Peek-a-boo||nside the creepy Cubbyhouse. On the road again. A long and potted history of Australian | road movies. Alex Proyas is ready to rumble. Growing post production. Richard Lowenstein.
\ Adrian M artin. Dino Scatena. Marieke Hardy. John Davies. Michael Bodey. Megan Sloley 9770311363019
The Directors’ Issue.February.March.0 1
$ 7 .6 5 in c G S T
NZ$8.00 inc GST
363019
Client: Rentlo Title: Largescreen Agency: M&C Saatchi Director: Dogboy Producer: Fiona McGregor Writer & Art Director: Oliver Devaris Agency Producer: Rod James
■j^.contents.
feb.mar.01
T h e D ire c to r’s C u t. Richard Lowenstein on the swings and roundabouts on the
Reviews
path to directing a film.
34.Film The Monkey’s Mask Yolngu Boy Quills The Goddess of 1967 The Sixth Day In The Mood For Love Memento
39.
Video
The Three Stooges The Big Brass Ring Beat Better Living Through Circuitry
40.
H it th e R o a d . Adrian Martin uncovers a vast history of road movies driving The
Goddess of 1967 through the Australian outback. P ro filin g P ro y a s . Murder, madness, and evil. According to Angus Fontaine that’s just the beginning for Alex Proyas.
22
H id e an d S e e k . Michaela Boland takes a peek into the Cubbyhouse and unravels the many departments involved in making horror.
26
S o m e K in d a Guy. His rise to fame after LA Confidential has been a little slower
than Russell Crowe’s but John K. Davies senses Guy Pearce is on the verge of making a mighty impact.
Reading
Time Out Film Guide, 9th edition 2001 Variety International Guide, 2001
29
S o ft C e ll. Chopper’s UK release gave Evan Maloney reason to explore the
history of Oz bows in Blighty.
Shopgirl by Steve Martin Cassell’s Movie Quotations The Films of Mike Leigh by Ray Carney and Leonard Quart A Kiss Before Dying by Ira Levin Fame Games, The Production of Celebrity in Australia by Graeme Turner, Frances Bonner, P David Marshall Film Parody by Dan Harries
42.DVD Gladiator Fight Club Goldfinger The Patriot
Regulars. 0 5 .W e lc o m e to W o o p W o o p . 06.N ew sfro n t.ln d u stry news. 8 .F re s h Air. Your letters and emails. 25.T o M a rk e t, To M a rk e t. John Fleming on the marketing importance of DVDs. 3 2 .S n a p s h o t.M a rie k e Hardy on Position Vacant. 4 3 .S u p p le m e n t.V is u a l effects and animation: how local post houses are reaping rewards. 4 6 .P ro d u c tio n R e p o rt. 5 0 .T h e S u m of U s an d D a rb y
T R A N S P O R T & L O G IS T IC S
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For all film travel and freight needs.... Call Staqe & Screen. Australia’s Centenary of Federation will be commemorated in Victoria with a series of celebrations including the Federation Festival from 9 to 27 May 2001. A short film competition and showcase will be held as part of the Festival and entries are now invited from interested persons or teams.
SYDNEY, Contact: Marilu Vitale '< Stage & Screen Fox Studios Australia 28 Driver Avenue, Moore Park 1363 Ph: (02) 9383 4544 Fax: (02) 9383 4577 Email:
Submitted films must in some respect deal with indigenous-white rela tions in Australia. Entries should be submitted on PAL VHS and have a duration of ten minutes or less (except in unusual circumstances). Approximately ten films will be selected by an industry panel for a public screening in Melbourne during the Federation Festival. The winning person or team, to be announced following the screening, will receive professional development opportunities in the area of filmmaking or associated fields.
in fo @ s ta g e a n d s c re e n .c o m .a u
Entries should be submitted by 31 March 2001. For further information and application forms, contact Vallejo Gantner at the Melbourne Festival:
.MELBOURNE
Telephone (03) 9662 4242 Facsimile (03) 9663 4141 Email v.gantner@melbournefestival.com.au or visit our website at www.melbournefestival.com.au
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Centenary of Federation
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EDITOR
-> Congratulations on winning Oscars Geoffrey Rush and Toni
MICHAELA BOLAND m bolandldniche.com .au
Collette. And Go Russ Go, you deserved one for The Insider in
DEPUTY EDITOR
2000, so you were a double cert this time ‘round.
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Perfect Storm gongs for John Seale and Richard Francis Bruce,
COPY EDITOR
ah, they were written in the clouds.
MICHELE FRANKENI m frankenildniche.com .au
Hands together for Gtadiator composer Lisa Gerrard's gong - off
DESIGN
the back of a Golden Globe too. Meet the Parents,
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cinematographer Peter James, you came outta nowhere!
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Congratulations. And Mel, Frances O'Connor, Cate, Heath, Adam Garcia, Rach,
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Sarah and Nicole your nominations were all deserved. And
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Wolverine. Finger nails crossed for X-Men parts 3, 4 and 5!
PRODUCTION
On and on she raves, what’s the point? Well, even Hugo Weaving,
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who never chased a Hollywood career, finds himself working in LA
SCANNING
owing to the Wachowski’s need to slap together a few pre-strike
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PREPRESS MANFRED SCHMID m anfredofdniche.com .au MARK PALMER m palm erfdniche.com .au
COVER PHOTOGRAPH
Matrix scenes. Australian actors are working throughout Flollywood, filling the grand talent void. And treading the boards in New York and London too. Not to mention Portia and her pals on the telly. Mel was possibly the richest B.O. earner, in the world, during 2000. What Women Want, Chicken Run
KARIN CATT
and The Patriot - a stats fan kindly pointed out - each earned over US$100 million in the US. Fie also
EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD
starred in Wim's Mitlion Dollar Hotel fiasco but he dissed it before it released. Thus crucifying any
NATALIE MILLER, ROSS DIMSEY SCOTT MURRAY, SALLY-ANNE KERR LYNDEN BARBER, TED GREGORY TRACEY MAIR
The point is, Mel's huge, and he’s not coming home to work any time soon.
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chance it might have had anyway and showing he was in on that joke before the rest of us. Ditto Blanchett, O’Connor, Kidman and Crowe. They now inhabit a stratosphere beyond the reach of local producers. Especially with the soft dollar, Australian films can’t afford them (don’t attempt to call Moulin Rouge an Oz film, it’s a Fox studio pic).
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So how are local directors faring if they’re trying to cast, say, an ensemble of strong thirty-something actors in your average budget feature? Maybe they should call LA’s William Morris Agency direct and ask them to cut a deal? Maybe not. That’s why Guy Pearce graces the cover of Cinema Papers 137. Lie’s hitting his strides in the US with Memento and planning to lead Blood and Guts for producer Al Clark in Oz mid year. Strike pending. The actor’s union, the MEAA, apparently can’t make up its mind if local actors will or will not be asked to support the US actor’s guild strike. Instead the union is burying its head in the sand and hoping the strike won’t happen.
GROUP ART DIRECTOR
2001 is already proving a huge watershed for the local film industry as it benefits from the strike
GLENN AMOFFATT gm offattBnlche.com .au
threat. The next step is for some of the Aussie headliners to consider the warm welcome they’ll
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receive if they head home to Woop Woop. Oh, and adios.
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Michaela Boland
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Editor CINEMA PAPERS.FEBURARY.MARCH.2001 [5]
Sizzling Shorts
side by providing a "personal service" to corporate executives with masochistic urges. An unexpected
Hot Queensland summers are the common thread for three shorts produced and packaged as a 27minute television half-hour called Extreme Heat by producer Mark Chapman. The three films are from Queensland
client achieves unexpected highs in erotic arousal when serviced by Mistress Roxanne, otherwise frantically pre-occupied with preparations for a family dinner. The last of the trilogy, Crack, directed by Evan Clarry, written by Annie
writer/directors: Evan Clarry (AFI
Morris, centres on a very pregnant
Winner for the short film script Mate],
woman's experience of heat, and
Anthony Mullins director of Stop
discomfort while isolated in a shack
(selected for competition at Cannes
somewhere in the tropics. As the
Eric Bana has been cast in Ridley
temperature rises, her delirium
Gladiator Scott's war drama Black
reaches a climax - fortunately with
Hawk Down. The former TV comedian
Due on set in Morocco early February
happy consequences.
signed with LA's William Morris
Bana had to pull out of commitments
in Cinema).
Agency in September and is taking on
with ABC TV’s Something in the Air,
Sue Ward reports, though it's early
the role of a soldier called Mace
his agent Lauren Bergman confirms
days still, Chapman is quietly
alongside Josh Hartnett and Tom
he, "had to start a little bit earlier on the movie".
2000] and Sandra Graham, writer/director of Christmas Tree (selected for Cannes 2000 Women
confident either the ABC or SBS w ill
Billy in Bermagui
Sizemore.
pick up the package. Shot back-to-back over five weeks,
The relentless and wildly inaccurate
Chapman said there were a number
stories of Nicole Kidman and
Production Overdrive
out of shooting in Sydney during the first half of the year but is planning to
of benefits to keeping the projects
husband Tom Cruise snapping up a
together under one umbrella.
house in Frankston 'did our heads
The threat of strikes in Hollywood has
begins production at Queensland’s
"It means we had a big enough budget
in'. But in Bermagui - on the NSW
lead to a production rush in Oz and a
Gold Coast Warner Studios mid
to pay professional crews and more
Sapphire Coast - locals had reason
100 percent increase in enquiries from
February with explicit plans to
production dollars on the screen.
for excitement when Scottish
offshore productions.
complete by end June.
arrive in winter. Warner's Scooby Doo
Keeping within the tight 27-minute
comedian Billy Conolly actually
In Sydney, three major features are in
Unable to secure the Gold Coast
time frame also meant the
spent part of February in the fishing
pre-production and the Film and
studios, Disney's movie of the week
filmmakers had to be disciplined
town.Connolly teamed with Judy
Television Office's Kingston Anderson
Shipshape w ill shoot on location and
in determining what remained on
Davis on The Man Who Sued God for
expects the industry w ill hit its stride
at smaller studios nearby.
the screen and what was left on
director Mark Joffe and producer
late February.
Fox Icon Jet Li movie of the week The
the floor.”
Ben The Boy From Oz Gannon who
Fears of crew shortages touted late
Invincibles is scheduled to shoot in
The three films, shot on super 16
was returning to making movies after
2000 appear unwarranted except for
Sydney in coming months,
but finished on 35mm, means the
an eight year absence.
reported ‘poaching' by Queensland
Disappearance is shooting in Adelaide
filmmakers also have the added
The Man Who Sued God, about an
productions. Castle Rock and Jerry
and Warner Roadshow's Queen of the
exposure of the international
ex-lawyer now fisherman whose
Bruckheimer's Down and Under is
Damned recently wrapped in
festival circuit.
live-in fishing boat overturns after
scheduled to shoot from March in
Melbourne.
Sandra Graham's Mohammed's
being struck by lightning, is based
Sydney, South Australia and
Passion evokes the heat of erotic
on an original idea by Patrick
Ayer's Rock.
desire and unconsummated love
McCarville.
Phil Noyce is breaking from post
between a middle-aged Muslim
Script has been 10 years in
production on Rabbit Proof Fence -
restaurateur, Mohammed and Maria,
development with helmer Mark Joffe
about the stolen generation - to
the widowed Greek owner of the deli
[The Matchmaker} and scribe Don
shoot The Quiet American from
across the street.
Watson Passion).
mid-February in Vietnam, then
Anthony Mullins' Rubber Gloves
Other cast include Wendy Hughes,
Sydney, with Brendan Fraser and
focuses on a busy suburban
Bille Brown, John Howard and
Michael Caine.
housewife who earns a little on the
Colin Friels.
Warner Roadshow's The Matrix pulled
[6 ] CINEMA PAPERS.FEBRUARY.MARCH.2001
Congratulations i f© th e
w inner of th e
$ 4 0 ,0 0 0 A pple Studio com petition Q ueensland’s
C o lin T rethew ey.
Nothing represents your creative vision better than film. Nothing reproduces color and motion or captures effects quite like it. Nothing is as natural. As personal. But, the reality is that using film also makes good business sense. Film can be transferred to and displayed on almost any format in the world. It is the most flexible medium out there
Eastman Kodak Company, 2000.
WHY FILM?
ITâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S A MATTER OF FEELING AND FACT
Make an informed choice when selecting medium* Visit www.kodak.com/qo/storv for th
■ A c c o la d e s f o r W a rd -> I absolutely loved the article that Michael Ward wrote about the AFI awards. was pissing myself all the way through - very silly comments about
newsfront
Morrissey - 1 love his pay outs of Catriona Roundtree and Steve Bastoni - he is a very funny writer. Well done for getting him to write the article. It was great. Edwina Jamieson
■ Tw o s id e s to e v e ry s to ry Alan Duff’s piece ‘L.A. Down Under’ (CP 136) demands a response. To begin with, the name of the home country which he has ‘temporarily forgotten’, is New Zealand. Alan seems to have become increasingly forgetful. This is the same person who, on the eve of the 1999 General Election, declared he would emigrate to Australia if the Labor and/or Alliance parties came to power. This happened but Alan is still with us, hammering and badgering us with his weekly newspaper column, filled with contempt for those who don’t agree with his version of the world, mixed with extended self-congratulations. Alan Jones might be a useful analogy for Australian readers. You get a sense of the latter trait in his Cinema Papers contribution but it also does not tell the full story. He did not write the screenplay for Once Were Warriors (the most successful of the two films based on his novels); his screenplay was passed over in favour of a script by Riwia Brown. He also over-simplifies the role and purpose of overseas productions filming in New Zealand. Like Australia, providing New Zealand locations and technical expertise for American filmmakers is an accommodation and a compromise; we provide the mountains and lighting crews (most recently for Vertical Limit), and they provide the local cash flows and opportunities for employment and training. This year (2000), for example, foreign exchange of $NZ455 million was generated by the New Zealand screen industry, and more than 14,000 jobs were undertaken (compared with 7730 in 1999). Even though a
top: Breaker Morant above: Alvin Purple
good slice of this foreign exchange came from biggie productions like Lord of
new prints of classic Australian movies.
March and April. Selected titles w ill
the Rings, there was also a flow-on effect for local production, creating a buoyant local screen industry.
Bruce Beresford's Breaker Morant
Screensound has produced a dozen also be shown at the Byron Bay All
It is good you are providing coverage of New Zealand in your excellent journal
and Don's Party, Henri Safran’s Storm
Screen Celebration, 15-24 February.
but I would hate to think that your readers might go away with a sense that Alan Duff represents what Kiwis think and say.
Boy, Tim Burstall’s Alvin Purple, Phil
Fifty new cinema prints will be
Noyce's Newsfront and Backroads,
released over the next five years in an
Geoff LeaLand
Fred Schepisi's The Devil's Playground,
initiative announced last year. Others
Screen & Media Studies
Paul Cox's Lonely Hearts, Albie Thoms'
due for release later in 2001 include
University of Waikato
Palm Beach, Gillian Armstrong's The
Brian Trenchard-Smith's The Man from
Hamilton, NZ
Singer and the Dancer, Ned Lander's
Hong Kong, Mary Callaghan’s
Wrong Side of the Road and Tom
Greetings from Wollongong and
Jeffrey's The Odd Angry Shot are
Michael Powell's They're a Weird Mob.
■ F u r t h e r to " L .A . D o w n U n d e r ” a r t ic le in CP 13 6
screening at the Astor Theatre,
Enquiries: 02 9380 1200 or
Melbourne on Mondays throughout
sydneySscreensound.gov.au
-> Subsequent to the piece I wrote I’m feeling rather stupid about it. This is a form of apology to the film industry in general: -> The trouble with being a frustrated writer (in films) is often your mouth
Ich Bin Ein Aussie
and be eligible for government funding
engages before your head, especially when you’re trying the big bust-in on the
in each country.
film world. I wrote my silly piece after three years of frustration at being
Australia has similar deals with the
unable to raise finance for film scripts I’d written. After a failed attempt at
The Australian and German
UK, France, Italy, Canada and Israel.
raising money through a public capital raising. And immediately after reading
governments have signed a treaty
President of the Screen Producer's
Hollywood writer William Goldman’s work titled "What Lie Did I Tell’’, in which
designed to increase film and TV co
Association, Nick Murray, says the
Goldman took a few shots at the industry, I mindlessly parroted it, except not
productions.
treaty simply formalises previous ad-
Product made under the agreement
hoc arrangements and makes Oz a
in his eloquent fashion, but rather in an out and out aggressive tone which I now deeply regret.
w ill be considered 'national' by both
more attractive partner for German
My article was childish and it took a line of, "if you’re in my way, then you’re a
governments, satisfy the content
producers during a period of shrinking
target’’ and away I went. I’ve since been enlightened on just how the film
requirements of commercial TV webs
European expenditure.
world does work and, though some of my statements on Hollywood are
[8 ] CINEMA PAPERS.FEBRUARY.MARCH.2001
to head into a new century with cultural cringe still the dominant factor in cast and crew choices for Queensland film and television productions? Would the PFTC also have us believe that there is no director in Queensland capable of successfully helming a film production? That Queenslanders are only good for menial jobs on the large, usually US-backed productions which dominate our "Hollywood on the Gold Coast”? That no Queensland actors are of a calibre to star in local film productions? (This is patently untrue: ask any of the number of independent filmmakers who - tiring of the PFTC’s rigorous refusal to effectively nurture a local industry - have gone out ‘off their own bat’ and been inundated with the deluge of local acting talent crying out for work on a local product.) correct, it does not in any way mitigate my mouthing off. I’m sorry for lumping
Surely it is not being too parochial to expect that Queenslanders would have
‘bearded’ film directors into my appalling generalisation; sorry for saying how
the chance to work on Queensland films in all key positions. (Sydney and
I’d thump any Hollywood studio boss who yelled at me. And most of all, sorry
Melbourne need no help: they both have local film industries.) Perhaps it is
for failing to see that the profession is a difficult enough business as it is
time that we question the validity of the PFTC, an organisation which has been
without big-mouthed novelists saying what I did.
for too long stifling our (still) infant film industry in its crib, while itself
I wrote it, have to live with it. Nothing personal against anyone was intended. It
generously suckling off the baby’s bottle.
was just a mirror reflection of how I was feeling at the time. Alan Duff
With the centenary of cinema come and gone, it might also be a good time to
Author
an Olympic swimmer, it would still be on the side of the pool, shivering,
question why our local film industry remains so fledgling? If the PFTC were dipping in only one toe, cautiously testing the water. Patrick N Hine
N o r t h e r n E x p o s u re
Producer/Director, Brizbin Boy Canberra Girl
Having watched (and enjoyed) Ten’s Sunday (July 9th) night telemovie, The Love of Lionel's Life, as a Queensland filmmaker I was left with just one nagging question - must Queensland’s stories always be brought to the screen by southern cast and crew? Queensland’s film funding body, the
■ You re a d it h e re fir s t
Pacific Film and Television Commission (PFTC), were major investors in this
-> I refer to your article "In a cinema not so far away", October/November issue.
production, shot in Brisbane and Clifton, with a Melbourne director (John Ruane) and main cast from south of the border (Matt Day, Nadine Garner,
-> A financially viable alternative to a $250,000 digital projector may be the use
Alex Dimitriades).
of multiple compact LCD projectors, combined with a high gain screen.
The many accountants disguised as film doyens at the PFTC would
Using a 1024x 768 pixel, 1000 ANSI lumens portable LCD projector ($9,000), I
undoubtedly argue that Day, Dimitriades and Garner are all known,
have achieved picture brightness better than cinema’s, on a high gain 16.5 feet
marketable actors. This is true. They are all individually known, marketable
wide screen. This screen has a gain of 7x matte white and is spherically dished
actors. Surely any one of them would satisfy the bean counters. This would
to prevent hot spots, providing very even illumination across the viewing area.
leave two leading roles for Queensland actors in a Queensland story. Are we
Two such projectors, side by side, could cover a similar type of screen 33 feet
D i g i t a l F ilm R e c o r d i n g 2 K & 4 K t o 3 5 m m I n t e r m e d i a plus Eastman Colour Neg & High Contrast Title Design and Production, 12 bit Scanning, Digital Opticals & Kines > 5 Chuter S t M c M a h o n ’s Pt (North S ydney) N S W 2 0 6 0 Tel: 61 2 -9 9 2 2 3 1 4 4
Fax: 61 2 9 9 5 7 5001
E m ail: o g team @ o g .co m .au
Miramax came along this year claiming it would be aggressively buying product but by the end of the festival’s ‘Part A’ they had picked up nothing. Considering their track history, the Weinsteins are wary. In 1998 they purchased The Castle for a reported $US6 million and ended up making $US2 million in US domestic box office. The following year they purchased Happy Texas for $10 million, which also only returned $US2 million domestic US. Which is not to say you can’t snap up a film at a good price and make money. Fine Line’s purchase of Shine for$US2 million returned over $35.9 million. And, of the course, the success story of success stories is the cult success of The Blair Witch Project from 1999. Purchased for $1.1 million, it returned more than $140 million. Buyers have become sawier. Only one of the top four purchases at Sundance wide, 12.4 feet high. The input signal would be split between the projectors to
2000 failed to turn a profit.
produce a seamless screen image of 2048 x 768 pixels.
At the same time, many of the big films screening at Sundance come with indie
Larger screens and higher resolution could be obtained by adding more
distributors already attached. Michael [Angel Baby\ Rymer’s, new film Perfume
projectors. For example, a bank of six projectors, three wide by two high, could
comes with Lions Gate.
fill a screen 50 by 25 feet, with 3072 x 1536 pixels, with a projector cost of
The Dish, already well received at the Toronto film Festival, comes with
$54,000. Based on the above projector’s rated resolution of 550 horizontal TV
Warner Bros attached. Chopperv/as picked up by First Look distribution. In fact
lines, this screen would resolve 1650 TV lines, very close to 35mm film. Laurie Buckingham
the only Australian film this year that doesn’t come with distribution deals
LB Products
Andrew Lancaster's In Search of Mike received positive reviews in local
already attached are the shorts. And they’re being very well received. industry press. And Rachel Ward’s short The Big House has good buzz on the street. Hopefully they will face a long life on the festival circuit.
■ O ne o u t o f th e box -> Thank you for all the mail you have sent me over the past months. I first discovered Cinema Papers eight years ago and since then have eagerly awaited each new issue. The use of more colour photos was particularly nice, but going monthly was a disappointment. The page count seemed to be made up by increasing advertisements and subscription rates suddenly doubled. I think it was wise to go back to bi-monthly issues. It would be good to see more technical articles. Looking back at some of the older issues, there were a lot of good in-depth articles. Maybe it has been covered before, but there are always new readers who would be interested even in some of the older technology. I suppose increasing circulation by appealing more to the general public and
left: Michael Rymer (director of Angel Baby) and Mariel Hemingway, middle: Tearlach Hutcheson (L) and Andrew Dominik right: Eric Bana. Sundance photos by Tearlach Hutcheson
enthusiast moviemakers is important at the moment, but I hope it is not at the cost of your traditional readership. Is it really possible to appeal to everybody?
-> The festival has developed four levels
Maybe you can have articles for both enthusiast ‘do-it-yourselves’ and professionals.
1. THE DESPERATE FILMMAKER.
Finally, I must mention the Sony advertisements appearing lately. Since when
Emitting a scent of desperation, they are having their unrealistic dreams
is it possible to do cinematography with a video camera? We all know what
shattered. The first question many have failed to ask themselves is whether or
'cine' means. It just shows how desperate some companies are to get the film
not their film is actually as good as they want it to be? Secondly, where do they
industry to convert to video. Even working on an Arriflex matt box and
expect it to get distribution? How many theatrical distributors are seriously looking for 20-minute short films?
referring to ‘motion pictures’ - a term generally associated with film. After all, film is more than just the best, it is about the tradition, the history, the pioneers and the prestige. That’s something that video will have to wait a long time, if
2. FILMMAKER WITH GOOD PRODUCT BUT NO DISTRIBUTOR.
ever, for.
These are the films in the festival’s competition segments. The distributors are taking a keen interest in them.
It is a pity that such underhanded advertisements are published in such a wellregarded journal. In the meantime, I wish you all the best for this century and look forward to each issue. Andrew Neugebauer
3.SERI0US CONVENTION-STYLE MEETINGS BETWEEN DISTRIBUTORS, MEDIA, THE KEY ARTHOUSE EXHIBITORS AND PR FIRMS.
East Gosford
They hook up for private dinners, display their product and the talent involved in an attempt to sell their latest acquisitions. These are the real players at Sundance.
■ S u n n y D a ze -> Sundance was designed as a creative outlet for filmmakers - for the
4.THE CELEBRITY LEVEL.
development and exhibition of their work.
Many people who come to Sundance expect a celebrity parade. And audiences
Problem: the festival had Hollywood sex symbol Robert Redford as its
haven’t been disappointed. Mick Jagger turned up for Enigma along with Kate
figurehead and he generated more buzz than perhaps organisers were initially
Winslet. Gus Van Sant wandered through town. But they’re guarded by high-
prepared for.
powered PR firms who locked them away except for key appearances. Many are only in town a few days.
Ironically Redford is busy filming his latest project and therefore couldn’t attend this year.
So perhaps Sundance’s refusal that to admit that it is a buyers’ market is turning
I wonder if he’d notice how much his Sundance has changed? The infamous days of bidding wars are over and track history shows many distributors ended
full circle. And perhaps we can begin to focus on the creative side of the process. Tearlach Hutcheson
up being burnt. Now they’re wary.
Landmark Theatres, US
[10] CINEMA PAPERS.FEBRUARY.MARCH.2001
EVICTIONS
m
A few years ago, after a protracted period a complete frustration at having to take yet anothi break from my sporadic bouts <^ scrlpt-writihg ï
mm
order to pay the bills, (by dplng a TV commercij I was rung up by a well-known Melbourne
television production house and asked if I was interested in dii ecting a feature film. The film was ready to shoot, almost completely funded and one of a package of three the company
-.-ftS®’'
laM ffiiBlIllg!
It goes way beyond the “Cinema of the Ugly”, our national cinema has
become the “Cinema of the Idiot”. Count the Australian films of the past twenty years (Paul Cox films aside) that haven’t had some sort of simpleton or group of simpletons as the lead characters, and you’ll see what I mean. what crew to use and dropped Like hot-cakes if they
superior to, you'd be fine. Do that and everyone is
feature development, preferring to wait until the
fail to deliver 'Tarantino'-like success on their first
happy. Don't put anyone too intelligent in your movie,
director/writer has either slaved their guts out on
outing. Where a success has to be followed as
the Americans and Europeans do it so much better. It
his/her "labour of love” or pulled some quickie out of
quickly as possible by another and another, never
goes way beyond the “Cinema of the Ugly", our
the bottom drawer. Then they decide whether it's a
mind if the first one took years upon years of blood,
national cinema has become the "Cinema of the
yes or no when the script comes through the door. If
sweat and tears to develop and bring into being.
Idiot” .
it's a yes the FFC kicks in and it's champagne for all.
The director had to stop being known an “artist" (it
Count the Australian films of the past twenty years
gives them too much power]. They had to become
(Paul Cox films aside) that haven't had some sort of
If no, they very rarely contact you, they just hope you go away... In Europe (not to mention America), it is not
people you “ hired in" because they unfortunately
simpleton or group of simpletons as the lead
knew where to put the camera and they knew all
characters, and you'll see what I mean.
uncommon for the production companies to provide a
those mysteriously magical “right words" to say to
On top of all that, the development situation in this
writer or writer/director with a seriously healthy
those strange bundles of neuroses called 'actors'
country has become a complete joke. Compared to
amount of money in order to feed and clothe
(who most annoyingly had a very strong union and
the amount of time, energy and money spent
themselves and their loved ones, so that they might
could cost a lot of money) in order to help them bring
developing, funding and nurturing directors and
be able to go off, research and write a script without
out the award-winning performances they all carry
projects in other, sometimes much smaller countries
having the incessant worry of how one is going to survive beyond the next few weeks. And they have this
inside them.
and industries than ours (Denmark is a fine
Apart from that, these “auteur” types were an
example), the situation here has become one of “let's
strange concept of believing in developing a body of
annoying nuisance who seemed bent of going over
throw a lot of shit and see what sticks" policy to film
work with a writer, producer or director, perhaps over
budget and wanting things to be "great” instead of
development and production coming from the
a decade or so, through success and failure.
just “good enough". They were the enemy.
companies with the "green-lighting” power in this
On my last project, He Died With A Felafel In His
As long as you had fast editing, constant use of close-
country, invariably combined with some kind of
Hand, the script went out to over 20 production and
ups (handy for the video release), lots of back light,
backstage “political" agenda taking precedence over
financing companies all over the world. The only
in-your-face production design, lots of laughs and
script and creative team qualifications...
companies that did not get back to me, or respond in
lead characters were a bunch of suburban or country
Australian production and sales companies (what
any way at all, positive or negative, were the
idiots (or maybe even a lone idiot) we could all feel
there are of them) put a pittance (if anything) into
Australian ones. Even my international rejection
[12] CINEMA PAPERS.FEBRUARY.MARCH.2001
On my last project, He D ied With A Felafel In His Hand, the script went out to over twenty production and financing companies all over the world. The only companies that did not get back to me, or respond in any way at all, positive or negative, were the Australian ones. the script development funding bodies, or if you are
letters would have a sense of a serious and adult
him/her to do, stand in the background if there was
approach to filmmaking about them, rather than the
any glory to be had and be pushed forward to take
lucky enough get an approval, finding out the money
awkward embarrassed silences of the dysfunctional
the blame if it all turned to shit.
allocated turns out to be less than the unemployment
monoliths of our own retarded film industry.
This time I did back out of there quietly. On my way
benefits you were on, when spread out over the time
out, I mentioned a local director I knew of, who I
you need to write the script. Just deliver us the end
should've warned me. I should've backed out quietly,
thought was good and suggested they hire him. And
product as quickly as possible. The beast is hungry.
mouthing platitudes about hearing my mother calling
next thing I know, they had.
Otherwise there'll always be a first-tim er waiting
and not being late for dinner, but I paid no heed. I
I don't think he's ever forgiven me...
behind the counter of the nearest video store with a
persevered. I asked for a rewrite. The
A few months ago, while watching an excerpt of an
pile of scripts they've been slaving over (on their own
producer/scriptwriter gave me a one week re-write
after-party of our national film awards ceremony on
coin, of course), just desperate to become the next
in between episodes of the miniseries and a script
television, a well-known television movie review
overnight success. And if they don't end up becoming
edit on one of the other features that she had to do.
show host was asked by the interviewer what she
the next hot young thing. Well, we can always drop 'em and go onto the next one, can't we..? •
"If you get a good cameraman, it becomes cinema"
Nothing had changed. The script was getting worse. I
could recommend to the young up-coming (and very
decided to do a rewrite myself, totally prepared to be
talented) director of the year who had won the major
unpaid and uncredited. I handed it back to them a few
award of the night. She answered, "Make another
weeks later. They read it, called me into a meeting,
film as quickly as possible."
miniseries mentioned, ended up being made into a
sat me down and said, "Why can't you be like our TV
Never mind the quality, never mind the eight years of
sequence of quite mediocre productions. The
directors and just give us notes?”
stop-start development the director has had to go
production company went back to quality television and did very well indeed... He Died With A Felafel In
ADDENDUM All three feature films and the
This time it was serious. I smiled at them and told
through to get to this stage. Never mind the constant
them if they wanted someone like one of their TV
breaks needed to earn money from commercials or
His Hand was eventually financed through a sizeable
directors, why don’t they just get one of their TV
music-videos in order to sustain yourself. That's if
investment of Italian money, in conjunction with Village Roadshow and the FFC, who as essential and
directors and do it with them or maybe the producer
you're lucky enough to get a commercial or video
should direct it herself, since she was so happy with
(most film directors have trouble crossing between
fair-handed as they are, unfortunately are not able to
mediocrity. Apparently they wanted a rent-boy (or
these two worlds). Never mind the months waiting
finance script and project development in this
girl) that would take on their folly, do what they told
for your form letter of rejection from one or other of
country.../?/.
CINEMA PAPERS.FEBRUARY.MARCH.2001 [13]
The Adventures o f Priscilla, Queen o f the Desert (1995),
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Adrian Martin uncovers a vast history of road movies driving The C-c In The Goddess o f 1967 Clara Law speaks of wanting- . . N to capture “a state of mystery paradox ambiguity.” * B |
The road m ovie is m any th in g s, across high and low culture, arthouse
and popular cinema alike. It’s Wim Wenders’ spiritually lost characters, from Alice in the Cities (1974) to Until the End of the World (1991), travelling gravely in search of home, origin and meaning. The high-speed chases, low humour and blown-off hubcaps in Smokey and the Bandit (1977) and its ilk. High spirited, outlaw lovers on the run in Bonnie and Clyde (1967) and The Sugarland Express (1973). The terse, hardboiled mystery of American males escaping from demons they cannot articulate (Two-Lane Blacktop, 1971). The romantic comedy of dysfunctional couples (It Happened One Night, 1934) and families (Flirting with Disaster, 1996) on road trips. The post-apocalyptic, highway clashes of feral gangs and reluctant heroes in the Mad Max movies and their many Z-grade imitations.
Like some other unusual genres, we know what a
because of low-budget possibilities, and because of
road movie is when we see one, without being able
our predilection for stories of travel and discovery -
to really define the term with much precision. A
is especially fond of the road movie form. In recent
recent useful survey by Mia Treacey in Metro
years, films including Kiss or Kill (1997), Heaven's
magazine begins with the basics: a road movie
Burning (1996) and True Love and Chaos (1997)
"would appear to be the combination of road,
have mixed action elements with personal journey
vehicle and human occupants” . Suitably for a genre
plots. George Miller's Mad Max series is currently
that seems to have begun life, long ago, with the
cranking up for a fourth installment. Both Wenders
popular embrace of train travel, 'road movie' has
and Herzog [Where the Green Ants Dream, 1984]
become a loose and flexible designation. These
easily transported their obsessions with nomadic
days, in daily journalistic parlance, it covers films
mobility and spiritual questing into the Australian
where travel is at a crawling pace on horse or by
continent - particularly the 'dead heart’ of the
foot (Jim Jarmusch's Dead Man, 1995); where
central desert spaces, eternally fascinating to
gallivanting is aided by the occasional plane ride to
cultured European city dwellers looking for a trace
another country (Wong Kar-Wai's Happy Together, 1997); or where the drama or comedy of
of the 'prim itive’. American road movies, with their vast stretches of
interpersonal connection gets a technological
landscape, are often given a grandiloquent gloss: in
booster via satellite and new digital technology.
the shadow of classic Westerns, country’n'western
Gone are the days when Harry Dean Stanton could
music, and Jack Kerouac’s seminal On the Road,
simply wander out of a desert in Paris, Texas (1984)
these films are taken to be about a glamorous bid
and slowly integrate himself into society via the
for freedom out on the 'final frontier' - which
classic road movie pitstops of petrol stations and
essentially refers to the drama of men getting
motels; Wenders' next project, an as-yet-untitled
together (hence the 'buddy road movie’ variation)
Or it's the rampaging of feminist vigilantes through
collaboration with Sam Shepard, w ill be “a road
and escaping the sphere of women, families,
a patriarchal wilderness in Thelma and Louise
movie right across the United States - a family saga
suburbia and personal responsibility. The editors of
[1991] and Baise-Moi (2000). The drollness of Aki
and, at the same time, a story which takes place in
the 1997 American anthology The Road Movie Book
Kaurismaki's blank, feckless, alcoholic anti-heroes
the age of the internet and global communication".
tell us that the genre is all about “fantasies of
briefly interrupting their dull, daily routines to bum
As today's screenwriting gurus never tire of telling
escape and opposition” ; while Timothy Corrigan in
around [Take Care of Your Scarf, Tatjana, 1994).
us, it’s the emotional journey that really matters in
his invaluable A Cinema Without Walls relates the
Steely thrillers (like Cohen and Tate [1989] and
a movie - the 'hero's journey' towards insight,
form to real-world crises of the "recent historical fracturing of the male subject” and "the
The Hit [1984-]) about criminals, cops and
fearlessness, triumph or compassion. Road movies
hostages sharing close quarters and matching wits
are compelling because they reinforce this
“ breakdown of the family unit” . Australian movies also reflect these kinds of
on the way to a preordained rendezvous - a story
metaphorical and internal journey with a literal,
twisted for laughs in Midnight Run [1988], And
external one. The Coen brothers made this
melodramatic tensions that mix a love of freedom
Werner Herzog's dark tales of obsessed wanderers
connection comically explicit by pitching their 0
with an intuition of large-scale social
lost in towns and jungles, whether fictional
Brother, Where A rt Thou? (2000) as a retelling of
disintegration. We, too, have our 'wide open
(Stroszek, 1977) or non-fictional [Little Dieter Needs
Homer's The Odyssey.
spaces’, and the dreams to fill them. But, on the
to Fly, 1996)...
Australian cinema - because of our landscape,
whole, the 'moves' in Australian road movies tend
oddess of 1967 through the Australian outback.
Car and motor bike culture has been such an obsessive topic in our national cinema - from Weir’s The Cars that Ate Paris (1974) and Stone (1974) through Midnite Spares (1983) and DeadEnd Drive-In (1986) to Metal Skin (1995) - is often urban, fugitive, ready to auto-destructively implode at any moment
CINEMA PAPERS.FEBRUARY.MARCH.2001 [15 ]
to occur in smaller, more precisely defined circles.
the sports ground (7??e FJ Holden, 1977); the
‘hero's journey' formula, with its reliance on
The car and motor bike culture which has been
tenacious efforts of a black rock band to be allowed
mainstream, action-packed, goal-oriented
such an obsessive topic in our national cinema -
to play their music [Wrong Side of the Road, 1981);
narratives. These are the arty road movies in which
from Weir's The Cars that Ate Paris (1974) and
and the dissolute, ‘dusk to dawn’ wandering of a
people, as much a mystery to themselves as to us,
Stone (1974) through Midnite Spares (1983) and
disaffected teenager [Head On, 1998). And a static,
go on meandering trails and end up nowhere they
Dead-End Drive-In (1986) to Metal Skin (1995) - is
overturned car is just as interesting as a moving
ever expected. Circular trips, labyrinths,
often urban, fugitive, ready to auto-destructively
one to the makers of Road to Nhill (1997).
dreamscapes, sudden vanishing points, trails
implode at any moment.
As is also characteristic of some non-Hollywood
without seeming end: the easy riders of the road
Sometimes this mundane, mobile world receives a
cinemas, there may be as many significant
movie have, for around 40 years, beaten such real
lighter treatment - as in the underrated gem BMX
Australian shorts, essay-documentaries,
and metaphorical paths.
Bandits (1983), featuring a very young Nicole
independent and experimental films that engage
Rod Bishop, now head of the Australian Film,
Kidman, which weaves a typically daggy teenage
with the road movie as there are features. All the
Television and Radio School, asserted in a Stuffing
reverie from humble bicycles and CB radios.
standard generic elements are condensed,
magazine of the mid 80s that “the best of the road
Australia can even boast an important, world
exaggerated, torn asunder or put under the
movies collapse inwards, their resolutions lost in
cinema precedent to the entire road genre in John
microscope in notable works including David
destruction or nihilism or existential hiatus". The
Heyer's The Back of Beyond (not to be confused, on
Caesar's Carcrash [1996], Margaret Dodd's This
current era of the 'internationalist' road movie -
any account, with the dreadful Paul Mercurio
Woman is Not a Car (1979), John Cumming's
with characters often fleeing their past in one
vehicle Back of Beyond, 1995) - a modestly
Obsession (1985), Ross Gibson's Camera Natura
country for the sake of anonymity in another -
presented but uncommonly haunting tale from 1954
(1986), Mairi Cameron's Driving Ms Crazy [ 1994)
extends and expands the road movie's terrain for
of land, survival, communication and spontaneous
and Catherine Birmingham's Drive (1992) -
such 'destruction'. The films of Alain Tanner [In the
cultural mixing.
plumbing levels of fantasy and/or despair more
White City, 1983), Theo Angelopoulos [Landscape in
As is often the case, the Australian 'customising' of
akin to David Cronenberg's eerily perverse Crash
the Mist, 1988) and many others have created, in
a popular genre too often perceived (especially by
(1997) or Gregg Araki's violently queer The Doom
American critic Ronnie Scheib’s sensitive account,
Americans) as 'peculiarly American' is best
Generation (1995) than the hippie trip of Easy Rider
a 'cinema of exile', brimming with scattered
compared with similar manoeuvres in the cinemas
(1969).
sensations that are reminiscent of Lou Reed and
of (for example) Britain (Gallivant, 1996), Iceland
In particular, if we examine local road movies
John Cale's ode to nomadic travel, "Forever
[Cold Fever, 1994), Cuba (Guantanamera, 1994) or
including Esben Storm’s In Search of Anna (1979),
Changed": "My whole life
Iran (Abbas Kiarostami’s And Life Goes On..., 1992).
Bill Bennett’s debut Backlash (1986), Ian Pringle's
disappearing/Disappearing from view".
What we invariably find is that, once the road movie
Wrong World (1985) or Laurie Maclnnes' Broken
Clara Law's new film The Goddess of 1967 could
shakes off its outsize 'mythic' trappings, it hones in
Highway (1994), we turn up a model of the road
have been made to fit the fanciful title of Corrigan’s
on microcosmic, everyday diagrams of social
journey that is not quite so neat or optimistic as the
discussion of the genre as it stands today: "The
power, involving every imaginable variable of class, gender, work, age and sexual orientation. So Australian cinema has given us, indelibly, a vacationing family seething inside a car (Jane Campion's famous short Peel, 1982); daily struggles over means of transportation that provide access to blessed release at havens like the pub or
m
In recen|years, films including Kiss or Kill (1997) have action elements with personal journey plots.
Once the road movie shakes off its outsize ‘mythic’ trappings, it hones in on microcosmic, everyday diagrams of social power, involving every imaginable variable of class, gender, work, age and sexual orientation.
Road Movie in Outer Space". Law speaks of wanting to capture "a state of mystery, paradox, ambiguity".
Wrong Side of the Road
Many of Law's film s - as the title of her previous one, Floating Life (1996), makes clear - are about the curious, suspended state of being that comes from inhabiting a uniformly fragmented, multicultural, ‘post-everything’ world. Everything is in pieces and nothing adds up: people hop from country to country in a flash, connect with perfect strangers in cyberspace, and dimly grasp the consequences as once intimate friends, lovers and family members pass out of sight, out of mind. Everyone is a foreigner to everyone else in this world; there is no shared 'language' of any sort. Even the occasional ecstatic moments - of dancing, laughter or sex - carry a solipsistic, solitary, melancholic charge in Law's vision. Old fashioned 'truth' is hard to come by in the landscape of The Goddess of 1967, because people and commodities have merged into the same flatline of impersonality: businessman JM (Rikiya Kurokawa) arrives in outback Australia to pick up his purchased DS (a 1967 Citroen) and encounters the blind BG (Rose Byrne). Like for the Porschedriving male duo in Philippe Garrel’s Night Wind (1999), the displaced, train travelling narrator in Claire Denis' Beau Travail (1999), or the hero of In Search of Anna, the forward journey in space for BG and JM becomes a backward journey in time, Australian cinema has given us, among other things, daily struggles over means of transportation that provide access to blessed release at havens like the pub or the sports ground (The FJ Holden, 1977) and the tenacious efforts of a black rock band to be allowed to play their music (Wrong Side of the Road, 1981).
back over the memory-traces of troubled origins, formative experiences and sacred sites. As in many a road movie, the drive to settle the 'unfinished business’ of family life - in particular, the wounded, psychic legacy left by unloving, abusive or repressive parents - looms large over this particular voyage. The Goddess of 1967 occasionally raises expectations of conventional th rille r intrigue or ~chase-film action, but deliberately misplaces these threads. These genres are hollowed out to mere husks and left to dry in the scorching sun. Typical of the 'cinema of exile' tradition, the vacuum left by the absence of a 'driving' plot or crystal-clear psychological motivation is filled to the brim with moods, atmospheres, sensations - and on this level, the film is superbly crafted and spectacularly
The current era of the ‘internationalist’ road movie - with characters often fleeing their past in one country for the sake of anonymity in another - extends and expands the road movie’s terrain for such ‘destruction’.
successful. Australia has never been so noir as here - not even in Kiss or Kill, which has a more direct link to the
fou (1965). When human beings are so completely
melodrama saga spanning (with merry disregard
classic film noir and contemporary neo noir
disconnected from the world, a sense of paranoiac
for linear chronology) many years and participants.
traditions. Pubs, caravans and hotel rooms look
menace invariably takes over, and in this light
How different this all is to a jollier lineage of local
like dank caves. Cinematographer Dion Beebe
Law’s view of the Australian ‘wilderness' recalls
road movies, topped by Stephan Elliott's The
(Vacant Possession, 1995) pulls out all f-stops in
the sombre classic Wake in Fright (1971). As
Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (1995),
remarkable, painterly frames that place patches of
French critic Serge Grunberg said of the Australian
in which characters of different races, classes and
lurid, deliberately mismatched colour between
short Road to Alice (1992), "one can find all the
sexual preferences reconcile with each other and
slabs of pitch black. Editor Kate Williams [The
ingredients of the ‘Australian neurosis': a
‘the land', via the splendid mobility offered by a tour
Myth of Fingerprints, 1997) masters the multiple
fascination with violence that never takes place;
bus. The Goddess of 1967 ultimately tries for a
dislocations between times and places, always
vast, empty spaces; and the ultimate 'moral' of the
kindly, peaceable gesture in this direction -
finding unusual rhythms to surprise and disorient
story - that all roads lead nowhere".
although the effort is rather uneasy and uncertain.
us. Roger Savage’s sound design is an aesthetic
In many contemporary road movies, roads neither
For Law and her filmmaking partner Eddie L.C.
event in itself, with walls of noise and layers of
lead anywhere nor join up, and this is the key to a
Fong, the postmodern world poses a particular
music (by Jen Anderson) evoking the
larger malaise. Since the 60s, modern cinema has
ethical and moral dilemma: the further out from the
‘monumentality’ of film s by Kubrick or Kieslowski.
agonised over the possibility or impossibility of
'centre' that everybody flies, and the less connected to history and family that anyone feels, the more
Even at the most fundamental level of mise en
reconciliation (the emblematic title of that decade
scene - the placing of bodies into a physical
is Straub-Huillet's Not Reconciled, 1965) - whether
likely we are to drift into previously ’forbidden’ and
environment - The Goddess of 1967weaves
that’s reconciliation between individuals,
destructive territory - as is the case with BG’s
discontent and disconnection. Here, the Australian
generations, countries, or fundamental viewpoints
rather haunted outback clan.
landscape, as seen through the windows of the DS,
upon the world itself. Clara Law regenerates this
How can there possibly be a ’hero’s journey’ in such
is a washy, abstract, stop-start rear projection,
malaise by proliferating the disparate lines of her
a world? JM and BG could sing Tina Turner's lines
recalling the way Jean-Luc Godard splashed
movie: each main character has their own
from Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985): we
coloured lights onto a windscreen to express a
'backstories', and in the case of BG, this flashback
don’t need another hero, we just need to find the
sim ilarly alienated sensation of travel in Pierrot le
branches and grows into an enigmatic family
way home. •
CINEMA PAPERS.FEBRUARY.MARCH.2001 [17 ]
The Australian Film Commission saw Alex Proyas’ first feature, the apocalyptic western Spirits of the Air, Gremlins of the Clouds, and told him to give up. Fifty million moviegoers saw his next one, The Crow, but only after Proyas witnessed an eerie death, multiple lawsuits and blowtorch exposure to the Hollywood underbelly. W hen a few m illion saw his third - th e big-budget brooder Dark City - a n d only a few thousand understood it, it w as little w onder w hen th e m an behind th e vision w as s p e n d in g his days and nights “just trying not ta h a v e nightm ares”.
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;
It’s a c ru d e s u m m atio n o f a c a re e r to
date. But it has landed Alex Proyas into the company of some of the world’s best directors. OK, in this case it was just another advertising agency with another concept - this time renowned French firm JC Decaux. The pitch: “Your city and Our billboard for seven seconds at dawn” The players: Wim Wenders, Spike Lee, Jim Jarmusch, Francis Ford Coppola, David Lynch. And 35-year-old Sydney sider Alex Proyas. With Kubrick out of town and Russell Mulcahy M.I.A., Proyas took his crew down to the shopping metropolis Martin Place in central Sydney and got his shot: businessmen in suits acting like apes and bowing before the monolithic 'product' in the dim glow of a Sydney sunrise - a typically sly and obtuse image from a largely misunderstood man. Alex Proyas laughs a lot for a man supposedly running from the Shadow. And it's not just his
People might have the impression that I’m in there with the Hollywood system but unless you’re a Spielberg you’re always on the outside; living off the dole, waiting and praying and going around to studios to beg for crumbs so you can get your film made. Alex Proyas
looming presence that is Hitchcockian. Like the great man, Proyas has made a career of dealing in what he calls the "playful elements - murder, madness, and evil” . But rather than setting them in Everyday, he plays them out in his own vast and splintered dreamscape: the place where multi-storey jet liners crash on him and over-sized ferrets with black exo skeletons act as his watchdogs. Since Dark City smouldered in cinemas three years ago, Proyas has been busy in the bustling Paddington bunker he calls Mystery Clock. Late last year he launched mysteryclock.com - a web site of his short films, mind games and archives. Then, just before Christmas the FFC announced it had agreed to help fund his feature Garage Days for Fox Searchlight. Proyas w ill co-write, co-produce with Topher Dow, and direct the story of a kid’s dream of becoming a rock star and landing on stage at The Big Day out. He claims to have other films in development for different studios and also a TV series, Riverworld, based on the books by Philip Jose Farmer and dealing in another of his predilections: the after-life. All are self-realised and funded and all are being conducted a long way from Los Angeles. “You are never on the inside,” says Proyas. "People might have the impression that I’m in there with the Hollywood system but unless you're a Spielberg you're always on the outside; living off the dole, waiting and praying and going around to studios to beg for crumbs so you can get your film made. I wish it was different but for me it’s not, and it never w ill be. That's why I’m here doing what I'm doing. The films I make don’t fit the mould - they're 'o ff in terms of Hollywood. But they're the films I want
“ [Garage Days] is a jump, but I want to make
sort of innate darkness on my part. I like the
to make."
something that's going to challenge me and not the
dressings of darkness. But for me my films aren’t
Foremost in Proyas’ mind at the moment is his long
same film over and over.
dark because I'm trying to see the light in each of
awaited fourth feature - a rock’n’roll comedy called
"It’s a risk in that I haven't done a comedy before
the characters. If I was going to go somewhere really
Garage Days which starts shooting in Sydney in the
and certainly, there are people in the States who
dark it would be much more extreme and I don’t
new year. It’s a punk fable - four friends in a band
think I’ve gone insane. They have me pigeonholed in
think many people would follow me."
that can’t get a gig and who do a lot of growing up on
a certain category and they’re saying 'what the hell
Proyas was a punk rocker himself "a long, long time
the way to babylon. It'll be shot in pubs, flats, tattoo
is this?’ For me, that’s encouraging. That’s why I’m
ago" in the 80s, and he’s done his share of bad Iggy
parlours, and gyros dispensaries, and the dialogue
doing it.”
Pop covers with the odd original thrown in - "for
and music promise to be earthy and obscene. But
Proyas calls the film "a coming of age story" but
shock value".
can the dark man do funny?
winces doing so. And already there are signs of his
Garage Days isn’t his story per se ("thank god none
Proyas accepts that the switch from sci-fi to comedy
trademark undertow. One of the characters is a
of our material exists") but his experiences have
is a risk. "It’s always slightly scary to announce your
manic-depressive (no prizes for guessing what
rubbed off to the tune of a $10-12 million dollar
new film is going to be a comedy because if people
instrument he plays) and the rest of the band are in
budget, a soundtrack to kill for, and what’s already
don’t laugh you're in real trouble,” he smiles. "And
very great danger of choking on each others bile. By
shaping up as one of the most coveted casting calls
it’s true that most of the projects I'm working on are
Proyas’ own admission this comedy "goes into
of the year. Mostly he likes working with young fresh
large-scale, heavily art-directed fantasies. But for
people’s headspaces a lot” .
minds (and I don’t mean the ones he keeps in jars on
this one I’m looking forward to getting back to a film -
"It’s about how people perceive different worlds," he
his desk) - script doctors, technicians and artists
concedes. “ I don’t know whether that’s out of any
who can stoke his coals and help him decide
school level of production and keeping it simple.
CINEMA PAPERS.FEBRUARY.MARCH.2001 [1 9 ]
between the 20-30 scripts he gets sent a week. Alex Proyas is a future-eater after all. “ One of the reasons I'm excited by the internet revolution is that for the first time filmmaking w ill be on the same level as releasing a record. That means I’m going to be able to have a few friends over for a barbecue and some drinks and later turn on a wallsize screen and tap in martinscorcese.com and get his latest film. And as a film-guy, a film-lover that is all I care about. “As much as I love that communal experience of cinemas, the blockbuster mentality that has been around ever since Star Wars and Jaws - where people won't see a film unless it’s been number one at the box office - has been totally destroying the craft of filmmaking. “ Finally we're at a stage now where films will have a shelf-life and directors can take a breath rather than wait for opening weekend to see if they’ve made it or they’re dead in the water." After Brandon Lee was shot and killed in the final days of shooting The Crow, Proyas changed a good deal. Long days deconstructing a dead friend’s image for celluloid profit w ill do that to a man making his first foray into the big leagues. Proyas doesn’t talk of the experience easily, never has. The film is his stillborn - what one critic called "a most morbid film... with shards of black wisecracking splintering through the portentiousness.” When he does hesitantly start talking about The Crow, the rubber band he’s been fiddling with, snaps. “ I finished the film for Brandon, in Brandon’s honour and that’s where I want to leave it," he says stiffly. "Any more discussion about what happened or what I believe or what anyone believes doesn’t help Brandon in anyway. It doesn’t bring him back or do anything for his memory. I did very little press at the time and I don’t now. As far as I’m concerned, I was involved in The Crow, but it’s his movie.” Proyas did, however, ensure Brandon Lee’s legacy. He fought the unions for the unprecedented right to run just two title cards before the film: Lee’s name and that of the film. His own credit and those of the crew followed only at the end. And he also made sure the video release carried only one trailer - an interview with Lee in the days before the accident. To call his Hollywood debut a baptism of fire, he says, "would be understating it in the extreme". “ I didn't question the way I make films but I did doubt the way films are produced in the United States," says Proyas. “ It was a freak occurrence. But at the same time I feel there are very relaxed approaches to the way guns are handled on US film sets. Here in Australia, weapons are treated with a respect and fear which mirrors the society. In the States guns are too readily available and frequently abused. And as an Australian I felt very weird and very uncomfortable in that situation. But it wasn’t my
The power of the buck and the desire of studios and big corporations to generate enormous profits and shit loads of money will remain but there will always be that desire for good story-telling and that is what we as film makers and audiences want.
role to tell them how to do their job. I was an outsider and I had to conform to an extent."
percent different. My brain explodes just keeping up
which it is not or not yet.” Proyas craves the shock of
However, in the wake of The Crowand the siege of
with the technological possibilities. But in the end
'dysrecognition' from his audiences. And Garage
Gothbuster script offers that followed, it was no
what good films do and w ill always do is tell people a
Days is no different to the alternate worlds of The
coincidence that the one project Proyas was strongly
story, and if you can tell that story well, the
Crow, Dark City and Spirits... in that the true
rumoured to be making was a film of Edgar Allan
technological trappings w ill be almost irrelevant.
protagonist is an idea and not a person.
Poe’s Masque of the Red Death, the callow tale of
The power of the buck and the desire of studios and
"I’ve always believed that dreaming is problem
some fat cats who watch a plague rage from within
big corporations to generate enormous profits and
solving, reconfiguring details and trying to come up
their sumptuous sealed castle. And just as the
shitloads of money w ill remain, but there will always
with solutions," he says. "That’s what I like about
reaper descended then, it’s tempting to think that so
be that desire for good story-telling and that is what
science fiction - it’s a cinematic dream trying to
too w ill Proyas as he wages his own war from his
we as film makers and audiences want.”
solve the problems of our world."
(and Mr Murdoch’s] antipodean Fox-holes.
Proyas’s own storytelling, he says, sides with Blade
And his nightmares? Well they're one problem
“ I don’t know what's going to happen in the future.
Runner author Philip K Dick’s - "our world
Proyas thinks he has solved.
One thing I know for sure is that in 10 years time,
dislocated by some kind of mental effort on the part
filmmaking - in fact everything - is going to be 100
of the author... our world transformed into that
Actually,” he laughs, “I think that was the Thai food I ate last night." •
[20] CINEMA PAPERS.FEBRUARY.MARCH.2001
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p u b lic a t io r ^ l
m m m m
^1 SET VISIT
By Michaela Boland
Early summer and Queensland’s Gold Coast seems dreamy. It’s awash with golden light filtering through a brown haze of acrid smelling smoke generated by persistent scrub fires nearby. Beyond th e h ig h -rises, highw ays and vast stre tc h e s of sand, resid en ts are encou n terin g real hardship. But in side a studio on K ortum D rive in B urleigh H ead s reality is a m illion m iles -aw ay as sp ecial effe c ts su p e rv is o r Kevin C hisnell w ra n g le s m ach in e g e n e ra te d
Amy Reti and Joshua Tainish-Biagi await their fate inside the cubbyhouse.
Joshua Leonard and Lauren Hewett.
.s m o k e into p lace fo r a s c en e in A u s tra lia ’s _ latest h orro r m ovie, Cubbyhouse.
-> Cast includes Joshua Leonard (The B lair Witch Project) and Lauren Hewett [S trictly Ballroom) as the
In Oz we're not exactly famous for producing horror.
teenagers. Belinda McClory (The Matrix) is the mum Lynne Graham. Newcomers Amy Reti and Joshua
Sure, Cut (2000) and Body Melt (1993) occupy their
Tainish-Biagi are the little children. Craig McLachlan (Neighbours) gets a guernsey too.
own special place in our cinematic history but those films never reached a sizeable audience. And
-> Queensland’s peak film body, the Pacific Film and
around young Natalie in the back garden and Kevin
reaching sizeable audiences is precisely what the
Television Commission, has embarked on a policy of
Chisnell suggested the effect be created using a
producers of Cubbyhouse are all about.
actively encouraging Australian productions into a
series of Volkswagen engines, et cetera, and some.
CONSIDER THE FOLLOWING PLOT;
region long dominated by US teleseries, movies-of-
Brown knew the effect would be potent but all those
the-week and mega budget Scooby Doos and Croc
Volkswagens would prove too expensive. "Eventually he came up with a rig that was so clever.
Recovering from a traumatic divorce Lynne Graham
Dundees.
relocates her young family from the US to Brisbane
Cubbyhouse is budgeted at $5 million but a third of
It involved a Hills Hoist attached to an electric motor
but selects a new family home containing a backyard
the total will be spent on FX for an increasingly
and part of a shower curtain at the bottom. Attached
cubbyhouse that is a gateway to horror.
sophisticated audience suckled on American horror
to hand-painted leaves. It looks like about $500-
Six-year-old Natalie and eight-year-old Ivan become
fare made for over 10 times that sum.
thuosand worth of special effects,” the producer
captivated by the initially derelict cubbyhouse.
Co-producer Chris Brown says the natural American
marvels at Chisnell’s cost saving and (rather patriotic)
Unaware a powerful demon resides within they are
plot link will assist a US sale, the universal horror
innovation.
powerless to resist becoming possessed.
aspect can work everywhere and local audiences will
Brown is a classic commercial producer, he describes himself as low-brow and genre driven.
Meanwhile, older teenage brother Danny and
be sold on the story.
neighbour Bronwyn independently resolve to discover
“ If you’ve got $40 million and you need a special effect
Originally from the UK and formerly based in New
the cubbyhouse's dark allure.
you just write a cheque. If you've got $5 million then
Zealand, he’s now settled in Queensland where he
The demon's power grows, the cubbyhouse becomes
you have to really think about how you're going to do
says the industry has less of the 'inaccessible film
alive and the four youngsters get swept further into
it," he says.
school’ influence that dominates Sydney and
its grasp.
A scene in Cubbyhouse required a mini tornado
Melbourne.
[22] CINEMA PAPERS.FEBRUARY.MARCH.2001
"Which is not to say everything's Like that but here it is so fresh. I wanted to come back because nobody seemed to be accessing that talent," he says. Which is not to say Cubbyhouse was written on the back of a shopping docket in a CD shop in Surfer's Paradise mall. According to director, and erstwhile comedian Murray
“If you’ve got $40 million and you need a special effect you just write a cheque. If you’ve got $5 million then you have to really think about how you’re going to do it.” Producer Chris Brown
Fahey, he and co-producer David Hannay [Stone] have been developing the script for eight years. Fahey, who directed and starred in Dags, expects his comedic background will imbue the horror with "a
towards the vine covered cubbyhouse. They step in
total fire ban day in Queensland - "luckily we were just
slightly twisted sense of humour, so it’s got a little bit
front of a thatch of potted plants and dried shrubbery,
over the border in NSW”, Fahey muses.
of peculiarity to it." Fully aware of the enormity of what they’re trying to
teddy bear in hand, smoky mist seeping from the
Despite the extensive trickery being employed on
garden and red lighting emitting just enough
Cubbyhouse both during the shoot and later in post
pull off, Fahey takes a very low-key approach to
eeriness.
production, Fahey insists the film will succeed or fail by
directing. Dressed in an oversized Hawaiian shirt, which
Fahey governs gently and consults widely.
the performances.
"We’ve got children, animals, CGI, special effects,
"The whole premise rests on the characters and the
appears to be a kind-of Cubbyhouse uniform, he sits
mostly night shoots, the one thing we don’t have is
family unit in crisis," he says.
quietly behind the video split, monitoring what’s being
water but half of Queensland is burning as we’re
To get the actors into the mind-set he sent them
captured on camera.
shooting," he wryly acknowledges the variables of his
shopping together and encouraged the formation of a
dominion.
little family unit. He’s since noticed the bonding come
-> Pyjama clad youngsters Josh Tainish-Biagi and
The previous week on location at an avocado farm in
through as the on-screen family bickers, settles into a
Amy Reti are walking gingerly through the night
nearby Duranbah they had to torch the cubbyhouse. A
new place and experiences the growing terror.
CINEMA PAPERS.FEBRUARY.MARCH.2001 [23 ]
"In Dags I had to have a very clear idea because it was an ensemble piece and I was performing in it but you can't be a fascist with kids even though you want to be.” Much of Cubbyhouse is set at night and the gruelling night shoots could easily take their toll on the youngsters, actually aged 11 and 10, carrying much of the film. That said, the effects unit devised a pair of mock-up kids to overcome needing the little ones late at night. -> The vines covering the cubbyhouse are the film's biggest effects component. Plus, the actual cubby changes in appearance from the film's beginning to the end. It starts out looking ramshackle but as the demon’s powers grow it looks increasingly attractive to the kids. Second stage it is cleared of vines, then it is cleaned up and finally it’s
Pro FX’s Kym Sainsbury (i) and Brad Greenwood (r) use a wire actuated foam latex vine to extract payment from producer Chris Brown.
Complete Post’s FX executive producer Chris Schwarze, FX producer Andrea Parkes and on set visual adviser Ian Johnson (r) stand in front of a bluescreen under construction.
chainsawed. The vines act as the cubbyhouse's arms - they attack people, come out and wrap around them. ProFX's Brad Greenwood and Kym Sainsbury designed three types of latex mechanical and animatronic vines - wire, rope and air-actuated - sculpted and coloured to match real ones also being used. "Some of the mechanical vines grab things and other ones are attached to monofilament (fishing line) so they snake along the ground when pulled along. The monofilament lets it swing a little bit and lift off the ground so you get a snaking effect," Greenwood explains. “ If they keep a straight line they tend to look like they're being pulled along by a string. “We're working on a low budget horror movie, we don't have hundreds of thousands of dollars to go to town on all sorts of wild computer controlled stuff so we have to come up with simple ways of trying to accomplish different effects." "Among other constraints low budgets usually force diminished set up periods, so we come like a guerilla effects unit. Jump in there, set up our thing and away we go. We have to get the effect and we have to be able to make it repeatable." “We're using some reverse photography as well," he says. “We had a scene the other day where we rolled up a soft rubber vine, put it in Craig McLachlan's mouth and pulled it. When we reverse the film it will look like the vine's going in and right down his throat causing some very serious damage.” Greenwood and Sainsbury returned from New Zealand and the set of Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings trilogy not so long ago. So they're used to working well-resourced. They had to ease themselves into the Cubbyhouse headspace. "It's not $360 million, or whatever it is, but this is still a big effects show, given that it's very low budget. It's a case of coming in and saying, 'OK we've got X amount of dollars to deal with and we want to achieve these shots to give the impression of these vines being alive and attacking people. So, how can we, in a
Special effects supervisor Kevin Chisnall (top right) oversees testing of the rig which will be used to effect an actor flying through the air...and subsequent drop onto, and spearing by a fence spike.
way that's reasonably cost effective, and reasonably simple, achieve that?” Greenwood explains. The large special effects component reduces the need for extensive expensive computer graphic imaging (CGI), so the more they get right on film, the less work is required in post production. Greenwood admits: "'If it had a bigger budget maybe a lot of these effects would be done with CGI." Sounds like his profession is under threat? _"No, the process of coming up with what it looks like and how to do it, which is ’ what Kym and I are doing, never changes," he says. “ Even if the practical work eroded away because of the CGI aspect, we would still be in business because we come up with the solutions. We're the visual effects designers and CGI has actually created more work for us." He says it’s raised the bar and moviegoer's expectations. ->The team from Complete Post who've been engaged for the CGI component are lingering alongside the bluescreen onto which they w ill later create effects. They predict Cubbyhouse has possibly one of the largest visual effects budgets of an Australian film ever. They got extensive pre-production time which enabled them to isolate all the elements of the film and then during production they need to keep 'a sharp eye' on everything. Effects executive producer Chris Schwarze says the overall low budget matters little when audiences are deciding which movie they'll see tonight. They "expect to see a certain standard,” he says. Of course you don’t have the extensive budget to do research so you have to work closely with the director and the DOP to make sure you get what you need and that it works. So when you go into digital effects you don't spend a few days, years sometimes, fixing it up. You've really got to get it nailed to start off with.” • Beyond International will unleash Cubbyhouse upon the world at Cannes Film Festival 2001. [24 ] CINEMA PAPERS.FEBRUARY.MARCH.2001
“We had a scene the other day where we rolled up a soft rubber vine, put it in Craig McLachlan’s mouth and pulled it. When we reverse the film it will look like the vine’s going in and right down his throat causing some very serious dam age.” ProFX Brad Greenwood
to market to market, jo1 -> If VHS reigned supreme in the 70s
soundtracks, high quality surround
to be a production in itself and one
aspect ratio versions and web site
and 80s, then DVD looks set to
sound audio, to multi-aspect ratios,
that is in tune with the creative vision
access will also have a budgetary
dominate home entertainment in the
multi-camera angles and full web
of the original production. An
impact.
new millennium. It has certainly
connectivity. Knowing their audience
additional, dedicated producer is often
The task of choosing a DVD authoring
been gaining enormous momentum
has a basic understanding of these
required to develop and produce the
service should-beTeft to companies
since its introduction in early 1997.
functions means producers can
complementary DVD content and
with a thorough understanding of
By the end of 1999, DVD had swept
exploit features to their advantage.
special sequences, plus the EPKs and
interactivity, image quality and the
into 8.5 million households
Title and content will be the primary
website, alongside the production of
requirements of film and TV
worldwide, more than doubling the
purchasing factor for consumers and
the actual film.
producers. -Their authoring systems
previous year’s figures. Independent
film producers need to tap into a
DVD preparation should commence as
should be compliant with DVD
forecasters confirm DVD movie sales
value-added mindset when producing
early as possible in the filmmaking
specifications anda strong
and rental revenue in 1999 totalled
for DVD. They need to consider what
process. This allows producers to
relationship with a DVD replicator is
in excess of $2 billion.
aspects will add value to the main
seek advice on post-production, visual
definitely an advantage. Most
Although accurate figures are not yet
feature. The more common extras
effects and design. As the project
importantly,^ DVD supplier must be
available for Australia, the selection
include 'behind the scenes’ stories as
progresses, they can discuss which
able to provide a service guarantee
of DVDs available from stores and
well as sound fx, music-only audio
material should ideally form part of
that details all of the elements
video libraries is undoubtedly
tracks, directors' commentaries and
the DVD and how the special
incorporated in the cost of the project.
expanding. DVD discs are more
deleted scenes. More adventurous
elements can be incorporated in a
DVD appears to open up marketing
resilient than VHS tapes, revisiting
features include short films, music
dynamic and seamless way.. Leaving it
opportunities, offering filmmakers a
one of the fundamental reasons why
video clips, topic-related
until the project is in post-production
chance to extend the shelf life-of their
CDs took over from vinyl in the 80s.
documentaries and the sometimes-
will seriously limit the range of
products beyond the realms of
With hardware costs falling (currently
controversial subject of advertising.
material available and the potential
traditional theatrical, video and TV
at $400 for a basic DVD player), added
Some feature film directors, already
impact of the end product.
distribution. •
to the fact Australians embraced video technology faster than any other
A w Gli-producGd D V D can dGlivGr up
country in the world, DVD may be
interactivity. Its simplest form is the
to 20 hours of GntGftainmGnt com oared w ith a tw o -h o u r hom o vid eo , or cinema
web site and soon we shall see
p y n p lr Ivi i p nIv r pvi CA|Jw
here to stay. At the core of DVD is the concept of
interactive TV. Initially this will be limited to free-to-air broadcasters, but PayTV operators will soon be
wise to the benefits of using
Producers also need to bear funding
offering consumers the technology to
technology to give their product a
in mind. As local projects are usually
interact with program content.
broader reach, are creating web sites
required to establish funding levels
So how can film producers ride the
to generate interest/anticipation
before.they commence, producers
wave of consumer interest in DVD to
during a film's production. Not only
need to work with distributors to
deliver premium titles?
does DVD provide web connectivity, it
factor in their DVD release before
Entertainment-sawy consumers now
can also link back to an established
budgets are finalised.--'
want more than just the experience
web site, consistently reinforcing a
Pricing can vary dramatically
of watching a movie. A well-produced
title or brand. In the event of a sequel,
depending on which DVD authoring
DVD can deliver up to 20 hours of
momentum can be leveraged from
service is used and the level of
entertainment, compared with a
the previously established audience.
sophistication required. The amount
two-hour home video, or cinema
The web site can be used to maintain
of material and number of features
experience.
brand loyalty and becomes an
included, as well as the sophistication
To explore the expanded content on
invaluable tool to gauge audience
of the menu design and
offer, consumers must get to know
interest during the various phases of
the features that DVD delivers, from
production and distribution.
interactive menus, multi-language
For a DVD to be successful, it needs
v
JOHN FLEMING ORIGINALLY TRAINED AS AN EDITOR AND IS CURRENTLY GENERAL MANAGER OF AAV DIGITAL PICTURES MELBOURNE, SITS ON THE VICTORIAN SCREEN SERVICES COMMITTEE AS WELL AS THE ADVISORY BOARD OF THE MFO.
¡implementation, will affect the cost. The level of options available, such as multiple language tracks, subtitles,
ClNEMA PAPERS.FEBRUARY.MARCH-2001 I2SJ-
Guy Pearce doesn’t mess around. Not on the set when he’s making a film nor doing the publicity afterward. He’s had some good film experiences, some downright horrendous ones and he doesn’t mince Words when it comes to discussing them. “ In Australia w hen you get a script up
-there are little things you can tweak but essentially you’re all going to make that film. In America there are so many fucking cooks it shits me and it probably shits every other Australian who goes there.” You would think someone in his position would be more career calculating. But Guy Pearce comes across as the complete antithesis of the “If I say too much I’ll never be employed again” submissive. Fortunately Pearce loved making Memento, his latest offering where he gives a finely detailed and bravura performance as Leonard Shelby, a man intent on avenging the rape and murder of his wife. A character driven by revenge is nothing new, but Shelby suffers from short-term memory loss. Memento’s treatment is given an added twist with an involving screenplay tracking the story in reverse. To piece together any sort of sense-making linear narrative the audience is forced to remember details of previous scenes. And there you are in the same headspace as Shelby, [26 ] CINEMA PAPERS.FEBRUARY.MARCH.2001
By John Davies
using your own short-term memory to keep up with
It seems this appealed to Nolan who assured Pearce
So Nolan was getting an AD, a continuity 'lady and a
the film. It's a testing and involving cinematic
it was OK to take his time.
lead actor all in one? Any trepidation about actually
experience. Did the screenplay alone attract Pearce
■"He said, 'You know people w ill come to these
’carrying’ the film suddenly seems to pale.
to the project?
meetings and make out and pretend they know what
One of the starting points for an actor working on a
"Absolutely. This was one of those experiences that
is going on completely which is the irony of it
scene is to ask where the character has just been
doesn’t come along very often, where you read (a
because that's what the film is about - people
and where he/she is next going. But Memento is told
script) and you get completely ensconced in it from
pretending to be some identity when they are really
backwards and the central character can't
the beginning. When my agent sent it to me he said,
some other identity’.’’
remember what went before. Did this prove more
‘this w ill be right up your alley', and it was."
The part was clinched.
problematic than say a traditional linear narrative where the protagonist learns things as he goes
But wanting the part and then actually getting it are two different things. Although Pearce didn't have to
Over the years, Pearce has been steadily building
along and, presumably, remembers them?
audition, the director and producers were familiar
a reputation as a fine actor with an impressive
"Essentially I had to forget anything that happened
with his work, primarily from LA Confidential,
range. From a camp turn in Priscilla Queen of the
anyway but I said to Chris, I feel I have to know something in order to forget something... because if
Pearce knew if he liked it there would be just as
Desert to a critically lauded performance in LA
many actors also wanting it. Good quality scripts and
Confidential the developing scope of his work has
Guy walks on set and doesn’t know what’s going on
high-octane parts are rarely on offer.
seen him become an in-demand actor, both here
then Guy won’t be happy about the performance he
Pearce readily admits to some panic before he knew
and overseas. Even so, this was one of the first times
is giving’. And he'd say things to me like, ‘I'd rather
absolutely it was his. Other actors up for the role
he has had to 'carry' a film.
you didn’t know so there’s this look, you know, of
had met with writer/director Christopher Nolan
"I did a film about Errol Flynn [Flynn 1996) years ago
confusion or whatever’, and I said ‘Chris I’m an actor
(Following) and feigned a complete understanding of
which was just a big pile of crap and I completely
OK? I w ill act whatever you want me to act. Don’t try
the script from the start. Who wouldn’t? The guy
and utterly was not ready to carry a film.
and stooge me into thinking this isn’t really a film
wrote it. But Pearce says he admitted straight away
"With Memento we shot in just 25 days so we really
because there is a fucking film crew standing
he didn't quite get it. "I said, look I’m going to have to read this another
had to be well prepared. I’m a real continuity
around us and I'm just too conscious of the fact that
stickler. You know, if I wasn’t an actor I’d be a
this is a film."
two or three times to understand it completely.
continuity 'lady' probably, and the AD, I think Chris
Presumably Nolan chose a different tactic, but
Sorry I'm a bit stupid."
respected that practical aspect."
Pearce himself admits, in retrospect, the director CINEMA PAPERS.FEBRUARY.MARCH.2001 [2 7 ]
Pearce seems to be attracted to smaller projects and the first or second time director as a means of asserting some sort of creative input and control. “I probably prey on first time directors because it makes me feel I know more,” he says. as probably on to something.
“ I probably prey on first time directors because it
It dawned on me afterward Chris was right in that
makes me feel 1know more, that I’m really
hen you look at the finished film it's really about
experienced. Whereas when you work with someone
bigger issues than: 'did I really do that?' or 'what
like Billy Friedkin [Rules Of Engagement] he
actually happened?' It's about identity and how we
screams at you and tells you what you’re doing is
manipulate our own identity.”
fucking horrible, you really feel like an idiot who's never done it before. I hate that feeling."
- > If shooting M e m e n to
was an idyllic working
experience for the actor, other features didn’t prove
-> The further away Pearce is from the big budget
as easy. Reports from the set of Ravenous, Pearce's
studio experience the better, but he admits he is still
second feature after LA Confidential, paint a bleaker
attracted by the work offered overseas. He recently
picture of what can and does go wrong on set. Here
wrapped on The Count of Monte Cristo for Warners,
the director was changed, by the powers that be,
directed by Kevin [Prince of Thieves] Reynolds and
from Milcho Manchevski [Before the Rain] to Raja
co-starring Richard Harris and Jim Caviezel. He has
Gosnell [Home Alone 3). Consequently the whole
signed on next year for The Time Machine (a remake
tone and pitch of the film was altered and the actors
of the original which starred Rod Taylor) for
found themselves trapped in an act not of their own
DreamWorks. Pearce admits he is an opportunist in
design. The actors, particularly Pearce and Robert
this regard, but still he was enticed back for the
Carlyle revolted.
Australian experience. Last year he co-starred with
"Bobby and I had a mutiny, a major mutiny."
Helena Bonham Carter in Till Human Voices Wake
Although Pearce is proud of his work on
Us, Michael Petroni’s first feature, shot in
Ravenous and what Antonia Bird eventually brought
Melbourne, and later this year he w ill feature in
to proceedings the experience still leaves him riled.
Blood and Guts for producer Al Clark.
“There's a general gutless quality to these
But surely coming back to do a smaller Australian
studio-oriented filmmakers and it's really ridiculous
film, when there are bigger things on offer overseas,
when that happens. You realise you're working with morons."
would seem to some, like his agent for example, a
This must make decision-making precarious for an
on him to think broader than that?
actor trying to choose a project on its apparent
" There is. Well it’s not really a pressure, but there's '
merits, only to have the film completely change
certainly an expectation I suppose."
little nonsensical career-wise? Is there a pressure
stylistically while it's being made. Pearce's
But, as far as he is concerned, the answer is simple:
experience on Ravenous is one example and Toni
“ I like to play Australians, I like to communicate in
Colette recently commented Shaft wasn't the film
an Australian manner and I like to live here."
she auditioned for; the screenplay was rewritten during filming.
What he doesn't like is Australian award ceremonies
How does an actor safeguard against this happening?
appearance the 2000 AFI awards, where he
it would seem. Anyone who saw Pearce’s lacklustre
“We (Pearce and his agent) certainly are trying to
presented the key Best Picture trophy, might have
inject more clauses into the contract, which is that I
assumed he would rather have been face to face
have to have script change approval. If you're going to
with any of the aforementioned studio execs he
change the director, I can now have approval over the
deplores rather than centre podium at the Hordern
next director and it's awful you have to do that but
Pavilion, staring down the barrel of an autocue. He
(that's) working in America. The thing is it's always a
seemed a little...urn...over it? Pearce laughs.
gamble. I've now managed to get myself into a
"I feel completely hypocritical about it. I go and I
headspace, where I go 'Look if I can do what it is that I
present an award because I like to think I can
want to do, if I can incorporate my own creativity into
honour the industry somehow but deep down,
this character and everyone's happy with, then
honestly I don't agree with saying ‘that’s the best
ultimately whatever you do to fuck up the film later I
film' using the word' best’. That’s why I said the
don't care’. In my heart, I know it wasn’t me."
'supposed' best film I guess in the AFI world they
Consequently, Pearce seems to be attracted to
have the right to do that, and I apologise if I
smaller projects and the first or second time
offended anyone.”
director as a means of asserting some sort of
If he keeps doing the sort of quality work as
creative input and control.
evidenced in Memento - all is forgiven. •
Whether you thought it morally retrograde or artistically sublime,
Chopper was undoubtedly a ru n aw ay' success in Australian cinemas last year. The previous box office record for an Rrated film was Romper Stamper, which took $2.7 million dollars. Chopper took just under $6 million and garnered 10 API nominations, of which it won three including best lead actor (Eric Bana) and best director (Andrew Dominik). The film's success in the UK is harder to determine. It received good reviews but, unlike the media reaction it enjoyed in Australia, there was almost no publicity in the UK prior to the film's release, nor after. There was no controversy, no debate, no outrage. As a result, the film passed largely unnoticed from cinema screens, collecting about ÂŁ220,000 (AU$550,000) at the box office. This is significantly less than films such as Muriel's Wedding, Babe, and Shine, all of which enj'oyed a number of weeks at the number one spot in the UK. While Choppers Rrating limited its potential audience, this alone does not explain its modest box office here. The success of Guy Ritchieâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Snatch a few months earlier suggested the British public was ready for an Australian-style crime-flick. But after being released in 35 cinemas on November 24, it was showing in less than 20 cinemas two weeks later. Many people in London believe Choppers failure to attract a large audience is just further proof that Australian films struggle to make an impact ^ on the UK box office. "There have been exceptions," says Christopher Tookey, film critic for the Daily Mail. "But generally the style and content of Australian filmsdo not appeal to British audiences. Your films are made for Australian audiences, which is as itshould be."
The Producer’s Take UK distributors Metrodome decided against TV advertising, they said it just didn’t make sense on a 36-print release. They concentrated on a saturation poster and sticker cam paign in city centres, reinforced by outstanding advance reviews. In central London and in Underground stations, the film was unavoidable: there seemed to be posters and stickers everywhere. One of the stickers, a cartoon balloon asking, "Who is Chopper?” , was added to other posters and pretty soon there was some counter-sabotage. A West End hairdresser had stickers printed up and out of Chopper’s m outh now came a cartoon balloon reading “ I get my hair cut at Rolf’s”. When that happens, a cam paign can really be said to have entered people’s consciousness. W ith a ‘foreign’ film like ours, the gulf between awareness of the movie in central London and in the rest of the country appears to be growing. On our first weekend, half the income cam e from less than a quarter of the screens - the London W est end ones. Chopper didn’t really seem to connect in the mainstream multiplexes, where it takes longer for awareness to turn into curiosity. - Central London audiences are much quicker to pick up on unusual films, more review-consciousness star-driven and the word- “ oLmouth was very good, so much so that (writing mid January) it looks as if the movie will continue to play in at least several cinemas indefinitely. In other words, in the UK, Chopper’s a cult hit. Al
Clark
Rupert Preston, head of cinema sales at
as Australian films, but as commercial films made
adult rather than family oriented. Chopper is its first
Metrodome, Choppers UK distributor, believes
in Australia.
Australian title. "I do think it has been a success,"
there is a general consensus in the UK film
Catriona Hughes, Chief Executive of the FFC
Preston says. "You have to put it into perspective."
industry: "Australian films don't travel particularly
disagrees. "Muriel's Wedding is only considered a
“This is not a problem peculiar to Australian films in
well. They might be very big in Australia but
commercial film because it was successful. It's not
the UK. If you turn the figures round, UK films also
traditionally they don't get much of a release
whether you're marketed as a commercial film that
falter at the international box office. And only one of
outside of Australia,” he says.
is made in Australia or a good Australian film. The
the top 20 films in 2000 was a UK production [East
These attitudes best illustrate the difficulties
real problem is it's very hard for the people involved
is East), although our industry receives a massive
Australian filmmakers face in getting their films
in making films (in Australia) to get a look in over
amount of public funding compared to Australia."
distributed in the UK. Despite the high number of
there, because they are a largely unknown quantity.
Australian films are not expected to compete with
Australian films that have done good box office in
The closure of Polygram, a major distributor of
the Hollywood system, either in the UK or at home,
the UK over the past decade, people who work in
Australian films in the UK has made things more
but the competition between independent films in
the industry still maintain that Australian films are
difficult. And 1think Chopper did extremely well in
the UK market is equally fierce. Hughes believes
difficult to sell to a UK audience.
the UK. It received great critical reviews and it made
Australian films must strive to become more
There are a number of reasons for this prejudice.
a significant amount of money for an 18 certificate."
competitive in this market.
The UK is a diminishing market for all foreign films
Chopperwas a relatively unknown quantity when
“When you've got independent or arthouse films
because of the burgeoning local content and the
Rupert Preston purchased it for Metrodome after a
you're entirely dependent on the script,” Hughes
higher levels of Hollywood programming. Any film
Cannes market screening last year. The film had
says. “You don't have the special effects or the star
which is not a US or UK/US production is
not been released in Australia at the time. "But it
power on which to rely. Script development is
automatically considered an arthouse film, which
was such an extraordinary piece of filmmaking that I
certainly an area in which Australian films can
places restrictions both on the number of cinemas
felt it would succeed here,” Preston explains. “ It's
improve. The AFC released a paper recently, which
in which they can be released and the amount of
the type of film Metrodome looks to distribute."
found that small independent film industries need to
money spent on promoting them. Preston believes,
Metrodome is a relatively small distributor in the
put more resources into script development.
generally, the Australian films that have succeeded
UK. It releases about 15 films each year into UK
Currently only 1A percent of the total budgets of
in the UK are those which have been marketed, not
cinemas and deals in independent films that are
films is being spent on script development.
[30 ] CINEMA PAPERS.FEBRUARY.MARCH.2001
Relative to the size of its local industry, Australian films have left a visible mark on UK box office figures in the past two decades. Since 1 9 8 0 ,1 3 4 Australian feature films have been screened in UK cinemas.
"But I'm not prepared to say that the Australian films don't travel well because they don't make millions of pounds at the UK box office. They have a very crowded market place in the UK. I think it’s more a reflection on the UK market place than on Australian films. Our films are doing extremely well in the Australian box office, we expect to get eight percent for the year 2000. And if you look at the figures you’ll see that we have had some great successes in the UK." Relative to the size of its local industry, Australian films have left a visible mark on UK box office figures in the past two decades. Since 1980, 134 Australian feature films have been screened in UK cinemas. This represents around 23 percent of the total Australian features made in this period. Australian features have been number one in the UK box office for a total of 26 weeks, and 11 Australian films have reached the number one spot: Gallipoli, Mad Max 2, Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, Crocodile Dundee, Crocodile Dundee II, Strictly Ballroom, The Piano, Sirens, Muriel 's Wedding, Babe and Shine. "What you have to worry about is this," says Christopher Tookey, “Will commercial success kill your local industry? With more and more Hollywood films being produced in Australia the industry w ill become larger, but w ill all that talent be drawn into the commercial assembly line?" Working Dog's The Dish is soon to be released in the UK. It w ill be the tenth Australian feature film to gain a UK release since Shine. While The Castle was only a modest success in UK cinemas, word is The Dish w ill have broader appeal because of the quasi-global nature of its subject (man’s first landing on the moon). It may well challenge, once again, the general consensus that Australian films do not travel well. •
Position Vacant DIRECTOR PATRICK CONNOLLY BURNS W RITER ROB M cDERMID AN D JUSTINE SPICER PRODUCER JUSTINE SPICER DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY TIM SPICER CAST ROCHELLE GONSAL AND LES W ALLIS
snapshot.marieke josephine hardy -> Aren’t penises getting a tot of
Kevin Bacon's genitally-led
attention these days? Not that they
performance in Wild Things to the now
don't deserve it, of course -
increasingly familiar sight of Harvey
fascinating, fleshy, gymnastic things
Keitel's special friend in just about
that they are, coming in all shapes
every film he appears (put it away,
and sizes. There are particularly
son), the th rill drill is now becoming a
snake-like whammers, blocky
common sight in mainstream cinema.
pounders and ‘mini-me’ tinklers.
The best example of this is the
Bulbous, pustulently infectious
climactic scene to Paul Thomas
wrigglers and cool charm-fresh
Anderson’s Boogie Nights, when
danglers. And they seem to be
fictional porn star Dirk Diggler (played
making a resurgence in film.
by Chesty Bonds himself, Mark
You might recall a recent celluloid
Wahlberg) unleashed the lengthy
offering spearheaded by comedian
beast, and audiences worldwide
Mick Molloy, well-known for his
squealed with uniform delight. It was
penchant for wang-based humour.
this film which supposedly made
Rochelle Gonsal as ‘girl’
The pacey, sharp-shootin’ remainder of i the film leads us head first into a feminist fantasy land, with ‘girl’ retiring to the men’s urinal and squeezing out an animated trouser pipe, which nestles comfortably in the crease of her miniskirt.
With (now ex] radio partner Tony
pornography 'cool' again. Though no-
Martin, he could - and would - fill
one seemed prepared to tackle the
Triple M's drivetime slot with hours of
many sticky feminist or moral issues
When my partner was invited to a
understated performance as our
pocket rocket posturing and excellent
involved in what undoubtedly is just
screening of the film, he scribbled
wingus-swingin' heroine. The same
locker-room giggling. This love for the
one male-dominated profession
down a reminder for himself - which
can't be said, however, for Les Wallis
gristle missile and all things related
among many. Position Vacant attempts
would explain why my diary has the
as the employer - he’s red-faced and fist-shaking like Col. Klink before the
led to a pet project for Molloy - the
to do just that, in all of three minutes.
words 'Animated Penis' written down
2000 documentary Tackle Happy,
Director Patrick Burns graduated from
with a date and phone number
sound has even faded up properly.
[Cinema Papers 133], which followed
VCA in 1997 with a lengthy, black and
underneath (that's what I tell visitors,
Still, with three minutes there’s no
two performers, Simon Morley and
white piece about death and mortality
anyway).
time to waste, and Burns has used
David Friend, as they travelled the
titled -Avp/terwhich appeared to
We open on the film's protagonist,
both his actors and his script
country entertaining the masses
profoundly depress audiences to the
'girl' (Rochelle Gonsal], squirming
economically. This time he’s
with a craft referred to as 'Puppetry
point of tears. Thankfully, he's come a
through a painful job interview. Burns
handballed the cinematography duties
of the Penis’.
long way since then, branching out
wastes no time in cutting to the chase
to the ubiquitous and capable Tim
The shows involve, among other
from straight 'writer/director' roles to
- the first 15 seconds alone include the
Spicer, who tells the story with
things, stretching one's nutsac to form
include exemplary work in
words 'stiff, 'hard' and 'firm', each
smooth, black and white pictures.
a sculpture known as 'The Windsurfer’,
cinematography. His d.o.p. role in
presented to the audience via a
Short filmmakers often 'do' wazoo-
threading one's baloney pony through
director Phillip Crawford's AFI award
spitting, entendre-soaked monologue
based films with more than a hint of
the legs and up against the bum crack
winning Denial (1997) led to their
(shades of Mrs. Slocombe!). When 'girl'
schoolboy tittering and Benny Hill
to complete 'The G-String', and (the
teaming up again in First Love (1998),
is told she just hasn’t ‘got the balls' for
hamminess. All this is fine and dandy
grand finale), inviting a lucky female
doing much to assist creating
the job, the interview's over. Or is it?
if, somewhere underneath the rib
audience member up on stage to drink
Crawford's now signature style.
The pacey, sharp-shootin’ remainder
poking innuendo, there lies a meaning.
out of one's scrotum.
It is the strength of his co-creators
of the film leads us head first into
Co-writer Spicer has professed her
'Puppetry of the Penis' made its
which seems to bring out the best in
feminist fantasy land, with 'girl'
intention to make a 'short, feminist
overseas debut at the 2000 Edinburgh
Burns. Position Vacant sees him
retiring to the men's urinal and
comedy', and in Position Vacant, she
Festival. The show was considered one
partnered off with co-writers Rob
squeezing out an animated trouser
has succeeded. The film recently won
of the festival's biggest success
McDermid and Justine Spicer, who
pipe, which nestles comfortably in the
'Best Comedy' at the Glen Eira Film
stories, and the two self-confessed
have attempted to create a light
crease of her miniskirt. This god rod
Festival, and w ill no doubt be
masters of 'genital origami' are
hearted look at job-hunting in the
has attitude and a mind of its own
currently performing a show in
noughties with a mix of cartoon-ish
(don’t they all?), and when 'girl'
appearing elsewhere over the next few years.
London's famous West End.
live-action performances and simple
marches determinedly back into the
So if you manage to catch Burns’s
Not that Tackle Happy kick-started the
animation.
interview room, our off-the-bone(r)
animated, razor-toothed piss pump in
most recent love affair between
Essentially, Position Vacant is about
employer has met his match.
action, enjoy and be aware: the penis is
audiences and mutton daggers. From
cocks. Or, more specifically, a cock.
Rochelle Gonsal gives a beautifully
now a genre. •
[32 ] CINEMA PAPERS.FEBRUARY.MARCH.2001
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DIRECTOR STEPHEN JOHNSON
CAST SEAN MUNUNGGURR, JOHN SEBASTIAN PILAKUI AND NATHAN DANIELS
PRODUCERS PATRICIA EDGAR, GORDEN GLENN
WRITER CHRIS ANASTASSIADES
DISTRIBUTOR PALACE FILMS
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN AUSTRALIA
RATING M
and free and undaunted. But at 14, things are beginning to change. Botj has just been released from a stint in juvenile jail, Lorrpu dreams of returning to the ways of traditional hunting, and Milika wants to play football in Darwin. Girls have also become a complication. Botj comes home to Yirrkala wired for trouble and, despite the warnings of his Uncle Matjala, he ends up in hospital badly burned. Then in a moment of inspiration (or madness?),
-> Stephen Johnson’s first feature
Lorrpu decides on a desperate
has a strong and irresistible
measure and the three boys set off on
storyline, and its Arnhem Land
an epic journey overland to Darwin.
Darwin and has cast three young
setting is magically surreal with
Chris Anastassiades' [Wog Boy)
untrained actors to play the leads.
Finally Yolngu Boy seems to promise
fantastic land and waterscapes.
inventive script moves the film along,
They are superb, especially the
so much more than it actually delivers, that my Koori friend and I
twice as a senior policeman.
Johnson’s directed Yothu Yindi’s
but something happened on the way to
tortured Botj (Sean Mununggurr},
video clips, their Tribal Voice doco,
the shoot. DOP Brad Shield's hand
who emerged late into test
came out of the cinema depressed by
and the Yunupingu brothers are
held sequences start to jar, and editor
screenings of nearly 1000 youths, to
a missed opportunity. It's still a brave
associate producers.
Ken Sallows (Chopper] keeps chopping
play alongside John Sebastian and
attempt to do something different, but
Yolngu Boy's protagonists are three
into scenes at arbitrary points. It's not
Nathan Daniels. The young girl who
in the end it's not different enough. If
boys who grow up together in Yirrakala,
that the video clip style isn't visually
likes Lorrpu is a beguiling mixture of
the filmmakers had been braver and
so close, they are almost like brothers.
enticing but the constant breaking up
innocence and experience, and
more inspired by films such as
In flashbacks we see them aged nine,
of the material doesn't let the
Makuma Yunupingu as the Uncle and
Walkabout, Thunderheart and The
beginning to be initiated into secret
characters breathe. Sadly there's also
Nungri Yunupingu as the wise elder
Thin Red Line, we could have had
men's business and here you can
an inevitability about the film's ending.
give moody ambient performances.
something to really remember.
hardly tell them apart. They are young
Director Stephen Johnson lives in
Jack Thompson appears once or
•
[34] CINEMA PAPERS.FEBRUARY.MARCH.2001
MARGARET SMITH
bit-players (a couple of performances are most ill-conceived although the actors - Caroline Gillmer, Jean-Pierre Mignon, Chris Haywood, Deborah Mailman, and William Zappa suggest they should not be). Then Kennedy’s screenplay focuses upon the burgeoning affair between Jill and Diana. All the while, J ill’s inner thoughts give it the cred of a reflective French-style female character study, without the wank. Unfortunately, it tends to focus upon the affair and treat the mystery as an overblown hindrance. Despite the film's brazen nudity and language - or perhaps due to - this lesbian affair has all the truth and
The Monkey's Mask
heat of a Ken Russell film. Their first love-making scene is embarrassingly short and unconvincing, more a still
DIRECTOR SAM ANTH A LANG
life than a leap into something torrid.
CAST
A later scene works but McGillis
SUSIE PORTER, KELLY M CGILLIS, MARTIN
appears to be vamping it up far too
CSOKAS, A B BIE CORNISH
PRODUCER
much to be simpatico with Porter's
ROBERT CONNOLLY, JOHN MAYNARD,
truer performance.
DOMENICO PROCACCI (CO-PRODUCER)
WRITER A N N E KENNEDY, ADAPTED FROM DOROTHY
top: Kelly McGillis (left) is University teacher Diana and Susie Porter is private detective Jill in the Monkey’s Mask
PORTER NOVEL
Technically, it's one of the more accomplished Australian efforts of
dishonour there, lesbian private
was primarily to serve up something
recent years. Lang abandons the
investigator tales set in the rollicking
different, the film would be nothing if
artful but artificial look of the over
Sydney poetry scene do not have
not for Porter's credible performance.
rated The Well for a crisper view. Gary
successful antecedents.
She is not a detective superhero as
Phillips' framing of Sydney,
Lang's intentions with this adaptation
seems fashionable in current crime
particularly as a windowed backdrop,
The Monkey’s Mask with a question
of the Dorothy Porter verse novel of
literature, more a human being with
is understated but always interesting.
for herself: “Jill, how much guts
the same name aren’t quite clear.
her own foibles and, as it happens,
Single Gun Theory also adds an
have you got?” if the question was
With its atmospheric, stiff silences
fantasies personified by lecturer,
agreeable score. To its credit, The Monkey's Mask is
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN AUSTRALIA
DURATION 90 M INUTES
-> Susie Porter’s character opens
asked of director Samantha Lang, the
and Jill's matter of fact narration, it is
Diana (McGillis).
answer would be "a fair whack”.
in many ways your standard p.i.
The film stumbles because of its
certainly a distinct Australian film. It's just with its inconsistent
Unfortunately, there’s little glory in
drama. But its overblown
vascillating focus. Initially it unfolds
her gutsy effort.
denouement, in which the weapon is
as an elementary mystery
performances, erratic tone and jerky
The Monkey's Mask is a good-looking,
strikingly revealed, could well be
surrounding a missing poetry student
screenplay, this film is too different
occasionally diverting, film but one
straight from an episode of Chances.
(Abbie Cornish), coloured by a passing
too often.
conspired to w ilt commercially. No
Whatever the intention, and I sense it
parade of cartoonish suspects and
• MICHAEL BODEY
QuiUs
unsavoury themes as necrophilia, sodomy and so forth to incite a reaction from its audiences.
DIRECTOR P H ILIP KAUFM AN
CAST GEOFFREY RUSH, M IC HAEL CAINE, KATE W INSLET, JOAQUIN PHOENIX, JAN E MENELAUS
PRODUCERS NICK W ECHSLER, PETER KAUFM AN, JU LIA CLASMAN
SCREENPLAY DOUG WRIGHT
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN US
DISTRIBUTION 20TH CENTURY FOX
And certainly never when a project has involved a cast of its brightest players. But in tackling the legend of the Marquis de Sade, as tempting a forbidden literary pleasure as it has always been, such subjects are unavoidable and prove to be just as effective a dramatic device as they were 200 years back. But the shock value in QuiUs is never derived from the Marquis' own text his limericks and salacious, scandalous
Quills isn’t quite in the tradition of
prose are treated throughout with the
Shakespeare In Love. While
bawdiness of an old Carry On routine.
Hollywood has a long history in
Instead, the drama is drawn from the
pilfering the biographies of the art
reactions his words stir, while the
world’s most famous and infamous
grandeur comes simply from the
figures, liberally turning facts upside
period in which the story is set. On the
down under its own artistic licence,
art side, Quills explores such hefty
rarely has it resorted to such
concepts as freedom of expression, CINEMA PAPERS.FEBRUARY.MARCH.2001 [3 5 ]
censorship, artistic responsibility. On the life side, it juxtaposes multiple
M em ento
levels of evil and human fallibility. DIRECTOR
Whatever the flaws in Quills, and there are several (subplots left dangling,
CHRISTOPHER NOLAN
CAST
overwrought morality subtexts), it is
GUY PEARCE, CARR IE-ANN MOSS,
lifted high by the performances of its
JOE PANTOLIANO
superb, international A-list cast.
PRODUCERS JEN N IFER TODD, SUZANNE TODD
Despite being dealt fairly two-
& W ILLIAM TRYER
WRITER
dimensional characters, Michael Caine, Joaquin Phoenix and Kate
CHRISTOPHER NOLAN FROM A JONATHAN NOLAN STORY
Winslet all shine, the power of their individual screen presence still given more than enough scope to steal
DISTRIBUTOR BVI
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN US
several scenes apiece.
DURATION 113 MINUTES
But make no mistake - Quills is a stage purpose-built for Geoffrey Rush. The
Nolan gives Pearce a character that suits him down to the ground, a suave,
above: Guy Pearce and Carrie-Ann Moss in Memento below: Guy Pearce
not overly expressive man with a job to do. Pearce seems best when his characters don't need swagger and
intentional rigidness of the supporting
-> The Brits seem to have something
when he makes you puzzle at what's going on behind those razor
characters makes his overtly-
about going backwards. Author
flamboyant Marquis the undisputed
Martin Amis [Time’s Arrow],
cheekbones and steely eyes.
centre of this messed up universe.
playwright Harold Pinter (Betrayal, d.
The film begins focused tightly on a
Each of Rush's energetic scenes
Jones, 1982) and now exciting London
fading photograph held by Leonard
deserves a standing ovation in its
director Christopher Nolan all
Shelby (Pearce), who's standing over a
own right. Could anyone else have
explored the reverse narrative.
body. It soon transpires Shelby uses
made this self-centred, ultimately
This ambitious story-telling ploy
such photos from his Instamatic
despicable pornographer so
could invite claims of
camera to keep track of his life.
enchanting and likable?
pretentiousness, as well as bring
Assorted notes, reminders, even
He's even allowed to bring his real-life
troublesome muddles in its making.
tattoos littered throughout his
wife in on the party. Stage veteran Jane
Yet Nolan’s visual and plot acuity in
existence are his only form of memory
Menelaus makes a brief, albeit
Memento combine with a bravura
because Shelby lost his recall after a
impressive appearance as the Marquis'
lead performance by Geelong-bred
brutal attack on his wife left him with
beleaguered and ultimately spiteful
Guy Pearce to produce an original
a grave head injury. But yes, he has
better half. Certainly, there's a
take on an abused genre, the new
motivation, indeed a purpose, to his
naturalness to the pair's few moments
noir thriller.
now charmless life: revenge. But how
on screen together. And you get an
Memento w ill also re-launch Pearce in
satisfying is revenge when you won't
inkling that, in Menelaus, Hollywood
a 2001 likely to be for the actor what
remember it?
might just have found itself a genuine
2000 was for fellow LA Confidential
Nolan's backwards exposition would
female Rush (if not by name, certainly
star, Russell Crowe.
seem to make little sense when his
Pearce's performance is a cracker,
in emotive intensity).
Memento w ill tempt lazy comparisons
motivation is bared so early but a
not once lurching into that grievous
There's already much talk about
to recent noir examples like The Usual
smart, logical conclusion enhances a
sort of revenge mode Stallone and Van
Oscars for Quills, and the film has split
Suspects, or the films of Carl Franklin
tense journey. Every action is loaded
Damme types draw upon. This is
the community of American critics
and John Dahl but it owes more to
with meaning, even if the director
convincing stuff that shows he can
slap-bang down the middle. Certainly,
Point Blank (Boorman, 1967), Madigan
sometimes labours points.
carry a film.
it's as beautiful as it is ugly, as
(Siegel, 1967], The Long Goodbye
Memento is in effect a three-hander
Nolan's direction is sharp, if a little too
involving as it is repulsive. But
(Altman, 1973) and earlier works. It
chamber piece. Only Shelby’s nervy
pleased with itself and its David
ultimately, if it does nothing else, Quills
doesn't approach the machismo-
and completely suss aide Teddy
Fincher-type stylings. Technically
solidifies Geoffrey Rush's stature as
driven, stylistically pretentious style of
(Pantoliano) and the distraction
though, Memento doesn't slip up once
one of the most potent character
today's LA noir. Rather Memento
Natalie (Moss) impinge upon what is
throughout its sharp screenplay.
actors of his generation.
paces a cool, modern, and only
an intriguing and chilling excursion for
Inventive, enthralling cinema.
• DINOSCATENA
occasionally showy, tightrope walk.
our protagonist.
• MICHAELBODEY
[3 6 ] CINEMA PAPERS.FEBRUARY.MARCH.2001
In the M o o d fo r Love was one of many Asian films which screened at Cannes, picking up competition prizes for best actor Tony Leung and best cinematography won by Australian DOP Christopher Doyle
In the Mood fo r Love
The 6th Day
DIRECTOR
DIRECTOR
WONG KAR-W AI
ROGER SPOTTISWOODE
CAST
CAST
TONY LEUNG, MAGGIE CHEUNG, LAI CHIN,
\R N O LD SCHWARZENEGGER, TONY GOLDWYN.
REBECCA PAN, SIU PIN G -LA M
M IC HAEL RAPAPORT, M IC HAEL ROCKER,
PRODUCER
SARAH WYNTER, W ENDY CREWSON, ROD
WONG KAR-W AI, W ILLIA M CHANG
ROW LAND, TERRY CREWS, ROBERT DUVALL.
WRITER
PRODUCERS
WONG KAR-W AI
M IKE MEDAVOY, AR NO LD SCHWARZENEGGER,
DISTRIBUTOR
JON DAVISON
DENDY FILMS
SCREENWRITER
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN HONG KONG
DURATION 90 MINUTES
Bookmakers for UK industry
CORMAC W IBBERLEY AN D M AR IAN NE W IBBERLEY
Asian films with its Silk Screen series
Doyle, a long time collaborator with
last year.
Wong who shares his passion for
C O LU M B IA TRISTAR
In the Mood for Love was one of many
startling camera work that is
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN
Asian films which screened at Cannes,
impressive without being intrusive.
DISTRIBUTOR
US
RATING
picking up competition prizes for best
In the Mood for Love does not have the
magazine Moving Pictures have listed
actor Tony Leung and best
deliberately mismatched stocks and
Wong Kar-wai’s In the Mood for Love
cinematography - won by Australian
frenetically pushed colours found in
as the 3-1 second favourite to win
DOP Christopher Doyle, with Mark Li
previous collaborations, such as Happy
this year’s Oscar for Best Foreign
Ping-bing and William Chang Suk-ping.
Together and Chungking Express. But
-> Ah, so the inevitable comes to pass.
Language Film behind Ang Lee’s
The intensity of both performance and
Wong uses slow, hypnotic camera
Two Amies. A dream come true for
unbackable Crouching Tiger, Hidden
cinematography is the hallmark of this
movements and a warm balance
anyone who ascribes to the belief that
Dragon.
stylish film, set in the Shanghai
between colour and contrast to provide
you can never get too much Arnie.
While the Hong Kong-produced film
quarter of Hong Kong in 1962. Leung
a visually stunning backdrop to the
Unfortunately, double the dose
will find it tough going against such
plays Chau, a newspaper editor who
developing relationship.
doesn’t mean that The 6th Day is
stiff competition, the honour caps a
relocates to Hong Kong to take up a
Several scenes become frozen
twice as good as any of Arnold
year which saw an explosion in the
Schwarzenegger’s other films. In fact,
M
DURATION 123 MINUTES
position on a local paper. Moving in to
moments as the camera pans slowly
worldwide appetite for Asian films,
a new apartment, he meets neighbour
around, and slow motion sequences,
it struggles on almost every level as it
with a strong showing of Asian films
Li-chun, played by Maggie Cheung, who
such as a beautiful scene when the
attempts to find some middle ground
in festival line-ups and awards the
is also moving into the building.
couple pass each other on the stairs,
between the schmaltzy Arnie
world over.
Both are without their spouses - Chau's
reflect the patient, unforced pace of
[Kindergarten Cop) and action Arnie
Similarly, Columbia TriStar locally
wife is visiting her sick mother and Li-
the film. Wong also uses recurring
[Terminator).
mined a rich vein of local support for
chun's husband is away on business -
images of smoke and rain to
Adam Gibson (Schwarzenegger) is a very normal, happy family man
and slowly the two build a polite but
simultaneously bring the couple
sensuous relationship, as they discover
together and keep them apart.
(familiar territory these days in
things in common, including a passion
Other notable contributions to the film
Arnieland) until he suddenly finds
for martial arts novels. As the
are William Chang’s editing (he also
himself the innocent victim of an
relationship develops, the two slowly
provided the notable costume design
illegal-genetic-cloning-project-gone-
begin to realise that their respective
and took an associate producer credit]
wrong. Set in the not too distant future,
spouses are having an affair.
and the haunting score of composer
The 6th Day[from the biblical passage:
Wong brings Chau and Li-chun
Mike Galasso.
"... and God created man on the sixth
together through cramped Hong Kong
While In the Mood for Love appears
day"] finds Earth riddled with
interiors that exude a shabby elegance,
destined to miss out on an Oscar, its
everything from cloned pets to
as the couple play out situations with
combination of visual beauty, complex
genetically engineered products.
each other as rehearsals for
performances and production
Human cloning is outlawed. But
conversations they intend to have with
technique make it an enjoyable and
millionaire and megalomaniac Michael
their respective spouses.
thought provoking experience.
Drucker (Tony Goldwyn) is doing it
The lush sensuality of the film is mirrored in the cinematography of
anyway and accidentally clones the • JASON HARTY
wrong guy. So Gibson goes home to his CINEMA PAPERS.FEBRUARY.MARCH.2001 [3 7 ]
Sáfe!
The Goddess of 1967 DIRECTOR CLARA LAW
CAST ROSE BYRNE. RIKIYA KUROKAWA, NICHOLAS HOPE, ELISE MCCREDIE
SCRIPT EDDIE L.C. FONG & CLV\RA LAW
PRODUCERS PETER SAINSBURY & EDDIE L.C. FONG
CINEMATOGRAPHER DION BEEBE ACS
picture-perfect life to find that he's
doorstep of a blood-spattered
NICHOLAS MCCALLUM
suburban Australian bungalow, hoping
EDITOR
already at home.
KATE W ILLIAMS
Of course, since Gibson has seen his
COMPOSER JEN ANDERSON
own clone, he must be killed. Enter the
DISTRIBUTOR
henchman and woman: Marshall (Michael Rooker) and Talia
JM arrives quite suddenly on the
PRODUCTION DESIGN
PALACE FILMS
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN AUSTRALIA
(Newcastle-born Sarah Wynter). Their
DURATION
mission is to lynch Gibson at any cost.
118 MINUTES
to purchase the sleek pink Citroen DS he has located on the internet. Opening the door to him is the blind BG (Rose Byrne) who eats a meal amidst the gore. Like a fumbling and slightly bruised Botticelli angel, Byrne is both earthy and
Their own deaths are not an issue -
otherworldly. It Is an awkward, jarring,
they've already died plenty of times
yet ultimately compelling performance
from whitewashed sand to earth tones
that won her a best actress award at the
through passionate plum purples and reds. While visually striking, these
and come back as clones.
-> This stunning and ambitious film
with telling colour palettes ranging
Naturally, there's lots of bad acting
by Hong Kong/Australian director
Venice Film Festival.
from Schwarzenegger, but at least in
Clara Law is relentlessly visual, a
Together the strange pair drives into
moody vignettes seem underscripted
having his own clone there on screen
showy catalogue of her skills in
the centre of Australia, searching for
and overacted. Hope's abusive
with him, Arnie's got someone to laugh
evoking the ephemeral surfaces and
the true owner of the goddess. DOP
monster is bizarre beyond belief, and it
at his own jokes.
textures of life lived in a transnational
Dion Beebe [Holy Smoke, Praise}
seems a pity that this original piece of
To be fair, Schwarzenegger isn't the
world. This insistent showmanship
proves yet again that he is a master
cinema must turn on a narrative that
only culprit in the bad acting stakes.
and stylistic excess will divide
alchemist with Australian light, making
is, like far too many these days, built
With the exception of Sarah Wynter
audiences. Like the Citroen D5
interesting what we have seen far too
around the cliched revelation of child
and the infallible Robert Duvall (Dr.
automobile (the Goddess of the title],
often - the painfully blue skies, scrappy
sexual abuse. This twisted outworking
Griffin Weir), everyone involved gives a
some will find it sublimely elegant;
trees and shimmering bitumen of
of family romance may be a sad
lacklustre performance.
others will deem it grotesque and
outback road movies. While JM tries to
statistical reality, but it feels like a
In her Hollywood debut, Wynter oozes
pretentious.
describe Tokyo as like Mars, it is the
storytelling shortcut, a lazy and
evil as the assassin. Talia's brand of
As in their earlier films, Autumn Moon
salt-crusted lakes of our own interior,
inadequate way to explicate character.
emotionless, mechanically-ruthless
[1992] and Floating Life [1996), Law and
and the underground dwellings of
Ultimately this story should be about
evil demands an inordinate amount of
her scriptwriter husband Eddie Fong,
Coober Pedy that truly seem alien and
the faltering growth of cross-cultural
composure at all times. Bummer that
here take a young angst-ridden Asian
ancient. Tokyo’s smooth cool surfaces,
intimacy, and while Byrne and
she has barely any dialogue and much
male (known only as JM) and send him
blurred with constant motion, seem at
Kurokawa manage to portray a weird
of her screen time simply requires her
drifting into an alien culture.
least to be creations of human
tragicomic love link, each and every
to stand there with a gun.
This character, suitably underplayed by
intention.
one of the performers seems lost and
But rather than fall victim to The 6th
newcomer Japanese Prada model
As the surreal journey progresses,
disoriented, in search of direction.
Days lack of plot, direction and
Rikiya Kurokawa, is handsomely blank
depicted with high-contrast bleached
Law's overemphasis on the Took' of
purpose, Wynter does well to display
and restrained, but always suggesting
out colours, BG's violent past is evoked
the film may spectacularly invoke the isolation of the postmodern condition,
such class within such a bad script.
emergent warmth and injured
through flashbacks. These miniature
With wit and an abundance of attitude,
humanity. As he dances alone in his
stories, which contain the essence of
but her characters need more of her
she ends up standing virtually alone as
Tokyo apartment, after feeding boiled
her twisted gothic relationships with
attention if they are to truly reach out
its saving grace.
mice to his pet snakes, his exhilaration
her mother (Elise McCredie) and
to each other and to the viewer.
• RACHEL NEWMAN
is startling; autistic and pure.
grandfather (Nicholas Hope), are told
• ROCHELLE SIEMIENOWICZ
[38] CINEMA PAPERS.FEBRUARY.MARCH.2001
B est DIRECTOR GARY WALKOW CAST COURTNEY LOVE, NORMAN REEDUS. RON LIVINGSTON, KIEFER SUTHERLAND PRODUCERS ANDREW PFEFFER. DONALD ZUCKERMAN. ALAIN SILVER DISTRIBUTOR COLUMBIA TRISTAR COUNTRY OF ORIGIN US RATING M DURATION 89 MINUTES
|
i
-> These days, in the age of the
Da I I a i ' I iulnn . D ClICl k lV lllg
Through Circuitry DIRECTOR JON REISS FEATURING THE CRYSTAL METHOD. MOBY, DJ SPOOKY. CARL COX, RONI SIZE, AND MANY MORE PRODUCER BRIAN MCNELIS AND STUART SWEZEY DISTRIBUTOR SIREN ENTERTAINMENT COUNTRY OF ORIGIN US RATING M DURATION 85 MINUTES
The subtitle of this film - "a digital
T h a R in ■n e p im
TI h ó TI IhI Ir C ao QlltUnUn^nCow c IIC C «
tIlr«a9c9 e FYIIIM D in n
DIRECTOR JAMES FRAWLEY CAST PAUL BEN-VICTOR, EVAN HANDLER, JOHN KASSIR. MICHAEL CHIKLIS PRODUCERS EARL M. BENJAMIN. ROBERT N. BENJAMIN DISTRIBUTOR COLUMBIA TRISTAR COUNTRY OF ORIGIN US RATING PG DURATION 89 MINUTES
DIRECTOR GEORGE HICKENLOOPER CAST WILLIAM HURT. NIGEL HAWTHORNE. MIRANDA RICHARDSON. IRENE JACOB PRODUCERS ANDREW PFEFFER. DONALDZUCKERMAN . DISTRIBUTOR COLUMBIA TRISTAR COUNTRY OF ORIGIN US RATING MA DURATION 100 MINUTES
The Three Stooges' huge body of
From a story by Orson W ellesf A
no-holds-barred biography, it's
odyssey into the electronic dance
work may seem a little
little name-dropping never hurts in
common knowledge that a creative
underground", belies the fact that it's
unsophisticated to modern eyes, but as
the movie business, and when the
genius can also be hell to live with,
more than just a music documentary,
this new telemovie shows, they were a
name is that of the man who made the
with philandering and emotional
it's virtually a religious tract. With all
comedy team whose endurance is
often-polled "Best Film Ever", you
abuse par for the course. W illiam S.
the pronouncements of life-changing
unparalleled. Originally a vaudeville
can't blame the folks behind The Big
Burroughs not only neglected his
spiritual revolution poured forth by
act in the early 1920s, they slapped
Brass Ring for dropping it big time. In
wife, but shot her dead in the course
the interviewees, i could almost
and poked their way through some
truth, the screenplay is based on one
of a "W illiam Tell" party trick, an
imagine this being screened on the
200 shorts for Columbia between 1934
written by Welles and companion/
event that he claimed profoundly
ABC's religion slot, Compass.
and 1958. The subsequent success of
collaborator, Oja Kodar. Director
influenced his writing henceforth.
Though raves have been going on in
the shorts on television from 1959
George Hickenlooper ( H earts o fj
Although generally known only for
the US for years, it seems the
gave them yet another lease of life,
Darkness: A Film m aker’s Apocalypse) -
the circumstances of her death, Joan
electronic dance scene is now taking
which led to a series of features. Far
and F.X. Feeney have substantially
Vollm er was in fact a key figure in the
off in a big way. The medium is very
from being left behind as
rewritten the piece, updating the
formation of the Beat movement -
much the message here - eclectic
entertainment evolved, as happened to
political landscape.
and B eat is here to te ll her story.
filming techniques, cyberdelic
their early vaudeville associate Ted
Essentially this is a story about
Courtney Love was no doubt cast on
animation and of course plenty of
Healy, they somehow always made it
political skeletons-in-the-closet.
the strength of her performance in
music - but this is more than eye'n’ear
to the next level.
William Hurt is Blake Pellarin, an
The People vs Larry Flynt, and it
candy. The artists are mostly quite
While much of this tale is bathed in the
independent candidate running for
doesn't hurt the film that this is
articulate, and their interviews have
golden light of the good old days, of
Governor of Missouri' His wife
largely a reprise of that role - an
been carefully assembled.to draw out
course it wasn't all smooth sailing. As
intelligent, independent but troubled
common ground. From big names like
pre-1955 versions of the trio always
young woman. Ron Livingston is
Moby and Carl Cox to more fringe
included Moe and one of his brothers
endured his Clinton-esque series of
excellent as Allen Ginsberg, as is ■ . ' Ndrman Reedus as Lucien Carr, the
artists such as Scanner and Psychic
(Shemp or Curly), it's suggested that
dalliances for so long that she now.
TV, a collective message forms - this,
the violent slapstick which originated in
does little more than hiss at him
relatively unknown, non-writer of the
is a truly liberating-subculture.
boyhood rough-and-tumble sometimes
between chugs of vodka. Nigel
group, whose attractiveness to men
Generally, the English artists have the
spilled over into their professional
Hawthorne really carries the film, with
and women alike drives the entire
most interesting things to say. Psychic
relationship.
his subtle, complex portrayal of the ex-
plot. Kiefer Sutherland doesn’t fare so
TV s Genesis P-Orridge is always good
As this was made by Mel Gibson’s Fox
senator vvho raised Pellarin and his
r
—
;
(Miranda Richardson, teetering -
superbly on the brink of parody) has
^
well as Burroughs - his reliance on
value, and here, looking more than
Icon at Sydney's Fox Studios,
brother in rather shady circumstances.
mimicking the writer's famous drawl
ever like a wild-eyed, youngish
Australian actors appear in several
The film's main flaw is that it expends
is not enough to bring this difficult
Quentin Crisp, he reckons that
roles, including the wives of the
too much time and energy on the
figure to life. You can see why
mainstream society fears rave culture
original trio. It's quite odd to see'
unravelling of a fairly simple mystery.
Cronenberg and Peter Welter avoided
because "there's a danger of people
Rachael Blake, Jeanette Cronin and
By the time you've waded through all
a straight impersonation in Naked
understanding and appreciating
Annalise Phillips, sipping lemonade in
the flashbacks that punctuate the
Lunch.
alternate ways of being... they could
a very Aussie-looking garden, as Mrs
convoluted events of the present; you
Courtney fans and Beat enthusiasts
laugh them out of existence". It ain't
Moe, Larry and Shemp. An enjoyable
may want to scream, “that’s IT?‘ ,
should find this worth a look.
just about dancing.
bit of history.
• a l is t e r s h e w
'
v •
--
'
-•
CINEMA PAPERS.FEBRUARY;MARCH-2001 [39]
Recent visitor to Australia,
Secrets & Lies, Career Girls and
analyses. They quote many insiders but
original poster and a no-nonsense
Professor Ray Carney, has finally
Topsy-Turvy?
published his academic hagiography
Not a mistake quite as serious as that
the whole thing has a very wide-eyed look.
tale of a college guy gone nuts.
of British director Mike Leigh, The
perpetrated by Turner, Bonner and
It's accessible though, which is
Admittedly, director Oswald added a
Films of Mike Leigh, Embracing The
Marshall, authors of Fame Games, The
something that will never be said of
fine visual touch to the film adaptation
World (Carney and Quart, Cambridge
Production of Celebrity in Australia
Dan Harries' Film Parody (BFI
but Levin's novel displays why 'noir
University Press, $34.95/$99.00 hb).
(Cambridge University Press,
publishing, $60.00 pb).
thrillers were so great at displaying
After a smoothly written introductory
$32.95/$99.00hb).
Take this, for instance, "As with the
tension, threat and panic - economy.
biography, this book makes a solid
Why review this in a film journal? Film
exaggerations of lexical units, the
You don’t read novels with such stark
case for Leigh’s worth with its even-
celebrity and its manufacture is a
syntax can be extended to exaggerated
exposition as this nowadays.
handed criticisms. Then it veers into
major preoccupation.
lengths through the combination of
Already Levin has three novels in this
an empathetic film by film analysis.
And the authors' mistake? No, not
actions which exceed expected quantity
bright, repackaged series [The Stepford
Carney and Quart come from the
using McKenzie Wark and Catharine
or order.” He means, repetitive jokes
Wives and The Boys From Brazil}.
position that the director produces
Lumby testimonials on the back cover
work.
Bloomsbury’s selections thus far,
great art, so any other view is
(that's so two Zeitgeists ago). No, not
Harries wanted to contextualise this
including Once upon A Time In
confidently dispatched. Carney
its litany of misspelt names. No, it's
burgeoning film canon in an era of
America, Deliverance and Vertigo, are
persuasively, and rightly, distinguishes
hard to recommend the teachings of a
cultural irony but the result is one big
inspired commercial marketing.
Leigh's style both from fellow
book on publicity that didn’t promote
joke. His theory that film parody is a
Look up A Kiss Before Dying in the
malcontent Ken Loach and the
its own juicy tidbits - for instance,
genre to itself is stretched to the point
Time Out Film Guide (9th edition 2001,
Hollywood modus operandi of
Friends Matt LeBlanc's infamous
of incomprehensibility. This book sucks
Penguin, $40.00) and you’ll find two on-
unrealism (it's not as obvious as it
Australian visit wasn't hindered by
dry any joy you derived from this cheap
sounds). But he does so with an
illness but a dummy spit; the local
and elementary form of film humour.
the-money reviews of the '55 and '91 films. With 13,300 films reviewed, it's no
reproduction of the text, a jaunty little
infuriating style that presages any
mags Sharon Stone and Kim Basinger
Bloomsbury has brought some joy to
logical synthesis of one statement with
won't co-operate with; why Leo
cinephiles with its Film Classics Series
Maltin's Movie & Video Guide (he’s well
paragraphs of academic waffle. It's
DiCaprio graced the cover of this
of original novels. The latest, Ira
over 20,000 reviews now), particularly with the standard of the 150-300 word
dangerously indulgent but thoughtful.
magazine twice in one year.
Levin's A Kiss Before Dying
Then again, how can you take seriously
Fame Games has some nice
[Bloomsbury Paperbacks, $19.95)
reviews varying from the well
someone who spells Jody Foster thus
observations but also some totally
features a cheekily reproduced cover
considered to the glib (Gettysburg is "a
or a book that hasn’t yet chronicled
spurious ones attached to hokey
from the film's (dir. Oswald, 1955]
film about men with whiskers"; Jules
[40] CINEMA PAPERS.FEBRUARY.MARCH.2001
SUBSCRIBE AND SAVE [S a v e up t® $ 1 6 .8 0 an d h a v e
Cinema
Papers d e liv e re d d ire c t to y o u r h o m e , o ffic e
et Jim “watchable"). As with all guides,
2001 (Faber & Faber, $40.00), with its
it can be maddeningly frustrating - why
survey of the film year in countries
bother with a 200-word plot synopsis
from Argentina to Zimbabwe and its
for Jumanji? - but this one's value lies
five directors of the year (including
up the back.
Lasse Hallstrom?], wants to be to film
Its appendices are knockouts - film
as the Wisden Almanac is to cricket.
categories; major film producing
Very handy stuff, particularly for
countries including, aw shucks, 240
producers on the international flog but
Australian films listed; an actors index,
its harsh layout and advertising ensure
a comprehensive directors index; and
it is an office reference, not something
assorted awards lists. Its general
for the home bookcase.
subject index makes this an essential
Steve Martin’s novella, Shopgirl (Allen
reference book though. Thirteen films
& Unwin, $24.95) is a gorgeously
about sex changes [see also
presented book but its contents have
Hermaphrodism) anyone?
been praised too much. Now, I'm as big
"She is the man I would have liked to
a Martin fan as one could be. I find his
be,” Gerard Depardieu said of
whimsies for The New Yorker
Catherine Deneuve, according to
essential. But his sly, thoughtful
Cassell's Movie Quotations (Nigel
observations and tangential comic
Rees, Cassell Reference, $59.95).
ideas rarely surface in this slight,
Attractively, almost indulgently,
ultimately forgettable tale of a glove
presented, this is an inviting collection
counter girl who struggles to find love,
of quotes from on and off screen,
or a life in Los Angeles.
including sections of cliches, slogans,
Not hardly as enchanting as his plays
catchphrases and origins of film titles.
or screenplays, flawed as they can be,
Unsurprisingly, the best quotes are
Shopgirl is fey rather than funny. Steve,
about actors, not from them. Very
you don’t need to be a serious writer,
entertaining.
you’re a serious talent.
The Variety International Film Guide
• MICHAEL BOOEY
For news and reviews on the latest in Film, Books, Video and DVD you should be reading Cinema Papers. Redesigned and relaunched, Cinema Papers now promises to keep you up to date with what's going on by offering you a fresh, vibrant and extremely well-informed insight into the local and international film industries.
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The NEW C in e m a P a p e rs c o n tin u e s its tra d itio n as A u s tr a lia ’s m o st re s p e c te d film m a g a z in e .
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DIRECTOR RIDLEY SCOTT CAST RUSSELL CROWE. JOAQUIN PHOENIX. CONNIE NIELSEN. OLIVER REED. RICHARD HARRIS PRODUCERS DAVID H. FRANZONI, BRANKO LUSTIG. TERRY NEEDHAM. STEVEN SPIELBERG. DOUGLAS WICK DISTRIBUTOR COLUMBIA TRISTAR COUNTRY OF ORIGIN US RATING M ^ DURATION U 9 MINUTES PRICE $39.95
____DIRECTOR DAVID FINCHER CAST EDWARD NORTON. BRAD PITT. HELENA BONHAM CARTER. MEATLOAF ■ PRODUCERS ROSS BELL. CEÄN CHAFFIN. ART LINSON DISTRIBUTOR TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX COUNTRY OF ORIGIN US RATING R ‘ DURATION 134 MINUTES PRICE $37.95
The biggest film of 2000 just got bigger! By about seven minutes, and ■ = that's just the main feature.
DIRECTOR GUY HAMILTON CAST SEAN CONNERY. GERT FROBE. HAROLD SAKATA. HONOR BLACKMAN PRODUCERS ALBERT R. BROCCOLI. HARRY . SALTZMAN DISTRIBUTOR TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX COUNTRY OF ORIGIN UK RATING M DURATION 105 MINUTES PRICE $37.95
DIRECTOR ROLAND EMMERICH . CAST MEL GIBSON. HEATH LEDGER. JOLEY RICHARDSON. JASON ISAACS. CHRIS COOPER. TCHEKY KARYO. RENE AUBERJONOIS. TOM WILKINSON. , PRODUCERS DEAN DEVLIN. MARK GORDON. GARY LEVINSOHN DISTRIBUTOR COLUMBIA TRISTAR COUNTRY OF ORIGIN US RATING MA DURATION 158 MINUTES PRICE $40
-> Film directors must love DVD:
-> A dilemma for Hollywood studios:
-> The DVD version of The P atriot
Previously they’d have to write
How do you make your library of
contains one of the format’s most
books to reveal the subtleties of
cinema classics attractive in a home-
innovative special features. But you
The two-disc, "deluxe collectors
their cinematic genius. Now, with the
entertainment format that demands
can’t see it just by looking at it.
edition" DVD release of Gladiator (is
flick of a switch on the remote control,
the tag "jam-packed with exclusive
This disc is the first DVD to be
there any other kind?) includes three
they can be sitting over the viewers
additional special features”?
encrypted with Regional Coding
bonus video documentaries - a soft,v
shoulder, whispering every minute detail Of théir thought process like a
What most have opted for, some
Enhancement, the Hollywood studios’
considerably more successfully than
latest weapon to enforce its region
styled look at the legend of the Roman
little kid in a cinema who just won’t
others, is to plough the archives for
restriction system. (Apparently this
gladiators, a “behind-the-scenes”
shut up.
anything loosely related to their feature
disc won’t play on a multi-region
extended promo and a boring profile
Most of these directorial commentaries
presentation: old adverts, trailers,
DVD player.)
on composer Hans Zimmer.
are sombre, analytical affairs. Not so
promo stills, new introductions by old
Of the disc's other special features,
..... hour-long Entertainment Tonight-
But it’s the briefest of the extra
on Fight Club, where director David
stars. Unfortunately, that only ever
its interactive visual effects feature is
elements which is the most
Fincher is happy to share his audio
offers an additional few minutes of
the cleverest. Each of the five scenes
fascinating: 11 fully-conceived, deleted
spotlight with the film's stars and the
entertainment.
examined is split into three
scenes, each With an optional voice-
whole thing sounds more like a party
But no such problem for a classic such
concurrently running film loops, each
over from director Ridley Scott
rather than an anal dissection of the
as 1964’s Goldfinger. Sean Connery's
representing a different stage and
explaining exactly why they didn't
on- screen action. In this instance, it’s
third appearance as James Bond was
layer of the effect. There’s also a
make the final cut.
Edward Norton who just won't shut up,
set to be a blockbuster even before its
bonus seven deleted scenes which, if
Several are simply drawn-out, mood-
displaying a rather obsessive affection
release, so there’s an abundance of
they'd been included, would have
setters, sensibly dropped from what
for his own work. Brad Pitt plays the
archival material to package up with
pushed the [ahem] civil war epic over
is, after all, already a 150-minute
dumb blonde, not saying much at all.
the feature itself (Which, incidentally,
the three-hour mark (arrrgh!).
picture. ("The beats' took too long,"
Helena Bonham Carter, whose
looks stunningly vibrant in this form).
There's also two additional mini-
Scott keeps explaining.) But a couple
contribution was recorded separately
There are two additional, contemporary
featurettes on this single disc release:
of them, such as the ones dubbed
from the others, doesn’t have much
documentaries presented here, one on
The Art Of War (where we get a
“The Éxecution" and “Dye Market", are
insight to offer either, but at least she
the "making o f. the other curiously
history lesson on the American
' gets the chance to get a word in.
quite breathtaking and evocative in
about the Goldfinger "phenomenon"
Revolution) and The Patriots (the
their own: right.
Thëre.are a handful of deleted and
(stuff like how many toy Aston Martin
already now-standard behind-the-
Furthermore, there’s a library of
alternative takes (nothing special) and
cars got sold). Each relies heavily on
scenes extended promo which
candid snapshots from the set,
a complete illustrated storyboard, but
promotional material from the period,
accompanies every modern release).
sketches from the art room and a
the most interesting bonus feature in
most of which is separately presented
One thing the special features section
juvenile "what I did on my holidays”
this immaculately presented two-disc
elsewhere on the disc.
doesn’t explain is us how our hero
type éssay from One of the supporting
set are the mini-docos on the film's
Virtually the whole James Bond
Aussie Mel can live with himself
cast member^ which again proves
spécial effects.
collection is already available on DVD
waving an old Scottish flag in one
So you get to see exactly how to blow
and, going by this Goldfinger sample,
epic, and then an American one in his
up a city skyline, or what it takes for
considerable effort has been put into
next. Has he got no sense of
Norton to put a bullet through his head.
making them a worthwhile investment
patriotism at all?
for fans.
• DINO SCATENA AND RACHEL NEWMAN
T young actors should just stay in , • school.
S
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D IG IT A L FX
The arrival of digital TV and the Increasing sophistication of the Internet and gaming are propelling the local visual effects forward fast. Once visual effects for film and television were created on set or on tape but film and television product is increasingly shot or scanned In digital format where effects can be created or manipulated using specialised FX computer systems. The head of post house M V ’s digital pictures division, John Fleming, says “because film can be scanned into digital we now post produce features the way we post TV programs. ” This allows directors and techs to do “amazing things with Images” during post production like grading scenes with a particular colour. According to Fleming, the next 18 months will also see the wider application of new “datacines” that scan film at very high resolutions allowing even greater manipulation of images. -> Although the software used for feature film effects differs from the
different medium to film and television, "the consistent use of digital
software used in web design, they have some common technical elements,
technologies across all our production processes" allows the skills in one area
enabling operators to transfer skills across mediums. According to Energee
of the business to be "more easily applied to another". Animal Logic takes the
Entertainment’s executive producer, Gerry Travers, "just different
position that the delivery technology is just a tool - whether it is web, net,
resolutions and frame rates” apply. The graphics composing principles for
cinema or television screen. "The real challenge is coming up with creative
film, television, video games and web sites “are the same”.
ideas that utilise those tools,” he says.
AVID Australia is a key local supplier of computer based design and editing
The art director of Sydney ad agency Kennedy Rea, Adam McCulloch, has a
tools for film and television product. Marketing manager Garrick Simeon says
sim ilar slant: "No matter which technology you choose" he says, "it all comes
“ many of AVID's software and hardware products provide convergent
back to how well you tell your story".
possibilities and all current editing equipment can create files for use by web sites” . In June 2000, AVID released a new hardware product globally that
-> GET ACTIVE
facilitates the streaming of video and other high bandwidth content over the
AAV's John Fleming predicts that interactivity w ill be one of the largest growth areas
internet in real time. AAV Australia offers video streaming to server as part of
for the industry over the next two years. He believes that digital television w ill fig
its corporate services and Cutting Edge post production in Brisbane and
ure largely in interactive consum er activities w ith "pay TV stations already
recently streamed an outside broadcast live to web site for Queensland’s
moving towards interactivity in broadcasts". Andy Polaine concurs "the web is only
Remote Medical Association.
a slice of the net and the internet is only a slice of interactive media as a whole”
Animal logic was an Australian pioneer in computer generated images for film
and that "interactive TV could have a really rosy future" with the cooperation of
and television and is now one of the largest visual effects providers to local
relevant corporate and government bodies.
corporate and entertainment sectors. Research and development of digital
Once film or television product becomes a computer file - or series of files -
technologies have enabled the company to diversify into software development
using digital tools, it can be transported to any compatible portal in the world
and interactive media like www.mysteryclock.com and computer game
via the internet. This makes web and internet technology integral to efficient
animation. Early in 2000, the company launched a dedicated interactive arm,
co-productions between local and international agencies, eg, feature film The
Animal Logic Play, under the direction of Andy Polaine, a co-founder of London-
Matrix which involved three visual effects providers: two in Australia (Animal
based "new media collective" Antirom.
Logic and D-Film) and Mannix in San Francisco, and much internet circulation
Polaine says while Animal Logic considers interactive media a distinctly
of electronic files.
Musk Videos “I started m ating music videos -«Me still at film sdicol, on Weekends, far friends in bands. There «as a feeling gf break«} new new ground, lik e if or net, music videos introdured a wore of young filmmakers who would go on to shape feature films aver the ensuing yeas.'' - Alex Preyas
Crowded House - 'Don’t Dreamit'sOver* 54K / unte
above: Animal Logic is one of the largest visual effects providers and has recently diversified into software development and interactive media like www.mysteryclock.com. left: AAV is working on Esben Storm’s Subterano for Becker films.
CINEMA PAPERS.FEBRUARY.MARCH.2001 [43 ]
D I GI T A L FX
At the time of writing, Cutting Edge in Brisbane was shooting live material for
membership across “ad agencies, web
the 22-part US TV series Beastmaster and transporting the film rushes daily via
and game designers and anyone who has
internet to production partner Alliance Atlantis in Canada where most of the
a common interest” , says Case. Larger
post production is carried out. “We can have material to Canada in a matter of
numbers w ill help the alliance negotiate
two hours this way," claims operations manager Michael Burton, but setting up
lower broadband rates based on volume
the internet courier facility was involved and expensive. “We worked with
discounts. FIBRE has also applied for
engineers six months out before deciding on the Telestream System,” he says,
funding from the federal government and
which was chosen because it compresses high quality video into a file format
had not yet received a response at the
that can be transported via the internet. Burton adds that “the system was brand
time of writing.
new and had only been used once by Animal Logic on The Matrix".
Case believes “ if we open up broadband,
Access to high bandwidth for the rapid delivery of Telestream generated files to
it w ill add to the attractiveness of
Canada required installation of a fibre optic cable at the Brisbane office. “We
Australia as an arena for footloose
paid Telstra AUD$110,000 for set up,“ says Burton, “and then around
productions, ie, Americans leaving Hollywood to shoot here” . As he points
AUD$10,000 a month for bandwidth use” . “Telstra hardly moved at all on their standard price” despite the fact that Cutting
out, Australia also offers the rest of the world. The significant benefit of a
Edge used its own interface equipment with the new cable. Burton says
different time zone where work can be done in the downtime in another country.
Australian telephony costs are ” 10 times” the cost of equivalent US services and
"If you involve America, Australia and Europe on a production” says Case, “you
"broadband costs in Australia should be cheaper than the cost of a courier” .
can do three eight hour shifts back to back - 'bring in the sun' in industry slang” . Despite broadband issues, Brisbane- and Sydney-based visual effects agency
LOBBYING FOR MORE FIBRE Dominick Case is chairman of FIBRE (Film Industry Broadband Resources
Photon has been building a large Los Angeles client base since 1991. "We invented the visual effects industry in this country," claims managing director Dale Duigan.
Enterprise) - an Australian “screen industry” alliance set up to secure lower
"There was no industrialisation of the industry ten years ago and it wasn't user
broadband costs for local film productions. Case defines broadband as "high
friendly when we started up” he says. First client was Warner Bros who purchased
speed exchange of screen images or data beyond the capabilities of a standard
audio visual content for its local theme parks. To date, Photon has created ten
internet cable connection” and believes that the entire image production industry
thousand visual effects mostly for feature film and TV production. Fourteen
needs cost effective broadband access in order to advance. According to Case,
hundred of these were produced last year alone - one thousand of which were
this view is supported by the Australian Department of Industry who concluded in
exported to the US. Photon was also sole visual effects subcontractor on a major
a year 2000 report on the film industry, “that we are being held back by the costs
US studio blockbuster due for release here in June. Duigan could not reveal any
of broadband within the country and internationally” .
details about the release, but says that "Photon helped create its new technology
FIBRE is not a "closed or exclusive group” and is hoping to broaden its
paradigm". • MEGAN SLOLEY
» ¡ p i g *
'
check out more than 4 0 0 ,0 0 0 items in the National Collection on-line
1 www.screensound.gov.au Screen So u n d A ustralia NATIONAL FILM AND SOUND ARCHIVE
A N I M A T I O N FX
Animated Faces The basics of animation remain unchanged since Mickey Mouse was created but according to Energee’s Gerry Travers, computers, the web and the internet are driving innovation in Australia. The local industry covers both animated effects for film, television, commercials, web sites, web advertising, computer and video games and fully animated products like feature films, television and web series. Most of our major post production and visual effects facilities now have an animation department or animation specialists to handle effects work. AAV Australia-owned lloura Post Production in Melbourne was a traditional
successful web sites," says Gordon Lescinsky, Director of Research and
post-production agency until it merged with Zephyr Animation in 1999. The
Development. Blaze is also seeking to specialise within the web design market,
merger reflected a computer driven industry evolution where animation would
"trying to kick start a quality web medium just for faces that can give you instant
become "an essential tool for post production,” according to visual effects
personality on a web site,” explains Lescinsky.
supervisor Julian Dimsey.
Energee is also harnessing the unique opportunities of the web environment to
Although lloura is “capable of creating an animated feature from the ground up”
extend the distribution channels for existing animated properties, Wicked and The
it currently works exclusively on commercials for both the Australian market, (eg, Billabong icecreams and ANA monopoly both feature computer animated effects) and increasingly for Asia. Animation is now almost exclusively created in 2D and 3D formats using computer hardware and software though "storyboards are
Magic Pudding, and to research and test prospective ideas. Energee currently screens Wicked and The Magic Pudding "web series” at eKidz.com.au where it "builds an online community of kids by offering them a free email account, chatroom facilities, bulletin boards, animations and games,” explains Travers. For Energee, this interactive environment provides information
one of the most important and creatively dynamic
on what kids "want to see, hear and talk
departments,” says Gerry Travers. AVID Australia’s Andre DeAngelis explains
about” . Travers acknowledges that
traditional cell-based animation which "requires
Energee follows in the footsteps of John Kricfalusi (creator of Ren and Stimpyl who
drawings to be scanned into a computer and
was the first to test a web animation property
painted" is being replaced by computer software
online.
"which uses 3D to produce a 2D cell animated look”. AVID is the local distributor of Softimage XSI, one of "three top of the line software packages for 3D animation composing along with Maya and 3D Studio Max, " according to Dimsey.
Though "there aren't many pure animation companies left in Australia," Travers says, Animation Works in Perth developed a fully animated television sitcom which w ill debut on SBS around June 2001 in the South Park timeslot. Quads! is the name of
LOCAL INNOVATIONS Though no local company or individual has developed a comprehensive
the 13-part series, which is a co-production with Nelvana - one of the largest animation companies in Canada. The series was created and
animation software package, Australian owned Blaze International in
executive produced by cartoonist John Callahan and is an irreverent take
Melbourne has developed Famous Faces - a revolutionary 3D animator
on quadriplegia (John has been quadriplegic since the age of 21) and
tool for imbuing computer generated faces with real facial movement. It has particular relevance for animated characters backed by celebrity voices, eg, Dragonheart where Sean Connery's actual facial expressions were applied to the face of his animated dragon character. The
other physical disabilities. "The entire series was created using web-based Flash software,” says Animation Works' Colin South, "and we scripted three of the 13 episodes; animated eight and completed all the post-production nut of Perth.”
software has sold well both locally and in the United States where
In order to work most efficiently with Canada, Animation Works had to
Blaze has now set up a subsidiary office. Other local companies
set up a high capacity cable connection to send Flash files across the
like lloura and Animal Logic develop inhouse software "plug-ins”
internet. South explains that "we couldn't get access to the cable in Melbourne due
when a project specific special effect is required, eg, a swarm of bees or a
to Telstra's connection problems”, so the production was set up at a Perth location
hurricane. Dimsey says, plug-ins are sometimes "released and sold over the web”
with an existing connection facility. The internet enabled the animators to work day
with prices ranging from AU$600 to $1000.
and night across Canada and Australia though the connection would occasionally
Blaze recently adapted Famous Faces software into a tool for the web market,
break down in Sydney or America. South and team knew the exact locations of the
which it promotes and sells at famous3D.com as part of its general transition
breakdowns due to yet another piece of technology, which traces the internet
from computer game design to the web design market.
courier signal. "It worked out to be expensive," says South, "because we still send
"The skills involved in successful games are very similar to those used in
everything by physical courier as well - just in case.” • MEGAN SLOLEY
CINEMA PAPERS.FEBRUARY.MARCH.2001 [45]
Feature Film s ■ In p ro du ctio n
-> THE QUIET AMERICAN Mirage Enterprises/Rumbalara Films Principal Credits Director: Phillip Noyce Producers: William HorburgM Staffan Ahrenberg, Sydney Pollack Line producer: Antonia Bernard Production manager: Catherine Bishop Scriptwriter: Christopher Hampton Based on the novel: The Quiet American by Graham Greene Cast Michael Caine, Brendan Frase^ Synopsis Graham Greene's evocative tale of love and murder in Saigon at the end of the French Indochina war tells the story of an older British journalist covering the conflict, his Vietnamese mistress, and the young American posing as an aid worker but ultimately revealed as a spy, who arrives into their world with dangerous consequences for all. -» SCOOBY-DOO Atlas Entertainment/Warner Roadshow Principal Credits Director: Raja Gosnell Producer: Charles Roven Scriptwriter: Craig Titley Synopsis The Mystery Ink team break up Beatles-style after solving yet another baffling mystery. The famous five go their separate ways and lose contact, each pursuing their own tentative dreams. Two years later Shaggy and Scooby-Doo instigate a reunion to help solve the mystery of a spooky theme park haunted by reallife demons. EQUUS - THE STORY OF THE HORSE Mullion Creek Productions and Beyond Principal Credits Director: Michael Caulfield Producers: Liz Butler, Michael Caulfield Scriptwriter: Michael Caulfield
Director of photography: Tom Cowan Director of photography 2nd unit: Peter Coleman Composer: Roger Mason Production Crew Production manager: Lorelle Adamson Production accountant: John Russell Production Assistant: Brooke Morris Animals Animal trainer: Evonne Chesson Synopsis The large-format docu-drama follows the destinies of three young horses who are born on the same night.
j Best Boy: Garry Hill i Electricians: Paul Cumming, Joel Lategan On-set Crew 1st assistant director: Toby Pease 2nd assistant director: Deb Antoniou 3rd assistant director: Matt Harris Continuity: Kristin Voumard Boom operator: Gerry Nucifora | Make-up/hair supervisor: Robbie Austin Make-up/hair artists: Judy j Davis, Pamela Roth Stunts co-ordinator: Guy j Norris Still photography: Kiren Chang j Unit publicistyracy Mair ^C atering: Hel’s Kitchen -^THE MAN WHO SUED GOD Art Department Gannon Films Pty Ltd j Art director: Juliet John Duration: 100 minutes { Art department runner^Louise Principal Credits j Sanderson Director: Mark Joffe j Set dressers: Beth Garswood, Producer: Ben Gannon L Jane Culverhouse Line Producer: Irene Dobson Draftsman: Goderic Cole Scriptwriter: Don Watson Standby Props- Leroy ¡a Director of photography: Peter PLummer James ACS ASC j Vehicles co-ordinator: Richard Production designer: Luigi^H Gaunt Pittorino Graphic artist: Michael Editor: Peter Barton | Wholley Sound recordist: Ben Osmo I Props Buyer: fslicole Pollockaj Planning and Development Costume supervisor: Terri Casting: Alison Barrett Casting I Lamera Storyboard artist: David j Costume designer: Lisa Russell Meagher Production Crew Costume buyer: Shareen Berenger. Production manager: Julie Sims Costumer standby: Jamella Production co-ordinator: Hassan Sophie Dick Construction Department Producer's assistant: B ria # || Construction manager: John Abel Rega Production secretary: Jessica Post Production Brentnall I Assistant editor: Alicia Gleeson Location manager: Phillip Editing assistant: David Roope Burrows Marketing Locations Assistant: Marcus Levy Unit Publicist: Tracy Mair Unit manager: Brad Roberts Cast Production runner: Sam Shine Billy Connolly, Judy Davis, Financial controller: Cynthia Colin Friels, Bille Brown, Kelly Wendy Hughes, Emily Production accountant: Ben Browning, Vincent Bal|||§ Grant Peter Whitford, Linal Haft, Accounts assistant: Christina John Howard Van der Heyden Synopsis Insurer: HW Wood Australasia j When lightning strikes and Pty Ltd sinks Steve Myers' fishing boat Completion guarantor: FACB (and floating home) the Camera Crew insurance company declares it an Act of God and refuses to Camera operator: David Williamson pay. Angry and hungover, Steve Key Grip: David Nichols sees no way out but to sue the Gaffer: Mick Morris other party - he sues God.
[4 6 ] CINEMA PAPERS.FEBRUARY.MARCH.2001
j ■ In p o st-p ro d u ctio n
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-»LANTANA Beyond Films Principal Credits Director: Ray Lawrence Producer: Jan Chapman Scriptwriter: Andrew Bovell Based on the original play: Speaking in Tongues Production Crew 1st assistant director: Jamie Crofts DoP: Mandy Walker Cast Anthony La Paglia, Geoffrey Rush, Barbara Hershey, Kerry Armstrong, Rachael Blake, Vince Colosimo, Russell Dykstra^Daniella Farinacci, Peter Phelps, Leah Purcell, Glenn Robbins Synopsis Crossing the genre boundaries of thriller, mystery and romantic drama, 'Lantana' centres on a number of characters at a crucial time in their lives. They are connected by a series of coincidences involving misperception, infidelity and false assumption. The search for meaning by Leon, the main character, drives the narrative and by learning about the pain of others he comes to accept his own. LET’S GET SKASE Principal Credits Director: Matthew George Producers: John Tatoulis, Colin South, Sue Taylor Scriptwriters: Matthew George, Lachy Hulme Director of photography: Justin Brickie Production designer: Ralph Moser Composer: John Clifford White Cast Alex Dimitriades, Lachy Hulme Synopsis Anti-hero Peter Dellasandro and his posse of boys become men in the process of bringing Skase back from Majorca. The forces of good overcome all obstacles to triumph over the bad guys and a lot of laughs are had on the way. ->HILDEGARDE A Duck Film Pty Ltd Distribution: Providence Entertainment (US), UIP (Aust), BVHE (Aust)
Principal Credits Director: Di Drew Producers: Heather Ogilvie, David Hannay Associate Producer: Colleen Champ Scriptwriter: Gabrielle Prewergast Line Producer: Tom Hofge Art Department Production designer: Georgina Greenhill Post Production Editor: Ken James Cast Richard E Grant, Tom Long, Tara Morice, Gazelle B yrnes/^ Sam Geer, Dayne Hudson Synopsis Hildegarde, a much-loved family pet, is kidnapped by native bird smugglers. QUEEN OF THE DAMNED DQ Productions Principal Credits Director: Michael Rymer Producer: Jorge Saralegui, Su Armstrong Scriptwriters: Michael Petroni Cast Stuart Townsend, Aaliyah, Vincent Perez Synopsis Based on Anne Rice's Queen of the Damned - a modern-day vampire thriller tracing the story of Lestat (last seen in Interview With a Vampire) who has reinvented himself as a rock star. THE BANK Arenafilm Pty Ltd Principal Credits Director: Robert Connolly Producer: John Maynard Scriptwriter: Robert Connolly Director of Photography: Tristan Milani Editor: Nick Meyers Planning and development Casting: Mullinars Storyboard Artist: Tam Morris Onset Crew First Assistant Director: Phil Jones Production Manager: Elisa Argenzio Production Designer: Luigi Pittorino Sound Designer: Sam Petty Cast David Wenham, Sibylla BuddjS Steve Rodgers, Mitchell Butel -> CUBBYHOUSE Cubbyhouse Productions
Principal Credits Director: Murray Fahey Producers: Chris Brown, David Hannay Line producer: Tom Hoffie Executive producers: Gary Hamilton, Mikael Borglund Scriptwriters: Ian Coughlan, Murray Fahey Director of photography: Philip M. Cross ACS Sound: Greg Burgmann Production Crew Production designer: Sean Callinan Onset Crew Special fx make-up: Pro FX Special fx: Kevin Chisnall Art Department Art Director: Adam Head Post Production Editor: Brian Kavanagh CGI: Complete Post Cast Joshua Leonard, Belinda McClory, Amy Reti, Craig McLachlan Synopsis A family relocates from America to Australia and discovers that the house they've moved into is actually a gateway to Hell... and all hell is about to break loose. -»JET SET Black Frame Principal Credits Director: Jonathan Ogilvie Producer: Helen Bowden Scriptwriter: Jonathan Ogilvie Directors of photography: Simon Higgins, Jonathan Ogilvie Cast Sam Atwell, Jane Borghesi, Beth Champion Synopsis A series of flight delays gives a glimpse into the lives of a group of departing passengers. -» NIJINKSKI Iliumination Films and MusicArtsDance films Distribution: Sharmill Films (Aust) and WTV (World & US) Budget: 1.2 million Principal Credits Director: Paul Cox Producers: Paul Cox, Aanya Whitehead Executive producers: Kevin Lucas, William Marshall 'Scriptwriter: Paul Cox Based on the diaries of Vaslav Nijinsky
Composer: Paul Grabowsky Planning and Development Researchers: Leonie Verhoeven, Margot Wiburd Dance Consultant: Alida Chase Shooting schedule by: Aanya Whitehead Budgeted by: Aanya Whitehead Production Crew Insurer: Cinesure Completion guarantor: Film Finances Ltd Legal services: Marshalls and Dent On-set Crew Choreographers: Alida Chase, Leigh Warren Unit publicist: Catherine Lave lie Wardrobe Designer: Jilly Hickey Government Agency Investment Development: South Australian Film Corporation Production: South Australian Film Corporation, Australian Film Finance Corporation, SBS Independent Synopsis Vaslav Nijinsky was probably the greatest dancer of all time H the God of the Dance - and his ‘CahiersitiDiaries) must be one of the most extraordinary and moving literary works ever written. The film uses the words of Nijinsky, written in 1919 in St Moritz where he had retired, suffering extreme mental agony. -» RABBIT-PROOF FENCE Jabal Films Distribution: Ocean Films Principal Credits Director: Phillip Noyce Producers: Christine Olsen, Phillip Noyce Co-producer: John Winter Executive producers: David Elfick, Jeremy Thomas, Kathleen McLaughlin Associate producer: Laura Burrows Scriptwriter: Christine Olsen Director of photography: Christopher Doyle Production designer: Roger Ford Sound recordist: Bronwyn Murphy Planning and development Casting; Christine King Casting consultant: Colin Murdoch Extras casting: Christine King, Colin Murdoch, Angela
Hessom Drama coach: Rachel Maza Production Crew Production manager: Julie Sims Production co-ordinator: Suzanne Mallos Production secretary: Jessica Brentnall Location managers: Mark Evans, Maude Heath Transport manager: Linda Taylor Unit manager: Wil Milne Production assistant: Lucia Noyce Production runner: Chris Taylor Production accountant: Jane Smith Insurer: HW Wood Australia Pty Ltd Completion guarantor: Film Finances, Inc ^ Legal services: Nina Stevenson Travel co-ordinator: Linda Taylor Freight co-ordinator: AusFilm Transport: Logistics A Camera Crew 2nd unit DOP: Ian Jones Key Grip: Robbie Morgan Gaffer: Nick Payne Best Boy: Glen Jenkins Onset Crew 1st assistant director: Emma Schofield 2nd assistant director: Deb Antoniou 3rd assistant director: Julie Wilson (Adelaide), Eddie Thorne (Leigh Creek) 4th assistant director: Duan Kereru 2nd unit assistant director: Ross Farghar Continuity supervisor: Kristin Witcombe 2nd unit continuity: Lucia Noyce Unit publicist: Emma Cooper Catering: Evangeline Feary, Steve Marcus Films Catering Art Department Art director: Laurie Faen Assistant art director: Ben Morrieson Art department co-ordinator: Jocelyn Thomas Propsperson: Dean Sullivan Props buyer: Robert Webb Set decorator: Rebecca Cohen Standby props: Dean Sullivan Wardrobe Wardrobe supervisor: Ruth de la Lande Standby wardrobe: Julie Krogar
Cutter: Judith Matters Construction manager: John Moore Marketing International distributor: Hanway Films Publicity: Emma Cooper Cast Kenneth Branagh, David Gulpilul, Ningeli Lawford, Deborah Mailman, Jason Clarke Synopsis Rabbit-Proof Fence tells the true story of three Australian Aboriginal girls who are forcibly taken from their .outback families in 1931 to be trained as domestic servants as part of an official government policy. They escape and embark on an epic 1500-mile journey to get back home, with the authorities chasing them all the way.
Emboman, a God-like killer, hunts his victims through a subterranean maze.
Telefeatures ■ In p re-p ro d u ctio n
-»HALIFAX f.p. (Series 6) Beyond Simpson Le Mesurier Distribution: Beyond Distribution Duration: 3 x 100min Principal Credits Producers: Roger Le Mesurier, Roger Simpson Executive producers: Kris Noble, Mikael Borglund Scriptwriters: Peter Gawler, Katherine Thomson | Planning and Development Script editor: Vicki Madden j Budgeted by: Sue Edwards ! Production Crew | Production Associate: Andy Walker SUBTERANO Producer’s assistant: Anna Becker Films Mantzoros Completion guarantor: Film Distribution: REP Films Principal Credits Finances, Inc. Director: Esben Storm Legal services: Fiona Crago, Producers: Richard Becker, Beyond International Barbi Taylor | Travel co-ordinator: Cheryl Scriptwriter: Esben Storm Hawkins, Stage & Screen Director of photography: Travel Freight co-ordinator: Stage & Graeme Wood Screen Freight Production Designer: Chris Government Agency Kennedy »Investment Planning and Development Casting: Ann Faye Australian Film Finance Production Crew Corporation Production Manager: Jane Marketing Sullivan International sales agent: Production co-ordinator: Clare Beyond Distribution Shervington International distributor: Location manager: Peter Hicks Beyond Distribution On-set Crew Cast 1st assistant director: Chris Rebecca Gibney Webb Synopsis Unit publicist: Amanda Huddle Jane Halifax is a forensic Art Department psychiatrist, a psychological Art director: Scott Bird sleuth whose precinct is the Special Effects supervisor: dark side of the human mind. Peter Stubbs Retained by the police and the Wardrobe legal profession, Jane lives in Wardrobe designer: Tess a world of lies and shadows Schofield where the truth is never what Wardrobe supervisor: Katrina it seems. Pickering Marketing Publicity: Amanda Huddle ■ In p ost-p ro d u ctio n Cast Alex Dimitriades, Tasma LI'L HORRORS Walton, Chris Haywood, Alison December Films Australia Whyte Distribution: Beyond Synopsis International Subterano is a virtual Principal Credits holographic game in which Directors: Chris Langman, CINEMA PAPERS.FEBRUARY.MARCH.2001 [4 7 ]
Helen Gaynor, Declan Eames, Ralph Strasser Producers: Tony Wright, Stuart Menzies Executive producer: Tim Brooke Hunt Associate producer: Richard Mueck Story editors: Peter Hepworth, Jon Stephens Script editors: Jon Stephens, Adam Todd Script Assistant: Beverley McDonald Scriptwriters: Peter Hepworth, Robert Greenberg, Brendan Luno, Kevin Nemeth, Glen Dolman, Jamie Forbes, Nancy Groll, Claire Madsen, David Phillips, Hugh Stuckey, Anthony Watt, Annie Fox, Meg Mappin, Pepe Trevor, David Rapsey, John Thomson Director of photography: Jaems Grant Production designer: Otello Stolfo Composers: Al Mullins and Janine DeLorenzo Production Crew Production manager: Rachel Evans Production co-ordinator: Andrea Tulloch Producer’s assistant: Melanie Hailstone Production assistant: Bee Matthews Production assistant/Production runner: Anny Beresford Production accountant: Mandy Carter insurer: Holland Insurance Brokers Completion guarantor: Legal services: Roth Warren Solicitors Travel co-ordinator: Stage and Screen Travel Camera Crew Camera operator: David Lindsey Camera assistant: Andy Butt Camera type: Sony 790 Digital Beta cam Camera maintenance: Lemac Key grip: Jamie Leckie Gaffer: Jim Hunt, Dave Lovell Best boy: Dave Lovell, Warwick Brown Onset Crew 1st assistant director: Chris Page Assistant director: David Hart Continuity: Amy Barclay, Kay Hennessey Playback operator: Robert Hall
Special fx producer: Rebecca Tolliday, Unreal Pictures Special fx: David Nelson, Unreal Pictures Still photographer: Suzy Wood Art Department Art directors: Marian Murray, Liam Siddell Art department runner: Penelope Laurence Set dresser: Denise Goudy Props buyer: Denise Goudy Props makers: Hamish Alderson Hicks, Justin Dix, Ben Green, Lance Whitehouse Standby props: Michael Saunders Wardrobe Standby wardrobe: Fiona MacKinnon Construction Department Scenic artistjjLiam Siddell Construction manager: Ian (Kincade) Doig Leading hand: Lance Whitehouse 1 Post production Post-production supervisor: Sarah Harrington Fox Assistant editor: M aryjeanr^^ Watt Sound transfers by: Soundfirm Sound editor: PauLPJrola Musical directors: Al Mullins, Janine DeLorenzo Music performed by: Ridgidigital Music Recording studio: Soundfirm Foley: Soundfirm Mixed at: Soundfirm CGIs- Unreal Pictures Grader: Noel McWhirter Screen ratio: 16:9 Shooting stock: Digital Betacam Video transfers by: AAV Australia Offline facilities: Mr Kali Editing Video special fx: Unreal Pictures Video master by: AAV Australia Government Agency Investment Development: Australian Film Commission Marketing International sales agent: Beyond International International distributor: Beyond International Cast Voice cast: Ric Herbert, Paula Morrell, Rachel King, Richard Hart, Abbe Holmes, Michael King, Matthew King Puppeteers Richard Mueck, Imogen Keen,
[4 8 ] CINEMA PAPERS.FEBRUARY.MARCH.2001
Richard Hart, Simon Rann, Heath Mclvor, Hugh Simpson Synopsis A 52-part live action puppet sitcom set in a spooky gothic school run by a retired movie actress. It features the (mis-) adventures of a group of children who just happen to be rather familiar monsters as well. THE ROAD FROM COORAIN Chapman Pictures^ty L td ^ Principal Credits Producer: Penny Chapman Scriptwriter: Sue Smith Synopsis Based on Jill Ker Conway’s celebrated autobiography, this is the story of.a childhood. Set mainly^on the western plains of NSW, The Road From fCoorain is a witness to the M relationship between extraordinary women over a lifptime of a d v e rs ity ^
Documentaries
Producer: Sally Ingleton Director of photography: Philip Bull Post Production Editor: Ken Sallows Synopsis A documentary about a coastal town outside Melbourne where a small number of boat operators with differing philosophies compete to run dolphin swim tours. -» FROM KOREA WITH LOVE Iris Pictures Pty Ltd Principal Credits Director: Jennifer Cummins Producer: Jessica DouglasHenry Executive produces Courtney (Gibson ■Scriptwriter: Justine Flynn Director of photography: Chris Thorburn ■Sound recordist: Leo Sullivan ^Synopsis Follows an Anglo-Saxon couple going through the process of adopting a Korean baby.
■ In p re -p ro d uctio n THE SALT OF THE EARTH MAHATMA b AN DHI Glass Box Distribution: Glass Box Budget: $250,000 Principal Credits Director: Don Palmer Producer: Don Palmer Scriptwriters: Tom Weber, Don Palmer Based on the novel titled: On the Salt March by Tom Weber Director of photography: Michael Newling Researchers: Tom Weber Synopsis Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King. Albert Einstein and Aung San Suu Kyi have one thing in common: they were all inspired by the vision, dedication and ideas of Mahatma Gandhi. He is a household name but so few really understand why. Tom Weber has spent 20 years finding out and now takes us on a journey to see why Gandhi still rocks. ■ In p ro duction DOLPHINMANIA Singing Nomads Productions Principal Credits Director: Sally Ingleton
^AUSTRALIA: LAND BEYOND TIME Living Pictures Principal Credits Producers: David and Sue Flatman Director: David Flatman Scriptwriters: David Flatman, Reg Morrison Format: Imax Synopsis Australia: Land Beyond Time is a giant screen film about the ingenuity of life adapting to an ancient, largely arid environment, and the strategies many species have developed to survive the Earth's most challenging extremes. ■ In p ro du ctio n RETURN TO EDEN Artemis International Network: ABC Principal Credits Director: Celia Tait Producers: Brian Beaton, Celia Tait Executive Producerss: Brian Beaton, Peter Beilby, Dione Gilmour Scriptwriter: Celia Tait Format: Super! 6mm film Synopsis In the pristine landscape of
the north-west of Australia a battle for territory is being waged between two opposing forces: feral versus native animals. SMALL STEPS, GIANT STEPS Emerald Films Network: SBS Principal Credits Director: Sally Browning Producer: Sally Browning Associate Producer: Paola Garofali Director of photography: Roman Baska Editor: Emma Hay Script writer: Sally Browning Format: DVCam & DVC Pro Synopsis Autism is a disorder that affects one in every 1Q00 children born in Australia. Most children suffering autism are initially catagorised as "unreachable" and until recently institutionalisation was the favoured therapy. The film follows several children who are attending Giant Steps, a special school of holistic one-on-one therapy for affected children in Sydney, whose progress to communication has defied their initial diagnoses. KILLER INSTINCT EPIX Pty Ltd Distribution: Associated Television International Duration: 6x1 hour Principal Credits Director: Garry Gibson Producer: Michael Gibson Executive producers: Glenn Avini, Paul Sharratt, David McKenzie Associate producer: Tony Ryan Scriptwriters: Tony Ryan, MichetleWamer, Charles Boyle, Steven Waller, Gay Reid, Geoff Cooper. Director of photography: Vic Martin Editor: Marion Gibson.Ross Macintosh Composer: Gary Smith Sound designer: Rod Herbert Sound recordist: Evan Burrows Synopsis Killer Instinct is a six part, one hour television series that takes you to the scene of the stalking and right to the kill. You’re up close and personal
with animals using their power, cunning and special genetic abilities to survive. ANIMAL X - SERIES 2 Storyteller Productions Duration: 13x30 minutes Principal Credits Executive producers: Mike Searle, Jennifer Wilson, Tim Sparke Producers: Mike Searle, Nigel Swetenham. Jennifer Wilson, Melenie Ambrose, Linda Searle, Caroline Bertram, Karen Ross, Rebecca Kelsall, Daniel Brown, Denise Blazek, Suzanne Farrow Synopsis As with series: one, ANIMAL X - SERIES 2 investigates animal stories from around the world. From ghostly phenomena to lake monsters and mysterious sightings to unknown creatures. INSIDE THE AUSTRALIAN BALLET East Australian Film Company Duration: 60min Principal Credits Directors: Bob Hardie, Matthew Dow Producer: Bob Hardie Co-producer: Matthew Dow Synopsis The Australian Ballet Company is recognised as one of the world's best. This series examines the way the ballet company works and the personalities that drive it. One of the highlights is an international tour, including performances in the US. MALPA Caama Productions Pty Ltd Budget: $225,000 Principal Credits Director: Erica Glynn Producer: Priscilla Collins Executive producer: Priscilla Collins Scriptwriter: Kate Gillick Director of photography: Helen Barrow Sound recordist: Flavia Abdurahman Synopsis This unique documentary features the special working relationships between indigenous and nonindigenous women who work
out on remote indigenous communities. MR STREHLOW’S FILMS Journocam Productions Budget: SBS/FFC Accord Principal Credits Director: Hart Cohen Producer: Adrian Herring Scriptwriter: Hart Cohen Director of photography: Tony Wilson Sound recordist: Leo Sullivan Editor: James Bradley Synopsis A documentary about the life and work of pre-eminent and controversial Australian anthropologist and Arrernte linguist TGH Strehlow (19081978). Tracks the challenges Strehlow se tfo r himself as anthropologist and filmmaker, and the work currently underway to repatriate his collection to Arrernte communities in Central Australia.
R ecent funding decisio ns
little fishing village in outback South Australia, Deadly, Unna? is a contemporary story about two communities, the Goonyas (whites) and the Nungas (blacks), and the one thing they have in common the local Australian Rules football team. GARAGE DAYS Mystery Clock Cinema Pty Ltd Producer: Topher Dow, Alex Proyas Director: Alex Proyas Writers: Alex Proyas, Dave Warner, Michael Udesky Distribution: Fox Searchlight GARAGE DAYS is a film about a dream that almost every kid has had at least once in his or her life*- the dream of becoming a rock star. Freddy learns that there is more to being a rock star than just doing drugs and learning a few tunes, and realises that even after securing a gig on the main stage at the Big Day Out, it's still along way to the top if you want to rock and roll.
GOING PUBLIC (4 x 27 minute Accord documentary) Puzzle Media Pty Ltd Producers: Nigel Traill, Margie Bryant Director: Nigel Traill Presale: ABC TV They used to be cut-throat competitors, now they want to make each other rich. Going Public is the story of a group of very different people brining their private businesses together to created a major new public company, Buzzle.
SHADOW PLAY: INDONESIA'S FORGOTTON HOLOCAUST (52 minute documentary) Shadow Play Productions Pty Ltd Producers; Sylvie Le Clezio, Chris Hilton Director/writer: Chris Hilton Presales: SBSI, NPS, La Sept/Arte, YLE, TV Denmark, Soros Documentary Fund Distribution: Tachibana Publishing Inc, Daro Film Distribution SHADOW PLAY w ill be the first fu ll and frank account of what happened in Indonesia in 1965/66 leading up to the incredible slaughter of up to a million Indonesians, and the imprisonment without trial of hundreds of thousands more. This documentary w ill explore new evidence which implicates the British, American and Australian governments in this terrible campaign orchestrated by Suharto.
CHILD SOLDIERS (55 minute documentary) Electric Pictures Pty Ltd Producer: Andrew Ogilvie Director: Alan Lindsay Presales: ABC TV, OPB, RTHK Distribution: Carlton International Children are being forced and tricked into becoming soldiers by the thousands in more than 40 countries across the globe. This documentary depicts the lives of children in Africa, Asia and South America who have been through this trauma of
TROUBLED WATERS (52 minute Accord Documentary) Resonance Productions Producer: Jo-anne McGowan Directors: Ruth Balint, Erika Addis Writer: Ruth Balint Presales: SBS TROUBLED WATERS follows the story of two Indonesian fishermen captured at sea by Australian authorities. It tracks the journey from their traditional fishing grounds into the Australian penal
■ D o c u m e n ta ry ■ F eatu re Film s ->THE TRACKER Vertigo Productions Pty Ltd Producer/director/writer: Rolf de Heer Distribution: SBSI, PMP, Globe Entertainment, Intra Films A set of mountain ranges in the outback, 1922... horseback country, and the Fanatic leads the two other white men, the Follower and the Philosopher, and the Tracker, in the pursuit of the Fugitive. Through massacre and murder the hunt continues, until the clear-cut notions of truth and justice are subverted and the questions become not, w ill the Fugitive be caught, but what is black and what is white and who is leading whom? DEADLY, UNNA? Tidy Town Pictures Pty Ltd Producer: Mark Lazarus Director: Paul Goldman Writers: Phillip Gwynne, Paul Goldman Distribution: Palace, Beyond, PMP Showtime Australia, SBS Based on the novel by Phillip Gwynne and set in a shabby
child soldiering, or are presently ‘child soldiers’. -» DISTANT ECHOES (6 x 30 minute documentary series) CM Film Productions Producer: Carlo Buralli Director: Carmelo Musca Presales: Channel Nine Distribution: Tachibana Publishing Inc, Daro Film Distribution DISTANT ECHOES w ill focus on ceremonial and celebratory traditional music, how culture is shaped by music and the significant similarities and differences that exist between the music from different cultures.
system and portrays the poverty treadmill that result from practices of arrest and incarceration. XANANA - THE MAN, THE NATION (52 minute documentary) Talking Heads Productions Producer: Michael Rivette, Tracey Curro Director: Michael Rivette WritenTracey Curro, Michael Rivette Presales: Channel 7 Distribution: France Television Distribution Xanana Gusmao is East Timor’s most feted hero, poised to become president, when the new nation cements it’s freedom with the first democratic elections in its history late next year. By following the developing political and administrative processes through the man at its helm, and with personal exploration of the lives and needs of ordinary East Timorese families, this documentary w ill capture this devastated country's transition from occupied territory to independent, democratic state. ■ C h ild re n ’s T e le v is io n D ra m a HIGH 8 (26 x 30 minute mini series) Blueberry Productions Pty Ltd Executive Producer: Ewan Burnett Producer: Margot McDonald Writer: Marieke Hardy Presales: Network Sever, Disney Chanel UK, Disney Chanel Australia Distribution: Entertainment Rights PLC The video camera can be a tool of expression, exploration and communication. But it can also be an instrument of manipulation, secrecy and lies. High 8 depicts a group of young people facing the normal challenges of growing up, in and out of school, but using a camera in all its functions to learn about their lives. CINEMA PAPERS’ PRODUCTION REPORT IS COMPILED BYTAMI DOWER, EMAIL: TDOWER(aNICHE.COM.AU.
CINEMA PAPERS.FEBRUARY.MARCH.2001 [49]
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The many faces of Bjork
DANCER IN THE DARK
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INNOCENCE
VERTICAL LIMIT
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MALLBOY
CROUCHING TIGER HIDDEN DRAGON
BREAD AND TULIPS
[50] CINEMA PAPERS.FEBRUARY.MARCH.2001
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