Production Begins on 'Joy'

The film tells the true story of the world’s first in vitro fertilisation baby, with a screenplay by Bafta-winning writer Jack Thorne, who co-created the story with his wife Rachel Mason. 

Spanning from 1968 to 1978, the film will follow three trailblazers facing opposition from the church, state, media and medical establishment, in their pursuit of the world’s first ‘test tube baby’, Louise Joy Brown. 

“I am a lifelong Jack Thorne fan, and it has been such a thrill to work with him and Rachel on my first feature film,” said Ben, in an interview with Screen Daily. “As the proud father to two boys only made possible by IVF, this is a story extremely close to my heart. It’s an honour to bring to life the journey of this heroic trio, whose world-changing work was only achieved in the face of unimaginable opposition. Thomasin, James and Bill – together with the rest of the cast – are an embarrassment of riches. I’m delighted that Pathe, Wildgaze and Netflix entrusted me with this brilliant story.”

“It took Rachel and I seven rounds of IVF to have Elliott, so when the opportunity came to tell the story of the pioneers, I jumped at the chance and suggested Rachel might like to jump too,” added Thorne. “The more we discovered, the more amazed we were, at the audacity of the science and the lack of support from the scientific community. It is an incredible story. Working on this with our incredible cast, wonderful director Ben and the brilliant producers at Wildgaze, Pathe and Netflix has been a joy.”

We can’t wait. Congratulations Ben and good luck with the rest of the filming!