RTÉ's Storyland ***MEGA MERGE***

lg123 wrote: »

i think the block fighter and the viper are one!!!

upmeath wrote: »

The Boo is a genius
"I came as fast... (almost as if he's forgotten what he has to say next) ... as I could"
"Bebo, baby... bebo!"
"And it's fcukin' nasty!"
"Auld gentlemen sh!te, y'know?"

IronMan wrote: »

It's a bit rough around the edges alright. But I find it very funny, some brillant quotes, "Your mother has..... worms!". The extended versions on Youtube are better than the edited version on RTE. I hope they get commissioned for a series.

afatbollix wrote: »

ya thats the whole point of this thing.. who ever gets the most votes get an other esp...

tennessee time wrote: »

ive been reliably informed that its actually the guy playing eddie durkan (aka the hairy main character) who is from liverpool and has a strong scouse accent in real life.... the other writer is from leeds

‘Hardy Bucks’ from Swinford set sights on the small screen

A GROUP of Swinford filmmakers have already become internet comedy sensations and are hoping that their tales of small town life may hit the TV screen.

‘Hardy Bucks’ follows the lives of Eddie and Buzz, two “shturdy, reliable fellas,” as they face the travails of life in the fictional hamlet of Castletown (aka Swinford). Citing their interests as “shlappin’, fightin’ and rollin’ around,” Eddie and Buzz are joined by their pals ‘The Boo’ and ‘French Toast’ as they face off against their arch nemesis, ‘The Viper’, while still finding the time to “get the Safe Pass”.

A lady and a big move to Galway threaten to come between the hardy duo, but the pair prove to be as inseparable as “siamese beashts”. Having already gained thousands of hits on YouTube and the Bucks’ Bebo site, the boys have been shortlisted for an RTE short film award and UK TV stations have expressed an interest in the lad’s “shtyle” of humour.

‘Hardy Bucks’ was written by Chris Tordoff and Martin Maloney. Now in their early twenties, the guys moved to Swinford when they were 11 and 12, from Leeds and Liverpool. They made the film in Swinford last year with the aid of friends and local people. Aghamore balladeer Paddy Joe Tighe even makes an appearance for a spot of sean nós hip-hop.

Chris directed, while Martin plays the role of Eddie. Other cast members include Owen Colgan as ‘Buzz,’ Tom Kilgallon as ‘The Boo’ and Peter Cassidy as ‘French Toast’. “Myself and Martin were always making little short films with crappy cameras and a few people who saw them said to us why don’t you try and do something longer with better equipment,” said Chris, who is a media student at Ballyfermot College. So, armed with borrowed gear from Chris’s college, the lads set up in Swinford and filmed ‘Hardy Bucks’ over three days. “None of the people who appear in the film have ever acted before,” said Chris.

“We can’t believe the reaction we’re getting. It’s been great. We never though that people would like it so much,” added Martin. “This all started out as a bit of craic. We can’t really believe that a few messers have got this far already. We just wanted to do something that we’d enjoy while still try to create something that was a bit different.” The local national school, pub, golf club, handball alley and Chris’ aunt’s house provide the setting for the lads’ adventures.

“These are places that we know well and that anyone from the area will be familiar with. The house that we use as Eddie’s and Buzz’s belongs to my aunt. It was actually the first place I lived when I moved to Swinford. We just thought it would be funny for the lads to live in this little pink cottage,” said Chris. ‘Hardy Bucks’ has already been labelled as Mayo’s answer to the Trailer Park Boys (a popular Canadian ‘mockumentary’ comedy series). “We just wanted to make a documentary style comedy. The whole sitcom thing is gone a bit stale and would never work for us. We’re fans of the Trailer Park Boys and it’s very flattering that people draw comparisons but I think we’ve put our own spin on things. I have to say that Father Ted was a pretty big influence on us as well,” said Martin, whose Scouse accent will be a surprise to anyone familiar with the broad East Mayo tones of Eddie, the character he plays.

“I’ve been living in Swinford long enough to have the accent down. I got the inspiration for Eddie from a few people really. Some of him is based on my own father and I would say that there’s a fair bit of myself in there too.”

Despite having lived in Swinford for over ten years, the lads’ English accents always set them apart. They agree that not spending their whole lives in the area probably put them in a unique position to see the foibles of rural life that are often taken for granted.

“That’s probably true,” said Chris. People have said to me that you have to be a bit of an outsider to notice some of the things that go on in a small town that are so funny. People have said that there are aspects of ‘Hardy Bucks’ that are so familiar and so funny that they’d never thought about before.” The lads say that their’s is an affectionate portrayal of rural Ireland. “We’re not trying to make a joke out of the area, and I hope people don’t take it up that way. We love the town. It’s like no other place. The sense of community and generosity of spirit is something we’d like to show behind the caricatures of hardy lads cruising around towns in Mitzi Lancers,” said Chris. Before Christmas the boys entered ‘Hardy Bucks’ in RTE’s Storyland competition. The eventual winner will have their film commissioned by RTE. The lads have already seen off hundreds of rivals to make it down to the last 20. The field will be whittled down to ten, when the filmmakers left will be given €8,000 to make an episode which will be posted on the Storyland website. Viewers then vote for their favourite, with the least popular film voted off.

“It’s kind of an X-factor type format. We’re hoping that if we do make it to this stage that all the people that have seen ‘Hardy Bucks’ on Bebo and YouTube will come out and vote for us.”

To check out the lads go to http://www.bebo.com/hardybucks (readers are advised there is strong language throughout)