My painter husband became a film director!
Bill Maloney's film 'Lunatic'
Tuesday 4th September 2007
On paper, Bill Maloney seemed about as far from the glamorous film industry as you could get. He was a regular bloke from Lewisham, South East London, who made a living slogging his guts out as a painter and decorator.
But one day, his wife Maria realised Bill could be good at something else. He was a chatty bloke who loved nothing more than regaling his friends with stories down the pub. So one night, Maria surprised Bill over dinner.
'You'd better eat that steak and kidney pie quickly,' she said. 'You've got an audition for a local drama school in an hour.'
Bill was stunned but he went along - and got in! But after a few weeks, he quit.
'I'm fed up of arty-farty actors with their heads in the clouds,' he said. 'I'm going to write my own film about people I know.'
Sure enough, over the next few weeks, Bill spent every spare minute scribbling away. Then together with his daughter Regan, 30, he held auditions for the parts in Lewisham shopping centre. Only local people were allowed to try out - not actors.
The film was on its way to being made but there was just one problem - money. Maria and Bill lived in a small 2 bed flat and remortgaging it was the only way to raise the money to fund the film.
Maria took a deep breath and said yes. After all, she had to allow Bill to follow his dream. Pie 'n' Mash films was born.
And it's paid off! Bill's film, 'Lunatic', was released in June this year. It's a gritty tale about two brothers who work as rent collectors. It's selling like hotcakes and Maria and Bill have won funding to make another film.
'We're not expecting to be millionaires, we'd just be happy to make enough money to pay back our mortgage,' says Maria. 'We're just an ordinary family making films about normal people but my Bill's an inspiration!'
To find out more about Bill's film 'Lunatic', click here or to buy a copy, visit www.play.com.