NextUp.

[00:07:37] They were next up wasn't around then,

[00:07:39] but Dan was filming with me and we made a few short films.

[00:07:43] We made one about a referee called The Ref.

[00:07:47] And then we made one called The Milkman about Milkman.

[00:07:53] We don't spend enough time thinking up the titles.

[00:07:57] But they both got, they both were developed actually

[00:08:00] into TV shows.

[00:08:02] And we found just filming them, you know,

[00:08:06] we get more attention because people,

[00:08:08] these companies receive scripts all the time

[00:08:11] and it's just so much easier to go have a look at this.

[00:08:16] Yes, I started doing that really.

[00:08:18] And I remembered that I could do it.

[00:08:22] And then got more into it as, you know,

[00:08:26] when I was getting sort of pilots but not quite

[00:08:29] getting a series for whatever reason,

[00:08:31] not being young enough, not being famous enough.

[00:08:34] I just started making like, I mean,

[00:08:37] I'm racing ahead here but making the cogs doc.

[00:08:41] But we should already met with production companies about doing.

[00:08:44] I was just like, do you know what?

[00:08:46] And we were in lockdown and me and Danny wanted to make it

[00:08:49] and we just made it.

[00:08:51] Now I remember when Danny said to me,

[00:08:54] I was kicking with him and he said,

[00:08:56] you do an Edinburgh this year and I went, no.

[00:08:58] He said, I'm not doing it either.

[00:09:00] I'm going to spend all the money that I would spend

[00:09:02] in Edinburgh on film equipment to make his,

[00:09:06] because he says if I can make a film

[00:09:08] and have more traction than me just losing the money in Edinburgh,

[00:09:12] which I didn't realize he was going to get together with you

[00:09:15] to make the films but what a good investment.

[00:09:19] Yeah, I'm always trying to,

[00:09:21] if ever I've got a spare bit of cash,

[00:09:23] I always buy something new, like lights or sound equipment

[00:09:28] or so I'm sort of built up.

[00:09:31] At the same as Danny, we both sort of built up

[00:09:33] enough equipment to just do it ourselves.

[00:09:35] So and now we've sort of found a route

[00:09:38] of getting stuff on Amazon and getting it away.

[00:09:41] It's quite nice to have a bit of control.

[00:09:43] So what was it like doing the cogs film?

[00:09:46] It was locked down and me and Danny were obviously

[00:09:52] very fond of cogs as many comics were.

[00:09:56] I remember we spoke at the comedians'

[00:10:00] comedian party, the comedian's Christmas party

[00:10:05] and strangely enough cogs had won an award posthumously

[00:10:12] and we were with his son and it was just there.

[00:10:17] I think we pretty much decided to just make it.

[00:10:20] When cogs was alive, I'd chatted to him

[00:10:22] about making a film about him

[00:10:24] and he'd given Danny his book

[00:10:26] and it would just seem like,

[00:10:28] and Danny had already filmed his wake

[00:10:33] and it just seemed like we both,

[00:10:36] and we were mates and it just seemed like a good thing

[00:10:38] for us to do and then in lockdown

[00:10:41] we just decided to sit down

[00:10:43] and do it and work with his boys' blessing.

[00:10:47] And I think we couldn't do stand-up at the time

[00:10:50] so it's a bit of a love letter to stand up

[00:10:52] as well as him.

[00:10:54] What was the impetus behind doing the grouch end one as well?

[00:10:59] I mean, there was a gap wasn't there?

[00:11:02] So you made other things in between.

[00:11:05] What did you do after the cogs won?

[00:11:07] So we made the cogs won and then we chatted

[00:11:09] there was a lot of chatting to companies

[00:11:11] and figuring out what to do with it

[00:11:13] and then a few companies sort of wanted it

[00:11:15] but wanted to make it a bit TV

[00:11:18] and put certain famous comedians in it

[00:11:21] who didn't really know cogs and change it a lot.

[00:11:24] I don't know how much I should say on this,

[00:11:26] but we just found a distributor,

[00:11:30] thankfully they're called Journeyman

[00:11:32] and they distributed my latest,

[00:11:36] distributed a few films of mine

[00:11:38] and they were like, yeah, we'll get it

[00:11:40] on all these platforms.

[00:11:42] So we just decided to go for that

[00:11:44] and sort of gave me the confidence

[00:11:46] to do other stuff after that

[00:11:48] and then I made Steve Best approached me

[00:11:52] to do a documentary about him and comedy photography.

[00:11:56] So I did that.

[00:11:59] That was while I was, I got a job working

[00:12:01] at a production company kind of just after lockdown

[00:12:05] when comedy was stand up, was coming back in

[00:12:07] and as I was doing more of the film stuff

[00:12:10] I did a bit more producing.

[00:12:11] So while I was there, thankfully I was able

[00:12:14] to sort of utilize a lot of people there.

[00:12:16] So I had an editor helping out on that one

[00:12:20] on the, it's called The Clowntographer

[00:12:23] about Steve and a few other comedy photographers.

[00:12:28] I really like Steve's work and...

[00:12:30] He's brilliant isn't he?

[00:12:32] Yeah, he's great and I love comedy photography.

[00:12:35] A lot of the comedy photographers there in it are brilliant

[00:12:38] and it's another side to comedy that people,

[00:12:41] most people don't normally see

[00:12:43] and I thought it would look beautiful

[00:12:45] and so it's yeah, it's a really nice looking documentary.

[00:12:48] We're still trying to find a home for it at the moment.

[00:12:51] So there's that and then there's,

[00:12:53] at the same time I made a couple of other short films

[00:12:56] about the oldest pub in Britain.

[00:12:59] I know there's an argument about which one is

[00:13:02] the oldest pub in Britain.

[00:13:03] This is the oldest inhabited pub apparently

[00:13:05] which closed down over COVID.

[00:13:08] So it like survived World Wars and the plague

[00:13:13] and couldn't survive COVID.

[00:13:15] So I found that really interesting

[00:13:17] and I found the guy who ran it really interested

[00:13:20] and that sort of done the festival circuit.

[00:13:23] I can see the places you've been to,

[00:13:26] LA, Miami, Paris, Las Vegas

[00:13:30] and then suddenly Cleveland suddenly appears

[00:13:33] and thinking what the hell made you go to Cleveland?

[00:13:36] Even for a festival?

[00:13:38] Cleveland's an Oscar affiliated festival though

[00:13:41] and it's quite a big one but it's weird.

[00:13:43] It's like obviously a lot of them were in lockdown

[00:13:45] so I couldn't physically go,

[00:13:47] it looks good on the poster.

[00:13:54] The film went there even if I didn't.

[00:13:56] So yeah, that was really weird

[00:13:58] seeing Kong's film go to all around the world.

[00:14:03] How did they view that film in America?

[00:14:06] Were they a bit taken aback by Kong's?

[00:14:11] It always surprises me.

[00:14:13] What I love about doing the festival

[00:14:15] is it always surprises me where a film hits

[00:14:19] and that one, the Hollywood Gold Film Festival

[00:14:24] which the idea of Kong's in Hollywood is amazing isn't it?

[00:14:28] What do you think he would have thought of the film?

[00:14:32] He would have called us a bunch of wankers

[00:14:36] but I'd like to think he'd secretly like it.

[00:14:40] Yeah, we were trying to make something that he...

[00:14:45] You know, it's about him.

[00:14:47] It was a really tough edit actually

[00:14:49] because we had so many stories.

[00:14:51] I still bump into comics and stuff

[00:14:54] and I'm like, what's the deal with it?

[00:14:57] I bump into comics now.

[00:14:59] You said to me, you got one.

[00:15:02] And I was like, there's quite a few stories

[00:15:06] that people have told me that could have made the edit

[00:15:09] and they could have had such a long film there.

[00:15:12] But yeah, I suppose we wanted to make something

[00:15:14] that was loyal to him and also truthful.

[00:15:18] I mean, Ivor Dembina loves it

[00:15:21] when people are horrible about it.

[00:15:23] He was a bit of a wanker.

[00:15:27] So he loves, you know, I think it's Nigel Claflfield

[00:15:32] who sort of...

[00:15:33] Nigel Claflfield is one of my favourite lines in it.

[00:15:36] Nigel Claflfield.

[00:15:37] I think I said to him, why did you stop managing him?

[00:15:41] And the line that is in the film, he goes,

[00:15:43] well, you can't manage someone that's headbutted you.

[00:15:46] We're so good.

[00:15:54] I mean, we once went to a club.

[00:15:56] I'm not going to name the people involved

[00:15:58] but Coles played there many, many years ago

[00:16:01] and they've been a long time since he'd been there.

[00:16:05] And he goes, he said, why haven't I been to this club?

[00:16:10] Oh, fucking nice to play.

[00:16:12] It loads of years ago.

[00:16:14] And then the bloke was running it.

[00:16:16] And he goes, familiar to me.

[00:16:18] Here we go.

[00:16:19] He goes, I'm the bloke who's running it.

[00:16:21] Don't you remember you called me a cunt?

[00:16:24] That's why you haven't played in 20 years.

[00:16:28] But, you know, there's loads of stories like that, obviously.

[00:16:31] We once did a gig in Southampton and he did, you know,

[00:16:33] he famously used to turn a banger nail into the wall.

[00:16:37] And at the end, we were actually driving down there.

[00:16:41] I was in the car and he was driving.

[00:16:43] So when he used to live in London,

[00:16:45] as we'd go into the car, the bloke was pursuing us

[00:16:48] in the car park asking if he was going to pay

[00:16:51] for the damage that he'd done to the wall.

[00:16:53] He was absolutely incandescent.

[00:16:55] And Cones was sort of going, oh, fuck off, fuck off.

[00:16:57] And then just got to the car and drove up.

[00:16:59] But that used to happen all the time, didn't it?

[00:17:01] Wherever he went, he'd like just have her nail into the...

[00:17:04] He stopped doing it because he was losing gigs over it.

[00:17:06] By the end, he was worried about all that stuff

[00:17:09] because he's got a career to maintain.

[00:17:12] Well, I'm interested in it.

[00:17:13] Unstoppable me will be the next one in the documentaries.

[00:17:16] But before we get to it,

[00:17:18] it's the stuff that you've done with comics as actors.

[00:17:23] Because you've...

[00:17:25] I saw that little short film you did with Sean Walsh.

[00:17:28] Being Sean Walsh.

[00:17:31] And of course, there's all comedians acting in it.

[00:17:33] And you've got Andy Linden acting in the stuff.

[00:17:36] I mean, you've worked with actors and you've worked with comedians.

[00:17:39] What's the difference between them?

[00:17:41] Is there a difference?

[00:17:43] Do you know what I always think of this one time?

[00:17:47] We'd probably sum it up.

[00:17:49] I was written and directed a play in Edinburgh

[00:17:54] called Who Killed the Counselor.

[00:17:56] And it was a mix of actors and comedians.

[00:18:00] And this sort of summed it up.

[00:18:02] Every time we were getting ready to perform,

[00:18:06] you would get the actors sort of preparing,

[00:18:10] doing their warm-ups.

[00:18:12] And you'd just get comedians just trying out jokes.

[00:18:15] That's very true.

[00:18:20] And at the end, they would sort of warm down the actors.

[00:18:24] And comedians would assess,

[00:18:26] oh, we died a bit there, didn't we?

[00:18:28] Oh, that bit smashed it.

[00:18:30] Because you're so conditioned to that.

[00:18:33] But generally, I think comedians make some of the best actors.

[00:18:39] Because I think they're used to being real.

[00:18:42] It's a different type of performance sometimes.

[00:18:45] Andy is an actor, and I think Sean is an actor as well.

[00:18:49] Sean wants to be an actor.

[00:18:51] He wants to act more.

[00:18:53] He's just been cast in the play Arts as well.

[00:18:56] Oh, right, okay.

[00:18:58] Amazing.

[00:19:00] So he's doing more and more acting.

[00:19:02] And Sean was obviously very close to the material

[00:19:05] and knew the material.

[00:19:07] I didn't have to do an awful lot of actual directing, really.

[00:19:11] Because it was a very personal story, personal performance.

[00:19:16] So I let it sort of come out quite naturally.

[00:19:19] With Andy, Andy kind of knew we sat him down.

[00:19:24] He sort of knows the process really well.

[00:19:27] And it was a monologue.

[00:19:29] They're both monologues.

[00:19:31] And they obviously both used to doing monologues.

[00:19:34] And it's just sort of the odd note here and there.

[00:19:36] Because I'm a performer.

[00:19:38] It helps. I'm a performer.

[00:19:40] I don't want too many notes when you're performing.

[00:19:43] You just need the odd bit of direction to take you in a certain way.

[00:19:50] You try and get the best out of that person.

[00:19:53] And yeah, they're both brilliant.

[00:19:55] I think they're both really nice performances.

[00:19:57] What was amazing is they both did it without me needing to edit.

[00:20:03] I mean, we did in the final film of the one I did with Andy,

[00:20:06] the silent treatment.

[00:20:08] There are cuts in it.

[00:20:10] But I didn't really want cuts because I wanted to show off that he did it all in one go,

[00:20:14] which I thought was amazing.

[00:20:16] And it's just sort of letting them know where,

[00:20:19] what sort of moods and what sort of beats you want at certain points.

[00:20:24] But I think comedians have a natural instinct for that anywhere.

[00:20:29] I mean, Andy Linden is very underrated, I think.

[00:20:32] He's just a naturally fit.

[00:20:34] He's one of the funniest people I've ever met.

[00:20:37] We're talking in the undetected with Bob Mills.

[00:20:39] We're talking about how certain people's material sticks in your head.

[00:20:44] And the thing is, all I hear in my head sometimes is Andy Linden used to go,

[00:20:48] Shadley!

[00:20:51] His face is amazing there.

[00:20:54] He won a few awards for that performance there.

[00:20:57] He was really responsible for one of the funniest things I ever saw.

[00:21:00] It's his true story at the Shakespeare's Head in the Carnaby Street

[00:21:04] and the Chocl Club used to be there.

[00:21:06] Andy Izzard was on and Andy Linden had been on first

[00:21:09] and he got some of his old mates from where he comes from

[00:21:13] and they were all proper geysers.

[00:21:18] And at Andy Izzard, this is absolutely true,

[00:21:20] he was not having a particularly good gig.

[00:21:22] One of Andy Linden's mates just went,

[00:21:24] Andy, this bloke, shit!

[00:21:27] Shall I cut him?

[00:21:29] Jesus.

[00:21:31] No, mate, we don't do that.

[00:21:34] I also noticed you did some adverts and you've also done some...

[00:21:39] I mean you've done the whole gamut haven't you really?

[00:21:41] You've done the whole gamut.

[00:21:43] But what I'm going to pick out is the only funny video I've ever seen

[00:21:48] from Dominic Frisbee.

[00:21:50] And I've had the misfortune to provide music to a Dominic Frisbee video.

[00:21:55] It's a terrible video by the way so once I've had most hits

[00:21:58] and Andy are ashamed about that, said something like 30,000 hits

[00:22:03] which is depressing.

[00:22:05] But yours is brilliant.

[00:22:07] Thank you. Which one's that?

[00:22:09] Well the one I did, oh this is Antibregsit song

[00:22:14] and he employed me to jazz it up a bit and do the music for it

[00:22:18] so because he was paying me I thought I don't care about what the issue is

[00:22:21] I'll take the money.

[00:22:23] Now I wish I did care a bit more

[00:22:25] and did he approach you with a pile of cash so you make a video for me?

[00:22:29] Potentially, possibly.

[00:22:33] No comment.

[00:22:36] I'll take that as a yes because he has got piles of cash to do that.

[00:22:40] Yeah I think it helps isn't it?

[00:22:43] The boxing one. Passive aggressive.

[00:22:45] Yeah I think it's really fun.

[00:22:47] I mean I thought it was a really funny idea

[00:22:50] and obviously having a bit of money does help with the production as well.

[00:22:54] I mean my motivation obviously isn't money but it is making something of artistic,

[00:23:04] something that looks nice, something that is nice.

[00:23:06] And I think it was really fun and it was in, I think it was David Hayes boxing studio

[00:23:13] but we are wearing boxes and it looked really nice

[00:23:19] and I had a really good camera guy on it

[00:23:22] and he had some dancers as well so it was a bit of a productive.

[00:23:28] It was mad.

[00:23:30] At one point he joins them in the dance moves.

[00:23:33] Yeah, yeah.

[00:23:37] Well worth it.

[00:23:38] No comment.

[00:23:43] But yeah it was a bit fun and that did well

[00:23:45] but we sent that to a few film festivals that did really well.

[00:23:48] I like doing a music video because yeah it's a bit of fun.

[00:23:52] It's actually a very good rap that he's doing

[00:23:54] and you have something to work with there.

[00:23:57] Yeah.

[00:23:58] I think we'll move on to Unstoppable Me is your next film.

[00:24:04] Yeah.

[00:24:05] I feel like this is some sort of like a show, a film show.

[00:24:09] Yeah this is your high.

[00:24:11] And then you move sweetly on to Unstoppable Me.

[00:24:13] Tell me about that.

[00:24:16] So professional.

[00:24:20] Yeah, no we...

[00:24:22] It's about Tanya Lee Davis.

[00:24:24] I can't remember how it came about whether we approached each other.

[00:24:28] We did have the same agent.

[00:24:29] We're not with that agent anymore but we had the same agent

[00:24:32] and she liked the cogs doc and some other stuff that I did.

[00:24:37] I really liked her and she stayed at mine once

[00:24:42] and I sort of got to experience what it's like for her

[00:24:46] and I thought it was really interesting.

[00:24:48] You know, I'm not a dwarf so I don't know what it's like.

[00:24:51] I don't know what it was like to be a dwarf

[00:24:54] and I saw her...

[00:24:56] I feel bad saying struggle because she would hate me saying that

[00:25:00] but you know it's a different life.

[00:25:02] She carries around a stool just to turn the light on and off

[00:25:07] and I found that interesting and I wanted to show that.

[00:25:11] She did say to me when we started making

[00:25:13] she was like I don't want it.

[00:25:14] I don't want to do the pressure version.

[00:25:16] I started doing the pressure one.

[00:25:19] I don't want it to be all English and like oh poor me

[00:25:22] and she's absolutely right.

[00:25:25] She's very upbeat

[00:25:27] and ended up being very upbeat because she's very upbeat

[00:25:30] and she's very funny and we just sort of followed her

[00:25:33] across America.

[00:25:34] We did a GoFundMe thing.

[00:25:36] She managed to get together quite a bit of money

[00:25:39] to send me and this cameraman out to America

[00:25:42] and we did a little road trip to her comedy special

[00:25:47] and it was really fun.

[00:25:49] Took the drone out as well, did some drone stuff

[00:25:52] and it was East Coast of America during autumn

[00:25:56] so it looks quite nice

[00:25:59] and she was really funny and fun

[00:26:01] and it's interesting seeing what her life is like

[00:26:04] and that is now available.

[00:26:08] Amazon, Apple TV, all the platforms.

[00:26:11] I mean it was all filmed in America

[00:26:13] that none of it was filmed in the UK.

[00:26:16] You know we did it all in America.

[00:26:18] From Florida to the top all the way up the East Coast

[00:26:23] to like the top of Philadelphia

[00:26:25] and it turned out that is a long way.

[00:26:30] Exactly.

[00:26:31] What's your future project?

[00:26:33] You're working on anything in the pipeline?

[00:26:36] Yeah, I'm working on a few things.

[00:26:38] I'm working on a film about Mark Steel

[00:26:40] about his going through treatment

[00:26:44] and going through cancer treatment

[00:26:45] and he just got the all clear which is great.

[00:26:47] Yeah, it's great news.

[00:26:49] Yeah and you know he's been really funny

[00:26:52] and upbeat about it

[00:26:54] and so that's...

[00:26:56] we're doing a film on that, that's in the edit

[00:26:59] and then I'm doing a film on Dave Thompson

[00:27:02] one of the tubby

[00:27:04] who that's really interesting about him being fired.

[00:27:09] Do you know what it's going to be called?

[00:27:11] I don't know, I think I'm not really sure.

[00:27:14] Tinky Winky, my story,

[00:27:16] I don't know what I can get away with really

[00:27:18] so you're in the edit

[00:27:20] and then I've got a few scripts

[00:27:22] and various other little things as well.

[00:27:25] Really? Sounds great.

[00:27:26] I mean, do you know talking about the...

[00:27:29] Pits of material pop in...

[00:27:31] his material did pop into my head about, you know

[00:27:33] I got into the lift the other day and it was full of piss

[00:27:35] and I thought why, oh why, oh why, do I do that?

[00:27:41] He's great.

[00:27:44] You've got any plans to sort of go off

[00:27:47] off-piste as it were, regardless comedy?

[00:27:49] Are you going to do anything else?

[00:27:51] Or do you think that you found a kind of

[00:27:54] rich vein to mine?

[00:27:56] I'm right with Nick Helm as well.

[00:27:58] We've got some sort of bigger feature film scripts.

[00:28:02] I always feel guilty asking for a lot of money

[00:28:04] but that's sort of big budget stuff

[00:28:06] that, you know, that would be great if that happens

[00:28:09] and then I've got this stand-up show

[00:28:12] which I'm trying out at the Cheshire Fringe

[00:28:15] and Camden Fringe

[00:28:17] which is about me trying to make a film

[00:28:19] or with Nicholas Cage.

[00:28:22] Because I wrote a feature film called

[00:28:25] Searching for Nicholas Cage

[00:28:27] and I went to LA

[00:28:29] and I went to his agent's office

[00:28:31] and I got into his agent's office

[00:28:33] so it's kind of all about that

[00:28:36] and I'm going to see if that...

[00:28:38] because I've written this script

[00:28:40] and I thought, you know, I want to make something of it

[00:28:43] so I'm going to try and talk about it on stage.

[00:28:46] Wow, good luck with that.

[00:28:48] I mean he's already done a very meta film

[00:28:50] hasn't he, Nicholas Cage, didn't he?

[00:28:52] Yeah.

[00:28:53] Which he plays himself.

[00:28:55] Well in my scripts...

[00:28:56] I don't know what I should...

[00:28:57] where I should say this but in my script

[00:28:59] he plays himself

[00:29:01] and I left the script

[00:29:03] with his agent

[00:29:05] and then about a year later

[00:29:07] a film when he plays himself

[00:29:09] Ohhhh

[00:29:11] Ohhhh

[00:29:13] Bastards.

[00:29:15] That's got to be the 40 minute mark of your show.

[00:29:17] That's got to be it.

[00:29:19] Ohhhh

[00:29:21] But then I realised...

[00:29:27] Yeah, that sounds great.

[00:29:29] Sounds good, yeah.

[00:29:30] I think it's quite fun, we'll say.

[00:29:32] I've got a final question.

[00:29:34] I was running out of time.

[00:29:35] Yeah.

[00:29:36] So film, stand up

[00:29:38] to good things to be doing

[00:29:40] which one is your favourite

[00:29:42] or do you have a favourite?

[00:29:44] It really depends what day you ask me.

[00:29:47] I think they're equally lucrative

[00:29:49] at the moment.

[00:29:50] It really depends...

[00:29:51] I mean I love doing them both.

[00:29:53] They're very different.

[00:29:54] The film obviously is more of a day thing

[00:29:56] and stand up is more of a night time thing.

[00:30:00] But stand up is more of a personal thing

[00:30:03] and it's kind of...

[00:30:04] I don't think I'll ever stop doing stand up

[00:30:06] because it does feel good

[00:30:08] to be able to do it

[00:30:10] and there is this kind of therapy in it.

[00:30:13] Yeah, yeah.

[00:30:15] So it helps in that way.

[00:30:18] Yeah, I think I probably would say stand up

[00:30:22] but at the same time I don't think

[00:30:24] many people seem to be doing film

[00:30:27] and comedy.

[00:30:29] I think the answer is probably comedy film.

[00:30:35] Well answered.

[00:30:37] You could be the unofficial chronicler

[00:30:40] of the comedy world couldn't you?

[00:30:42] I was just about to say that.

[00:30:44] You are.

[00:30:46] I like that.

[00:30:47] I should put that down.

[00:30:48] I can't even pronounce it now.

[00:30:50] You bloody said this.

[00:30:51] But whatever the thing, what you said.

[00:30:53] I mean I did get in contact with you

[00:30:55] to say you should do a film about Jimbo

[00:30:57] but I don't think that's going to happen is it?

[00:30:59] Well I've spoken to Jimbo

[00:31:01] and he does want it to happen.

[00:31:03] So that's just...

[00:31:04] Yeah, it probably will do at some point.

[00:31:07] In that case,

[00:31:08] finally get me into one of your films

[00:31:10] of the Jimbo world.

[00:31:12] Yeah, yeah.

[00:31:13] I suppose it's funny

[00:31:14] I was talking to...

[00:31:15] I played comedians football

[00:31:16] and this is probably the one

[00:31:18] that the comedian...

[00:31:19] Daniel Kitson got really excited about it.

[00:31:21] He was like you've got to do one on Jimbo.

[00:31:24] Out of all the subjects.

[00:31:26] Yeah.

[00:31:28] Just for the listeners,

[00:31:29] Jimbo is the UK's longest living

[00:31:32] unpaid comedian.

[00:31:34] He's never really gone beyond

[00:31:36] the open sport circuit.

[00:31:37] And if something like 40 years

[00:31:39] he's got to be around since the 70s.

[00:31:42] It's a long time.

[00:31:43] Yeah, it's been a long time.

[00:31:44] So anyway,

[00:31:45] it's a good time to finish this podcast.

[00:31:48] Thank you for being on it, Joe.

[00:31:50] Thanks, yeah.

[00:31:51] And finally the time

[00:31:53] and showing us your wonderful,

[00:31:54] wonderful home

[00:31:55] that was on blur at the beginning

[00:31:57] and I said get rid of that

[00:31:58] so I can see Picasso on the wall.

[00:32:01] I wouldn't expect anything more than that.

[00:32:03] Of course, of course.

[00:32:05] So that was Joe Ball.

[00:32:08] Really interested in the way

[00:32:09] that he's combined comedy and film

[00:32:11] and he is a chronicle of the UK comedy circuit.

[00:32:17] So if you've enjoyed that podcast

[00:32:19] and my mispronunciation of the word

[00:32:21] chronicle

[00:32:22] and I can't even say mispronunciation now

[00:32:24] it's not like the tooth don't fit no more.

[00:32:29] I mean, how could you false teeth

[00:32:31] that look like this?

[00:32:32] That's terrible.

[00:32:33] So yeah, if you enjoyed it

[00:32:35] as always subscribe,

[00:32:38] like, tell your friends,

[00:32:40] follow on podcasts and make it part of your

[00:32:42] podcast downloads.

[00:32:44] We'll be back in another couple of weeks

[00:32:47] with another one.

[00:32:48] Do you want a final word?

[00:32:50] Yeah, yeah.

[00:32:51] If you really like it

[00:32:52] why not make your own film about us

[00:32:54] making a podcast?

[00:32:56] I was going to suggest that to him

[00:32:57] that you should make about two comedians

[00:32:59] with a podcast

[00:33:00] but there's so much fucking choice.

[00:33:02] So on that we'll say bye.

[00:33:10] I swear, I swear

[00:33:12] this should have been the last week.

[00:33:14] Oh yeah, this should have been the last week.