Matt's Blog

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 07 November 2011

  

The Brisbane International Film Festival is now well underway and I’ve seen a mixed bag of films so far.  A few early movies left me going “meh” but things have improved over the past 48 hours.

 

Crowd numbers seem to be strong (at least at the films I’ve attended).  A screening of The Human Centipede 2 at 12:30am on Sunday morning was sold out – that says it all I think. 

 

Not so impressive what was happened after the film.  Here’s what happened according to the Facebook post – “POOH FOUND IN FOYER - is it yours? Yes that's right folks I just spoke to a very dismayed Jordan Bastian from Tribal Theatre in Brisbane who tells me that not only did 2 people faint at the screening of THE HUMAN CENTIPEDE 2 last night, but someone also did a huge POOH (read SHIT) in the foyer! Some poor staff member had to scoop it up this morning but apparently it was pretty damn disgusting and ...pretty damn huge! I guess it's kinda funny but it's also quite disgusting, I honestly feel for the poor girl who spent the morning scooping it up.”

 

Just when you’ve thought you seen everything, huh?

 

Don’t let that detract you from getting to BIFF over the remaining days.  It runs until Sunday and tickets are still available for most sessions.

 

Here’s a look at what I’ve seen so far.  I’m using a score out of 5 (as opposed to my normal gradings) because that’s how I was required to vote on the BIFF audience forms that you hand in at the end of each movie.

 

Tabloid

 

This documentary is about a former beauty queen who kidnapped her ex-boyfriend and used him as a sex slave for 3 days in 1977.  The story made headlines around the globe for being so bizarre.  The topic is interesting but I was hoping to hear events from a few more perspectives (e.g. such as the authorities).  We only get a limited view and I’m none the wiser as to what really happened.  Score:  3/5.

 

This Is Not A Film

 

The backstory to this film (if that’s what we call it) is more interesting than the film itself.  Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi was banned from making movies for 20 years and placed under house arrest.  With the help of a friend, he somehow made a documentary about his life cooped up at home and he smuggled it out of the country on a USB stick hidden inside a cake.  It’s a sad story but listening to Panahi talk about his life and his previous works couldn’t hold my attention all the way through.  Score: 3/5.

 

Higher Ground

 

Two friends of mine enjoyed this but I was disappointed by Vera Farmiga’s directorial debut.  I didn’t know what the film wanted to say and it seems to go along at such a slow pace.  Maybe it was just an allergic reaction to some of the religious themes.  Score: 2/5.

 

A Dangerous Method

 

There’s been a lot of hype surrounding this film but I found David Cronenberg’s latest to be a tad disappointing.  All three characters are trying to outsmart each other through the power of persuasive argument but parts went over my head.  It also felt like we’d only seen part of the story.  I’d have preferred to have seen the sequel – to discover why Carl Jung became such a brilliant psychiatrist.  Score: 3/5.

 

Le Harve

 

Le Harve is a sweet French drama centring on a guy with a sick wife who befriends a young illegal immigrant and helps him flee the country.  If you believe in the saying that “good things happen to good people” then you’ll enjoy this.  A lovely drama.  Score: 4/5.

 

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

 

Crime / spy thrillers are one of my favourite genres and Tinker Tailor Solider Spy is worth your money.  It’s an anti-Hollywood movie.  We don’t have some cool spy who finds all the clues with apparent ease.  Instead, we have an old man who hardly says a word – waiting for others to open their mouths and reveal their secrets.  The cast is terrific and so too is the 1950s décor.  Score: 4/5.

 

The Human Centipede 2

 

I’ll be honest – this features the most shocking material that I’ve ever seen on the big screen.  The film has no plot and I wouldn’t ever suggest that you go out and see it.  That said, it was worth it just for the experience and the audience reactions were priceless.  Score: 3/5.

 

Take Shelter

 

Take Shelter features a fantastic performance from Michael Shannon as a guy has these visions of an apocalyptic event.  My problem with this film is that it didn’t end in a satisfying manner and there were a few plot developments that didn’t sit right with me.  Score: 3/5.

 

Tyrannosaur

 

Tyrannosaur is easily the best film I’ve seen so far – a heartfelt drama about two very unlikely people who form an important connection.  He’s a violent man who lives alone and is on a path of self-destruction.  She’s a religious woman who is abused by her husband at home.  I was blown away by this movie and the mesmerizing performances by both Peter Mullan and Olivia Colman deserve awards attention.  Score: 5/5.

 

I’ve got 10 more films to see over the next 6 days and hopefully I’ll have a lot more good news to report in next week’s blog.

   

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 30 October 2011

 

The Brisbane International Film Festival starts on Tuesday (November 1) and runs for 12 days.  If you want to know what’s on offer, you can check out my blog from a few weeks ago – 10 Reasons To Get To BIFF 2011 – by clicking here.

 

Tickets are selling fast and I believe some sessions are already close to sold out.  Opening night should be particularly big with two cinemas showing Attack The Block up at the Palace Barracks.

 

In this week’s Film Pie blog, I thought I’d run through the films I’m booked in to see at the Festival.  My tickets are already secured and if all goes to plan, I’ll be at each of these films.  Hopefully I’ll see a few followers from Facebook / Twitter there as well.  BIFF is always a fun event and there are plenty of films worth seeing.

 

On that note, here’s my program for 2011 (with plot descriptions from the BIFF website)…

 

Tabloid – Tuesday, 1 November at 7pm (Palace Centro)

 

In 1977, an American beauty queen named Joyce McKinney travelled to England, kidnapped her Mormon ex-lover, bound him to a bed and kept him as a sex slave for three days. The British tabloid press went bananas, turning the titillating tale into a media frenzy, and McKinney became notorious overnight.  Now the ever-incisive Errol Morris (The Fog of War) brings us McKinney's side of the tale - but who, if anyone, is giving us the straight story?

 

Attack The Block – Thursday, 3 November at 7pm (Palace Barracks)

 

For Moses and his gang, an ordinary evening of time-wasting and petty felony takes an unexpected turn when they stumble across an intergalactic interloper. It's safe to say that ET isn't phoning home once the crew are done with him, but it isn't long before a whole legion of interstellar invaders are crashing to earth around the council estate, with the youths gearing up to defend their tower block against the alien menace.

 

Higher Ground – Friday, 4 November at 6:30pm (Palace Barracks)

 

Based on Carolyn Briggs's memoir, This Dark World, Higher Ground follows the life and passions of Corinne Walker (played by actor-director Vera Farmiga) as she moves from childhood to maturity, and with it from the ecstatic embrace of Christian fundamentalism to a state of secular doubt.

 

A Dangerous Method – Friday, 4 November at 9pm (Palace Barracks)

 

Under the lengthening shadows of the impending Great War, a young, ambitious Carl Jung (Michael Fassbender) takes on the unbalanced Sabina Spielrein (Keira Knightley) as a patient, a student and eventually a lover. When Jung travels to Vienna to seek the advice of the great Sigmund Freud (Viggo Mortensen), the two form a fledgling friendship - one soon to be threatened by jealousy and obsession.

 

Le Harve – Saturday, 5 November at 7pm (Palace Barracks)

 

When a cargo-load of illegal immigrants mistakenly lands in the port town of Le Havre the authorities capture all but one: wide-eyed Idrissa, a young African trying to make his way to London. Local shoe shiner Marcel enlists the townsfolk to help hide him, as they try to raise the money needed to help him escape - meanwhile a snitch neighbour and a hard-nosed inspector do their best to hunt down the refugee.

 

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy – Saturday, 5 November at 9pm (Palace Barracks)

 

British intelligence officer George Smiley (Gary Oldman) finds himself yanked out of retirement, charged with unearthing a Soviet spy who has seemingly infiltrated the upper echelons of the secret service.  Swedish director Tomas Alfredson (Let The Right One In) has turned his unerring hand to this adaptation of John le Carré's tangled novel of cold war espionage, portraying a chilling world of ambiguity and paranoia.

 

The Human Centipede 2  -  Saturday, 5 November at 11:59pm (Tribal Theatre)

 

Inspired by watching of The Human Centipede, a depraved actor decides to emulate the film and construct his own human centipede, only this time with twelve people instead of three. And... that's about it for the plot.

 

Take Shelter – Sunday, 6 November at 1:30pm (Palace Barracks)

A film that walks the line between fear and paranoia, this taut thriller is set partially inside the mind of family man Curtis LaForche (Michael Shannon). Or is it? That is the question before the audience: are the dreams and visions of an apocalyptic storm real or imaginary?

 

Happy Happy – Tuesday, 8 November at 6:30pm (Tribal Theatre)

 

Desperately lonely Kaja and hyper-repressed Erik share a marriage as frosty as the Norwegian winter they're currently suffering through. However, when the urbane Sigve and Elisabeth move in next door - ostensibly to escape Elisabeth's recent affair - a powder keg of repressed sexual energy is unleashed, with devastatingly comic consequences.

 

My America – Tuesday, 8 November at 8:30pm (Tribal Theatre)

 

Growing up in the gloomy socialist backwaters of 1980s Hungary, Peter Hegedus looked to America and Arnold Schwarzenegger for his dream of a better world: a world of justice, explosions and freedom. But 30 years later, everything has changed. America is failing, Arnie's best days are behind him and Peter, now living in Brisbane, is not entirely sure he's still allowed to believe in the USA.

 

Melancholia – Wednesday, 9 November at 6:30pm (Palace Barracks)

 

Celebrating her lavish wedding, Justine (Kirsten Dunst, in a performance that won best actress at Cannes) notices something amiss in the evening sky: a prominent star has been blocked out. As her wedding falls apart, and her life spirals downward into misery, the astrological anomaly is explained: the star was blocked by the planet Melancholia, which is now hurtling toward a collision with Earth.

 

Goodbye, First Love – Thursday, 10 November at 6:30pm (Palace Barracks)

 

Fifteen-year-old Camille tumbles headlong into a passionate relationship with the older Sylvain, and when he leaves for South American she is shattered. Over the years she gradually repairs her heartbreak, but when Sylvain unexpectedly reappears, the flames of her youthful passion flicker painfully back into life.

 

The Trouble With St Mary’s – Thursday, 10 November at 8:30pm (Palace Barracks)

 

Same-sex marriage. Questioning the Pope. De-virginising Mary. This is the story of a rogue Brisbane priest, Father Peter Kennedy, and his breakaway flock.  Excommunicated by the Vatican in 2009 for his apostasy, Kennedy led his one-thousand-strong flock on to a new religious life. But as these parishioners follow their fallen priest, are they moving closer toward God or constructing a new messiah in His absence?

 

Martha Marcy May Marlene – Friday, 11 November at 7pm (Tribal Theatre)

 

After escaping from an abusive cult run by a charismatic Charles Manson-esque leader (played for maximum creepiness by John Hawkes of Winter's Bone and Deadwood), Martha reconnects with a sister she hasn't seen in two years. As she attempts to re-assimilate back into society, she finds her past reaching out to claim her.

 

A Bitter Taste Of Freedom – Friday, 11 November at 9pm (Palace Barracks)

 

When Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya was murdered in 2006, her death became a symbol of the unravelling state of Russia's democratic experiment. Vaunted for her courageous investigations into Russian crimes in Chechnya, Politkovskaya in the end paid for her idealism with her life.  Directed by close friend and acclaimed documentary maker Maria Goldovskaya, A Bitter Taste of Freedom provides a deep personal insight into the final years of Politkovskaya's life.

 

The Skin I Live In – Saturday, 12 November at 6:30pm (Palace Barracks)

 

Brilliant plastic surgeon Robert Ledgard (a commanding performance from Antonio Banderas) splits his time between work and experimenting on Vera (Elena Anaya), the beautiful woman he has locked away on his second floor, whose skin he is slowly replacing with a new synthetic substance. Driven by love and something far, far darker, their experiments threaten to erase the very essence of their humanity.

 

Comic-Con Episode IV: A Fan’s Hope – Sunday, 13 November at 12pm (Palace Centro)

 

Straight from its sell-out sessions at Toronto Film Festival last month, the latest doco romp from Morgan Spurlock (Super Size Me) explores the pop culture phenomenon of the annual San Diego Comic-Con.  Spurlock reportedly had as many as 26 cameras rolling at any one time to capture the thousands of cosplay enthusiasts, über-fans, gamers, cult movie buffs and anime nerds who swarm Comic-Con in the hope of glimpsing heroes like Joss Whedon, Kevin Smith, Stan Lee and Frank Miller.

 

Australian Shorts 2 – Sunday, 13 November at 3pm (Tribal Theatre)

 

Will you find the next Scorsese, Tarkovsky or Charles Chauvel amongst this all-Australian selection of shorts? You wont know until you try.

 

 

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 24 October 2011

   

In this week’s blog, I wanted to mention that I’ve launched a new radio show on ABC Digital.  We’ve actually done a few shows already but I wanted to get the format settled before I started promoting it.

 

Every Sunday afternoon between 1pm and 3pm (AEST), the ABC studios in Brisbane run two hours of programming across Australia on the ABC Digital channel.  This can be accessed online (at www.612live.com) or by anyone with a digital radio.

 

You’d normally find sports aired on your local ABC station on a Sunday afternoon but the purpose of this new programming is to give listeners an alternative.  The sport can now be heard on ABC Grandstand.

 

I’ve been lucky enough to secure a 30 minute segment every second Sunday at 1:30pm AEST (or 12:30pm Brisbane time).

 

As part of the show, I’ll be getting in a special guest critic to co-host.  We’ll talk about some of the better films that have been released, play a few clips, chat to some filmmakers and debate what’s happening in the industry.  I’ve also included a special spot where I’ll play one of my favourite film scores.  The name of the film isn’t revealed until after it’s played so hopefully it’ll keep you guessing.

 

So many major film critics are based in Sydney or Melbourne so hopefully this will allow Brisbane critics to find their voice and get people enthused about going to the movies.

 

The show isn’t currently podcasted but I’m hoping to remedy that early next year.  In the meantime, make sure you tune in on Sunday afternoons!  You won’t regret it.  This Sunday, I’ll be talking about Drive, Contagion and Midnight In Paris and also having a fun chat about movie trailers and how much they should give away.

 

Whilst there are no official podcasts as yet, I was lucky enough to get Spencer Howson to upload by 1 hour Toronto Film Festival spot onto the 612ABC Breakfast Blog.  We couldn’t include the music segments (due to copyright) but you can listen to it by clicking here.

 

It’s a long show so here’s an index if you want to jump to a particular bit.  The show came together quite well and I hope you enjoy it.  It’s a great way of summing up the amazing 8 days that I spent in Toronto.

 

00:00 – Introduction

06:30 – Talking with director Fernando Meirelles (City Of God) about his new film 360.

08:30 – Review of The Artist

10:00 – Review of The Descendants and talking with director Alexander Payne (Sideways) and George Clooney

13:30 – Review of Albert Nobbs

16:00 – Review of 50/50 and talking with writer Will Reiser, director Jonathan Levine and star Seth Rogen

21:00 – Review of Take This Waltz

23:00 – A funny Q&A story at Violet & Waltz with Saoirse Ronan

24:00 – Talking about the Australian films screening at Toronto

25:30 – Review of Eye Of The Story and talking with director Fred Schepisi and star Charlotte Rampling

28:30 – Review of The Hunter

32:00 – Talking about the many programs that make up the Festival each year

33:00 – Talking with programmer Kate Lawrie Van De Ven about how she picks films to screen at the Festival

34:30 – Review of The Student and talking with director Santiago Mitre

37:30 – Talking about the importance of the People’s Choice Award

40:00 – Talking with Geoffrey Rush about last year’s TIFF success story, The King’s Speech

42:00 – Talking about this year’s People’s Choice Award winner, Where Do We Go Now?

44:00 – Talking about what else I got up to in the USA

 

A quick reminder in case you haven’t seen it already, but you can check out all my video blogs from Toronto by clicking here.

  

Details

Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 16 October 2011

The Cup has now been released in Australian cinemas and it’s one of our biggest releases of the year given its $15m budget.  I recently had the chance to speak with the director and star of the film to find out how it all got made.

 

You can download an abbreviated version of the interview on my website by clicking here or you can listen to the full version on 612ABC Breakfast Blog by clicking here.

 

Matt:  We’re talking this morning with actor Stephen Curry and writer-director-producer Simon Wincer about the latest Australian film, The Cup.  Guys, good morning.

 

Stephen:  Thank you very much for having us.

 

Matt:  The film is based on the 2002 Melbourne Cup.  Jockey Damien Oliver rode Media Puzzle to victory just a few days after his older brother was killed.  So even without the benefit of the movie it is an event that I can remember from 9 years ago and I know a lot of other people would as well.  I guess I’ll start by asking if you guys are horse racing fans?

 

Simon:  I’m not particularly a horse racing fan.  I follow the Melbourne Cup as every Australian does.  I just think it’s a great background for a film.  This isn’t so much a film about horse racing but it’s about triumph over tragedy and the triumph of the human spirit.

 

Stephen:  I’m a fan of big horse races but have been to the races and not seen a horse.  So I’m more a fan of dressing up in a nice suit.

 

Matt:  That seems more common than not these days.  It’s why a lot of young people go to the races.

 

Stephen:  Look, it’s been a big learning curve for me.  To be able to get a look at what happens inside the racing world has been really fascinating.  It’s been an amazing experience.

 

Matt:  Simon, where did you start from trying to put this script together as the event itself would have already had a lot of documented footage and a lot of media interviews and such?  How did you get to know the key characters in this story and put a screenplay together?

 

Simon:  Mainly by talking to everybody.  The idea ironically came from an American from Dallas, Texas called Eric O’Keefe who I co-wrote the screenplay with.  He was a journalist who had interviewed me in America about a western I was doing with Tom Selleck.  I was finishing that film in Los Angeles when the 2002 Melbourne Cup was run.

 

Eric rang and asked me to look into the Cup.  He said that some of his friends had just gotten back from Australia and they’d told this story about a jockey that had ridden back to scale and 100,000 people were crying.  He said I think there might be a magazine article in it.

 

I went back to Australia and I looked at all the footage and media coverage and thought wow, this is unbelievable.  I rang Eric and said this is a Hollywood movie, not a magazine article!  He wasn’t sure how to write a screenplay so we agreed to write it together and that’s how it came into being.

 

Matt:  So how easy was it getting in touch with the key characters in the film?  Like Damien Oliver and Lee Freedman and Dermot Weld?

 

Simon:  The Victorian Racing Club (VRC) has been fantastic.  They introduced me to Damien and to Dermot Weld and all the various players in the piece.  Everyone was on side because they saw this as a very positive look at the racing world but as I said, racing is the background to the movie.  The foreground is Damien’s anguish during this terrible time in his life and how he overcame it.

 

Matt:  Stephen, did you get to speak to Damien before the film to work out how to play him?

 

Stephen:  Yeah, I did.  He was very generous.  I spent a lot of time with him and he let me tag along like his little annoying brother who would come and nip at his heels at race meetings, barrier trials and various things.  Also, his mate and manager Neil Pinner was a big help.  They have as vested an interest as anybody as seeing this story told in the right way.

 

They were fantastic from the “get go” and no question was too prickly.  They were so open and honest about something that was such a horrible time in their lives.  Ultimately it was a triumphant moment but at it’s core is this tragic story of not only Jason’s death but Ray’s death 25 years earlier.

 

Matt:  Did you get to talk to Damien after he saw the film for the first time?

 

Stephen:  I did and it’s a bit of a story actually.  I watched it for the first time in its entirety with Damien watching it for the first time with his wife Trish.  They were in front of me and I was kind of swapping between the screen and them.

 

It was really quite confronting because I knew that if they didn’t like it then we’d failed.  If they don’t think that it pays due homage to Jason and to Ray and to the entire family then we shouldn’t have been there in the first place.

 

Thankfully at the end of it, we all kind of shed a tear.  Both Damien and Trish said they loved it and that Jason would have loved it.  That was the feedback we needed.

 

Matt:  I have to admit that I shed a tear as well.  The ending of the film comes together so well.

 

Simon:  It’s very powerful.  The key is that if you can share this emotional journey that Damien goes through, you’ll share in the triumph at the end of the film as well.

 

Matt:  Stephen, can you talk us through the weight loss?  I just went and saw Hugh Jackman in Real Steel where he had to build himself up for the role.

 

Stephen:  Yep, I’m very similar to Hugh Jackman in terms of looks and body.  In fact, I got down to the last two for Australia but he just pipped me.

 

I guess it’s part of it for any role and that you have to be prepared to play the character as honestly and convincingly as possible.  Part of this one was looking like a jockey.  You just put it down to one of those occupational hazards of dieting and I have to say that I’ve never felt healthier and I’ve never eaten healthier.  It took a while and it was a bit of a yo-yo kind of effect because the film got up and fell over a few times before we actually got to the starting line.

 

Ever since then I’ve managed to put it all back on and maybe an extra gram or two over the last few days.

 

Matt:  So what did you get down to?

 

Stephen:  59kgs which is top racing weight apparently.  That’s where the similarities between me and real jockeys end.

 

Matt:  What are you back to now?

 

Stephen:  74kgs.  That’s my “donut weight”.  I’ve got to make the most of any film where I can take my top off because it won’t happen again.

 

Matt:  It’s tricky to tell how much time you spend on a horse during the film, particularly during the race sequences given the special effects and creative camera angles.  How did those scenes play out?  Did you have to do a lot of race riding?

 

Stephen:  I did a little bit of the riding.  Legally, there are certain bits that I can’t do.  You need a professional jockey to be riding.  There was a guy called Matty Allen who is one of Damien’s great mates and is one of the top professional jockeys going around in Melbourne.  He did a lot of my more dangerous riding for me and fortunately, from a distance, we look pretty similar.

 

Simon:  To give you an idea about how dangerous their business is, Matty fractured his skull in a bad riding accident literally a week after we finished filming.  He’s back racing now but shows why it’s recognised as the world’s most dangerous job.

 

Matt:  How did you create these races?  You can see the footage on Melbourne Cup day with the huge crowds.  Was this shot during last year’s Melbourne Cup?

 

Simon:  No actually.  We shot the 2006 and 2007 Melbourne Cups.  I had 8 cameras there to get it from every angle.  Luckily, in 2006 it was their biggest ever crowd at the Cup and Derby Day was the same.   It was a nightmare with 8 cameras as you can imagine.

 

Then, with the magic of CGI, we could put the audience at the top of the biggest grandstand and see the horses by combining the footage with own restaging of the 2002 race.

 

We restaged the whole race from a variety of angles.  Normally on television, the race is filled with wide shots because punters get mad when you show a close up because they can’t see where their horse is.  We were able to get amongst it and make it a lot more thrilling and exciting.

 

Matt:  So if you were shooting footage way back in 2006, how long has this project been on the cards?  A long time from the sounds of it?

 

Simon:  It has.  We wrote the first draft of the screenplay in 2003.  We almost got it up when we cast Stephen in 2006 because Village Roadshow had enough belief in the project to allow us to shoot these sequences.

 

We shot an AFL football game between the Eagles and the Kangaroos in 2007.  Chris Judd and Ben Cousins were still playing for the Eagles back then which helped a lot.

 

Stephen:  It’s interesting to think that all of that footage stood a real chance of sitting on a shelf forever.  This film at one stage, just before we started shooting, looked dead in the water.

 

Simon:  Last February I thought the last door had closed but a very good friend of mine came to our rescue.  He put some money to make up for the shortfall and the next day we had a movie.

 

Matt:  I have to ask about Brendan Gleeson who plays Dermot Weld.  He starred in one of my favourite films of the year so far, The Guard.  What was he like to work with?

 

Simon:  Brendan was great.  He’s one of the world’s great actors and he has an extraordinary body of work.  One thing about Brendan was that I got him on the telephone so I could convince him to be in the movie.  He said that he liked the piece but he wasn’t sure about the Irish dialogue.  He thought it could be improved a little.

 

I laughed and said to Brendan that this is Irish dialogue written by a Texan and an Australian who think they know how you guys speak.

 

Stephen:  In the first draft of the opening scene he says “they’re always after my lucky charms” (laughs) and that was just ridiculous so that had to be taken out.

 

Matt:  Is it just me or is every Australian sports commentator in this film?  There’s Bruce McAvaney, Stephen Quartermain, Eddie McGuire, Dennis Cometti, Gerard Whatley and even The Coodabeen Champions.  How did they all get involved?

 

Simon:  I wanted to ground the film in reality and they’re all so good at playing themselves.  There’s nothing worse than seeing an actor who’s obviously an actor trying to act like a media person.  They all nailed everything in one and two takes because that’s what they do for a living.

 

They were thrilled to be a part of it as well.  I guess this is a story that has captured everybody’s hearts.  They all wanted to be involved.

 

Matt:  The film has a fairly distinctive Australian flavour and of course, we here in Australia know the significance of the race and people like Bart Cummings and Lee Freedman.  Is there a chance that the film might be taken overseas to a wider audience?

 

Simon:  Oh yes.  We’ve made quite a few foreign sales already.  We’re currently finalising an American version of the film that I’ve previewed over there and received a similar reaction sitting in the audience.  There are a few little cultural things that they don’t get and so we’ve made changes for that market which is a fairly standard procedure.

 

Matt:  I’m curious about that.  A lot of changes?

 

Simon:  No.  Relatively minor.  It’s about 8 to 9 minutes shorter.  We’ve chopped things here and there because it doesn’t work.  They won’t get it unless they’re an Aussie.  The film still delivers the same punch and in fact there are some things that I prefer in that version.  That’s the beauty of being able to go back and tinker with a film after it’s been finished.

 

Matt:  I guess I’ll finish up by asking what’s next in the pipeline for you both?

 

Stephen:  I’m off to India to do a cricket film.  That’s going to be a little bit of fun.  It’s called Save Your Legs and it’s based on a real live D-grade cricket team from Melbourne called the Abbotsford Anglers who decided to buy themselves some lovely outfits so they could be taken seriously in the sub-continent.

 

It turns out they were taken seriously and they found themselves playing on these amazing arenas against these teams they had no business playing against.  This film follows their story through India.

 

Matt:  So you’re continuing with the sporting theme?

 

Stephen:  Yeah.  Well, I’m going from an elite sportsman to a completely useless one.  This one’s a bit better for me because I can actually look a little more like a useless cricketer than a jockey.

 

Matt:  What have you got coming up Simon?

 

Simon:  I do the Australian Outback Spectacular shows on the Gold Coast which I write and direct.  There’s a new one opening around Christmas.  That’s keeping me busy.

 

I’m doing my next Australian film on the story behind the song Waltzing Matilda.  It’s an epic romance set at a torrid time in history when the country was on the brink of civil war with the shearer’s strike.  It’s a wonderful story.

 

Matt:  Fantastic.  Thanks very much for joining us this morning and best of luck with the film.

 

You can read my review of The Cup by clicking here.