Time to volunteer at U3A

At 78, Rick Thompson is savouring the fact he can share his life-long interest in, and knowledge of, the film world with his University of the Third Age (U3A) film groups.

Each Wednesday, the Northern Illawarra U3A film group meets to view a film and then discuss it. Thursdays is the Wollongong U3A meet-up.

“I love the entire process, the viewing, the discussions, that are often in-depth and I love sharing in the interactions, ideas and thoughts on the films presented,” Rick says.

US-born Rick had a rather unusual start in the industry: he won an essay competition in his final year of high school and received invitations to enrol from the USA’s top five universities.

“I elected to study at the University of Chicago in 1962, where I joined the oldest university film society in the US. Eventually I was head of the group.”

He soon met his mentor, Bill Routt, and they continued their friendship in Hollywood.

“By then I had access to many directors, actors and others in the industry.”

Rick taught at the American Film Institute (AFI) at the Centre for Advanced Film Study and was “writing for publications, and international magazines”.

He had the opportunity to interview many prominent directors, including a huge movie star.

“I wrote to Clint Eastwood in the hope for an interview. My friends said it would never happen. He was a big star, three days later, the phone rang, ‘Hello, it’s Clint, when do you want to do it?’

“I actually thought it was one of my friends having a joke with me and (embarrassingly) forced Clint to convince me that it was actually him. We met a number of times and the interviews went well.”

In 1980, Rick moved to Australia, started work at Melbourne’s La Trobe University and taught film groups, again with Bill Routt, for about 20 years.

In 2011, he moved to the University of Wollongong to continue teaching film.

Rick’s interests in film are broad, with auteur and mise-en-scène theories featuring strongly in his teachings, but he also enjoys animation.

“My [the late US ‘Looney Tunes’ animator] Chuck Jones interviews I hold very close to my heart. But the sub-text, meaning, mise-en-scène, length of shots, etc, all of his work and other animators too are actually quite profound, and the innovative processes and changes in drawings etc are equally interesting.”

Rick relishes his work with the Northern Illawarra and Wollongong U3A branches, encouraging participants to discuss their ideas.

“I love people to talk about film and interact together. The communal view is important. We watch the film, and then discuss it for a short period, but some just come to watch the film.

“Both groups are different with different interests, so the films, too, need to offer, not only mere interest, but also a way forward in learning about film.”

Rick offers a new learning path for people by sharing films and his experiences and bringing people together to learn and enjoy each other’s company.

The Northern Illawarra Film Group meets at Thirroul Community Centre at 12.30 on Wednesdays. The Wollongong Film Group meets at 1pm on Thursdays.

Janice Creenaune is a volunteer for PKD (Polycystic Kidney Disease) Foundation Australia. Email janicecreenaune@gmail.com