Father Geek here posting Tamsin's and Norman's reports from Australia/New Zealand for this Tuesday evening (USA time). Annnnnnnd man have they put together a great column once again. I won't waste your time. Here's Ms. Tamsin and the first half of AICN-Downunder...

AICN DOWNUNDER REPORT #3

TAMSIN Edition...

BAD NEWS

SHIRLEY STRACHAN o Though it may mean very little to International readers, there was sad news for Australians this week with the death (helicopter crash) of 70s Rocker/00s Television Host, Graham "Shirley" Strachan. He was an Australia icon whose huge impact on Australian popular culture has, unfortunately, only truly been realised in his death.

OTHER NEWS

Though I feel it's a little premature and heartless to be reporting such information, it appears that QUEEN OF THE DAMNED will now receive a cinematic release rather than going straight to video as was expected. Apparently Aaliyah was scheduled to loop her dialogue the day after she died, in order to provide a more Egyptian accent to the role, and therefore her dialogue will be spoken by someone else. The film was shot in Melbourne late last year and directed by Michael Rymer (ANGEL BABY).

News regarding THE MATRIX: RELOADED is that her part will be recast and the scenes already completed, re-shot.

Aussie actor Richard Roxburgh (MOULIN ROUGE, CHILDREN OF THE REVOLUTION and a zillion more...) will star in the new Michelle Yeoh (who will also produce) action-adventure set in China, THE TOUCH. Michelle will play a trapeze artist member of an acrobatic troupe while Ben Chaplin has signed on to play her love interest. It will be directed and shot by Academy Award winning cinematographer, Peter Pau (CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON). Roxburgh is currently working with Justine Waddell (MANSFIELD PARK) in a British romantic-comedy, THE ONE AND ONLY.

Aussie actress, Toni Collette, has signed on to star as a geologist in JAPANESE STORY, a drama set in Hamersley Ranges in the remote north west corner of Western Australia. Toni is currently starring with John Goodman in Bryan Brown's DIRTY DEEDS and will start work on ABOUT A BOY, the adaption of the Nick Hornby novel.

Australian writer, Andrew Bovell, has been hired to write the screenplay for the film adaption of Arthur Miller's play, AVIEW FROM THE BRIDGE. It will star Aussie Anthony LaPaglia.

New Zealander, Temuera Morrison (ONCE WERE WARRIORS, VERTICAL LIMIT) who is starring in STAR WARS: EPISODE II - ATTACK OF THE CLONES (or as I keep accidentally calling it, ATTACK OF THE KILLER CLONES), is the next actor to be immortalised as an action figure, as The Bounty Hunter. It is currently being referred to as the "Tem Doll" and Morrison is a little miffed that he wasn't able to "get a cut of the merchandising". Prior to the STAR WARS' release, is Morrison's next film, CROOKED EARTH, which has been described as "a Maori Western". He is playing an Army veteran who returns from East Timor to his home town of Raukura, where he is faced with the challenge of assuming the leadership of his people who are under the thumb of his brother, Kahu (Lawrence Makoare), a radical, dope-dealing land rights activist. There has been some controversy over the production of this film, not only because it has taken six years to make, but also because of the controversial subject material of Maori land rights activism.

NEW TECHNOLOGY

Executive officer of Media World Broadcasting (MWB) John Tatoulis has released information about a new form of video compression technology which enables the delivery of full screen real-time video content over a standard telephone line. The technology uses Australian-developed video compression technology called Adams Platform (named after its creator, 25 year old Melbourne programmer Adam Clark). For more information you can access the full article at: This Location

UNDER-RATED AUSTRALIAN FILM OF THE WEEK

CELIA written and directed by Ann Turner

Though produced in 1988, CELIA deserves to be recognised today for its ability to hold up to multiple viewing and still maintain its intensity as a gripping story as well as a analysis of Australian suburban life during the 1950s. Rebecca Smart stars as nine-year old Celia, a little girl with a wild imagination and an obsession with death. Set to a backdrop of 50s Communist hysteria, CELIA explores how children in repressive, hypocritical suburban households find ways to subvert the propaganda they are fed, even to the point of violence.

FILM PERSON OF THE WEEK

Even though he is constantly praised and honoured in Australia for his work as an actor and director, I have chosen Charles 'Bud' Tingwell as my Film Person of TheWeek as he isn't a household name in the rest of the world but deserves to be. Though almost 80, Bud has had constant film, theatre and television roles from as early as 1946 (as far as I know) to today including well known titles such as BREAKER MORANT, A CRY IN THE DARK, and most recently INNOCENCE. Not only should he be lauded for his acting abilities but for his absolutely professionalism, his dedicated support of young talent, and absolutely sincerity.

COOL AUSSIE SITE OF THE WEEK

From the director of DARK CITY, www.mysteryclock.com is a smorgasbord of visuals with a focus on the interactivity of filmmaking. On this site Alex Proyas offers you the opportunity to add to his current script, CONSEQUENCES, which is a work in progress, and present your own one minute scripts for production, as well as view his past, future and current works which includes an ongoing serial. Check it out if you want to be dazzled! www.mysteryclock.com

Until next week

Tamsin

Father Geek in Austin, Texas back again, simply to introduce Norman's half of this week's AICN-Downunder Column...

ALEX PROYAS GETS NARKY

* DARK CITY and THE CROW director Alex Proyas has gotten narky with local film body AFC over their "limited" guidelines for co-productions. Proyas' production company Mystery Clock, in conjunction with the Canada's Alliance Atlantis and a soon-to-be-finalised UK production company were looking to start shooting RIVERWORLD, a pilot for an upcoming TV series (which has also been licensed to the US Sci-Fi channel). The AFC considered RIVERWORLD ineligible for co-production status because the source material must originate from one of the countries taking part in the co-production - the series is of course based on the novels by US sci-fi author Phillip Jose Farmer. Mystery Clock has threatened to move the production of this intriguing-sounding project to NZ, on what sounds like a bit of a bloody technicality. Who's going to blink first?

* For those of you waiting on Proyas' next filmic movements, his next one is GARAGE DAYS - the story of a rock band as they work their way up in the industry. Not a lot's leaked out on this one but I'm definitely following it with interest...

FFC ANNOUNCES SLATE

* Some interesting projects have this week receiving positive funding decisions from the Film Finance Corporation. The one I'm interested most in is called BLURRED, the story of five young couples as they experience "Schoolies" Week on the Gold Coast. "Schoolies" are finishing Year 12 students who congregate after final exams and get absolutely blasted, drinking and screwing themselves silly. Over the last couple years this teenage bacchanalia has become a massive event on the Gold Coast, provoking some of the most hilariously over the top, finger-wagging mass-media coverage I've ever seen. If the creative team get it right, BLURRED - marketed as a comedy - could really connect with a big audience. Another project to receive funding is JAPANESE STORY, from the "two Sues" ROAD TO NHILL team of director Sue Brooks and producer Sue Maslin. Set in the desert, JAPANESE STORY is the tale of two people "play[ing] out a story of human inconsequence in the face of the blistering universe".

LAPAGLIA TALKS UP 'THE BANK'

* On the promo circuit for the THE BANK, versatile Anthony Lapaglia had a few things to say about the local film industry: "My attraction... is that, to a degree, it's still the real Australian film industry - I'm not talking about the American films that work there - hasn't been corrupted yet, and there's a real maverick style still that I find incredibly refreshing to be in. There's no star system, everybody's mucking in together - do you know what I mean? They don't care what you've done or who you are, everybody's making the same movie, so there's no 'Yes, sir, I'm kissing your ass' stuff going on."

MALICK LIKES AN AUSSIE CREW

* Marginally, marginally Downunder news, but for his next project Terence Malick is using a lot of Aussie crew - even though the locations are set to be Turkey and Italy... They must've really done the business for old Tezza on THE THIN RED LINE...

'AI' STAR TAKES IT TO THE STAGE

* Old news this (?), but Ozchick Frances O'Connor (AI) will shortly tread the boards with BEDAZZLED co-star Brendan Fraser in Tenessee Williams' CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF. This London production will also star Ned Beatty.

'CHOPPER' STAR GOES BACK TO HIS ROOTS

* Or does he? I'm well interested in finding out more about former stand-up comic Eric 'Chopper' Bana's new project, THE NUGGET, written and directed by local maverick Bill Bennett (KISS OR KILL et al), financed by the Macquarie Film Corporation. Co-starring local comedian Dave O'Neil, I presume it's a comedy, but I haven't heard a heap on this one. Anyone out there with some more news? A script perhaps?

VALE SHIRL AND TED (AND BRIAN)

* It's been a sad couple of days for the Australian music industry. Two major figures from the glory days of 70s "Ozrock" - Graham 'Shirley' Strachan of Skyhooks and Ted Mulry of the Ted Mulry Gang - have sadly passed on. The fabric of Australian culture is poorer for their absence. And while I'm thinking of childhood times, farewell to Brian Moore - I'll never forget his hearty, good-humoured commentary of countless games, whether it was the smallest match of English First Division football or the mightiest matches of the World Cup.

That's it, danke. Any news on the downunder scene? You know the guy to email...

Norman