Watson also wore many hats, perhaps most notably as a speech writer for PM Paul Keating, but also as a writer about the use and abuse of the English language. He also was co-writer of the screenplay for the biopic Passion,about virtuoso pianist and composer Percy Grainger. Watson has a detailed wiki here.

Joffe recalls that these TV scenes were shot on the second or third day of filming, so he now notices subtle differences in the performances compared to later on in the shoot. Before Meet The Parents I read 15 scripts and none of them were anywhere as good as THE MAN WHO SUED GOD - and these were Hollywood films already green lit! The moment I read it I could see the potential and when I heard that Billy Connolly and Judy Davis were going to be in it, it was just too good to pass up!” Peter says. Just after the 44 minute mark, when Bille Brown’s lawyer is offering a settlement, Joffe notes as a piece of trivia that they had all the suits made for the lawyers by tailors in the line of work of making lawyers their suits, with the result crisp and exactly what lawyers would wear. The settlement offer scene was shot on the second day of filming. They began to develop the script together and over the years worked with several writers in an attempt to fully realise the initial brilliant idea. Writer Don Watson joined the team around four years before production began. Frank Whitten as the Primate: Frank Whitten died in 2011, and has a reasonably detailed wiki listing here. He can also be found at NZOnScreen here.Emily Browning as Steve's daughter Rebecca Myers: Emily Browning avoided being only a child actor, and has a wiki listing here.

Another significant coup for the filmmakers was signing Peter James, one of Australia’s leading cinematographers who works constantly overseas. Peter had just finished the smash-hit comedy Meet The Parents, with Robert de Niro and Ben Stiller, and a film in Vienna with Bruce Beresford, and had a gap in his schedule before shooting Beresford’s next film. He has had a long collaborative relationship with the Australian Academy Award winning director. A lot of the humour is visual – a dog flung above a jetty, Judy Davis as Anna falling into the sea, Anna and Steve's first meeting in a restaurant. Then there's Connolly who has an nicely mad, every man, quality exuding from him that manages to grab humour out of even a hideously pierced foot. Frustrated that his claim is repeatedly declined, Steve files a claim against God, naming church officials as representatives of God and thereby the respondents. The church leaders, their respective lawyers and their insurance company get together to find a way to settle this dilemma, which catches the fancy of the media. Colin Friels plays the role of Billy Connolly’s brother with a Scottish accent, which was an opportunity to reveal his Scottish heritage. “Colin was born in Scotland and his voice just comes across beautifully. It was a powerful resonance with that Scottish brogue,” Joffe says.Bridie wrote the lyrics, about a lost boat in the sea, and his father translated them into French. The song then segues into what Bridie calls their ‘third attempt at the opening music cue,’ which was a piano oboe guitar kind of uplifting piece. Among a number of plot points which creaked somewhat, I question Colin Friels' brother - ready to betray his brother for a promotion bribe one minute, and then taking up management of a class action against the briber/s the next. THE MAN WHO SUED GOD is the first comedy Billy had acted in on film. Most comedians, he says, because they live a life of laughter also relish exploring the dark side of life.