Inspector Montalbano is back! This Italian TV series has the best opening credits for anyone who is interested in Italy, or more specifically Sicily. The combination of 'Montalbano', the epicurean detective (why is it both the Italian detectives I love are so fond of their food?) his assortment of police officers, wonderful gallery of rogues plus the weirdest plotting, make this a real 'get away' night for me. Perhaps it's because the script deals so kindly with human frailties. Strangely enough, there is an underlying sense of decency and almost 'family' values amongst the wreckage Montalbano comes up against. And all set against the spectacular backdrop of Sicily.
I think its worth saying that the writer of the Montalbano novels, 84 year old Sicilian Andrea Camilleri, cut his teeth writing the late great (1964) 'Maigret' TV series. Surely there could not have been a blacker detective other than perhaps 'Callan' yet unlike contemporary detectives, these ones do provoke interest in their private lives. I have often felt like bursting out singing Noel Coward's 'Why Must the Show Go On?' when watching the feeble attempts modern script writers make to get us to care for their plods..."But is it quite fair to ask us to share your dreary private life?"
The beautiful town of 'Vigata' shown in the opening sequence is actually Porto Empedocle and I don't know what else you need to encourage a trip to Southern Sicily and to the SBS screenings except perhaps the marvelous choice of Luca Zingaretti in the leading role. This is a series written by grown ups, played by grown ups and suited to everybody. Oh wonder of wonders!
To see the opening of 'Inspector Montalbano', click here:
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Monday, November 16, 2009
Climbing Higher
People say when they are doing something they particularly like, they can hardly believe it is them and wonder if they will be discovered as an impostor. When I got my first big acting job in a television series, I worried that I would get run over and the feeling of being so lucky would abruptly end.There's a feeling of 'Pinch me, is this happening?' I felt that filming 'Mao's Last Dancer' and, well now there is another landmark.
To celebrate 'Mao's Last Dancer' making $14 million dollars and climbing to the 12th highest grossing Australian film ever, I thought I'd put a selection of interviews of the main cast on the blog. They are attached to mine and contain wonderful insights from Bruce Beresford, Li Cunxin and producer Jane Scott on the casting and making of the movie.
Its especially interesting to hear Madeleine Eastoe talk about her preparation for her first acting role. As a prima ballerina with the Australian ballet, she had no experience of film work before but after working with a coach, she was considered to have mastered the American accent to the extent that the actors from the USA had no idea she was Australian!
I am keeping my fingers crossed that the film climbs up one more level - that will be overtaking the iconic 'Murial's Wedding', the truly fabulous Australian earner.
Also, a reminder that leading man, Chi Cao will be coming to Australia next year to dance in 'The Nutcracker'. Book that one in for an inspiring night.
To see interviews about the filming of 'Mao's Last Dancer', click here:
To celebrate 'Mao's Last Dancer' making $14 million dollars and climbing to the 12th highest grossing Australian film ever, I thought I'd put a selection of interviews of the main cast on the blog. They are attached to mine and contain wonderful insights from Bruce Beresford, Li Cunxin and producer Jane Scott on the casting and making of the movie.
Its especially interesting to hear Madeleine Eastoe talk about her preparation for her first acting role. As a prima ballerina with the Australian ballet, she had no experience of film work before but after working with a coach, she was considered to have mastered the American accent to the extent that the actors from the USA had no idea she was Australian!
I am keeping my fingers crossed that the film climbs up one more level - that will be overtaking the iconic 'Murial's Wedding', the truly fabulous Australian earner.
Also, a reminder that leading man, Chi Cao will be coming to Australia next year to dance in 'The Nutcracker'. Book that one in for an inspiring night.
To see interviews about the filming of 'Mao's Last Dancer', click here:
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Looking for Ludwig
This is a long film for a Beethoven ignoramus. Two hours and twenty minutes, most of which is engaging but the last twenty did start me thinking about the quality of the upholstery.
Nevertheless, it is a fresh light on an old master. As someone who had to climb wooden stairs to an attic to have my piano lessons staring at an enraged Ludwig print...this kindly portrait came as a surprise. And he was quite a looker.
As a young man, the strength and intelligence is obvious in his eyes but also a warmth that is almost never represented in portraiture. The film takes us through his life musically using his work as a guide to his interior life. As always with the masters, the question of finances scurries after him relentlessly but here we are also introduced to his many romances and attempted engagements. Beethoven fell for titled women whose families did not fall for him - who knew that Von and not Van is the sign of aristocracy? -and the strain of his solitary life showed in his work.
As an ignoramus, I had no idea how revolutionary he was, not only in his thoughts as in 'Eroica' but in the techniques he used. Or how competitive in his mastery of the piano,vying with his contempories with extraordinary elaborate musicality. It is as shocking to hear of the performances that did not work as it is surprising to hear that the police were called to one recital at which the reception was so enthusiastic, the audience had to be forced to go home.
The documentary is filled with a delightful array of Ludwig experts, conductors, pianists and scholars, most of whom could have leaped fully formed from a Dickens novel. The entrancing nuttiness of their performances is one of the real highlights for me. Still, I would have liked more of his personal life but where to put it? Those seats were pretty hard at the end.
To see a trailer of 'In Search of Beethoven', click here:
Nevertheless, it is a fresh light on an old master. As someone who had to climb wooden stairs to an attic to have my piano lessons staring at an enraged Ludwig print...this kindly portrait came as a surprise. And he was quite a looker.
As a young man, the strength and intelligence is obvious in his eyes but also a warmth that is almost never represented in portraiture. The film takes us through his life musically using his work as a guide to his interior life. As always with the masters, the question of finances scurries after him relentlessly but here we are also introduced to his many romances and attempted engagements. Beethoven fell for titled women whose families did not fall for him - who knew that Von and not Van is the sign of aristocracy? -and the strain of his solitary life showed in his work.
As an ignoramus, I had no idea how revolutionary he was, not only in his thoughts as in 'Eroica' but in the techniques he used. Or how competitive in his mastery of the piano,vying with his contempories with extraordinary elaborate musicality. It is as shocking to hear of the performances that did not work as it is surprising to hear that the police were called to one recital at which the reception was so enthusiastic, the audience had to be forced to go home.
The documentary is filled with a delightful array of Ludwig experts, conductors, pianists and scholars, most of whom could have leaped fully formed from a Dickens novel. The entrancing nuttiness of their performances is one of the real highlights for me. Still, I would have liked more of his personal life but where to put it? Those seats were pretty hard at the end.
To see a trailer of 'In Search of Beethoven', click here:
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Meryl, I hardly knew ya
Its no surprise that Ms Streep is barely recognisable in this. She is, after all who she is and so the weirdness of this performance in 'Julie and Julia' needs a little investigation.A glimpse of the real Julia Childs gives an idea of why the characterisation can be seen to be extreme at first glance, but not at second. Here was a genuine eccentric and, to my eyes an extremely lovable personality who combined a sort of breezy nuttiness with a great deal of hard work and all with the added benefit of a loyal and loving spouse.
The gorgeous Stanley Tucci steps in for this role and, as a pair he and Streep are a grown up example of lasting love. Odd but workable and very, very watchable. This is in sharp contrast to the younger couple who I found smart and annoyingly neurotic. I loathe cutesypie big city Americans - I would have quite liked to see the end of 'Annie Hall' three seconds after I met her and so, the trials of 'Julie'didn't quite move me as they should. Although I was very moved by the fact that she had acquired such a tolerant husband.
This film is another of Nora Ephron's creations and she has worked with Meryl Streep before in 'Silkwood'and 'Heartburn' but, while Ephron has logged up huge popular hits with 'Harry Met Sally' and 'Sleepless in Seattle', I think this is more in tune with us Baby Boomers. I am slightly ashamed of having loved the older couple so much more and I hope it was not a smug smile I felt forming when the film tells us that the real Julia did not approve of the younger woman's Blog.
Still, you've got to love a tryer and these two women were that...in spades. And have a look at the real Julia below. Despite the 'Noddy in Toyland' music, here was a cook with a great deal of intestinal fortitude.
To see a snippet of Julia Child's TV program, click here:
The gorgeous Stanley Tucci steps in for this role and, as a pair he and Streep are a grown up example of lasting love. Odd but workable and very, very watchable. This is in sharp contrast to the younger couple who I found smart and annoyingly neurotic. I loathe cutesypie big city Americans - I would have quite liked to see the end of 'Annie Hall' three seconds after I met her and so, the trials of 'Julie'didn't quite move me as they should. Although I was very moved by the fact that she had acquired such a tolerant husband.
This film is another of Nora Ephron's creations and she has worked with Meryl Streep before in 'Silkwood'and 'Heartburn' but, while Ephron has logged up huge popular hits with 'Harry Met Sally' and 'Sleepless in Seattle', I think this is more in tune with us Baby Boomers. I am slightly ashamed of having loved the older couple so much more and I hope it was not a smug smile I felt forming when the film tells us that the real Julia did not approve of the younger woman's Blog.
Still, you've got to love a tryer and these two women were that...in spades. And have a look at the real Julia below. Despite the 'Noddy in Toyland' music, here was a cook with a great deal of intestinal fortitude.
To see a snippet of Julia Child's TV program, click here:
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Save this Last Dance
It is always strange to see yourself on screen and this time was no different. Aside from always wanting a sip of the champagne they gave me whenever my character appeared, I think I can say a few balanced things about the film
From the start, the producer and director have treated the story with care and dignity. The opening credits are elegant and apt and lead us into the extraordinary world of Li Cunxin. And, wonder of wonders, they found someone in Chi Cao who could act like a dream and dance as well. It was always in our minds as it was being made that if the leading man failed in either of those roles, there was no film. Well, he didn't.
I know for a fact that Chi had to get up and start his work day at 4am to keep himself fit enough to dance as well as he had to. Considering his work day could end around 7 or 8pm, month after month, it was a marathon.
Added to this the insight of a master director in Bruce Beresford and the Camera skills of Peter James, Music by Chris Gordon and Graham Murphy's Choreography, it is a hymn to perseverance and achievement.The tricky politics are beautifully negotiated so that the stormy seas both China and America sailed during that time are treated with care.
I hope this sets off a tidal wave of interest in Ballet again. To watch these exquisite beings whirl around the sets had something of a dream about it and, hours after I had seen this film I was still in raptures about the blissful movements. The last dance is worth waiting for and it is the sum of all its parts.
To see the Trailer of 'Mao's Last Dancer', click here:
From the start, the producer and director have treated the story with care and dignity. The opening credits are elegant and apt and lead us into the extraordinary world of Li Cunxin. And, wonder of wonders, they found someone in Chi Cao who could act like a dream and dance as well. It was always in our minds as it was being made that if the leading man failed in either of those roles, there was no film. Well, he didn't.
I know for a fact that Chi had to get up and start his work day at 4am to keep himself fit enough to dance as well as he had to. Considering his work day could end around 7 or 8pm, month after month, it was a marathon.
Added to this the insight of a master director in Bruce Beresford and the Camera skills of Peter James, Music by Chris Gordon and Graham Murphy's Choreography, it is a hymn to perseverance and achievement.The tricky politics are beautifully negotiated so that the stormy seas both China and America sailed during that time are treated with care.
I hope this sets off a tidal wave of interest in Ballet again. To watch these exquisite beings whirl around the sets had something of a dream about it and, hours after I had seen this film I was still in raptures about the blissful movements. The last dance is worth waiting for and it is the sum of all its parts.
To see the Trailer of 'Mao's Last Dancer', click here:
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Infant Victoria
Australia's history was once described as like 'the most fabulous lies' and that is often true of real life. It can be so incredible that you cannot put it into drama for fear of being thought unrealistic. Strange but true.
Any life lived the way the royal families in Europe lived is very different to our life today but do we really need to have it mushed up and sweetened so that it barely resembles the original? Here is Victoria stomping around and using modern idioms and sexuality that seems very contemporary to me.
The costumes are magical, the sets and settings superb and they could not have better actors or better performances but I felt spoken down to. I saw a documentary about the early life of the young queen which was so much more interesting that I wish they had stuck to the original. The final insult comes with a chatty little pop song about 'true hearts' at the end.
BUT, and its a BIG one, the performances are fab. Both Emily Blunt and Rupert Friend are fabulous as the Queen and Prince Albert and they have a wonderful supporting cast including Miranda Richardson, Harriet Walter and Jim Broadbent. Emily Blunt keeps that lustrous balance between an imperious woman and a young girl in love to a tee and all power to her.
It is a great romance told romantically and at the very least it should stir some historical curiosity about the closeness of the European royals. Here is a scene in which the young queen tries to assert her authority over her husband which I like not only because Emily Blunt plays it so beautifully but because I wish I had the authority of a queen too some times. Even so, I wouldn't be using cockney terms like 'sorted' for all the tea in China.
To see a scene from 'Young Victoria', click here:
Any life lived the way the royal families in Europe lived is very different to our life today but do we really need to have it mushed up and sweetened so that it barely resembles the original? Here is Victoria stomping around and using modern idioms and sexuality that seems very contemporary to me.
The costumes are magical, the sets and settings superb and they could not have better actors or better performances but I felt spoken down to. I saw a documentary about the early life of the young queen which was so much more interesting that I wish they had stuck to the original. The final insult comes with a chatty little pop song about 'true hearts' at the end.
BUT, and its a BIG one, the performances are fab. Both Emily Blunt and Rupert Friend are fabulous as the Queen and Prince Albert and they have a wonderful supporting cast including Miranda Richardson, Harriet Walter and Jim Broadbent. Emily Blunt keeps that lustrous balance between an imperious woman and a young girl in love to a tee and all power to her.
It is a great romance told romantically and at the very least it should stir some historical curiosity about the closeness of the European royals. Here is a scene in which the young queen tries to assert her authority over her husband which I like not only because Emily Blunt plays it so beautifully but because I wish I had the authority of a queen too some times. Even so, I wouldn't be using cockney terms like 'sorted' for all the tea in China.
To see a scene from 'Young Victoria', click here:
Saturday, September 5, 2009
Gently Does It
I started off at a disadvantage with this new series because my reaction to Martin Shaw in Judge John Deed was a bit low key. I like him as an actor but the persistent 'Dear old Chappiness' of the show was underwhelming to me. There is nothing worse than well bred film making and I thought it had that in spades. Not that I object to it in Midsomer Murders but...to each their own.
It seemed to me that Shaw's character as the Judge might be a favourite for him and it would be served up again in the new series. My heart sank when the opening shot had him in his boots in the middle of a river doing a 'spot of fishing'. Not to worry, here's a real actor and so Shaw gives us a quite gentle Gently with a touch of a northern accent, the same doggedness his face always suggests and surprise, surprise - humility. His sidekick is a bumptious annoyance who is redeemed by his youthful insight and glaring character flaws - all calmly pointed out by Gently.
I think it is set in the early 1960's so, as with Mad Men, we have the opportunity to thank our lucky stars that we are in the 21ist century. All the smoking, chauvinist piggery and class structures are carefully folded into the stories - each of which so far, have been surprising and beautifully fitting for the time as I remember it.
Most wonderful is the shooting style. I watched a lot of TV at that time and the producers and cinematographers have captured the 'feel' of the films and drama of the era. There is a sharpness and artistry about the lighting of the actors and the way the camera follows them. Took me back to the marvelous black and white movies of long ago - 'Whistle down the Wind' etc. and the fast paced and curiously well costumed series like 'Danger Man' and 'The Avengers'.
It's great and watch how they include mysteries only just now coming to light - such as the recently discovered Jersey Children's Home scandal which formed the spine of the last episode. And here are Smoking Actors again. In 'The Tree' which we are filming now, the lead actors smoke and the director was smitten with anxiety about it. I must say, it can be a hard habit to kick after a production.
To watch a trailer for the ABC 1 series 'George Gently', click here:
It seemed to me that Shaw's character as the Judge might be a favourite for him and it would be served up again in the new series. My heart sank when the opening shot had him in his boots in the middle of a river doing a 'spot of fishing'. Not to worry, here's a real actor and so Shaw gives us a quite gentle Gently with a touch of a northern accent, the same doggedness his face always suggests and surprise, surprise - humility. His sidekick is a bumptious annoyance who is redeemed by his youthful insight and glaring character flaws - all calmly pointed out by Gently.
I think it is set in the early 1960's so, as with Mad Men, we have the opportunity to thank our lucky stars that we are in the 21ist century. All the smoking, chauvinist piggery and class structures are carefully folded into the stories - each of which so far, have been surprising and beautifully fitting for the time as I remember it.
Most wonderful is the shooting style. I watched a lot of TV at that time and the producers and cinematographers have captured the 'feel' of the films and drama of the era. There is a sharpness and artistry about the lighting of the actors and the way the camera follows them. Took me back to the marvelous black and white movies of long ago - 'Whistle down the Wind' etc. and the fast paced and curiously well costumed series like 'Danger Man' and 'The Avengers'.
It's great and watch how they include mysteries only just now coming to light - such as the recently discovered Jersey Children's Home scandal which formed the spine of the last episode. And here are Smoking Actors again. In 'The Tree' which we are filming now, the lead actors smoke and the director was smitten with anxiety about it. I must say, it can be a hard habit to kick after a production.
To watch a trailer for the ABC 1 series 'George Gently', click here:
Sunday, August 23, 2009
September/ December Issues
Oh Jee, its fascinating to research the redoubtable Anna Wintour only to find a number of boring old farts tut tutting about her age. Namely Mr. Morley Safer from American 60 Minutes who must be a cool eighty if he's a day and I'm glad to say, she lost not one ounce of her cool with him.
I wanted to see this documentary, not only to get a bit of perspective on Meryl Streep's fabulous performance in 'The Devil Wears Prada' but because a friend put me in touch with the concept that its all very well to despise other women for being tough when they have, in fact achieved Olympian heights. It might be sassy and fun to do it from the cute perspective of an infant well, a twenty something girl but what would anybody be like in the same position?
I found Wintour fascinating. Her very guarded self, her deliberately flirtatious persona, her extraordinary figure and taste and her all round composure in what must be an ordeal of a schedule.
She has a rogues gallery of sidekicks to wait on her editorial desk at Vogue who, says Morley Safer, form a posse of "obsequious toadies". I doubt that. I think a non-performing toad in that office would have a shorter life span than a cane toad in a Queensland kitchen and the only likely candidate I could find was a large man of very eccentric habits who seemed to be in a twenty four hour personal operetta.
Grace Coddington is a find - Wintour's seditious friend and talented colleague of uncertain age, whose long red hair and jaunty manner betray her great skill as the Creative Director at Vogue. Starting life as a model in England in the sixties, she ended that career after a terrible motor accident which she still bears the scars of. This does nothing to dull her hands-on delight in her work or her schoolgirl glee when she whispers an aside about the 'headmistress'. Some of this film has a distinct St Trinians air.
There is one jarring note. Wintour likes Starbucks coffee which seems strangely out of place. But, if you're interested in women defying the age and age itself, give this one a go. And not just for the Queen B. either.
To see the trailer of 'September Issue, click here:
I wanted to see this documentary, not only to get a bit of perspective on Meryl Streep's fabulous performance in 'The Devil Wears Prada' but because a friend put me in touch with the concept that its all very well to despise other women for being tough when they have, in fact achieved Olympian heights. It might be sassy and fun to do it from the cute perspective of an infant well, a twenty something girl but what would anybody be like in the same position?
I found Wintour fascinating. Her very guarded self, her deliberately flirtatious persona, her extraordinary figure and taste and her all round composure in what must be an ordeal of a schedule.
She has a rogues gallery of sidekicks to wait on her editorial desk at Vogue who, says Morley Safer, form a posse of "obsequious toadies". I doubt that. I think a non-performing toad in that office would have a shorter life span than a cane toad in a Queensland kitchen and the only likely candidate I could find was a large man of very eccentric habits who seemed to be in a twenty four hour personal operetta.
Grace Coddington is a find - Wintour's seditious friend and talented colleague of uncertain age, whose long red hair and jaunty manner betray her great skill as the Creative Director at Vogue. Starting life as a model in England in the sixties, she ended that career after a terrible motor accident which she still bears the scars of. This does nothing to dull her hands-on delight in her work or her schoolgirl glee when she whispers an aside about the 'headmistress'. Some of this film has a distinct St Trinians air.
There is one jarring note. Wintour likes Starbucks coffee which seems strangely out of place. But, if you're interested in women defying the age and age itself, give this one a go. And not just for the Queen B. either.
To see the trailer of 'September Issue, click here:
Friday, August 14, 2009
Oh Balibo
I knew about the death of the five Australian journalists in Balibo but the passage of time had put a lid on it for me - until this movie. Years ago, I had talked to Tony Maniaty about it and he gave me some insight into the situation they had all faced, but nothing prepared me for this....especially Tony's appearance in the film played by a not-very-look-alike actor.
The story is beautifully handled by Robert Connolly who gave the opening and closing scenes to a local Timorese - a fictitious young girl whose testimony to the Reception, Truth and Reconciliation Commission is heart wrenching.
I have never seen East Timor in anything other than angry documentaries or news footage so to see the landscape lovingly filmed was a relief, considering it forms the background to the messy, restless horror of that time. I was impressed by the reality of the reconstructed scenes and squirmed in remembrance of the awful clothes. The cast captures the exuberant recklessness of the team with great charm but it's the knowledge of the oncoming train wreck and the persistence of the doggedly middle aged Anthony Lapaglia that grounds the film.
The end, when it comes for them all is violent and shocking. As bad as the opening scenes of 'Master and Commander' in its realism but I wish they had not included some of it in their trailer. It should come to us with as near a sense of shock as it did to them.
Translate this back in time and place and we could have been reading Greek tragedy. It was certainly not Australia's finest hour.
To see the trailer of' Balibo',click here:
The story is beautifully handled by Robert Connolly who gave the opening and closing scenes to a local Timorese - a fictitious young girl whose testimony to the Reception, Truth and Reconciliation Commission is heart wrenching.
I have never seen East Timor in anything other than angry documentaries or news footage so to see the landscape lovingly filmed was a relief, considering it forms the background to the messy, restless horror of that time. I was impressed by the reality of the reconstructed scenes and squirmed in remembrance of the awful clothes. The cast captures the exuberant recklessness of the team with great charm but it's the knowledge of the oncoming train wreck and the persistence of the doggedly middle aged Anthony Lapaglia that grounds the film.
The end, when it comes for them all is violent and shocking. As bad as the opening scenes of 'Master and Commander' in its realism but I wish they had not included some of it in their trailer. It should come to us with as near a sense of shock as it did to them.
Translate this back in time and place and we could have been reading Greek tragedy. It was certainly not Australia's finest hour.
To see the trailer of' Balibo',click here:
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Dali - do's and don'ts
Make several visits to the Dali exhibition in Melbourne. At least two - there is simply not enough time to absorb it all otherwise. When I first tried on Sunday, the line for tickets wound round in several loops so I just had a look at the 'Kiddies Dali' set up in the main entrance. There was a clock with reverse numbers on the wall and a bust of a woman with a poached egg on her head. Plastic lobsters and telephones lay around and the children were having a wild time.
I could have made do with that.
On the way in the man sitting at the entrance made a point of looking up and down the visitors and announcing loudly whether he thought they would enjoy the exhibition or not. He said nothing to me. So, as an obvious Dali ignoramus I wanted to read a lot of the information on the boards set near the paintings. Some of it is in the painful loony elaborations that experts in art can descend to but it does help to know a bit more about his life. I never imagined Dali had a normal childhood with a father etc. but here they both are and the exhibition progresses through to his wonderful electric colours and obsession with the wild landscape he grew up in. Several large panels near the entrance introduce you to this strange part of the north western Spanish coastline and it appears again and again in the work.
I loved a film of an exhibition he did in America in the thirties. It seems very primitive, full of strangely dressed manequins and models swimming in pools of swirling water. Even stranger to know that an exhibition of Whistler's Mother had been the other hit of that time.
His mastery of the techniques of the old masters and absorption of the new made him able to do almost anything. I particularly loved his portraits of his wife Gala - the famous one in colour of her face emerging from circular shapes and a much later pencil drawing focusing on her penetrating eyes.
Near the exit there are tiny lighted boxes of his jewellery with photographs of him at work on them on the opposite wall. I noticed he advised young artists to master the technique of the greats...and after that they will let you do anything. How right he was but sometimes, just sometimes I wished he would cheer up a bit.
To see a trailer of the Dali Exhibition, click here:
I could have made do with that.
On the way in the man sitting at the entrance made a point of looking up and down the visitors and announcing loudly whether he thought they would enjoy the exhibition or not. He said nothing to me. So, as an obvious Dali ignoramus I wanted to read a lot of the information on the boards set near the paintings. Some of it is in the painful loony elaborations that experts in art can descend to but it does help to know a bit more about his life. I never imagined Dali had a normal childhood with a father etc. but here they both are and the exhibition progresses through to his wonderful electric colours and obsession with the wild landscape he grew up in. Several large panels near the entrance introduce you to this strange part of the north western Spanish coastline and it appears again and again in the work.
I loved a film of an exhibition he did in America in the thirties. It seems very primitive, full of strangely dressed manequins and models swimming in pools of swirling water. Even stranger to know that an exhibition of Whistler's Mother had been the other hit of that time.
His mastery of the techniques of the old masters and absorption of the new made him able to do almost anything. I particularly loved his portraits of his wife Gala - the famous one in colour of her face emerging from circular shapes and a much later pencil drawing focusing on her penetrating eyes.
Near the exit there are tiny lighted boxes of his jewellery with photographs of him at work on them on the opposite wall. I noticed he advised young artists to master the technique of the greats...and after that they will let you do anything. How right he was but sometimes, just sometimes I wished he would cheer up a bit.
To see a trailer of the Dali Exhibition, click here:
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
The Escapist
When in Los Angeles a few years ago, I went to talk to an agent who represented Brian Cox in America and since then have followed his career more keenly. His translation from English heavyweight theatrical to an international film actor is unusual and he gave us a bit of an insight into this when he chatted to the audience after a screening by Popcorn Taxi recently.
They said he liked a chat and he does. His phone conversation from New York, full of theatrical anecdotes told us about his decision to go to America where he believed he would be a 'character support'- but this film came about after he had expressed a desire to be more. When Rupert Wyatt came to him with a script, he asked him to go back and write him a leading role and, when Wyatt did so he joined the movie as exec. producer and helped get finance for it.
It is beautifully shot and edited and, though full of violence suppressed and real does not step over the border that runs between unbearable and bearable. The camera drifts away when something nasty looks like happening to the beautiful Dominic Cooper and we only cop an eyeful when the most loathed character is roundly thumped and left for dead.
The plot lives on several different levels and in our world of many escapes, it can be taken on all of them. I liked the changes in tense and the weird intercuts between what we hope and what we see. I loved Damian Lewis in another fantastic variation of himself...the first I have seen since the telly production of 'Life'. A very loathsome reptile he can be too. Stranger than that is the Joseph Fiennes character. Fiennes has to go a long way to stop me seeing him as a Siamese cat and cast as he is as a physical heavy complete with scary hood, he does a great job of it.
It is set in the goal which was used for Noel Coward's scene in the original 'Italian Job.' But now it is not bright and chatty as it seemed when Coward sat there in glory, stroking a cat. Dark and claustrophobic, the impression of caged testosterone is palpable.
When this movie was reviewed on Tuesday night on ABC radio, it was described as 'not a Chick Flick' by two cheerful chappies. Well, I suppose that depends on what sort of chick you are. I loved it. Hurry along.
To see a trailer of 'The Escapist' click here:
They said he liked a chat and he does. His phone conversation from New York, full of theatrical anecdotes told us about his decision to go to America where he believed he would be a 'character support'- but this film came about after he had expressed a desire to be more. When Rupert Wyatt came to him with a script, he asked him to go back and write him a leading role and, when Wyatt did so he joined the movie as exec. producer and helped get finance for it.
It is beautifully shot and edited and, though full of violence suppressed and real does not step over the border that runs between unbearable and bearable. The camera drifts away when something nasty looks like happening to the beautiful Dominic Cooper and we only cop an eyeful when the most loathed character is roundly thumped and left for dead.
The plot lives on several different levels and in our world of many escapes, it can be taken on all of them. I liked the changes in tense and the weird intercuts between what we hope and what we see. I loved Damian Lewis in another fantastic variation of himself...the first I have seen since the telly production of 'Life'. A very loathsome reptile he can be too. Stranger than that is the Joseph Fiennes character. Fiennes has to go a long way to stop me seeing him as a Siamese cat and cast as he is as a physical heavy complete with scary hood, he does a great job of it.
It is set in the goal which was used for Noel Coward's scene in the original 'Italian Job.' But now it is not bright and chatty as it seemed when Coward sat there in glory, stroking a cat. Dark and claustrophobic, the impression of caged testosterone is palpable.
When this movie was reviewed on Tuesday night on ABC radio, it was described as 'not a Chick Flick' by two cheerful chappies. Well, I suppose that depends on what sort of chick you are. I loved it. Hurry along.
To see a trailer of 'The Escapist' click here:
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Alone but not Lost
Here's a man all alone who did not 'beweep his outcast state.' Ian Fairweather, the subject of the documentary 'Fairweather Man' directed by Aviva Ziegler which I saw at a special screening at the Australian Film School, is a haunting and haunted person whose sad eyes follow you out of the auditorium and beyond. After a tormented childhood, unlike modern adventurers, this man went on a solo sea journey for a real purpose and emerged from it a changed and focused artist.
There is an air of discovery throughout this film which coincides with the comparative lack of information about the artist anywhere else - even on the net but for aficionados the power of this strange painter is well known. His transformative journey across the Timor Sea is wonderfully captured and, coinciding with his diary records, creates the world of sense and illusion he endured whilst drifting on his raft, staring at the sun by day and the stars by night as his eyes began to fail but not his mind. He lived for the rest of his life on the perception this journey provided.
Born in Scotland in 1891, Ian Fairweather was a true child of Empire. When his parents sailed back to India, he was left with his grandmother and maiden aunts and, seeing them you wonder how he came out of it alive. The maiden aunts resemble something even Disney, in his wildest dreams could not have cooked up and, in their less than tender care, the handsome little boy spent eight years of his life before he saw his family again. From then on it was the usual catastrophe - boarding school, the army, World War 1, escape, incarceration but finally, lessons in art culminating in his enrolment at the Slade in London.
'Fairweather Man' is a delicate interweaving of drama and documentary with additional footage so beautifully set that the whole is a seamless tapestry. Add to this the marvelous paintings and interviews with friends, family and arts luminaries to present a fascinating insight into one of our greats. I know the raft reenactment provided all sorts of logistical problems for the production but it shows how well a life can be brought back when skillfully handled. As David Marr said of Biography - "It should make you feel as if you have met the person." Watch ABC 1 next Thursday 16th July at 9.30pm and meet Mr. Fairweather.
To see a short feature on Ian Fairweather's painting 'Monsoon', click here:
'Fairweather Man' is available on DVD from: https://www.ezydvd.com.au/item.zml/807426
There is an air of discovery throughout this film which coincides with the comparative lack of information about the artist anywhere else - even on the net but for aficionados the power of this strange painter is well known. His transformative journey across the Timor Sea is wonderfully captured and, coinciding with his diary records, creates the world of sense and illusion he endured whilst drifting on his raft, staring at the sun by day and the stars by night as his eyes began to fail but not his mind. He lived for the rest of his life on the perception this journey provided.
Born in Scotland in 1891, Ian Fairweather was a true child of Empire. When his parents sailed back to India, he was left with his grandmother and maiden aunts and, seeing them you wonder how he came out of it alive. The maiden aunts resemble something even Disney, in his wildest dreams could not have cooked up and, in their less than tender care, the handsome little boy spent eight years of his life before he saw his family again. From then on it was the usual catastrophe - boarding school, the army, World War 1, escape, incarceration but finally, lessons in art culminating in his enrolment at the Slade in London.
'Fairweather Man' is a delicate interweaving of drama and documentary with additional footage so beautifully set that the whole is a seamless tapestry. Add to this the marvelous paintings and interviews with friends, family and arts luminaries to present a fascinating insight into one of our greats. I know the raft reenactment provided all sorts of logistical problems for the production but it shows how well a life can be brought back when skillfully handled. As David Marr said of Biography - "It should make you feel as if you have met the person." Watch ABC 1 next Thursday 16th July at 9.30pm and meet Mr. Fairweather.
To see a short feature on Ian Fairweather's painting 'Monsoon', click here:
'Fairweather Man' is available on DVD from: https://www.ezydvd.com.au/item.zml/807426
Friday, June 26, 2009
No Frou Frou
It is always a mistake to have preconceived ideas about a film. I had looked forward to seeing a reconstruction of the early life of Coco Chanel in 'Coco avant Chanel', following the lines of 'poor girl makes good' - with beautiful costumes. Instead you get the real thing.
'Coco avant Chanel' begins with her early childhood in a Dickensian orphanage, progressing through her miserable semi - talent as a chanteuse and on to her not very romantic association with a wealthy french landholder - without an elegant stitch on her. Instead, there was the uncanny likeness of Audrey Tautou to the real Coco and lots of striding, in an odd reminder of Judy Davis in 'My Brilliant Career'. You know she is on her way somewhere but she is so unconventional it takes a while to adjust.
The film shows why she developed her attitude to love and her fierce independence. It is not a comforting nor comfortable vision.
The script is extraordinary and there are genuine Bon Mots including a wonderful allusion to her second lover 'Boy' Capel, who they all adore "because he is English and so elegant." The casting of the two men in this period of her life is very un-Hollywood... Benoit Poelvoordee as Etienne Balsan and Alessandra Nivola as 'Boy' Capel - a Belgian and an American playing a Frenchman and an Englishman. It is strange how often a preconception of nationality is wrong and how observant outsiders can be of a 'type.'
The translation for the subtitles has been done in very colloquial American and is jarring but school girl french comes back quickly when you would rather watch the actors than the subtitles. The next section of her life, moving on to the foundation of her empire and her Post war emergence from retirement to compete with Dior and his 'new look' would be fascinating. Get Judy Davis for that.
To see the real Coco Chanel, click here:
'Coco avant Chanel' begins with her early childhood in a Dickensian orphanage, progressing through her miserable semi - talent as a chanteuse and on to her not very romantic association with a wealthy french landholder - without an elegant stitch on her. Instead, there was the uncanny likeness of Audrey Tautou to the real Coco and lots of striding, in an odd reminder of Judy Davis in 'My Brilliant Career'. You know she is on her way somewhere but she is so unconventional it takes a while to adjust.
The film shows why she developed her attitude to love and her fierce independence. It is not a comforting nor comfortable vision.
The script is extraordinary and there are genuine Bon Mots including a wonderful allusion to her second lover 'Boy' Capel, who they all adore "because he is English and so elegant." The casting of the two men in this period of her life is very un-Hollywood... Benoit Poelvoordee as Etienne Balsan and Alessandra Nivola as 'Boy' Capel - a Belgian and an American playing a Frenchman and an Englishman. It is strange how often a preconception of nationality is wrong and how observant outsiders can be of a 'type.'
The translation for the subtitles has been done in very colloquial American and is jarring but school girl french comes back quickly when you would rather watch the actors than the subtitles. The next section of her life, moving on to the foundation of her empire and her Post war emergence from retirement to compete with Dior and his 'new look' would be fascinating. Get Judy Davis for that.
To see the real Coco Chanel, click here:
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Frank but not Ernest
Settling down to watch the Arthur Upfield telemovie on ABC last weekend, I had expected a fast paced, even racy outback detective story. Oh no, not at all and for a while I thought we'd be stuck in the well worn and extremely dismal 'WW1 vet has trouble with women but hides real affection for lost boy'. I was not sure I could go through too much more of that but this production slips neatly past the cliches while remaining true to the stripped down facts of life at that time.
Robert Menzies gives the sort of performance that takes him way beyond the bleak Rabbit Proof Fence territory his character works in. His stoicism and stolid insistence on his populist talents as a writer are counterbalanced by absolute confidence in his integrity. Moments of conflict and then resolution with his family are highlights but even they are dished out with the same reluctance Upfield seemed to have felt for self glorification. Nevertheless they're there and so we see glimpses of happiness possible on the horizon.
As an avid watcher of crime stories, I often find myself watching violent crime scenes I would consider over the top from any other genre. Responsibility for this fascination is looked at here, as Arthur Upfield's plotting of a 'Boney' story sucks in a sociopath whose subsequent crimes follow the author's pattern. The inclusion of Nicholas Hope of 'Bad Boy Bubby' fame is interesting - his persona curls round his role as the dogged investigator perfectly.
For those of us for whom too much detective telly is not enough, this was a thoughtful exercise.
To see interviews with the writer, producer and director, click here:
Robert Menzies gives the sort of performance that takes him way beyond the bleak Rabbit Proof Fence territory his character works in. His stoicism and stolid insistence on his populist talents as a writer are counterbalanced by absolute confidence in his integrity. Moments of conflict and then resolution with his family are highlights but even they are dished out with the same reluctance Upfield seemed to have felt for self glorification. Nevertheless they're there and so we see glimpses of happiness possible on the horizon.
As an avid watcher of crime stories, I often find myself watching violent crime scenes I would consider over the top from any other genre. Responsibility for this fascination is looked at here, as Arthur Upfield's plotting of a 'Boney' story sucks in a sociopath whose subsequent crimes follow the author's pattern. The inclusion of Nicholas Hope of 'Bad Boy Bubby' fame is interesting - his persona curls round his role as the dogged investigator perfectly.
For those of us for whom too much detective telly is not enough, this was a thoughtful exercise.
To see interviews with the writer, producer and director, click here:
Monday, June 15, 2009
David and Goliath
Late one night, I heard an interview with Roberto Saviano, author of 'Gomorrah'. This Italian author was in hiding having written about his experiences with the Camorra - a mafia organisation in North Italy. Several years before, I had seen the best film Chazz Palminteri had ever starred in - FALCONE about an anti Mafia Judge working in Sicily.
At intervals, the papers show the state Naples is in, with rubbish piling high in the streets but nothing ever seemed to come of it and so the story 'went away'. Now this movie comes out following the publication of the book in 2006 and over the last few months, 60 mafiosi have been captured in Naples.
The film creates a world of its own with signs and sounds as foreign and intriguing as any distant place. You follow the lives of six characters, diving deep into the entrails of a vast public housing complex. The faces remind you of Roman statuary with their aquiline noses and strong profiles but there is little glory here.
The sound editor should get an Oscar for pointing us at the centre of things we need to notice and there's a not dud performance in it. More bad underwear but everything else is beautifully done. If such a topic can be exquisite, this is. I particularly liked one moral turning point when a mafiosi throws away an old ladies' gift of home grown peaches complaining of the 'smell'. We get a good, long look at the beautiful fresh fruit and the trouble the old lady took with the them.
To see a trailer of 'Gomorrah', click here:
At intervals, the papers show the state Naples is in, with rubbish piling high in the streets but nothing ever seemed to come of it and so the story 'went away'. Now this movie comes out following the publication of the book in 2006 and over the last few months, 60 mafiosi have been captured in Naples.
The film creates a world of its own with signs and sounds as foreign and intriguing as any distant place. You follow the lives of six characters, diving deep into the entrails of a vast public housing complex. The faces remind you of Roman statuary with their aquiline noses and strong profiles but there is little glory here.
The sound editor should get an Oscar for pointing us at the centre of things we need to notice and there's a not dud performance in it. More bad underwear but everything else is beautifully done. If such a topic can be exquisite, this is. I particularly liked one moral turning point when a mafiosi throws away an old ladies' gift of home grown peaches complaining of the 'smell'. We get a good, long look at the beautiful fresh fruit and the trouble the old lady took with the them.
To see a trailer of 'Gomorrah', click here:
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Heavenly Hair~Lisa
There will always be stories about make up and wardrobe. As a fan of the 20th Century production of 'Cleopatra' with Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, I wanted to have a quick look at it before I included it in this blog but sadly, her accent is too annoying for even a snippet. The costumes, hair and makeup are breathtaking so, when I was sitting in Makeup recently and the makeup artist asked me who I wanted to look like, I said 'The Queen of the Nile.' There was a small pause...
Its not surprising that women want to look their best and I don't think it ever changes. So in these days of belt tightening, it is wonderful to have found a local hairdresser who works the magic. When my long time hairdresser left town for a tree change I decided to find one closer to home. The nearest was five minutes away and I walked in and asked them who was their best cutter. The appointment was a bit nerve wracking as I am trying to keep the colour I have always had but wanting something new in the cut. Lisa asked me questions, listened to the answers and then gave me the best cut and colour I have ever had. I had rung up beforehand to find out about the prices which were moderate and fair. After the fabulous cut and colour, they seemed like a dream.
So, if you are looking for a good hairdresser in Sydney, I would heartily recommend Lisa at Heavenly Hair and Body.
And the address is appropriate:
186/2A HOLLYWOOD AVE.
BONDI JUNCTION
N.S.W. Tel: 02 9369 3372
http://www.heavenly-hair-body.com.au/
They are two minutes away from Westfield and more importantly for me, as I never seem to have my diary under control, Lisa will make efforts to fit in with your work schedule.For all professional women who have to look good, and need to keep the mortgage payments up too, you get the best of both here.
Just to let you know how the beloved make up lady adapted to me wanting to be Cleopatra.
After a minute she lifted up her brush and said: "This is a brush not a wand."
To find out more about the real Queen of the Nile, click here:
Its not surprising that women want to look their best and I don't think it ever changes. So in these days of belt tightening, it is wonderful to have found a local hairdresser who works the magic. When my long time hairdresser left town for a tree change I decided to find one closer to home. The nearest was five minutes away and I walked in and asked them who was their best cutter. The appointment was a bit nerve wracking as I am trying to keep the colour I have always had but wanting something new in the cut. Lisa asked me questions, listened to the answers and then gave me the best cut and colour I have ever had. I had rung up beforehand to find out about the prices which were moderate and fair. After the fabulous cut and colour, they seemed like a dream.
So, if you are looking for a good hairdresser in Sydney, I would heartily recommend Lisa at Heavenly Hair and Body.
And the address is appropriate:
186/2A HOLLYWOOD AVE.
BONDI JUNCTION
N.S.W. Tel: 02 9369 3372
http://www.heavenly-hair-body.com.au/
They are two minutes away from Westfield and more importantly for me, as I never seem to have my diary under control, Lisa will make efforts to fit in with your work schedule.For all professional women who have to look good, and need to keep the mortgage payments up too, you get the best of both here.
Just to let you know how the beloved make up lady adapted to me wanting to be Cleopatra.
After a minute she lifted up her brush and said: "This is a brush not a wand."
To find out more about the real Queen of the Nile, click here:
Monday, June 8, 2009
Angels, Demons and the whole damn thing.
After this luscious jump into old Testament mythology you come out feeling strangely splattered with guts and slightly grubby. I like Tom Hanks, one of my favourite films is 'Apollo 13' but something has happened to Ron Howard in this. In a reaction to the hype of 'The Da Vinci Code' I did not see the film but I love labyrinthine plots so I was expecting a lot. I suppose there lurked the spirit of 'The Shoes of the Fisherman' in the back of my mind and it didn't help.
Rome is a big, busy city and I think it suffers from the modish quick cutting in this. You no sooner focus on one great scene when you are zoomed into some corner of it and then raced off to another location and all to a sound track that speaks too much volume. I think it reveals a lack of confidence in content when there's so much orchestra in your ears.
You do get an insiders look at the Vatican and some wonderful performances including Armin Mueller-Stahl, who must have suffered a small wince when the Goethe Institute ran a retrospective of his career under the title 'Architect of the Soul'. Perhaps not - he does have a gravitas that can be horribly absent in film and you relax every time he is on screen. Best known internationally for his performance as the Father in 'Shine', he exudes the wisdom of experience in his role as Cardinal Strauss, with the result that you are never completely sure which side he may be on.
There is a wonderful complexity of faces here with great performances from relative unknowns such as Nikolaj Kaas as the assassin. Ewan Mcgregor carries all truth and honour before him while he leads us effortlessly round the inner sanctum and we try to work out who is doing what to whom.
This is beautiful and fast...sometimes a little too fast for Tom Hank's leading lady who had a bit of trouble with those heels I thought. It is plainly not written by Morris West but if they do another one, and keep the camera from poking into too many sores and wounds, I'll go and see it.
To see an interview with Ron Howard on the making of 'Angels and Demons' click here:
Rome is a big, busy city and I think it suffers from the modish quick cutting in this. You no sooner focus on one great scene when you are zoomed into some corner of it and then raced off to another location and all to a sound track that speaks too much volume. I think it reveals a lack of confidence in content when there's so much orchestra in your ears.
You do get an insiders look at the Vatican and some wonderful performances including Armin Mueller-Stahl, who must have suffered a small wince when the Goethe Institute ran a retrospective of his career under the title 'Architect of the Soul'. Perhaps not - he does have a gravitas that can be horribly absent in film and you relax every time he is on screen. Best known internationally for his performance as the Father in 'Shine', he exudes the wisdom of experience in his role as Cardinal Strauss, with the result that you are never completely sure which side he may be on.
There is a wonderful complexity of faces here with great performances from relative unknowns such as Nikolaj Kaas as the assassin. Ewan Mcgregor carries all truth and honour before him while he leads us effortlessly round the inner sanctum and we try to work out who is doing what to whom.
This is beautiful and fast...sometimes a little too fast for Tom Hank's leading lady who had a bit of trouble with those heels I thought. It is plainly not written by Morris West but if they do another one, and keep the camera from poking into too many sores and wounds, I'll go and see it.
To see an interview with Ron Howard on the making of 'Angels and Demons' click here:
No Disgrace
I heard that Anna Maria Monticelli wrote the script for this film on spec with no guarantee the Nobel Prize winning South African author J.M.Coetzee, would ever agree to it. The amount of faith and discipline that takes is hard to imagine but it paid off and the finished film, directed by her partner Steve Jacobs is testament to her taste and tenacity. This is their second film after 'La Spagnola'.
Right at the start you are launched into a world presided over by that faded satyr John Malkovich, who stalks my imagination as the predator in 'Les Liaisons'. He is older now and paler, so pale in fact that soon his image actually fades from the screen but the demon lives. Facing rows of fresh faced students he finds another beauty and wills himself into her world. What follows is a sad story of use and abuse which leaves him with nowhere to go but his daughter's faraway cottage nestled deep in the spectacular South African mountain ranges. From here the saga turns in on itself in a relentless chart of decline and retreat.
Malkovich is great but surrounded by performances of equal strength and humanity. The violence when it looms is fearful but there is no slobbering over details, just a tense build up that explodes into chaos. What a pity this scene was used for the trailer as it comes as a complete shock.
Apparently Malkovich knocked on doors asking his fellow cast members to go over lines with him so... what you see on screen is not always what you get on set. Some actors took a mental photo of themselves - 'Me rehearsing with Malkovich.'
Watch out for the Australian cast, especially Anne Looby and Fiona Press. Press gives a great performance in the larger role. She has my vote for any award that looks like coming her way.
To see the 'Disgrace' trailer, click here:
Right at the start you are launched into a world presided over by that faded satyr John Malkovich, who stalks my imagination as the predator in 'Les Liaisons'. He is older now and paler, so pale in fact that soon his image actually fades from the screen but the demon lives. Facing rows of fresh faced students he finds another beauty and wills himself into her world. What follows is a sad story of use and abuse which leaves him with nowhere to go but his daughter's faraway cottage nestled deep in the spectacular South African mountain ranges. From here the saga turns in on itself in a relentless chart of decline and retreat.
Malkovich is great but surrounded by performances of equal strength and humanity. The violence when it looms is fearful but there is no slobbering over details, just a tense build up that explodes into chaos. What a pity this scene was used for the trailer as it comes as a complete shock.
Apparently Malkovich knocked on doors asking his fellow cast members to go over lines with him so... what you see on screen is not always what you get on set. Some actors took a mental photo of themselves - 'Me rehearsing with Malkovich.'
Watch out for the Australian cast, especially Anne Looby and Fiona Press. Press gives a great performance in the larger role. She has my vote for any award that looks like coming her way.
To see the 'Disgrace' trailer, click here:
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Mad Persons
You certainly get a quick intro to this series when the advertising executives discuss a product and one asks "What is the woman's angle on this?" The leading man shrugs his shoulders and mutters "Who cares?". Its a shock and it should be.
Surely this beautiful series could not have come at a better time when people like me are longing for the 'put together' looks of Audrey Hepburn and the sharp hair cuts and tailored suits of the men of long ago. 'Mad Men' is about the time when women wore petticoats and suspenders and men wore hats and looked very fine in them too. Nobody wanted to be like a New York criminal and boys wore their jeans round their torsoes not their knees. But with all this snappy attire came cigarettes and sexism, very odd canapes and a giant amount of alcohol.
That's the awful fascination of this as you watch the men compete with each other for every step up the ladder, driving their wives mad with suspicion that turns into avarice while their husbands dally with mistresses from the office and then step casually into their fabulous cars, fully tanked themselves. And the racism is of another order altogether. It is all so beautifully done that wounds and insults slide by in a congenial fog of beauty and style and you are left at the end blinking at the closing credits following the 'Mad' Madison Avenue man as he spirals down the sheer cliff face of his multi storey office block.
Thank your lucky stars I say and give it a long hard look. We've come a long way and it was well worth the trouble.
To see a trailer of Mad Men Series 1&2, click here:
Surely this beautiful series could not have come at a better time when people like me are longing for the 'put together' looks of Audrey Hepburn and the sharp hair cuts and tailored suits of the men of long ago. 'Mad Men' is about the time when women wore petticoats and suspenders and men wore hats and looked very fine in them too. Nobody wanted to be like a New York criminal and boys wore their jeans round their torsoes not their knees. But with all this snappy attire came cigarettes and sexism, very odd canapes and a giant amount of alcohol.
That's the awful fascination of this as you watch the men compete with each other for every step up the ladder, driving their wives mad with suspicion that turns into avarice while their husbands dally with mistresses from the office and then step casually into their fabulous cars, fully tanked themselves. And the racism is of another order altogether. It is all so beautifully done that wounds and insults slide by in a congenial fog of beauty and style and you are left at the end blinking at the closing credits following the 'Mad' Madison Avenue man as he spirals down the sheer cliff face of his multi storey office block.
Thank your lucky stars I say and give it a long hard look. We've come a long way and it was well worth the trouble.
To see a trailer of Mad Men Series 1&2, click here:
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
The State of Washington
In my constant quest to find as many films which feature older women in powerful roles as I can, here's another. 'State of Play' is a fast paced thriller with Helen Mirren as the Editor of The Washington Globe and Russel Crowe as the top reporter. She has great wisecracks, pithy retorts and quite a nice line in power dressing. Lean and tanned, she is showing the results of her years in L.A. but has lost none of the direct, disturbing focus she used to interrogate 'persons of interest' in 'Prime Suspect.'
I went to see a preview put on by 'Popcorn Taxi' - the gen Y conduit to the latest movies and their makers. In the time afterwards, they had director Kevin Macdonald on the phone from England. He explained his casting dilemma - with Brad Pitt leaving the movie only a week before the shoot as a result of a script disagreement. Russel Crowe stepped in and saved the day but still they had no rehearsal for what is a tense, tight, thriller. To see how many people are assembled for a big film like this,click on the 'What Just Happened' trailer for the Bruce Willis scene. Macdonald and Russel Crowe had a weekend to go over the role before Monday rolled in and the whole show began.
I don't know how people pull together a performance so fast when they have to be an ensemble for so much of it, let alone master an intricate plot line that grabs you from the initial short, sharp, shock through to the end. For 'Mao's Last Dancer' one of the overseas actors had the plot line for his character typed out in bold letters at the head of each scene. That's one way of knowing exactly where you stand.
To see the trailer for 'State of Play click here:
I went to see a preview put on by 'Popcorn Taxi' - the gen Y conduit to the latest movies and their makers. In the time afterwards, they had director Kevin Macdonald on the phone from England. He explained his casting dilemma - with Brad Pitt leaving the movie only a week before the shoot as a result of a script disagreement. Russel Crowe stepped in and saved the day but still they had no rehearsal for what is a tense, tight, thriller. To see how many people are assembled for a big film like this,click on the 'What Just Happened' trailer for the Bruce Willis scene. Macdonald and Russel Crowe had a weekend to go over the role before Monday rolled in and the whole show began.
I don't know how people pull together a performance so fast when they have to be an ensemble for so much of it, let alone master an intricate plot line that grabs you from the initial short, sharp, shock through to the end. For 'Mao's Last Dancer' one of the overseas actors had the plot line for his character typed out in bold letters at the head of each scene. That's one way of knowing exactly where you stand.
To see the trailer for 'State of Play click here:
Friday, May 22, 2009
What just happened?
Well, I don't think this a comedy anyway. The movie starring Robert De Niro as a producer is almost a straight doco. Funny in parts but, when NIDA friend and long time film-going partner John Paramor, said he hated the 'Director' character, I asked if he had ever worked with people like that? His answer, 'YES' was so large there's not a big enough type face to write it.
De Niro is the revelation. Sometimes it's sad to see heroes age on screen but I was warned about his mellowing when I saw him interviewed in Cannes on TV. He sat low in his chair giggling like a baby, looking sweet and amiable. Is this the once 'Raging Bull?' He has stepped into a new persona you wouldn't have been able to imagine a decade ago. Calm and mature, there's a steadiness about him that belies all previous violence.
I always thought his best roles were 'Everyman in a Cold World' parts a la 'Midnight Run' but its a joy to see him as a thoughtful father, implacable businessman, wounded husband and amused entrepreneur. He is now the 'man of the world' even in the worst underwear in history and the film, made as it is by seasoned insiders, is a delight.
Go thinking to catch a glimpse of real Hollywood and then the humour emerges but there are no belly laughs. It's a world as weird as the deep waters of the oceans and as fascinating. The seduction scene in the men's loo when De Niro is approached by a perfect beauty murmuring soft endearments, is one of the spine chilling moments when you realise how hard marriages must be to maintain in FilmLand L.A.
One of the highlights is the calm power of the Studio Boss. I wonder how many creative people have wanted to say - change this or "I'll take this movie away from you and re-cut it myself"?
To see the trailer of 'What just happened?' click here:
De Niro is the revelation. Sometimes it's sad to see heroes age on screen but I was warned about his mellowing when I saw him interviewed in Cannes on TV. He sat low in his chair giggling like a baby, looking sweet and amiable. Is this the once 'Raging Bull?' He has stepped into a new persona you wouldn't have been able to imagine a decade ago. Calm and mature, there's a steadiness about him that belies all previous violence.
I always thought his best roles were 'Everyman in a Cold World' parts a la 'Midnight Run' but its a joy to see him as a thoughtful father, implacable businessman, wounded husband and amused entrepreneur. He is now the 'man of the world' even in the worst underwear in history and the film, made as it is by seasoned insiders, is a delight.
Go thinking to catch a glimpse of real Hollywood and then the humour emerges but there are no belly laughs. It's a world as weird as the deep waters of the oceans and as fascinating. The seduction scene in the men's loo when De Niro is approached by a perfect beauty murmuring soft endearments, is one of the spine chilling moments when you realise how hard marriages must be to maintain in FilmLand L.A.
One of the highlights is the calm power of the Studio Boss. I wonder how many creative people have wanted to say - change this or "I'll take this movie away from you and re-cut it myself"?
To see the trailer of 'What just happened?' click here:
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Ask Grannie
The Spanish film festival was on in Sydney last week and a friend of mine who had lived in Spain, rang me. We decided on a film called 'The Anarchist's wife' which had good reviews while I dodged a ticket to an opera with a 'modern interpretation.' Arriving at dusk, I was offered a pamphlet which seemed to be a plot outline. The foyer was full of Sydney's Spanish population. I lined up at the box office to get my ticket to find another actress serving."How's things?""Fine thanks." "You?" "Fine." You often see familiar faces in box offices. I looked down at my pamphlet to find it an Anarchist manifesto.
The audience was the usual unruly bunch of what used to be called 'Pseuds'. Young and old pretending to know all about what they were about to see, plus a sprinkling of spaniards who were loud and happy and seemed to have brought their dinner. As the lights dimmed, there was no cessation of noise and I moved my head to one side to avoid the block of heads eagerly kissing each other in the seats in front.
The Anarchist's wife was of unearthly beauty and worryingly young. She seemed to have a very grown up child, a succession of fine fur coats and quite a lot of real estate. The Anarchist read out stirring speeches on rebel radio from besieged townships and sooner or later, they were parted. Ho Hum. Still somewhere along this unlikely fairy story, the wondrous earnestness of their acting and the domestic troubles of the 'interesting' times they were living through caught me unawares. I was carried along, fine fur coats and all through an hour and a half of Spanish Civil War and its consequences and came out feeling I knew a bit more about this time, which figures so heavily in our modern history. Especially the horrible aftermath of Spanish refugees and their flight to France. Strange to say, the wife didn't age much but her child grew to maidenhood and the Anarchist himself looked very worn. Rightly, as he had been through a civil war, a world war and a concentration camp.
I think that is the virtue of film festivals - you get to see how other countries handle their culture. The blackness which underlies the Spanish soul and sits side by side with its lustrous beauty, is a little unsettling. On screen they portray far more than Anglo Celts do - you wander into the loo with their characters and watch them in all sorts of daily activities that we would close the door on but still, they have a siren song of loveliness and honesty that is appealing. I'm not sure there was much of it in this film but it was alluring in the best sense. Not the least being the ugly rebellion of the long suffering daughter.
So...ask your parents or grandparents, as the film recommends us to do and see what they say about those times.
To see a german language trailer of 'The Anarchist's Wife' click here:
The audience was the usual unruly bunch of what used to be called 'Pseuds'. Young and old pretending to know all about what they were about to see, plus a sprinkling of spaniards who were loud and happy and seemed to have brought their dinner. As the lights dimmed, there was no cessation of noise and I moved my head to one side to avoid the block of heads eagerly kissing each other in the seats in front.
The Anarchist's wife was of unearthly beauty and worryingly young. She seemed to have a very grown up child, a succession of fine fur coats and quite a lot of real estate. The Anarchist read out stirring speeches on rebel radio from besieged townships and sooner or later, they were parted. Ho Hum. Still somewhere along this unlikely fairy story, the wondrous earnestness of their acting and the domestic troubles of the 'interesting' times they were living through caught me unawares. I was carried along, fine fur coats and all through an hour and a half of Spanish Civil War and its consequences and came out feeling I knew a bit more about this time, which figures so heavily in our modern history. Especially the horrible aftermath of Spanish refugees and their flight to France. Strange to say, the wife didn't age much but her child grew to maidenhood and the Anarchist himself looked very worn. Rightly, as he had been through a civil war, a world war and a concentration camp.
I think that is the virtue of film festivals - you get to see how other countries handle their culture. The blackness which underlies the Spanish soul and sits side by side with its lustrous beauty, is a little unsettling. On screen they portray far more than Anglo Celts do - you wander into the loo with their characters and watch them in all sorts of daily activities that we would close the door on but still, they have a siren song of loveliness and honesty that is appealing. I'm not sure there was much of it in this film but it was alluring in the best sense. Not the least being the ugly rebellion of the long suffering daughter.
So...ask your parents or grandparents, as the film recommends us to do and see what they say about those times.
To see a german language trailer of 'The Anarchist's Wife' click here:
Thursday, May 7, 2009
'Life' Really Matters
A very sad thing has happened to my favourite series...Channel 10's 'Life'. NBC have cancelled it. Of course its a lot to expect a weird sexy stylish cop drama full of good actors, to last. It did have that quintessential good guy Damian Lewis in it and he has a long list of credits in English TV and stage behind him, but he took to being American like a duck to water. Beautiful accent, scary with a gun etc etc.
'Life' had a lot of weird things. Odd and very funny sexual politics, a bizarrely balletic flow of movement and a very tricky plot line. It was drama for grown ups I thought and now its over. But its worth remembering that it actually got on screen in the first place.
In this day of bullying, its interesting to know that Damian Lewis' background is the high flown school of Eton in England. Apart from surviving the inbuilt hustling which is routine in most 'public' schools in England, Joanna McCallum, the daughter of Googie Withers (The Lady Vanishes) and John McCallum (Skippy producer) told me she was discussing confidence with him one day and he admitted that the school had helped him there. I don't know that a childhood in top hat and tails is always a good thing for an actor but it seems to have given him a great work ethic - he not only has the accent but also the body language and rhythm of the character he plays. Compare that to his performance as the uptight Soames Forsyte in the ITV series 'The Forsyte Saga.'
As much as an English or Australian accent is very rare to find in American films so it is rare to hear it convincingly on the other side of the ocean. Rachel Griffiths is an acknowledged master of it for 'Brothers and Sisters' and she does it meticulously line for line. Everything is different including the way the tongue moves to form the words. She once showed me some exercises in an Art Gallery behind cupped hands. It is not a beautiful thing to see two people trying to manoeuvre their tongues to the idiosyncrasies of American dialect and I think we needed Restoration style fans to hide behind.
To see what actors really do even in top class drama, click here:
'Life' had a lot of weird things. Odd and very funny sexual politics, a bizarrely balletic flow of movement and a very tricky plot line. It was drama for grown ups I thought and now its over. But its worth remembering that it actually got on screen in the first place.
In this day of bullying, its interesting to know that Damian Lewis' background is the high flown school of Eton in England. Apart from surviving the inbuilt hustling which is routine in most 'public' schools in England, Joanna McCallum, the daughter of Googie Withers (The Lady Vanishes) and John McCallum (Skippy producer) told me she was discussing confidence with him one day and he admitted that the school had helped him there. I don't know that a childhood in top hat and tails is always a good thing for an actor but it seems to have given him a great work ethic - he not only has the accent but also the body language and rhythm of the character he plays. Compare that to his performance as the uptight Soames Forsyte in the ITV series 'The Forsyte Saga.'
As much as an English or Australian accent is very rare to find in American films so it is rare to hear it convincingly on the other side of the ocean. Rachel Griffiths is an acknowledged master of it for 'Brothers and Sisters' and she does it meticulously line for line. Everything is different including the way the tongue moves to form the words. She once showed me some exercises in an Art Gallery behind cupped hands. It is not a beautiful thing to see two people trying to manoeuvre their tongues to the idiosyncrasies of American dialect and I think we needed Restoration style fans to hide behind.
To see what actors really do even in top class drama, click here:
Sunday, May 3, 2009
Running and Hiding
Coming out of 'Defiance' somebody sneezed without putting their hand to their mouth and we were all wrenched out of our brave war torn world and into modern day worries in a flash.
I am a big fan of the two actors who played the main protagonists in a family of four real life brothers who are the basis for this movie. So to see Daniel Craig and Leiv Schreiber as the two elder Bielski brothers was wonderful in terms of performance but also because, as a baby boomer brought up in Europe, I spent quite a lot of early childhood surrounded by ex soldiers. Our priest at school squeaked down the aisle on his wooden leg (blown off during the war) and I was taught piano by a woman whose left hand had been sheared in half by a buzz bomb. She played on and the vicar marched on and so I suppose you get to suss out flim flam soldiery very quickly when you see it on screen. For all that I actually saw no war, this film does seem to incorporate the kind of persona those men had even though perhaps the two Russian army partisans were cast more for their fabulous faces than their manly physiques.
On the down side, I don't remember European forests being quite so beautifully light and I missed the feeling of wildlife but the brothers are not given the moral high ground exclusively and there are several vignettes of forest life that bring the chill and famine a little too close for comfort. I liked the way the young brother grew into his authority and felt a strange sense of the wild gamble that life in a war must be,with all its unlikely good fortune and heartbreaking bad.
On a personal side, it is amazing to me that performers cast in such a film do not do basic weight loss diets working on these stories. You just can't slim down chubby cheeks with make up and it does only take a very small effort to get it off. I was stunned when working on Bruce Beresford's 'Paradise Road' how few of us took the extremely careful dietary regime we were asked to go on seriously. One of the extras used to walk down the lunch table laid out for the crew (no holds barred scrumptious food to keep a physically active person going for 12 hours) and send her husband down the actors table (lean but highly nutritious food) - she looked like a pork barrel all the way through the movie and she wasn't the only one. There were some shots of 'starving' people in this film that make you long for a Jenny Craig representative.
I am a big fan of the two actors who played the main protagonists in a family of four real life brothers who are the basis for this movie. So to see Daniel Craig and Leiv Schreiber as the two elder Bielski brothers was wonderful in terms of performance but also because, as a baby boomer brought up in Europe, I spent quite a lot of early childhood surrounded by ex soldiers. Our priest at school squeaked down the aisle on his wooden leg (blown off during the war) and I was taught piano by a woman whose left hand had been sheared in half by a buzz bomb. She played on and the vicar marched on and so I suppose you get to suss out flim flam soldiery very quickly when you see it on screen. For all that I actually saw no war, this film does seem to incorporate the kind of persona those men had even though perhaps the two Russian army partisans were cast more for their fabulous faces than their manly physiques.
On the down side, I don't remember European forests being quite so beautifully light and I missed the feeling of wildlife but the brothers are not given the moral high ground exclusively and there are several vignettes of forest life that bring the chill and famine a little too close for comfort. I liked the way the young brother grew into his authority and felt a strange sense of the wild gamble that life in a war must be,with all its unlikely good fortune and heartbreaking bad.
On a personal side, it is amazing to me that performers cast in such a film do not do basic weight loss diets working on these stories. You just can't slim down chubby cheeks with make up and it does only take a very small effort to get it off. I was stunned when working on Bruce Beresford's 'Paradise Road' how few of us took the extremely careful dietary regime we were asked to go on seriously. One of the extras used to walk down the lunch table laid out for the crew (no holds barred scrumptious food to keep a physically active person going for 12 hours) and send her husband down the actors table (lean but highly nutritious food) - she looked like a pork barrel all the way through the movie and she wasn't the only one. There were some shots of 'starving' people in this film that make you long for a Jenny Craig representative.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
How about Normal?
Going to see Julia Roberts in 'Duplicity' this week, I was surprised at her showing signs of being a normal human being. Despite a knock out figure, fabulous clothes and great performance she had circles under her eyes and perhaps, a little trouble teetering about in cork heels. Who'd a thought it? After a while you get accustomed to it especially as this film breaks all the rules of a 'caper' movie. There is no doubt that she is one of the most stylish women on screen but she seemed happy to appear slightly less than perfect for 'Duplicity'.
This is even more of a surprise considering I have just found out that movie stars can and do appear on screen in less than perfect form, safe in the knowledge that their flaws can be removed in post production. I know that models do this but I did not know it was possible for the moving image. It is of course, incredibly expensive.
It is well known that Oliver Reed died during the making of 'Gladiator' and that he was computer generated for the remaining scenes but personally, I didn't think that worked out well. Call me naive but it never occurred to me this would happen with live action when it was a matter of looks only.
So perhaps it is great virtue in Julia Roberts that she is approaching human and not unearthly beauty in her latest film. It is a real brain teaser and has that rare and almost extinct creature, the mature and clever older woman working successfully in the corporate world.
There was one such in the first film I ever saw - Hitchcock's 'The Lady Vanishes' which starred a magnificent Dame May Witty as a devious and adept spy outwitting the Nazis in deepest war torn Europe. I never got over seeing a portly matron cheerfully going about her business under great pressure and in constant danger.
And why are we so surprised to see this now? What is the problem with Susan Boyle? In days of yore, the slightly less than fantastic face and figure was not received with such astonishment. Bring it back I say and lets have some - how to put it...every day people in our media.
This is even more of a surprise considering I have just found out that movie stars can and do appear on screen in less than perfect form, safe in the knowledge that their flaws can be removed in post production. I know that models do this but I did not know it was possible for the moving image. It is of course, incredibly expensive.
It is well known that Oliver Reed died during the making of 'Gladiator' and that he was computer generated for the remaining scenes but personally, I didn't think that worked out well. Call me naive but it never occurred to me this would happen with live action when it was a matter of looks only.
So perhaps it is great virtue in Julia Roberts that she is approaching human and not unearthly beauty in her latest film. It is a real brain teaser and has that rare and almost extinct creature, the mature and clever older woman working successfully in the corporate world.
There was one such in the first film I ever saw - Hitchcock's 'The Lady Vanishes' which starred a magnificent Dame May Witty as a devious and adept spy outwitting the Nazis in deepest war torn Europe. I never got over seeing a portly matron cheerfully going about her business under great pressure and in constant danger.
And why are we so surprised to see this now? What is the problem with Susan Boyle? In days of yore, the slightly less than fantastic face and figure was not received with such astonishment. Bring it back I say and lets have some - how to put it...every day people in our media.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Making it in Blighty
Shooting the final episode of '30 Seconds' brought me in contact with Peter O'Brien who has an unusual trajectory in his career. Deciding in the early 90's that the scene in Australia was too small, he headed to the vast market of London and slowly made his way up the acting ladder there. Its a tough move and his salary often fluctuated wildly.
Playing at a tiny theatre for 120 pounds a week he found himself transferred overnight to the West End earning one thousand and twenty pounds. The size of the audience had ballooned and with it his salary which in London can make a great deal of difference to an actor's life.
Talking of an actor's life in England, playwright Ron Blair tells of going to the Royal Shakespeare at Stratford and watching spellbound as the history of England was performed with flair and brilliance but, on the way home driving past three of the 'Kings' he had watched in ermine and armour flashing about the stage, lined up at the bus stop in raincoats!
In a report put out by Equity - the actors union, it was said that at the time Peter went to England, there were 75000 actors out of work at any one time. So to make it there is a mark of great strength as well as talent.
Still, whilst he was not playing an angel in '30 Seconds' it was a shock to see Peter in 'Underbelly 2' this week with white hair and steely heart as 'George Freeman.'
To see more of Peter O'Brien and the cast of Underbelly 2, click here.
Playing at a tiny theatre for 120 pounds a week he found himself transferred overnight to the West End earning one thousand and twenty pounds. The size of the audience had ballooned and with it his salary which in London can make a great deal of difference to an actor's life.
Talking of an actor's life in England, playwright Ron Blair tells of going to the Royal Shakespeare at Stratford and watching spellbound as the history of England was performed with flair and brilliance but, on the way home driving past three of the 'Kings' he had watched in ermine and armour flashing about the stage, lined up at the bus stop in raincoats!
In a report put out by Equity - the actors union, it was said that at the time Peter went to England, there were 75000 actors out of work at any one time. So to make it there is a mark of great strength as well as talent.
Still, whilst he was not playing an angel in '30 Seconds' it was a shock to see Peter in 'Underbelly 2' this week with white hair and steely heart as 'George Freeman.'
To see more of Peter O'Brien and the cast of Underbelly 2, click here.
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Be Yourself
I have always been an Enough Rope fan and recently heard Andrew Denton was making a new comedy about advertising. Over the last month I found I had a part in it and started the usual visits for hair and makeup. The Fox studios production office had a gallery of mugshots of the cast members for '30 Seconds' including Peter O'Brien, Gyton Grantley and Stephen Curry. After a quick discussion with director Shawn Seet, Mr Denton came out and had a few laughing words and then it was time to try and weave my way out of the labyrinthine Studio complex again.
A couple of weeks later, I went to the '30 Seconds' location in Ultimo to try on a some wardrobe and walked past a trestle table set up for cast and crew. There was the horrific 'Carl Williams' having a quick cup.
It seems ridiculous to say it but Gyton's face is baby like in its innocence and charm. His photo on the wall beams down with great sweetness and so it is incredible to think he is able to summon a character of so much threat and violence. His face broke into a smile ..."I know you...you're the 'Dog Lady'."
I am not sure I dreamt of being 'The Dog Lady' but Chandon Films sure did get the face out there! Gyton might have dreamt of being a famous actor but is he a bit 'over' being 'Carl Williams' of Underbelly. And to emphasise this, he and a friend Abe Forsyth made a Tropfest short film called 'Being Carl Williams'.
Abe is the son of veteran actor Drew Forsyth and is also part of the 30 Seconds cast. Just to be totally confusing, Abe is playing the part of 'Carl'!
To see 'Being Carl Williams' click here.
A couple of weeks later, I went to the '30 Seconds' location in Ultimo to try on a some wardrobe and walked past a trestle table set up for cast and crew. There was the horrific 'Carl Williams' having a quick cup.
It seems ridiculous to say it but Gyton's face is baby like in its innocence and charm. His photo on the wall beams down with great sweetness and so it is incredible to think he is able to summon a character of so much threat and violence. His face broke into a smile ..."I know you...you're the 'Dog Lady'."
I am not sure I dreamt of being 'The Dog Lady' but Chandon Films sure did get the face out there! Gyton might have dreamt of being a famous actor but is he a bit 'over' being 'Carl Williams' of Underbelly. And to emphasise this, he and a friend Abe Forsyth made a Tropfest short film called 'Being Carl Williams'.
Abe is the son of veteran actor Drew Forsyth and is also part of the 30 Seconds cast. Just to be totally confusing, Abe is playing the part of 'Carl'!
To see 'Being Carl Williams' click here.
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Things that go Gurgle
One of the never ending pleasures about reading for ABC Radio is the high standard of material you are given to perform. An unpleasant side effect is that, with the pressure on and efficient earphones clamped onto your ears, you hear every noise in great detail.
So, if for instance, you are in the middle of a suspenseful moment which has been building up for some pages and you hear your stomach rumble under it, all is certainly lost and you have to start again. It sounds like a tsunami and is quite alarming considering we spend most of our lives blissfully unaware of these routine digestive processes.
I have tried everything - no breakfast, huge breakfast and all stages in between. Nothing works and, as Andre our Sound Engineer was quick to point out, I am not the only one. All the actors in the booth have this trouble and he thinks it is because actors are there to perform and so...every part of them does. That is very generous of him considering he has to patch up the endless retakes.
Is there a scientist out there who can make a potion that will stop this? We might call it the 'Performers Friend.' The ABC shop would stock it and export it all over the world. And I would order several dozen bottles.
To see Paul Newman and James Dean not handling performance pressure, click here.
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So, if for instance, you are in the middle of a suspenseful moment which has been building up for some pages and you hear your stomach rumble under it, all is certainly lost and you have to start again. It sounds like a tsunami and is quite alarming considering we spend most of our lives blissfully unaware of these routine digestive processes.
I have tried everything - no breakfast, huge breakfast and all stages in between. Nothing works and, as Andre our Sound Engineer was quick to point out, I am not the only one. All the actors in the booth have this trouble and he thinks it is because actors are there to perform and so...every part of them does. That is very generous of him considering he has to patch up the endless retakes.
Is there a scientist out there who can make a potion that will stop this? We might call it the 'Performers Friend.' The ABC shop would stock it and export it all over the world. And I would order several dozen bottles.
To see Paul Newman and James Dean not handling performance pressure, click here.
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Thursday, April 9, 2009
Sound Bite
This week I went into the ABC Radio and read five Katherine Mansfield stories for Anne Winter who produced and directed. The stories covered topics ranging from 'young love' to 'childhood rivalries' and 'unhappy marriage.' I read a series of Virginia Woolf stories from 'Mrs. Dalloway' last year and found preparing and performing them as demanding as any theatrical show. And so it should be. Radio does translate feeling and intention as strongly as visual drama and will soon find you out if you are half hearted.
Anne told me that Katherine had been ill in Switzerland when she wrote these stories, essentially to cover her medical expenses. That may give the feeling of them having been dashed off but they are quiet and deadly accurate, funny and sad and spine tingling. She died of TB at 34 which heightened the drama for me to think she could have written so much more given time.
Surprisingly, she had close contact with Virginia Woolf and her coterie and it is said that without her conversations with Katherine Mansfield, Virginia Woolf would not have written 'Mrs Dalloway.'
Still, like many great artists, she was not much fun as a friend. D. H. Lawrence, no blushing flower himself, had a hard time with her even if, according to her biographer Kathleen Jones, he 'used her as the model for Gudrun in ‘Women in Love’. He and his wife lived in a ‘menage a quatre’ with Katherine and her husband which ended in such animosity that he afterwards sent her a postcard saying ‘You are a loathsome reptile; I hope you will die’. '
Well, she did and early too.
The Katherine Mansfield series will be broadcast in The Book Reading, Monday 25th – Friday, 29th May, 2009. The times are 2.05pm and repeated at 11.05pm. They will also be available as audio on demand, if you miss the broadcast.
To read more about Katherine Mansfield, click here.
http://www.katherinemansfield.net/life/briefbio1.htm
To hear a small excerpt from an American mp3
Anne told me that Katherine had been ill in Switzerland when she wrote these stories, essentially to cover her medical expenses. That may give the feeling of them having been dashed off but they are quiet and deadly accurate, funny and sad and spine tingling. She died of TB at 34 which heightened the drama for me to think she could have written so much more given time.
Surprisingly, she had close contact with Virginia Woolf and her coterie and it is said that without her conversations with Katherine Mansfield, Virginia Woolf would not have written 'Mrs Dalloway.'
Still, like many great artists, she was not much fun as a friend. D. H. Lawrence, no blushing flower himself, had a hard time with her even if, according to her biographer Kathleen Jones, he 'used her as the model for Gudrun in ‘Women in Love’. He and his wife lived in a ‘menage a quatre’ with Katherine and her husband which ended in such animosity that he afterwards sent her a postcard saying ‘You are a loathsome reptile; I hope you will die’. '
Well, she did and early too.
The Katherine Mansfield series will be broadcast in The Book Reading, Monday 25th – Friday, 29th May, 2009. The times are 2.05pm and repeated at 11.05pm. They will also be available as audio on demand, if you miss the broadcast.
To read more about Katherine Mansfield, click here.
http://www.katherinemansfield.net/life/briefbio1.htm
To hear a small excerpt from an American mp3
Friday, April 3, 2009
Small is beautiful
Watching the final episodes of 'The Farmer wants a Wife' reminded me of how cumbersome the body microphones are and how far we have come in developing them. All reality shows use them to keep up with everything the contestants are saying... amorous whispers and all! When they first came on the scene, they were the size of an average transistor radio which limited your movements on camera greatly. If dressed in period costume, the bulky equipment ruined the line of the clothes and even in modern dress did nothing to improve the look. On top of this, the tiny microphone had to be strapped close to the sound which usually meant on the cleavage section of the bra - it was then stuck there with masking tape. The small transmitter box was attached round the waist.
The process of lowering the box down the front of the costume or passing it upward with microphone to the right position could be awkward and embarrassing and usually meant going behind a tree or back to the caravan and it was always done after the wardrobe was put on. Body mikes are expensive and nobody had more than three which were generally being used right up until your scene. All the technicians were men until recently which meant that you had a nice pleasant person approaching you with hand fulls of equipment and a pitying smile on his face. I used to wonder why they could put a man on the moon and yet still have these cumbersome bits of technology in an industry that played such a large part in America's GDP? And what about spies? If this is what 007 used, he would have been gone in a minute.
Along came Mao's Last Dancer' and joy of joy, a female sound technician! Wearing a T Shirt that said 'Double my Entendre' she approached carrying a business card size metal box which was light and nifty. Even so, there are problems having a microphone so closely attached that you forget it is there. You can have moments when you talk to your best friend on set and tell them what you really think about something...or someone. Also, you may be waiting for a set to be re lit or another shot to be set up and think you have time to rush to the women's loo. It is possible to do all of these things without realising you are still 'miked.' There is an on/off button on the actual transmitter but you may not be able to get at it. So the sound recordist may be sitting there all the while with his earphones on and an amused look on his face.
On the last day of 'Mao', when she approached me to take my body mike again, I said I was sorry I had not been able to get to the "OFF' button. She shrugged and said they always turn them off from the main Sound Recorder after every shot. Oh really? Hmm. REALLY?
Of course they don't always work perfectly either. Apparently Nicole so tired of having her microphone slithered under her saddle and into her costume during the 'Australia' shoot that she ripped it off and who can blame her? What with horses and saddles and cattle etc. etc. you don't want to hear "NO GOOD FOR SOUND" after you have done your best.
To see Nicole Kidman riding in 'Australia', click here:
The process of lowering the box down the front of the costume or passing it upward with microphone to the right position could be awkward and embarrassing and usually meant going behind a tree or back to the caravan and it was always done after the wardrobe was put on. Body mikes are expensive and nobody had more than three which were generally being used right up until your scene. All the technicians were men until recently which meant that you had a nice pleasant person approaching you with hand fulls of equipment and a pitying smile on his face. I used to wonder why they could put a man on the moon and yet still have these cumbersome bits of technology in an industry that played such a large part in America's GDP? And what about spies? If this is what 007 used, he would have been gone in a minute.
Along came Mao's Last Dancer' and joy of joy, a female sound technician! Wearing a T Shirt that said 'Double my Entendre' she approached carrying a business card size metal box which was light and nifty. Even so, there are problems having a microphone so closely attached that you forget it is there. You can have moments when you talk to your best friend on set and tell them what you really think about something...or someone. Also, you may be waiting for a set to be re lit or another shot to be set up and think you have time to rush to the women's loo. It is possible to do all of these things without realising you are still 'miked.' There is an on/off button on the actual transmitter but you may not be able to get at it. So the sound recordist may be sitting there all the while with his earphones on and an amused look on his face.
On the last day of 'Mao', when she approached me to take my body mike again, I said I was sorry I had not been able to get to the "OFF' button. She shrugged and said they always turn them off from the main Sound Recorder after every shot. Oh really? Hmm. REALLY?
Of course they don't always work perfectly either. Apparently Nicole so tired of having her microphone slithered under her saddle and into her costume during the 'Australia' shoot that she ripped it off and who can blame her? What with horses and saddles and cattle etc. etc. you don't want to hear "NO GOOD FOR SOUND" after you have done your best.
To see Nicole Kidman riding in 'Australia', click here:
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Screen legend and 'Easy Virtue'
There is a joke in Easy Virtue that may alarm animal lovers and not knowing if it is in the Coward play, I will tell the story actress Elizabeth Spriggs told me about Ralph Richardson and the same unfortunate 'dog event'.
I met Lizzie working on Bruce Beresford's 'Paradise Road' where, from the start she seemed to be a character straight out of Dickens. Large and jocular, she was a fountain of theatrical stories from her years on the English stage - principally the Royal Shakespeare Company.
She told me that as a young man Richardson had a friend with a large country house. He was asked to stay and arrived in time for a long and intoxicating dinner. Afterwards he was shown up to a beautiful bedroom with long heavy curtains but woke later that night confused about his surroundings. Disorientated for the moment, he had patted around his bedside table to find the lamp and knocked something over. He got out of bed and headed for the curtains which he wrenched open with both hands. A little wintry shaft of moonlight came in and satisfied, he stumbled back to bed.
When he failed to turn up for breakfast the next morning - his hosts went up to find him. The bedroom was a riotous mess. Richardson had knocked over an ink pot which stood by a writing pad, wiped his hands on the bedclothes, opened the curtains with ink stained hands and dripped more ink over the carpet as he went. Waking early in the morning, he had slipped quietly out of the house - too mortified to face anyone.
And now the sequel : Decades later, after he had been knighted, Sir Ralph was was filming near his old friend's house, when a note arrived asking him to dinner again. Feeling all had been forgiven he turned up and was shown in to the front hall where he stood while his host was called. Noticing a narrow bench by the wall, he sat down wearily. When his friend arrived to greet him, once again...no Richardson. But the small family terrier was lying on the hall bench dead as a doornail - with his back broken. Sir Ralph never returned.
Elizabeth Spriggs was an animal lover of the highest order but even she told this story with some enjoyment.
To see Elizabeth Spriggs photo gallery, click on:
http://images.google.com.au/images?hl=en&lr=&ei=WRTLSYCkLIzo6QPeqa2wBw&resnum=1&q=elizabeth+spriggs&um=1&ie=UTF-8&ei=bBXLSdeIPIuYkQW98qjsCQ&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&resnum=1&ct=title
I met Lizzie working on Bruce Beresford's 'Paradise Road' where, from the start she seemed to be a character straight out of Dickens. Large and jocular, she was a fountain of theatrical stories from her years on the English stage - principally the Royal Shakespeare Company.
She told me that as a young man Richardson had a friend with a large country house. He was asked to stay and arrived in time for a long and intoxicating dinner. Afterwards he was shown up to a beautiful bedroom with long heavy curtains but woke later that night confused about his surroundings. Disorientated for the moment, he had patted around his bedside table to find the lamp and knocked something over. He got out of bed and headed for the curtains which he wrenched open with both hands. A little wintry shaft of moonlight came in and satisfied, he stumbled back to bed.
When he failed to turn up for breakfast the next morning - his hosts went up to find him. The bedroom was a riotous mess. Richardson had knocked over an ink pot which stood by a writing pad, wiped his hands on the bedclothes, opened the curtains with ink stained hands and dripped more ink over the carpet as he went. Waking early in the morning, he had slipped quietly out of the house - too mortified to face anyone.
And now the sequel : Decades later, after he had been knighted, Sir Ralph was was filming near his old friend's house, when a note arrived asking him to dinner again. Feeling all had been forgiven he turned up and was shown in to the front hall where he stood while his host was called. Noticing a narrow bench by the wall, he sat down wearily. When his friend arrived to greet him, once again...no Richardson. But the small family terrier was lying on the hall bench dead as a doornail - with his back broken. Sir Ralph never returned.
Elizabeth Spriggs was an animal lover of the highest order but even she told this story with some enjoyment.
To see Elizabeth Spriggs photo gallery, click on:
http://images.google.com.au/images?hl=en&lr=&ei=WRTLSYCkLIzo6QPeqa2wBw&resnum=1&q=elizabeth+spriggs&um=1&ie=UTF-8&ei=bBXLSdeIPIuYkQW98qjsCQ&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&resnum=1&ct=title
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Not so Easy Virtue
It was interesting to see Stephan Elliott's production of Noel Coward's play 'Easy Virtue' but it reminded me of the Irish saying 'That's the Why of it.' I wasn't sure what it was about. In a short sequence near the end it became clear but this was so out of context with the rest of the film, it felt like an interruption. Noel Coward is good at sugaring some pretty bitter pills and I would have preferred more darkness underlying this beautiful frothy movie. Jessica Biel is a revelation in it and she carried the film for me.
Alfred Hitchcock directed a silent film of this play in 1928 - when memories of the War to End All Wars were still sharp and biting. It would be interesting to see it now and possibly find out where the 'Why of It' truly is.
Alfred Hitchcock directed a silent film of this play in 1928 - when memories of the War to End All Wars were still sharp and biting. It would be interesting to see it now and possibly find out where the 'Why of It' truly is.
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Mao's Last Dancer, part of the Australian Film "Feast"
Todays SMH article by Garry Maddox is a great summary of all the Australian films coming out during the next 12 months.
I really enjoyed working with Bruce Beresford again on Mao's Last Dancer and was wrapped that Scott Hicks also made it to the "notable directors" list. We had a great time when I worked with him on "Down The Wind" when we were both starting out in 1975.
"Three notable directors are returning with highly touted Australian films (or co-productions) - Jane Campion with Bright Star, about the romance between the poet John Keats and his mistress Fanny Brawne, Bruce Beresford with Mao's Last Dancer, based on the bestselling memoir by the Chinese dancer Li Cunxin, and Scott Hicks with The Boys Are Back In Town, a drama with Clive Owen as a single father."
Reference:
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
More Chandon Reviews!
Champagne comedy
Author: Ruth RitchieDate: 28/02/2009Words: 669Source: SMH
Publication: Sydney Morning HeraldSection: SpectrumPage: 10
Author: Ruth RitchieDate: 28/02/2009Words: 669Source: SMH
Publication: Sydney Morning HeraldSection: SpectrumPage: 10
The best local drama on TV is a satire in disguise.
Chandon Pictures ABC, Wednesday, 9pm
The Cut ABC, Monday, 9.35pm
...The Cut ABC, Monday, 9.35pm
Digging a little deeper, the excellent Chandon Pictures is a comedy disguised as a drama full of wry smiles. Tom Chandon's (Rob Carlton) delusions of grandeur are funny and tragic.
He is never going to make a good documentary but don't tell him that. As this series has developed, the arc of Chandon's dismal failure has become obvious and complete. Of course he is going to sleep with a much older woman with a dead dog so that she'll invest in his film.
The pathos and humour work in equal measures because Penne Hackforth-Jones is wonderful and the script is believable. All the guest roles are plums. Jessica Napier was never better. Rob Carlton is a real talent and this ensemble deserves more air time for delivering something very fresh. The ABC needs to just keep repeating this until a critical mass has seen it.
TV programs, Pages 50-51.
Chandon Reviews!!
The Age Newspaper
Chandon PicturesABC1, 9.05pm
WITH the motto "We film anything", it is clear from the outset that Chandon Pictures is the kind of outfit not overly represented at the AFI awards.
WITH the motto "We film anything", it is clear from the outset that Chandon Pictures is the kind of outfit not overly represented at the AFI awards.
A struggling production company run by inept aspiring filmmaker Tom Chandon (Rob Carlton), Chandon Pictures is this week hired by dog tragic Helen (a wonderfully overwrought Penne Hackforth-Jones) to make a film tribute to her canine best friend Champion Charles.
Born out of a Tropfest short film by series creator and star Carlton, this 2007 series has all the tics of modern spoof documentary-making, including the deadpan delivery and its blessed freedom from laugh-track hell. It's easy to see where the narrative is heading but the ride has moments of comedy bronze nonetheless.
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