Seeing Red

Hello bloggins. Just a quick post for you here – a link to my video review of Aussie flick Red Hill. For my exclusive interview with star Ryan Kwanten and writer, director, producer, editor Patrick Hughes click here. Red Hill is currently screening.

The Monsters mash

Let me preface this by saying best. Interview. Ever. Okay, well, maybe not ever but I did have a freakin’ ball when I spoke to one-man-film-crew Gareth Edwards about his flick Monsters. Besides being ridiculously talented and multi-skilled, the young Brit is hilarious. Hi-bloody-larious! In particular, his analogies had me gut laughing like Mel Gibson during Schindler's List. Monsters is out across the globe in limited release, but if you have the opportunity to see this beautiful, naturalistic, sci-fi gem, I highly recommend it.

Movie Mazzupial: Howdy Gareth, it’s lovely to chat to you and may I start off by saying I adored Monsters. When I finally got the end and hit that realisation, I was rewinding to the start and watching those first few minutes over and over again trying to figure it out.
Gareth Edwards: (Laughs) Well, thanks. That ’s great, lovely to hear that.

MM: So where are you speaking to me from at the moment?
GE: Right now I’m in Melbourne, got here this morning. I arrived from the UK three days ago and have been to Brisbane and Canberra and now here. It’s shame we couldn’t fit the Gold Coast in this time.

MM: Yes, well, there’s always next time. You have to come though, tourists go apeshit for our beaches.
GE: I have been around there. I came eight years ago and did that annoying backpacker thing that British people do and I went up to Brisbane, Fraser Island and around Cairns. There’s actually a scene in the film that’s inspired by that trip – the one when they’re in the boat on the river. I went on one of those trips in North Queensland where you go out on a boat to see a crocodile and the guy always warns you that you might not see one. Anyway, we were on the boat and we see this big ripple that started to get closer and closer, coming towards us. Then this corpse comes out of the water and it’s a giant pig that had rigor mortis and everything. We were all taking pictures when we realised that this crocodile had killed it and was holding it under the water so that we couldn’t see the crocodile just the pig. So this giant pig corpse kept circling around the boat. Strangely, I tried to reprise that kind of thing in the scene.

MM: (Laughs) That is an awesome story, I have a whole new understanding to that scene now. So, where did this story come from? I mean, have you always been dying to make a sci-fi film or had a fascination with B-movie aliens?
GE: That’s fair to say. I’m actually an alien myself and this is the first wave - to slowly introduce the concept of alien life to human society before we take over. No, I just love sci-fi and B-movies and I really wanted to make a monster movie, but I didn’t want to do something that’s been done. I come from a background in computer programming and it was always my ambition to one day be a filmmaker. I was on holiday somewhere and I was watching these fishermen drag in a net and I started imagining an alien creature caught inside it. I started to wonder what would it be like if a giant, dead creature was part of everyday life? If Godzilla and Cloverfield were more like September 11, then I wanted ours to be like Afghanistan where it just becomes part of everyday life. I wanted to travel through that world.

MM: I understand that the only cast actors in this were your two leads, how do you go about finding Whitney and Scoot (below)?
GE: It’s a funny story. They were actually dating at the time. They had been going out four months and they made a pact and said `if we get through this movie, we will get married’. So it’s really my doing. MM: (Laughs) No way. Maybe they can name a kid after you, Monster Jr perhaps?
GE: Yeah, I should get a percentage of whatever their future children make or earn.

MM: Now, the question I’ve been dying to ask . . .everyone’s got to have a theme song right? What’ your theme song?
GE: (Laughs) Oh, wow. You get an award for a brand new question. I have not had a new question in months. And that’s such an obvious one too! That’s fantastic, I’m stimulated. Well, the theme song for this film would have been Judy Garland’s original version of Over The Rainbow if we could have got that cleared. I wanted it to play over the trailer all scratchy because I have this whole The Wizard Of Oz theme going on where they were sort of following the brick road and the buildings looked like the Emerald City. But then I watched Baz Luhrman’s Australia and it had all of those themes so I scratched that.

MM: Bloody Baz. The film is very naturalistic, especially the interactions between characters. How much was scripted and how much was improvised?
GE: I basically write it out, but it felt like it had two layers. One layer in black ink was what physically happens and then in blue ink what emotionally happens and then fold them together for the script. We were very opportunistic with locations and we would turn up somewhere and go `this is the scene we’re doing’ and leave it very much up to the actors. They knew what we wanted from the scene but neither knew what the other one was going to say. Besides Scoot and Whitney everyone else are non-actors and people we met on the journey. I would just tell them what’s going on and they do what they do. You can’t really give non-actors dialogue because it looks forced.

MM: I felt like there were a lot of really subtle and suspenseful moments that eventually build up to make a bigger impact, was that your intention?
GE: It’s kind of like foreplay really.

MM: (Laughs) Well, that scene with the two aliens looks very much like foreplay.
GE: (Laughs) I actually called that shot – I have labelled everything in the computer, given it names instead of numbers because it’s confusing - and that shot was called `creature orgasm’. I even made sure one tentacle went up and in too (laughs). When I was doing the sound with the German guys I was trying to say to them that I wanted the female alien in that scene louder and they said they were making it louder but it sounded quieter to me and then finally we worked out that they thought the one on the right was the female and I thought the one on the left was and then we had this big debate and I said the one on the right had to be the male because he walks away first.

MM: (Laughs) The characters were really authentic, especially the sleaziness of the photographer at the start. I could really compare that to a few in my office . . .
GE: Well, the reason I wanted to do a photographer was something I thought I could relate to, being obsessed with something, documenting, filming, and your career. Scoot for his research followed around his friend Andrew Calder who is a photojournalist and asked him about his experiences.

MM: Now tell me about some of the bigger message about the media, terrorism, immigration, the environment, that are within Monsters?
GE: Some of the themes that were brought up by the characters were sort of about us. Like with the media, us making the film that we’ve come to a poorer country to benefit for the sake of our film. All stories are only good when they’re about something else. They’re life lessons and ways of making a point about something that’s why we like stories because you want advice about something that hasn’t happened to you so if it does you can survive it. What’s true with monster movies, there were few I was really keen to get in there like the terrorism one, you have these fanatsical creatures and have to base it on real thing. Every element of the creature had to pull from the real world to justify it. Like the people who were living there and getting killed when they would come by for mating seasons and people would say, `why don’t you move?’ Well, it’s just like living in a hurricane damaged area. What people latch on to the most, says more about the person.

MM: Monsters seems to be getting an overwhelmingly positive response, is that gratifying?
GE: I think it really divides people. You go to some film festivals and they will tell you what’s wrong with it, like you don’t know or you can fix it. I kind of feel like how people do that is human nature, like having a wedding and people saying the food was great but your wife is fat and I think you could do better. And fair enough too, people have paid their $10 to see the film, not to me but to whoever they pay it to, and they think they have the right to come up and say. It can be quite a shock, but I’m getting used to it.

MM: (Laughs) Really? That surprises me because I’ve been looking at some of the responses online and in forums and they mostly seem to be positive.
GE: We get smashed on some of those forums. I wish they could post photos with the comment so then could relax and go `oh, it’s just you.’

MM: (Laughs) So who are the monsters? It seems like we, humans, are more so than the creatures in a lot of respects.
GE: I’m happy for people to walk away from it with that opinion. I’m happy for people to say there are no monsters in this movie, creatures or humans. It’s a bit like doing a war film and calling it Evil, that doesn’t represent either side. So, how can an animal be a monster really? It’s just trying to survive.

MM: You’re involved in Monsters at every level, you do the visual effects, you wrote and directed it, you were the cinematographer, production designer, I mean obviously this is your baby, but why was it so important for you to be involved at every level?
GE: It’s just easier. I like how a lot of art films are made by individuals. If someone writes a book on their own no one says they’re a control freak or can’t work in a team. Filmmaking for a long time has been an industrial process and now with all the technology and all the resources…it is like your baby. It’s like being a surrogate mother where this thing grows inside you and you have to hand over. More recently though I’ve realised it’s like being a victim of kidnapping. Like, they take it from you and ring you up and say `it won’t sleep, what food does it like’ and you’re like `too late, it’s yours now’.

MM: (Laughs) I read online that the budget was around $500, 000 is that right? And if so, how the heck did you do it?
GE: I don’t know . . .it was below six figures. We had a micro budget and the exact figure depends on where you draw line.

MM: I understand the post-production process was quite intense, with you locked in your room for hours completing the special effects shots and so forth. Tell me about that.
GE: Yeah, you do get a bit of cabin fever but I kind of enjoy it weirdly. I became nocturnal and end up working through the night. I liked it because I have this strange, post-apocalyptic fantasy about how I’m the last person on Earth and I live in central London and when I would go for a walk at 3am to have a break and you don’t see anyone, you could really imagine that. You could convince yourself that everyone has left the city then come back home, chuck on a B-movie and keep working.

MM: There seems to be a newfound subgenre of indie sci-fi films such as yours and things like District 9 and Moon etc, and audiences and critics have really responded well. What is it about the more understated branch of sci-fi that has become so popular?
GE: I guess it’s more there was this gimmick factor, a race, an imaginary list of `oh my god, we’ve got computer graphics, what can we do now? Let’s do a disaster film, then destructive weather, giant armies, furry creatures’. I feel like we hit the end of the list, thank God, and now like `oh shit, we’ve done everything we can do’ and now there’s this generation of kids who grew up with that technology and who are making films and going `lets go back to the story’. Like the 70s and early 80s have some of my favourite films and they don’t have to freeze frame and race around in 360 degrees when a bullet goes through a window. Jurassic Park, which really started this whole love affair with CGI, said it best - "just because you could, doesn’t mean you should." It’s like being a gynaecologist, when you see it everyday it stops turning you on. The honeymoon is over with CGI I hope. Things are only special and weird and amazing for a short period of time, and then it becomes normal. CGI was amazing, but there’s more technologically amazing things and it’s missing the point of filmmaking.

MM: (Laughs) Oh my God, where do you keep coming up with these analogies?
GE: (Laughs) I’ve no idea.

Monsters is out now.

Favourite Movie Friday with Mark Fennell

He's my third favourite Australian film critic (behind Margaret and David, but ahead of Leigh Paatsch) and I interviewed Mark Fennell (above) earlier this year about his judging role at a local film festival. I’m yet to take him up on his offer of a tour through the Triple J studio in Sydney, but as I bide my time here are his favourite movie picks:

“I have a couple of films I watch again and again; The Insider, Romeo + Juliet, American Beauty, Donnie Darko and Fight Club. I’m a big sucker for films that mix interesting ideas about the world and amazing visuals and a lot of charisma, you will generally find I forgive a lot of everything else. You will probably get a good mark out of me.”

MM: What about this year? Has there been anything you have loved or really hated?

“Hated . . .Cop Out. Basically it was these two characters just trying to out-funny each other. It’s a shame because I know Kevin Smith is capable of greatness and he’s lovely and such a really interesting and engaging guy. Movies I’ve liked are Fantastic Mr Fox and In The Loop, Kick Ass was fantastic and Inception.”

For the Marc Fennell special-features I recommend you visit his site here, which links to the far superior blog *grumble*

Favourite Movie Friday with Anthony Fabian

He got under our skin earlier this year with his apartheid drama, er, Skin (above) and director Anthony Fabian shares his cinematic faves here:

“I love early New Wave French cinema, then things like Blow Up and The Servant. I’m a big fan of contemporary French cinema and I like how they still support films that aren’t obviously commercial.”

For all the Fabian goodness, you can read my review of Skin here.

The Chronicles of Narnia: voyage of the cutest cast member

From an exclusive on set visit and some of the first Narnia pics in the world, to paddling out in the Seaway to cover the shoot, I’ve followed The Chronicles Of Narnia: Voyage Of The Dawn Treader’s progress pretty closely. Okay, I‘ve verged on stalker. But the legion of Narnia fans out there seem to appreciate it, so that shall remain my defense.

Anyway, with the big flick out next Thursday I thought why not bring you an exclusive with the franchise's newest cast member - 10-year-old Arabella Morton (above). After appearing in several commercials for Sizzler and Holden, the aspiring actress from Brisbane got her big break when she auditioned for a role in Voyage Of The Dawn Treader last June. The only catch was, she didn't actually know what she was auditioning for.
"Her agent found out about the auditions and we didn't want to freak her out, so we didn't tell her what she was actually auditioning for,'' said mum Sam Morton.

"When she got there, there were literally hundreds of kids going in all day.

"Someone told her when she was in there what they were auditioning for and she was amazed.

"Then when she got called back for a second audition with the director Michael Apted, we knew she was up there.''

Growing up as a fan of the Narnia movies, Arabella said she was `shocked' to even audition, let alone get the role.
"At first I had no idea it was Narnia,'' she said.

"I was amazed, the whole thing was amazing and you would just never think it.

"It was just great.

"I've always quite enjoyed the (Narnia) movies and I like all the adventure and magic.``Some movies you can't get stuck into it, but with this you can.''Voyage Of The Dawn Treader is the first movie role for the Ipswich Grammar School student and Arabella said she was `star struck' by her fellow cast mates, particularly actress Georgie Henley, who plays Lucy Pevensie (Arabella (L) with Georgie (R) above).

"I'm quite a fan of Georgie and I've always related to Lucy,'' she said.

"When I actually met Georgie I was quite star struck .

"She's an amazing actress and very patient, she was really nice and funny.

"She told me to be yourself and taught me that you can be silly on set, as long as you're not silly when you're acting.

"Sometimes she would play around on set when we had a break otherwise she was really good and teaching me to calm down with the acting thing and how to switch in and out of character.''

Another mentor for her on set was director Michael Apted, who is behind such hits as Gorillas In The Mist and James Bond: The World Is Not Enough.

"He was really nice,'' she said of the industry veteran.``He can be a bit strict sometimes, but he's a great director.''

Arabella plays Gael in the film, a new role which has got a fair amount of interest from hardcore Narnia fans. If you really want to know the specifics of the role there are plenty of online forums, but being the traditionalist that I am, I'm keeping mum.

"No one would have known about it until it came out, but when she was shooting on the ship (Dawn Treader) at Cleveland we were outside and people got pictures of her walking around on set,'' said mum Sam.

"Die hard fans couldn't work out who she was in the story.''

Arabella too said it has been difficult to keep the details of her character a secret, especially from school friends.

"Its been hard because at school girls ask you but you can't really tell them anything,'' she said.

"You have to watch the movie and then you can ask questions.

"You can't tell them every single detail, you can tell them who you are in the movie but not every part of the plot.''

The plot might be under wraps, but the scale of the multi-million dollar production is not. From the 100ft Dawn Trader (above) to creature effects and costumes, Arabella said she was blown away by the set.

"It was definitely extraordinary,'' she said.

"And even though a scene might only be there (on screen) for two minutes, you would still go `wow'.

"There was not one thing that looked empty, everything was perfect.``There was not a stick or stone out of place.''

Arabella spent six months filming with the Narnia crew, working eight to ten hours a day and then backing up for schoolwork with a private tutor. It's quite the workload for a 10-year-old, and although she said she has had several other movie offers since Narnia, she is going to take a break and concentrate on school for a while. That is, at least until the next blockbuster role comes along. She said her part in Narnia is `a really good shot' for making it in other big-budget Hollywood films.

In the meantime though, Arabella and her mum are off to the UK for the London premiere where they will walk the red carpet and meet the Queen. Yes, that Queen.
"The last time I was in London I was nine months old so I don't remember a single thing and I'm so excited to see it all,'' she said.

"It's absolutely amazing, my mum has waited all her life to meet the Queen and when we found out she was running around the place.''

The Chronicles Of Narnia: Voyage Of The Dawn Treader will be the Queen's first 3D movie and lets hope the amazing, out-of-the-screen visuals don't make it her last. To keep up to date on the epic cuteness that is Arabella Morton, her Facebook fan page is the way to go. The latest Narnia installment is out Thursday, December 2.

White and Nerdy

I know this isn't strictly movie-related, but screw that. Weird Al Yankovic (above) has had such an influence on pop culture and the very nature of parody in general, I would be mad at myself if I didn't post the full transcript of my interview with him this afternoon. For the record, yes, he was awesome AND I did slip a movie-related question in, so there (*insert pout*).

Movie Mazzupial: Firstly, I must say it’s a pleasure to meet you albeit via phone, I’m quite the fan.
Weird Al Yankovic: Fantastic, that’s lovely to hear. Thank you.

MM: Oh I suppose you’re used to hearing that all the time.
WAY: Not from you though.

MM: (Laughs) True. So where are you speaking to me from now Al?
WAY: I’m in Hawaii right now with family. I’m having a bit of a holiday for my daughter's Thanksgiving break and we have a place here in Maui, my wife and I.

MM: Wow, that sounds amazing. Way to make me jealous.
WAY: (Laughs) Sorry.

MM: So Al, you’re considered the world’s premier pop parodist and have been doing this for decades, what is it that keeps it fresh for you? Surely you’ve been doing it so long it’s not weird any more? Isn’t it straight, normal, square Al now?
WAY: (Laughs) I’m not weird all the time. I’m not bouncing off the walls 24 hours a day, but I still manage to crank-up the weirdness on stage when it merits it. It’s the audience that keep it fresh.

MM: You’ve parodied some classics, what makes a song worthy of the Weird Al treatment?
WAY: There are no rules set in concrete. I tend to pick a song that I think a lot of people will be familiar with it, but what it really boils down to is me coming up with a song that I have good ideas for. It’s easy to have an idea, I have a lot of bad ones, so the ones that are good you have to grab.

MM: From Madonna to Michael Jackson, is there a particular act at the moment you’re just dying to parody?
WAY: I’m working on stuff for the new album at the moment so my answer would be probably in those new songs. But unfortunately for you, I tend to keep mum about new releases.

MM: You know, that’s really quite mean, but I digress. Your parodies have become classics in and of themselves and when I mentioned in the office that I was chatting to you today people have been telling me how much they love The Saga Continues and the Frank Zappa one. Do you have a personal favourite?
WAY: That’s nice to hear. Parody-wise White and Nerdy is maybe my favourite. It’s my biggest hit and I thought it’s a fairly autobiographical song. I didn’t have to do a whole lot of research on being white and nerdy, you know? That was from my point of view.

MM: (Laughs) That’s understandable. Once you get approval from artists and then record a song like You’re Pitiful, and the record company takes back approval, is that frustrating? Or artists who say they’re fans and then won’t let you use their songs?
WAY: It’s only really happened once with You’re Pitiful, which was a rare and unique case. It’s the only time when a record company has stood in front of the artists wishes. I don’t know why, when from their point of view whenever I do a parody the original artist sells more records. I don’t know what their logic was. The record is still out there on the internet and people still hear it, they just don’t pay for it.

MM: Even though you took the piss out of Michael Jackson a few times, from what I’ve read it sounds like you two had a pretty good relationship.
WAY: I can’t say we were close friends and to be clear it’s not like I parodied him a whole bunch of times, just twice. He was a good sport about it and he approved both parodies. He lent us his Subway set which we shot Fat on and Michael Jackson is one of the main reasons I have a career that’s still going today. My second album had Eat It on it and without the success of that, which Michael approved, I mightn’t have ever had that third album and so on. MM: What is it about pop culture that lends itself to parody?
WAY: Pop culture has always lent itself to parody. There’s always something idiotic that lends itself to pop culture, especially within the pop music side of it. So when I do it it feels like I’m letting the air out of the balloon for everyone.

MM: So are there any balloons in music at the moment you’re dying to let the air out of?
WAY: It’s better to keep the jokes quiet because, like I said, I’m working on a new album at the moment and the jokes aren’t funny when you know them before hand.

MM: You’re dangling the carrot again.
WAY: (Laughs) Sorry.

MM: Is there a particular code of ethics you have when it comes to taking the piss out of people?
WAY: I’m not sure how to answer that exactly. My humour isn’t mean spirited. I have fun with the artist's music, but very rarely is it at the artist's expense. I tend not to step on peoples toes and I think that’s the reason why artists approve the parodies and why I’ve been able to have such a long career doing this.

MM: When I tweeted I was interviewing you this afternoon there was a huge response from people dying to ask you questions, but mostly it was just praise for you. Do you ever get used to how much you’re appreciated by fans?
WAY: Really? That’s so nice. It has been happening for a while I suppose, but it never gets old. I honestly and sincerely appreciate it.

MM: Well, what’s the weirdest thing a fan has done for you? Or to you I guess?
WAY: (Laughs) It’s a hard question to answer. I usually answer that by saying the tattoos people get. There have been a few dozen people around the world who have had Weird Al tattoos, God bless them. Whether I’ve signed them and they rush straight to the tattoo parlour and get it inked or it’s been my lyrics or face . . .that seems like the right choice for them but then I end up putting a lot of pressure on myself to not suck. I don’t have anything against tattoos, my wife has a couple, but that’s not something I could ever see myself doing.

MM: I read that one of the only reasons you’re against peer to peer file sharing is because you make an effort to put out quality work and then people parody you under your name, is that frustrating?
WAY: I wouldn’t say that’s the only problem I have with peer to peer, but it’s aggravating when I’ve spent decades trying to create this brand. I like to put out quality and there are a lot of things out there that aren’t which have my name on them. Then I get irate emails from parents that say `my eight-year-old listened to your song and it had all these terrible words in it’ and so on. Here’s a good hint – if you buy my album, then that’s my music on it.

MM: Do you often find time to chill out with a Twinkie wiener sandwich?
WAY: (Laughs) Well, not so many wiener ones now that I’m a vegetarian. They’re tofu now. But I’m not so sure the Twinkie doesn’t have meat properties in it, like beef properties. I ate about seven of them during the filming of UHF and that was really enough for me.

MM: (Laughs) God, I don’t know how you got through seven. A lot of your success has been via music videos, how have you been able to update and exploit that with modern technology and sites like Facebook, Twitter and the other social networks?
WAY: I got kind of dragged into that kicking and screaming. My wife got me on to MySpace way back when mainly because there were Weird Al impersonators putting up personal pictures and saying `here’s me with my family and here’s me with my wife'. It was creepy and totally identity theft. The only way I could combat that is with my own account. I now enjoy them quite a bit, particularly Twitter. I use that at least once a day, it’s quite addictive.

MM: From when you started and just used to tour North America and Canada, to now where you come to Europe and even us here in Australia, that must be a great measure of your success?
WAY: The bulk is still in North America and Canada, but it’s nice to explore the touring fan base. Australia has been great, don’t quote me on this but I think it’s my third Australian tour, and every time it gets bigger and better. In Europe, I start my first tour there in a week with just five dates. I didn’t have much of a fan base there 10 years ago, but thanks to the internet and YouTube there’s a fan base there now. It’s great if they can find my stuff online and do it that way because if you become a fan of the material, you become a fan of me.

MM: Amidst all your jokes and cleverness, do you find your musicality gets overlooked?
WAY: Not by real fans. Some detractors that aren’t familiar with my whole body of work think `oh, he’s just the guy who changes around the words of other peoples songs’. It’s easy enough to change words around, but it’s hard to do it well and consistently. Then the whole other half of my oeuvre is original material which sounds like other artists or other bands, but are completely original music and lyrics.

For Weird Al's full list of tour dates and venues, click here.

Favourite films with Hoodoo Gurus Brad Shepherd

Yeah, that’s right, I’m totally a bad ass at mixing up the talent for Favourite Film Friday. To demonstrate that, Hoodoo Guru’s guitarist Brad Shepherd tells me what’s his scene (boom-tish) when it comes to movies:

"My favourite movie of all time is Jean Cocteau’s Beauty and the Beast, La Belle et la Bete, it is literally like poetry in motion. And Russ Meyer’s Beyond The Valley Of The Dolls, Roman Polanski’s Chinatown and I love all of Jack Nicholson’s work through the 70s and so on. I love film noir in general. Born To Kill, Where The Sidewalk Ends, that entire genre I adore."

Favourite Movie Friday with Gareth Edwards

I have a killer interview coming up with British wunderkind Gareth Edwards next week, but I thought I would introduce you to him briefly now with his favourite movie picks:

“Star Wars, early Spielberg stuff when I was a kid, then you get older and like things like Scorsese and Coppola and Kubrick. Thankfully I think there’s more great films that I haven’t seen so when I get a life back I can’t wait to start going through some of the classics. My favourite movie could be still out there and I just don’t know it yet. That should be every filmmaker’s job really, to make that film.”

His debut feature Monsters is out Thursday, November 25 and he writes, produces, designs, directs and does the visual-effects on the indie sci-fi darling.

Favourite Movie Friday with Sean Byrne

His demented Aussie horror The Loved Ones is loved by more than one, and Sean Byrne consequently loves many a film. Here are his favourites:

“I probably sound like every other director in Australia but Pulp Fiction is a favourite of mine. That plays perfectly, like a record, and there are so many great sequences in that film that would play perfectly as short films on their own. I’m a huge fan of Lynch’s Blue Velvet, Lost Highway. Also films by Paul Thomas Anderson, early John Woo, Scorsese, Coppola, that great era of 70s filmmaking where they had a lot of say over the content and the studio wasn’t so involved. Also Raimi and Peter Jackson.”

To love your very own ones read my stories here, here and here.

Favourite Movie Friday with Christian McKay

With Oscar season approaching, it seems Brit Christian McKay is an outside chance for a best supporting actor nod for his role as Orson Welles in Me and Orson Welles. If all was fair and just in the world, I would like to see him at least get a nomination. Alas, if he can’t, at least he will have shared his favourite movies with you here:

“The Kid of Chaplin, I couldn’t do without it, it breaks my heart. Then all the usual ones and Chimes at Midnight by Orson, love that.”

To get reacquainted with Christian, click here.

Favourite Movie Friday with Ben C. Lucas

Are you prepared for this? No, I mean really prepared? You better be, because I have a whole swag of Favourite Movie Friday entries coming up, starting with these choices Aussie filmmaker Ben C. Lucas shared with me:

“Sympathy For Lady Vengeance, it’s a Korean film and it’s absolutely impeccable. Fight Club, Princess Bride, Labyrinth, Old Boy . . .there are too many for me to be comprehensive. I just admire a fresh and unique view on cinema and every now and again when they get all the pieces together.”

If you want to get the full lo-down on the director and his extraordinary film Wasted On The Young, click here and here.

The gaylien invasion begins

Skyline is the latest in a string of alien invasion flicks that have been hitting our screens over the past few years and it brings nothing new to the genre. In fact, it almost makes a point to bring to nothing new and instead takes moments from the most iconic alien films instead. From Independence Day to District 9, and Alien to Cloverfield, Skyline is literally an hour and a half of watching those films be ripped off by new filmmakers.

A group of friends hung over in LA wake to see a bright light shining through their apartment window. Turns out, it's the glow of beams from an alien ship that is sucking humans up into the sky once they're transfixed on the light. Although they manage to avoid the initial onslaught, the next few days sees the group try and avoid the legion of alien creatures which roam the city searching for survivors with fresh brains.

Skyline is the directed by The Brothers Strause, who are the visual effects masters behind Avatar, The Day After Tomorrow, 300, The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button, 2012, Titanic and pretty much every other incredible effects-laden film of the past 15-years. So the effects in this are as impressive as you would expect; from the creatures to the alien ships, there's nothing to fault. The acting, however, is something else altogether. The only recognisable face is Donald Faison, who is famous for playing Turk on Scrubs. Buffy fanatics such as myself will recognsie Eric Balfour (above) as the ill-fated Jesse, but that's it. Everyone else comes from a supporting cast and minor role background, and it shows thanks to some seriously telemovie-grade acting. The characters themselves are also shallow, annoying and painfully stupid which doesn't help add to the film's suspense when the whole time you're hoping the tentacled creature will capture them and relive us of their presence.

Skyline sucks in every sense of the word, that is, right up until the surprising last five minutes. Without giving anything away, the filmmakers are obviously gearing up for a sequel. They have done so by recreating a plot point from anime film Appleseed which, if executed properly, could make Skyline 2 a much better film than this. Here's hoping.

Harry Potter killed the radio star

But I triumphed, so everybody relax. For those who associate reading with death, you can watch my video review of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 HERE. In other news, Wingardium Leviosa!

That Fighter spirit

You may remember me harping on about Mark Wahlberg’s project The Fighter a while back. He plays Irish boxer Mickey Ward and the film follows his early years when he was trained by his brother before he went pro in the 80s. Directed by David O Russell (who worked with Wahlberg previously on I Heart Huckabees and Three Kings), it also stars Christian Bale as Ward’s brother, Amy Adams as the love interest and Melissa Leo as the mother. I spoke to Mark Wahlberg exclusively about the film earlier this year and he had this to say;

“Mickey Ward is probably my favourite (character I’ve played). It hasn’t come out yet, it’s December 10th. It’s a film I produced, starred in and took four and a half years to get made. I’m very, very excited about it. It turned out really well.”

From the superbly acted and dramatic trailer below, I would have to say I agree with him. Although Bale, whoa, can that guy transform himself or what? He’s gone back to his The Machinist frame and even acquired a bald patch for the role, which looks like a return to his more versatile and brilliant acting days. I cannot wait.

Pottering about

Just a few hours ago I attended the Australian premiere of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 at Warner Bros Movie World - complete with pyrotechnics, champagne, those salmon thingies and prancing wizard impersonators. Oh yeah, there was also the movie.

It has been 10-years since audiences first met the boy who lived. Of course, we millions who had read and fallen in love with the book series knew Harry Potter was something special. Yet it took the film franchise, now the most successful of all time, to truly make J.K Rowling’s world an immortal phenomenon. The Deathly Hallows: Part 1 is the first half of the final book,which has been split into two parts because a) a shit load happens and b) two films make more than one. Anywho, after the death of Dumbledore (Michael Gambon), both the wizard and Muggle worlds have changed dramatically; people are being abducted, murdered and tortured by Voldemort and his Death Eaters as they continue their quest for world domination (mouhaha). Sadly, Voldemort strokes a basilisk as opposed to a hairless cat, but I digress.

Our heroes Harry (Daniel Radcliffe), Ron (Rupert Grint) and Hermione (Emma Watson) are preparing to continue Dumbledore’s mission and find and destroy the last of the Horcuxes to defeat he who must not be named aka Ralph Fiennes minus a nose. Their time comes when the Ministry Of Magic is taken over and the trio are forced to flee. Scared, alone and out of ideas, they travel the countryside searching for the remaining horcruxes and a way to destroy them. That’s not to mention trying to stay one step ahead of the snatchers on their trial and a case of cabin fever to boot. Yeah, things have changed a lot for those crazy kids since their Hogwarts days.

Firstly, let me address all the overly sensitive parental types out there who are going to see this latest Harry Potter film and go `it’s too dark for children and nothing like the earlier ones.’ Shut. It. Of course it’s not for children, it’s rated M and given some of the themes and torture-lite scenes, that’s rightly so. Also, we were first introduced to these characters when they were 11. Not surprising the same `issues’ they had then aren’t going to be quite the same as now. Things have got darker, the road is harder and the stakes are higher.

Director David Yates has done a superb job at getting those three points across quickly and concisely. He wastes no time in setting up the gravity of the situation as we are shown each of the characters reflecting on their past and making heartbreaking decisions about their future (namely Hermione wiping the memories of her parents). Then we are thrown into the action. The chases, the explosions, the genius magical plans and flawless special-effects we have come to associate with the franchise are all handled the way they usually are – perfectly. Just when things get too dark or too depressing, a Weasley line is thrown in or Dobby appears to relieve the tension. And boy is there plenty of tension. The audience couldn’t help but let out a few squeals during some particularly jump-inducing moments.

But it is somewhere just past the halfway point Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 starts to lose its momentum. After the action-packed first half, the scenes camping, while charming at first, become tedious and uncomfortably slow. Essentially they are repeating the same point and a good 15 minutes could have been saved by cropping together. Something that does make this Harry Potter stand out from the others is just how closely it follows the book, whereas previous films have cut out entire characters and major plot points. The split film has given Yates and screenwriter Steve Kloves more to work with and they have even added a few scenes. In particular, the fantastic moment between Harry and Hermione as they dance to a Nick Cave song in the tent and a rather edgy animated sequence towards the end (which I’m dying to know who made it).

The performances are great, with Helena Bonham Carter stealing every scene she’s in as the delightfully demented Bellatrix Lestrange. Honourable mentions too need to go to new Pott-heads Rhys Ifans as loopy Xenophillius Lovegood, Bill Nighy as the Minister Of Magic and returning cast members David Thewlis, Tom Felton and Evanna Lynch. Radcliffe and Grint are both fine and Watson has developed this almost Natalie Portman-esque presence where your eyes can’t help but stay glued to her every time she’s on screen.

My gripe with Deathly Hallows: Part 1 is it doesn’t feel like a complete film, it feels like it’s pure purpose is to set up the next film. Which, I guess, is essentially true. That's no excuse though, because despite The Lord Of The Rings trilogy all leading on closely from one another, you felt like you had come full circle and not just been cut out midway through the story. Warts and all, by the time fans get to Voldemort’s light saber boner at the end they will be dying for the final installment. Even if that means an end to over a decade of magic.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 opens worldwide on Thursday. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 will no doubt be the cinematic event of 2011 and is released July 14.

Kwanten mechanics

He’s one of Australia’s biggest rising star’s and yesterday, I caught up with the hunkilicious Ryan Kwanten. The True Blood rig was in Brisbane with director Patrick Hughes ahead of the Queensland premiere of their film Red Hill at the Brisbane International Film Festival. I sat down with the lads for an exclusive chat about Red Hill, neo-westerns and `rabid’ fans. Enjoy the full transcript below.

Movie Mazzupial: You guys are here at the Brisbane International Film Festival to introduce Red Hill, it’s playing at the Gold Coast Film Festival on Saturday and after playing at Berlin International Film Festival it got picked up so quickly, how important are these festivals for getting the film out there and noticed?

Patrick Hughes: They’re brilliant. It’s the perfect platform for film buffs and to get your film in front of film buffs. What I think it helps create is word of mouth and to spread the buzz. And obviously it’s a great way to sell your movie too (laughs).

MM: Is it a great opportunity to scout and attract other talent to your projects, as well and get them interested?

PH: Yeah, I think the whole thing is a really nice networking tool as well.

Ryan Kwanten: To be surrounded by like minded people-

PH: -yeah, and other filmmakers and other actors. I know Ryan and I had a great deal of fun in playing this at festivals since February at Berlin.

RK: Berlin, we went to Hawaii, Austin, Spain.

MM: Cool, so just like a holiday really?

RK: (Laughs) Not really.

MM: How did you guys feel about the response you got at Berlin?

PH: It was incredible. Ryan and I were both sort of-

RK: -I can’t say we weren’t nervous, because we were. . .

MM: Well, it’s a very prestigious festival.

RK: Yeah.

PH: Yes, it was a really huge deal, especially for our film. Especially under the circumstances -the fact that we had an incredible cast and crew involved and no distributor. To take it to Berlin and 48 hours later, after our first screening, to have pretty much sold it and of course Sony picking it up . . .if felt like that was the wonderful sort of stamp of approval.

RK: That we weren’t mad, that we weren’t the only ones that believed we had something to say. And that it wasn’t just an Aussie film, it crossed borders.

PH: Exactly.

MM: Ryan, this is the first Aussie project you’ve done in eight years. What was it about Red Hill (below) that made you decide this was the one you wanted to do?

RK: It was the script, it was Patrick and ultimately it was knowing that I'd be coming back to Australia. It was the cherry on an already pretty tasty cake. It was never about the money, this job, it was just playing a good, solid character and this is every young boy’s dream – to wield a gun and save a city from imminent death.

MM: Now that you’ve made it in the US-

RK: -I like to think of it as quite a few rungs to go.

MM: So, in the process of making that cake, how-

RK: (Laughs) Nicely done. You are a writer.

MM: (Laughs) So they say . . .With no offense intended, you sort of took a gamble with Patrick, who comes from a very prestigious short film background, but this was his debut feature. You were willing to take that gamble and trust he had the goods?

RK: Yeah. I don’t have an abundance of good qualities, but I like to think one that I do is the ability to pick the genuineness of people and it's a fairly apparent Aussie trait that a lot of us have. I picked that up not only that from Patrick, but this enormous amount of angst mixed with passion. It was the angst of trying to get his film made and it took so long getting that and, like you said, he had a really prestigious commercial and short film background, and then hearing the stories of how hard it was to get to this point. Hearing him say he mortgaged his house, that sort of spoke to his . . .what’s the trait? God, help me out Patrick.

PH: (Laughs)

RK: It spoke more than anything else.

MM: How much did it help you getting someone like Ryan onboard?

PH: We were in the position where I’d written the script and I’d raised the finance and the money to get film made and the next port of call was to find your lead. I really, really wanted to throw the script at Ryan. He was my first choice.

MM: You got your first choice, wow.

PH: Yep, and I got it incredibly quickly too. When you just have a script and you don’t have a studio behind you that can throw deals down and as a first time filmmaker it all comes down to the script. I remember my manager over there in Hollywood said `who do you want to get this in front of?’ I said `get it in front of Ryan’ and literally the next day Ryan called me and he’d read it and we really hit it off over the phone. As a first time filmmaker, like Ryan said, you have to sell your passion and I think that was something that really connected us. He was passionate about creating work and wanting to try and do something. I guess this film was an uphill battle and at that point when Ryan jumped on board I thought `wow, I’ve got a real movie now.’

RK: And it really had to be a connection for us immediately because we didn’t have the time on set to talk and get all moody with it and start talking about `what’s my motivation here?’ You just go in and do it. There’s no façade, there’s no bullshit, no egos, lets just get the job done. So there was no real rehearsal period. I came straight from Louisiana into Omni and straight into the first scene with Pat the first time. We went into the most emotional scene in the film. That’s how a film is done. That’s how we like to shoot.

PH: (Laughs) Originally it was like war film filmmaking. At the end of the day we’re here, we’ve got four weeks, lets just tell the story. It’s the kind of film that because of the scale of it, it was sort of epic in scope an scale – there’s hardly a scene where there’s not a shoot out or car chase with guns.

MM: They way it should be.

PH: Exactly right.

RK: We made a film that we would want to go and see.

PH: We want to see that on the big screen. We wanted to make a cinematic experience and visceral film. It’s the kind of film that unless you can get the incredible cast on board, because of the speed we were moving at . . .you know, to get Ryan, Steve Bisley and to get Tommy Lewis. I knew that each time I called action these guys were going to nail it.

MM: Could this be the return of the Australian Western, do you think? (Above, Patrick Hughes and Ryan Kwanten)

PH: Well, we’ve got a long history of them, but we like to call it a neo-western. It’s an outdoor thriller and potentially Die Hard in the high country. I guess if you look at the history of the country and the foundation of America, they’re not dissimilar. I felt like knowing that region and looking at the small country town, they’re all boom towns. It’s interesting you look at the old westerns and they’re all set in these towns and what is that town a hundred years later? It’s like a relic of its former self and you have these towns that are dying. Essentially that’s what Red Hill is about.

MM: Right, so what’s it like for you to be back in Australia now?

RK: With this?

MM: Yeah.

RK: It’s a week. It’s somewhat of a fleeting visit but I’ll take it. It’s been Melbourne, Brisbane and then my home town of Sydney.

MM: Have you had any time for family and friend visits?

RK: I tend to make time. On Saturday night I could have stayed at the hotel, but I stayed at Mum and Dad’s. I said I’ll come back and stay in the old single bed. I don’t think my room has changed at all.

MM: Take them your washing that kind of thing.

RK: (Laughs) You know it. Wait, what are you trying to say?

PH: (Laughs) Don’t get him in trouble.

MM: (Laughs) Now you have many roles with the film, you directed, wrote, produced and edited –

RK: He played the panther too by the way. You can see it in the close up.

MM: (Laughs) Good heavens. How does it feel to have it out there, you’re baby is out for public consumption?

PH: It’s wonderful. It’s fantastic. The film has been going incredibly since February and playing at festivals all around the world and having this incredible response. I think the biggest thing for us was, the high, was finishing it and having the world premiere at Berlin. And then selling it was then like `wow’. So certainly, you know, I got inspired by some of my favourite filmmakers who were frustrated trying to get films up in the past. I looked at all of my favourite filmmakers and realised they all had to crazy things and mortgage their houses to get their first film made.

MM: Fully, like Rodriguez.

PH: Yeah, Rodriguez, the Coen Brothers, George Miller, Christopher Nolan, every single one of them and I felt like I had done full circle. I mean, I shoot commercials with 10 times the budget of this film. It kind of went back to the days where I was making shorts in film school and high school. You had to take that mentality and go `right, we’re going to make a movie and shoot it on this day and you either jump onboard or you don’t.’ Fortunately for myself and for everybody involved we were lucky enough to get a terrific cast and crew.

MM: Now, from this role of Shane Cooper to Charles Manson in The Family, if feels like you are making a conscious decision to get as far away from Jason Stackhouse as possible. Is that what you’re setting out to do?

RK: I’m not really setting out to do it but I want to do what interests me. Nothing could be more uninspiring than playing another character like Jason. I love playing him for the six months that I do it, but when I’m not shooting it, I don’t want to . . .I know I’ve got more inside of me so why go and just rest on my laurels and do something that’s easy.

RK: The what?

PH: The internet?

MM: What is the weirdest thing that a fan lady has done?

RK: Oh . . .what target market is this?

MM: We’re a daily newspaper.

RK: Kids will be reading this?

MM: Well, yeah.

RK: Ok, then I can’t say that (laughs).

MM: No, you can, I just won’t print it.

RK: No, look, I have some very rabid fans who know more about me than I do and more about the characters than I do. But at the end of the day though, my mum has raised me very well and said `their the ones paying your bills Ryan so you’ve got to be respectful and time and give them, even if its just two minutes of your time.’

MM: Give them that lock of your hair . . .

RK: I’ve got thick hair so they can take it.

(Above) And, as promised, Rigor Morton, Patrick Hughes, Movie Mazzupial and Ryan Kwanten.

Red Hill is out in cinemas on Thursday, November 26. It also plays at the Gold Coast Film Festival tonight at 7pm.

Wading into the Hallows . . .

Gold Coasters will be only the second audience in the world to see the latest Harry Potter film, just hours after the stars walked the red carpet at the world premiere in London (above). Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 is having its Australian premiere at Warner Brothers Movie World tonight less than 40 hours after the star-studded UK event.

Warner Village Theme Parks Brand Manger Meagan Miller said they have had a `phenomenal' response from the public about the invite-only premiere.
``It's really exciting,'' she said.
``We only have 320 tickets to the screening and they have been highly sought after.
``Just having the Australian premiere is great, but to know we're the second screening in the world is huge.
``A lot of people are extremely excited about this film and not only the fans and people who have followed the book series from the beginning.
``But new fans who have come into the series later.'' Guests such rockers Operator Please and sport stars Stephanie Rice, Brendan Fevola and Brent Staker, will attend the premiere. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 is the second last film in the blockbuster series, with the final book being split into two full-length parts. It follows Harry (Daniel Radcliffe), Ron (Rupert Grint) and Hermione (Emma Watson, looking smokin' above) as they set out to complete Dumbledore's mission and find and destroy the last of the Horcruxes to defeat Lord Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes).

Harry Potter is the most successful film franchise of all time and the stars of the film are preparing for a global press tour next year to mark the end of the movies. Warner Brothers Movie World have hosted premieres for every Harry Potter film over the last decade and although Ms Miller said she `can't reveal anything', we can expect something special.
``Next year for the absolute grand finale we're going to have to pull out the big guns,'' she said.
``We're already talking about what we're going to be doing.''

Aussie fans might get a chance to meet Harry Potter himself, Daniel Radcliffe, this Christmas if the Brit comes down under to watch the Ashes. Radcliffe, 21, owns an apartment in Melbourne and said he would love to watch his beloved English cricket team win this year if he can escape his hectic Broadway schedule. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 1 is released in cinemas this Thursday and Part 2 will be released on Thursday, July 14, 2011.

I will be at the Australian premiere tomorrow so if you have nothing better to do on late Saturday night, then I suggest reading my review – which will be one of the first in the world. Yeeeeew.

Farmerville

Screenwriter and all-out legend Todd Farmer wants to swap Meter Maids for machetes. The Hollywood heavyweight is discussing plans with studio executives to film five horror films on the Gold Coast, Australia over the next three years and is meeting with studio executives to make it happen. Farmer, who penned horrors My Bloody Valentine, Jason X and the new Nicolas Cage film Drive Angry, arrived on the Coast on Monday with producer Kerri Hill-Grisham and over the next two weeks they will pitch the projects to executives on the GC and in Sydney.
``The idea is we would like to take movies that you can make in the Hollywood system and bring them here,'' he said.
``I've seen some great movies come from Australia, Wolf Creek being one of my favourites.
``We've three completed scripts and two outlines that are fully fleshed out and I've worked through with director Patrick Lussier (My Bloody Valentine, Dracula 2000).''

Farmer said the Gold Coast was the perfect location to base the productions as it had `every location you can imagine'. Farmer and Hill-Grisham are also on the Coast for the Gold Coast Film Festival and on Sunday will conduct a seminar on Bringing Australian Stories to Hollywood – but they nearly didn't make it here.
``Qantas threw us a few curve balls but we got here,'' Farmer said.
``We had delayed flights, lost luggage and we were supposed to be here on Sunday and arrived Monday.''

A lover of genre films, Farmer said he was looking forward to seeing Gold Coast crime-thriller Bad Behaviour at the film festival on Saturday night. I, on the other hand, am looking forward to wearing the highly superior Friday The 13th shirt he gave me. Why? Because that’s the kind of awesome shit he does. In other news, for the full lo-down on Farmer and one of his projects with Hill-Grisham, read my previous interview here.

Favourite movie Friday with Raven Symone

Favourite movie Friday is back bitches! To re-kick it off is arguably the only Disney star who doesn't snort cocaine and regularly participate in gang bangs - Raven Symone (below). Funny and very career-focused, the 26-year-old shared some of her cinematic faves with me whilst in Australia earlier this year. "One, two, three of The Matrix, Mary Poppins, Pootie Tang and I love documentaries of all kinds. I have a weird eclectic taste of shows and TV. I like Southpark, Man Vs Food, because it's so weird. I’m kind of a dude. Oh, Inception! I love movies that just come out of nowhere. Being someone who just watches iTunes all day and rents movie after movie I loved being able to say `oh, he’s going to do this, no he did that! I love you Leonardo!"

Taking the Bait

(Above) Xavier Samuel with his Bait 3D co-stars Phoebe Tonkin and Alice Parkinson on the red carpet at the GCFF.

Hollywood star Xavier Samuel swapped razor-sharp teeth for red carpet at the Gold Coast Film Festival last night. The Aussie actor rushed from a day’s work on shark thriller Bait 3D at Warner Roadshow Studios to attend the festival’s opening night at Birch Carroll and Coyle Cinemas Australia Fair on the Gold Coast, Australia. Samuel, who has been based in Hollywood after his role in The Twilight Saga: Eclipse, said he was enjoying being back `home' in Australia.
Samuel's Bait 3D co-star Julian McMahon was supposed to attend the festival, however, cancelled at the last minute. Bait 3D is set inside a supermarket after a tsunami traps a group of survivors inside with a pack of Tiger sharks. Samuel said he was enjoyed working with the `great’ Aussie cast, but spending so much time in the water has been difficult.
"Everyone's very talented," he said.
"But we've been spending weeks in the pool so we're a bit soggy."
Other celebrity guests at the festival opening night included Phoebe Tonkin (Tomorrow, When The War Began), Martin Sacks (Blue Heelers) and John Jarratt (Wolf Creek). Complex Aussie thriller Wasted On The Young opened the six-day festival and was introduced by one of the film’s stars, Alex Russell (above). Russell said he was a `bit nervous’ about introducing the film, but was going to pass on a message from the director Ben C. Lucas.
“What Ben has been saying is that `the film has been with us so long, but it’s yours now,” said the 22-year-old.
“He wants to see what message people take from it and not ram it down their throats, because there are a lot of important messages (in the film).”

The Sydney-based actor has also been filming Bait 3D and had a lot of support in the form of his co-stars Sacks, Tonkin and Samuel.
“We’re all just here to support Alex tonight really,” said Sacks.
Samuel (below) too said Wasted On The Young was definitely a highlight of the festival.
“I’ve been really looking forward to Wasted On The Young,” he said.
“I’m working with Alex Russell now and I have a lot of friends who are in it.” For my exclusive video interviews with Samuel, Sacks and Jarratt, click HERE. The Gold Coast Film Festival runs until Tuesday, November 16 and for the full line-up of films, free seminars and workshops visit here. And as for Bait 3D news . . .I will be making a set visit in the coming weeks so stay peeled for updates on Twitter as it gets closer to the date.

Open wide, movies inside

Okay, lame title, I know. But serioulsy, there's only so many Gold Coast Film Festival related titles you can write before you hit wall. Sigh, I digress. The festival opens tonight at the Birch Carroll and Coyle Cinemas Australia Fair and there’s a huge line-up of stars coming along for the opening night. Leading the charge is Nip/Tuck star Julian McMahon (above), who is in Queensland filming shark action-thriller Bait 3D. McMahon forged a career in Australian television before he broke into Hollywood as Cole Turner on hit TV series Charmed and roles in the Fantastic Four franchise and RED.

McMahon's Bait 3D co-stars Xavier Samuel and Sharni Vinson will also be at the opening night, along with director Kimble Rendall. Samuel was most recently seen in The Twilight Saga: Eclipse and Aussie horror flick The Loved Ones, while Vinson had success as the lead in Step Up 3D. They will be joined by Tomorrow, When The War Began stars Lincoln Lewis and Phoebe Tonkin, and other Australian actors including John Jarratt, Dan Wylie, Adrienne Pickering, Cindy Nelson, Francesca Gasteen, and Alex Russell, star of the opening night film Wasted On The Young.

However, it is not just big name actors who are attending, with a who's who of international industry professionals. Along with Hollywood horror screenwriter Todd Farmer (My Bloody Valentine, Jason X), will be producers Chris Adams (Syriana, An Inconvenient Truth ) and Steve Kearney (Jucy) , the founders behind industry consultation company Adams Kearney. Local guests include Oscar-winning special-effects whiz John Cox, producer Chris Brown (Daybreakers, The Proposition) and Emmy-award winning make-up effects artist Jason Baird.

I will be on the read carpet chatting to all of these lovely peeps and I’m off to chat to a few of them at their hotel now, so, keenly stand by for the latest and greatest dets from the festival. In the mean time, HERE'S a quick video I did on some of the GCFF highlights.

Byrne, baby Byrne

Despite a disappointing weekend at the Australian box office, I still reckon The Loved Ones is one of the best Aussie flicks you will see this year and so, I shall continue to harp on about it. This time that harping comes in the form of an exclusive chat with writer/director/producer extraordinaire Sean Byrne. As you can see from the interview, he is quite the lovely chap and definitely a director who is going to tackle a lot of genres with gusto. But what stood out to me most about Byrne is his sheer passion for movies and that, my dears, is something we can all relate to. Judge for yourself below.

Movie Mazzupial: Firstly, where did you come up with this idea? Did you have a really bad experience at your formal?
Sean Byrne: (Laughs) No, it was remarkably normal. Maybe that’s why I had to think of something crazy. It stemmed from desperation really, I had written a couple of screenplays that were too offbeat so I thought I’d have a crack at a horror film because I knew they sold internationally. There’s also a lot of mediocre horror out there, so I thought I could make something good with characterisations that make it stand out from the horror pack.

MM: And the characters, you have created some truly demented ones, particularly Lola and her daddy. It feels like they could go down as iconic horror characters like Freddy Krueger, Mike Myers or Mick Taylor, is that what you set out to do?
SB: These films thrive on the marketability of the villains. I was really looking for some kind of signature and I’ve never seen a father daughter torture team. I wanted to cut through the clutter and the thought of pink satin would be so vibrant and arresting. My 5-year-old niece was going through that stage of development where she’s thinking her prince will come and is obsessed with glitter and tiaras. I thought it would be interesting to take that innocence and mesh it with the awkwardness of being a teenager and raging hormones. Then when it came to her father, I did a lot of research on Ed Gein and Jeffrey Dahmer. Especially Ed Gein, he’s the psychological profile behind The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Psycho and Silence of the Lambs. Dahmer now isn’t someone that has been tapped into which is unusual given all the horror films out there and some of the things he did with the head drilling.

MM: Now, speaking of head drilling, that scene was a particularly . . .I’m not sure memorable is the right word, but it stays with you.
SB: It’s one of my favourite parts of the film because there’s no safety net. I love watching it with an audience because they have no idea what’s coming. With the film we had one foot in commercial territory and one foot dangling over a cliff, and that’s the cliff part. I was looking to write a horror film and what finally sat me down to write it was the idea of `what if I merged Sam Raimi’s Evil Dead, with Carrie and brought the prom to a cabin in the woods?’ I studied Misery too. Princess has Carrie’s vulnerability, Annie Wilkes’ from Misery’s sadism and the spoilt quality of Veruca Salt from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. It’s a horror film, but it’s not an ordeal for the audience. It’s a rock `n’ roll horror film with a sense of humour.

MM: (Laughs) That’s quite a combination. It looks like you went into the shoot very prepared.
SB: Yes, I came up with 250 page scrap book which had film references, case studies and palette references. I think Kathy Bates’ performance is so brilliant as she’s a woman who’s obsessed with a guy and even though he’s polite when he knocks back her advances, she goes off the deep end. I also looked at the females in films like Carrie, Peter Jackson’s Heavenly Creatures, Natural Born Killers, Single White Female, and got a lot of ideas from that.

MM: The casting process, what was that like? You manage to draw out some incredible performances, Robin McLeavy and John Brumpton in particular, but Xavier Samuel too is fantastic and despite only having a few lines of dialogue, he’s someone that you’re really rooting for to escape.
SB: I was really happy with the casting, we just went through the traditional process. I tried not to go in with too many preconceptions. There’s a point when the writer has to let go and the responsibility goes to the actors who walk in the room and elevate it beyond what you expect. If you don’t care, then you don’t scare. I was adamant in casting actors who understood the craft and I’m really proud of everyone that’s in the film. We talked a lot about not treating this as a horror film, because so often it’s considered disposable. The situation is on the page and by treating it with the integrity of a drama . . . it doesn’t matter what type of film you’re making it comes down to the authenticity of the performance.MM: In the film, there’s both nail-biting suspense and cringe-worthy gore, how important was it to find that balance as opposed to just having another torture porn film?
SB: It was vital. The key word is fun and I wanted it to be a fun, freaky, midnight rollercoaster ride. The audience need to be able to take a breath and have a laugh and prepare for the next white-knuckle onslaught. I could push the extreme nature of the film if it was minced with a jet black comedy sensibility. It becomes deliciously warped.

MM: This is your first feature, it has gone on to be select at over 20 international film festivals, won a swag of prestigious awards and the critics are frothing over it, could you have ever expected a response like this?
SB: I didn’t expect it, but I was definitely aiming for it. I was meticulous in my preparation; we didn’t have a lot of time to shoot and, like most Australian films, not a giant budget. It’s really rewarding to see audiences responding to the beats that had been planned. I was trying to never to be a slave to the horror formula and instead study horror films and be inspired by the work of Tarantino, Paul Thomas Anderson and Sam Raimi and Disney. We shot in 27 days on a budget just under the 4 million mark, which isn’t too bad, but I wanted a beautiful candy-coloured slick look to it. I’m big fan of Bruckheimer films, I think they have a lot of integrity to them because they say `I’m here to entertain’. The have such a perfect sheen to them that I want to get out of my seat and lick the screen. I think it would taste really sweat. Having that Hollywood glossiness to it helped pushed the horror a bit.

MM: How much of that sheen and glossiness can be attributed to your background in commercials and short filmmaking?
SB: Yeah, definitely, a lot of it.MM: When a debut film gets the response like this has, the Hollywood offers come flying in. Is that the situation you’re in at the moment or have you been batting them off to work on another one of your own projects?
SB: I’m right in the middle of writing another project, but this film has opened a lot of doors for me, both in Australia and in Hollywood. I’ve been sent a lot of scripts and I’m attached to quite a few projects. It’s very difficult to get money for a film, so I need to have a few going at the same time. I’m more interested in material. The next original thing of mine I’m working on is a bent home invasion thriller. That’s the great thing about genre, because it affords filmmakers a great luxury. There’s already an audience and they know the formula, so you’re able to bend it.

MM: Just before I started speaking to you I was reading an article that described you as the `new voice in Aussie horror’. How do you respond to something like that?
SB: I just love cinema and I feel like I’ve got a good range as a director. I want to work in all genres. Horror is a great way to start because so many of my heroes have started in horror, like Spielberg, Coppola, Raimi and Jackson who really got to stamp their own personal style on the genre. I just wanted to create something fresh.

MM: Since Saw and Wolf Creek, there seems to have been a real rebirth of Australian horror, is that something you consciously wanted to be part of?
SB: I wrote the first draft of The Loved Ones before Saw came out, that’s how long it takes to make these things. I knew Wolf Creek opened doors for Australian horror filmmakers because it proved that well-crafted Aussie horror has an audience. But we’re very different films. Wolf Creek was based on a building sense of dread, while we’re a glam horror film. We’re mirror balls and they’re the desert.The Loves Ones is out now.

BIFFing around

Tis’ the season for two awesome film festivals within a ridiculously close distance to me. While the Gold Coast Film Festival kicks off tomorrow night, the Brisbane International Film Festival (BIFF) got a rockin’ when it opened on the weekend. There is seriously a colossal collection of international, Aussie, foreign language and classic flicks playing and I will mention only a few here.

A major highlight for me is the film that took this year's Sundance by storm - Blue Valentine (above). The low-budget indie flick stars Michelle Williams and Ryan Gosling as a dysfunctional married couple and features a score by indie rock favourites Grizzly Bear. There’s a meaty line-up of Australia features in store including shark thriller The Reef and Red Hill, starring True Blood hunk Ryan Kwanten, Claire van der Boom and Steve Bisley. Kwanten and writer/director Patrick Hughes will introduce the film and I will be interviewing them on Friday so stay peeled.

Other flicks include the shock hit from Cannes, Leap Year, Venice Film Festival award-winner Life During Wartime, political thriller Fair Game starring Naomi Watts and Sean Penn, gay romantic comedy I Love You Phillip Morris with Jim Carey and Ewan McGregor and the acclaimed Welcome To The Rileys starring Kristen Stewart and The Sopranos James Gandolfini.

Going out with a bang, BIFF wraps up on Sunday, November 14 with animated kids flick Megamind, the legendary John Woo's latest actioner Reign Of Assassins and Sofia Coppola's charming Somewhere.

For the full BIFF line-up, ticket prices and session times visit HERE

Oh, to be loved . . .

Are you sick of hearing about The Loved Ones yet? No? Good, because HERE is my online video review of the film. I argue that it’s worth watching simply for my awesome earrings and believe me, they are awesome.

The Loved Ones is out now and stay peeled for my exclusive chat with director Sean Byrne.