By Erin Free
When he played for the St. George Dragons and the Cronulla Sharks, NRL star Jason Stevens was feted for his ability to rip and tear on the field, where he would break through the opposition’s defences with his blinding combination of speed and power. Off the field, however, Jason Stevens was famous for his sense of humour, his religious faith (and his famous no-sex-before-marriage stance), and his complete inability to take himself seriously.
After he retired from the NRL, Stevens mixed media commentary with more diverse interests in the entertainment industry, appearing on the TV series Sydney Weekender and Big J’s Place. Jason Stevens’ real passion, however, is for film. His first foray into movies came with the documentary The Disposable Ones, a deeply moving and highly personal look at the impoverished children of Columbia. Stevens then drew on his own footy career for the 2018 feature film Chasing Comets, which he wrote and produced. The engaging comedy drama (which starred Isabel Lucas, Dan Ewing, Rhys Muldoon and many more), however, was just a warm-up for Jason Stevens, who now makes his directorial debut with the teen comedy Finally Me, which he also scripted.
Finally Me follows sixteen-year-old Soula Mitsos (newcomer Jazz Laker), who works after school in the family owned take away souvlaki store. All her dad wants her to do is take over the store and marry a nice Greek boy. All Soula wants to do is be a cheerleader at her local high school. Despite being a complete novice, Soula’s dream becomes a reality when she’s unexpectedly chosen in the team. Soula, however, will face ridicule from her teammates, and much opposition from the affluent Taylor White (Alea O’Shea). But Soula’s greatest battle will come from within as she struggles to believe that she belongs.
Finally Me is probably not what people would expect from you. Are you looking forward to surprising viewers?
“Some of the footy boys will probably expect it because when we used to do team trips to play at interstate destinations they would bring thriller films to watch on the bus and I would bring films like Bring it On or Notting Hill!”
Sport is all about collaboration, yet writing is very much a solo process. Do you enjoy that aspect of creating?
“I have ten scripts waiting to be made, so I have learnt to enjoy that process, but initially it was difficult sitting in the room by myself instead of being in the change room with guys having that comradery and interaction, and of course, the laughs we would have. One thing I loved doing was taking a teammate’s towel after their shower and using theirs and then putting it back in their bag, and then watching them from a distance use that towel. I was a pest! But seriously, stepping into the unknown is the life of a filmmaker, as there are not that many films getting made in Australia. That’s why I wrote Finally Me with American accents in mind so it would hopefully also find a broader audience overseas. I’m proud to announce that we have attached Nicely Entertainment. They really believe in the film and are excited by is potential.”
Finally Me runs off a lot of classic teen flick themes. Are you a big fan of the genre? If so, what were some of your major influences?
“Yes, I love Bring It On, 10 Things I Hate About You, Sarah Burgess Is A Loser…but also, there’s a huge Greek element in the film, so My Big Fat Greek Wedding is obviously an influence too!”
Did you find it difficult writing in a “female voice”, so to speak? With a female lead character? Did you have to change the way you think?
“I was fortunate to hire several script editors who were female, and I did that intentionally to see if everything held. But I could personally relate to the feelings of rejection and being left out because of my size when I was younger. I very much wrote what I knew.”
Despite your film having a female lead, there’s a bit of autobiography here, isn’t there? Soula’s Greek heritage, her love of an unconventional sporting pursuit…
“Yes, I have Greek in my heritage and we very much grew up with European influences in my house. Obviously the sport speaks for itself, but because I was a bigger kid when I was younger, I was no shoo-in to make a career out of it. In fact, I was totally the opposite.”
You wrote and produced the very charming Chasing Comets…what made you feel the time was right to make the jump into directing with Finally Me?
“My good friend Tony (a music agent who introduced me to my teen idol Peter Andre) said to me that after retiring from footy, if they’re not knocking on the door, then build the door for them to knock on. So after Chasing Comets, I was working full time trying to get other projects up to keep the momentum going, but despite my best efforts, nothing was progressing. I was sitting at the doctor’s surgery one day and my sister Angela texted me and said ‘Why didn’t you ever do anything with a cheerleading script?’ Sitting right next to me was another patient who had a Cirque du Soleil shirt on, and I started talking to him. He said his daughter was a former cheerleader! It was all pointing to ‘Get this done!’”
Did you have a directing mentor? Someone you could turn to for advice etc?
“Yes, I was blessed abundantly with Gary Eck and Wayne Blair. Wayne let me sit next to him on the TV series Total Control. Boy, they have taught me a lot. I also spoke often to Jason Perini, who directed my first film. He is such an exciting talent. Both Wayne and Gary also went above and beyond in the edit to give notes, as did Felicity Price, who is a tremendous filmmaker. I generally found people so helpful when I showed them a first draft. Even people like Damian Davis, who I worked with on ABC’s The Fat, and who now works for Cordell Jigsaw, took time out of his massively hectic schedule to watch the whole thing. You can’t buy these people’s experience.”
Can you tell us about your leading lady, Jazz Laker? How did you find her? And what was your relationship like on set?
“I cast the whole film, so I did a major call out. Jazz was the stand out. Her easy-going nature and her work ethic assures me that she will go on to big things. She worked every single day, and I never heard her complain once. If I needed to do extra, she was on board and I just can’t tell you how rare that is. She had also scored a great role with a network just leading into my film which she turned down, which I greatly appreciated. It meant she knew this was also a great opportunity as well to make her mark as a lead.”
You cover all the bases as a multi-tasker! What is your favourite part of the filmmaking process? The writing? Working with your actors? Getting your film into cinemas?
“I would like an opportunity to direct and solely focus on that so I can really grow and hone my skills. I have an instinct for what I want from actors, and I feel I have good timing, but when you are multitasking in every area and with independent films, there’s always something else to do on top of the workload of writing, producing and directing. This falls back on me…or my wife, Bec, who was also head of costume design, as well as managing a three-year-old who wouldn’t sleep! I was pretty spent, and although I love the writing process and will continue to do that, I’d like to grow as a director.”
Filmmaking is a tough business…do you regret not getting into coaching? That might have been slightly easier!!!
“I don’t know about that! I saw my old teammate, Nathan Brown, who used to be a Cleo Bachelor Of The Year model, and he coached for a decade and is now completely bald! Side-note: in 2005, I was runner-up in Cleo Bachelor Of The Year and beat Chris Hemsworth that year. I feel that it was this kick in the guts for Chris that’s spurred him on to greater heights. But it’s definitely challenging to move into a different field, and not take the safer path of aligning my skills with sport. You have to be prepared to live in the unknown and live in an uncomfortable place career-wise for an unidentified period of time, but if you can push through, I believe it will be worth it. If I can also say, when I retired, I did work at the NRL, and part of my job was to encourage players to start again career-wise when they retire, so I very much put this to the test.”
Finally, a tip for the 2023 season?
“Sharks!”
Finally Me will launch on March 14, and will then screen around Australia through Fan Force. Click here for all screenings.
