WHAT? NO Censorship info? WOW!!! Father Geek here with Latauro's latest lament from the land past hope and fear...
You're in a big puddle of shit, Pamela, and you don't have the shoes for it.
AICN-DOWNUNDER
AICN-DOWNUNDER
I came across this quote from Brian Rosen, chief of the Film Finance Corporation: "If we took away the passports of Peter Weir, John Seale, Russell Boyd, Baz Luhrmann, Heath Ledger, Nicole Kidman, Russell Crowe... we would have an amazing industry here".
Interesting point, Brian, but wouldn't we just have seven additions to the hospitality industry? Talent ain't the problem, as you point out. It's the lack of money, the lack of a studio system. If we had the resources here, I guarantee you'd see more of them staying.
Besides which, Australia's film funding system is designed to give first-time filmmakers a leg-up. A filmmaker recently told me it's harder to get a second film made in Australia than a first. So does the problem really lie with the issuing of passports, or is it (shock!) more nuanced than that?
NEWS
* Phillip Marzella of Acrobat Films has signed Harry Connick Jr to play the lead in his feature film BOOMERANG DEAL. The film, which has AFC backing, will aim to shoot early next year despite reports it hasn't yet secured funding.
* Looks like Russell Crowe's long-time-coming directorial debut THE LONG GREEN SHORE will finally lens next year. Based on a novel by John Hepworth, production will begin after Crowe wraps up work on Aussie film EUCALYPTUS, directed by Jocelyn Moorehouse.
* PUPPY, a low budget Australian feature, has just secured funding from RLAF, Film Victoria's regional filming fund. Not much is known about the film, but the plot does revolve around the unusual relationship between a delusional man and a woman.
AWARDS AND FESTIVALS
TORONTO FILM FESTIVAL
New Zealand film IN MY FATHER'S DEN won the FIPRESCI Prize, which is the International Critics Prize. Written and directed by Brad McGann, the film is based on the novel by Maurice Gee, and won for its "emotional maturity, striking performances, and visual grace".
HERMAN THE LEGAL LABRADOR
The independent 22 minute animated film about a law-practicing dog is playing at various places around the world over the coming weeks. The film features local comedians Shaun Micallef and Santo Cilauro, and is playing at the following locations:
Sunday October 3, 5pm Newcastle Young Writers Festival, Newcastle NSW Australia, Festival Club, Pan Building
Sunday October 3, 10am Raindance Film Festival, London UK, UGC Shaftesbury Avenue
Sunday October 10, 8pm Fundraising screening with feature LAAJOOL, Melbourne VIC Australia. Builders Arms Hotel, 211 Gertrude St, Fitzroy
THE ANGRY FILM NIGHT
If you're an Australian short filmmaker (that's a maker of Australian short films, not a small person who makes films), you might want to enter the Angry Film Night and have the chance of seeing your film on the biggish screen on November 13 at the Glitch Bar at 318 St Georges Road, North Fitzroy in Melbourne. Why? Aside from the exposure, you'll be helping Penguin Productions (the organisers) raise money for their next film THE ANGRY MIDGET. Send a DVD of your films to: Angry Film Festival, 16 Salisbury Street, Newport VIC 3015. If you have no film, rock along on November 13 and help support the local industry (door prizes are promised).
BOX OFFICE
Not much good news for the hardly-released Aussie film SOMERSAULT, which came in at number ten so some surprisingly harsh reviews. Meanwhile, GARFIELD proved that you can be far more successful foregoing fans of the comic and appealing to fans of the soft toy.
Can this be right???
- 1. GARFIELD
- 2. DODGEBALL
- 3. CATWOMAN
- 4. THE BOURNE SUPREMACY
- 5. THE TERMINAL
RELEASED THIS WEEK
Hilary Duff proves that even pretty curvaceous blondes can end up with hot guys, John Cho and Kal Penn give up their usual eight-figure salaries to star together in a stoner comedy, Australia's most underrated filmmaker goes the documentary route, Dreamworks stops aping Pixar and makes a computer animated film set in the ocean with a vegetarian shark, Kim Ki-duk loses count halfway through his title, and Ben Coccio directs an ELEPHANT sequel... prequel... equal?
Annnd once again here are the newest releases...
- A CINDERELLA STORY
- HAROLD AND KUMAR GO TO WHITE CASTLE
- LETTERS TO ALI
- SHARK TALE
- SPRING, SUMMER, AUTUMN, WINTER... AND SPRING
- ZERO DAY
THE BOURNE SUPREMACY
These Bourne films are, perhaps, the best example of why James Bond needs so desperately to be put to bed (er, no pun intended).
Is it inappropriate for me to talk about Bond in this review? Am I looking for an excuse to bash another series through a geekish need to compare every franchise to every other franchise? No. Just as you can't talk about any sort of space fantasy film without acknowledging STAR WARS, I don't think you can talk about espionage or spy films without acknowledging Bond.
Bond films follow a fairly repetitive formula - more so than ever before. Two girls, one is affiliated with the bad guys, the other is not. There's an evil genius and a henchman with some unique disfigurement. As one reviewer pointed out a few years ago, even the Austin Powers films have more character development! I bring this all up because the Bourne series - which will, no doubt, call it quits after BOURNE ULTIMATUM - is hitting perfect notes. It knows what to keep to give the films a sense of continuity (no recasting, even bringing back actors from the first for brief flashbacks; end titles and music; etc), but it knows what to change to keep it fresh and unexpected (character deaths at unexpected moments; conspiracy revelations; etc).
One of the most important keys is the recasting of the director (something it does actually have in common with the Bond series, although the approach here is far more interesting). Paul Greengrass - who I will humbly admit to having not heard of prior to this film - isn't an action film director. Neither was Doug Liman. In fact, what the hell is an action film director? Most action films send me to sleep. Contrived car chases, standard fist fights, standard gun fights... it's very rare to find an action film that is worth its weight. What's important with a series like this one is the character of Bourne. What's important is a director who understands drama and comedy and character... if the action comes naturally in the arc of the story, it will work. Greengrass was a superb choice, and I hope they recast for the third film. Maybe Linklater. Or Mamet. Or Richard Kwietniowski. It's a brilliant stylistic flourish on the part of the producers - something not often seen - and could pay off in spades if ULTIMATUM is done right.
Which brings us to one of the most interesting actors working today: Matt Damon. Casting Damon is a lot like casting the directors. It's easy to put The Rock or Vin Diesel in this role, but could they pull off the parts that required actual acting? Say, Bourne's conversation with the girl at the end? Unlikely. Damon adds as much as Greengrass's direction or Tony Gilroy's script. Far and away the best espionage film since the first one.
NEXT WEEK
- Michael Moore to direct Aaron Sorkin's political stoner docudramatic script, KERRY AND EDWARDS GO TO WHITE HOUSE
- Meg Ryan, Sandra Bullock, Aaron Eckhart and Billy Crudup sign on to HEARTS, an adaptation of the Microsoft card game
- Following J. J. Abrams on M:I-3 and Joss Whedon on X-MEN 3, Universal hires "Sopranos" mastermind David Chase to revive the lagging AMERICAN PIE franchise
