Hello Mates, Father Geek here with the latest edition of our popular new column AICN-Downunder. But before we get to Tamsin's, and Norman's reports there is this bit on a NEW doco on MAD MAX that found itself on my desk this morning...
Just got this in my mail box and thought I'd foreward it to you as I know a lot of Aussies read your site. The doco is called WELCOME TO WHEREVER YOU ARE and is screening next week in Melbourne.
Cheers,
Craggles
And then there was this frantic E-Mail Father Geek received last night...
DID YOU HEAR????
Lucas is cutting a scene in Ep.2 where a speeder, or ship, or something crashes into a Coruscant building!!!!
I CAN'T BELIEVE THAT!
Yes the WTC tragedy was an awful, horrific event that deserves our respect and support, BUT THIS HAS GONE TOO FAR! I can understand Spiderman and A.I. and MIB2, but these films FEATURE THE WTC!!!!
Ep.2 is a FICTIONAL ENVIRONMENT! IT'S NOT EVEN CLOSE TO REALITY! And I KNOW that reason Lucas is doing this OTHER THAN respect for the victims and families is HE'S AFRAID EP.2 WILL SUFFER AT THE BOX OFFICE! That JERK! I thought he didn't give a damn how much money the movies make? He's filthy RICH anyhow! What a lying hypocrite! My respect for this man has plummeted!
Ferrell
Well... Here's Tamsin...
DOWNUNDER AICN FILM REPORT # 5
Tamsin here, this last week's horrific events have had an enormous impact on the world. I know how terrible everyone in Australia feels and I can only imagine how everyone is coping in the US and especially Washington D.C. and New York. I think just about everyone either knew someone or knew of someone living in New York and experience that sharp jab to the stomach each time they re-play the footage of the plane hitting the World Trade Center. But for even those who don't know anyone from this magnificent city, or someone who worked at the Pentagon, or a passenger from one of the planes, there is absolutely no doubt that this was a barbaric act perpetrated by a group who have no regard for human existence. Fundamentalism and living for the "after-life" allow individuals to justify living their life on this earth as murderers. We need to learn to live for now, appreciate the short lives that we have, and find the positive elements of a world which is full of wonderful things. If anyone has eaten luxurious Lindt chocolate while listening to the smooth perfect tones of a song sung by Mel Tormé or while watching CITIZEN KANE for the fifty-sixth time, they'll know what I mean. An event such as this always reminds us of our mortality. It should also make us stop before we yell at someone when they accidentally cut us off in traffic or the next time we punish our children for knocking over a glass of milk. In the greater scheme of things, it doesn't really matter.
It feels strange to jump from this massive event to the world of film but the show must go on...
FESTIVAL NEWS
TEMPTED at the Deauville Film Festival.
Tamsin here, this last week's horrific events have had an enormous impact on the world. I know how terrible everyone in Australia feels and I can only imagine how everyone is coping in the US and especially Washington D.C. and New York. I think just about everyone either knew someone or knew of someone living in New York and experience that sharp jab to the stomach each time they re-play the footage of the plane hitting the World Trade Center. But for even those who don't know anyone from this magnificent city, or someone who worked at the Pentagon, or a passenger from one of the planes, there is absolutely no doubt that this was a barbaric act perpetrated by a group who have no regard for human existence. Fundamentalism and living for the "after-life" allow individuals to justify living their life on this earth as murderers. We need to learn to live for now, appreciate the short lives that we have, and find the positive elements of a world which is full of wonderful things. If anyone has eaten luxurious Lindt chocolate while listening to the smooth perfect tones of a song sung by Mel Tormé or while watching CITIZEN KANE for the fifty-sixth time, they'll know what I mean. An event such as this always reminds us of our mortality. It should also make us stop before we yell at someone when they accidentally cut us off in traffic or the next time we punish our children for knocking over a glass of milk. In the greater scheme of things, it doesn't really matter.
It feels strange to jump from this massive event to the world of film but the show must go on...
FESTIVAL NEWS
TEMPTED at the Deauville Film Festival.
It feels strange to jump from this massive event to the world of film but the show must go on...
FESTIVAL NEWS
TEMPTED at the Deauville Film Festival.
TEMPTED at the Deauville Film Festival.
Bill Bennett's TEMPTED (director of KISS OR KILL) had its world premiere at The Deauville Film Festival. Starring Burt Reynolds and Saffron Burrows this largely improvised film follows the story of a wealthy, jealous older man who tests his young wife with a "tempting" younger lover.
AWARDS
Recently held were The AWGIES (Australian Writers' Guild Awards) with top honours going to ONE NIGHT THE MOON (Best Television Original and the Golden Awgie), LANTANA (Best Adapted Screenplay), and MULLET (Best Original Screenplay).
MOULIN ROUGE choreographer, John O'Connell, has received an American Choreography Award nomination for his amazing work on MOULIN ROUGE. Veteran choreographer of stage and screen, some of John O'Connell's other credits include ROMEO & JULIET, MURIEL'S WEDDING, and the upcoming THE QUIET AMERICAN. Also nominated in the film category of the American Choreography Awards are Randy Duncan and Fatima Robinson for SAVE THE LAST DANCE, Peter Darling for BILLY ELLIOTT and Bill and Jacqui Landrum for OH BROTHER WHERE ART THOU. The Awards will be held at the El Capitan Theatre in LA on October 14th, 2001.
NEW ZEALAND NEWS
The New Zealand Film Production Fund has announced THE WHALE RIDER as the first film to be produced under this new scheme. Based on a novel by Witi Ihimaera, the film has a budget of NZ$10 million and will be directed by Niki Caro. The film is described as a "contemporary story of love, rejection and triumph as a young girl fights to fulfil her destiny" and will start shooting at the end of this year.
NEW ZEALAND WEB SITE OF THE WEEK
THE NEW ZEALAND FILM ARCHIVE
http://www.nzfa.org.nz/
Film archives are one element of the film-making process which too often is overlooked but is vital for the preservation of film as both a record of the art-form and of the time it was created. The New Zealand Film Archive web site offers information regarding the history of New Zealand film and the importance of film archives. Without dedicated archivists, film past and present will be lost forever.
Looking forward to a better week next week.
Tamsin
tamsin@aintitcoolmail.com
Annnnnnnd now on to Norman and AICN-Downunder part 2...
Before I start, my greatest sympathies to all the families and friends affected by last Tuesday's tragedies. And a brief wish that while many of us are justifiably concerned with revenge, we try - in our own, small ways - to make our world a better, happier, more peaceful place. A place in which our conversations about movies, and the culture that creates them, can continue.
'GARAGE DAYS' GOES LIVE
tamsin@aintitcoolmail.com
Annnnnnnd now on to Norman and AICN-Downunder part 2...
Before I start, my greatest sympathies to all the families and friends affected by last Tuesday's tragedies. And a brief wish that while many of us are justifiably concerned with revenge, we try - in our own, small ways - to make our world a better, happier, more peaceful place. A place in which our conversations about movies, and the culture that creates them, can continue.
'GARAGE DAYS' GOES LIVE
Before I start, my greatest sympathies to all the families and friends affected by last Tuesday's tragedies. And a brief wish that while many of us are justifiably concerned with revenge, we try - in our own, small ways - to make our world a better, happier, more peaceful place. A place in which our conversations about movies, and the culture that creates them, can continue.
'GARAGE DAYS' GOES LIVE
* Alex Proyas' next film will film live at the Homebake music festival in 2001. GARAGE DAYS is a "coming of age comedy about the aspirations of a young Sydney rocknroll band" and the actors which comprise the band - Kick Gurry (BUFFALO SOLDIERS), Pia Miranda (LOOKING FOR ALIBRANDI), Chris Sandrinna, and Brett Stiller - will be filmed on stage singing a song written by local muso Dave McCormack (of the band Custard). Homebake will take place at the Domain in Sydney, on December 8. Other notables in the cast include Maya Stange (IN A SAVAGE LAND) and the wonderful Tiriel Mora (THE CASTLE) - perhaps doing a turn as a dodgy band manager? Trust me, he's got that sort of face... Shooting is set to wrap just after Homebake, on December 14.
MORE DIRTY DEEDS
* Casting update on the tantalising-sounding Oz-60s-gangster flick directed by David Caesar... along with (welcome back) Toni Collette you've got Sam Neill, Bryan Brown (can he top his crim turn from TWO HANDS?), William McInnes, and Felix Williamson. Synopsis of the script, also written by Caesar, "an action-packed comedy set in Sydney in the 1960s amid the world of organised crime". Shooting on this Sydney production started on August 3.
EBERT GOES ALL NUTTY OVER OLD PEOPLE BONKING
* Spotted online this week was an absolute rave from one of my favourite movie critics, Roger Ebert. The film is INNOCENCE by veteran Oz director Paul Cox, and the word from the slobber-stained, four star review is "This is the kind of film that makes critics want to reach out and shake their readers... this movie is so wise about love it makes us wonder what other love stories think they are about." I'm embarrassed to say that I missed INNOCENCE during its Melbourne run, but Ebert's rave has me looking around my local video shop. I'd urge you to check out Ebert's review, followed soon after by Cox's film.
YES, IT'S ANOTHER STORY ABOUT THE MATRIX
* Anyway, that cattle call audition I mentioned last week took place, and although none of the bleedin' auditionees sent us in any reports, there were a couple posted on thematrixonline.com. Check them out for detailed info, meanwhile the highlights were probably... that for the purposes of the auditionees, the Matrix sequels would be codenamed "The Burly Man" (anyone know the story behind this? Joke, obscure reference?)... That the auditionees, if they matched a certain body size, were stood against a lifesized cut-out of Agent Smith (aka Hugo Weaving)... That filming will take place between 24 September and June 2002... and that the auditioners were after about 75-150 Hugo Weaving look-a-likes.
MORE ON BLACK AND WHITE
* I reported recently that Robert Carlyle is popping up in an Australian-filmed production soon, and a more detailed synopsis has popped up for BLACK AND WHITE. "Based on a real miscarriage of justice, the film tells a compelling story of right and wrong. Young lawyer, David O'Sullivan takes on a legal case in which it is soon clear that the Aboriginal person on trial has been framed by the local police. O'Sullivan finds himself embarking on a David and Goliath battle that threatens the world of closed ranks, hidden evidence and the establishment." Sounds a bit TV-movie for my liking, but I have faith in the screenwriter Louis Nowra to pull a powerful film out of this material...
SIX MONTHS ON A LEAKY BOAT...
SIX MONTHS ON A LEAKY BOAT...
* Richard Franklin (PSYCHO 2) has embarked on an interesting project titled VISITORS. It's the story of a solo circumnavigator, Georgia Perry, in a 44-foot sloop. She's been sailing for six months until the wind drops and she is becalmed for several days and things start to get... well, weird. Local scribe Everett De Roche (LONG WEEKEND, RAZORBACK etc) has tackled this sort of area before, notably on the schlocky but fairly fun PATRICK, way back in 1978 - which was also directed by Franklin. Nice to see these old sparring partners getting back together, 23 years later.
