Jocelyn:I had recently graduated from the Australian Film, Television and Radio school in Sydney and was working in my first real job, as a script editor for the Channel 7 Drama Unit. I heard that a local funding body was asking for submissions for short films for children. I decided to try to write a 20 minute comedy for kids. I used elements of my childhood and adult life for ideas. When I was a young girl, my mother was a bit of a hippy, and what you might call a tree hugger. She would take us for long walks and tell us to tell the trees how much we appreciated them. My father, on the other hand, loved cutting trees down. This, I could never understand. When we moved into a semi rural suburb, he decided one of the tall eucalyptus trees in our backyard was dangerous. A high wind might knock it over, and he feared it might fall on our house. He bought a chainsaw and decided to cut it down himself. I was very upset about this I was a bit sound sensitive so I hated the sound of the chainsaw, and I felt very sorry for the tree. So I guess Elly was based on me. And th story of the film was Elly’s efforts to prevent her Dad and the horrible neighbour (Mr Jensen) from killing the tree. She wins!

I did not have three brothers, only one, but at the time I wrote the script, I was living in a share house with three young film makers named Paul, Anthony and Douglas. As a joke I named Elly’s brothers after them. One (Paul) would eventually become my husband PJ Hogan.

The film (The Siege Of Barton’s Bathroom) got the funding and originally starred Frankie J Holden as Dad, Claire Crowther as Mum, Brendan Cowel as Paul and Rebekah Elmaloglou as Elly and Max Phipps as Mister Jensen.

Jocelyn: Good question. I am not sure. Perhaps I can ask ACMI to upload it to Vimeo or youtube or something like that.

Jocelyn: I had no idea about that, but I am very pleased to hear that.

Jocelyn: I did not, I think the first episode is pretty much the same script as the short film. But the producers took over the casting, and hired experienced directors to direct the episodes. I has never directed anything like a feature film or TV show at that stage in my career, so they did not allow me to direct any of the episodes. I did, however, get to be the Series Creator and look after the writing of the scripts (kind of like a script producer).

Jocelyn: Thank you for saying that! When the ABC asked me to create the series, PJ and I brainstormed and decided to merge a lot of our own childhood experiences into the storylines. I really did have a red headed best friend named Anita, and she and I really did have rival “clubs” as in the series. PJ really did hate football as a child, and was bullied for being sensitive, like the character of Paul.

Jocelyn: I suppose their relationship was based closely on my relationship wtih my father. He loved me very much, but I was not always sure he understood me. If you are interested, I wrote a memoir a few years ago, called “Unconditional Love” that explains a lot about my childhood and my parents.

Jocelyn:You are correct. I did want the audience to look at the adults through the eyes of Elly and her brother Paul.

Jocelyn: Oh yes. Absolutely, but not until after high school. Probably during the university years. In real life, no. The real Anita did not marry Paul because I did! Anita became a chef.

Jocelyn: Yes, at the time I had an option with Penguin Books to pitch them another book on the Bartons, but it did not happen because the ABC owned the rights. I started another book for kids based on a young boy who discovers some mer-people in his local sea-baths, but then I got pregnant and had my first child, then went on to direct my first film (“Proof” starring Hugo Weaving and Russell Crowe) and the book got left behind. I still think about it sometimes.

Jocelyn: I am the mother of many children, so you never know! I have a busy career writing and directing movies and TV but I would love, one day, to finish my mer- people story.

Thank you Erwin, for being so interested in The Bartons.
Yours sincerely,
Jocelyn