The Making of HOME POLICIES

By Nick Smith

Comedy is important. Humor can keep us going when times are hard. We share private jokes with our family and friends. Laughing with our workmates helps us get through the day.

A film set is a workspace that thrives on good morale and a sense of momentum. I’ve been on some films sets that are deadly serious but my favorite working environment is full of joy. A light mood makes the long hours and repetitive cadence much more palatable; for example, 18 hours on set with John Hannah (The Mummy) flew by.

If we’re filming one of my scripts, sometimes I laugh at my own jokes. But it’s the way the actors deliver their lines that really tickles me. A case in point: I had to stop myself from bursting out laughing when James Poule (The Parker Syndrome) played Miles Spinetti in Home Policies, a short film produced in Northwest Florida.

Miles is a British Minister of Parliament whose opinion of himself is as high as his ratings. His popularity is partly due to his speechwriter Jonathan O’Shea, played by Thomas Carter Rochester (Corsicana). Miles is having trouble communicating with his wife, Mildred, played by Daphne Lewis (Mother Stands for Comfort). He asks Jonathan to help him write some dialogue he can use. Cue a series of awkward moments while Miles tries the lines on Mildred.

James, Daphne and Thomas’ performances are hilarious. I loved the way they brought extra nuances to comedic characters. I was concerned that Daphne would not have enough material to build on, as her character only speaks in one scene. But she proved you don’t need wending wordy dialogue to create a three-dimensional persona on screen. Likewise, Thomas took a character that would have been smarmy and made him charismatic, while James made his boorish MP sympathetic.

Home Policies was originally developed in the late 1990s. An early draft appears in my first book about Spinet Screenwriting. Since it’s about a buffoonish politician, it’s sadly still as relevant today as it was 20 years ago.

Home Policies sat on the shelf for a long time, taking a back seat to feature films. It was a comedy I always wanted to tell. Since most of my movies are serious and/or scary, I was itching to film a comedy. In 2021 I cast Home Policies and the script was finally filmed in June 2022.

Director of Photography Kevin Almodovar is patient, has an infectious work ethic and is never afraid to speak his mind. We have worked together several times and I am always impressed by the results of his camerawork. Backed up by an exceptional crew and my fellow producer Elesia Marie, Kevin was able to take the locations – small spaces with limited options for angles – and tell a story that should look great on the big screen.

We also used our limited space to tell a funnier story. We decided that Miles would move claustrophobically close to Jonathan, making the speechwriter super uncomfortable. The results are splendidly silly.

The music will be composed by emerging musician, Eden Luberto, who will be studying at Florida State University later this year. Her album 6 feet underground is on Spotify. Once the music is added, the film will be ready for festivals in the fall.

Miles Spinetti is a man of the people – dingbat people. In real life, we elect politicians in the hope that they will do the right thing and help us to live a good life. Unfortunately, the system often stymies them – and us. Film is a form of speaking out and, like other artforms, can chip away at that uncaring system, even if it’s just one little joke at a time.