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| How a New Zealand journalist poked the underbelly of the competitive tickling world | How a New Zealand journalist poked the underbelly of the competitive tickling world |
| (about 17 hours later) | |
| The first thing people will tell you about the documentary Tickled is that it is about competitive endurance tickling. | The first thing people will tell you about the documentary Tickled is that it is about competitive endurance tickling. |
| The second thing will be that it’s not really about that at all. | The second thing will be that it’s not really about that at all. |
| The unassuming film, out this week in the UK and Australia, has raised significant word of mouth since its premiere in the world documentary program of Sundance in January. HBO picked up the television rights shortly afterwards, and a general release run in more than 50 theatres across the US is now wrapping up. | The unassuming film, out this week in the UK and Australia, has raised significant word of mouth since its premiere in the world documentary program of Sundance in January. HBO picked up the television rights shortly afterwards, and a general release run in more than 50 theatres across the US is now wrapping up. |
| Related: Tickled: the fetish documentary that's no laughing matter | Related: Tickled: the fetish documentary that's no laughing matter |
| Just about every review has been positive – and at pains to point out that Tickled is darker and more disturbing than it appears at first blurb. | Just about every review has been positive – and at pains to point out that Tickled is darker and more disturbing than it appears at first blurb. |
| The film follows David Farrier, a New Zealand journalist, as he pursues – and is pursued by – key figures in the world of “competitive endurance tickling”: where young, athletic men wearing professional-looking sport kits are restrained and tickled by each other, at length. | The film follows David Farrier, a New Zealand journalist, as he pursues – and is pursued by – key figures in the world of “competitive endurance tickling”: where young, athletic men wearing professional-looking sport kits are restrained and tickled by each other, at length. |
| At the centre of it all is Jane O’Brien Media, a Los Angeles-based video production agency recruiting “lean muscular TICKLISH GUYS (18-25)” to participate. But its promises of cash upfront and an expenses-paid trip to Los Angeles, according to Farrier, come with a price – as the young men who take up the offer eventually find out. | At the centre of it all is Jane O’Brien Media, a Los Angeles-based video production agency recruiting “lean muscular TICKLISH GUYS (18-25)” to participate. But its promises of cash upfront and an expenses-paid trip to Los Angeles, according to Farrier, come with a price – as the young men who take up the offer eventually find out. |
| Squarely of the “truth is stranger than fiction” category, Tickled has touches about it of thriller, mystery, and true-crime genres – even, at times, horror. Yet the most straightforward, persuasive description persists: it is a documentary about competitive tickling. | Squarely of the “truth is stranger than fiction” category, Tickled has touches about it of thriller, mystery, and true-crime genres – even, at times, horror. Yet the most straightforward, persuasive description persists: it is a documentary about competitive tickling. |
| “In a perfect world, I kind of don’t want people to know anything about it,” Farrier says by phone from Auckland. | |
| “Thinking it’s going to be a light documentary about competitive tickling – that’s the best possible way to go into the film.” | “Thinking it’s going to be a light documentary about competitive tickling – that’s the best possible way to go into the film.” |
| In his native New Zealand, Farrier is known for his good-humoured, straight-faced odd spots on late-night television news, which range from his search for the Mongolian death worm purported to live in the Gobi desert, to a heart-to-heart with Justin Bieber in the star’s Baby days. | In his native New Zealand, Farrier is known for his good-humoured, straight-faced odd spots on late-night television news, which range from his search for the Mongolian death worm purported to live in the Gobi desert, to a heart-to-heart with Justin Bieber in the star’s Baby days. |
| Easygoing, affable and normal – the straight man to the world’s apparently infinite reserves of weirdness – he has characterised himself in the past as a “quirky-story-light-fluff-journo”. | Easygoing, affable and normal – the straight man to the world’s apparently infinite reserves of weirdness – he has characterised himself in the past as a “quirky-story-light-fluff-journo”. |
| Outside of New Zealand, he’s become known as “New Zealand’s Louis Theroux”. There is even a physical resemblance, as described by one journalist as “nerdy-looking”. Farrier posted a screenshot of this to Instagram, with three red-faced scowling emojis and the hashtags “#hot #cool #coolguy”. | Outside of New Zealand, he’s become known as “New Zealand’s Louis Theroux”. There is even a physical resemblance, as described by one journalist as “nerdy-looking”. Farrier posted a screenshot of this to Instagram, with three red-faced scowling emojis and the hashtags “#hot #cool #coolguy”. |
| When he first came across Jane O’Brien Media back in 2014, he had planned to make a two-minute clip about competitive tickling for his then employers at TV3. But a representative responded to his interview request with hostility, saying that to “associate with a homosexual journalist” would bring the “passionately and exclusively heterosexual athletic endurance activity” into disrepute. (Farrier is in fact bisexual.) | When he first came across Jane O’Brien Media back in 2014, he had planned to make a two-minute clip about competitive tickling for his then employers at TV3. But a representative responded to his interview request with hostility, saying that to “associate with a homosexual journalist” would bring the “passionately and exclusively heterosexual athletic endurance activity” into disrepute. (Farrier is in fact bisexual.) |
| Undeterred, Farrier wrote three blog posts detailing their interactions, escalating to personal slurs sent over email and legal threats from within New Zealand and the US. | Undeterred, Farrier wrote three blog posts detailing their interactions, escalating to personal slurs sent over email and legal threats from within New Zealand and the US. |
| Then he was told that Jane O’Brien was sending three employees to New Zealand, with, he understood, the intention of forcing him to drop the project: “It was like, obviously, they do have a shitload of money … they’re not joking,” he says. | Then he was told that Jane O’Brien was sending three employees to New Zealand, with, he understood, the intention of forcing him to drop the project: “It was like, obviously, they do have a shitload of money … they’re not joking,” he says. |
| The three posts were subsequently pulled from TV3’s website for their risk of defamation. Farrier started to think that the story – whatever it was – demanded a closer look. | The three posts were subsequently pulled from TV3’s website for their risk of defamation. Farrier started to think that the story – whatever it was – demanded a closer look. |
| With co-director Dylan Reeve, a fellow Aucklander who’d been following the story, he launched a crowdfunding bid to pursue the project. | With co-director Dylan Reeve, a fellow Aucklander who’d been following the story, he launched a crowdfunding bid to pursue the project. |
| “It was my suspicion that there was enough going on that there would be some kind of something worth watching – whether it was a feature-length thing, a video for Vimeo – and it just kind of grew from there,” he says. | “It was my suspicion that there was enough going on that there would be some kind of something worth watching – whether it was a feature-length thing, a video for Vimeo – and it just kind of grew from there,” he says. |
| The Kickstarter page raised close to NZD$30,000 in three weeks. The 92-minute documentary was cut and completed within about 18 months of his first contact with Jane O’Brien Media. Farrier took unpaid leave from TV3 for the shoot and quit before the film’s premiere at Sundance. It came together fast, says Farrier – but that’s how the story unfolded. “It feels representative of what happened to me.” | The Kickstarter page raised close to NZD$30,000 in three weeks. The 92-minute documentary was cut and completed within about 18 months of his first contact with Jane O’Brien Media. Farrier took unpaid leave from TV3 for the shoot and quit before the film’s premiere at Sundance. It came together fast, says Farrier – but that’s how the story unfolded. “It feels representative of what happened to me.” |
| Tickled is Farrier’s first foray into documentary. In the kindest possible way, it shows. As though for fear of having too little to show, he is over-reliant on telling (“I have simply no idea what to expect,” he says via voiceover at a pivotal moment) and his representation of Jane O’Brien Media as “bullies with way too much money” seems a naive characterisation. | Tickled is Farrier’s first foray into documentary. In the kindest possible way, it shows. As though for fear of having too little to show, he is over-reliant on telling (“I have simply no idea what to expect,” he says via voiceover at a pivotal moment) and his representation of Jane O’Brien Media as “bullies with way too much money” seems a naive characterisation. |
| But this has next to no negative impact on the viewer’s experience. The documentary may be flawed, but the journalism is excellent – helped along, as most journalism is, by a few strokes of luck – and the story is exclaim-aloud, hand-on-mouth remarkable. | But this has next to no negative impact on the viewer’s experience. The documentary may be flawed, but the journalism is excellent – helped along, as most journalism is, by a few strokes of luck – and the story is exclaim-aloud, hand-on-mouth remarkable. |
| As the Guardian’s Nigel Smith wrote of its premiere at Sundance, “the revelations ... are too juicy to spoil – the pleasure in watching this documentary is derived from its countless twists”. And no one was more surprised by what he found than Farrier. | As the Guardian’s Nigel Smith wrote of its premiere at Sundance, “the revelations ... are too juicy to spoil – the pleasure in watching this documentary is derived from its countless twists”. And no one was more surprised by what he found than Farrier. |
| “We couldn’t have anticipated where it would go,” he says. “I mean, the scale of it kind of blew our minds – it still blows my mind. As we went, things just kept on getting bigger and bigger and bigger – and it’s all about tickling, which seems so utterly bizarre.” | “We couldn’t have anticipated where it would go,” he says. “I mean, the scale of it kind of blew our minds – it still blows my mind. As we went, things just kept on getting bigger and bigger and bigger – and it’s all about tickling, which seems so utterly bizarre.” |
| For him, the story is still unfolding. Jane O’Brien Media has had what Farrier terms a “very Scientology response” to the film; Kevin Clarke, one of the three employees that were sent to New Zealand, has set up a website to counter Farrier’s allegations, calling him a “world class liar” and referring to his “Liarmentary”. | For him, the story is still unfolding. Jane O’Brien Media has had what Farrier terms a “very Scientology response” to the film; Kevin Clarke, one of the three employees that were sent to New Zealand, has set up a website to counter Farrier’s allegations, calling him a “world class liar” and referring to his “Liarmentary”. |
| Clarke attended both Sundance and the True/False Film Fest in Missouri in March, where Farrier was served with papers for a defamation lawsuit. | Clarke attended both Sundance and the True/False Film Fest in Missouri in March, where Farrier was served with papers for a defamation lawsuit. |
| thought this lady was a fan:"are you david?" i said "yes" hopefully...& then she served me.this is a first. pic.twitter.com/eO4UMWEoXA | thought this lady was a fan:"are you david?" i said "yes" hopefully...& then she served me.this is a first. pic.twitter.com/eO4UMWEoXA |
| At the same event, Farrier says police ejected two audience members understood to have been attempting to record the film with a camera or microphone hidden in a coffee cup; police later told Farrier they were private investigators from New York. | At the same event, Farrier says police ejected two audience members understood to have been attempting to record the film with a camera or microphone hidden in a coffee cup; police later told Farrier they were private investigators from New York. |
| I remind Farrier that he employed the same strategy in Tickled to record a conversation with Clarke in Auckland (under New Zealand law, only one party’s consent is required). He laughs: “I think that was coincidental.” | I remind Farrier that he employed the same strategy in Tickled to record a conversation with Clarke in Auckland (under New Zealand law, only one party’s consent is required). He laughs: “I think that was coincidental.” |
| Two lawyers worked pro bono to stave off the legal threats that hounded Tickled throughout its production, and more were hired after its release. David D’amato, a central figure in the film who says he has no relationship with Jane O’Brien Media, has filed two defamation suits against Reeve and Farrier; both were dismissed on jurisdictional grounds, but he has threatened further action. | Two lawyers worked pro bono to stave off the legal threats that hounded Tickled throughout its production, and more were hired after its release. David D’amato, a central figure in the film who says he has no relationship with Jane O’Brien Media, has filed two defamation suits against Reeve and Farrier; both were dismissed on jurisdictional grounds, but he has threatened further action. |
| D’amato and Clarke voiced their grievances at the Los Angeles premiere of Tickled in June – shock appearances described by New Zealand media as equivalent to watching Blackfish at the cinema “only to discover either uniformed Sea World reps or the orca sitting next to you”. | D’amato and Clarke voiced their grievances at the Los Angeles premiere of Tickled in June – shock appearances described by New Zealand media as equivalent to watching Blackfish at the cinema “only to discover either uniformed Sea World reps or the orca sitting next to you”. |
| The pair derailed the question and answer session after the screening in a bizarre episode that was broadcast live on the Facebook page of Magnolia Pictures, the distributor of the film in North America. | The pair derailed the question and answer session after the screening in a bizarre episode that was broadcast live on the Facebook page of Magnolia Pictures, the distributor of the film in North America. |
| “As we say in New York, Los Angeles TV: ‘You need to lawyer up,” warned D’Amato, adding: “I do have to credit you, that while your facts are very discordant, some of the effects in the movie – the music, the choreography – it was done very well.” | “As we say in New York, Los Angeles TV: ‘You need to lawyer up,” warned D’Amato, adding: “I do have to credit you, that while your facts are very discordant, some of the effects in the movie – the music, the choreography – it was done very well.” |
| david d'amato has left the LA evening premiere of TICKLED at the nuart (photos via @dylanbland) pic.twitter.com/u16cR7ViLc | david d'amato has left the LA evening premiere of TICKLED at the nuart (photos via @dylanbland) pic.twitter.com/u16cR7ViLc |
| Farrier seems remarkably relaxed about all the “craziness” that’s happened since the film’s release. Partly it’s self-preservation, partly it’s familiarity: “It’s been going on for so long you sort of get used to it, I suppose.” | Farrier seems remarkably relaxed about all the “craziness” that’s happened since the film’s release. Partly it’s self-preservation, partly it’s familiarity: “It’s been going on for so long you sort of get used to it, I suppose.” |
| It did take a while to get into that mindset, though. “You don’t sue people in New Zealand and Australia unless you’re involved in some insane big business situation. You don’t have individuals suing willy-nilly. | It did take a while to get into that mindset, though. “You don’t sue people in New Zealand and Australia unless you’re involved in some insane big business situation. You don’t have individuals suing willy-nilly. |
| “Hopefully people watch this and do go, ‘Oh god’. The legal system is pretty fucked up over there.” | “Hopefully people watch this and do go, ‘Oh god’. The legal system is pretty fucked up over there.” |
| Of all the stories told by Tickled, at its heart it is a film about privilege: the people who don’t have it, and the corners they can find themselves backed into – and the people who do, and the escape routes it presents them with. | Of all the stories told by Tickled, at its heart it is a film about privilege: the people who don’t have it, and the corners they can find themselves backed into – and the people who do, and the escape routes it presents them with. |
| “If you’ve got money in America, that does protect you in a huge way,” says Farrier. “All the young men who are drawn into this tickling competition, they don’t have money … And that’s where it becomes problematic later.” | “If you’ve got money in America, that does protect you in a huge way,” says Farrier. “All the young men who are drawn into this tickling competition, they don’t have money … And that’s where it becomes problematic later.” |
| During the film’s production, Farrier left a “very long, rambling voicemail” with the FBI about what he’d uncovered, but did not hear back. | During the film’s production, Farrier left a “very long, rambling voicemail” with the FBI about what he’d uncovered, but did not hear back. |
| “I want people to leave the film feeling … that something’s not right … Things need to be put right in some way, however that ends up happening – I have no idea,” he says. | “I want people to leave the film feeling … that something’s not right … Things need to be put right in some way, however that ends up happening – I have no idea,” he says. |
| “Twenty-one years of this – that’s fucking nuts.” | “Twenty-one years of this – that’s fucking nuts.” |
| For now, Farrier draws pragmatic satisfaction from the fact that the film at least exists as a counter-narrative to that given by Jane O’Brien Media. | For now, Farrier draws pragmatic satisfaction from the fact that the film at least exists as a counter-narrative to that given by Jane O’Brien Media. |
| “It seemed the best thing to do was to make a film … put it out there, get eyes on it,” he says. “So at the very least, if people want to go and do this tickling competition, they’ll Google it and find … the other side of that particular story. | “It seemed the best thing to do was to make a film … put it out there, get eyes on it,” he says. “So at the very least, if people want to go and do this tickling competition, they’ll Google it and find … the other side of that particular story. |
| “At the very least, there’s that.” | “At the very least, there’s that.” |
| • Tickled is in cinemas around the UK, the US and Australia | • Tickled is in cinemas around the UK, the US and Australia |