Advice from Peter Weir

I caught a bit of Peter Weir being interviewed on The 7:30 Report about his new film The Way Back. Here's an excerpt from the interview, where he gives a little advice to those starting out here in Australia:

HEATHER EWART: Do you worry that that approach is in fact going to limit the number of the sorts of films that you've just made?

PETER WEIR: Um, yes, although I think I'm at a point - you know, if I were starting out now, I'd be very concerned. And I am concerned for younger filmmakers in a way.

HEATHER EWART: If you were starting out, what would you do now?

PETER WEIR: I would not try and beat a path to Hollywood - not that I did when I ws young. I made films here for 10, 15 years. But here now I'd concentrate on television I think and the Australian audience. I don't think I would go down the film path. Someone like - so impressive like Chris Lilley, Rob Carlton - you know, these are people who have gone into television and really made very interesting programs. And if somebody comes knocking at your door as with Chris Lilley, HBO, BBC, great. Or if someone says, "Why don't you come and do a film?" But let them come to us. Let's make it here - that's the way I would approach it if I were starting.

HEATHER EWART: How would you categorise the state of the Australian film industry at the moment. If you're saying that TV is the place to start out in now.

PETER WEIR: Well if we talk about just talent, it's very healthy. In front of the camera and behind the camera. Wonderful people and they just keep go coming. The sort of Underbelly series, the first series produced a wonderful crop of actors, new to me, and then behind the camera too, terrific directors. But I think the kind of challenge remains distribution again. I would love to see a sort of young Harvey Weinstein appear on the scene here. Or a - instead of saying I'm going to be a director or an character; I am going to create a distribution company and get out to that audience and open an office in LA and New York. That would be thrilling.

HEATHER EWART: Do you think it's an industry that is prepared to take enough risks ... here in Australia?

PETER WEIR: Well, you know, I don't think we really have a film industry. We have a television industry. I think we have filmmakers. And it's true of most national film industries. There's really only Bollywood and Hollywood; the rest of us just struggle along picture by picture and so you look to individuals. That's why we do need world marketing and world markets, which makes it tough. We'll see. It's an interesting period. No-one quite knows where this will settle, but it would be a horrible thought that in the future movies would just be for children.

Read the rest here and have a look at the trailer for his latest below.

Arcade Fire, Terry Gilliam and American Express

Last night in a flurry of prospecting, I came across a company I'm sure is a household name somewhere because their whole getup is so damn cool. Radical Media is the company, headquarters in NYC and other bases the world over, including our own Sydney. They deal in media, producing feature films, music videos, commercials, photography, interactive design, on it goes.

Derek Cianfrance's name came up, and he's one of their directors (they have loads). Then I watched this behind-the-scenes webcast that Amex paid for and Terry Gilliam directed for band of the hour, Arcade Fire. It's a good little watch and a great example of the way media is heading. Big companies are paying big money for low cost, short form content, that will go no further than the internet. And they're getting people like Terry Gilliam to direct! Sure he seemed to just wander around talking with the band, but still. Is this where filmmakers are headed?

See what I'm talking about here:

ARCADE FIRE: UNSTAGED
Behind-the-Scenes

You should really know about... Adric Watson

While we're all keeping regular hours in sleepy Brisbane, one of us is out roaming the world. Mountjoy creative director Adric Watson is currently somewhere in India, maybe hurtling along on a Darjeeling Limited, or taking a shoeshiner out for supper. When he returns in a little while, there's sure to be some really great additions to his photo blog - onezandzeroz.blogspot.com. For now, check out some of the other great shots he's taken. Once he gets back, DOP Watson is going places.

127 Hours

I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say that 127 Hours was my favourite film this summer. I know that some of my fellow Mountjoy co-workers will disagree with me and say that Black Swan takes the cake but 127 Hours struck a chord with me and I haven't been able to stop raving about it. Essentially the entire two hour film is about a man whose arm is stuck in between a giant boulder and a rock wall. Sound boring? Think again! This movie is heartwarming, surreal and not for someone with a weak stomach. Okay, I won't give any more away, just promise me you'll all see it!

Naomi Wolf

I am currently working on a script that is heavily themed around female sexuality. A friend of mine recommended the book Promiscuities by Naomi Wolf as further research. If you have 30 minutes to spare please watch this fantastic interview with the author. I've only just started to read the book but apparently it's a must read for all women.

Raymond Carver

I picked up a collection of Raymond Carver's short stories yesterday and they've been such a good read. He writes in such a concise, minimalist way but that really means you imagine the characters in real life, not in a fanciful poetic world. I'm always aware of the amount of whimsy that creeps into my writing, so am taking note of the way Carver navigates a scene. One of my favourites so far is Why Don't You Dance?, and the story reads almost as a screenplay. Print it out, it'll be nicer that way.

Why Don't You Dance?

Yes Yes Y'all

A great handpicked bunch of music videos. There go my downloads: yesyesyall.org

Blue Valentine

Definitely not a movie for Valentine's Day. Blue Valentine is an examination of the breakdown of a good thing, a relationship that life slowly grinds on. Young love becomes muddied by family and work, money and old dreams. There are so many wonderful scenes in this film and Ryan Gosling is so great, equal parts pathetic and lovable. With a soundtrack by Grizzly Bear and a grainy look to it, I wasn't expecting the film to have such depth. I'm excited to see what Derek Cianfrance makes next.

Colour discussion with Milena: BLUE

Blue is the colour of powerlessness; it is a colour to think to but not to act. Within blue environments people become more introspective and passive.

Films like The Shipping News might not be everybody’s cup of tea but after sitting in the wet and heavy blueness for about 20 minutes your responses will slow down and you start to relate to the melancholy of characters on a visceral level. That is why you will remember this film; the use of colour reaches inside and physically alters you.

In The Cider House Rules Toby Maguire says “to do nothing is a great idea. Maybe if I just wait and see long enough I won’t have to do anything… or decide anything… maybe if I’m lucky enough, someone else will decide and choose to do things for me” The passive blue undertones of the walls in the orphanage subliminally provide it’s psychological underpinning.

Having said all this, when blue is warmed with green to create turquoise a completely different effect is created. Turquoise inspires openness and interaction. In Chocolat the turquoise walls of her little shop are the colours of the Caribbean; with this she creates a space that goes beyond the confines of walls.

Test it out for yourself, have a look at various blues and see how they make you feel , once you’ve done this compare it to turquoise and see the difference for yourself.

The Shipping News blue

Chocolat turquoise

moop jaw

How nice is this? Moop Jaw are great.

We're in the process of making a trailer for a short we recently made called Kangaroo Skull. I've been watching a lot and thinking about the ones I like best. Generally, they are ones which just show the mood of the film without telling too much of the story. Here are a few of my favourites:

A Serious Man (2009, dir. Joel & Ethan Coen)
This trailer blew my mind when I first saw it. I love the clever editing and the way it cuts to that Jefferson Airplane song. Brilliant.



The Shining (1980, dir. Kubrick)
This trailer is soooo chilling.



The Tree of Life (2011, dir. Malick)
Not out yet, but this film looks incredible.

127 Hours

We're gonna go see this tomorrow. Makes me think of Into the Wild. From the guy who made Slumdog Millionaire and starring James Franco.

What makes a good film?

With so many great movies out at the moment, comparisons are naturally rising amongst us and we are asking, comparing, what actually makes these films good?

The other night I went and saw True Grit, the latest offering from the Coen Bros who really must be the most exhausted men in America. Their output is extraordinary and True Grit delivers a consistent amount of subtle humour, right-on characters and brutal violence. When the four of us left the cinema though, we stood in the carpark for a good while trying to work out what wasn't there.

It was a beautiful film, no doubt, and the performances were grand. But together in the dark summer night we decided that what was missing was that which you can't plan for. Heart. We didn't feel for Maddie Ross, her revenge wasn't our revenge, her peril didn't make us cry out. Every element of the film was considered and if we were to compare True Grit to most other films it would be stretches ahead.

But compared to other Coen Bros films, it did not touch the dark places of mankind. The confounding meaninglessness of my personal favourite, A Serious Man, nor the selfish depths of Burn After Reading and nowhere near the tension of No Country for Old Men.

True Grit is good, but I did not find it great. Perhaps that's the Coen Bros curse, that they must be compared to themselves. It did not meet my expectations, which were probably garnered by the song they used for the trailer. The film's actual score had much less bite.