Ahoy, squirts! Quint here with Latauro, who we found bleeding and half dead in the Australian outback. He had gone camping at WOLF CREEK, his car died... he wouldn't tell me the rest, just kept rubbing his bung-hole absent mindedly. But now he's here and he's got an update on all things Downunder, including how you lucky Aussies can watch A CLOCKWORK ORANGE with Malcolm MothaFuckin' McDowell. How cool is that? Enjoy!
I was doing people a service really, by shooting them. There's kangaroos all over the place... like tourists.
AICN-DOWNUNDER
It’s interesting the way things get away from you. This column became a fortnightly thing to me, and I said, ‘Latauro, goddamn it, you’ve got to get your act together and do it week by week! Everyone’s counting on you!’. So, yeah, it’s been a little over three weeks...
The good news is that my time has been consumed with big, exciting, potentially career-exploding stuff. Nothing I can talk about just yet, but I’m hoping I can announce something by the end of the year. I’ve been having a pretty good time, lately.
A lot of other people have been having a good time lately, too. A 100% Australian film has topped the box office, the director has already begun shooting his follow-up, the best film I’ve seen this year has been an Australian one (but it’s not that one), Russell Crowe is hosting the AFI awards and nothing’s been banned for months. Life just doesn’t get better.
NEWS
It’s amazing the power that Tarantino wields. To most of us, John Jarratt was a lifestyle TV presenter who had done the odd bit of acting here and there. Then Tarantino shows up to promote a film, and begins reeling off all these Australian films that the press corps had clearly never heard of. He then casually mentioned how incredibly cool Jarratt was (and met up with him a few days later for drinks). Thanks to that press conference, Greg McLean was able to get WOLF CREEK off the ground and the rest is history. Only, not quite. Last week I received a very cool email that I thought was very exclusive until I saw it published on Dark Horizons, Moviehole, CHUD, and here on AICN. But to hell with it. If you haven’t yet heard, when John Jarratt wraps up McLean’s ROGUE (with Michael Vartan, Stephen Curry, Sam Worthington and Radha Mitchell), he’ll be featuring in DEATH PROOF, Tarantino’s segment in GRIND HOUSE (the half-and-half film he’s doing with Robert Rodriguez). Then, there’s a good chance he’ll show up in QT’s INGLORIOUS BASTARDS alongside Michael Madsen, Adam Sandler and Bo Svenson.
According to Moviehole.net, Lachy Hulme ‘ who shot to fame this year by not being cast as the Joker ‘ will be featuring in Mick Molloy’s comedy BOYTOWN. The film also features Glenn Robbins, Tony Martin and Bob Franklin, and follows an former pop star who attempts a big comeback.
Nathan Phillips, the ubiquitous Australian actor who recently finished killing SNAKES ON A PLAN with Samuel Motherfucking Jackson, has just begun filming WEST in Sydney. The film is the feature debut of writer/director Daniel Krige, and also stars Michael Dorman, an actor I only mentioned because his name sounds like Michael Dorn.
The Hoff was in Melbourne recently, and ‘Lennox’ was following his every move. During one of his many irony-free press interviews, he mentioned the KNIGHT RIDER movie. Apparently working with Australian former pop star Sophie Monk on the Adam Sandler flick CLICK got him thinking. ‘She’s someone I’m thinking about for the KNIGHT RIDER movie. We’ve talked about that.’ He also mentioned who he had in mind for the young lead. ‘Paul Walker from the FAST AND THE FURIOUS movies, I like. He seems to know his way around a car.’ Good call. Sure beats hiring an actor and having them PRETEND.
Critically-acclaimed New Zealand film IN MY FATHER’S DEN has just been picked up by Tartan Films. If you’re US-based, look for the film around May of 2006.
Now that all my friends and I have bought tickets, I no longer have no problem in letting you all know that Malcolm McDowell will be in Melbourne for a special screening of A CLOCKWORK ORANGE, which will be followed by a Q&A. The screening will be held by the Australian Centre for the Moving Image at Federation Square, so go to THIS SITE RIGHT HERE to book your tickets.
AWARDS AND FESTIVALS
AFI AWARDS
The nominations came out recently, and, as with every year, there aren’t many surprises (though I would have thought there’d be nods for Emily Watson in THE PROPOSITION, David Wenham in THREE DOLLARS, and John Jarratt for WOLF CREEK).
BEST FILM
Little Fish
Look Both Ways
Oyster Farmer
The Proposition
BEST LEAD ACTOR
Hugo Weaving (Little Fish)
William McInnes (Look Both Ways)
Guy Pearce (The Proposition)
Ray Winstone (The Proposition)
BEST LEAD ACTRESS
Saskia Burmeister (Hating Alison Ashley)
Cate Blanchett (Little Fish)
Justine Clarke (Look Both Ways)
Frances O’Connor (Three Dollars)
BEST DIRECTION
Rowan Woods (Little Fish)
Sarah Watt (Look Both Ways)
John Hillcoat (The Proposition)
Greg McLean (Wolf Creek)
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Jacquelin Perske (Little Fish)
Sarah Watt (Look Both Ways)
Nick Save (The Proposition)
Greg McLean (Wolf Creek)
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Christine Madafferi (Hating Alison Ashley)
Kriv Stenders & David Snell (The Illustrated Family Doctor)
Lyndon Terracini (The Widower)
Robert Connolly & Elliot Perlman (Three Dollars)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Tracy Mann (Hating Alison Ashley)
Noni Hazlehurst (Little Fish)
Daniela Farinacci (Look Both Ways)
Kestie Morassi (Wolf Creek)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Martin Henderson (Little Fish)
Anthony Hayes (Look Both Ways)
John Hurt (The Proposition)
Robert Menzies (Three Dollars)
Meanwhile, there’s been a dab of controversy over one of the TV nominations. The mini-series, ‘The Incredible Journey of Mary Bryant’ managed to get itself a nomination despite it being outside of the eligibility period for television productions. After a fairly big backlash, AFI general manager Geoffrey Williams blamed an ‘administrative error’ that prevented the board from alerting the public to the ‘new eligibility period’.
BOX OFFICE
Not the most inspiring of lists, but hopefully we’ll get a surge of national pride when the number from WOLF CREEK come in next week.
1. DOOM
2. PRIDE AND PREJUDICE
3. THE EXORCISM OF EMILY ROSE
4. IN HER SHOES
5. THE 40 YEAR OLD VIRGIN
RELEASED THESE THREE WEEKS PAST
Another drama about a middle-aged Argentine mechanic who recovers his pride through the world of dog shows gets spewed out to devour the merchandising budgets of Generation MTV, videotaping a movie = wrong/videotaping a computer game = directing, Orlando Bloom gives it his all in his first acting role, Jennifer Carpenter attempts to keep down her green pea soup, charisma vacuum Paul Walker continues his run of ‘unofficial remakes’, Hany Abu-assad’s film totally bombs, Keira Knightly plays an unattractive tomboy beanpole, John Jarratt shows us how to torture an English backpacker in an afternoon while keeping under budget, and ‘ after a licensing dispute with Yoko Ono ‘ a film about an African woman suffering from AIDS finally gets its due release.
BOMBOM
DOOM
ELIZABETHTOWN
THE EXORCISM OF EMILY ROSE
INTO THE BLUE
PARADISE NOW
PRIDE AND PREJUDICE
WOLF CREEK
YESTERDAY
NEXT WEEK
- David Bowie, Malcolm McDowell, Terence Stamp, Udo Kier, Dennis Hopper, Rutger Hauer and Dean Stockwell join Laura Dern in David Lynch’s SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN CREEPY WHITE-HAIRED MEN
- Following Peter Jackson’s cue, Natalie Portman will promote the home video release of her Broadway debut with the DVD release of THE PRODUCTION DIARIES OF ANNE FRANK
- In the same way he followed up JURASSIC PARK with cartoon WE’RE BACK! A DINOSAUR’S STORY to show that dinosaurs could be made cute and cuddly again, Spielberg will next produce animated adventure MUNCHI, about a big, purple Hassidic monster who eats Palestinian terrorists
Peace out,
