Independent filmmaker Maurice O'Carroll (Dead Along The Way) writes for Culture about his new project, edgy (and highly irreverent) online series Sucking Diesel.
Sucking Diesel is an original four-part series about a cocaine-addicted priest who finds himself dragged into the underworld under the weight of his drug debts. If I may say so myself, the show is fresh and bold with a devilish sense of humour.
It was released online just two weeks ago and it's already a huge success with audiences and a celeb fan base; Victoria Smurfit and Angeline Ball both found us via Twitter, and both expressed interest in attaching themselves to the six-part Sucking Diesel TV show we are developing.
Thing is, this show was made on lunch money. And if I couldn’t afford to feed the cast and crew, we didn’t shoot until I found a few bob from somewhere.
Watch Sucking Diesel here - please note that it contains language and scenes of a sexual nature.
I’ve always been a maverick, and YouTube looks is like the wild, wild west to me; that’s what attracts me to it. It can be a noisy, chaotic platform that offers the largest audience in the world, endless cat videos and, for me, the chance to create content with complete creative control; a chance to show my voice. I convinced my longtime collaborators that we should roll up our sleeves and make a rock ’n’ roll four-part series about a cocaine-addicted priest, and distribute it free-to-view online.
Check these superb mini eps out of ´Sucking Diesel’ folks...@eddiejackson88 is brilliant in it.The whole cast is!!😎😎😎https://t.co/JPWsIDQ60k via @youtube
— AngelineBall (@AngelineBall) May 1, 2018
I’ve never received any state or private funding, and I’ve never asked for it. I tell my stories with whatever resources and technologies are at hand. I’m self-taught in every filmmaking discipline. I write, direct, shoot when I have to, sound record as a last resort and then I put it all together in post-production. But my greatest strength is the people I surround myself with; a blend of up-and-coming talent and creatives who haven’t reached their full potential just yet. We’re all struggling to make a living, working without payment or financial reward, and we're passionate and committed to telling bold, entertaining stories for a mainstream audience.
It’s early days and we’ve been reliant on friends spreading the word via social media but the response has been incredible. Sucking Diesel is a big hit and we’re working hard to take it out of the wild, wild west and onto your TV screens.
