By Rachel Landers
WHAT IT’S ABOUT?
Who Bombed The Hilton? is a true crime thriller that recounts the hitherto untold trajectory of the original police investigation in the immediate aftermath of the bombing. In 1978, on the eve of the inaugural Commonwealth Heads Of Government Regional Meeting, a massive bomb exploded outside The Sydney Hilton, killing three. Inside the hotel were eleven presidents and prime ministers representing almost 800 million people. It was Australia’s first act of terrorist murder. Within hours of the bombing, the sharp eyed and indefatigable Detective Inspector Norm Sheather was put in charge of the 100-member Hilton investigative team and tasked with solving this monumental crime. Within days of the fatal blast, the team was receiving intelligence from the police forces of Thailand, Malaysia, London, New York, Washington, Canada, Sweden and even Afghanistan, reporting crimes of a similar nature and suggesting a widespread and recurring reign of terror directed at Indian nationals across the globe. Sheather embarked on an engrossing investigation that came tantalisingly close to the truth, only to have it catastrophically derailed when a rival police agency went rogue, plunging into a covert maverick quest to recruit and run its own secret agent. It was a quest that ended in disaster. Who Bombed The Hilton? recounts how this crime spawned our first counter terrorism laws, led to the formation of The Australian Federal Police and, in the eyes of some, gave birth to “Fortress Australia.” It also unleashed a potent conspiracy theory, which, like those circulating around 9/11, named shadowy government organisations as the perpetrators. It’s a crime with more twists and turns than an airport potboiler, and involves ASIO, politicians, special branch, secret agents, journalists, political activists, and an Indian based religious sect. It even involved the notorious Detective Roger Rogerson, who is strewn across our news outlets right now.
WHY WOULD IT MAKE A GOOD MOVIE?
Audiences have a craving for true crime right now that seems insatiable – the global phenomenon of Serial, The Jinx, and Making A Murderer demonstrate that these kinds of tales are ripe for dramatisation. The classics of this form include All The President’s Men and The Day Of The Jackal, with more recent examples being the 2010 French/German production, Carlos, and the aforementioned 2016 Oscar winning Spotlight. The story also has elements of John Le Carre’s great works (and their many screen adaptations such as the recent The Night Manager) which display the entire spectrum of human failings within the crucible of competing dysfunctional agencies, the secret services, police, press, and civil libertarians in which Norm Sheather, much like the stoic and heroic George Smiley, battles insanely mounting obstacles in order to the make the world safer for all. Norm’s nemesis and prime suspect is the perfect Hollywood villain: a charismatic, complex, and terrifying man with his own disturbing moral compass and a global network of immense power.
WHO SHOULD MAKE IT?
Andrew Bovell is the perfect choice for screenwriter. He’s a master at taking complex, dark, knotty tales (adapting his own work and others) and transforming them into compelling must-see cinema narratives. From Lantana to Edge Of Darkness to Le Carre’s A Most Wanted Man, Bovell can communicate the sociological and political preoccupations of the contemporary world by lashing them to emotionally powerful characters enmeshed in webs of intrigue. Denis Villeneuve is the go-to choice as director. He’s a genius at unleashing big issue stories such as Incendies, Prisoners, and Sicario onto the big screen through exquisitely observed authentic characters enmeshed in morally murky universes. If he’s too busy remaking Blade Runner, I’ll direct it!
WHO SHOULD BE IN IT?
The storied world of the Hilton bombing affords an opportunity to cast against type. The late 1970s was an era of great ideological flux, and what better way to convey this than through audacious casting choices. The deep thinker and ultimately thwarted protagonist, Norm Sheather, could be played by Ben Mendelsohn, who is surely one of our most intelligent, complicated, and charismatic performers. As for his nemesis – an American-born charmer who has extraordinary power over his followers – I’d go no further than Kit Harrington, who actually looks like his real life counterpart: the villain in this piece is pure Jon Snow gone bad – an attractive young extremist, a leader, and an antagonist who is hard to catch and harder still to eradicate.
Who Bombed The Hilton? is available now. For more information, and to buy the book, head to New South Books.
