by FilmInk Staff
The new Aussie biker movie Patched is ready to roar down the highway, as writer and producer Colin “Spida” Dixon explains.
“My inspiration came from growing up around bike riders and having a slight understanding of the lifestyle,” screenwriter and producer Colin “Spida” Dixon tells FilmInk. “The depiction of bikers within the media is very misleading. The government has done a good job of putting a blanket over all the bikers and tarring them with the same brush. I believe that Joe Public expects that every bike rider is a criminal and needs to be locked up.”
In response to these unfair and unfounded attitudes, heavily tattooed bike enthusiast and occasional actor Colin “Spida” Dixon opted to do something about it by sitting down and writing a script. The result was Patched, a tough-minded drama which follows what happens when strict new laws interfere with the day-to-day existence of an outlaw motorcycle club, impinging on the running of their businesses and disrupting members’ family lives. The film explores the various family groups tied to the club and how they deal with the new laws, and ultimately hinges on the unsolved death of one of the club members.
It was Dixon’s position on the fringes of the film industry as an actor that provided the launching pad for what would eventually become an independently financed feature film. “I class myself as a featured extra at best,” Dixon laughs when FilmInk asks him about his acting career. “I have a lot of tattoos, and a production was looking for some people to play extras as jail inmates, so I thought ‘Why not?’ I had never seen how they make movies and what is involved. Not long after I did my first film, I was asked to be an extra on Chris Sun’s horror film Charlie’s Farm. I caught the bug as they say, and got myself involved in student films. I managed to get a few minor roles on television and also a couple of commercials. When I was doing one of the university films, I was asked if I had ever had an idea for a film. I shared my ideas, and the person told me it was a good idea for a film. That’s when the journey to Patched began…that was nine years ago.”
Unsurprisingly, it’s been a long, hard slog to get Patched where it is now, in the can and awaiting release, with a trailer recently dropped. “The budget was raised by knocking on lots of doors,” Dixon explains. “We managed to have an amazing cast and crew that worked tirelessly and for very small wages. The journey for this film has been a long one for me personally and I believe that a lot of the cast and crew came on board to help me realise the dream of making this film.”
Dixon has assembled some impressive talent for his low budgeter, with Aussie stalwarts Gary Sweet and Kym Wilson and horror-genre fave Nathan Jones in major roles, with strong support coming from established character actors Frank Magree, Don Bridges, Mirko Grillini, Steve Nation and Kylie Riddle. Veteran TV director Stephen Mann, meanwhile, is at the helm. “I had met many of the cast on other projects that I had been on, so it was just a matter of approaching them about the project,” Dixon explains. “Having Gary Sweet and Kym Wilson was a major part of the formula of the film. When I asked Nathan Jones if he could come on board for a few days, he just said, ‘For sure, buddy.’ I could give you individual stories about all the actors and how they said yes to the project but I would not be doing the film justice if I didn’t mention the wonderful crew that worked so hard to bring this to life. We shot a feature film in sixteen days, and that would not have been possible without the hard work from the crew.”
And working so hard and fast made for an interesting challenge. “We had members of the local police rescue turn up to get photos with some of the cast, mainly Gary Sweet because he was the lead actor in the show Police Rescue,” Dixon laughs. “Interestingly, one of the people playing one of our outlaw motorbike riders is a serving police officer. We shot the film in Coraki in Northern NSW, and the people were great. They helped whenever we needed. The local butchers gave us a building that we were able to convert into the local police station, and the town’s police were also very helpful with allowing us to use the local police station for some exterior scenes. The journey of this film is a film within itself…this has been an epic journey for me.”
For more on Patched, check out the film’s Facebook page.
