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Better than sex

Threat advisory: Elevated - Significant risk of entertaining activities

Movie propaganda

The story of a one-night stand that goes wrong for all the right reasons.

When Cin (Susie Porter) and Josh (David Wenham) meet at a party, they're instantly attracted to one another. Sharing a taxi-ride home, both silently ponder the pros and cons for spending the night together. Cin, an attractive woman in her late twenties has forsaken a career as a costume designer and is in no rush to charge into any potential commitment, let alone a relationship. But, hey, this is different. Josh, a wildlife photographer, is returning to London in three days. What can possibly happen in such a short time? Nothing. No messy emotional entanglements, no waiting for the phone to ring, no need to face him again should things not work out. Just enjoyable sex for one night with an attractive guy.

Meanwhile, Josh's thoughts mirror Cin's. He likes her sense of humour, finds her sexually appealing and knows that he'll be on the other side of the world in a few days. Why not take advantage of a great situation? So they retreat into Cin's apartment for one night... just one... but come morning, after a night of terrific sex, both reason he may as well stay a bit longer. After all, he'll be leaving soon enough, so what's the rush?

Another day passes amidst a blur of love-making, shared thoughts and laughter. Josh is amused to find that the only item in Cin's refrigerator, aside from a few rotting vegetables, is a vibrator. Without realising, they start to reveal more about themselves than either normally would, safe in the belief that it doesn't matter because Josh will soon be thousands of kilometres away.

Into their cosy world storms Sam (Catherine McClements), a friend of Cin's, determined to meet this "mystery lover" despite Cin's request that she stay away. Unable to resist flirting with any man, particularly one attached to a close friend, Sam's presence shatters their intimacy and brings Cin's insecurities to the surface. After years of allowing Sam's ego to be stroked at her expense, Cin finally snaps and asks her to go. She then turns on Josh; angry because of the attention he paid to Sam, upset because she doesn't know much about him or his past life and stung with the realisation that she cares. Confused by her sudden shift in mood, Josh leaves.

It's not long before both realise that their single night of casual sex has become something far greater than either were prepared to admit. Josh returns to Cin's apartment and for the first time, they confront their feelings for each other. What started as a one-night stand has developed a life of its own that neither will be able to casually dismiss as planned.

Their last day dawns and Josh leaves for London. Still warm from his love, yet resigned to the fact that he's gone, Cin prepares to get on with her life. But in her otherwise empty refrigerator she finds a little man made from vegetables - a parting gift from Josh. She realises that she just can't let a guy this funny and adorable walk away and that despite potential heartache, sometimes it's worth taking a risk to find something that's better than sex.

Also starring Kris McQuade as the taxi driver, Simon Bossell as Tim, Imelda Corcoran as Carole. Written and directed by Johnathan Teplitzky.

Intelligence analyst

Secret Agent Acid Thunder

Theatrical report

I have always wanted some insight into casual sex. I never had it growing up because for me it was a serious relationship or nothing, although one 5-month stint could have been casual as it was all about sex, just like the movie. Better than sex is an expedited evolution of a relationship. Instead of dragging out over half a year it goes through its paces in just 3 days. Yowza. Have fun!

Media intelligence (DVD)

2 interviews with Susie Porter
You Am I's Open all night film clip as featured on the Better than sex CD soundtrack.
Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1
Picture: Widescreen

Security censorship classification

MA 15+ (Medium level sex scenes)

Surveillance time

84 minutes (1:24 hours)

Not for public release in Australia before date

28 March 2001

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Director's statement

The fundamental idea behind Better than sex is to create a cinematic experience that explores a modern couple's reluctance to recognise the growing emotional attachment that they begin to feel after a night of casual sex. As this casual affair extends from one night into the next day, and then into another night, we the audience begin to recognise, despite their denial, a change from lustful inhibition to a potential for deeper attachment between them. As such, it is very important that the film works on a number of levels. On the one hand, it is a sexy and amusing portrait of Cin and Josh as they struggle to keep their liaison casual. Whilst on the other hand, the film should be punctuated with an emotional resonance that details and reveals both their fears and desires. Whilst we are amused and entertained by their behaviour, we must sympathise and care equally for them, identifying strongly with the sexual and emotional issues that confront them. Their belief that they can continue to have sex together without any complications is fuelled by the fact that Josh is leaving to go overseas in a few days and that they, like many times before, can just walk away unscathed. These elements will underpin the drama that unfolds between them.

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Production notes

The night before...

Sex, quite literally, makes the world go around. From insects to humans, the "urge to merge" has overwhelmed every living organism since the dawn of time and despite the advances of science, it's doubtful that we'll ever invent a better substitute. You need only recall Barbarella's reaction to her first "old-fashioned" sexual encounter in Roger Vadim's futuristic spoof of the same name, to appreciate the difference!

When writer/director Jonathan Teplitzky lived in London, he became friends with a group of girls and was struck by the energy they devoted to discussing sex and relationships with a complete lack of reticence. The memory stayed in his mind and he started to think that it would be great to make a film that actually captured the frankness of those conversations. During the same period, Teplitzky formed a relationship with his current partner, despite the fact that she lived in Sydney and he in London. For three years their love affair existed on that basis, a situation that eventually inspired one of the key themes behind Better than sex.

"Initially, I was keen to explore what women were thinking," explained Teplitzky. "I had all of these disparate ideas concerning the themes for a film but for quite a long time I couldn't find the narrative that was going to piece it together. Then suddenly I was struck by the phenomenon of long distance relationships, where one person lives here and another person lives there, which was a situation I had experienced at first-hand. I really wanted to write something that was quite accessible in every sense of the word, both from a thematic point of view and in terms of mounting a production. by combining these two elements I was able to do so."

Better than sex is a story about the possibilities that can eventuate through the meeting of two people, which in this case leads to what both initially envisage as a one-night stand. But what is a "one-night" stand and does it ever really happen? Within that context, a couple decide to have sex without commitment. A brief, physical encounter which ends when both parties disappear from each other's lives without any apparent regret or tinge of emotion.

"It's really a film that explores a number of issues that occupy most people at some point," explained Teplitzky. "In some ways it also challenges the popular concept of a one-night stand by observing that such an encounter doesn't necessarily preclude intimacy, affection or love, all of which are legitimate things for humans to be seeking."

Eighteen months after first putting pen to paper, Teplitzky, started his search for a producer. Around the same time Bruna Papandrea, a dynamic, young filmmaker, was seeking a suitable project. As she recalled, "I had several features in development but was looking for something that was basically ready to go. Rob Connolly (producer The boys, The monkey's mask), who's an old friend, suggested Jonathan and I get together. We had met several years earlier through mutual friends and I'd always liked him. But when he first pitched me the idea for Better than sex, I thought, 'Oh no! Two people, too hard.' Then I read the script and just loved it. It was the kind of film that I'd been searching for and had been wanting people to be making in Australia - very much set in a modern context, with inner-city characters - the sort of film that I longed to go and see at the cinema. It appealed to me on a human level and had, I felt, enormous potential. In its truest sense, a one-night stand is something that two people comfortably walk away from with no further contact, but I think Better than sex challenges that theory because most one-night stands go wrong in that people can form connections and quite often one person may feel differently to the other. Regardless of where two people are from and where they're going, the outcome of sharing such an intimacy is anyone's guess."

Both Teplitzky and Papandrea were determined to get the film made by whatever means necessary, which realistically meant operating within a very tight budget. However, despite the project's obvious appeal funding was never going to be easy, particularly with a first-time writer/director and a largely unknown producer. To get the ball rolling, Papandrea contacted Frank Cox, founder of NewVision Films, one of Australia's leading independent distribution companies. Cox, a stalwart of the local film industry, had long been keen to foster Australian talent and was actively seeking projects for development. Papandrea, who was also NewVision's Sydney-based script analyst, pitched the script to Cox around April 1999.

"Bruna phoned and said, 'Frank, I've got something fantastic that I'd like you to read,' but I was frantically preparing for the Cannes Film Festival and didn't have time, but she kept hounding me," laughed Cox, "so I promised to read it the minute the Festival was over." As Papandrea was also in Cannes thanks to a producer's grant from the NSW Film and Television Office, she ensured he kept his word. Post-Festival, both happened to be on the same flight to Sicily. Mid-air, with no room for excuses, Papandrea said, "Frank, get the script out!" Cox did and was immediately drawn to the project. "I had great fun reading it, and could picture the sort of characters that I wanted to see on-screen," he recalled. "It had several qualities that I found immediately endearing - from its wit and sexiness to what I perceived as a strong international appeal. There was nothing parochial about the story at all. Although set in Sydney, the characters and the situation they find themselves immersed in, could have taken place anywhere and that immediately attracted me."

Back in Australia, Cox had several meetings with Teplitzky and was very taken with the latter's passion for the project. Said Cox, "He was incredibly detailed but also struck me as somebody who was willing to approach the production on a collaborative basis, in that what was best for the film would always come first. I decided to take Better than sex on-board and to assume chief responsibility for raising the necessary funds. At that point, Bruna mentioned that Jonathan was ready, if necessary, to contribute some of his own, very hard earned cash and that really made me want to work with him because when there's a deal with different parties, if one sees what the accountants call 'hurt' money, one is more inclined to work with those people because they're willing to basically put their money where their mouth is, and that's very rare!"

Cox joined the team as producer and NewVision became an equity investor as well as securing the Australian and New Zealand distribution rights. The team commenced pre-production, although the search for finance was still in full swing. "It was said to me recently," mused Papandrea, "that in some ways, you have to lie and say you're financed to get things happening, and then suddenly the rest will fall into place. I do think there's some truth to that. Ultimately, you just have to get a pain in your gut and drive ahead, because securing one lot of money is a real catalyst to inspiring the confidence for other parties to follow."

From the outset, the NSW Film and Television Office (FTO) was incredibly supportive. Michelle Harrison from the FTO was one of the first people to read Better than sex and became one of the film's greatest champions. As a consequence, the FTO lent their support to the project and contributed a substantial degree of funding, within the context of the film's projected budget. Meanwhile, Cox was pitching the project to potential investors, utilising his extensive network of international contacts to secure a foreign sales advance. By the time Mifed rolled around in late October/early November 1999, the film was still not fully financed, although pre-production was well underway. Cox, who was attending the market, happened to lunch with industry colleagues, Claudia Rae-Colombani and Herve Poirson who were at Mifed on behalf of Artbox and France Television Distribution. As he recalled, "We were just shooting the breeze and I started to tell them about Better than sex and how I was seeking partners. They mentioned that France Television Distribution had taken over both Artbox and President Films and were keen to expand their involvement with English language features."

Sensing an opportunity, Cox quickly sent a copy of the script to Poirson who responded with the good news that France Television Distribution were willing to provide the final budget component as a mixture of equity finance and an international sales agency guarantee. "Their enthusiasm for the project has been unwavering," enthused Cox. "Getting them on-board was the realisation of a dream for Bruna, Jonathan and myself. From the outset, we had wanted to work with international partners because we wanted to make international films. With France Television Distribution alongside us we felt confident that Better than sex, particularly as an English-language film, would have an improved chance of global success."

"We had sent the script to so many parties but nobody knew who I was, or who Jonathan was, and if anything most people were reading the script out of respect for Frank," reflected Papandrea. "We were starting to get a bit desperate, but were determined to finish the film no matter what - even if we had to borrow the money and just complete it to double-head and then start searching for more funding. So when France Television Distribution said 'Yes' the last piece just fell into place. Any producer will tell you that when you're at your busiest trying to produce a film you're also inundated with paperwork, legalities and distribution agreements - all of which can be a nightmare. For me, the fact that Frank and I were able to share this load saved us. Frank's involvement enabled me to spend time with Jonathan to ensure he was getting what he needed to make Better than sex the best film possible."

Wanted... two strangers in the night...!

In Better than sex, we're quickly introduced to Cin and Josh, two attractive, intelligent, amiable people who decide that they like each other sufficiently to embark upon a one-night stand - even more tantalising in this instance as Josh will be returning overseas in three days time. Surely nothing more complicated than an enjoyable physical interlude will ensue... guess again!

"Cin reflects the vulnerabilities and fears of most people," observed Teplitzky. "She wants to be intimate, she wants to be in love and she wants to discover what, for her, 'love' actually means. But like many she has found it difficult to find that 'one' person, so when she meets somebody like Josh who's going away, it's almost a perfect situation because she won't have to deal with all the issues that can arise from two people having sex. As for Josh, I think he's quite representative of many males. He's a somewhat laid-back, reasonably career-minded guy who is funny yet quite gentle. I tried to imbue him with a certain droll, laconic type of humour - though he's by no means the life and soul of the party with a joke at every turn. There's almost a social commentary edge to his humour that allows him to observe life in a wry, slightly askew way that can be both amusing and endearing. I really needed two actors who weren't just going to perform the script, but would make the characters their own. From a directorial viewpoint, I wanted the actors portraying Cin and Josh to feel comfortable in the roles so that the more poignant elements within the film would ring true. I also knew that the humour would only work if the audience felt that it came from the characters and not the gags."

Finding the right actor to portray Cin was never a problem. As far as Teplitzky and his producers were concerned, there was only ever one candidate - the radiant Susie Porter, who in recent years has emerged as one of Australia's finest and most sought-after young actors. Teplitzky was introduced to Porter through a mutual friend, Academy award-winning costume designer, Lizzy Gardiner.

"Susie responded very, very positively to the script," he recalled, "so we met and hit it off straight away. We found a rapport in terms of the material, in terms of the script and in terms of Cin, the character. From the outset, Susie felt that she could play Cin in a very positive manner. She related to what I wanted to do over several meetings and understood where I wanted to take the film. So, from an early stage, Susie became the character in my mind."

Frank Cox's immediate reaction on reading the script was that Porter had to play Cin. "When I put the script down," recalled Cox, "I turned to Bruna and said, "I really like this, but if we're going to do it I strongly suggest we consider Susie Porter first." I'd just seen her in feeling sexy and every time Cin appeared on the page, I visualised Susie. Bruna laughed, then told me that Jonathan had written the role with Susie in mind and had already workshopped her. I just couldn't believe how already the three of us were thinking alike! Basically, we chose Susie because we thought she could 'pull the role off'. To convincingly play a person who embarks on a one-night stand only to fall in love, is not easy but we knew that Susie would succeed."

As for Josh... "When I was writing the script," said Teplitzky, "there was only one actor in Australia who immediately came to mind and that was David Wenham but it was a total pipe dream to even think we could get him for the role. We discussed it, but it was almost a case of 'David would be too busy,' or 'David is too big a star,' and that sort of stuff, but just for the hell of it, we finally sent the script to his agent and he read it and really liked it. Both Susie and David are incredibly intelligent and interested in doing projects that hopefully will stretch them as actors, and maybe that's why the script appealed to them both."

For his part, Wenham was instantly attracted to the script. "It was refreshing, like nothing that I'd ever read before," he explained, "and certainly different for an Australian screenplay. it had the element of surprise and for me that's the key to any good film, play or piece of television."

Coincidentally, Better than sex is not the first time that Wenham and Porter have worked together. "Some years ago I was a guest artist for the Hunter Valley Theatre Company for a play called Southern Steel and Susie was a young university student who wasn't yet a professional actor, but even then we had a great time together. She's an absolute joy to work with and throughout this shoot we had a lot of laughs." The mutual respect and friendship shared by Wenham and Porter largely contributed to their on-screen chemistry. "In another situation, with two other actors, you could spend your entire time trying to attain the rapport that those two already have," remarked Teplitzky. "It was just great and enabled them to build their performances from that base and certainly made me look good!"

As their first night turns into their second Cin and Josh start to develop feelings for each other; something neither is prepared to acknowledge or discuss... until their world is invaded by Cin's friend, Sam. A compulsive flirt, Sam unwittingly serves as a catalyst for their relationship when she pays an impromptu visit, despite having been asked by Cin to "stay away". Aggravated by Sam's presence, Cin becomes acutely aware that Josh is in her space and that she really knows very little about him. She explodes with the emotional force of a woman on the verge of love, momentarily overwhelmed by the mixed feelings that can accompany such a personal revelation.

"One thing I'd noticed for quite some time," mused Teplitzky, "was what I would describe as a sexually competitive arena that exists between a lot of women - even amongst women who would totally deny that they have friends who overstep the mark in that regard. But two weeks later, you're having a conversation with them and they're telling you what this friend has done without recognising that that's what we'd discussed! the hardest thing was determining how great a bitch Sam should be.

In the initial script she was much bitchier but I came to realise that I wanted it not just to be about Sam, but about the long-term friendship between Cin and Sam which posed the question, "Why does Cin allow herself to be treated thus?" In this instance, Josh's presence motivates Cin to finally confront Sam's behaviour by saying, "I think it's time you went," which, incidentally, was Susie's suggestion. It's as though the energy sparked by her involvement with Josh has unleashed all these other things."

It soon became obvious that the role of Sam demanded a strong performer who wouldn't be overwhelmed by the talent and screen presence of Susie Porter and David Wenham. Award-winning actor, Catherine McClements, known to audiences through her long-running role in the hit television series, Water rats, was the ideal choice.

Kris McQuade, one of the country's most respected character actors, was cast as the enigmatic taxi driver who appears throughout the story - most significantly each time Josh intends to leave. You could almost say that the taxi-driver is a cross between a guardian angel cum narrator cum Greek chorus," smiled Teplitzky. "Papandrea agreed. "She's like the re-occurring voice of reason. She keeps reappearing and reappearing. it's as though Josh can no more escape her than he can his own feelings. She may be real, she may be not. Who knows?!"

Making sex...!

Set largely in one place - Cin's apartment - Better than sex presented writer/director Jonathan Teplitzky and his team with a challenge - namely how to prevent the audience from feeling claustrophobic after being with two characters in the same space for much of the film. One way he overcame this was to include direct-to-the-camera commentaries throughout - from both Cin and Josh along with a host of male and female acquaintances who express various opinions on sex and relationships.

"When people talk about personal things and address the audience directly through the camera, it's extremely powerful and emotive," explained Teplitzky. "From the outset I was certain that if we could capture that depth of feeling with scripted lines that felt as though the characters were being emotionally truthful, then we would have a very powerful ingredient. I also wanted to cut-away from the basic narrative of Josh and Cin within the apartment to afford some breathing space and add an extra dimension. The inclusion of the girls and guys also allowed us to add another layer that's representative of the outside world whilst simultaneously gaining a variety of opinions. We had numerous discussions as to how difficult it might be as it's not something that you can just assume will work. As a device, say in a documentary, you're actually talking to a real person about a real subject and so often the performance is perfect because reality is 90% of it. But when you're trying to recreate that with actors, it's entirely different, but I wasn't worried because I felt confident that David and Susie could do it."

The set for the apartment was constructed within a Surry Hills warehouse that was transformed into Cin's home by production designer, Tara Kamath. "Creating a space that was authentic to Cin's character but at the same time attractive and sufficiently varied on a visual level was terrifically challenging," she reflected. "Jonathan and I discussed the means by which we could divide the space, as being a warehouse, it was essentially a box with no interior walls. We didn't want to build walls as we wanted to retain that open feeling of depth and airiness. Eventually we decided to provide divisions with devices like curtains on tracks that could be moved on-camera by the actors, or off-camera, so that areas could be partitioned to make rooms whenever necessary, such as the bathroom. We also used a lot of furniture on wheels as mini walls. One of our favourite items was an old, industrial shoe trolley that held Cin's clothes which we used to block-off areas as required."

The apartment also needed to reflect Cin's personality and her prior life as a costume designer. "Jonathan's really into very minute details," observed Kamath, "so we put a lot of thought into who Cin was and how she would furnish her home. We did things like take polaroid photos of Susie at a party and put them on a pin-board, plus we added some personal photos that Susie provided. We thought about all sorts of little things such as what she would have on her bedside table and decided that we needed items that reflected her past life as a costume designer. Designs and fabric swatches were pinned on the wall - even the garments on the clothes rack, which was largely in the background, were carefully considered and indicated her fondness for op shops. We had four different mannequins dotted throughout the apartment, one of which belonged to our costume designer, another on loan from the Australian Opera, a third that I bought at auction and a fourth that was hired from an antique shop - ranging in age from 1910 to present day. Colours and textures were also a key consideration and we utilised warm, neutral tones so that the background wouldn't overwhelm the narrative."

Throughout the story, Cin - when not doing the horizontal tango with Josh - is frantically trying to finish a very traditional wedding dress for a friend; an assignment she heartily wishes she had never agreed to. "There was a symbolic element to the dress," chuckled Teplitzky. So many relationships, particularly in sit-coms, are about "going the next step and getting married." That whole thing about marriage being the natural conclusion to a relationship, gave Cin's character a great opportunity to "just be". When Josh first sees the dress and wonders if it's hers, she says indignantly, "It's not mine!' as though she's saying, "What sort of girl do you think I am?!" The dress allows her to avoid, what I feel is quite a cliché in films; the idea that women continually aspire to be married. She just hates this dress. They both want to get rid of it, they're continually working against it, yet at the same time their feelings for each other are growing stronger. The dress provided a definite dichotomy that I really liked."

Cinematography is a vital component of any film and was particularly so for Better than sex where a tight budget, short shoot and the confines of one key set needed to be surmounted. Teplitzky enlisted the help of long-time collaborator Garry Phillips to ensure his debut feature resounded with his signature visual flair. "A lot of what we've achieved with Better than sex has been due to the work that Garry and I have undertaken together over the past four years," mused Teplitzky. "We soon decided to move the camera a lot because when you're predominantly in one space, it can easily look like a piece of television. We wanted it to be a cinematic experience for the audience, which, I think, is largely due to how you shift the camera. It's personal taste, as much as anything - I just love moving the camera, particularly for those sequences where we have thirty second tracking shots from wide into close-ups of the actor's faces. I think that such a camera movement unpeels an emotional layer that no words or contrived plot-lines can convey. For me, it's pure cinema in as much that the actor becomes one with the camera. The camera movement slowly reveals what the actor is feeling and a good actor can portray something in a minimal way that is still incredibly poignant and powerful."

Despite time and budget restraints, Teplitzky and Phillips were determined to design as many scenes as possible in order to incorporate at least five or six angles that would capture the dimension of each individual scene; no easy feat when you're trying to shoot three or four scenes a day. "To do so for each scene would have been impossible in the time we had," he explained, "so we isolated those scenes that could be covered in one tracking shot which occasionally allowed us to cover a page of script in ten minutes, whereas at other times we would only cover half a page in three hours because we set-up the camera six or seven times. With both characters, we wanted to create the feeling that the camera was exploring them intimately, like they're exploring each other. We tried to experience what they were doing from the other person's point-of-view, without it ever becoming a purely point-of-view movie. For example, when Cin's watching Josh, we feel like we're watching him, and visa versa. The same applied to the sex scenes. I wanted there to be a certain recognition and a certain experience that the audience would accept in the same way as Cin and Josh, on a thematic and emotional level."

Filming scenes that convey physical intimacy is rarely an easy experience for either the participating actors or the crew, but given the rapport between David Wenham and Susie Porter and the meticulous planning of each shot, a lot of fun was had. "We used to laugh and egg each other on during takes," recalled Porter. "He's the sweetest man in the world and really funny. it was just hilarious - we both seemed to be naked nearly all of the time. I'd be in the dressing room with my G-string on and boobs hanging out, and he'd walk in wearing his funny little G-string and say, 'Morning Susie,' and I'd say, 'Morning Dave,' and it just seemed the most normal thing for us to be standing there, naked in front of each other, and we'd start laughing and think, 'God, this is our job!'"

"I'll go away thinking that it's easy shooting sex scenes," joked Teplitzky, "but I recognise that with two other people, it could have been a totally different experience. I tried to show David and Susie exactly how we intended to film and cut each sex scene so that they never felt that there was anything exploitative. In a sense they were a very important part of constructing the scenes, which I felt was paramount. From an early stage the three of us discussed the fact that we wouldn't shoot anything in wide-shot. For me, particularly in the context of the film and what it's about, it would have been quite gratuitous. Instead we filmed half a dozen shots that captured the experience of their love-making, combined with voice-overs to convey what the characters were thinking. It really helped them to believe in the scenes and allowed them to relax whilst they were being filmed."

Kodak high speed stock (500t) was used throughout the shoot and natural light utilised wherever possible. The space chosen to create Cin's apartment was an actual warehouse located in Surry Hills, an inner-city suburb of Sydney. "Finding locations in Sydney is not very easy," noted Bruna Papandrea. "It's rather expensive, especially when you want to shoot in the inner-city. We let it be known that we were looking for a warehouse apartment and people suggested about seven or eight places in the same building that we finally used. It's a very famous block and one of those places where everyone's been to a party or knows somebody who's actually lived there. We were also attracted to the apartment as it had an adjoining rooftop garden that gave you the sense that you were in the inner-city. Many of the places considered just lacked the right character."

Logistically, shooting in the inner-city was fraught with difficulties. Parking production vehicles was a nightmare and because the apartment was located on the fifth floor, serviced by an ancient and none-too-reliable goods lift, many items had to be carried up five flights of stairs. Outside noise necessitated the closure of the windows throughout much of the filming which would have been ok if the shoot hadn't taken place during the height of summer! Ever mindful of budget restrictions, Papandrea decided to move the entire production into the building. "I knew that if we had our office in the same place as our location, we would save money. I also wanted to create an environment with a family atmosphere so that everyone would feel that they were making the same film."

Another space in the building became the production office and then Papandrea discovered that one more apartment was temporarily available, so it was rented and transformed into the green room cum catering area. "As a producer, I'm a big advocate of trying to think outside the square, beyond the conventions of how people are accustomed to making films," she explained. "There was no room for a catering truck in the street, so I asked a friend, a terrific chef who runs a restaurant in Melbourne, if he was interested in catering the film. He arrived with all of his pots and pans in the back of his car and just set-up his kitchen. It was one of the best decisions we made because not only is he a fantastic guy who loves cooking, but it was somewhere everyone could go. We had three different types of coffee, we ate beautiful Italian feasts every day and managed to create a great respite for the cast and crew from the rigors of the shoot."

Budget restraints were certainly a key behind-the-scenes consideration for Better than sex, but not insurmountable. "Jonathan always said that 'He wanted to make something that was bigger than the sum of its parts,'" reflected Papandrea. "I think that you use the expression 'low-budget' and everyone immediately assumes that you have to shoot on 16 mm and that you've got to just 'make do,' But Jonathan had written a script that enabled us to shoot on 35 mm and make it look beautiful because although we had a relatively short shoot, the emphasis was not on moving around but on the characters and their story. Jonathan is a very rare person. He was willing to make this film under any circumstances. Even in pre-production he was still making ads to try and raise more money to contribute towards the budget."

Belief in the project extended to all involved. Both David Wenham and Susie Porter agreed to work for lesser rates than their professional status would normally command; director of photography, Garry Phillips, brought with him a top-notch team that would have been unattainable had he not been the cinematographer; production designer Tara Kamath and costume designer, Kelly May worked miracles given their meagre budgets and world-renowned composer, David Hirschfelder, promptly offered to do the score after he happened to see a rough cut.

"We all supported each other," reflected Frank Cox. "We had a relationship where the best ideas were adopted and the question of personal ego never arose. I think that occasionally when you tackle a project quickly with everybody's total support, it ends by being far better than something that has been heavily premeditated. the speed of the entire production, from the way we raised the money, to the actual shoot, even the editing, has brought a vibrancy to Better than sex that is visible up there on-screen. there was magic on-set. It was my first film as producer and I suspect that in this instance I was spoilt!"