Border Telegraph | Sport | John's story set for silver screen

Friday, 5th December, 2008

Published: Thursday, 16th February, 2006 16:38

John's story set for silver screen

By Border Telegraph Newsroom

American screenwriter Gwendolyn Whiteside spent a month in the Borders last year.

And the first few chapters of her screenplay have already attracted interest from the likes of Sam Mendes, director of American Beauty and Jarhead, and the Cohen Brothers, who made Fargo and the Big Lebowski.

Whiteside’s script charts the story of 34-year-old John Davidson.

The Tourette’s sufferer was thrust into the public eye as a 16-year-old in 1989 when he featured in the BBC documentary, John’s Not Mad.

And over the years has become the UK’s face and voice for the condition.

But the forthcoming flick will make him a worldwide celebrity.

John, who has worked as the caretaker at Langlee Community Centre for the past 15 years, told the Border Telegraph: “I am under contract and not really allowed to say too much about the film.

“It will be about me growing up in Galashiels and all the problems I went through. I speak to the screenwriter regularly and there has been a lot of interest from the big film studios.

“From what I have been told, they would want to come over and film in the Borders. It would be set in Galashiels – they won’t be making me out to come from a town in America or anything like that.

“Having my story told is really exciting, but it is still a couple of years away from coming to the cinema.”

Since the airing of the documentary John’s Not Mad – which showed the teenager attempting to control his swearing outbursts, known as tics – his involvement with Tourette’s charities has taken him all over the country.

A second BBC documentary, The Boy Can’t Help It, was shown in 2002 and chronicled John’s life in the aftermath of the first programme and the years that followed.

He has campaigned and championed the cause of young Tourette’s sufferers for over a decade.

And believes that taking Tourette’s to the big screen will help sufferers all over the world.

John added: “I’m still heavily involved with Tourette’s Scotland. I am giving a talk at a conference in Glasgow next month in front of around 1,000 specialists and doctors. The more people who understand Tourette’s the better.

“Raising awareness is important, and I hope the film will help do that.”

Screenwriter Gwendolyn Whiteside has been involved with shows such as Six Feet Under and Dawson’s Creek.

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