Recalcitrant Australia

Comments

Phil Willis
4 Aug 10
1:35 PM



I think you might be conflating two ideas here:

1. Why are Australians reluctant to see Aussie movies and
2. Why do so many people go to watch crummy movies.

I wish I knew the answer to number 2. (Maybe it’s advertising?) I’ve often thought the number of ads for a movie on the backs of buses is inversely proportional to the quality of the film. More ads = worse movie.

As for number 1 – I honestly think because there are so few genuinely entertaining Australian films around. And people are now in the habit of equating “Aussie film” with “slow-moving, depressing story about substance abuse”.

Jeez – even the critically acclaimed Aussie films “Samson and Delilah” and “Animal Kingdom” couldn’t escape the cliche.

At least “Animal Kingdom” has the decency to squeeze it’s compulsory heroine overdose scene into the first 45 seconds, before progressing the story into more interesting territory.

“Animal Kingdom” is the best Australian drama I’ve seen since “Lantana”, but I definitely would not have seen it if it wasn’t for reviewers and positive word-of-mouth telling me it was worth my $15.

Film is part of the entertainment industry. Filmmakers forget that at their (box office) peril.

Jason Kent
4 Aug 10
4:12 PM



Australian government films are often art-house storylines posing as Hollywood clichés.

Stu
4 Aug 10
4:26 PM



Because a lot of Oz filmmakers are out of touch with what audiences want.

Whether filmmakers like it or not, audiences like seeing superheroes saving the day or penguins dancing, while they eat popcorn and laugh along with their friends.

My observation of Oz filmmakers is they take a paternalistic approach to filmmaking. They make something they think an audience should see, rather than thinking about what an audience might want to see.

This condescending approach simply does not work. Instead you get a whole lot of earnest, politically correct films about the plight of minority groups or kitchen sink dramas extolling the virtues of the working class. Surprise, surprise, when the film is released- it flops, even at arthouse cinemas, and the producer and director naively stand around scratching their heads, wondering why no-one went to see their film. Yes, there are exceptions, but overall, Australian cinema is really in the doldrums.

Look at the 80s when there were films like Young Einstein, Big Steal and Malcolm…and yes, i hear you choking on your lattes, and noone would ever claim they were the greatest films ever made, but they had heart and a sense of fun that has been sucked out of Australian cinema.

Michael
4 Aug 10
7:09 PM



But really, what has happened in the last 10 years. You look at the boxoffice results of Crackerjack and it made over 10 million and you just wonder why?
I think you’ve got to go back to the start of the decade, and ask why have we suddenly stopped watching australian films. Compare I love You Too to Crackerjack in BO performance, and theres a stark contrast, except i can’t explain why. Australian films have played alot the past 5 years in arthouse theatres with minimal advertising. Yet that doesn’t explain the conundrum of those two films

Jason
4 Aug 10
8:57 PM



Watching Australian films is like eating healthy. You know you should it but you you are worried it is going to be bland and tasteles no matter how good the ingredients. American fast food seems so like a so much easier option because you know what you are going to get. However when you roll the dice and watch a good Australian movie it is as satisfying as eating a delicious salad. I thought Animal Kingdom was a good example.

Marty Rhone
4 Aug 10
9:44 PM



So much sensible comment on the subject at long last. If there was any box office justice Animal Kingdom should have been ticking over at least the $20m mark by now but it like other decent, dare I say, more commercial Oz films of late is still a victim of the past which has made Australian audiences very wary of Australian films because they failed to ENTERTAIN. One of the consequences is that AK has had nowhere near the marketing budget it needed to break through this broad entrenched perception of Oz films. It was the quite unprecedented reviews that got me in (e.g. Rotten Tomatoes etc) but sadly the majority of the GP do not make decisions based on reviews as we see over and over again with bad overseas films that get great BO results. I just hope that AK has gone a significant part of the way in trailblazing a new era in local films and their acceptance and wouldn’t it be ironic if a great US response belatedly makes everyone back home sit up and take notice, after the horse has bolted.

Martin Walsh
4 Aug 10
9:58 PM



I wrote a couple of blog posts ahead of last year’s Annual SPAA Conference discussing this topic.

I tried to stimulate debate on this very topic of the Australian film industry and audiences with the two blog posts outlined below. I also wanted to try and help producers and filmmakers think more broadly about storytelling. There are 4 key reasons why I think Australian Films don’t resonate with audiences and therefore don;t make money and create a sustainable industry.

In my day job (which I need to finance my film activity) I head up digital marketing for IBM so I am in a privileged position to know audiences and marketing and I try and share what I know as far as possible.

The Six Pillars post below also includes a dissection of the marketing behind Paranormal Activity, a film made for $15k which went on to take more than USD$183m at the box office. I try and outline that budget size is not a panacea for our problems and getting marketing right even for a B grade film is crucial, but so is understanding your target audience.

Can Australian Films Make Money? – http://www.spaaconferencenetwo.....make-money

The Future of Filmmaking: Seizing back control of the Six Pillars of Cinema – http://www.spaaconferencenetwo.....ars-cinema

I also developed, wrote and produced The Battle of Long Tan documentary and we started with a marketing plan before we got anywhere near pre-production, let alone production so we could clearly understand who our audience would be and begin the process of telling the story before the film was made.

The sessions I produced at SPAA alongside Gordon Paddison, Stradella Road who was behind the new media marketing for Lord of The Rings and District 9 to name a few and Stephanie Bohn, World Wide Director of Marketing Digital Distribution (The Dark Knight, Sex and the City etc) also focused on this topic as well as new distribution and new media opportunities. Our two sessions were packed but it was highlighted in our Q&A that the only people who were not in the room were Australian distributors and Australian Screen Agencies!

Michael
5 Aug 10
1:17 AM



Should there be an initiative from Screen Australia for marketing purposes?
For instance, up to a certain cap, we’ll give you as much as you put in, or just something, so that australian film will be advertised.

Jennifer Ussi
6 Aug 10
4:47 PM



Michael – regarding your note. In fact, I read today that the little bit of marketing money that WAS available at Screen Australia (Innovative Distribution) for films without a distributor now appears to have been dissolved into yet another fund for ‘experienced distributors’. I would agree with you that Screen Australia should support self-distributed films too, but, sad to say, it appears now to have all disappeared. I self distributed my film ‘Girl Clock’ in Brisbane without any aid from funding bodies, mainly because there was none. We ran for 10 weeks in a few cinemas – quite an achievement for ANY film, never mind a low budget indie film – but it does not give us the credentials to access any film funds for a wider release around the country. It’s really a vicious cycle. Distributors don’t want to release my film (those that I have so far approached) because it is ‘mainstream and commercial’ but with no A-List actors, so they ‘don’t know how to market it’. Yet the reviews have been exceptional, and the word of mouth – i.e. the audience appeal – is quite amazing. Basically, it goes back to what Martin Walsh is saying – and I was at his workshop at SPAA last year, and fantastic it was – there wasn’t a single distributor or funding body in the room.
We just have to fight the good fight I guess, until we too somehow crack the ceiling and become experienced!

Matt Norman
10 Aug 10
10:52 AM



If you can’t beat them LEAVE THEM is what I say. Screen Australia has continued to ignore the very nature of what makes a good film and they continue to fund the boys club or the newly established “Friends of Screen Australia”. Ruth Harley isn’t interested in what’s happening in film as she came from New Zealand leaving a massive issue there as well.

Two months ago my company Wingman Pictures opened a New York office. In two months I have 5 feature films in Pre, 1 Reality show shooting, Distributing 2 international award winning documentary films and financing 2 Major film projects with A-List cast and crew. Today I opened up Wingman Pictures LA as well.

The stand out for me is this… I have the ability now to say “Come shoot in Australia and you’ll get great incentives, great morals, great locations and our Government will really look after you if you inject the $25,000,000 I have just secured into the Australian industry”. Unfortunately I can’t say that because I can’t even get an email response from these people. How am I meant to shoot a film here with such unprofessional, limited and egotistic funding bodies that hate this industry enough to continue to smile at our failures which they themselves are to blame.??

I fought Screen Australia and lost purely because they refused to speak to me. So I opened my Australian office in New York and Los Angeles. Now, I have several projects in financing, a few in pre, one shooting and now several in script development.

I have one more important film to shoot in Queensland at the start of 2011 called “Scab Girl Asylum”. i will be funding that completely from outside Australia purely so that I don’t have to dance with Australian funding bodies that step on my toes.

My $25,000,000 cents for what it’s worth!

Adrian Want
11 Aug 10
2:39 PM



There are a few other problems that haven’t been addressed. Two of the most important elements of making a great film is production design and lighting – both of these area’s are being neglected in Australian feature films. Too many times have Aussie films gone for the washed-out look that makes you feel uneasy from start to finish. People want colour. And this is not a matter of technology. For over the past two years the digital technology has been available to filmmakers (Cannon 5D, Red One) and before that most of them were shooting on film anyway and should have been quite capable of getting amazing film quality. As for lighting equipment, you can make your film look beautiful with just red-heads and blondies (available at a very low cost) – all it takes is a little thought.

Also, films need to tell stories. Not just in the script, but through performance, direction, lighting, costume and production design. Films from overseas use lighting and production design to tell stories, but here in Australia this is regularly overlooked. Their production design and lighting reflects what they believe to be reality.

Reality? I hear you say. Well what’s wrong with that?

Everything!

Films are not meant to represent reality, but an interpretation of it. People are trying to escape their boring everyday lives, they don’t want to see reality. They want a stylised reality presented to them that tells a story through visual metaphor. Most of them could not explain it to you if they tried, but they know it innately.

And even Aussie films that do try to do this correctly often get the feeling wrong. No matter what they present, its depressing, or boring or the wrong fit for the piece. From the beginning of pre-production the director, producer, cinematographer, production designer and editor must work together as a unified creative group to piece together the most important story elements and make choices that suit the story, not their own personal needs, desires or creative impulsiveness. The story has a life of its own and everyone (especially the director and producer) must bow to its wishes and be true to the mutual creative energy of the group.

Anyway if you want to see a film that gets it right (and I’m sure there are more than just this one) watch Shine. The colour is amazing and true to the story.

Mandy Rogers
18 Aug 10
11:25 AM



How does one get past the ‘gate keepers’ to the ‘decision makers’ and convince a network to purchase my new reality tv series thus avoiding the horrendous trip to the LA convention with its ‘frantic hustle and bustle’ and ‘pushin n shovin’ between the 638 competing networks for one ot the most inovative, intelligent, watchable and entertaining reality series proposals ever….(tongue almost out of cheek) then pleeese contact me….Mandy mr57@optusnet.com.au

Mandy Rogers
18 Aug 10
4:25 PM



PS The charactors in ‘Girl Clock’ were fabulous …especially loved the son …(Hari Jago)

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