by Dov Kornits
Geoffrey Wright’s 1992 film, Romper Stomper, was lightning in a bottle. Coming off the brilliant short feature Lover Boy, starring Noah Taylor and Ben Mendelsohn, the Melbourne rabble-rouser was at the peak of his youthful angry creative streak, whilst the casting of superstar in the making, Russell Crowe as Hando was a masterstroke. In the lead roles were real-life couple Jacqueline McKenzie and promising newcomer Daniel Pollock, a heroin addict who threw himself under a train following the film’s shoot. Romper Stomper was authentic, uncompromising, and flat-out brilliant.
Following the very recent announcements of Picnic at Hanging Rock and Wake in Fright getting the TV series treatment, today, Stan., Australia’s own streaming service, sent out a press release with the following headline: ICONIC AUSTRALIAN FILM ROMPER STOMPER TO BE RECHARGED AS STAN ORIGINAL TV SERIES.
“Thrilling, bold and provocative, Romper Stomper will pick up on the prescient themes and story of Geoffrey Wright’s 1992 classic film, following a new generation of the activist Right, their Anti-Fascist counterparts, and the multicultural fabric of a country each of them threatens to tear apart,” continued the press release.
The problem here is that unlike the original film, which spoke to an issue that was not being covered in mainstream media, and was simply a burst of energy and ideas, there is no doubt that the 6-part series will be exploiting the current terrorism paranoia that is all the rage across our media channels, and telling this tale in a boring white-bread style that we have become accustomed to on Australian TV.
What’s worse…. “Romper Stomper is a fantastic chance to break the mould of Australian drama – a contemporary thriller with competing tribes and different points of view battling for power. The series brings together some of our greatest character actors and wonderful new talents as well. Very exciting.” That’s John Edwards [pictured third from left alongside David Wenham, producer Dan Edwards, Jacqueline McKenzie, Toby Wallace, Sophie Lowe], the highly respected creative behind Love My Way and Paper Giants, who is producing the series.
The idea of adapting the feature film into series is Geoffrey Wright’s, whose last feature film managed to make Shakespeare squirm, 2006’s Macbeth. Other directors on board include Daina Reid (The Secret River) and Kiwi, James Napier Robertson (The Dark Horse, no doubt looking to adapt Once Were Warriors into a TV series when his career goes down the toilet). Writing duties have been taken up by Wright, Robertson, author/poet Omar Musa and journalist/author Malcolm Knox.
In the cast we have Jacqueline McKenzie, Dan Wyllie (Cackles) and John Brumpton (Magoo) reprising their roles (what about Neil Foley who now runs Monster Pictures?), whilst Lachy Hulme, Sophie Lowe, David Wenham and Toby Wallace round out the ensemble.
“Mesmerising, confrontational and controversial, the original film’s ideas are more relevant than ever now, 25 years later, as the world confronts the politics of hate and hard-right populism. This bold, new Stan Original Series will be a must-see TV event, and will be available exclusively on Stan,” ends the Stan. press release, and the hopes of anyone who ever had an original idea that they wanted to turn into a film or TV series.
So Nazi skinheads are now “the activist right”. Makes them sound positively cuddly.