Cinema Papers no. 44-no. 45 10th Anniversary Issue (2025)

OCR

But you can’t get st[...]d optical printer, computerised matte scan
system for matte paintings and animation, a rotoscope stand,
a location camera, rear projection facilities, and a fully
equipped workshop for model making and set construction.

No problem. We’ve got all th[...]ual effects production requires an enormous
range of skills and techniques.

A properly set up company should have a specialist
in design and mechanical effects like our Tad Pride;
a cameraman with extensive miniature and front projection
experience, we’ve got Paul Nichola; a model maker and
artist with matte painting credits, such as David[...]eer who’s also an effects cameraman who

worked for Lucas Film, how about Mike Bolles; and

someone with a knowledge of optical effects and production
management, Andrew Mason would do.

Then the Visual effects company should have a range of
credits that lets you know they know how to do the job.
For instance, ‘The Empire Strikes Back’, ‘Capta[...]Mad Max ll’, ‘Razorback’,‘Silver City’, and ‘One Night Stand’.

No problem. That’s us.

Finally, you should be able to draw on all the skills of

these people and whatever equipment and techniques are
required to produce the vis[...]

t e best[...]35mm
camera with instant 120m
magazines. Designed for mobility,
the 8-35 is ideal for hand holding on
location in any outdoor situation, as
well as for the studio. The overall
size of the 8-35 is virtually the same
as the Aaton LTR 1[...]ou enquire about the 8-35,
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from Aaton.

CNM

The latest Super 16[...]CNM is ideally suited to
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difficult situations you get yourself into. Find out
how inexpensive the CNM can be for you.
For further details contact:

E FILMWEST

Sole importer of the
Aaton 8-35 throughout
Australia.

7 -S[...]

v o . . ..

So lorfilm went to Burb and bought it.

During its time at “All The Preside[...], already equipped with

The Burbank Studios, the And then went on to 23 RCA high speed film
Quad-Eight Dubbing 5 receive Academy Award transports and a Studer A800
custom re-recording console nominations for “Electric 24 track tape recorder.
created a world following. Horseman”and also “Tootsie”. This now gives

For its unique Recently The Colorfilms sound departm[...]the best high technology

was awarded an Academy of put in a larger Quad-Eight re-recording facilities in the
Motion Pictures Arts and machine, so Les McKenzie South Pacific.

Sciences Technical of Colorfilm quickly snapped But dont take only
Achievement Award. up the original. our word for it.

That was to mark the Given some minor If you have an
beginning of this consoles modifications and a re-check Oscar contender coming up
very illustrious career. by Quad-Eight, it was and you’d like to know more,

During which the then[...]ound It has now been (02) 516 1066. ,_
department of The Burbank installed for our Dolby stereo Colorfilm _

Studios won an Oscar for work in Colorfilms main L...

What will replace them? Kodak can be used with both film and

film with Datakode magnetic videotape.

control[...]mputers.
This could substantially reduce
the time and costs associated
with film post—production.

Th[...]transparent layer coated across
the entire back of the film.

Less than 8 microns thick,
it provides the means to record

machine«readable information
and makes possible a code that

Datakode magnetic surface
will provide that bridge between
film and computers. Sometime
soon, the use ofdiscs. video
displays, time code synchroni-
sation and automated printing
will speed film makers through
all the noncreative, repetitive
and tedious steps associated with
film post—product[...]—&,§_ __,_ «:4 =;'.» "5
I THE AUSTRALIAN mm AND . ";“»".,i/ . -

TELEVISION SCHOOL wAs f;,_l:i( 4’! W,

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Plea[...]RVNP, EASTMANCOLOR, B & W
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The Slim ovie
Produced by Kent Chadwick[...]sociate Producer Brian Douglas Yaayrrfl
Director of Photography David Eggby

Journey to the Dawning of the Day
Produced by Michael Dillon
Director Micha[...]ndsay Gazel, Judith West, Stanley Sarris
Director of Photography Michael Dillon

Annie’s[...]Brealey

Executive Producer Don Harley

Director of Photography Mick von Bornemann A.C.S.[...]ional

Director Simon Wincer

Executive in Charge of Production Richard Davis

Director of Photography Russell Boyd

Savage Islands

Produced by Rob Whitehouse and Lloyd Phillips
Director Ferdinand Fairfax

Production Supervisor Ted Lloyd
Director of Photography Toni lmi

Produced[...]ard Rubie
Production Manager Irene Korol
Director of Photography Ernie Clark

Ginge[...]Dawson
Production Manager Jill Nicholas
Director of Photography John Seale

Mot[...]N PICTURE GLIARANTORS INC. IS REINSURED BY LLOYDS OF LONDON

Voyages of Discovery: an interview with
David Stevens

Debi Enker 10
Words and Images
Brian McFarlane 16
Street Kids: interviews with Kent Chadwick,
Leigh Tilson and Rob Scott
Arnold Zable 22
Simon Wincer: interview[...]32
On Guard: an interview with Susan Lambert
Man _Of Flowers Victoria Treole 37
Reviewed: 85
Tenth Anniversary

Supplement

A Personal History of ‘Cinema Papers’

Scott Murray 41
Photo Galler[...]Cryptic Crossword
Val Ward 99

Film Reviews

Man of Flowers

Helen Greenwood 85
Careful, He Might Hea[...]mbri 86
Phar Lap
Keith Connolly 87
Bush Christmas and Molly
Geoff Mayer 88
Allies
Keith Connolly 89
Sim[...]al assistance from the Australian Film Commission and
Fred Harden. Sub-editor: Helen Greenwood. Proof-reading: Arthur Salton. Design and layout: Film Victoria. Articles represent the views of their authors and not necessarily those of the editor
Ernie Althoff. Office administration:[...]owley. While every care is taken with manuscripts and materials supplied for this magazine, neither the
. . editor nor the publishers accept any liability for loss or damage which may arise. This magazine may[...]oduced in whole or in part without the permission of the copyright owner. Cinema Papers

Group, Geddes[...]very two months by

MTV Publishing

Limited, Head Office, 644 Victoria Street.

7-17 Geddes St[...]

The January 11, 1984, edition of Variety
printed the following All-time Film Renta[...]$209,567,000
2. Star Wars $193,500,000
3. Return of the Jedi $165,500,000
4. The Empire
Strikes Back $141,600,000
5. Jaws $133,435,000
8. Raiders of the
Lost Ark $115,598,000
7. Grease $96,300,000
B[...]Steven Spielberg has three
entries in the top 10 (and four in the top
11); producer-director George Luc[...]he Road Warrior in the
U.S.) at 381, with rentals of $11.3 million.
Next comes The Man from Snowy River
at 474 with rentals of $9.25 million.

The only other Australian film to[...](but 27 in 1983). Franklin was also co-
producer of The Blue Lagoon, at 97.

Of the top 10, only two are 1983
releases: Return of the Jedi and Tootsie.
The next best in 1983 are:

3. Trading P[...]m $31,500,000
10 48Hrs $30,328,000

in the battle of the Bonds, Octopussy at
$33.6 million easily beat[...]illion versus $30 million.
Other big-budget films of 1983 are Super-
man III at $35 million, Return of the Jedi
at $32.5 million, Scarface at $31 million
and The Right Stuff at $27 million. No
Australian film made Vari'ety’s Big-Buck
Scorecard.

Of the expensive films, the big flops
(given rentals to December 31, 1983) were
The King of Comedy ($1.2 million rentals
from a $19 million b[...]illion), Brainstorm ($3 million from
$20 million) and The Right Stuff ($6
million from $27 million). The best returns
on a big budget were Return of the Jedi
($165.5 million from $32.5 million), Stay-
ing Alive ($33.8 million from $15 million)
and Jaws 3-D ($26.4 million from $16
million).

Ameri[...]ers

8 — March-April CINEMA PAPERS

David Field and Malcolm Smith, Flay
Atkinson (London representative), and
Mike Harris and Andrea Marshall (from
the Los Angeles office); pr[...]ngwall, David Elfick, Paul Davies, David
Williams and Dick Toltz; and Jim Henry
(South Australian Film Corporation).

T[...]t, BMX Bandits. Brothers,
Buddies, Midnite Spares and Under-
cover.

For the first time in its four-year history,
the AFM this year, with the addition of five
new companies, will open its ranks
to qualified sellers of foreign language
films. Thus, it moves closer to[...], representing
four countries, will offer a total of 17 new
films. The companies include Germany's
Atlas International and Cine-international,
Italy's Sacis/FlAl, Japan’s Toei Co. and
France’s UGC.

New AFC Chief Executive

Kim Williams will be succeeding Joe
Skrzynski as chief executive of the AFC in
March this year.

Skrzynski was appoin[...]980. He was previously
Corporate Services Manager of the
merchant bank, Pittsburgh National
Seldon and Co., and financial adviser to
the New South Wales Film Cor[...]y, concentrating on marketing,
research, lobbying and monitoring the
effects of the tax legislation. It also
emphasized funding for the development
of projects rather than basic investment
funding in feature films.

Williams, who was general manager of
Musica Viva until taking up the AFC
appointment,[...]ustralia. He is also, at
present, deputy chairman of the NSW
State Grants Advisory Council to the
Premier of NSW, a director of the Con-
federation of Australian Arts Centres, and
a member of the National Arts and Enter-
tainment Committee of the Australian Bi-
centennial Authority.

Kim[...]viously, he held positions as the
general manager of Music Rostrum Aus-
tralia and a lecturer at the NSW State
Conservatorium of Music. He was founda-
tion member of the Music Board of the
Australia Council and the then Dance and
Youth Panels.

A recipient of many awards and prizes,
Williams has had a fellowship from the
Music Board in composition and won the
Frank Hutchens composition prize twice.
H[...]1984, legislation concern-
ing the classification and censorship of
videotapes and printed matter came into
force in the Australian[...]t step in a process
to establish a uniform system for the sale,
hire and publication of Videocassettes and
publications. It permits the restricted sale
or hire of hard-core pornography and
explicit violence under an “X” rating for
video and a restricted rating for publica-
tions.

The main elements of the system incor-
porated in the ACT legislation are:

1. Imported videotapes for home use, will
no longer be subject to compulsory[...]ommonwealth
Film Censorship Board;

2. Videotapes for sale or hire are to be
classified at the request of the
importer, distributor or retailer by the
Film[...]ion standards to be
applied are to be the same as for
cinemas: that is, “NRC", “M”
and but with a further category
“X" to be added for stronger material
which would be refused cinema show-
ing. Only child pornography and similar
“very extreme material”, such as film[...]ates are to pass laws imposing
appropriate points of sale restrictions
(in particular, no sale to minors) for
"Fl” and “X" classified material;

5. The existence of a classification to be a
complete defence for retailers against
prosecution under state obscenity
laws; and

6. Classification recommendations by the
Film Ce[...]subject to
review by the Commonwealth Films
Board of Review.

The system of voluntary censorship

places the onus on the importers, distribu-

tors and retailers, and will mean that
products move more quickly on to t[...]e moment, three states (Victoria,
South Australia and Western Australia)
have interim legislation based[...]nt from the other
states.

Eventually, the system of classification
could be extended into theatricall[...]the prin-
ciple that adults are entitled to read and
view what they wish as long as people
who conside[...]being inadvertently
exposed to it.

The new look of video.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
AFC Appointment

Vicki Molloy has been appointed director
of the Creative Development Branch,
filling the position left vacant by Lachlan
Shaw in 1983 and taking over from Murray
Brown who was temporary director.

Molloy has been working with the AFC
as manager of the Women’s Film Fund
since 1981. Before that she had worked
as a researcher and presenter for docu-
mentaries at the ABC, as production
manager on Mouth to Mouth (1978) and
Dimboola (1979), and worked in the
editing department at the BBC.

As director of the Creative Development
Branch, she will report to the general
manager of Film Development, Malcolm
Smith, and is responsible for Branch
administration, policy advice on the
Branch‘s developmental role, liaising with
film groups and organizations, and direct
funding of alternative and independent
films.

Film Victoria

The board and staff of Film Victoria spent
several months in 1983 formul[...]looking at its past role, what
its situation was and how best it might fulfil
its charter. The directo[...]pro-
ducers, directors, writers, composers,
etc., and 10 organizations to give their
comments, and the board spent time
deliberating the policy docu[...]sued in November 1983.

The policy is a statement of the goals
and parameters that Film Victoria has set
itse[...]

in film and television but also a commit-
ment to film culture, the pursuit of quality
and innovation, and the commercial
viability of the investments it will make".
Although Film Vict[...]he opposition
expressed by so many people in film and
television production in Victoria to the idea
of Film Victoria becoming a production
house. The view was put strongly, from
across the spectrum of the industry, that
Film Victoria could not assist[...]mini-series,
including The Anzacs (Geoff Burrowes
and John Dixon), Return from Paradise
(Roger Simpson and Fioger Le Mesurier)
and A Thousand Skies (J. C. Williamsons
and Ross Dimsey). Two feature films in
which Film Vic[...]sently in pre-production: My First
Wife (Paul Cox and Jane Ballantyne) and
The Wrong world (Ian Pringle and John
Cruthers).

Film Victoria believes it is better placed
financially than it has been for years. The
Victorian Government more than doubled
Film Victoria’s budget in September 1983
and this has enabled it to expand its staff
by 40 per[...]s about to
appoint several new staff members, one of
whom will be a creative development
officer whose[...]responsibility will
be liaison with organizations and indivi-
duals interested in the promotion of film
culture.

Film Victoria has recently made gr[...]lture organizations
including the Australian Film Institute, the
Australian Teachers of Media, Cinema
Papers and the Melbourne Film Festival.
Involvement with these bodies is seen as
a way of discharging the obligation it has
set for itself in the policy document as
having a "responsibility for the develop-
ment and maintenance of film culture in
this state".

National Screen wri[...]The AFC has been investigating the feasi-
bility of holding a National Screenwriters’
Conference as an annual event.

A proposal has been prepared for the
AFC by the co-ordinator, Margaret Mc-

Clusky[...]e sponsored partly by govern-
ment funding bodies and partly through
private sponsorship. The Conferenc[...]ian filmmakers, their
professional organizations, and allied arts
organizations with preference given to
experienced and neophyte writers”.

The AFC has approved funding for
Stage 1 of the Conference, which is the
holding of two workshops — one in Mel-
bourne and one in Sydney — to develop
the proposal and form steering com-
mittees. The first was in Sydney on
February 26, 1964, and the second will be
in Melbourne on March 17, 1984[...]film producer, has
been appointed to the council of the Aus-
tralian Film and Television School by the
Governor-General, Sir Ninian Stephen.
The appointment, one of five made by the
Governor-General, is for a three-year
term.

Weis is co-producer of The Clinic
(1982) and producer of the critically
acclaimed Women of the Sun (1981). He
joins David Ferguson (chairman), Jeffrey
Rushton and John Daniel on the council.
The position for the fifth member has been
vacant since July 1983.[...]director. Seto has been involved in
several film and television productions,
including The Chant of Jimmie Black-
smith, Number 96 and some Reg Grundy
productions, and was manager for two
years of the radio station 4MBS-FM in
Brisbane.

The program consultant for the Festival
is David Stratton who, until 1983, was
director of the Sydney Film Festival for
nearly 10 years. Stratton is now a selector
and presenter of films for Channel 0/28.

The new director of the Sydney Film
Festival is Fiod Webb. Webb was execu-
tive director of the National Film Theatre
from 1977 to 1979, then[...]rian Arts Centre. in
addition to its usual prizes for short films,
the festival will be awarding a Peac[...]ed to have contributed
significantly to the cause of world peace.
Tickets will be available from BASS
Agencies; brochures and information are
available by phoning (03) 417 311[...]t the State
Theatre with the Greater Union Awards for
Australian Short Films being held on the
first day. The Flouben Mamoulian Award
of $1000 has been donated by Kodak.
Public bookings are now open and can be
made by phoning (02) 660 3909 or
through P.O. Box 25, Glebe, 2037.

Head of Full-time Program

The Australian Film and Television School
has appointed Pablo Albers as Head of
the Full-time Program, succeeding
Richard Thomas[...]ractice when the 1984 graduates
depart at the end of March.

Albers began his professional career in
the theatre as an actor, stage manager
and director, and was later an associate
professor of English at the University of
Mexico. Since studying film at Mexico's
Centro Un[...]grafico, he has written, pro-
duced, photographed and directed film
and television news, documentaries,
features and advertising.

Albers migrated to Australia in 1973,
working as a director for the VideoTape
Corporation in Sydney and The Film
House in Melbourne before setting up his[...]six years ago.

Albers now assumes responsibility for
the AFTS’s full-time training courses in
screenwriting, production management,
direction, camera, sound and editing.

Corrigendum

In issue No. 43, May-June 1983, p. 125,
Geoff Mayer's article entitled “Best (of)
Friends” quotes David Macdonald as the
scriptw[...]ame is Donald
Macdonald. Cinema Papers apologizes for
the error.

Contributors

Phillip Adams is a film producer and
chairman of the Australian Film Com-
mission.

Rod Bishop is a lecturer in film at the
Phillip Institute of Technology.

Ewan Burnett works at Crawford Produ[...]on department.

Keith Connolly is the film critic for The
Herald in Melbourne.

Debi Enker is a freelance journalist and
film reviewer.

Antony I. Ginnane is a film producer and
has been a contributing editor of Cinema
Papers.

Brian McFarlane is a lecturer in English
at Chisholm Institute and is currently com-
pleting a doctorate in Cinema at Midlands
University, England.

Geoff Mayer is a lecturer in film at the
Phillip Institute of Technology.

Jim Schembri is a journalist at The[...]ictoria Treole works in the distribution
division of the AFC and is the editor of
Australian Independent Film.

Arnold Zable was a lecturer in social
sciences at the University of Melbourne,
and is now a freelance writer and film

reviewer.

Solution to Cryptic Crossword on

Notice to Readers

The directors of Cinema Papers Pty Ltd, the former
publishers of Cinema Papers, express their regret to all
readers, particularly subscribers, for the lengthy delay
between issues. As several news[...]faced with serious financial
problems in mid-1983 and, until these were resolved,
publication had to be[...]ngement with
the Australian Film Commission (AFC) and Film
Victoria, Cinema Papers is returning to the newsstands
with a renewed vigour and confidence in the future. A
public company, MTV P[...]he magazine, in an arrangement in
accord with AFC and Film Victoria philosophies.

It must be stressed[...]company structure will soon come
another editor, and a fresh examination of the approach
and production of the magazine. Decisions made in the
next few months will affect the form of Cinema Papers.

While regretting the magaz[...]

episodes of Homicide during the final, “golden years” of the Morant.
series. He reflects on his work there with pride and a Stevens then returned to television to direct A[...]at the shift in emphasis from car chases to Alice and the second episode of Women of the Sun. If
character studies, engineered by producer Henry Crawford awards can be regarded as an indication of accomplishment,
during the last years of the program, created a diverse and Stevens has an impressive list to his credit, inc[...]work that has since been largely ignored or Awgie for The Sullivans, an Academy Award and an Aus-
vastly underrated. He believes the Crawford ’s apprenticeship tralian Film A ward for the Breaker Morant screenplay, and a
provided a formative and invaluable environment for experi- Logie and Emmy for A Town Like Alice.

CINEMA PAPERS March-April — I1

Has the world-wide success of “A
Town Like Alice” affected your
career?

Look at me. I live in a little
house in St Kilda and I love it, and
I’ve even turned down very well
paid work in Hollywood. I don’t
want to make a film there just for
the sake of it.

But a problem that arose from A
Town Like Alice was that too
many producers saw it and pigeon-
holed me as a soft, romantic film-
maker with a strong sense of the
Australian outback. One of
reasons I made The Clinic was that
I didn’t want to go on making A
Town Like Alice again and again.
I wanted to do something that
would be per[...]. So if
you are interested in the commun-
ication of ideas, television is the
place to work. If you do[...]ething that you can’t
do on television, because of its
spectacle, or because it needs a
bigger scree[...]stricted audience. The Clinic has
now been bought for television,
but, if I had tried to set it up for
television, I wouldn’t have had a
dog’s show.

Was your background in television
a good preparation for directing
features?

/

I

9%

Magnificent. I really feel sorry
for anybody who does not have
that kind of experience before he
goes on the boards to direct[...]aught us to think on our feet, to
think very fast and experiment.
We tried all sorts of things. I
remember doing one program in
which I went for long, continuous,
fluid takes all the time and then
another in which I decided I would
never move the camera once. We
played games with structure and
with performance; with comedy
and with tragedy. It was a
phenomenal advantage to ha[...]g takes. It wasn’t a decision I
had to sit down and think about. I
believed that the characterization[...]set would have distracted
from the simple purity of the script
and the characterizations, which is
what the film is[...]lthough
you would have to make some con-
cessions for the medium, it seems
to be a production that could be
suitable for television . . .

It probably will be, but that i[...]med what
is perceived as an Australian epic
novel and I was doing The Clinic,
which I knew would be per[...]wanted
to do something that is, in the best
sense of the word, camp.

,5 .

Apprentice designer Libby (Genevieve Picot) and American promotions man Max (Michael

Pare’). U[...]1

Fred Barley (John Walton): a man with a vision of A ustralia. David Stevens’ Undercover.

I think Australian historical
films are largely very po-faced,
and I include Breaker Morant in
that category. Some A[...]ly but it should also be
witty, sensitive, moving and
irreverent. I wanted to do some-
thing that had a sense of fun and
jollity about it.

When the script of Undercover
turned up, I fell in love: it had all[...]t an Australian hero
that was fun. I hate the use of the
word “entertainment” as though it
were pejorative and Undercover is
not intended to be just entertain-[...]er call it a romance, an
Australian fairy story.

For a film that is based largely on
fact, it actually[...]e book
opening, it ends with the curtain
falling, and both the music andand blue
tap—dancing to the Australian flag,
in a serious film. We haven’t done
an exact copy of Radiant Woman,
we have done an interpretation of
it.

Part of my worry about the
direction in which Australian[...]paranoia about going too far,
going over the top and, if I had any
criticism ofof the work
that everybody put into it, but, in
terms of my work, I would have
liked to have had another m[...]ua-
tion in pre-production. We lost
three or four of our 13 weeks
preparation because the money fell
apart and most of my energy had
to be directed towards helping the[...]eks just to make it a
little bit more outrageous. And I
would have liked to have
channelled my energies into the
making of the film, rather than
worrying about whether it would
be made.

How did you cast Michael Paré for
the role of Max?

One of the reasons the money

fell apart was because although the
Max character was American and
although we had agreed to cast an
American, a local actor did a test
for the role which was just
wonderful. We decided to use him,
but the backers wouldn’t hear of
it. Because of the size of the
budget, they believed they had to
have an Ame[...]n
American actor in a week. I saw
about 60 actors and I was told by
the producer I had to put three
names to Actors Equity.
_ My first choice was an actor offor the part, but who had a
big name. Then, because t[...]t choice on the
grounds that they had never heard
of him, despite his extraordinary
list of credentials. They said that I

A

I love Michael and I think he is
terrific. He has a lovely brash
qua[...]-
mance to say that he wasn’t my
first choice.

And Genevieve Picot (Libby)?

I had been aware of Genevieve
for a long time because of her
work with the Melbourne Theatre
Company and with The Sullivans.
I was trying to find a heroine with
some balls. I auditioned a lot of
actresses, but I couldn’t go past
Genevieve.

In all of your work the women
are very strong, spirited and
ambitious, and usually working
people, with a lot of vitality. Is
that something that attracts you to[...]you object to this? [Laughs.]
I think it is part of the Australian
ethos. There is this fantasy that[...]fe’s role,
which one would expect to be
passive and compliant, isn’t. She is
very supportive, intelligent and is
called upon to make decisions at
crucial times which change the
course of events. Nina (Sandy
Gore) is also a particularly strong
character . . .

That is because of the kind of
world in which I have grown up. In
the theatre th[...]One is brought up
amongst ballsy, striking women
and, if it is possible for them to be
like that in that situation, why isn’t
it possible for them to be like that
anywhere in the rest of the world.

What Undercover is essentially
about, if you look beyond all the
froth and glamor and tinsel, is the
need to be yourself. It doesn’t
matter a damn who you are, go for
it.

“It doesn’t matter what you do as
long a[...]is the most
telling line in the film: don’t try
and ape anybody else.

A very clever thing is done with
the make-up in the film with the
progression of the Libby charac-
ter; she is delineated by her hair,
her make-up and her costumes.
There is a sequence when she
makes[...]the Town
Hall defending Fred Burley (John
Walton) and you can see she is
wearing a lot of make-up. But I
felt that was right because Libby is

Libby works at her designs for a new range of undergarments. Undercover.

Nina. When she returns to the
country, the make-up goes back to
natural, and from then on she is
her own woman.

Probably the most beautiful
shot of Libby is during the
rehearsal in the theatre when[...]ring very little make-up. She
has become herself, and that is
what the whole thing is all about.
You can’t be scared of what the
world thinks of you. You just have
to go out andand Max is set up early in the film:
at the moment she falls into his
arms, one hears the harp music
and one knows what is going to

happen. But Nina and the Pro-
fessor (Barry Otto), and Alice (Sue
Leith) and Theo (Peter Phelps)
seem to be particularly odd
c[...]spearian structure.
You are introduced to a group of
people; some are survivors in some
senses and some are not.

Alice and Libby we meet essen-
tially at the same time. I h[...]te because Nina, at that
moment, makes the choice of
which of the two is the star. We
know then that Alice is n[...]is.

going too far: she is trying to copy Empress of style, Nina (Sandy Gore), examines Libby’s desi[...]t away from home, to
live her life as she saw it. And her
ambition, finally, was to marry a
Theo.

As far as Nina and the Professor
are concerned, Nina retires andof the changes are
jarring, particularly in the scene
with Nina and Libby at Libby’s
new flat. Some of the dialogue has
been deleted . . .

“What a bugger [that] men have
to give you babies.”

The absence of that line took away
some of the clarity of the char-
acter. There is a definite lesbian
unde[...]arly
in that scene. The relationship
between Nina and Libby is gentle,
subtle and warm but that line,
which is fairly suggestive, is gone,
and the relationship becomes
almost mother and daughter,
mentor and student . . .

I have no argument. I don’t
approve of the new cut.

Were you involved in the cutting?
No.

Another example is the trimming
down of the love scene and thus
the implication that Libby is dis-
il[...]

The House of Berlei musical extravaganza, which seals the company‘: future and provida the stage for the resolution of several

relationships. Undercover.

There’s[...]So, why was it cut?

It would be totally unfair of me
to comment. I think you would
have to ask the[...]in her
life had a love affaire with a young
woman and love affaires with
young or even older men. If an[...]be a complete woman.

Similarly, in the character of Eric
(Chris Haywood) in “The Clinic”
you have presented one of the most
positive, strong, intelligent and
appealing representations of
homosexuality on the screen. Was
it your intentio[...]we only have Eric’s
word that he is homosexual, and
we know that he lies at other points
in the film.[...]hing to shock the boy.
It is only your assumption and that
of Paul (Simon Burke), the
student, that he is homosexual.

With Paul and Libby and, to an
extent, Jean Paget (Helen Morse)
in “A Town Like Alice”, there is a
process of education, whereby the
character has to learn humility and
draw on his or her courage and
face up to mistakes. Is that a
central part of your character
development?

Isn’t that what the process of life
is? It is what the process of what
my life has been. I hadn’t realized
the de[...],
the defending lawyer, was the
central character and it traced his
development from a bumbling,
outback clerk of the court to a man
with a passionate point of view and
a commitment to a concept.

The actors’ performances in all of
your work appear very relaxed.
There is an ease about them and,
particularly in “The Clinic”, a
feeling of spontaneity. What
approach do you take with your[...]discovered that I wasn’t
going to be the Hamlet of my
generation; I also discovered that
there were directors and they
seemed to have much more fun
than actors. Bu[...]ailed actor turning to directing.
I stuck with it and I had a very
lucky break: I took over the lead in
an important play in London and,
since then, I have made up my own
mind about the right soil for
actors.

There are certain actors with
whom I can[...]o work
with actors who respond to my
specific way of directing, which is
to encourage them not to be afraid
of making a fool of themselves,
because, no matter how big a fool
they make of themselves in front
of the camera, I will be making a
bigger tit of myself behind the
camera.

Actors are extraordinary people.
Nine times out of 10 you have to
feed them lollies and make them
feel good and, occasionally, you
have to give them a smack, jus[...]actors.

Everything?

Well, there is the script, of
course, but everything else is sub-
servient to the actors. [Laughs.]
An actor has to put a pretty good
case for me to allow him to change
a line in the script;[...]to the script?

No, not at all.

What is the art of acting? I have
seen extraordinary, spontaneous
performances of Shakespeare

which don’t stuff around with
Shak[...]kespeare?
Actors are not puppets. You cast
actors for what they will bring to
the role, not for what you can tell
them to do. And I apply that to
every aspect of the filmmaking
process.

I think the work of Dean Semler
(director of photography) and
John Morton (gaffer) on Under-
cover is just ravi[...]their
idea to use soft smoke on almost
every set, and Steve Dobson’s
(camera assistant) idea to use s[...]ns. It
was those men who were totally
responsible for working out the
look of the film. All I did was say,
“I want it to look[...]viously, one is constantly
provoking, questioning and chal-
lenging, working over the structure
of the shot that you choose. What
was lovely for me was that all the
visual elements came together in
terms of the make—up, costumes,
sets, locations, photography and
lighting. It was a voyage of dis-
covery for us all.

I try to create the right working
atmosp[...]trousers, just to remind
the actors that tragedy and comedy
are not separate entities.

With such a large group of people,
all immersed in their tasks, how
can you[...]ding occasional
boredom.

Your films have a range of dis-
parate characters — the patients
and the staff in “The Clinic”, the
group of women in “Alice”, the
employers and employees in
“Undercover” — brought to-
gether in one place. And there is
a density of characterization. They
are all very much cross-sections of
society, or groups in society . . .

I long to ma[...]ke Alice is filled with
people, so is The Clinic, and in
Undercover there are seven or
eight mai[...]

I'lC.

But your intimate, warm and
humorous groups of people create
a very strong sense of community
in your work . . .

I suppose that is because I
believe we are all part of a com-
munity. There is a Russian film of
Hamlet of which Kenneth Tynan
said, “It may not be the gr[...]Elsinore is
a very busy place. It is a crossroad
for ambassadors and traders and
courtiers, and Hamlet very seldom
stands alone on a battlement and
makes a great speech. He is usually
stuck in. the middle of 20 pages
with half a dozen servants going
there and five ambassadors being
presented here, and that is what
reality is. Very few of us live alone;
we are all part of the street, the
community, the city, the country[...]t is “Amsterdam” about?

It is the true story of some
Dutch homosexuals during World
War 2 who formed their own little
branch of the underground resis-
tance and destroyed the central
Nazi Criminal Register. For their
pains, 12 of them were shot. But it
is not about poofters. If[...]ffect, believe that life
is a pillared community, and that if
one pillar is taken away the roof
will fa[...]ith “The
Clinic” which also deals with a
part of society that is usually
ignored or repressed . . .

Yes. And Amsterdam will also
be written by Greg Millin who
wrote The Clinic.

It is also true of the women in
“Alice” . . .

That’s right. N[...]Those who
stuck to the old traditional

concepts of life perished; those
who were prepared to change[...]hes, their
habits, their attitudes, their
manners and their concepts were
the survivors. It is very difficult to
march half way across Malaysia in
high heels and gloves. It is much
easier to do it in a sarong and bare
feet.

I was brought up in that
situation. I was born in Palestine,
and then I moved to Egypt and to
South Africa, where I had a tribal
Zulu nanny, so it is very difficult
for me to believe in one concept of
God. In fact, it is very hard for me
to believe in a society in which
every single[...]e. I have always been sur-
rounded by a multitude of diverse
sounds and languages.

That suggests an interest in the use
of overlapping dialogue . . .

I tried that experiment once at
Crawford Productions. I wrote an
episode for Matlock where, in the
first seven pages, there ar[...]s, such as
those you have in the worse ex-
cesses of Robert Altman, where
you actually can’t hear an[...]Carol Reed — are men who under-
stand the myths of society, men
who question God.

Bill Routt’s comments’ compare
“Undercover” with the films of
Preston Sturges and Frank Capra
and it is easy to see the influence of
the classical musical in the
ending . . .

When p[...]e what the
film could be like, I said Frank
Capra and Preston Sturges films.
Nobody has heard of Sturges. It is
not as crazy as a Sturges film but[...]It was also a
huge challenge. We shot it in five
and a half days.

I also admire the pyrotechnic
filmmakers beyond measure. I
adore the work of George Miller
(Mad Max) and I think the last two
reels of Mad Max 2 are as perfect
an example of montage as I can
imagine in the cinema. I was on the
edge of my seat. But I can’t do
that. My stories are di[...]4.

g;

Top: Dr Eric (Chris Haywood). Above: Eric and a student doctor (Simon Burke) restrain a
concern[...]ery different.

They are very much about
heroism, and characters with
tenacity and integrity working
towards something and eventually
succeeding . . .

I guess Mad Max is t[...]a man who was finally destroyed
by a bureaucracy, andand be individual, as long
as you do no harm to anybo[...]Kingsford-Smith

It is a six—hour mini—series for
J. C. Williamson and Ross Dimsey
about Sir Charles Kingsford-
S[...]

Helen Garner’s Monkey Grip and the film adaptation.

Brian McFarlane is principal lecturer in Literature at the
Chisholm Institute of Technology and is a contributing
editor to Cinema Papers. He is also the author of a book on
Martin Boyd’s “Langton” novels, is the editor of the
annual collection of literary essays, Viewpoints, and is the
co—editor of a forthcoming anthology of Australian verse.

Words and Images is published by Heinemann Publishers
Austr[...]rst published by McPhee Gribble Publishers, 1977,
and by Penguin Books, 1978 (page references to the la[...]er first
novel, won a National Book Council Award and her latest work is Honour and Other
People’: Children. She has worked as a teacher and a journalist.

Monkey Grip was directed by Ken Cameron, for producer Patricia Lovell, from a
screenplay by Ken Cameron, in association with Helen Garner. The director of
photography was David Gribble, the editor David Huggett and the composer Bruce
Smeaton. Running lOl minutes, it was released in 1982.

One of the achievements of Helen Garner’s novel, Monkey Grip, is that
the heroine, Nora, does not lose hold of the reader’s sympathy despite
the fact that the story, as told by her, centres almost wholly on herself
and her frustrations. These preoccupations — the constant pondering
on what she is feeling, the analysis of what is happening in her succes-
sive sexual relationships, the sense of herself as ill-used — ought in the
end to be merely wearisome to the reader. And indeed a good deal of
this prize-winning novel, with its vestigial narrative, is tiresome, but the
reasons for this lie elsewhere. In Nora, Garner has created,[...]ole person (i.e.,
character) is what shuffles out of the banal and repetitive incidents that
make up the plot — to[...]at its loosest.

In Ken Cameron’s film version of the novel, the central firmness of
the realization of Nora (Noni Hazlehurst) is even more striking. It is as
though the scriptwriters (Cameron and Garner) and director have seen
where the novel’s potential unity and strength lie, and have capitalized
on it. They have done so partly[...]ut chiefly through casting Hazlehurst, an actress of real
warmth and emotional range. Her performance is an achievemen[...]randma
Carr, is clearly intended to be the centre of the action in both novel and
film. The strength the film gets from Haz1ehurst’s performance and
from its visual rendering of the novel’s ambience tightens the latter’s
fr[...]the novel.

It is just as well that the chapters of this book do not seek to give plot
synopses of the novels involved since such an enterprise woul[...]r
whimsically named chapters (e.g., “Respectful of His Fragility”, “Do
You Wanna Dance?”), its[...]ture is, superficially, frag-
mented to the point of disintegration. Its bits and pieces make Ronald
McKie’s The Mango Tree look[...]in the relationship between
Nora, a single mother of thirty-two, and Javo, her off-and—on junkie
lover, a part-time actor (and a full-time bore). However often she tries
to wean herself of the habit of J avo, she appears to remain essentially
hooked by him as he is by smack. Part of the trouble is (as Javo says to
her) “that you[...]appier
when I’m into it” (p. 96).

By the end of the novel, when Javo has left again, this time pr[...]omeone called Claire, Nora feels, “A funny kind of pain, dull,
not sharp, spread through my body as if by way of the bloodstream”
(p. 244) and, a few lines later, “instead of that pain came the thought,
‘Well . . . so be i[...]t a chance that Nora
has by now reached the stage of accepting her life, without J avo if need
be. Eve[...]has never proved defence enough against her need for
Javo. Though the need is powerfully sexual (more[...]no means exclusively so. She in fact wants a kind of stability,
a more conventional set of relationships than her world is likely to[...]

The narrative surface of the novel is more crowded than the brief
account above suggests. While Javo is the continuing strain of
emotional engagement throughout the year of the novel’s time span,
Nora’s life embraces many other relationships as well. Chief of these
others is that with her small daughter, Gra[...]ta,
Cobby) from whom she receives varying degrees of support, and
Lillian, whom she distrusts, mainly from Javo—based motives of
jealousy; and the men who are variously friends and lovers, but mostly
lovers even if that’s not ho[...]other Joss, Gerald with whom Nora shares a
house, and Francis. In fact, the network of shifting, drifting relation-
ships involves a cast of characters almost bewildering in their numbers
and made more so because Garner has not sought to characterize them
in any detail. And yet there may be a narrative purpose in this: that
sense of a loosely—knit, not—very—differentiated crowd of people,
drifting past each other, sometimes touch[...]portant to the narrative only as they affect
Nora and none of them compares in her life with the intensity of her
feeling for Javo. They have their brief moment of vividness, coinciding
with their narrative function, then subside into being part of the general
ambience. For instance, Angela swims into focus when she asks N[...]: first, she is very ready to support her friend, and in this
unstable circle of people there is a surprising amount of solidarity;
second, she promotes the following reflection in Nora: “I silently
envied the ease of her tears, the way she lived with her heart bravely on
her sleeve, no levelling out of the violence of everything but full blast
and shameless” (p. 156). The insight that offers into Nora and her view
of her own situation is significant.

So, from the narrative’s point of view, is Nora’s capacity for such
reflection. The more one reads this novel, t[...]key Grip is not the “subjective” utter-
ances of characters but the surrounding (but far from “objective”)
narrative prose which of course belongs to Nora. And it is here, I
believe, that the real drama of this novel is located. It seems to me
scarcely possible to care one way or the other about most of the
characters: one feels a mild revulsion agains[...]in fact very much caught up with what
Nora makes of her experience. She is not merely a recording voice, but
a presence which responds, and grows through response, to a range of
relationships. She is defined partly in terms of how she behaves in these
relationships, partly th[...]lective,

Living in the 19705, in Melbourne: Nora and house-male Gerald (Don Miller-Robinson).

Words and Images

Nora (Noni Huzlelzurst) and Java (Colin Friels).

sometimes summarizing, sometimes self-assessing, and always indivi-
dual and working towards the reader’s sense of a whole character.

This is the kind of pleasure, in reading a novel, that grows on one,[...]onkey Grip on first acquaintance grew largely out of
dissatisfaction with its apparent shapelessness. Like many good novels,
it is episodic but most of its episodes are unmemorable, particularly if
measured against the crude narrative yardstick of what-happens—next.
In Monkey Grip, what happens[...], or a sexual encounter (invariably, monotonously and,
therefore perhaps, significantly referred to as[...]a trip to somewhere. In themselves, scarcely one of them really matters
and few of them stay in the memory. That is not to say they[...]re are many sharply observed touches about people and
places: but that they lack the sort of vividness one needs in order to feel
that a narra[...]scenes but not
with any exactness as to the part of the novel from which they came.
The scenes, like many of the characters, become part of that hazy
milieu in which the more things change the more they stay the same.

This impression of narrative slackness, compared say with a “well-[...]sy, sometimes warmly
cheerful, often dreary lives of its characters. Scene after scene — and
each chapter is divided into about half a dozen, some of them no more
than snippets — is introduced by s[...]leep in my bed . . . (p. 91)

Peg took Gracie out for the day and 1 went off by myself. (p. 106)
Javo came to my ho[...]merica . . . (p. 190)

I went over to Peel Street and found Rita tidying her room. (p. 193)

CIN[...]

l .

And so on, endlessly. It is perhaps the most loosely strung together
novel of my acquaintance. The disjointedness, the failure of anything
to build, and the sense of nothing’s being more important than any-
thing[...]eading, maddening to the reader trying
to discern and hold on to some sort of narrative development. Perhaps
this problem is more acute to one raised in the tradition of carefully
constructed, nineteenth—century, real[...]ndomness is less daunting. This may be the result
of knowing that the novel offers little in the way of the usual narrative
rewards (and thus not expecting them) but is, I believe, really due to
recognition and acceptance of different moves towards narrative
coherence — and to accepting monotony as part of its meaning.
There is no point in looking for an A——B—~C pattern of causality but
there are other elements in the narrative that work to give shape and
flavour to the book. The major one, as I have sug[...]revealed as a protagonist trying to pull herself
and her life into some sort of manageable shape. One’s chief interest is
concentrated in this rambling but oddly compelling andof the chief pressures of her life is that she “was
guarding them all fro[...]oded with the possibilities, the theatre was full of people I liked
and loved and whose work was joyful to me. Child beside me, friend to

sleep with, body loose from dancing and laughter. Coasting! for a while.
(p. 118)

It is a voice which establishes itself as honest so that it is worth listening
to for its own sake and for the light it sheds on others.

There is, too, a t[...]ly’s determined constancy
in loving both Angela and Paddy, while living with neither” and with
finding this situation “no less painful to her for being ideologically
impeccable” (p. 156). Later[...]ir with Rita,
there is talk about “breaking out ofof no special consequence) point to a crucial and pervasive
source of tension in the novel. Nora and her friends are all living what
in 1975, the time of the novel, would have been called an alternative[...]It is located mainly in Melbournets inner suburbs and Above and below: the bad and the good ofNora and Java’: relationship: “Whal’s love?
involves an approach free to the point of permissive in matters like Be"'g‘”“‘ke"’ ””’’”‘’‘e'
where one lives and sleeps, and with whom, in experimentation with
drugs, and in drifting from cafes to bars to fringe theatrical and film-
making activities. Negatively, it implies a rejection of monogamous,
orderly households, of women performing traditional sex roles, of
steady, gainful employment, of the careful ordering of one’s life.
However, while much of the freedom, the indulging of instinct as
opposed to behaving conventionally, i[...]people
like Nora, it brings with it its own kinds of pressures and hurts. The gap
between the ideology and importunate reality often lets the draughts in.
N[...]y”
(p. 66) — but this apparent easy tolerance of the junkie habit is no
protection against the pain she feels each time he leaves her to look for
a “score”.

Beneath the surface disjointedness of their lives, she cannot help
looking for a pattern that would help her to make sense of them. There
is certainly no longer any hope or help for her in the suburban ordinari-
ness of her Kew-based family whom she visits on Christmas Day, nor in
the prospect of marriage. In trying to work things out in her own mind
she contemplates herself and her women friends in these terms:

. we all thrashed about swapping and changing partners — like a very
complicated dance to which the steps had not yet been choreographed, all
of us trying to move gracefully in spite of our ignorance . . . (p. 192).

The image of the dance is in itself a sign that she wants to find, in the
constantly shifting aspects of her life, a pattern, a sense of order, to
which a key does exist but the finding of which the very nature of their
ideological convictions makes improbable. T[...]tion comes
shortly after the Christmas inspection of her relations and it is com-
pleted by her resigned acceptance of the fact that “though the men we
know often lef[...]her losses
in a way that engages one’s respect: for “plenty to be desired” one may
read “reliability”, or “supportiveness”; for “the grosser indignities”,
the sort of superiority her “big boss” uncle exudes in his treatment of
his plump blonde wife. He is, she recognizes, imp[...]? Being a sucker, I suppose” (p. 63), Nora asks and,
wryly, replies. Quoted out of context the remark may look portentously[...]

Both novels are unobtrusively shaped by a critical examination of the way
such cultural norms as the entrapment of women in domesticity and the
attraction of romantic love are deeply internalized, and this makes it
legitimate, even necessary to descr[...]st.‘

As far as Nora is concerned, she is aware of the possibilities of “entrap-
ment” and is, indeed, firmly entrapped by her role as mother and lover.
Despite the casual junketing around (e.g.,[...]ll as on lesser expeditions), she is always aware of Gracie’s needs as a
pressure upon her. And while ostensibly resisting the notions of
“romantic love” and what it implies for the woman involved, she also
longs for some of its concomitants: for male tenderness, support, and
answer to her sensual needs.

Her apparently casu[...]t again, are you?”, Nora
“knew what she meant and could not control a grin of guilt. She meant
falling in love” and replies “Yeah, I suppose l’ve done it again” (p. 6).
Already, on the next page, she shows an awareness of what it means:

People like Javo need people like me, steadier, to circle around for a while;
and from my centre, held there by children’s needs,[...]tracted to the drifting life but is equally aware of her
“entrapment”. Much later, having arrived[...]with
“Javo foul—tempered again, Gracie tired and frightened”, she reflects,
“I have to keep us[...]ehow” (p. 98). Whatever love is, it is
not easy for Nora; as Barbara Giles, reviewing the novel, clai[...]ideology which elsewheroe offers
her a good deal of comfort and practical support, she is, as Giles goes
on to say, “caught in the usual feminine bind, of responsibility for
bringing up a child, of love which makes demands on her”. The men
she k[...]at conventional monogamy may, but the monkey
grip of passionate need is no less inescapable for that. Her love for Javo
may be generous and unpossessive but that is no guarantee that she will
not sometimes be “used” by him.

None of the other women, despite the warmth of sisterhood, is any
better placed than she is. The book seems to me honest about the gains
and losses in the feminist approach to love and sex. The way they
persevere with their lives, trying to square their ideology with the often
chilling facts of “love habit”, is done with enough humour and percep-
tion to make one bear with some of Garner’s sloppier narrative habits.
Certainly there is enough of both to make one feel the unfairness of
Ronald Conway’s characterization of “all this sweltering narcissism
dolled up as group fellow-feeling“, and to make the present writer
mildly ashamed of having once described it as an “almost ostenta-[...]Barbara Giles does, or “overpoweringly real”
and “overwhelmingly filled with love and understanding” as Veronica
Schwarz d0es5, I thi[...]ngs holding it together
than I at first supposed. And the way the women grapple with the ideas
of love and friendship and sex (the grappling is not limited to Nora) is
one of these elements which help to provide a narrative[...]t.

So, too, is Garner’s meticulous re-creation of the milieu in which the
novel’s lives are lived. The physical scene of the inner suburbs of
Carlton and Fitzroy, with a variety of overcrowded, sometimes lonely
houses, the swimming baths, cafes and bars, is not there in the sense in
which landscap[...]that is, a presence having
something like a life of its own. It is a cliche to speak of Egdon Heath in
Return of the Native as being almost a character in the nov[...]g. It is there all right, in casual, exact
noting of streets and shops (like Myer or Readings Book Shop), and in
brief but telling references to doing “four loads of washing at the
laundromat”, to walking

dully past the kid’s adventure playground, across the car park, and up the
broken stairs to the series of empty rooms over the Italian grocery, where
[Javo] had a mattress in a corner and a heap of things he called his. (p. 44)

The references both specify a real place_and indicate bits _of personal
landscape. Garner has said in an interview: “Another thing I like IS

Words and Images

‘'11 was early summer. And everything, as it always does, began /0 heave and cliange. ”
Nora at the pool.

what you find in nineteenth century Russian writers, a certain use of
detail and description”", and she goes on to suggest how this certain use
rende[...]ing. ln Monkey
Grip, the firmly established sense of place, and the cultural life that
goes with it, provides a n[...]p the semi—nomadic tribe
that peoples the book, and both shapes and gives them something to
respond to.

It could not[...]t know the life at
first-hand; it is not a matter of research, but of living and understand-
ing what holds these people tenuously but tenaciously together. The
acutely rendered ambience is of course as much a matter of time as of
place, and time is felt in several ways. The changing seasons, too glib a
metaphor for what is going on in the human lives, are therefore not
used as a metaphor but as an agent for coherence: lives drift by
haphazardly and their unpredictability is felt the more strongly against
the sharp, sensuous noting of the year’s moving from summer to
summer. But ti[...]ced in refer-
ences to singers like Stevie Wonder and Skyhooks, to films like Dog
Day Afternoon and The Discreet Charm ofof Nora’s
world embraces fringe theatre and film—making (Nora works all night
on a “junk movie”), the Melbourne Film Festival, Rolling Stone, and
endless novel-reading. The titles of her reading include lean Rhys’
After Leaving Mr[...]e film version released in 1975), Tolstoy’s
War and Peace, Virginia Woolf’s To the Lighthouse, and, at the end,
significantly perhaps, Washington Sq[...]es with Henry
James’ heroine accepting the loss of her suitor and resigning herself
with dignity, “as it were, for life”. It is a nice touch to allude to this
novel at this stage of Nora’s life; it is even nicer not to make it (o[...]tendency
towards novels about women in situations of entrapment, but Christie
and Tolstoy remove the element of potential schematism. There used to

CI[...]

Nora and daughter Gracie (A/ice Garner): friends andfalni/[...]In a good novel, setting is never merely a matter of back-
ground.” On this criterion, Monkey Grip i[...]ongueurs, it is extremely sharp in evoking
a time and a place, so sharp and sustained that ambience becomes an
important narrative element.

Ambience is of course one of the areas in which a film ought to have
least trouble in the enterprise of adaptation from a novel. Ken
Cameron, whose first[...]e in the novel. Further, by retaining a good deal of the
novel’s “metalanguage” in Nora’s voice-over, he achieves an often
startling replication of the feel and tone of the novel.

The film’s opening few minutes show both strategies in action. In a
series of deft strokes, Cameron sketches in an impression of the real
pre—Javo happiness in Nora’s life, in an audio-visual equivalent of the
novel’s opening paragraph which presents a warm breakfast (“noise,
and clashing of plates, and people chewing with their mouths open, and
talking, and laughing. Oh, I was happy then”). The film arri[...]dually shimmers into life with an underwater shot of legs swimming
in a chlorinated pool; these — or[...]uburban streets; there is a cut back to the pool; and then the
camera moves in the breakfast scene with people snatching at bacon
and eggs. But if these images suggest cheerful casual[...]our
toe.” The tension established between aural and visual means here is an
example of the cinema working very economically. The pool, the
cycling, the breakfast table are part of the shifting communal life of
inner suburban Melbourne; the voice-over anticipates what is going on
in it for Nora and Javo. It is a tighter, subtler start than the nov[...]explicit sentences:
“It was early summer”, “And everything, as it always does, began to
heave and change.” The film makes its meaning more unobtrusively,
the mise-en-scene and the voice-over working contrapuntally as it were.

Even during my dissatisfied first reading of the novel, it seemed to
me that Monkey Grip had d[...]ng might make an
attractive milieu study from it. And that is what Cameron, abetted by
David Gribble’[...]y they have put on film the novel’s small world of inner suburban
streets and shops, recording studios, scungy lanes, and grotty-to-
comfortablc houses and backyards. He has caught accurately those

20 — March-April CINEMA PAPERS

aspects of Carlton that the National Trust isn’t intereste[...]film has
caught so well this faintly seedy aspect of Melbourne — of city — life,
nor in placing it in the lives lived there. The film’s direction and screen-
play offer a wry, sympathetically divided view of the characters’
emotional lives, offering a parallel to the novel’s sometimes painful
apprehension of the gap between the ideology and the reality. The film
balances a clear sense of rootless, itinerant camaraderie (less strongly
feminist than in the novel), stressing the supportive aspect of its
drifting, non-nuclear households against the emotionally draining,
unfulfilling relationships of people who feel able to come and go at will.
Sandra Hall, in a perceptive review of the film, has said:

[Cameron’s] characters are continually testing one another in love affairs
and friendships, every relationship is a new challenge, yet the mood is
understated. People move in and out of one another’s lives without cere-
mony and with as little explanation as possible.7

The film catches authentically the committed casualness and the
longing the women feel for something more and does so with a greater
succinctness than the novel can. One suspects that Garner, co—author of
the screenplay, must approve of the tightening up (without needless
spelling out) of this shaping thematic interest.

Nora’s apparen[...]able. Her voice-over may say “All the splinters of my life fitted
together again” when Javo (Colin[...]again when
he next succumbs to his addiction. She and her friends talk so much
about their emotional lives and needs that it becomes clear how
inadequate to the[...]find themselves. The endless talk along the lines of “I love you,
but I can’t handle it”, or “[...]see you when you want
something”, strikes again and again authentic notes of unhappiness and
banality. Despite my phrase “endless talk”, t[...]n creating this impression: it reduces the number of
shadowy characters from the novel and, inevitably, those that are left
are fleshed out by the mere presence of actors. Whereas in the novel the
discussions about love and sex are between Nora and any one of many
(deliberately?) undefined women, and some men, the film by putting
faces to these name[...]identify them. In my view,
the emotional content of the film is sharpened by the selectiveness and
by the use of actresses as distinct from each other as Lisa Peers (Rita)
and Christina Amphlett (Angela). What can begin to se[...]sly long-playing record in the novel gets a spike of
individuality from the acting in the film.

It motivates, for instance, some of the film's most kindly and good-
natured scenes: those between Nora and her daughter Gracie (age raised
several years fro[...]does know what’s what. When Nora asks
her, out of little‘ more than idle curiosity, “What do yo[...]”, she s'ays “You should just be nicer to him and leave him
alone.” It is not censorious or wise-[...]icult question. This is a very compressed
version of a fine short scene in the novel (p. 102) and it works with
beautiful directness. Gracie’s clarity of vision contrasts with Nora’s
emotional messines[...]lm, by this juxtaposition,
sharpens one’s sense of the emotional disorderliness of Nora’s life. And
one of the sweetest moments in the film shows Nora and Gracie,
companionable and relaxed with each other on the Manly ferry at
night, after Javo has left. The feeling between mother and daughter has
been established with so much affect[...]’s final com-
ment on it — about the pleasure and pain of seeing one’s child “taking
off” —— reso[...]one before. There is some-
times an amusing sense of Gracie’s being calmer and older than Nora,

Nora and Javo, as it sometimes can be.

but the direct[...]o a cliche because Nora’s
proper, maternal love for her daughter has also been made plain.

It must be said that the film’s greater sharpness and tightness do not
always work in its favour. It is one thing for Nora’s voice-over to
reflect, “l couldn’t live for long with his restlessness, his violent
changes ofof a long—drawn—out, difficult relationship in which the rest-
lessness and violent changes of mood are enacted in a succession of
incidents. The hundred minutes the film lasts as[...]ater time it takes to read the book removes a lot of the tedium of the
original; but the inevitable pruning necessarily dissipates some of the
monotony that is also part ofthe book’s mea[...]air like Nora’s
with Javo produces long periods of disappointment, loneliness and
aching need between the spells of well-being and happiness. The film,
by tidying up the novel’s narrative procedures, runs less risk of boring
its audience but, in doing so, cannot help losing some of the specific
kinds of pain that the more discursive form of the novel allows the
reader to register. 1 am not[...]one through repetition. Clearly, there
are gains and losses for each. The cinema, the medium less susceptible
to[...]o doubt wise to engage in the subtle
modification of a narrative which even its original form, the nov[...]is wise.

When reviewing Monkey Grip at the time of its release, 1 finished by
saying that “it has understood that a film can dramatize monotony and
repetitiveness without succumbing to either.” Now I am less sure of
this. It seems to me that comments like the one q[...]e-over saying, “Naturally I remembered the good and lovable
things about him [Javo], not the drugs and resentment”, have more of a
summarizing than a dramatizing function. In spite of their often
retaining Garner’s original words, the very selectivity with which they
are chosen for the screenplay is an admission that film cannot cope as a
novel can with the sustained inner play of thought. The feeling one has
in reading the book of listening to a dramatic monologue, in which, as
i[...]everything is filtered through the consciousness of the
protagonist-speaker, is missing. What Javo and Gracie, Angela, Martin
and the others are like, or what the city itself feels like, are no longer a
matter of an individual’s subjective impression. They inevitably take on
an objective life of their own". One can no longer be sure of seeing them
just as they appeared to Nora because[...]as much claim on attention as
Nora’s perception of them. What has happened in the transposition of
Garner’s novel to the screen is that, while the original tone is largely
maintained through the use of the voice-over (and aspects of the mise-
en-scene), the process of thought remains elusive. In Chapter 1 [of
Words and Images] it is suggested that rendering this process might well
be one of the adaptor’s chief difficulties. Cameron’s film, careful and
intelligent as it is and based on a screenplay collaboration with the
nove[...]s a qualitatively
different achievement from that of the novel.

Notes

1. Susan Higgins and Jill Matthews, “For the Record: Feminist Publications in

Australia S[...]1982

p. 366.

. Veronica Schwarz, “Multiplying and Dividing”, Australian Book Review,

June 1978, p. 18.

6. Anne Chisholm, “A love of language“, The National Times, 4-10 January
198[...]The Bulletin,
6 July 1982, p. 95.

8. This will, of course, be true of any first»person novel transferred to the
screen[...]“l”
character is a participant in or observer of the narrative, how far (s)he can be
relied on. No[...]F. Scott Fitzgerald's The
Great Gatsby. In spite of the first-person narration, the characters of these
two novels have an objective reality not to be felt in the shadowy lives of
Garner’s characters. *

v- “WP

From ‘Words and Images’ by Brian McFarlane, published by[...]

The main feedback fro[...]akdown in
society that was leading to thou-
sands of kids hitting the streets.
That was where Street K[...]elbourne then living on the
streets with the kids and not ful-
filling any bureaucratic role
through a department. He would
be on the streets of St Kilda every
night, and the kids would come to
him for assistance.

It was through Alex that I was
able, with writer Adrian Tame, to
do our research, to try and under-
stand what life on the streets was
like for these kids. That research

Filmmakers Rob Scott (left) and Leigh Tilson (right). Street Kids.

went on for about 10 months, at
which stage I brought in Leigh and
Rob to direct the film.

The film required that Leigh and
Rob live on the streets with the
kids. So they re[...]them, to get to know
them as a natural extension of
living in the same environment.
We generally made[...]he kids
were sussing us out; they were
suspicious of people with cameras
because they had been ripped off
in the past.

Scott: We talked to hundreds of
kids with diverse backgrounds
from all over Melbo[...]that

they were extremely mobile, being
shunted, for one reason or
another, from place to place. So
yo[...]ograms over the years,
with their rather flippant and
superficial look at sensational sub-
ject matter, in which the kids got
ripped off, and the public was

duped. It was essential, as far a[...]e, that allowed the
kids to tell their own story, and not
just to dwell on the more sensa-
tional aspects.

In Street Kids you do see some
of these more dramatic issues —
heroin addiction,[...]but they are in
the film because they are a part of
the kids’ lifestyle, and part of the
problem. However, these are just
the symptoms of the deeper
problem, which is that these kids
have nowhere to go, no one to turn
to and no one to love. And that
is a pretty horrifying situation,
born of a lot of different social
factors. And the problem is getting
bigger in every western city.

Is one of these factors unemploy-
ment?

Chadwick: It is an[...]a breakdown in
communication between the
parents and the kids. It happens at
all levels in society. Un[...]en
don’t we all? The issue is deeper
than that, and it is expressed more
often in manner than in word[...]they can’t face the violence at
home — incest and beatings,
physical and mental. They live for
the most part in incredible fear of
something.

Tilson: The kids don’t have a
significant person to rely upon,
someone you belong to and feel
loved by; someone who would
accept you for what you are, and

This comes out in the sec[...]-
through that significant other
person you speak of . . .

Tilson: That is why we put that
segment in[...]ative;
there are positive things —— some
sort of friendship, good times,
whatever.

I really hate[...]I
don’t believe that is true. Circum-

stances and environment can
socialize and affect you in many
ways.

Chadwick: We talked to many
kids. The key kids who ended up in
the film were those for whom the
making of this film was extremely
important. They were aware of the
problems they might encounter if
they spoke out, if the total reality
of their life was shown. They were
not only committe[...]but it became probably the most
important aspect of their lives at
the time. It was the first oppor-
tunity any of them ever had to tell
their story. From that point of
view they became almost working
members of the production team.

Tilson: The Steenbeck [edit[...]picked up from Cinevex
Laboratories down the road and
shown back to them. Basically it
was either good, bad, or shithouse.
A lot of times they would say,
“Oh, that was important to me, I
want to do it again. I want it to get
through and I blew it the first

time.” Often we would have a lot
of talking heads, and we would
say, “This is becoming too boring.
Is[...]that?” They would then come up
with suggestions and we would talk
them through. Then the kids
would set it up to some extent, for
instance telling the dealers it was
okay that we[...]It took nine months to cut the
film — Rob, Kent and myself, in
collaboration with the kids. A lot
of them would come and help out
with their segment. We made sure
they we[...]their seg-
ment was an accurate representa-
tion of what they felt was
important to say. It meant a l[...]as more academic. We
were basically middle-class, and we
have left that scene. It was a
journey that we did and came out
of. But for them it was cold reality.

Chadwick: This project[...]three years on a project in which
you are aiming for an hour and a
half of film. We could do it only
because Film Victoria agreed to
finance it, and because a group of
very dedicated people were pre-
pared to spend th[...]t from our involve-
ment with the St Kilda scene, and
kids from other areas, we also
spent a year going[...]ny
times in the past, you become very
much a part of that reality,
because it was just so much
stronge[...]cted,
middle—class environment. This
experience of making the film
dominates your whole thinking.

I am thankful for the whole
experience because it has shown

me[...]are. On one level it was just
like going overseas for a year,
leaving your family and familiar
surroundings.

This raises the question of film as
therapy. Did any of the kids
benefit from the process?

Chadwick: At the time that the
film was being made, quite a few
of the featured characters were
benefiting very much[...]in a broader
perspective.

Tilson: At first, many of the
kids saw themselves as being able
to help oth[...]resting. But at some point they
would turn around and say, “Hey,
I’m not doing it for other kids. I’m
doing it for me.”

Chadwick: It worked both ways
also. I had[...]:
that there were 15,000 kids
roaming the streets of Victoria,
and that most of them were in Mel-
bourne. But coming to grips with
the situation and talking with those
kids was certainly very therapeutic
for me, and I’m sure for Rob and
Leigh as well.

There are two or three relation-
ships in the film, and one can say
that at least those couples have
each other . . .

Chadwick: But remember that
one of them says, “You can’t trust
anybody. In some[...]son with a reasonable
family life cannot conceive of the
situation that these kids are in.
These kids[...]tmas present. All the
little things that are ways of
declaring love for one another in a
family situation are just not part of
their world anymore.

Scott: It is interesting to[...]or
spend Christmas together; there is
some sense of community among
some of them. But it is not the
normal, family situation.[...]e way they live
from day to day, without any hope
for a future. They can’t plan.
When you ask them wh[...]was up to the kids as to
what we would be doing, and to
what depth we would be taken.

This affected t[...]o-man crew with
portable equipment. Also, as many
of the kids sleep all day, are up all
night and are all over the place, it
meant that if we were[...]e. We used Fuji 250 ASA stock
that proved capable of achieving
usable pictures at 2000 ASA. We
pushed one stop in processing and
two in printing. Our only artificial
lighting was[...]hoot
virtually anywhere.

Scott: It was important for us
that the filming process was de-
mystified; th[...]ead when
we could get it together quickly
enough, and we got heavily into lip
reading for most of the synching of
rushes. We didn’t use a shotgun
microphone poin[...]ad, we sacrificed
some signal to extraneous noise
and used a flat plate microphone
taped to the side of the Nagra,
making sure we were close to what-
eve[...]Chadwick: One thing that im-
pressed the hell out of me was a
series of black and white films
made about 10 years ago in New
York c[...]atrols with the police, their
cameras in the back of the car, not
knowing what was to be encoun[...]

play, for producer Richard Mason. Director of photography
is T om Cowan.

Right: Eva (Saskia Post) and Sharon (Cassandra Delaney) huddle in an underground
shelter. Below: Eva and Sharon are ‘chatted up’ by two Santa Clauses: Tony (David
Pledger). left, and Brendan (Jay Hackett).

Having directed three features and almost 150 hours of film
and videotape drama for television, as well as many
commercials, Simon Wincer is one of Australia’s most

experienced directors.

Wince[...]efore
working in the theatre, then at Rediffusion and the BBC in
London. He returned to Australia to direct for Crawford
Productions. His first feature, Snapshot, won a special first film project and appointed Wincer as executive pro-
award for Innovative Technique at the 1979 Asian Film
Festi[...]e
reviews locally but proved successful overseas; and Phar Lap,
his most recent feature, is the second[...]ard-winning television
series, including episodes of the highly-acclaimed Against Michael Edgley International and the new joint venture

The Wind and The Sullivans.

Other television work

Wincer

includes Cash and Company, Tandarra, Young Ramsay, The
Lost Islands, Bailey ’s Bird, Chopper Squad, Ryan and
Homicide.

Three years ago Wincer joined forces w[...]Edgley
in a new venture to produce feature films and television series
for the Australian and international markets. Michael Edgley
Internation[...]s

ducer. Phar Lap was Edgley’s second venture, and is being
followed into release by John Duigan’s One Night Stand
(Wincer is executive producer) and Igor Auzins ’ The Coolan-

gatta Gold.
In the f[...]by Scott Murray,

Wincer talks about the success of Phar Lap, his role at

between Hoyts and Edgley International.

Phar Lap

What attracted you to the story of
Phar Lap?

It is a rattling good yarn, a great
story. It is also a part of the
Australian consciousness. When
the horse come[...]ve all listened
to the radio on the first Tuesday of
every November, and, when you
know the animal up on the screen
that w[...]very
moving.

To what extent during the scripting
and production did you feel bound
by the facts? How m[...]came
into the project at the first—draft

stage and the first thing I did
was to sit down with David
Williamson [scriptwriter] and,
after a couple of weeks, churn out
another four drafts of the script.
We had an excellent rapport, but
he c[...]ucer] too; he was the
one who started the project and
who was so passionate about it -
with scripting w[...]at to
throw away. One can only show so
many races and in the early draft
we had far too many racing scenes.
We had to decide how many to
show, and what were the key,
dramatic moments.

What[...]

Basically, we have been true to
the story and the legend. Even old
Tom reckons we got the charac-
ters pretty right.

What about in areas of specula-
tion, such as the death of Phar Lap
in the U.S. Did you find out new
things?

Not really. The day the horse
died was a comedy of errors_. It was
a bit as if you were standing next to
the Queen and she collapsed in

30 — March-April CINEMA PAPERS

front of you: what do you do?
Everybody ran off to get opinions
and so many autopsies were con-
ducted it all got out of hand. No
one will ever really know. You talk
to five different people who were
there and get five different
answers. Some say the American[...]on fruit
trees outside the stables.

The Governor of California
actually called an investigation
becau[...]arrived from Aus-
tralia, won this fantastic race and,
16 days later, was dead.

Interestingly, the fir[...]b in the
film. He adamantly swore that the
lining of the horse’s stomach had
been eaten away by an irritant

Tap left: apprentices and strappers gather for meal time. Top right: "Cappy" and Harry Telford (Martin Vaughan) with the 1930

poi[...]You spend considerable screen
time on the rigging of the Caulfield
and Melbourne Cups double. Did
you ever fear this len[...]Lap?

No. It is not the horse’s fault,
but that of the people behind it.

Why we concentrated so muc[...]es.
It was just sheer greed. During the
two weeks of the Melbourne Cup
period, Phar Lap raced somethin[...]the trainer, needed
money to keep Braeside going, and
because the owner, Dave Davis
(Ron Leibman), was only getting a
small percentage of the winnings. I

can’t remember the amount of
money they won on that Caulfield
and Melbourne Cups double but it
was, in today’s terms, millions of
dollars.

The story of “Snowy River” is
very much linked to the building of
the Australian nation and the sort
of people who were crucial to the
development. How do you see the
story of “Phar Lap” relating to
Australia as a nation?[...]to a
nation”. We are looking at pre-
Depression and then Depression
Australia and, suddenly, amongst
all the problems there was this
symbol of hope. The mob would
trudge out to Flemington and put a
bob on Phar Lap — and that
would pay for their dinner. The
horse became an extraordinary
icon, as many of Australia’s sport-
ing figures have become, but Phar
Lap even more so.

I have a beautiful piece of prose
that a young girl wrote and sent us
some years ago. She tried to
analyze why a photo of this horse
was on the family mantelpiece and
what it meant to her father. It is
the most movin[...]as a stable entity emerging from
the insecurities of the times; a
horse that kept on winning; it was
something that everyone looked up
to and loved.

So, it is a part of our history but
it stirs you for different reasons
from Snowy River. It doe[...]

parallels between “Phar Lap” and
“Gandhi”: in both the heroes die
at the start[...]their solution to
human troubles, by giving hope
and encouragement for the future,
is what defeats them at the
end . . .[...]ned to die tragic-
ally. I then wrote down a list of all
the people whose lives paralleled
this: Jesus[...]n
Lennon, President Kennedy . . . It
just goes on and on.

“Phar Lap” is unusual for its
number of emotional climaxes.
There are five or six points[...]happened. However, we did
choose to put the death of the
horse at the beginning of the film
because we felt that otherwise an
Australian audience would spend
the whole film waiting for it to
happen.

In the U.S., we are experiment-
in[...]he
end. The first sneak preview was
on January 28 and seemed to work
just as well, but it is an unknowi[...]to do with the actual
story. There is the triumph of the
1930 Melbourne Cup, after they
tried to knock the horse off and it
only just made the course in time.
The next ye[...]lost, but by

then you are in love with the horse
and it seems that everybody else is
against it.

Something of which David
Williamson, John Sexton andof people
thought that was invented for the
film, but it is exactly what
happened. The horse broke down
in the middle of the race and some-
how its big heart dragged it across
the lin[...]n we found
in the U.S. He is stunning in
the film and was an absolute
delight to work with. He had a
ma[...]ort with every-
body, particularly Martin
Vaughan and Tom Burlinson. Ron
always wants to play a scene t[...]st the way it was written; he is
an absolute ball of energy.

Australia has rarely produced
name stars[...]with his role in
“Snowy River”?

In the case of Phar Lap, no.
When I became director, Tom Bur-
li[...]me was thrown up. I
initially rejected it because of the
Snowy River connection. I was
anxious to find[...], particularly horses.

We screen tested a number of
people and none of them was right
so I said to David Williamson, who[...]on
would, in people’s eyes, cloud his
portrayal of Woodcock?

Exactly. But I don’t think that is
t[...]le us to complete the post-
production by the end of June. I
saw the first print of the film on
June 24 last year; that shows how
tight it was. The post-production
was huge and the soundtrack
mind—boggling. It took five weeks
to mix, and, at one stage, there
were five sound editors work[...]r Lap”
been?

Locally, it has rentals in excess
of $4.2 million, a gross of around
$10.2 million. It has been seen
by about two-and-a-half million
people and is still running. Hoyts
predicts it will do final[...]aximum benefits a
film had to be financed, filmed and
completed in the one financial year.

A stableboy[...]ollowed by Snowy
River. Hoyts told me that Return
of the Jedi is probably not even
going to match Snow[...]on-
siderably in the past year with the
influence of video and so forth.

So Phar Lap is going to end up
as the No. 2 Australian film of all
time; it certainly won’t pass Snowy
River. Terry Jackman and Jona-
thon Chissick [of Hoyts] both say
that they don’t think any other
Australian film will be capable of
doing Snowy business.

Phar Lap is a little disap[...]nce, which is the 14 to
22 year-olds. We got them for a
while but really it was the older
generation th[...]ce they went along they
really enjoyed it. Snowy, of
course, managed to capture that
audience.

Why do you think “Snowy River”
attracted that section of the market
but “Phar Lap” didn’t?

Terry Jackman and I were dis-
cussing this the other night and we
think the romantic appeal of
Snowy could be one of the things
that helped capture that market.
Phar Lap is very much an urban
story and there is no fantasy. It is
all facts. I happen to find it a much
more emotional story than Snowy
River, and a more satisfying film,
but that’s just my tast[...]ap”?

No, because the story didn’t
allow room for it. The focus all the
time is on the horse first,[...]small
way. Fox feels it has to be started
slowly and then widened.

Outside the U.S., it is being
handled by Bobbie Meyers, of
Robert Meyers International.
He is a very good, independent dis-
tributor and is doing territory by
territory sales. He will be[...]his main
push. The Snowy foreign release,
outside of the U.S., wasn’t as suc-
cessful as hope[...]

The term “min[...]tures with long inter-
missions) to 26-hour sagas of daunting and
exhausting proportions. The degree of con-
fusion that exists as to what the format con[...]t the term has a “special event” draw—power
and consequently has been used extensively in
pre-rel[...]tially, the mini-series is a limited—run
series of two or more episodes (but usually less
than the 1[...]ers), whose narrative is developed over the
block and resolved in the last episode.‘ Unless it
comprises an anthology of work or is an
episodic documentary, the individual episodes
of the body of the program do not present a
major resolution of narrative development but
have a dénouement simi[...]t on film to
achieve the picture quality suitable for its
“special event” status. It is promoted as such
and programmed over consecutive nights or in

weekly instalments.

1. The Australian government specifies that for tax
purposes each episode should be one hour or more for
adults’ mini-series or half-an-hour or more for

children’s mini-series.

32 — March-April CI[...]peculiar to television.
Although it is an amalgam of a number of
formats, it has no direct precedent in films or
b[...]ws historical antecedents
from the series, serial and feature forms in
cinema, as well as their subsequ[...]s in television, but also owes a lot to the
genre of the epic.

The film series and serials that became so
popular in the 1910s were themselves spin—offs
from another medium, that of the popular
newspaper and magazine serializations of the
19th Century. Cinema added an extra dimen-
si[...]ir
huge success demonstrated that strong
formulae and popular characters could attract
audiences to return repeatedly to a continuing
story.

The demise of serial and series production
occurred with the introduction of radio and
television. People found entertainment in their
homes and, as cinemas drained, the studios
concentrated on enticing patrons to them again
with gimmicks such as 3D and Cinemascope.
By the mid—1950s, the large—scale production of
film series and serials had ceased.

The one form that could cont[...]s was the epic. From D. W.
Griffith’s The Birth of a Nation (1915) through
to Gone with the Wind (1939), Ben Hur (1959),
2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) and so on, the
epic has successfully proved that productions of
massive scale can draw audiences of similar
proportions. The form established the
precedent for special event viewing upon which
the mini-series would later draw.

Ewan Burnett

Television, at least for the first 30 years of its
history, had no need of “special event” tele-
vision epics. The novelty value was still very
high and cheaply produced serials and series
were the bulk stock for years. When not pro-
ducing sports and variety shows, television
refined and extended these two forms borrowed
from film.

However, then as now, the serial and series
presented quality problems. The episode—to—
episode character and plot development of the
serial generally overstretched its material;
devices of tension developed in .film serials
became familiar and hackneyed; and irrelevant
sub—plots, overacting and plastic emotions
tested the patience of maturing audiences.

The series, though allowing for tighter
dramatic narrative construction, wrestled with
the danger of becoming blandly predictable.
The necessity of returning the characters and
plot to an unaltering, neutral base at the end of
each episode resulted in the formulae for plot
development becoming as cliched as they did in
serials. The aim for the success of a series rested
on little more than the protagonist’s ability to
perform his function with style and flair, and
the unusual nature of the circumstances in
which he did it.

The one-of[...]ng
necessity to revitalize schedules. The “made for
television” feature film dates back to the early
1950s when Walt Disney’s Davy Crockett and
other furry creatures began appearing in
homes. B[...]the format had
evolved into an important element of drama
entertainment and had become an established
part of television. The audience could watch a
one-off feature in their homes with easy access
to conveniences and frequent opportunities to

As with those other “special event”
programs derived from Broadway shows,
novels and variety, the tele-feature enjoyed
enormous succes[...]ation span or
patience to sit through three hours of con-
tinuous drama.

Thus it suffered the same limitation as the
cinema release: the constraint of a limited time
slot and the inability to develop more than one
thread of a narrative to any depth. A precedent
had to be set to prove the viability of the long-
form drama.

The Inception of the Format

This came with the BBC’s production and
broadcast, in the northern spring of 1969, of Sir
Kenneth Clark’s documentary mini—series,[...]. This 13-part program dealt with
the development of civilization in Western
Europe and was the first ofof Man (1973) and John Kenneth Galbraith’s
The Age of Uncertainty (1977), which con-
solidated the successful use of the mini-series
format to provide concise documentary
perspectives on huge topics.

The precedent for drama mini—series was also
set by the BBC. The[...]This 26-part, limited-run series
finally allowed for the television novelization of
popular literary material and its success proved
that audiences relished the depth of charac-
terization and plot development that this

format allowed.
The BBC documentary mini—series The

F orsyte Saga and the dramatized documen-
taries The Six Wives of Henry VIII (1970) and
Elizabeth R (1971) were the inception and proof
of the format. In the U.S., these shows were
present[...]it was to screen material
outside the definition of commercial television.
Presented through Alistair Cooke’s Master-
piece Theatre, the enormous popularity of these
shows demonstrated the potential of the format
to the commercial networks.

The popularization of the format in the U.S.
was also attributable to the re—run issue.
Research had shown that re-runs of series were
often almost as popular as the original
screening. Programmers countered criticism of
using re-runs, saying that they could not afford
to produce constantly a high proportion of
first-run material. To do so they would have to
produce more of the cheaper game and variety
shows and increase production in foreign
countries where co[...]vent or fill—in. But the
British had a practice of producing only as
many programs as could be produced well. So,
considering the obvious popularity of the
material aired on PBS, the escalation of
American mini—series production became
inevitable.

QB VII, Rich Man, Poor Man and The Blue
Night were three American-produced succe[...]arly 1970s that continued the gradual
exploration of the format. The NBC set out to
exploit these successes on a regular basis, but in
doing so robbed the form of its special event
attractiveness. In 1976, the NB[...]format from
becoming bogged down in period pieces and so
looked to novelists such as Harold Robbins,
Irwin Shaw and Jacqueline Susann for soap-
opera fiction, with intrigue and lust as the key
elements.

The resulting programs, produced at Uni-
versal, such as Captains and Kings and Seventh
Avenue, though rating consistently, did not
achieve the excellent ratings of Upton Sinclair’s
The Moneymovers. This mini-ser[...]Event program. Best Sellers was
therefore dropped and the status of the mini-
series as a special event drawcard was affirmed
and consolidated.

Then in 1977 came the big event. T[...]ver eight consecutive nights. The gamble paid
off and the program made television history. It
became the most popular television event ever,
attracting a rating of 45, or 66 per cent of the
possible audience numbers. It received 37
Emmy nominations and created a euphoria in
the American industry that lasted for years.

A ustralia

In Australia, Channel 10 (or 0 as it was then)
made up for a fairly mediocre ratings decade by
buying Roots[...]n
the U.S. (35 rating), certainly opened the eyes
of local programmers to the potential of the
mini—series.

Australia was indeed in a fortunate position.
Having access to British- and American-
produced programs meant that programmer[...]en proven
successful in its home ground. The kind of
reaction that kept restaurants around Australia
e[...]Revisited in 1982
could generally be anticipated and so pro-
grammed for accordingly. Of course, this did
not always hold true, as the only minor
success of the flatulent Winds of War (1983)
demonstrated.

The availability of quality foreign production
placed enormous pressu[...]duct
to match the overseas standard on a fraction of
the budget. In the days before the tax incentive
for film investment, Ian Jones and Bronwyn
Binns had valiantly produced Against the[...]alian
mini—series was an untried commodity here and
overseas. But Channel 7 believed in it strongly
enough to take the gamble and the show’s
success rating, which increased from 38 for the
first episode to 50 for the final one, established
that a strong local market did indeed exist for
the indigenous product.

The performance of A Town like Alice in
1979 on the international ma[...].
Produced by Henry Crawford at the then huge
sum of $225,000 an hour, this show was
awarded an Emmy in 1981, nominated for
another in 1982, won prizes in Banff and New
York, and was cited by the British broadcasting
crit[...]

Days of Hope: "social history in the docudrama".

In Australia it peaked with a 43 rating and its
successful re—run in 1983 again demonstrated its
popularity.

The Success of the Mini-series

Internationally, programmers wer[...]television to satisfy the growing
sophistication and maturation of audience
tastes. For many reasons the mini-series had
greater scope for this quality and, although
ratings do not always directly reflect the quality
of programs, well-produced mini-series were
good for ratings. These little numbers at the
end of a weekly phone call from McNair
Anderson in Austr[...]es when
unfavorable, they are pursued religiously and
their admirable accuracy celebrated with expen-
s[...]ble.

Few networks are in the privileged position
of the BBC or PBS which, because of the
nature of their funding, are not inextricably
tied into the pursuit of these numbers. They are
able to pursue quality, wherever possible, for
the sake of quality alone.

For those unfortunates pursuing the dollar
return, ho[...]is special event
television that is usually good for ratings. It
also encourages major sponsorship and
brightens a dull schedule.

The pursuit of quality is even reflected in the
production set-u[...]mini-series format,
which has attracted the likes of Crawford Pro-
ductions and McElroy and McElroy away from
their usual domain, is, even for these organiza-
tions, produced from a separate entity set-up
specifically for that purpose. This type of
independent structure relies on the use of
experienced freelance crews chosen for their
proven track record and, while ensuring a
creative contribution from the crew, it keeps
overheads to a minimum and maximizes pro-
duction value on the available budget.

The series and serial are locked into network
or production-hous[...]mises to keep the show on the
road. Tele-features and mini-series can achieve
higher standards because,[...]only when they
are completed to the satisfaction of the
producers.

One of the major elements of quality in the
mini-series is its ability to present, in novel
form, popular literary works and to offer
dramatic or documentary perspectives on
important events in social history. In doing so it
allows for a depth of study not possible in other
forms. It can tell a good story.

The importance of the strength of this
element was demonstrated in 1980 when Water[...]disappointing ratings
(24), despite a high degree of critical acclaim
for its excellent performances and photo-
graphy. The lack of strong characterizations
and a tangible theme resulted in this mini-series
settling down into melodrama of little pace
where no expectation of resolution was fulfilled
and where the characters became unlikeable in
their unattractiveness.

The similar ratings disappointments of The
Last Outlaw and The Timeless Land in the
same year created a degree of negative feeling
toward the form in the Australia[...]All
three shows were well received by the critics and
overseas sales were forthcoming but in the local[...]le. This
served to identify further the necessity for a
strong narrative in a format that presents itself
as above the ordinary in television drama.

Castleman and Podrazik, in their assessment
of the success of Roots, identified the elements
of success as:

excellent writing, first rate acting[...]ing sex
angles, a clear cut conflict between good and evil
and an up-beat ending?

The longer format allows for complexity of
character development without historic or
dramati[...]serial.

It can also construct a historical event and
identify individuals within the framework of
their cultural circumstances. The success of bio-
graphical mini-series such as Jennie (I975),

2. Castleman and Podrazik, Watching TV: Four Decadm
of American Television, McGraw Hill, New York, 1982.

Oppenheimer (1980) and The Six Wives of
Henry VIII is attributable to the ability of the
mini-series to provide an in-depth investigation
of the behaviour and motivations of noted
individuals in their particular environment[...]role has been used from the
format’s inception and, though generally
unexplored in Australia, is becoming more andof the 19205,
Eureka Stockade and the Japanese POW
escape from Cowra.

In this docu[...]spectives on a social history that
draws a degree of understanding from the huge
proliferation of knowledge, sub-cultures and
opinion that has characterized the technological
age since the last war. The popularity of
programs such as Roots and The Dismissal
(1983) would tend to suggest the audience’s
desire to extricate cohesive threads of under-
standing from the information melee.

So s[...]rcial television.
Ken Loach’s mini-series, Days of Hope (1974),
set out to investigate issues such as conscription
and unionism, and did so with such force that
conservative British[...]d by the ABC in a non—rating period.

The drama and docudrama mini-series have
the potential to transcend the role relegated to
the series of endorsing the dominant political
and social system. In contemporary series, the
protag[...]s himself are generally repre-
sented as maladies of individual psychologies
rather than social ills. In redressing them, and
to return each episode to its biographical base,
he disposes of the symptom but not the social
circumstances that[...]protagonist to a
safe, neutral base each episode and, therefore,
can examine more than the surface functioning
of social systems.

It is interesting to note that the Australian
government’s definition of the drama mini-
series in its tax legislation amounts to an
endorsement of the Hollywood narrative form
wherein:

. . . the key dramatic elements are introduced,
developed and concluded so as to form a narrative
structure (similar to that of a novel) which features
a major continuous plot enhanced by minor plot
and there is the expectation of an ending which
resolves major plot tension}

Thi[...]form
inciting anything other than a “resolution of
tensions”.

One problem with the format’s use for the
study of social history is the potential for the
over-fictionalization of historic atrocities.
Strongly identifiable demons are good for any
form of entertainment and increasingly the
hang-over from the ‘‘love’[...]as one is encouraged to polarize
one’s emotions and enjoy with relish the
continents of hate, lust and so on. Historical
aberrations make for popular television and
Hitler shapes up as a favorite demon in rr[...]

extent that, for instance, Holocaust is remem-
bered as “that moving mini-series of 1978” and
the real atrocity is misplaced. However, when
app[...]iginating from novels.
These offer the attraction of being able to
provide a point of view, which is usually that of
the novelist, and the quality television which is
often construed as spending heaps on sets,
costumes and so on. But there are problems
associated with the production of contem-
porary mini-series that have resulted in the
dearth of such shows. Except for notable excep-
tions such as Tinker, Tailor, Sold[...]t Holly-
wood extravaganzas which employ the soap
and serial devices of sex, intrigue and wealth.

The serious mini-series relies heavily on con-
tinuity of dramatization and character develop-
ment to hold the story togethe[...]re film, dramatic continuity is
equally important and generally achievable.
Where there is only one producer, one director
and one writer, a film may develop a cohesive
framework or singularity of vision attributable
to particular creative sources and deriving its
merit from this.

The mini-series cannot afford this luxury.
Due to the sheer volumeof material and work,
it is common practice to employ several writers
and directors. When the final reference for the
script development and execution is the period
novel, the creative team has a clearly defined
and stated set of ethics, modes of behaviour
and environments at sufficient historical dis-
tance to act as a solid point of reference. With
contemporary mini-series, however, the inter-
pretation of recent modes of behaviour be-
comes arbitrary and difficult to sustain from a
proliferation of creative contributors. The onus
for dramatic continuity thus falls back on the
produc[...]tralia, is also
frequently acting as entrepreneur and salesman.

One possible solution to this problem[...]o a peculiar,
closed environment with interesting and

unusual behaviour patterns. The subject and

All the River: Run: another suocasful emlomtion of the past.

it

1112 Dismissal.‘ Australian poli[...]have to be epic in proportion.
The circumstances and quality of the drama
lend the mini-series its special event[...]nment.

Hollywood feels safer producing the likes of
Aspen, Scruples and Moviola, which sell them-
selves through their se[...]1983) Australia has difficulty producing
material of this epic, escapist nature because,
basically, there is just not enough money to
mount the scale of these productions and
attempt, for instance, the obligatory wrecking
of a fleet of vehicles in an urban landscape.

A contemporary m[...]as Silent
Reach (1983), though utilizing a unique and
interesting environment, might not be able to
sustain itself on the strength of its script. It
therefore runs up against the expectation of
more spectacular effects and adventure on the
American scale which it might no[...]tatus has to be
maintained, as such, on the level of the quality
of the material and the quality of the pro-
duction.

Another possible solution to this difficulty of
the format to handle contemporary material
successfully is for more writing, production and
directing talent to be drawn from the cinema
industry where the discipline and integrity of
story construction is of paramount importance.
The return of such notable figures as David
Williamson and Thomas Keneally to writing for
the small screen would tend to give hope to tele-
vision executives that the mini-series will stem
the flow of writing talent from television to
film.

There wo[...]to be a necessity,
though potentially expensive, for the delinea-
tion of creative producer/script editor/entre-
preneur/ p[...]ffered by
one individual. If there is a necessity for
multiple directors and writers, the creative pro-
ducer’s role must be[...]uch as Crawford Productions
can afford the luxury of an in-house marketing
director and production supervisor working on
a project from a[...]the independent
producer may have to perform all of these tasks
at the same time as suffering the traumas of
having his house and family in hock to make
ends meet before the finan[...]Programming

The mini—series format has traps for the tele-
vision programmer. One of the biggest
problems is that, unlike the series, the episodes
of the mini-series cannot be split for program-
ming as re-runs. The show must occupy a set
number of slots in a progression which, if not
on subsequen[...]a week
apart. Series such as M*A*S*H can be split and
programmed to suit seasons, ratings or fancy
without major alienation of the audience. Even
episodes made 10 years apart a[...]in the same week with success.

. The performance of mini-series re-runs has
not been extensive[...]

Perhaps the most dram[...]a
multiple-evening disaster. The format, because
of the depth of its development, does not lend
itself to having audiences join in mid—run even
with recaps at the head of each episode.

Networks generally rely on heavy p[...]n appear
months before the program with fleeting and,
supposedly enthralling, promises of the
imminent arrival of the big event. These
campaigns then progress with all manner of
media promotion in an effort to have the viewer
anxiously hanging off the end of his seat for the
first episode.

The network has to be sure of its material
because, should the big event turn o[...]ould
cry wolf without depriving the mini—series of its
attractiveness.

But there have been few real fizzers recently;
1983 proved to be an excellent year for tire
mini—series in Australia and one which could
prove hard to follow. It was a ye[...]t fared very well with the outstand-
ing critical and ratings success of The Dismissal
and All the Rivers Run, and the ratings suc-
cesses of For the Term of His Natural Life and

Return to Eden.

The Future

This year seems set, however, to be at least as
spectacular for the mini-series. Network 7 alone
has nine mini-series programmed for the year.
Several Australian shows await release
including Eureka Stockade, produced by Henry
Crawford, and Waterfront, produced by Bob

Weis.

36 — March-April CINEMA PAPERS

In terms of production, other than the
distinct possibility that the Burrowes Dixon
production of The Anzacs will eventuate,
several projects from established producers are
in advanced stages of development or pre-
production.

Perhaps the most interesting event of 1984
will be the $7.3 million production by the South
Australian Film Corporation of Rolf Boldre-
wood’s Robbery Under Arms. This wi[...]by two
years. Producer Jock Blair feels that both of
these forms will be viable propositions and will
provide a secure return on the investment
which, at $750,000 an hour of television, places
it well ahead of the current average of $600,000
an hour.

This will be interesting because the use of the
two formats for the same material has not
proven successful for the two similar American
ventures. For both Moses the Lawgiver (1975)
and Shogun (1979) the feature film did poorly
in the[...]well on television. However, the enormous
success of The Godfather and The Godfather
Part II in the cinema guaranteed the subsequent
success of the nine—hour mini—series, which was
cut out of the two films and previously unused
material, and screened many years later.

Robbery will differ from Shogun in that
additional material will be shot for the feature
rather than culling it out from the mini—series.
Given the proven inability of the mini—series to
rate well in re—runs in th[...]elevision as
soon as two years later. The success of the mini-
series would also appear to be heavily

dependent on the success of the film release.
The ABC has had a couple of interesting, if

low—budget, attempts at the mini—series format

in recent years. 1915 (1982), A Descant for

A Descant for Gossips: Kaarin Fairfax as Vinny.

Gossips (1983) and The Scales of Justice (1983),
though lacking the scale of production of other
commercial projects, were popular because of
the strength of their scripts and the intimate
nature of their setting.

However, Chris Muir, head of the ABC
drama department, has indicated that the ABC
will in future steer clear of the mini-series bally—
hoo in favor of lower-budget one—offs which he
feels allow more opportunities for high-quality,
innovative and imaginative experiments.

For those involved in independent produc-
tion, the c[...]uctions, is currently
going through a major staff and policy
restructure in an effort to streamline ope[...]cable television would appear to be
proving less of a bonanza than expected. The
phenomenal growth of home video in the U.S.
has hit hard at what was the scourge of network
television several years ago.

In the U.S[...]g that the estab-
lishment in the past five years of non—network,
independent production companies, such as
Operation Prime Time and Metromedia, will
mean a trend toward material of more intro-
spective drama appeal appearing in the tele-
feature and mini-series formats. Network pro-
duction appears to have polarized itself into
police, detective and action adventure on one
side and big-time, soap mini-series on the other.
Serious[...]frantic scramble to retain audiences in the
light of home video and cable continues.

Conclusion

The mini-series has the capacity to be used for
serious drama. The British established this in
the early days of the format and it has been
consolidated with a number of quality Aus-
tralian, American and British mini-series. The
major hurdle is to maintain the pace and
consistency of the story development. A show
that waffles on endlessly without the draw-
cards of a brilliant script or, conversely, soap
sensationalism is destined to the pile of mini-
series flops that has grown in the wake of an
otherwise successful history.

Furthermore, the special event status must be
maintained. A number of prominent critics and
producers have expressed concern with the rush
of people, many without much experience,
announcing interest in capitalizing on the tax
incentives and intending mini-series of their
own. Established producers such as Henry
Crawford fear that a proliferation of quickly-
produced, badly—scripted, cheap mini-series will
throw the format into disrepute and deprive it
in future of its special event attractiveness.

This is, indeed, a danger as the current popu-
larity of the format has every man and his
drover’s dog jumping on the bandwagon, much
as in 1975 and 1981 when everyone was making
feature films. One can only hope that the
process of elimination by ratings trial that has
established the successful parameters of the
mini-series during the past 14 years will create
the pressures from the cable and television pro-
grammers for the continued and growing use of
the format for quality television. iv
Acknowledgment: Rosemary Curtis,
tralian Film and Television School.

Aus-

Anyway, as we got further and
further into the writing, the issue
came more to the forefront and
couldn’t be kept down, so we had
to research it thoroughly and arrive

Why difdly(<i>u changte fI‘0(liH_1 bttéingta Susan Lambert ’s On Guard, in the style of a heist adventure,
:l"§i°$:t$'r 0;’3:';‘n:';?ary me or 0 concentrates on four politically active and assertive women
(played by Liddy Clark, Jan Cornall, Kerry Dwyer and
Mystery Carnage). Shot on 16 mm and 51 minutes long, the
film is a frank depiction of the women ’s sexuality and
_th ‘d _ f emotional lives, and the complexity of their domestic respon-
0 In as a In I1 ~ - - - -[...]he time it was made, was not really ethical issue of biotechnology andand associate
In fact, that film had 501116 initial producer of On Guard). They include Ladies Rooms (also
diffic[...]1978), Size 10 (1978), Behind Closed Doors
(1980) and Age Before Beauty (1980). In the following

What Sarah and I are interested
in is getting new ideas across to
people and so, even in our docu-
mentaries, we have experime[...]e the dramatic sequences
featured four nude women and, in

a film that was broadly educational
and destined for some school
audiences, this was considered to be
very radical. For us, of course, it
was essential that a film about body
i[...]rmation without
having to resort to talking heads
and statistics. As such, it worked
very well.

Age Be[...]tional documentary
with interviews, talking heads and
so on, and it is very accessible.

With On Guard, the area w[...]to be
seen on the screen as thinking,
intelligent and active characters.
The narrative drama suggested[...]ther
could exercise almost total control
in terms of what was said and who
said it.

We wanted to show a particular
lifestyle and to show women in a
positive way. Then we got exci[...]Victoria Treole.

Director Susan Lambert, right, and actress Mystery Carnage an the set of On Guard.

. S

at a position. That was the ha[...]tackle a subject long before it
became an issue, and get people
talking.

Do you always work with Sarah
Gibson?

No, I made two films for the
Health Commission through the
New South Wales[...]artist.

Originally, we were going to co-
produce and co-direct On Guard,
but it became too big a project and,
when Sarah was offered a lecturing
position at the New South Wales
Institute of Technology, which she
was keen to do, we reorganized the
production.

How did you get the idea for “On
Guard”?

CINEMA PAPERS March-April — 37

Sarah had been overseas and
came back obsessed with the idea
that paper money was becoming
obsolete and that credit was the evil
force taking over, so we started
toying with that idea. That was
three and a half years ago; the ideas
metamorphosed, as they do.

Where did you raise the finance for
the film?

We went to the Australian Film
Commission with a treatment for a
film called “Rotten Motives,
Twisted Passions[...]-
stream industry. They were feature
film writers and they simply had no
idea of what we, and others, were
on about. A lot of people were dis-
illusioned with this particular[...]already
made, or the context in which we

worked, and our ideas just fell on
deaf ears. That whole assessment
was a disaster for a lot of us.

What did you do after getting the
first-draf[...]m the
Women’s Film Fund?

We did several drafts and then
we went back to the Creative
Development Branch for produc-
tion money, at which point we were
reject[...]on it, I think it
was. They were quite supportive of
us in terms of being able to make
the film, feeling that we were very
visual and had achieved our aims in
the past. But, they were[...]e worried about the move into
drama. It was a bit of a blow. It
threw us right back into changing
the dimensions of the script and
what resulted was On Guard, a
much more conventio[...]except that it had four main
characters, instead of the usual one
or two.

So, with this new script,[...]5
Georgia (Mystery Carnage), Diana (Jan Cornall) and Adrienne (Kerry Dwyer) en route 10 their sabotage[...]script, we went to the
Women’s Film Fund again and they
supported the project with the first
$20,000 and then we went back to
the Creative Development Bra[...]00. But we still had to raise
another great chunk of money
privately, which Digby did. We
went into production in January
1983 and had raised the private
money in the December prio[...]raising at the
time.

You said that the first lot of
assessors didn’t really understand
what you wer[...]e first script the main
emphasis was a large gang of
women as opposed to one or two,
or even four, wel[...]sense that the heist
they did was more ambitious and
unbelievable, and it didn’t have the
issue-related content that the final
script had. There was none of the
business about reproductive engin-
eering. It was solely to do with
notions of crime and who are
criminals and who aren’t.

One of the interesting things about
the heist in “On G[...]hat it is
quite domestic in flavor. The
mechanics of the crime are so
simply explained that the film
almost works as a blueprint for a

new kind of terrorism. Were you
aiming for that?

As soon as we started to break
down the sc[...]did it.
In the earlier drafts, they had just
sort of fluffed around with knobs
and flashing lights, such as you see
on television, and that wasn’t good
enough. As we were wondering
what to do about it, a friend of
mine, Cristina Perincioli, who is a
German filmma[...]first script. She
had picked up the same absence
and suggested building into the
story our relationship as film-
makers, as well as the relationship
of women to technology, and that
started us off on a whole new
period of research. We had to find
out just how you would g[...]ou cast the film? Liddy
Clark is quite well known and
Kerry Dwyer is known for her
theatre work but the others are
more or less unknowns. Was there
a reason for not using all estab-
lished actresses?

We cast it ourselves — that is,
Digby, Sarah and I — and we threw
out a very wide net. We looked at[...]

first reading and J an Cornall was
always somebody with whom I had[...]film work but had worked a
lot in comedy theatre and I thought
she would be fascinating. It was a
risk, but well worth it, and I am
sure it is the beginning of a lot more
work in films for her.

Mystery Carnage is the lead
singer of a Sydney rock band, The
Stray Dags, and she was the
opposite in some ways to Liddy.
She h[...]ge that was very unstereo-
typical, which was one of the things
we were trying to present on the
scree[...]anguage?

What continually frustrated us in
a lot of films is that every time
women attempt to do anyt[...]rk against that
notion, not by making a big thing
of it, but just to show that, if you
train for it, you can perform almost
any physical feat with[...]hose ideas about characters,
what were you hoping for in the art
direction and style of the film?

The art direction was intended to
be comic book in style, with lots of
primary color followed right

through into the lighting of the
film. It was quite successful and I
think the film does have a real
comic strip feel to it, which sets it
apart from most of the European
heist movies which are all grey and
brown. We wanted to reflect the
Australian light.[...]so much in content, but
certainly in light, color and the way
people dress.

How has “On Guard” been

received overseas?

It was selected for the London
Film Festival and a lot of people
were very excited about it because
it made[...]I think
the humor had something to do
with that. And they loved the fact
that the women got away with[...]standard convention, but
everyone responded to it and
enjoyed it on that level. The same
thing happened in Germany and
Holland.

In London, where I was able to
attend t[...]the film
where the women are nude or partly
nude and there was a debate about
whether these scenes constituted a
voyeuristic cinema. Some of the
audience thought that the women
were being set up for the male gaze
and that men would get off on it,
which was of course the last thing
that we wanted.

\\\$ \\
w[...]the lesbian
sexuality in the film, we spent a lot
of time discussing the best way to
shoot it because,[...]rtant to
show scenes like this in an ordinary
way and not make an issue out of
it. What we finally decided was to
shoot the bedroom scene in one
wide-shot and to have it quite
highly lit and try as much as
possible not to have bits of sheet
covering up bits of body, but in fact
to have the bodies completely
e[...]discussing what is the best

Amelia (Liddy Clark) and Diana discuss the sabotage plans at the local swimming pool. On Guard.

Diana and Georgia escape from security
guards during their mission. On Guard.

method of wedging a door open, so
it is not as though the scene was
there for erotic stimulation.

1 will say this about the En[...]ot
done in England! So, whereas I
think that some of their criticisms
are just, I also think that some of
them just come down to whether or
not you are familiar with people
walking around half-naked at home
—- and that is a function of climate
as much as anything else, I
suppose.

Are[...]e to
do more directing where I am not
responsible for the whole film and
for everything everyone says, so
that I can actually concentrate on
the craft of directing. Despite that,
I am sure I will continu[...]At 51 minutes long, “On Guard” is
quite short for a theatrical release.
What are the plans for it?

Ronin Films is the distributor
and it has organized theatrical
releases in four stat[...]Moviehouse in Melbourne, the
Classic in Adelaide and at the Elec-
tric Shadows cinema in Canberra.
The film will be billed with a selec-
tion of Australian rock ’n’ roll
clips and Toby Zoates’ new anima-
tion, The Thief of Sydney, which
will make a great program. The
rock[...]e On Guard has a
very strong music track composed
and played by the Stray Dags and
produced by Celeste Howden, who
used to be[...]

Epplications. E T
For instance MacFarlane’s supplied a 35 KVA and a

90 KVA unit mounted on 4 wheel drive vehicles, for the film-

ing of ’The Man from Snowy River’ — that's portable power.

MacFarlane’s emergency service is FAST and their rates

bl . I -
Very gzfwfiolbar oir brochure and price list and think of us when
you next hear "Lights, action.[...]

Scott Murray

The first issue of a magazine called Cinema
Papers was published by a group of under-
graduates at La Trobe University in October
1967. The name was derived from Cahiers du
Cinema which, by the mid-1960s, had become
the bible of the French “new wave” cinema.

The 25-page jo[...]e roneo
in the Glenn College office with the help of the
college secretary, Kay Mathews (now at the
Au[...]. It
was a low—budget operation with both paper
and machine borrowed from the late Professor
Whitehea[...]ne obviously motivated
by frustration at the lack of a meaningful and
significant film industry in Australia in the
mid[...]Lucien
Bessiere, Rod Bishop", Freya Mathews, Mora
and Howard Willis.

Mora and Beilby had met at University High
School in 1963. They shared an obsession with
cinema, devouring any available literature on
film, and had also experimented with 8 mm
filmmaking at art[...]er graduating in 1966, they enrolled at La
T robe University, which opened that year.
Shortly after orientation week they formed a
film society with Bishop, Willis and Mathews.
Not only did the society show films, its[...]nt 16 mm shorts as “inter-
esting avant—garde and undergraduate stuff”.

The Film Society also de[...]was a short-
lived publication. After that first and only
issue, Mora left for London to pursue a career
as a painter and filmmaker. He went on to
make Trouble in Monopoli[...]Dog Morgan (1975), The Beast

GIN

Within (1982) and The Return of Captain
Invincible (1983).

In 1968, Beilby left La Trobe to teach English
and film studies, while Bishop continued with a
degree in Sociology. The next year, Scott
Murray arrived at La Trobe and began a Bach-
elor of Science degree in pure maths. He joined
the film society and wrote film reviews for the
campus newspaper, Rabelais, which was then
co[...]lia. We are involved in cinema
but we are working and thinking in a complete
vacuum . . . There is not one champion of the
cinema in Australia who has any courage or .[...]et us
hope (a hopeless hope) it is not indicative of the
state of the Australian consciousness . . .

- Local Criti[...]cism ’
(in The Australian, The Bulletin, Nation and
University Film Group Publications) is mostly
plagiaristic or psychophantic [sic] but always
astonishingly devoid of sensitivity and intelli-
gence . . .

Cinema Is Now

Cinema is now. It is a symptom of the Great
Australian Sterility that cinema does n[...]s, how absurd, how puerile
to be cast in the role of angry young men. We
would rather be cynical, unidealistic, we would
rather hate and destroy. Oh the joy and
simplicity of crushing a few cretinous heads . . .

And so we are brought to this. To scream in
the dark for cinema. But we know in advance
that scream[...]

The Second Attempt
1967-70

Towards the end of 1969 there were rumblings
of the re—emergence of a film industry in Aus-
tralia. Beilby and Bishop were keen to get
Cinema Papers restarted so that it could be a
vital part of the development of that industry.
They decided on a tabloid newspaper format
for the magazine, and, with Demos Krouskos,
formed Global Village Publications. The initial
capital for the venture was $180, jointly con-
tributed, and the first issue was released on
October 24, 1969.

Keith Robertson, who had laid out and co-
edited Rabelais, designed the new Cinema
Papers; Murray wrote for the journal under his
own name and the pen name, Stephen Kennett‘;
and Mora became the London correspondent.
Other contr[...]laywright Jack Hibberd, novelists Frank
Moorhouse and Laurie Clancy, director
Richard Franklin and political satirist Don
Watson. No contributors were paid.

The first issue contained an enthusiastic and if

forward—looking editorial [see Box 2] which
reflected the attitude of the editors. A lot of
space was given to articles condemning the
repressive censorship laws of the time and to
others pressing the government for legislation
to assist the financing of Australian film
production.

In 1969 things had not improved much for
the Australian cinema and most of the editorial
content was, of necessity, on foreign films. But
/issue No. 1 did cover Albie Thorns’ under-
ground feature, Marinetti, and several UBU
films; No. 2 had an article on Australia’s
“Forgotten Cinema”, and an interview with
the unit photographer (l) on Ned Kelly; while
Nos. 4 and 5 printed Ross Cooper’s “Australia
Does Have a Film Heritage”.

The first review of a mainstream Australian
feature was Murray’s critique of Frank Brit-
tain’s The Set (No. 6). The only other feature
coverage was Bishop’s review of Phillip Adams
and Brian Robinson’s Jack and Jill: a Post-

1. The use of pseudonyms reached the level of the bizarre
with a letter published in Cinema Pap[...]Papers, via Stephen Kennett or some other
member of its stable of undergraduate illiterates, is
about to greet the impending release of I-lenning
Carlson’s Hunger with yet another of the destructive
and abjectly-written reviews which constitute the
prime basis of your journal’s current notoriety. I
find it hard to decide which prospect distresses me
more: that of seeing another good film pitifully mis-
interpreted and subjected to a level of criticism more
suited to reviewing of Japanese monster movies; or
that of wading through one more reckless and undis-
ciplined assault on all the major qualities of the.
English language. Yet there is a feeling of inevita-
bility about it all: Cinema Papers, in many ways ‘an
estimable magazine, seems incapable of doingjustice
to the few really worthwhile films that come our way
in this benighted corner of the world. While a minor
work like Easy Rider can[...]ms continue to fall victim
to the erratic grammar and tortuous non—perceptions
of the Stephen Kennetts or, worse still, to the down-
right vilification of the John Tittensors (surely this
latter is some kind of bizarre pseudonym) . . .
Whence my closing plea: at least encourage your
readers to see this film and judge for themselves,
rather than have their thinking done for them, in a
muddle—headed and semi-literate fashion, by some
McLuhanite despera[...]John Tittensor) had
read Scott Murray’s review of Hunger at lay-out stage
and quickly penned a letter for the same issue.

42 — March-April CINEMA PAPERS

7

Cinema Papers (tabloid), No. 1, October 1969.

script, and an interview with Tim Burstall
about his 1969 fea[...]king, a crisis examined by Beilby in issue
No. 7, and by a report of the Producers and
Directors Guild of Australia reprinted in issues
No.9 and No. ll.

The only film activity was in shorts and docu-
mentaries, particularly avant—garde and under-
ground shorts. A major event was New Cinema
ACT, a weekend of experimental films in
Canberra organized by filmmakers Arthur and
Corinne Cantrill (reviewed in No. 11).

Not every[...]to the contemporary film life in Australia}

Most of the reaction was positive, however, and
11 issues of the tabloid Cinema Papers were
printed. Each was 12 pages and sold for 15
cents (numbers 10 and 11 leapt to 20 cents). A
few copies were sold in London and New York.

The journal unfortunately folded in 19[...]ayments since issue No. 8). So,
even though sales and advertising were theor-
etically sufficient to br[...]We invite you to explore Cinema Papers, to read
and react to the thought and imagery that
inhabit its pages. It is the start of what we hope
will be a continuing excursion into[...]communication Cinema Papers provides a new
Point of Departure.

It no longer surprises us that a poli[...]magnifications looks like
a satellite photograph of the earth, or that a
man, rather than an angel, i[...]earth at orbital speed. We have swal-
lowed ideas and images that our grandparents
would have choked on. But if our old ways of
thinking, seeing, communicating have become
obsol[...]the issue has shifted —— so much
has our rate of communication changed. One of
the definitions of a work of art has been a
creation in which form and content, medium
and message are so inextricably blended as to
become[...]s arisen purposefully. After the
first generation of electronic media had existed
in atdlegree of isolation, a natural process of
hybridization produced talking pictures, the
newsreel, the radio-phono-graph and then the
radio—stereo—phono-graph-television console,
the videotape, the videophone and so on.

There IS nothing here intended to be final or
definitive; we are a point of

A submission was prepared, which outlined
the policy of the magazine as one of docu-
menting the growth of the local film industry
and disseminating information to aid this
growth [see Box 3]. The aim was to cover the
spectrum of cinema, from film history to
reviews, production[...]in—depth interviews with
people from all facets of the filmmaking
process.

In September, the Film and Television Board
approved a grant of $10,000 for the first issue
of what had been intended as a three-times-a-
year p[...]-
son was approached to do the lay-out. He
agreed and went on to design every issue up to
No. 42, when[...]shop did eventually become a contributing editor,
and has been a frequent contributor.

Application to the Film and
Television Board

The roots of an Australian Cinema have struck.
Australia may v[...]ssive, parallel development in
the past few years of film production, film criti-
cism, and film education that has laid the
groundwork for this possibility. It is essential
that these thre[...]ulate
the interchange between filmmakers, critics and
educators . . .

In providing such a forum [Cinema Papers]
would hope to function, not only as a medium
for interchange, but as an agent for investiga-
tion, criticism and innovation. It would aim at
involving, not only p[...]Australian cinema, but also the
interested public and foreign observers.

graphic designer and then lecturer in graphic
design at the Phillip Institute of Technology
(where, incidentally, Bishop is now a lecturer in
film). Robertson was assisted for several years
by Andrew Pecze, who now runs a typesetting
and lay—out business.

An office was established in Richmond and
the first issue produced. Dated January 1974, it[...]David Williamson (he had just
written an episode of Libido), actor Graeme
Blundell (on Alvin Purple), director Gillian
Armstrong (on her short film, 100 a Day) and
independent distributor, and later producer,
Antony I. Ginnane. Two Australian features
were reviewed: Dalmas and 27A.

There was a profile of director Peter Weir, by
Richard Brennan. This was[...]uction Report, which
covered the location filming of The Cars That
Ate Paris in Sofala, NSW. Those interviewed in
the Report were Weir, producers Hal and
Jim McElroy, director of photography Peter
McLean and sound recordist Ken Hammond.
This initial Report set the tone for those that
followed (it was a regular feature up[...]chnicians were accorded
prominence with directors and money men.

Early Australian cinema was represent[...]e, where In Production listed eight
35mm features andof an Australian Film
Authority (AFA) envisaged as the main body
charged with the function of fostering and
developing the industry producing theatrical
films in Australia; and

. The divestiture of 13 theatres from the major
chains in Australia and the divorcement of
exhibition from distribution.

The second recommendation never came about,

but the AFA and the Australian Film Commis-

sion do share simila[...]om Film Aus-
tralia,

(b) act as an export agency for Australian
films, and

(c) subsidize exhibition outlets for those
films with special monitoring problems;
(ii[...]ilms without government
finance, as well as films of special
merit, and

(b) the allocation of funds for the Experi-
mental Film Fund, the Film and Tele-
vision Development Fund, and Educa-
tion and archival grants; and

(iv) Industry Supervision Branch. This would
act as an overseer of commercial exhibition
and distribution interests, and would super-
vise the divestiture of the theatre chains.

A Personal History of Cinema Papers

CINEl\/IA PAPERS

DAVID WILUAISM l[...]rsmmnct
SCRIPT EX1l|ETS/ MY HlMY|lAU8{II— cnumn OF 3?EClIlVl81JM UHCYS1
EJIRECIED IY KEN 6 Hll‘./[...]g
Ray Harryhausen, an article (by Mora) on
Comics and Film, and reviews of Le Samourai,
Solaris and Performance.

It was always envisaged that Cinema Papers
balance its editorial coverage between
Australian and overseas cinema. The magazine
aimed to be a forum for Australian writers to
develop critical ideas and, naturally, these
interests were not exclusively[...]ian cinema.

Cinema Papers also sought a coverage of
other national cinemas, ranging from the
Swedish[...]with Australia’s, particularly
those in Canada and New Zealand. By means
of lengthy supplements, which included inter-
views[...]s, the magazine
attempted to provide a wide range of informa-
tion for those within the Australian industry to
evaluate the positive aspects and avoid the
negative.

Another benefit of a world view is that it
counters tendencies toward parochial jour-
nalism; such writing invites a lessening of
standards, not what an industry, still in its
infancy, needs. In an interview at the time of
Cinema Papers’ inception, Murray said, “One
of the best things we can do for the Australian
film industry is to be tough on it[...]and
honest comparison with the best from the rest
of the world.

4. Vogue Australia, Sydney,[...]

Australian Reaction

The reaction to the first issue, by readers and
film critics, was mostly enthusiastic. There was
a surprising number of people who felt Aus-
tralia would not be able to produce enough
films for the magazine’s writers to cover, but
most applauded the launch of a new, national
film magazine.

Many newspapers carried minor items or
photographs of the magazine’s launch party,
but it was not until April 27, 1974, after the
publication of a second issue of Cinema
Papers, that a considered opinion was prin[...]w Business, Lumiere

. we’ve seen them all come and go. Now we
have a magazine version of Cinema Papers
and a really promising publication it is. This
courageous venture . . . devotes most of its big,
bulging pages to Australian cinema — just when
the cinema is reaching its most interesting stage
and needs all the encouragement and publicity it
can get. The current issue includes some very
important articles, as well as an amount of super-
fluous fat . . .
There are pitfalls, I thi[...]apers
must be careful to avoid. One is the danger of
overdoing the question-answer interviews format,[...]mote local production, have devoted large
dollops of space in both issues to some film people
who have[...]nett continued to chart Cinema Papers’
progress and on January 22, 1977, wrote a
follow-up piece. In[...]ht prove to be ‘a
national film magazine worthy of the name to
present an Australian viewpoint on cinema to the
world’. And after 11 issues, Cinema Papers is at
least well on the way . . . C.P. has become a
forum for the interchange of ideas and informa-
tion between those who make, distribute, exhibit
and preserve films and those who see them. Now-
adays, no film—1over i[...]try can afford to miss an issue . . .
A good deal of C.P.’s superfluous fat has been cut
away by now[...]nearest available American producer off the
plane and question him at length about his past in
“B”[...]also found a better
balance between local content and writing of the
sort covered by overseas publications . . .[...]rticle, Bennett raised the most-
voiced criticism of Cinema Papers: the number,
length and format of its interviews. As Cinema
Papers has never printed an editorial, and thus
not commented on magazine policy, it is
perhaps informative to make some remarks
here.

Two of the inspirations for the present
Cinema Papers were Andy Warhol ’s Interview
and the Playboy interviews. In fact, at one
stage it[...]finally decided
on about 30 per cent.

In opting for a question—and-answer format,
the editors chose not to commissio[...]ite lounge in his
Paddington sitting room. Copies of Vanity Fair
lay sprawled on his glass coffee tabl[...]his decaffeinated coffee. “Yes, it
was one hell of a shoot”, he confided. I thought
about probing[...]ys been an editorial
decision between readability and the need for
depth of coverage. At the same time, there is no
reason to[...]ety: it can be put down
part-way, as with a book, and resumed later;
or, a reader can skip passages he finds of lesser
relevance. It is certainly not presumed that
every word in every interview is of interest to
each reader.

Regarding accuracy, Cinema Papers has
always had the policy of returning edited trans-
cripts to Australian interviewees for checking.
Interviewees may also suggest rewrites of
sections if they feel the passages are unclear,
b[...]r, if the
changes significantly alter the meaning of the
original they are not accepted. A published
interview is a record of that interview, and the
integrity of it should be retained.

A final point is that som[...], have suggested that the interviews are
unedited and thus cheaper to run than an
article. But the tran[...]inimal amounts Cinema Papers
has been able to pay for a finished article, and
the costs of editing are also expensive.

In many ways, interviews are the backbone
of Cinema Papers and are not some cheap stop-

'rj_i ii

3 “VJALSI[...]these
interviews which are the most often sourced
and quoted.

Another oft-voiced criticism of Cinema
Papers has been that it has concentrated t[...]rs Co-
operative wrote about “the total neglect of the
new alternative Australian cinema by the
Boar[...]e” is a word that people use to
cover all kinds of filmmaking, from the avant—
gardeto low-budget features. In terms of highly
experimental films, the editors of Cinema
Papers chose not to attempt to duplicate the
fine work of the Cantrills in their magazine.
However, it was always intended that the
magazine cover, and give recognition to, short
and low-budget films. And this has happened.
By the time of Thorns’ article, of the 14
directors interviewed by Cinema Papers, four
were at that time exclusively directors of short
films (Paul Wlnkler, David Greig, John Papa-
dopolous, Gillian Armstrong) and nine had
never before made a feature, most having made

_
5. Albie Thorns, “History of the Sydney Filmmakers Co-
0P€rative Part[...]

A Personal History of Cinema Papers

experimental shorts (e.g. Peter[...]more
than one feature: Ken G. Hall. (The break-up
of articles and reviews shows a similar pattern.)

The most recent reference to Cinema Papers’
“neglect” of alternative cinema appeared in
Barrett Hodsdon’s review in Filmnews of Nick
Herd’s Independent Filmmaking in Australia
(I960-80).“ Hodsdon begins:

Apart from Filmnews and Cantrills Filmnotes
there has not been much consistent coverage of the
state of independent filmmaking in Australia over
the last decade . . .

In the biography at the end of his book, Herd
lists articles and interviews of particular impor-
tance. Cinema Papers has easily the most
number of entries, some 50 per cent more than
Filmnews.

Cinema Papers has also pioneered the study
of documentary filmmaking in Australia, so it
is har[...]pport it.

Overseas Response

Foreign recognition of Cinema Papers came
quickly, with journals such as Film in Britain
printing items about its inception and brief
reviews of single issues. Then, in late 1975,
came major rec[...]publication is the only
one in the world to list and evaluate the leading
film periodicals. There is a main section and
then “Other Magazines”. In the 1976 edition,[...]s had its first entry in the latter
section:

One of the world’s most imaginatively designed
movie quarterlies, its large format embracing a
host of pictures, capsule comments, and serious
reviews and interviews. Colour tinting adds impact

to the 1a[...]was up-graded to
the main section, making it one of the elect 19.
It is the only Australian magazine[...]tion, this Australian bi-monthly is a cunning
mix of reviews, interviews, news, and hard
industry knowhow that will be of interest far
beyond the boundaries of Australia}
The IFG’s view of Cinema Papers as one of the
world’s leading film periodicals is shared[...]zine to be fully indexed.
International awareness of Cinema Papers is
as important as recognition in Australia, for the
magazine is the primary source of information
about Australian films for world film buyers,
critics and historians. This role was envisaged

from the start as being of paramount impor-
tance, and is one reason why the editors decided
the magazin[...].

Naturally, some film producers took a dim
view of what they saw as a too critical approach
to Austr[...]ional Film Guide 1983, p. 467.

AFC that a review of her film had cost her an
American sale.

Another way the publishers of Cinema
Papers decided to help with this dissemination
of information to overseas readers was to
produce a special issue each year for the Cannes
Film Festival. The bumper issue contai[...]ilms being
shown at Cannes in the official events and the
marketplace. But due to the producer
grumblin[...]Cannes issue’s principal role was
the promoting of the Australian films and not
the magazine (though an absence ofof
the editorial board (Beilby, Mora and Murray)
would alternate in the position of managing
editor. However, Mora had returned to Europe
in 1974 and his input was restricted to that of a
few articles. Beilby and Murray then decided to
alternate with one—year editorships in an
attempt to combine film production and pub-
lishing, thus encouraging a healthy intercha[...]an during an “off”
stretch while Murray wrote.and directed Denial
(1974) and, later, the short feature, Summer
Shadows (1977).[...]ork in practice (it was difficult
to synchronize) and, as a result, Murray has
edited 35 (and co-edited one) of the first 44
issues.

While the managing editors,[...]itorial, it is the writers who should take
credit for its quality. Film criticism, research
and journalism were in their infancies during
the 1960s, though journals such as Annotations
on Film and the Sydney Cinema Journal did
print lively and informed pieces. But there was
little sense of direction, in part because there
was no feature i[...]to focus.

Many critics in the early 1970s wrote for
Lumiere and the early editions of Cinema
Papers, and historians such as Andrew Pike
and Ross Cooper were beginning to publish the
early stages of their excellent research. With
Cinema Papers’ reappearance in 1973, and the
demise of magazines such as Lumiere”, most of
these writers were soon being published in the
on[...]it to
pieces.”

Not only is there independence of thought,
there are individual styles and interests. Tom
Ryan’s rigorous analyses of the films of Brian
De Palma contrast with the witty reviews of

9. The only other attempt was when one executive of the
AFC suggested that Cinema Papers’ applications for
funds would be more favourably received if the
ma[...]been alleged that Lumiere folded because the
Film and Television Board diverted funds from it to
Cinema Papers. This is incorrect; Lumiere was invited
at the time of Cinema Papers’ inception to apply for
another grant but declined to do so.

‘star’[...]ian McFarlane, just as
interviews with Peter Weir and Michael
Thornhill contrast in style and, content with
those with Paul Winkler and Andrew J. Psolo-
koskowitz.

It is not the place here to evaluate the skills of
the many contributors to Cinema Papers; their
work stands for itself. However, a look through
the past 43 issues indicates the growing depth
and quality of film writing in Australia [see
Box 5]. Cinema Pap[...]ne or
associated publications, but it has played, and
will continue to play, a key role as a forum for
the best film writers, whatever their areas of
interest.

In tandem with the increased editorial[...]s 9000 copies).
In fact, Cinema Papers is now one of the
world’s five or six top-selling critical fi[...]1974)

(Cannes, No. 3,
1974)

(frame enlargements
of Viridiana and
U11 chien andalou,
No. 3, 1974)

(No. , 1974)

(N[...]ion Round-
up

(No. 10, 1976)
(No. 11, 1977)

Box-office Grosses
Filmmakers Service
and Facility Guide

Forum

"New Zealand Report
Televi[...]Television Section
Canada Supplement
New Products and
Processes
Color Poster

Color Pages
Channe[...]

Tenth Anniversary Supplement

C[...]). Le Tet, who had worked at
Crawford Productions and AAV, was at the
time a freelance consultant before becoming
managing director of The Film House Pty Ltd,
and, among other positions, a consultant to
and then director and deputy chairman of the
Melbourne radio station, EON-FM. Le Tet’s
c[...]was particularly
significant in two areas: change of frequency
and diversification.

In 1979, the magazine changed f[...]to amortize overheads against six
issues instead of four, and thus improve the
company’s balance sheet and cash flow. The
change to bi—monthly also enabled the maga-
zine to carry more news—type information and
be more up-to—date.

Going bi—monthly proved a success and was
appreciated by readers. Instead of sales falling,
as feared, they increased. And although adver-
tising revenue per issue dropped, the annual
total increased. So in two ways the change of
frequency strengthened the magazine.

The rationale for diversification was that the
projected annual deficit had stopped reducing
and was beginning to worsen. As the Australian
Film Commission, which had absorbed the
Film, Radio and Television Board, indicated it
could not increase[...]he industry,
which had not had access to the mass of
information listed in its pages, and the book
sold sufficient copies (2500) to nearly[...]ared in 1981 (also in
association with the NSWFC) and in 1982
(under the Four Seasons imprint). By then[...]ventures included Film Produc-
tion in the State of Victoria (1979, in associa-
tion with the then Vi[...],
edited by Murray, Film Expo 80 (1981,
published for the Film and Television Produc-
tion Association of Australia and the NSWFC)
and The Australian Film Producers and Inves-
tors Guide (1978), edited by Beilby. This[...]e Investors Guide
never fully got off the ground, and folded.

A much more successful project was The
N[...]book to analyze
thematically Australian features and shorts
since 1970. Published by Thomas Nelson Aus[...]with Cinema Papers, it
quickly sold its print run and was reprinted in
1980.

11. The directors of Cinema Papers Pty Ltd have been:
Peter Beilby (19[...]Philippe Wora (1976-84); Robert Le Tet (1980-83); and
Keith Robertson (1981-82).

To avoid confusion wi[...]ited by Beilby. It continued the growing
coverage and interest in Australian television
begun in Cinema[...]ssociation
with Film Victoria). Edited by Lansell and
Beilby, it was a pioneering work. But it was
costly to produce, and ended up draining the
magazine’s resources instead of supplementing
them. This in itself threatened the continuance
of the publishing program. Even with an
enviable track record, the effects of even one
‘failed’ project was becoming a risk[...]ly afford to take.

This concern, plus an absence of risk capital,
led to a scaling down of the diversification
program. Beilby left Cinema Papers at the end
ofand several other
yearbooks in a joint venture with T[...]produced Aus-
tralian Movies to the World (Glenn and Murray, 1983)
and Drive to Win (Trevor Ling, 1984). He is also
producer of Anna (Gordon Glenn) and Oh You
Beautiful Doll (Sue Cram and Marianne Latham), both
in production.

handled by[...]ne project was
started, Brian McFarlane’s Words and Images
(1983), published by Heinemann Publishers[...]ok, McFarlane examines 10 Austra-

lligilionovels and the films made of them since

In all, the diversification program was a
success, with most of the projects listing a
profit. More important, th[...]vely
represent a significant contribution to film and
literary culture in Australia.

Interruptions

Ci[...]stopped, due to financial
insolvency. The reasons for this are complex, in
part due to shifts in the relationship between
Cinema Papers Pty Ltd and the AFC.

As mentioned earlier, the AFC absorbed the
Film, Radio and Television Board. It was not a
happy merger, many[...]in the
AFC resenting having to take on the likes of the
Experimental Film Fund; it was seen as
loweri[...]s interested in
film culture (despite the wording of the AFC’s
govermng Act), and some questioned what they
saw as Cinema Papers’ aloofness from the film
industry. While the Film and Television Board
valued an independent, critical[...]zine should be
more a servant to its philosophies and interests.

The issue that brought everything to a head
wa[...]would predict
the annual, financial-year deficit and then
apply to the AFC for that amount. In 1973, the
grant represented 100 per cent of the expendi-
ture budget; by 1981-1982, it had dr[...]32 per cent). _ _

These cut-backs were crippling and difficult
to understand. Perhaps the annual grants were
tied to earlier Film and Television Board levels
($9000 per issue in 1974;[...]erhaps the cut-backs represented an AFC
suspicion of the size of the projected deficit,
fuelled by having to deal daily with producers
notorious for inflating their claims.

Of course, there were many other fa_ctors'that
contributed to Cinema Papers’ financial plight,
and had Cinema Papers been granted its
requests in full it still would have been in the
red. And if the AFC is guilty of unnecessary
cut-backs, Cinema Papers is guilty of having
requested too little. Knowing the AFC would

make annual grants of only $40,000 to $50,000
Cinema Papers tried to produce the magazine
for that, aware that substantially higher funds
were required.

As well, there were the vagaries of the diver-
sification program. This was worsened when a
total absence of capital meant only one special
project could be i[...]uting factor to the unhealthy
position at the end of 1982-83 was the poor
state of the film industry. Unsettled by changes
in the tax legislation and generally hampered by
the severe economic recessi[...]ustry
went through a lean phase. This had a major
and detrimental effect on advertising sales.

The net result of all the above factors, and
several others, was that Cinema Papers was
faced at the end of 1982-83 with a large deficit.
Given changes in th[...]s meant the accumulated loss had to be
liquidated and the subsidy for the next financial
year granted or Cinema Papers[...]pplication
then proposed a scheme whereby the AFC and
the various state film bodies would together
meet the deficit and adequately fund the
magazine in 1983-84.

While the application proposed a general
course of action, it did not request specific

amounts of money from specific corporations.
It was, hopefully, a basis for discussion. But
the AFC, alarmed by the size of the deficit and
disappointed it had not been informed of the

situation earlier, rejected the application[...]out when Cinema
Papers was going into liquidation and what
would happen to the masthead and copyright.

Given the AFC’s rejection, Cinema P[...]alternative but to cease publication
voluntarily and on July 22 all staff were laid
off. On the basis of legal advice, Cinema
Papers then sought a 120-day[...]solve its
financial plight. This proved a lengthy and

exhausting process.

Applications to Film Victoria and the South
Australian Film Corporation were reject[...]r change the AFC’s
mind.

Finally, after months of negotiation, and
involving the advice and help of a Cinema
Papers Action Committee”, an agreement was
reached between Cinema Papers and the AFC
and Film Victoria. It is worth mentioning here
becaus[...]tee comprised, apart from Cinema Papers
directors and staff, Alan Finney, Geoff Gardner,
Natalie Miller, Jill Robb, Tom Ryan and Julie Stone.

CINEMA PAPERS March-April — 47

The Future
1934 . . .

Cinema Papers Pty Ltd has now sold the
copyright and assets to a newIy—formed public
company, limite[...]aken on the subscription liability. The
directors of MTV Publishing Limited are: Peter
Beilby, Jill Robb (producer), Natalie Miller
(distributor and producer), Alan Finney (head
of marketing at Roadshow) and Tom Ryan
(lecturer); others are still to be appointed.

‘As part of the deal, the AFC and Film
Victoria have written off all outstanding loans
and investments (the NSWFC had already
generously wri[...]e
Yearbook). As well, the AFC has granted
$80,000 and Film Victoria $27,277. This covers
the purchase of assets and the financing of the
publication of three issues of Cinema Papers by
June 30 (of which this issue is the first). During
that time a publishing and marketing
consultant will examine all areas of production
and management, and report back to the MTV
directors on what he feels is the most feasible
publishing and management structure. This
could involve a change of frequency or format.
The final decision lies with[...]e a fresh input.

Not only will the MTV directors and staff
bring new ideas to the magazine, but annual,
open meetings will be held in Sydney and
Melbourne, initially, to invite response from
Cinema Papers’ readers.

The net result of all these changes is that
Cinema Papers can look[...]pears stable, with
increased funding from the AFC and Film
Victoria, and it can now fulfil its role as Aus-
tralia’s national film magazine with confidence.
It will, of course, be a different magazine.
How, one will have to wait and see. wk

A ckno wledgmen ts

The author would like to record here his
appreciation to the following for their assist-
ance and support during Cinema Papers’
period of adjustment:

All those readers who wrote to the AFC
giving their opinions of the magazine and
arguing for continued funding; the AFC, in
particular Joe Sl-trzynski, Phillip Adams, David
Strattori and Murray Brown; Film Victoria,
particularly Terence .\lc.'\Iahon and John
Kearney; the New South Wales Film Corpora-
t[...]falvy; Cine/nu
Papers staff members Patricia Amad and Helen
Greenwood for working part—time for four
months, without arty expectation of financial
reward; the Cinema Papers Action Committee
and his fellow directors; several personal
friends wh[...]icholls; Les Pradd; David White; the manage-
ment and staff at The Film House for their co-
operation and the use of facilities, especially
Trish Foley; and, most important, those
creditors who gave Cinema Papers the time and
encouragement to sort out its affairs.

The author also wishes to thank sincerely all
Cinema Papers staff and contributors since
September 1973.

The early sections of this article are based, in
part, on a study of Cinema Papers written by

Ewan Burnett.

4[...]

C »

A selection of photographs commissioned for Cinema Papers

Phll Quirk; director Henri[...]

1:

Leon Saunders. produczers James and Hal McElroy; 1977 Leon Saunders; Terry Jackman (H[...]__r?_jl
Peler McLean: scriptwnler Margaret Kelly and producer Joan Long, 1981

52 — Marchuipr[...]

39%

Sue Adler Muchaei. Felippa and Crmsmpner Pate: 1977

CINEMA PAPERS .’$I[...]

Phillip Adams

Chairman, Australian Film Commission

Funds, Fiddles and Follies

Some months ago the Australian Film Commis-
sion (AFC) announced the appointment of Kim
Williams as chief executive-designate. At the
time I expressed delight that someone of Kim’s
calibre had been foolish enough to accept[...]applicants, bloodied from his
political joustings and jostled by besieging com-
plainants, seers, bagmen and visionaries.

The AFC spends much of its time saying nyet
to people, hearing the same word echo in the
gloomy corridors of Canberra and, occasion-
ally, when everything comes together and there
is a film on the screen, standing in the back row
and applauding the result. But there will be few
thanks and no Oscars for Kim. At the end of his
term he will join Joe Skrzynski in exile in
Tuscany and begin work on his melancholy
memoirs.

Government support for the arts is really a
euphemism for fiddling and funding. It is
something people in suits do to pe[...]more, it is something you do
largely by the seat of your pants: there are lots
of rules but no formulae. You have to use your
wits and read between the lines on the pieces of
paper and faces in front of you. You can’t
consult a computer or a crystal ball.

This being the case, how do you judge the
value of government support, the finesse of the
fiddlers and funders? Certainly not by their
rhetoric or dress[...]h-April CINEMA PAPERS

away. It is a human foible and funding bodies
are not exempt.

The truth is that[...]dwarfed
when the dust has settled by the triumphs and
follies of those they support. They are like the
scaffolding on buildings: ungainly and
temporary structures dismantled and forgotten
when the building has finally taken shape.

However, for those who insist you are only as
good as the last[...]idence is in
your hands: the most recent decision of the
AFC was to lend its support to this 10th Anni[...]making in the past decade, it is this: the search
for a magic formula for The Great Australian
Movie. We have meant several things by Great:
implicit in the use of the word have been artistic
achievement, cultural importance and enter-
tainment. The GAM would be something which
audiences would both admire and make
profitable.

The magic formula has been our[...]s, can
be found with just a bit more time, effort and
knowledge. Indeed, every six months or so, one
or more opinion—leaders in the film industry
have jumped up and announced that they have
found it — well, maybe[...]red
ou-r pronouncements. They have been as varied
and contradictory as the following:

We must aim mode[...]sful art-
house distribution. We must make films for the
popular, mainstream market. Our models
should be the best of European cinema. No, we
have more to learn from A[...]our budgets very low. People are

(past ten years
and the future

rapt in rediscovering their past thro[...]international sales. Overseas
actors are a waste of money (besides being
culturally impure). The subject—matter of our
films should be more international. The most-[...]bjects are those based on our
national experience and culture. Profit lies in
American cinema distribut[...]otion
pictures; we should be making mini—series for
television instead. And so on.

Often, a formula has an immediate attraction
because of very recent experience. Thus, the
success of films such as Picnic at Hanging Rock
and Caddie led to a rush to buy the rights to a
lot of old Australian novels. The Man from
Snowy River was taken as a validation of big
budgets and high promotional expenditure. In
contrast, Paul Cox has probably single-
handedly been responsible for the recent
advocacy of low—budget films.

A formula can owe its deriva[...]pointing
response to The Irishman, The Mango Tree and
the like. I well remember the fears expressed by
a number of people when the New South Wales
Film Corporation[...]“You’re making a
mistake. The public is sick of nostalgia.” In
their anguish, they ignored the[...]iod” does not necessarily equal
“nostalgia” and that a film set at the turn of
the century could have contemporary rele-
vance.[...]o the bank.

This points to the problem with most of the
formulas which have been advanced for the
salvation of the Australian film industry: they
have generally suffered from the logical fallacy
of arguing from the particular to the general.
This is not to say that they never contain
elements of truth. Thus, it is interesting to
observe that the most profitable Australian
films have not depended for their success,
either in Australia or elsewhere, on the box-
office attraction of overseas stars. (While two
of those films — The Man from Snowy River
and Breaker Morant — had foreign performers

in key roles, they were chosen for performance,
not for any so-called “marquee” power.) Simi-
larly, the best prospects for many Australian
films in North America might lie[...]ary markets. But this has not prevented
Mad Max 2 and The Man from Snowy River
from breaking into the m[...]rical market. Nor did it stop My Brilliant
Career and Breaker Morant, for example, from
doing good business on the American art-house
circuit.

My belief is that, as it did for knights on
white chargers in the Middle Ages, the search
for a holy grail by Australian filmmakers has
proved, and will continue to prove, fruitless.
There is no magic formula. What matters are
talent and good ideas, and these are
unquantifiable and unpredictable — in other
words, incapable of reduction to some kind of
theorem. In saying this, I am mindful of
something which the chairman and chief
executive of Universal Pictures, Lew Wasser-
man, the doyen of Hollywood filmmakers,
once said: if he could be certain of a film’s
earning potential before its release,[...]he could be so clairvoyant.

This is not a matter for despair; it is simply
a reality. For, without the aid of formulas,
Australian filmmakers — producers, directors,
technicians, actors and actresses — have
achieved a lot in the past 10[...]erms, they have made some highly
successful films and have won a host of awards.
Perhaps more important, they have achieve[...]hey have helped lift
Australians’ consciousness of their own place
and culture, and they have created a greater
overseas awareness of our country. Even if we
have not made the greates[...]ot just in
Australia. Nevertheless, at this stage of its
development — and in the foreseeable future —
the Australian film industry cannot be
economically viable, independent of govern-
mental assistance. Government film—funding
bodies remain an important source of pro-
duction finance, although the federal tax
incentives have boosted private investment (and
tax incentives are a form of official assistance
anyhow). And they continue to provide most of
the funds for script and project development.
That is why the state and federal film-funding
bodies need the continued support of their
respective governments.

There "is another reason for the continued
existence of a variety of government funding
bodies and this takes me back to my starting
point. Holy grails have a habit of being as
perpetually alluring as they are permanently
elusive. All of us in the film industry are guilty,
at one time or another, of thinking we have hit
upon a good formula for filmmaking. This
means that, if there were only one source of
funds for development and production, the
film industry would tend to lurch[...]a to
another. As long as there are varied sources of
funding — state, federal and private — there
can be different objectives and different
visions. That way we can keep on making
worthwhile films — in spite of ourselves.

What I have said might seem somewhat[...]uld not go astray in our
industry. The end result of our labors can, of

course, be very important, both in terms of the
cultural and entertainment objectives and the
financial responsibility we have. But, as
ind[...]ten do.
As I said before: what we need are talent and
good ideas, not self-importance.

Actors and

Announcers Equity

Janette Paramore
NSW Divisional Secretary, Actors and Announcers Equity

The achievements of the Australian film
industry during the past 10 years have been
positive and swift. In a few years, the industry
has won recognition at home and abroad.

In spite of this, the ‘knockers’ continue to
forecast its doom and heap negative criticism
on its achievements.

Fro[...]Australian films have moved from The Adven-
tures of Barry McKenzie to My Brilliant Career
with breath[...]achieved an important
place in local distribution and exhibition, and
won audiences across the world; the ratio of
box-office success for Australian films in Aus-
tralia is slightly better than that of imported
product; Australian actors have received inter-
national awards; and Australian actors, writers
and directors are frequently wooed by the
major studios.

It must be recognized that without the
support and intervention of Australian govern-
ments, both at the state and federal level, the
artistic achievements could no[...]duced locally, the Australian content
regulations for television, the subsidization of
theatre, the establishment of the National
Institute for Dramatic Art and the Australian
Film and Television School provided the skilled
crews, writers and actors necessary for the film

industry to develop. The_role of the various
government film bodies 1S obvious in script

development, investment, loans and marketing
assistance. The introduction of the tax
incentives for film was simply a progression in
government support for Australian film.

When the package of government support is
looked at in toto, whatever[...]eless an achievement in the overall develop-
ment of Australian film.

It is to the credit of the creative people
working in the industry that[...]ve they
the skill to produce, direct, write, film and act
in films of worth, but that they have also had
the initiative and determination to seize on
opportunities, ride out hard times and lobby
governments to build an industry where one[...]try is still young. It
requires further fostering and continued
commitment to reach its full potential.

One of the greatest dangers to the continued
vitality of Australian film is the reluctance to
foster new talents. In the current climate of
investors wanting key personnel on films to
have held the same positions in previous suc-
cesses, and with some government bodies
looking in the same d[...]that the industry will simply churn out “more
of the same”, and lose much of its vitality.
Certainly neither My Brilliant Care[...]ax would have been made with such restric-
tions, and yet both are landmarks in Australian
cinema.

Dur[...]d like to see
Australian films provide more roles for
actresses. Apart from the prettier period pieces,
Australian cinema has offered few good parts
for women. It is important that writers and pro-
ducers take stock of the culture they are
creating and its worth if Australian film
continues to portray[...]or not even represent them at all. From

the end of 1979 to mid-1982, only 12 per cent of
roles which received billing in Australian films
were roles for women. Furthermore, if one
looks at the nature of the roles during that
period, many of them received very little screen
time and the majority were passive.

I also believe it is[...]blished
involving professional directors, writers and
actors. It is essential, if Australian films are[...]hops with good teachers,
as actors in other parts of the world do. It is
also essential that writers and directors gain
experience in performance since th[...]to pre-
production. Pre-production, particularly for
actors, has been virtually overlooked in the
Aust[...]ry. Rarely is the actor given
pre-production time for research, character-
development, accent work or[...]invested in these areas would
enhance the quality of the finished product and
assist the shoot.

It is also important that gove[...]nd its intervention, which has provided the
basis for a viable production industry, into
distribution and exhibition. The product is
there and has proven its worth. The market
place into which[...]eds to be opened up; only
government can do that, and there is little point

supporting the production of film if it is dis-
advantaged at the selling point.

Whatever the future holds for Australian
cinema, as long as it continues to be controlled
by Australians and promote an Australian cul-
tural identity, its ac[...]sting Control Board, con-
demned the low standard of Children’s
programs produced by the television[...]rograms, the CTAC said, failed to meet
the spirit of the Production Guidelines for
Children’s Television Programs published in
Jun[...]e,
low-budget, confined to dead programming
slots and children turned away from them in
droves.

In 1981, two years after the introduction of
new guidelines for Children’s programs by the

CINEMA PAPER[...]

The first breakthrough for the decade came
with the public inquiry into self-regulation for
broadcasters in 1977. The ABT recognized the
poor performance of stations in the area of
children’s television and recommended both the
establishment of a system of “C” classification
for programs specifically designed for children
aged between six and 13 years, and the
formation of a Children’s Program Committee
to oversee the development of this concept.
Only “C” classified programs were to be
broadcast between 4 and 5 p.m. Monday to
Friday. The Government accepted these recom-
mendations and the CPC was formed in
November 1978 with the requirements for “C”
classified programs being introduced from[...]ich programs would have
the same resources, human and financial, as
their adult counterparts. The results fell far
short of this expectation.

The regulation of children’s television is a
new field. Only in Australia has the body
responsible for monitoring the commercial
television industry taken on the challenge of
regulation; each step has been experimental.

The[...]he
CPC concluded there had been limited
successes and significant failures resulting from

its work. A number of high-quality, overseas
programs had been shown wh[...]which would not
have been produced. The problems of
children’s television continued to be publicized,
largely because of the CPC’s existence.

However, the high level of repeated
programs, the lack of diversity, the pushing of
programs beyond the young age level to attract
older audiences, and the lack of high-quality
productions remained as problems. For the
next three years the ABT ignored the CPC’s[...]atory system. The
stations flouted the guidelines and the ABT
took no action until October 1983 when it
released the CPC’s revised program standards
for public comment. These standards are well-
drafted and tighten the loopholes that had been
evident. Repeats have been limited. The
standards require 50 per cent of first-release
Australian material to be played between 4 and
5 p.m.; they require a diversity of program
types and an eight-hour, high-quality children’s
drama qu[...]ds by late February 1984. It has taken
five years of work by the CPC to create this
regulatory framework and this achievement is
significant. However, to make[...]es creative talent, ideas, pro-
duction expertise and money.

The second major breakthrough in the past
decade in the area of children’s television was
the establishment of the Australian Children’s

56 — March-April CINEMA PAPERS

Television Foundation (ACTF). After a
number of government inquiries, a Senate
Standing Committee report and the hard work
of a number of groups and individuals, the
Australian Education Council dec[...]lish a Working Group to look at the feas-
ibility of establishing such a Foundation. That
investigatio[...]lyst bringing to children’s television the
film and television industries’ best resources.
This is done by encouraging the development,
production and transmission of programs
through script development, production-[...]search, providing production invest-
ment finance and other appropriate forms of
assistance to program makers. The Foundation
also works to raise the profile of children’s
television in the community by running
workshops and seminars, providing speakers,
arranging screenings, and publishing papers
and study guides on relevant topics.

The past 10 years have brought significant
changes in the area of children’s television in
Australia, but the mai[...]a foundation
can take risks independent producers and
stations would not take to develop new and
exciting projectsf in the end, the stations must[...]ion is to succeed.

The position the ABT takes is of funda-
mental importance in this process. Standar[...]enforced. No station executive enjoys
the process of public accountability that the
licence renewal sy[...]t
there must also be a carrot. Alongside the work
of the ABT and the work that the ACTF is
doing to stimulate the creative development of
programs, there needs to be an improvement in
the[...]ren’s
programs so that quality becomes a matter of
broadcaster prestige.

This is difficult to achieve in Australia
because of the cross-ownership of the media.
There is virtually no intelligent criticism of
children’s television, or television in general[...]in magazines in Australia.
Most media discussion of television is aimed at
the promotion of programs which does little to
spark a competition to excel. Few journalists
understand the complexities of producing
television for children or the potential of
children’s television. Through letters, articles,
publicity campaigns and awards, programming
achievements can be recognize[...]the groundwork has been laid in
the past 10 years for an Australian children’s
television industry, t[...]children will continue to miss out.

Distribution and

Exhibition

Alan Finney

National Director, Marketing and Distribution, Roadshow

Meeting Great Expectation[...]ugh there were films from the
U.S., France, Italy and Britain . . . and then
there were Australian films. That Australian[...]films were shown at all was due to the sense of
obligation felt by the distributors and
exhibitors, and the pressure applied by the film
community. A lot of heat and urgency was
generated by people who were determin[...]e a film industry.

By the late 1970s, this sense of urgency had
reached the stage where expectations[...]en raised too high. Films began
falling far short of expectations and the public
began to greet each new Australian fil[...]s the best Australian film
ever — at the urging of the producers.

Today, the energy and urgency have
dissipated somewhat and the people handling
Australian films have more confidence in them,
and in themselves. They realize that distributing
an[...]h
film must be considered on an individual basis

and on its merits. _ _
The public’s expectation of Australian films

has also become more realistic,[...]films from other countries — some will be
good and some will be bad — without the
obligation Austr[...]are the best ever.

The pressure on distributors and exhibitors
from producers has also lessened as the latter
became more sensible and more attuned to the
marketplace. In the early 197[...]butor was not
spending enough money on the launch of a
film. Even today one still encounters producers[...]ausal relationship between
the advertising dollar and the box-office: that
is, the more you spend the m[...]who does
not share their commercial expectations of the
film and, second, that the distributor’s
judgment about[...]e only to
lose it; it may be better to aim solely for video-
cassette, television or overseas sales. There are
many films released in the U.S. and other
territories that are never seen outside the
borders of their country of origin and, alter-
natively, many that are never seen in their
country of origin.

Obviously, not all the judgments of a dis-
tributor are correct but it is also diffic[...]l judgment about a film
which disagrees with that of the filmmaker.
What one is saying, in effect, is: “After all the
trouble you have gone to and money you have
spent, no one is going to see it.” Of course,
there are options in this situation and one of
these is to screen the film in “one city tests”.
Instead of spending money on a national
release, one has a test launch in Melbourne or
Sydney to get some idea of the film’s appeal to
the public and to test the marketing approach.

Not every Australian film has or should have
a market launch like those for Man from
Snowy River or Phar Lap — for example,
Careful, He Might Hear You and Man of
Flowers. Jane Ballantyne [co-producer, Man of
Flowers] and Paul Cox [co-producer and
director] were met with great relief and

Words and Images ..........................................[...]........................................ .. pp. 7 and

'3"‘.°"§'”.°"‘.°‘§“§
mmm&m$mM

1983

The third edition of the Australian Motion Picture
Yearbook has been totally revised and updated.

The Yearbook again takes a detailed look at what has
been happening in all sections of the Australian film scene
over the past year, inc[...]n, television, film festivals, media,

censorship and awards.

As in the past, all entrants in Australia ’s most
comprehensive film and television industry directory have
been contacted to check the accuracy of entries, and many

new categories have been added.

A new series of profiles has been compiled and will
highlight the careers of director Peter Weir, composer

Brian May and actor Mel Gibson.

A new feature in the 1983 edit[...]ensive
editorial section with articles on aspects of Australian and
international cinema, including film financing, special
effects, censorship, and a survey of the impact our films

are having on U.S. audiences.

. . an invaluable reference for anyone with an

interest — vested or altruistic[...]der . .
Variety

"The most useful reference book for me in the

past year . . .’
Ray Stanley
Screen[...]at Kodak find it invaluable as a reference

aid for the industry."
David Wells

Kodak

.. one has to admire the detail and eflort
which has gone into the yearbook. It covers
almost every conceivable facet of the film
industry and the publishers claim that it is ‘the
only compr[...]ook. It is a splendidly
useful publication to us, and l’m sure to most

people in, and outside, the business.”
Mike Walsh
Hayden Price Productions

"Indispensable tool of the trade.”
Elizabeth Riddell
Theatre Australia[...])'.~.-mm; /‘m‘\‘

“The 1981 version of the Australian Motion
Picture Yearbook is not onl[...]e outside as too many Australian
films try to be andfor the past two years,
and always find it to be full of interesting and
useful information and facts. It is easy to read
and the format is set out in such a way that
informat[...]another good effort from the Cinema
Papers team, and essential as a desk-top
reference for anybody interested in our feature
film in[...]

The author, Brian McFarlane, is Principal
Lecturer in Literature at the Chisholm
Institute of Technology and is a Contributing
Editor to Cinema Papers, Austra[...]nal. He has published many articles
on Australian and other literature and film.
He is also the author of a book on Martin

Boyd’s “Langton” novels, is the editor of
the annual collection of literary essays,
Viewpoints, and is the co-editor of a
forthcoming anthology of Australian verse.

Contents

. From Page to Screen

Wake in Fright

Picnic at Hanging Rock

The Getting of Wisdom

The Mango Tree

The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith
My Brilliant Career

Monkey Grip

The Year of Living Dangerously
The Night the Prowler

Martin Boyd on Television: Lucinda
Brayford and Outbreak of Love
Appendices: Australian novels on film[...]

Illustrated with 265 stil[...]in full color, this book is an

invaluable record for all those interested in the New Australian Cinema[...]eith Connolly), Comedy ( Geofi’ Mayer), Horror and
Suspense (Brian McFarlane), Action and Adventure (Susan Dermody), Fantasy (Adrian Martin), Historical
Films (Torn Ryan), Personal Relationships and Sexuality (Meaghan Morris), Loneliness and Alienation (Rod
Bishop and Fiona Mackie), Children ’s Films (Virginia Duig[...]aphs, some in full color, recall forgotten images and preserve
memories of programmes long since wiped from the tapes.

The book covers every facet of television programming — light entertainment, quizzes, news
and documentaries, kids’ programmes, sport, drama,[...]IAN TV takes you back to the time when television for most Australians was
a curiosity — a shadowy, often soundless, picture in the window of the local electricity store.
The quality ofthe ea[...]tern.’

At first imported series were the order of the day. Only Graham Kennedy and Bob Dyer
could challenge the ratings of the westerns and situation comedies from America and Britain.

Then came The Mavis Bramston Show. With the popularity of that rude and irreverent
show, Australian television came into[...]s like Number 96, The Box,
Against the Wind, Sale of the Century have achieved ratings that are by wor[...]e.

AUSTRALIAN TV is an entertainment, a delight, and a commemoration of a lively, $ 1 4 9 5

.~I .\ ' --
nnm fun-,[...]tary films occupy a special place in the history and development of
Australian filmmaking. From the pioneering efforts of Baldwin Spencer to Damien
Parer’s Academy Award[...]koda Front Line, to Chris Noonan’s Stepping Out
and David Bradbury ’s Frontline, Australia’s docu[...]-wide.

The documentary film is also the mainstay of the Australian film industry. More
time, more money and more effort go into making documentaries in this[...]ralian documentary film,

50 researchers, authors and filmmakers have combined to examine the evolution of
documentary filmmaking in Australia, and the state of the art today.

W" $12.95

90

...one of the most richly
informed and reliable of film
[)Bl'I0(IICflIS”. PETER cowl];

INTERNATI[...]k Issues
6 12 18 Volumes Eziblnders (to the price of each
Zone issues issues issues (each) (each) copy[...]e is available to Britain, Germany, Greece. Italy and North America. Subscriptions: 6 issues - $43.80;[...]d $4.30 per copy.

.. . some
ORDER VOLUMES 7, 3 and 9 Now

(7: numbers 25-30; 8: numbers 31-35; 9: numbers 36-41)

Vol Volumes 3 (9-12) and 4 (13-16) are also available.
available.

STRICTL[...]s, lavishly-
illustrated, with

Ezibinders for Cinema
Papers are available in
black with gold
em[...]sive interviews with producers,
directors, actors and technicians
Valuable historical material on
Australian film production

Film and book reviews

Production surveys and reports
from the sets of local and
international production

Box~office reports and guides to
film producers and

Index: Volume 5

EM;

Number 33
July-August
1981

John Duigan on Winter of
Our Dreams Government
and the Film Industry Tax
and Film Chris Noonan
Robert Altman Gailipoli
Ftoadga[...]nancing
Films, Living Dangerous—
ly, The Plains of Heaven.

CiI\lEMAB9iPEE

‘:3 £‘3'1-REC[...]uttnam. Censorship.
Stir. Everett de Roche.
Touch and Go. Film and
Politics.

5.

Number 37
March-April
1982

Ste[...]6

l

Number 38
June
1982

Geoil Burrowes and
George Miller on The Man
From Snowy River.
James[...]n Far East,
Norwegian Cinema, Two
Laws. Melbourne and
Sydney Film Festival
repons, Monkey Grip.

Num[...]The Films ot Bruce Beres-
lord. Stir. Melbourne and
Sydney Film Festivals.
Breaker Morant. Stacy
Keac[...]Paul Sci-trader,
Peter Tammer, Liliana
Cavani, We of the Never
Never, Film Awards, E.T..

Note: issues number 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 21,
23, 30, 31, 32, 34 and 35 are out of print.

‘Subscriptions Please enter a subscription for 6 issues ($18) D 12 issues ($32) D 18 issues ($46[...]ption to Cinema Papersa gift, cross the box below and we will
send a card on your behalf with the first issue.

SUbSCfipti0flS Gift subscription from (name of sender) ........................................................................ ..

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require in[...]seas rates p. s
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The Industry Comments

Roadshow had an idea for a budget that corres-
ponded exactly with theirs.[...]t would be irresponsible to
spend massive amounts of money that will not
significantly increase one’s return at the box-
office and which would diminish any potential
profit for producers and investors.

The question of whether marketing methods
have become more sophis[...]much; we really tend to
do the same things again and again. Some
marketing tools and approaches are more
appropriate for a particular film; probably the
key question is: “Which of the rather stereo-
typical and established set of procedures do we
apply to this film?” Why peopl[...]art from the
mass audience phenomena such as E.T. and
Return of the Jedi, is an unknown. No one
knows why before the event. Everyone knows
why after the event.

One of the most pleasant surprises of the past
10 years was Breaker Morant. Long and
detailed meetings were held between Roadshow
and an enthusiastic Matt Carroll [producer]
about a f[...]ama, admittedly structured so the
action appeared and reappeared throughout,
about three not entirely attractive people, and
not with what the industry calls an “up-
ending[...]another area
where Australian producers can look for a
return, particularly if the film was not commer[...]market has only taken off in a major way
in 1983, and I believe it is too early to judge
what its effect on cinema attendance will be and
what return it will provide for Australian
producers.