RECOLLECTIONS OF FILMING THE ANZACS WITH PAUL HOGAN

times, not to just laugh out loud, he was a bloody beauty.

Paul Hogan and I have remained good mates, we are around the same age. I remember when he started with Mike Willisee, then the cigarette adds. When Paul lived on Mullholand Drive in LA, I would visit him when I was there filming MURDER

I accepted this production to play Lieutenant Armstrong, which later became Captain Armstrong because of my interest in WW1, and my interest in the role. If there is no scripted background to a character, then it is up to the actor, with the director’s knowledge to construct this. I created Armstrong, who was to be a leader in this production with a gentle background, possibly still living with his parents, a school teacher perhaps. Having read the script, a 10 hour mini-series, I established the moments when he would be under the most stress, the moments that he needed to be a leader, so I played him with fears he hid from all others. Not so much fears for himself, but for the young men he would need to order into battle, their fears. His orders would lead to the death of his men, young men unprepared for the horrors of trench warfare. To Armstrong it was not just the death and brutality of war. It was the parents and wives of his men that would be felt back home. This internalised fear I played in Armstrong’s leadership was to finally be what destroys him as a leader, until his health, both physical and mental was not something he could control, so he was sent home as the story came to its conclusion……. Ending with the first Anzac Day Memorial back in Australia, a very emotional moment for all the actors. One of the cast members was my old pal Paul Hogan. Paul was by no means new to being in front of a camera, but that was the comic genius. Paul, who made us all laugh at his gags and comic storytelling, creating characters of identifiable connection to us all. But here he was to play a character with an ensemble of actors, all working in harmony, telling each character’s story, so for Paul this was new in a sense. Paul created his character who was a gambler, a wheeler dealer with little respect for authority, especially the British officers, these moments were a joy for us all to watch, and difficult at

SHE WROTE or THE LAST FRONTIER, I spoke with him just recently, I hope we get to work together again.

I loved everything about THE ANZACS, the sets, costumes, makeup, the directors were all sensational and an extremely talented cast of actors.

Quigley Downunder

Quigley was a wonderful shoot. It was a script that I had heard of many times in the past years. It had bounced around Hollywood decades ago, with the possibility of big named actors attached to it, Steve McQueen, Clint Eastwood and several other actors. Then Tom Selleck, put his name onto the project, and finally it was up and running. I was asked to play Dobkin, the foreman to the brilliant actor Alan Rickman.

I had many scenes and opportunities to work with this actor, whose loss to the film world not long after this film was released, was a sadness to all who knew him. The love interest was to be played by the sensational Laura San Giacomo. With the main location being Alice Springs, which I have always loved, and at the time not embroiled in the tragedy that is currently inflicted on this beautiful town, the Alice will survive this and move forward. My fellow Aussies in this Australian Western were all actors of interest Ben Mendelson, Jerome Ehlers, Ron Haddrick, Chris Haywood, Steve Dodd and my good self. I can recall being asked to officially open a sensational bar/restaurant there, “Bojangles’’ many a great night was had there. My hope was that Quigley would start other western based stories to film here of this genre. I have been fortunate to have done several with this Australian western feel, The Man from Snowy River, Inn of the Dammed, and The Lighthorsemen. Films with horses, fabulous locations, great scripts and passionate actors will do me

The upcoming young actor to play my son and the lead was Ryan Kwanten with his love interest being a very interesting actress from New Zealand Simone Kessell. The story revolved around international Surfing competitions, their girls, drugs and prison. Ryan’s character had a dream of facing and resolving his fears, his father (me) had fears for his son being able to do this, so family conflict was also an important aspect of this story. This conflict infected his friends as well as the family, a perfect time for bad people to take advantage of my son’s confusion for their own agenda. My character was a paraplegic, having broken his back surfing waves, which my son now wanted to ride, to prove himself……. I am always drawn to roles, characters that are flawed, or need to prove something to themselves or others, so this role was another character of interest for me. The prison sequences within this film are indeed interesting….. this is a fine film for the budget they had to work with. I applaud the director Phil Avalon, to put on screen what he has for this budget was sensational. His love and understanding of surfing underpinned his ability to do this.

Film making is a tough business. You need passion.

REFLECTIONS & RECOLLECTIONS COURTESY OF TONY BONNER AM

Reflections Of Filming Liquid Bridge

Right from the get go, I found script/story and characters interesting. The writer, Pim Hendricks had attached several interesting story lines, interwoven with the major aspect of this film. So when the producer/director and old friend Phil Avalon asked me about playing Bob McCallum, the leading character’s father I was in. There were several other salient reasons for my quick acceptance, script was fine, the production was going to be excellent, but what was a winner for me was the strong and committed cast. The sadly departed super actress, Carmen Duncan was to play my wife.

TONY BONNER AM has appeared in an eclectic mix of critically acclaimed films, television shows and live theatre during his phenomenal career. He was nominated for “The Best Actor in a supporting role’’ by The Australian Film Institute in 2003 for the film “LIQUID BRIDGE’’ and received a “Lifetime Achievement Award’’ from The Australian Screen Industry Network Awards’’ in 2011.

Bonner was appointed a “MEMBER OF THE ORDER OF AUSTRALIA’’ (AM) in 2017 for his services to the performing arts as an actor, surf lifesaving and to the community through charitable organisations.