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QPIX STUDENTS ARE TROPFEST FINALISTS
Graduates of QPIX’s 2011 Diploma of Production course have won their way into the finals of TROPFEST, the world’s largest short film festival, with their student production PHOTOBOOTH. Set in the Afghanistan conflict, PHOTOBOOTH is one of a sequence of...
'Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu' Out February 10
(Nationwide)
Over The Fence Comedy Film Deadline
(Nationwide)
Rottofest 2012: Call For Entries Now Open!
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Geoffrey Rush Joins Tropfest
The acclaimed actor and newly-crowned Australian of the Year, Geoffrey Rush, will be a key player in 2012’s Tropfest activities.
Naomi Watts To Play Princess Diana
The Aussie actress is set to play the people’s princess in an upcoming film that chronicles the final two years of Diana’s life.
Sullivan Stapleton Signs On To ‘300’ Prequel
The Aussie actor has beat out the competition to land a role in the upcoming blockbuster.
James Cameron Loses Long Time Australian Collaborators
Producer Andrew Wight and cinematographer Mike deGruy lose their lives in a helicopter crash.
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Ich Liebe Bruno
Yumi Stynes wraps up the week in film, starting with Bruno, Winged Creatures and Ice Age 3.
I interviewed Sacha Baron Cohen in 2006 as ‘Borat'. All journalists who wanted to speak with him had been warned that the interview with the star comedian would be in character and we were asked to submit questions several days before the interview.
Familiar TV faces lounged around the swanky Sydney hotel (called the ‘W' back then) - Kochie, Andrew G, Merrick and Rosso, and more - waiting for their turn with the mustachioed hero. What was really fascinating and scary was the look on these peoples' faces as they emerged after their interviews. Most looked shell-shocked. Several were wiping tears of laughter from their eyes. If a presenter went in with a producer, they'd stagger out gaping at each other with complete disbelief, mouths dangling open and repeating things like, "What the f***?!" and "Oh my God!"
Inside, they had decked out a pretty unremarkable hotel room (I've once interviewed Foo Fighters in the same room) with animal fur rugs, kaftan material and ethnic decorations and entering the room, Baron Cohen greeted me in character. Behind my right shoulder was an autocue facing him containing my questions and prepared answers by ‘Borat'.
If it sounds contrived, it was - very carefully, meticulously prepared. But the interview was successful because Borat could deviate from the script and the most brilliant moments arrived when he improvised.
A similarly meticulous approach can be detected deep in the anal creases of gay Austrian fashionista ‘Bruno'. Bruno, like Borat, upsets people by loving and accepting himself while being deeply offensive to others. Particularly in the United States of America, where self-improvement is a national pastime and being ‘born again' is a religion, Borat and Bruno's unwillingness to self-loathe seems downright anarchistic. It's obvious to compare the two films but they definitely share a prototype: two friends strive to learn more about themselves and the world while road tripping as strangers in a strange land. There is even a comparable nude scene.
Critics aren't liking this one as much as ‘Borat', complaining that Bruno is less innocent and more disgusting. There are certainly lines in there that'll make you choke. You will find yourself looking across at your movie companions, saying, "He did NOT just say that!" But I think this is a wonderful film, full of daring and balls and no kidding, there are moments in it that make you feel like a good film can change people. Utterly unmissable.
A mystifying little film called Winged Creatures is out this week with a star cast that includes Forest Whitaker, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Guy Pearce and Kate Beckinsale, and was directed by Aussie Rowan Wood, who did that amazing head-trip The Boys back in 1998. Winged Creatures tells the story of the aftermath of a shooting in a diner and the struggles of various ordinary people as they try to deal with it. The movie is based on a book by Roy Freirich and probably makes more sense if you've read it. Maybe. Too many characters with not enough resolution make this a kind of indigestible snack. Forest Whitaker's storyline is the most interesting. He plays Charlie Archenault, a guy who's been diagnosed with cancer who is nearly shot dead as he stands next to the cash register. The idea that he must be lucky plagues Charlie and he goes off on 3-day bender, testing his luck at a casino. Winged Creatures is also interesting for including child actor Dakota Fanning who's fifteen now but still playing the anaemic, haunted little girl she started with in War of the Worlds.
Finally, it was with great excitement that I packed up my two daughters for a trip to the alpine slopes of Thredbo, NSW, for the ‘Snow Carpet' premiere of Ice Age 3. I've seen many, many different ways that film distribution companies try and get critics' attention but this has been one of the best. Now my kids scream when they see an ad for this film on the back of a bus. The film itself is great for young ones up to ten and as with the preceding two films, the weasel character Scratte, steals the show. But will he finally get his acorn? Ice Age 3 is out in 3-D.