Herbert began to research the topic and take notes. “During that process I worked out in my head a structure for the story and once that was in place I was confident about writing it.” In October 2004 he completed the first draft. Then together with producer John Conroy, with whom he had worked on a number of previous projects, they set about generating finance. “I had directed a short, Selfish Minds, which Tony co-produced and then I directed another short, Poker Nights, which we co-wrote and co-produced,” says Conroy. “When Speed Dating came up, Tony wanted to direct it. I had a number of contacts from having worked on major Hollywood movies so I was able to call in favours. So that’s how it basically started. When Tony sent me Speed Dating I really liked it. In fact I wrote on the front page `this makes me laugh’.”

Potential investors who had seen Selfish Minds were piqued by Herbert and Conroy’s new project. At one stage interest was expressed in buying the screenplay but Herbert was not so keen on the idea. “I didn’t write the screenplay with the intention of directing it myself,” he says. “However I did not want it to be changed. I wanted to make sure that this stayed true to the central story and that’s really why I wanted to direct. Of course directing was also something that I wanted to do.”

It took Herbert and Conroy just twelve months to raise the necessary finance.
“After Ned Dowd (King Arthur; Apocalypto) was attached as executive producer, the finance was easier to get,” says Herbert. Then six weeks before the shoot Adrian Devane came on board as the line producer (Devane had worked as an assistant to Dowd on King Arthur, which had been shot in Ireland). Devane met with Herbert and read the script. “It was well-written, funny and commercial,” he says. “I also loved the title: speed dating is a universal phenomenon. Also the comic writing was unique. I have seen it in American films but never in an Irish context.” For Devane speed dating was the hook. “As I was reading the script I Googled the word to see how popular speed dating is,” he says. “It was everywhere and everyone seems to be doing it. Speed dating is just a new way of looking for love: a three minute date that has a lot of comic potential. “I have had more fun working on this film than on any of the big budget feature productions I have previously worked on,” says Devane. “

Speed Dating was shot in Dublin and Bray throughout December 2005. Apart from working as producers on the film, Tony Herbert and John Conroy also took on more familiar roles. Conroy was the director of photography and Herbert played “Simon Elliott”, the villain in the piece. “My background is in acting” says Herbert, “so I was always going to play a role. John and I have worked together a lot in the past so I knew he’d keep an eye on my performance. The budget was kept tight, the story was universal and the production came in on schedule. “I think that Speed Dating is first and foremost a romantic comedy,” says Herbert. “The story is universal in how it happens and plays out: where events transpire that lead James into a very strange situation. I believe that comedy and tragedy are very closely related and inherent in everything so in that respect I would see Speed Dating as a black comedy.”