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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 22 October 2012

Get ready to drink and gamble.  The Brisbane International Film Festival is celebrating its 21^st birthday!  I first attended in 1995 and will be continuing my streak again this year.  It’s one of my favourite events on the cinematic calendar.

This year’s Festival runs from November 14-25 and returns to the same major venues as last year – the Palace Centro, Palace Barracks and Tribal Theatres.

I’m foolishly jetting off on holidays to North Korea half-way through the Festival (no, seriously) but for everyone else, there will be heaps to see over the Festival’s 12 days.

There are 136 films in the 2012 programs including 43 Australian premieres and 3 world premieres.  If you can’t find a movie worth seeing, you’re simply too hard to please.

Ticket prices for regular films have increased slightly this year - $17 (up from $16) but there’s some incentives to buy in bulk.

You can pick up 6 tickets for $90 (lower for concessions and BIFF Film Club members) and you’ll get a bonus daytime ticket thrown in for free.  12 tickets are $168 (with 3 free daytime tickets) and for the real film lovers, you can buy 25 tickets for $325 with 6 free daytime tickets thrown in to keep you even busier.

You can find out all the details at the BIFF website (http://www.biff.com.au) or you can access their iPhone or Android applications.  Tickets can be bought online or at the BIFF box-office booth in the foyer of the old Regent Theatre.

In keeping with the same theme as my blog last year, here are 10 reasons why you need to get to BIFF 2012…

1. Find Out How Famous Filmmakers Got Started

There’s a cool part of this year’s program where curator Kate Howat has tracked down prints of the first feature film of a small collective of famous filmmakers.

For me, the most interesting one is Paul Thomas Anderson’s Hard Eight.  The cast included John C. Reilly, Samuel L. Jackson, Philip Baker Hall and Gwyneth Paltrow.  It never received a cinema release in Australia (going straight to DVD) and I can remember Anderson having “creative differences” with the studio and his producers.  He made sure he had a lot more control with his follow up films – Boogie Nights, Magnolia, Punch Drunk Love and There Will Be Blood.

The other films in this section are Following from Christopher Nolan (The Dark Knight trilogy, Inception), Ratcatcher from Lynn Ramsey (We Need To Talk About Kevin), Shivers from David Cronenberg (Eastern Promises, A History Of Violence) and The Loveless from Kathryn Bigelow (The Hurt Locker).

2. An Affordable Opening & Closing Night

Thankfully, things aren’t that expensive here in Brisbane.  Both the opening and closing night films are just $35 per person.  They’ll be held at the Barracks and each event includes the film and an after party with food and drink.  It’s a pretty good deal if you ask me.

On top of that, both films are Australian premieres.  The Festival opens on November 14 with The Sweeney, a fresh take on the British cop drama that aired on TV in the mid 1970s.  Ray Winstone (Sexy Beast, The Departed) has the leading role and it looks like being a lot of fun.

The Festival closes on November 24 with Anna Karenina, straight from its world premiere at the Toronto Film Festival back in September.  It looks rather unorthodox (without giving too much away) and stars Keira Knightley, Jude Law and Aaron Taylor-Johnson.  Both films won’t be released widely in Australia until early 2013 so this is a great chance to see them before anyone else in this country.

3. Watching Movies On A Roof?

The list of films screening at the Planetarium include Alien Action – a 2006 Germany sci-fi film that pits aliens versus robots and Coral: Rekindling Venus – a 2012 Australian documentary that takes us inside our world’s beautiful coral reefs.

The Planetarium is in action during the final weekend of the Festival (Nov 23-24) and tickets are $22.

4. Chatting With Those In The Industry

The 2012 Festival includes a specific industry program that allows budding filmmakers (and others who may be interested) to meet those who have already made their mark.

Three-time Academy award winning editor Walter Murch (Apocalypse Now, The Conversation, The English Patient) will be part of a 2 hour Q&A session on his life as a film editor and the changing nature of the cinematic landscape.

Oscar-nominated editor Jill Billcock (Moulin Rouge, Road To Perdition, Romeo & Juliet) will also be in Brisbane to offer her thoughts on the profession as part of a 2-hour Q&A hosted by Roger Crittenden.

All of the industry sessions will be held at the State Library Of Queensland and will be an eye-opening divergence from the many hours spent inside a darkened theatre.

5. A Tribute To Spaghetti Westerns

Of all the programs, the one that’s likely to gather the most attention at BIFF this year is the tribute to spaghetti westerns.  A total of 15 films have been selected by curator Giulia D’Agnolo Vallan who has helped put together similar programs for the Venice Film Festival and New York City Film Forum.  This will be a “must see” for anyone who grew up watching westerns in the 1960s and 70s.

The centre point of the program occurs on Sunday, November 18 with the three films in Sergio Leone’s “Man With No Name” trilogy screening back-to-back – A Fistful Of Dollars, For A Few Dollars More and The Good, The Bad & The Ugly.

You’ll see the likes of Clint Eastwood, Burt Reynolds, Charles Bronson and Lee Van Cleef in the roles that helped make them household names.

For those new to the world of spaghetti westerns, these films will provide a great introduction in the lead up to Quentin Tarantino’s homage to the genre, Django Unchained, which is being released in early 2013.

6. The Bubbles Are Back

Having proved popular last year, the Bubbles At BIFF section is back and ready to satisfy the thirsty masses.  These screenings are for BIFF’s “bigger” films and include a glass of champagne on arrival for a total ticket price of $22 per person.

The list of films in this program include Rust & Bone – the new movie starring Marion Cotillard which just won best film at the London Film Festival, Amour – the latest from acclaimed director Michael Haneke who won the Palm D’or at Cannes earlier this year and Great Expectations – a fresh adaptation of the Charles Dickens novel that stars Helena Bonham Carter and Ralph Fiennes.

All of these films should earn Australian releases down the track but again, this is your chance to see them before everyone else.

7. Another Big Prize On Offer For BIFFDOCS

It’s no secret that one of my favourite genres is the documentary.  This year’s program includes a list of 15 documentaries, none which have screened in Australia before, that will be competing for a prize of $25,000 (the same as in 2011).

The list of films is amazing and includes West Of Memphis – the story of a trio of boys who were found guilty of a 1993 murder but then released 17 years later after new DNA evidence emerged.  It looks at the hysteria that led to them being jailed and points the finger at the real killer who still walks free.

The Central Park Five covers a similar theme where five black and Latino teenagers were arrested in 1989 for the rape and beating of a woman in Central Park in New York.  They too were released 12 years later and the film looks at the major players involved in their exoneration.

Other documentaries that have caught my eye include Show Me The Magic – a close-up of Australian cinematographer Don McAlpine and The Queen Of Versailles – the story of a ridiculously wealthy couple who start building the largest private residence in America just as the global financial crisis starts to hit.

8. Movies Under The Stars

Following the success of last year’s drive-in program, BIFF has teamed up with Brisbane Openair Cinema to offer an outdoor movie experience at Southbank.  On Thursday, November 15, you’ll be able to watch 2 films under the stars (hopefully it doesn’t rain) at South Bank’s Cultural Forecourt.

The two films are Liberal Arts – starring Elizabeth Olsen after her wonderful turn in last year’s Martha Marcy May Marlene and The Man With The Iron Fists – a crazy kung fu epic starring Russell Crowe and Lucy Liu.

Tickets for both films are $17 and having the lights of the CBD as a backdrop should make it a memorable evening.

9. Lars Is Back With More Crazy Stuff

Those who attended last year’s BIFF will remember the presence of Lars Nilsen, a programmer for the Alamo Drafthouse and Fantastic Fest.

Lars will be back in 2012 and he’s brought 4 films with him that were destined for the scrapheap.  They were made in the 1980s and were discovered in the strangest of places.  Lars will be introducing each of the films and talking about the crazy way in which each film was rediscovered.

Perhaps the strangest film of the bunch is Carnival Magic – described in the BIFF program as “a long forgotten classic of the chimp-sploitation genre that is probably the weirdest, most inappropriate kids film ever made.”  The print was recently discovered buried in the back of a movie booth and it will finally be seen in Australia… for better or worse.

10. There Are Heaps Of Other Great Films

As I mentioned at the start, there are 136 films on offer in this year’s Festival.  I’ve done my best to cover them in the earlier 9 points but there are so many more.  Here’s a quick sample to illustrate the diversity…

ParaNorman is perfect for the family and the 3D story involves ghosts and zombies.  It’s being shown during the first weekend at BIFF and won’t be released widely in Australia until January 2013.  The voices include Australian Kodi Smit-McPhee, Anna Kendrick, Casey Affleck, Leslie Mann and John Goodman.

There’s a separate section on the creative spirit of artists including a documentary that I’ve heard nothing but great things about – Marina Abramovic: The Artist Is Present.  It chronicles a 2010 piece of performance art where she sat motionless in a room for 7.5 hours each day for 3 months.  Visitors to her exhibit were allowed to sit opposite and gaze into her eyes.

Chinese artist/filmmaker Ai Weiwei is celebrated during the Festival with 5 films being shown.  His latest documentary, So Sorry, looks at the corrupt politicians and builders responsible when a number of dodgy buildings collapsed in the 2008 Sichuan earthquakes.  At one point during his investigation, he was brutally beaten by the police and hospitalised.

If you want a crazy title, you can try Grandma Lo-Fi: The Basement Tapes Of Sigridur Nielsdottir.  It’s the true story of a 70-something Icelandic grandmother who became an underground music sensation.  It’s part of the Beatbox section at BIFF that focuses on the music world.

The world cinema section offers up some new films starring some familiar names including 360 with Anthony Hopkins, Jude Law and Rachel Weisz, Between Us with Julia Stiles and Melissa George, Love Is All You Need with Pierce Brosnan, No with Gael Garcia Bernal, Robot & Frank with Frank Langella, The Girl with Abbie Cornish, Smashed with Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Aaron Paul, and Sinister with Ethan Hawke.

Don’t forget that you can find out more at http://www.biff.com.au.  Hopefully I’ll see you at the Festival!

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 17 October 2012

In the history of the Academy Awards, only 18 men have ever won the Oscar for best director on two or more occasions.  One of those was Oliver Stone – winning in 1986 for Platoon and 1989 for Born On The Fourth Of July.  I was thrilled to catch up with this acclaimed filmmaker about his new film, Savages.  You can check out my review here and the transcript of the interview is below.

You can download an audio extract by clicking here.

Matt:  I’ve talking with Academy Award winning director Oliver Stone – the man responsible for such films as Platoon, Wall Street, Born On The Fourth Of July, JFK and Any Given Sunday.  His new film, Savages, is now in Australian cinemas and so I say hello to Mr Oliver Stone, how’s it going?

Oliver:  Hi Matt, I’m fine.  And yourself?

Matt:  I’m very well.  Don Winslow’s book was first published only two years ago and now here it is as a major motion picture.  How did you first get involved with this project?

Oliver:  I bought the book cold with my own money.  It was different.  I’d never read anything quite as unique and it had no clichés.  It was about the contemporary drug landscape of California and Mexico.  On top of that, Don added the story of these three young people who are taking on the older generation.  It becomes quite complex and it’s like nothing you’ve seen before.  You don’t know what’s going to happen next.

Matt:  As a filmmaker, you mentioned that you read this book.  Do you read a lot of books trying to look for that next possible movie?

Oliver:  Not really.  My agent rarely sends me things unless he truly believes in them.  He said you should read this and that it’s really different.  I read it, bought it right away and then worked with Don Winslow and Shane Salerno on-and-off for about a year to come up with the script.  It had a lot of sex, drugs and violence that would scare most of the studios away but we did get a buyer and we ended up making the film.

Matt:  So how does it go working with Don?  It’s his novel and I’m sure he was very attached to it.

Oliver:  In the film world, the film director / co-writer becomes the next step.  It is painful for a writer but Don was a mature man and we agreed on most of everything while disagreeing on a few other things.

Matt:  You mentioned the violence and sex that’s in the movie and I know it’s always a delicate balancing act trying to get films past the censors with an appropriate rating.  What was your thought process at the start about you wanted to illustrate the story’s violence on screen?

Oliver:  In my opinion, it comes down to the tension of the piece.  It doesn’t matter what the subject matter is as long as you keep the audience wondering what will happen next.  You wonder “who are these people?” and form relationships with your characters, whether you like them or not.

Telling a story that was honest to the spirit of this time was essential.  I didn’t know these three young actors.  They were all fresh to me – Blake Lively, Aaron Johnson and Taylor Kitsch.  The three older actors I had in my mind when we were writing the script because they were so defined – Benecio Del Toro as the henchman, Salma Hayek as her boss and John Travolta in a surprising turn as an over-the-hill Drug Enforcement Agent who is actually smarter than he seems.

Matt:  Let’s talk about the cast and for me, the star performance came from Salma Hayek.  You sense her vulnerability but she’s such a vicious, calculating, manipulating character.  Was she easy to get on this project?

Oliver:  She was my first choice and she was happy to do it because she liked the material.  Benecio, Salma and Blake changed their roles the most through their personality.  It is how the filmmaking process goes – I work with the actors and I learn from accommodating them.

This movie came alive for me and I’ll remember it for a long time.  It certainly fits the “beach mode” and I thought maybe the Australians might like the homage to beach life.

Matt:  It does look great and I love the way you’ve used film as opposed to digital.

Oliver:  Yes.  There’s a huge difference still – at least 25% in terms of resolution, depth and grit.  There’s nothing quite like film.

Matt:  I realise you had Jennifer Lawrence originally on board for the Blake Lively role but she dropped out to do The Hunger Games.  Does changing an actor like that dramatically alter the film?  Do have to rethink certain scenes or other actors because of that fact?

Oliver:  Oh yes, that was a big thing.  She was certainly smart because The Hunger Games was already a famous book.  It was a good move for her.  Blake Lively has a different sort of personality from Jennifer but I liked them both.  With Blake, she took this in a different director and we did rewrites with her in mind.

Matt:  For me, the film didn’t seem to be trying to preach too much in terms of the war on drugs.  It’s more of an entertaining, “who’s really in control” kind of story.  Was that the intention?  Or is there an underlying point here that I didn’t quite catch?

Oliver:  No, you’re right.  This is a film about power.  It’s about the relationships between people and how they change.  It’s also about how you don’t know who you’re really dealing with sometimes.

A good example is the character of Aaron Johnson.  I won’t say where he goes to but he starts the movie as a peace-loving man who wants to make a deal with the cartel.  Blake Lively is similar.  She’s very much a “beach bunny” but where she ends up in the end is very interesting.  It’s very much a surprise ending.

Matt:  Yeah, the ending is interesting.  We probably better not talk about it too much because we don’t want to give it away but is that how it played out in the book or did you change it?

Oliver:  No, it wasn’t in the book.  There were many different elements in the film that take the best from the book for movie purposes and runs from there.

Matt:  You obviously had the content of Don’s book but you do any of your own research on the marijuana business, the drug cartels and the corruption within the DEA?

Oliver:  Yeah but I didn’t have to look too far.  I went down to Mexico with Benecio and hung out with some heavyweights.  We spent time with an agent who’d been with the DEA for 30 years who helped us enormously.  We also hung out with a lot of independent growers here in California where marijuana is legal under state law.  They have some great yields and they grow their product very scientifically with good technology.

Matt:  I’m curious about what it was like down in Mexico.  Was it a drug cartel that you were with?

Oliver:  Yes.  It’s a different approach down there though.  Mexican weed is created at a very cheap price and it’s very impure.  California is different in that it’s not a very big market but it’s more of a connoisseurs market – like a wine.

Hanging out in Mexico, I can’t tell you too much who but there were some enormous lunches on incredible estates.  The difference between wealthy and poor is shocking in Mexico.

Matt:  You’ve been making movies now for over 30 years.  Are you still as passionate and energised by the industry as when you first started out?

Oliver:  I think each movie is its own world and I adopt the approach of an actor in the sense that I enter into the subject for that period of time.  Whether it be one year or two, I sort of become that and leave a small piece of myself behind.

When I come back to the world, the business has changed a little.  There are new studios heads and people have moved around but I think what most people respect is a story.  It doesn’t matter who young or ancient you are, there’s a collective consciousness about great stories.

Matt:  I guess I’ll finish up by asking about The Untold History Of The United States.  It sounds like a fascinating project.  What can you tell us about it?

Oliver:  Thank-you.  You’re very well informed and I appreciate it.  It’s my latest project and I’ve been working on it off-and-on as a documentary for about 4.5 years with Peter Kuznick of the American University.  It’s starts in the 1940s and goes through until now and goes through things we were not told in school about history.  It looks at history upside down in a sense.

It’s about what children really don’t know and the mythologies that are allowed to grow.  In typical Oliver Stone fashion, I’m trying to make people rethink what they assume to be.

Matt:  It sounds great and I can’t wait to see that as well but in the meantime, Savages in now in theatres in Australia.  Oliver Stone, thank you so much for speaking with me.

Oliver:  Thank-you Matt, you were very kind.

Details

Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 08 October 2012

I’ve been under the weather over the past couple of days and I don’t have the energy to write up too much in this week’s Film Pie blog.

I thought I would mention that I’ll be making an appearance at some Westfield shopping centres in Brisbane over the next couple of weekends to talk about movies coming out between now and Christmas.  The focus is on Mental, Argo, The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2, Skyfall, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and Les Miserables.

I was at Westfield Carindale last week and you can check out a photo of me in action above.

I was also lucky enough to be given a tour of the new Event Carindale cinemas.  They’ve been created as more of an upmarket venue in the Event chain with just 8 cinemas in total – 3 V-Max cinemas, 2 regular cinemas and 3 Gold Class cinemas.  You can therefore expect these cinemas to focus on the big blockbusters.  If you’re looking for more variety, you’ll need to go to Event Garden City (16 screens) which isn’t too far away.

The Gold Class cinemas won’t be open until mid November but will feature a huge bar area that will be ideal for functions and entertaining.  I was glad to see that the entrance to the Gold Class cinemas will be from the rear which will help prevent the distraction of staff coming in and out of the theatre when delivering food/drinks.

Anyway, if you want to pop along and say hi (or perhaps heckle me), I’ll be appearing at Westfield Chermside (just outside the cinemas) at 2:30pm on Sunday, October 14 and then at Westfield Garden City (near the food court) at 1:00pm on Saturday, October 20.

Over and out!

Details

Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 27 September 2012

Mental, the new film from director PJ Hogan, is in Australian cinemas from October 4.  It’s a crazy black comedy that seems to be dividing audiences at preview screenings so far.  You can check out my review of the film by clicking here.  I was fortunate to speak with the Emmy Award winning star, Toni Collette.  Here’s what she had to say…

You can download the full audio extract by clicking here.

Matt:  I think about some of your great roles – The Sixth Sense, About A Boy and Little Miss Sunshine.  How quickly did your life change post Muriel’s Wedding?

Toni:  It was pretty quick.  I love acting and I still love doing it.  I love getting early and I never complain about getting up and going to work.  It’s something that really gets me going.

When I was doing Muriel’s Wedding, I had no idea about how it might be received.  I didn’t even contemplate the fact that there might be an audience and so when it became a massive hit, not only in Australia, I remember walking down the street in New York when I was doing press and these guys came up to me going “oh my god, it’s Muriel!”  It left me thinking “woah, what is going on?”

Matt:  With any Aussie actor who makes good, there’s always the lure of Hollywood but you’ve still found time to appear in many Australian films such as Mary & Max, The Black Balloon and Japanese Story which is a personal favourite of mine.  Is shooting in Australia something you take into consideration when choosing roles?

Toni:  To be honest, I’d work in Australia all the time if I could but the industry is somewhat limited.  It’s much smaller than Bollywood and Hollywood.  It’s not that I want to work in America but as I said, I like working and that’s where there is a lot of work.  Having said that, now that I have kids, I am eager to spend more time in Australia.

Matt:  You’ve finally paired up again with PJ Hogan but it’s been almost two decades since Muriel’s Wedding.  Were there plans to get together sooner?

Toni:  Back when we were shooting Muriel’s Wedding, PJ had talked about this film Mental that he wanted to make and he’d given me a basic idea about this woman who had come into his life as an “unqualified nanny” to him.  Over the years, he’s been telling me that he’s been working on a script and eventually he asked me to read it.

I loved the script for what it is but I’m so flattered that PJ wanted me to be a part of telling this personal story.  They’re autobiographical films for him.

Matt:  We all know the adage about not working with children or animals but here you’ve got 5 young girls you’re working alongside and a dog thrown in for good measure.  The girls are fantastic and it looks like you’re having so much fun on set.  Was it that easy?

Toni:  I loved all of them.  They were so different from each other and got along really well.  I had a lot of scenes with them and man, did they make me laugh!  They grew so much as actors.

People talk about not working with kids and not working with first time directors but when someone is new to something, they’re just so open about it.  I really appreciate that and it creates an atmosphere where there can be some natural, spontaneous moments.  I’m so proud of them in the movie because they all did such a brilliant job.

Matt:  Lily Sullivan is such a find as Coral.  I can’t believe she had no prior acting experience at all.

Toni:  Yeah, nothing at all.  I was at her audition and PJ really wanted her – he has such a great eye for casting.  To be honest, I was like “oh PJ, I really don’t know”.  We had two weeks of rehearsals and it kind of correlates with the story itself in that she became braver and she became more confident in herself and it was such a beautiful thing to be a part of.

Matt:  There’s some terrific humour in this film which is much darker than what we’ve seen in the past from PJ Hogan.  Is that always the way it was meant to play out from the first draft of the script?

Toni:  Yeah.  I think he’s really good at telling those stories.  He has such an original perspective and he’s obviously had some “extremities” in his life.  I think both Muriel’s Wedding and Mental are similarly dark and hilarious.  But yeah, that was always in the script.

It’s those types of films, those that you can’t categorise in a specific genre, are the ones that I tend to gravitate towards.  He does it so well and he writes female characters like no one else.

Matt:  The film touches on a theme that I believe strongly in and your character sums it up best when you say “there’s no such thing as normal, just different shades of mental”.  It reminded me a little of The United States of Tara and I’m guessing the subject matter was a big attraction to you with this film?

Toni:  I am often asked what it is that I’m drawn to in a movie and I try to figure out if there’s a specific theme that I keep coming back to.  Even if it’s not completely obvious, it is exactly that.  It’s the fact that there’s no such thing as normal.  I think even in Little Miss Sunshine, the tagline at the bottom of the poster is “everyone pretends to be normal” and I now realise that every film that I do is about appreciating individuality and seeing the special qualities in everyone.  We’re not just living in this homogenised, whitewash, boring world where everyone wears the same uniform.

Both Tara and Mental deal with mental illness but the characters I play are incredibly different and the context and the story are also different.

Matt:  It’s nice to see a film shot here in Queensland.  How was it shooting amongst the hustle and bustle of the Gold Coast?

Toni:  I loved it!  It’s the perfect backdrop for the story.  It’s a gorgeous, idyllic, Australian suburban type of lifestyle turned on its head.

Matt:  I must finish up by asking what have you got in the works?  What are we going to see you in next?

Toni:  I just finished shooting a film called Hitchcock and I worked with Anthony Hopkins again who I did my first film with when I was 17.  He plays Hitchcock and I play his long-time assistant, Peggy Robertson.  Helen Mirren plays his wife, Alma, and it’s about his relationship with all the women in his life during the making of Psycho.  I think that’s coming out at the end of the year.

I’m about to go to Massachusetts in America and make a film called The Way Back which has been written by the guys who adapted The Descendants.  They’re the two guys who went on stage and took the piss out of Angelina Jolie so I think I’m going to be in for a good time there.  I’m also working with Steve Carrel again which should be great fun.

I’ve got a couple more movies after that so it’s going to be a busy year but it’s also going to be a fun year.

Matt:  Well I better let you get to it and I hope Mental is a big hit at the box-office.  Thanks for talking with us this morning.