Beattie on the brat

He is the wordsmith behind some of the last decade’s biggest blockbusters. Now, Australian screenwriter Stuart Beattie (above) is hoping his directorial debut will trump them all. When you consider all that writer/director Stuart Beattie has achieved, it is a little daunting to realise he's still in his thirties. It is the kind of fact that makes you panic about your own life and immediately starts your ambition ignition.

After moving from Melbourne to Sydney and getting a communications degree, Beattie crossed the Atlantic in the nineties and moved to Los Angeles to break into Hollywood. And break in he did. Whilst studying screenwriting at UCLA, one of Beattie's scripts won a prestigious Diane Thomas Screenwriting Award. He then got his first `big studio gig re-writing an existing script and worked on several Australian projects such as Joey and Kick.

But it was his script for Collateral that first made Hollywood big-wigs stand up and take notice.
``I was cheap and I was hungry,'' says Beattie, of his early days within the industry.
``It was Collateral initially that gave me the break, I sold it to Dreamworks.
``But before that it bounced around from studio to studio and opened a lot of doors for me.''

Collateral went on to become a huge success, starring Tom Cruise and Jamie Foxx, and received two Oscar nominations. Then came Beattie's little film called Pirates Of The Caribbean: The Curse Of The Black Pearl. It went on to earn five Oscar nominations and the franchise has grossed more than $US2.7 billion at the box-office. From there, Beattie went from one huge project to another with Bra Boys, 30 Days Of Night, Australia and G.I Joe: Rise Of The Cobra, to name a few.

Beattie says his goal was always to one day end up in the director's chair.
``I always wanted to be a director and writing was my way of becoming a director.
``I would write screenplays then watch other directors on set.
``It was kind of like my film school.''

It was while watching on the set of $US200 million blockbuster G.I Joe everyday in Prague that he knew he was ready. He wanted his film to be commercial. He wanted it to be genre. Most importantly, he wanted it to be Australian. In many ways he wanted to return to what he considers the golden age of Australian cinema.
``In the seventies and eighties I saw The Man From Snowy River, Gallipoli, Phar Lap, all the Peter Weir and Mad Max films, and there was just a great wave of commercial, purely Australian, movies.
``I was really wanting to get back to that - to make a film that was uniquely Australian, distinctly Australian, but at the same time something people wanted to watch.''

It was shortly after that when he was approached by producers working on an adaptation of John Marsden's best-selling Tomorrow series. Beattie knew he had found his opportunity and he held the movie ransom.
``I said I'll adapt if you let me direct it,'' he says.
``They were fairly willing to entertain the idea.
``I had said no to them for six months and that just kind of made them more convinced.
``I went through a very healthy period of convincing them. I had storyboards done, I stuck together the scene with the helicopter and added temp dialogue, I did up a huge 20 page brief outlining my vision for the film and I even made a poster.''
``I let them know I had a very clear vision.''
That vision saw Beattie make his directorial debut with Tomorrow, When The War Began (above), which is shaping up to be the biggest Australian blockbuster of the year. Based on the first book in the series, it sees a group of rural teenagers become guerrilla soldiers after Australia is invaded by a foreign power. He says the film is unashamedly commercial and hopes it will lead the way for more Australian films seeking commercial, as well as critical, success.
``We had a budget of $AU25 million, but I wanted it to look like we had a lot more,'' he said.
``A lot of it was clever camera techniques, a crew of great technicians and the work of our cinematographer Ben Nott.
``It was a very collaborative process and my gaffer even came with the ideas for a few shots we used.
``There were so many great and experienced technicians on this crew, that when you're surrounded by so much talent it's crazy not to soak it up and use it.''

Having never professionally studied film techniques, Beattie says he approached directing with a `do-it-yourself' attitude and years of experience he picked up hanging on various film sets. It seems to have worked, with early critical word praising the films balance of action and emotion. But the critics Beattie most cares about are the fans, and author John Marsden.
``He'd never had one of his books made into a movie before and I didn't want to taint it,'' he says.
``That's what I was most nervous about, but thankfully John loves it.
``He has taken his family to see it three or four times.
``And the fans, if you love it as much as the fans do, then I think they recognise you as a fellow fan.''

The series of seven books in total, with a spin-off series adding another three, Beattie realises there is plenty of potential for sequels. But that will all depend on the mighty box-office.
``If people go out and see the film and support it, then we will see,'' he says.
``The actors would get older so the most we could do is two more films.
``I believe that if you haven't said everything you need to say in three films, then your just cashing in and I don't want to cash in. It's not my thing.
``I think three would be great, then it's time for everyone to move on.''

What then, of his beloved Pirates Of The Caribbean franchise that is currently filming a fourth instalment in Hawaii?
``They're making a lot money aren't they?''
``I have nothing to do with it, I wrote the first and then at this point it's just my characters that they're using.''

Beattie says if they did shoot more Tomorrow movies, the first thing he would do is move his family over from Los Angeles.
``I spent five weeks over here on the shoot and that was the hardest thing, being away from them,'' he says.
``I played X-Box every weekend with my kids in America, but it's never enough.''

(Above) Beattie, middle, with two of his leading ladies - Caitlin Stasey and Phoebe Tonkin.

The missing Linc

(Above) Lincoln Lewis and Rachel Hurd-Wood in a scene from Tomorrow, When The War Began.

From Summer Bay to World War III, Lincoln Lewis, son of Rugby League legend Wally Lewis, is taking no prisoners. When Lewis first got the role of Geoff on iconic Aussie soap Home and Away and had to uproot from his Queensland base to Sydney in 2007, he was not leaving without his books.
They weren't just any books, however, they were the best-selling Tomorrow series by John Marsden.
``I started reading them when I was younger, whenever I had spare time,'' he says.
``I loved the books, always did, and when people would ask me in interviews `what would be your dream role?' I would always say after reading those books, if it was ever made into a TV show or a movie, that would be it.''

Lewis' mother Jacqui says she was `shocked' to find him packing up the books with the rest of belongings to take to Sydney.
``They were the only books he took because he said he wanted to read the series again.
``He was always very into them.
``We had no idea there would be a movie years later or that he would be in it.''

The dream came true when Lewis auditioned for, and got, the role of Kevin in the film adaptation of the first book - Tomorrow, When The War Began. The series follows a group of country teenagers who decide to become guerrilla soldiers after Australia is invaded by a foreign power. Written and directed by Stuart Beattie, the Aussie screenwriter behind hits such as Collateral, Pirates Of The Caribbean and G.I Joe: Rise Of The Cobra, Lewis soon found himself making the transition from small screen to silver screen in the biggest Australian blockbuster of the year.
``I'm trying to find the words, there are so many . . .honoured I guess,'' says the 22-year-old.
``It's an amazing honour because the books are so well loved by everyone and then you have Stuart Beattie at the helm.
``I was honoured that I was lucky enough to even get to audition, let alone get the part.''

The role of Kevin, Lewis says, was especially fun as `he's the guy you love to hate'.
``As Stuart said, he's a complete 180 from Geoff,'' he says.
``Geoff likes to make sure everyone's okay whereas Kevin is all for himself.
``He's just one of the dudes, one of the fellas in the group and he likes to put himself before other people.
``If he's put out he will let you know about it and when things are completely upside down and he has no control, he freaks out.''

Most actors would have been freaking out too about all of the dangerous stunts they were required to do during the shoot, but Lewis says he embraced the opportunity (above).
``All the big action stuff I made sure I was able to do,'' he says.
``Things are on such a grander level - the explosions, the gun fights and the action sequences.''
Although potential sequels are dependant on the success of the first film, Lewis said he would definitely be keen to revisit the role.

In the mean time though, he has just finished shooting his next film Mei Mei alongside Guy Pearce and Claudia Karvan.
But it is no secret this Queensland boy is planning an assault on Hollywood.
``Ultimately I'd love to do what Hugh Jackman has done,'' he says.
``He did a lot of jobs throughout Australia, went over to America, made a name for himself and then brought the industry here to make it bigger.
``But I'm not really too picky and say `I don't want to do this' because in Australia you can't afford to.
``I'm not going to say no to any jobs. I know what it was like driving down to the Gold Coast every few days for auditions when I was 16 and 17.
``I know how long it takes for you to get a job and then when you finally get one, you appreciate it so much more.''(Above) Director Stuart beattie with cast members Andy Ryan, Caitlin Stasey, Phoebe Tonkin and Lincoln Lewis.

Tomorrow, When The War Began opens on Thursday, September 2.

Tomorrow, When The War Began day!

Since it is less than two days until the release of Tomorrow, When The War Began I figure it’s time to start getting you all majorly excited. That is, if you aren’t already. Which you should be. Therefore, I’m officially declaring this as Tomorrow, When The War Began day and prepare yourself for a swag of related stories. Starting with the lovely Phoebe Tonkin (below), who plays Fi in the film.I interviewed her at the Queensland premiere last fortnight and the next day over breakfast in Southport. As well as talking about the movie and future projects, all the usual stuff, we broached the big one - Phoebe Tonkin’s favourite movies.

“I’ve always loved Pretty Woman, that’s probably my favourite. I saw Shutter Island recently which was really good. Princess Bride, oh and Girl Interrupted is also amazing. I love Julia Roberts so anything with her in it really.”

There you have it. In case I haven’t mentioned it already, Tomorrow, When The War Began rocks and you can watch my video review of the film here.

Black Sun of a gun

What happens when a stuntman, actor/director and screenwriter walk into a Gold Coast bar? They come up with the concept for an action fantasy film that is already raising eyebrows in Hollywood no joke. Rene Perrin, Avelino `El Rico' Lescot and Susan Macguillicuddy are the trio behind The Black Sun, which recently took out the Most Ambitious Screenplay award at the 2010 International Action on Film Festival in Los Angeles

The locals are hoping the added hype surrounding their screenplay will push the project into production and attract the eye of distributors. Lescot, a Gold Coast-based actor, stuntman and filmmaker who has worked on The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, Peter Pan and The Condemned, said The Black Sun incorporates several genres.
``It's enchanting and mystical,'' he said.
``It's a gypsy, action, adventure, romance, western with a strong supernatural feel that is set in the Pacific Islands, Mexico, China, New Zealand and here.
``At the moment the film industry needs something different but financially manageable and that's The Black Sun.''
He said The Black Sun's `twist ending' had helped draw attention to the project.
(Above) (L-R) Avelino 'El Rico' Lescot, Grandmaster William Cheung and Rene Perrin during the Among Dead Men shoot.

The film follows a warrior's worldwide journey on the Matariki boat, which Lescot said is `like another star of the film'. Lescot and Perrin have an impressive international fanbase thanks to the success of their action film Among Dead Men. It won several awards for best fight choreography and generated considerable profits in DVD sales in Canada, Germany, Thailand, Cambodia, Poland, Puerto Rico, Hawaii and Hong Kong. It also grossed several times its $7000 budget in DVD sales through Walmart in the US. Perrin, who has worked as a stunt performer on films such as The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, Daybreakers, Nim's Island, Fool's Gold and Ghost Ship, said they wanted to combine their `love of action with a love of romance' in The Black Sun.

Balancing out the testosterone on the team is screenwriter Susan Macguillicuddy. Despite having worked with the likes of Cate Blanchett, Jessica Alba, Antonio Banderas and Melanie Griffiths, Macguillicuddy said working with `the boys' on The Black Sun has been her `most cherished writing experience'.
``It's like we each started at one end of the canvas and worked our way to the middle, fine-tuning the parts of the script we liked,'' she said.
``It took us about a year and hundreds of meetings but we're happy with the finished product.
``We wanted to do something very avant garde with the genre and something new.
``Getting the Most Ambitious Screenplay award means we really pushed the genre, which is what we set out to do.''

International distributors have shown interest in The Black Sun and the trio is currently in the process of looking for investors.

Patiently waiting

For most, a trip to India is a spiritual experience. This was certainly the case when Sydney filmmaker Claire McCarthy (above) and her sister worked as volunteers with Mother Teresa's nuns for six months in Calcutta. Although she made a documentary of their time there for the ABC called Sisters, McCarthy was inspired by the individual stories of the couples who came to the mission to adopt. Those stories are coming to life on the big screen in her latest film The Waiting City.

The first Australian film to be shot entirely in India, it stars Australian acting talents Radha Mitchell, Joel Edgerton and Isabel Lucas. McCarthy said as well as the couple's `love story', they set out to capture the mayhem and exotic chaos of India in the film.
``It was certainly challenging to shoot in almost semi-documentary style, not using sets and trying to integrate our actors into real situations in one of the most populated cities,'' she said.
``We had a crew of about 120, with five different languages spoken on set.
``But it was one of the highlights of my career working in someone else's country.
``We didn't want to feel like we were coming in and taking over, we wanted it to feel like we were doing things more like a local film than an international film.''

However, they encountered more than a few hurdles. Shot throughout India in 2008 and 2009, McCarthy said they were `really tested' when the Mumbai Terrorist Attacks occurred.
``We had the terrorist attacks happen at the mid-point of shoot and a lot of the crew were form Mumbai and directly affected.
``We had friends staying at the hotel, it was quite full on.
``Things like that can make or beak the situation and it definitely brought us together.''But McCarthy said they also encountered some luck during production, particularly with the film's star Radha Mitchell (above), who is also a producer on The Waiting City.
``I was making a music video for Old Man River on the banks of the Ganges and one of the production crew asked me who my fantasy leading lady would be for The Waiting City and I said Radha,'' she said.
``It somehow got out to The Times of India and she was Googling herself one day and was like `what the hell? I'm supposed to be shooting a film in India and I've never heard of it.'
``She got in touch with her agent who found a copy of the script and then she came onboard.
``This is really a love project for her and her support was totally invaluable - she worked for us for a lot less than what she would work for America.''

Another rising Aussie star in the film is Joel Edgerton (below), who was most recently seen in Animal Kingdom. McCarthy said during the auditions she had her eye on Edgerton.
“I’ve seen him do quite macho roles and he did a knockout audition,” she said.
“I wanted to cast an actor who could be really likable, naturally funny, sing and be quite manly – he has all of these qualities that I thought the film needed.
“And since filming his star has really risen and he’s in quite a few coveted roles in America.”The Waiting City premiered at the 2009 Toronto International Film Festival and was released in cinemas on Thursday.

Where art thou Chromeo?

Here is where. I chatted with the friendly P-Thugg (above right) from electrofunk duo Chromeo yesterday about music, movies, his BFF Dave 1 (above left) and asked the question a legion of Yo Gabba Gabba fans have been wanting to know - does he wash his hands?

“Yeah, always,” he said.

So, now that’s settled, here are his favourite movies:

“Scarface, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Ghost Busters, Beverley Hills Cop and Naked Gun.”

For those who haven’t been exposed to their brilliance before, I suggest you check out Chromeo’s video for their ridiculously catchy new song Don’t Turn The Lights On, off their forthcoming album Business Casual.

Green with envy

From his breakout hit Boy to starring in next year’s blockbuster Green Lantern (above), New Zealand filmmaker Taika Waititi is a shining light in Hollywood. The 35-year-old Maori writer, director, producer and artist first burst onto the scene in 2004 with his Oscar-nominated short film Two Cars, One Night and followed that success in 2007 with his debut feature Eagle Vs Shark. It starred his close friend Jermaine Clement of Flight Of The Conchords fame and Waititi also came on board to write and direct several episodes of the hit show. But it is his latest film Boy that is truly putting him on the world stage.

Whilst in competition at the prestigious Sundance film festival earlier this year, executives from Warner Brothers Studio saw Waititi performing in Boy and quickly approached him about a role in Green Lantern. Despite coming from an acting background in live theatre and perfoming in a comedy troupe with Jermaine, Waititi said it was strange to give up the creative reigns and return to performing.
“They saw Boy and were looking for someone to play this character, so I read for it and then suddenly I was an actor again,” he said.
“It was weird because it wasn’t part of the plan for me. I just wanted to do my thing and keep making films and be a director.
“It was very, very weird and I found it kind of strange to go from someone whose been in control for ages to sitting around on set waiting for your scene.
“Your part of it, but your also not part of it.
“It was fucking weird to be honest, but I loved it and watching how everything is done.”Green Lantern is the $150m mega blockbuster based on the DC Comics series of the same name and stars Ryan Reynolds in the title role (above). Waititi said he plays the role of Green Lantern’s faithful sidekick Thomas Kalmaku in the film.
“I can’t even pronounce his name properly because he’s supposed to be of Native American heritage,” he said.
“He doesn’t have any powers or do any of the action scenes.
“It’s basically that….the guy is like a tech geek. That old chestnut.
“It’s not a giant role or anything and you never know if you’re still going to be in it at the end of the movie.
“While I was shooting I was thinking, as a filmmaker, you don’t really need this scene. But I wasn’t going to tell them that.”

Tipped as being the biggest blockbuster of 2011, there has been a lot of hype surrounding the special effects used on Green Lantern. Reynolds suit, for instance, is being created using CGI technology and will constantly evolve throughout the film. Although Waititi said he didn’t get to see what the suit looked like during filming, what he did see of the production was `amazing’.
“I haven’t seen any of the suit stuff because they hadn’t even decided what the suit was going to look like when we were shooting,” he said.
“They’ve had almost a year since filming to develop that now, but the art I saw was amazing.
“It’s going to look incredible.
“That was very exciting for me because although I saw some of the green screen stuff, there’s no way to imagine what it’s going to look like.
“I just gave up and said my lines.
“I imagined it would look awesome down the track but at that moment it was just a bunch of weird people in normal clothes standing around with cameras.
“I wasn’t even in those scenes, I just went to watch their spotted-suit acting.”
Being involved in one of the most highly anticipated comic-book movies was a dream come true for Waititi (above), who said he used to `collect comics’ when he was younger.
“I was not really into the Green Lantern mythology, but I was more of a Batman guy,” he said.
“Batman was just a guy with determination who was badass and good at beating people up and fighting.
“He had the dark past and that appealed to me.
“I was a little bit into X-Men, but it got quite complicated with all the characters.”

But don’t get too excited, because Waititi said he is not likely return to the superhero genre anytime soon.
“It’s not really my style,” he said.
“I’m better suited to these character pieces and its sort of my background.
“There’s less stress and less stuff that’s over my head.”Boy is in cinemas tomorrow. Green Lantern is out June, 2011.

How Thor-tful

All it took was a man with a hammer to get audiences at the Australian International Movie Convention drooling last week. Never-before-seen footage from the upcoming Thor movie, based on the Marvel superhero, played at the event during a presentation by Paramount Pictures.

Director Kenneth Branagh and Australian actor Chris Hemsworth, who plays Thor in the film, introduced the scenes via videolink. Both apologised for not being able to make the convention and Branagh said he has fond memories of Australia.
"I love Australia, I have fond memories of working on an ABC television show and then with director Phillip Noyce on Rabbit Proof Fence," he said.

Although some footage of Thor was screened at the Comic Con event in the US recently, delegates were the first to see this new material. As well as watching scenes from the movie itself, Thor concept art was shown and interviews with the producers, creative directors and fellow big-wigs.

From what I saw, I must say I’m quite intrigued. Note how I say intrigued rather than excited. I’ve never been into the Thor mythology myself and I’ll see the movie regardless, but this looks a bit to `out there’ for me. The film seems to be set between the two planets and rely heavily on the alien thing, which are the same elements that turned me off about Superman and Green Lantern. Anyway, Thor’s home planet of Asgard (which Anthony Hopkins and bunch of the other characters live on) looks visually quite amazing and tres alien. The creative lads said they tried to make something `unlike anything you’ve seen before’ which immediately makes me go `pffft, who hasn’t?’. For the most part though, I shall reserve judgement until we get a full length trailer and it’s packaged properly. Maybe.

Thor will be released on May 5, 2011. (Above) Thor was very happy at the success of his latest DYI project around the house.

About A Boy

From growing up in a remote indigenous community to walking the red carpet at the Oscars, New Zealand filmmaker Taika Waititi’s story really is a fairytale. In its home country of New Zealand Boy has beat out blockbusters like Alice In Wonderland and King Kong to become the seventh highest grossing film ever. This is thanks to the talent of the film’s writer, director and star Taika Waititi (above).

The 35-year-old Maori filmmaker grew up in the very same community depicted in the film and a large portion of it was shot in his childhood home. After university, Waititi met Bret McKenzie and Jermaine Clement and the trio worked together on several theatre and comedy projects. Then things blew up, metaphorically of course.

Coming from a background in visual arts, Waititi decided to try his hand at movies and entered a competition with his short film Two Cars, One Night. Within the blink of an eye the film was playing at the top international film festivals and had been nominated for an Oscar for Best Short Film, Live Action. Soon his friends Bret and Jermaine were international stars with their show Flight Of The Conchords, which Waititi also came on board to write and direct several episodes. Jermaine also starred in Waititi’s debut feature film Eagle Vs Shark in 2007.

But it is his latest film Boy that could see Waititi at the Oscars once more. Set in 1984, it follows the story of Boy (James Rolleston) who’s left to look after his younger brother Rocky (Te Aho Eketone-Whitu ) (below) and cousins when his grandmother leaves town to attend a funeral. Boy was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year and won a Best Feature Film award at the Berlin International Film Festival. Variety has already labelled Boy as this year’s Precious, despite the absence of obese black women eating chicken and Mariah Carey.
But for Waititi, all the overseas hype is a bit `weird’.
“I like L.A. and I liked hanging out there, but I didn’t enjoy the Oscars too much,” he says.
“I don’t like things that are really stressful, I like to relax.
“If it was just a big cocktail party and they just happened to be handing out Oscars willy-nilly then I might be into that.”

Waititi says he likes that the film `has an underdog quality to it, especially on the world stage’
“I like the idea that you can make something entertaining with a message,” he says.
“The kind of stuff that we’re portraying here is always in my mind and there seems to be two depictions of Maori - Once Were Warriors, where we’re just smashing each other all the time - or there’s Whale Rider - which is beautiful but gives the impression that all we do all day is live in this very spiritual world.
“I got a review overseas, I call it a bad review, from an American who didn’t like the film because there wasn’t enough spiritual stuff in it for him.
“Basically what he was saying was that there wasn’t enough whale riding.
“For Maoris, to be able to laugh at ourselves is a very important thing and it’s the darker situations when the bright stuff happens.
“More than anything I just wanted to reflect families in general.
“At the end of the day with the dance at the end it’s a movie that tells a story and I’m not shirking my responsibility…if my message is anything it’s be a good parent.”

The dance he is talking about is the combination of Michael Jackson’s Thriller and the traditional Maori Haka, which the cast perform at the end credits. One of Boy’s favourite people in the film is Michael Jackson, and fans of the King Of Pop are sure to be overwhelmed with the amount of MJ references.
“I’ve been a fan of his since I was a kid,” says Waititi.
“I liked watching his videos and watching Thriller for the first time in that family house where we shot the film.
“He epitomises the 80s for me, especially for kids.
“He was this guy who wasn’t white and he led this amazing life where he was rich and spent his money on stuff that kids would spend it on.
“He had fucking zoo animals, rode around on a mini-train and bought ice cream, like, why not?
“We had this idea growing up that if we had money we would spend it on ridiculous lavish stuff too.”

Waititi also stars in the film as Boy and Rocky’s absentee father, Alamein, who is essentially a child himself. Erratic and immature, Waititi says he is a `mixture of people’ he knew. He says the biggest compliment of his performance is the fact he was nominated for best supporting actor at the 2010 New Zealand Film and TV award alongside his 10-year-old co-star Te Aho Eketone-Whitu.

In the mean time, Waititi says he plans on taking a long break before his next project but audiences can be sure he will continue to deliver his unique brand of comedy.
“I tend to like anything that feels a little new and blurs the lines a bit,” he says.
“Flight Of The Conchords is a straight comedy, but this is more subtle and can have darker elements to it.
“It’s not hammering someone over the head with jokes…we don’t need laugh track to tell someone it’s funny.
“It’s treating the audience with more respect; if they don’t get something they will, they don’t have to over-think everything.”

Boy is out in cinemas on Thursday. Keep your eyes peeled for my exlusive interview with Waititi about his role in GREEN LANTERN! Yeah boi! Also, for shits and giggles watch the Haka/Thriller dance below and my online video review of Boy here. For my full written view click here.

The 12 Best Movie Tattoos

In the real world tattoos are about as common as herpes, and just as permanent, with every second person you see sporting a rad rockabilly sleeve or butterfly on their left buttock. Okay, that might be getting too specific, but my point is there are a lot less tattooed people on screen. Sure, there might be an occasional ship tattooed on an arm like Captain Jack Sparrow or some gnarly eagle across the back as seen in The Expendables recently, but there are only a handful of truly awesome movie tattoos.

That’s not to say they aren’t out there, see the Polynesian-inspired tribal patterns on everyone from Wesley Snipes’ Blade to George Clooney’s Seth Gecko in From Disk Till Dawn. Yet only a small number have had their resounding bad-assness stay in the audiences mind. Here are a dozen that for various reasons I think are the best movie tattoos. Whether it’s the context of the tattoo like in Night Of The Hunter and the Ta Moko of the Maori tribes in Once Were Warriors or, more recently, just the sheer scope of the body art such as Lisbeth Salander’s dragon tattoo or Yakuza enforcer Hanzo from Predators (sorry I couldn’t find better pictures of both). Then there’s your token tough dude tattoos which perfectly represent the `don’t fuck with me’ mantra of the characters a la Romper Stomper, Eastern Promises and Chopper. Anyway, I hope you like my selections and be sure to add a few of your own in the comment section.

Hando (Russell Crowe), Romper Stomper (1992)

Nikolai (Viggo Mortensen), Eastern Promises (2007)

Hanzo (Louis Ozawa Changchien), Predators (2010)

Mickey (Brad Pitt), Snatch (2000)

Fox (Angelina Jolie), Wanted (2008)

Harry Powell (Robert Mitchum), The Night of the Hunter (1955)

Francis Dolarhyde (Ralph Fiennes), Red Dragon (2002)

The Maori Tribe, Once Were Warriors (1994)

Leonard (Guy Pearce), Memento (2000)

Lisbeth Salander (Noomi Rapace) The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played With Fire (2010)

Chopper Read (Eric Bana), Chopper (2000)

Denton Van Zan (Matthew McConaughey), Reign of Fire (2002)

That other awesome Aussie with the last name Hogan

The Australian director behind hits such as Muriel’s Wedding (above), Peter Pan, Confessions Of A Shopaholic and My Best Friend’s Wedding made a surprise guest appearance at the Australian International Movie Convention last week. Filmmaker P.J. Hogan jumped on stage during the Universal Pictures presentation to talk about his latest project Mental, starring Toni Collette.

Although he said he was trying to keep the details of the plot under wraps, Hogan said the film was `like The Sound Of Music on acid’. He said he was excited at being able to reunite with his favourite actor in the world – Collette. Hogan said he would return to the convention next year to screen the film.

Welcome to the inner-Sanctum

(Above) TA-DAH! The Sanctum poster on display at the AIMC, as snapped by the clever Ryan Makepeace

It is the footage the whole world has been waiting to see and breathtaking scenes from James Cameron’s Sanctum were shown exclusively to delegates at the Australian International Movie Convention last Wednesday. The films star Rhys Wakefield and producer Andrew Wight presented the three full scenes, and one package reel, in 3D.

The first clip showed Welsh actor Ioan Gruffudd’s character flying a helicopter to the opening of the main cave system, which they dive in the film. The coast has never looked so good, with the footage showing the Broadwater and Gold Coast Hinterland in breathtaking 3D, including the Cedar Creek Falls on Tamborine Mountain. The film’s executive producer James Cameron gave an introduction to the scenes via videolink and said he thinks the use of 3D technology will `create a great sense of Claustrophobia’. He also thanked the Australian industry for supporting the film so far.

Former Home & Away actor Rhys Wakefield plays one of the central characters in the film, Josh, who is reluctantly taken on a cave diving expedition by his estranged father Frank, played by Richard Roxburgh. However, as the team of divers begins their journey through the unexplored cave, a freak storm blocks the exit, trapping them below and forcing them to find another way out. The story is based on the real life experience of producer and writer Andrew Wight, who has worked with Cameron previously on several films.

Wakefield (below) has just returned from working in LA and when asked if he could be heading on the same trajectory as Sam Worthington after he filmed Avatar with Cameron, he said he would wait and see. “It’s bizarre, I still feel very disconnected from the whole scene in LA,” he said. “Even seeing James Cameron just up there (on screen), it’s kind of surreal, I’m watching him going that’s the king. I feel fantastic to be a part of it, it’s such a great script and you only have to spend five minutes with Andrew Wight and his incredible story and the experiences that he’s witnessed first hand . . . I feel like the story is in really great hands. And the LA thing I guess will happen when it happens.”

The second scene showed the film’s protagonists diving inside the cave system, scaling rock faces and abseiling into the depths. Wight said most of the cave scenes were created in Warner Roadshow Studios, although some were filmed in real caves. “It’s a very ambitious film to make,” he said. “For a $25m (AUS) budget, or there abouts, to go into this alien environment which is actually here on Earth in these cave systems which have flying water, fast moving currents, underground rivers and high-tech diving equipment . . .it was on a fairly grand scale. It was difficult to make in the respect that there were a lot of physical challenges. More specifically for the actors like Rhys who had no background in doing their own stunts or doing underwater work. They have done it so well.”

Wakefield said he had to undergo `a lot of physical preparation’ for the role. “The character himself starts out kind of juvenile and he’s forced to grow up through this heightened sense of reality where its do or die, sink or swim, and it wasn’t dissimilar to the actual experience to be honest,” he said. “I had to learn to scuba dive, rock climb, I was doing boxing and fighting. It was a lot of fun, and a lot of pressure, but I think we all created something that is worth a watch.”

Cameron said one of his goals with the film was to prove that you `didn’t have to have a $100m budget’ to make an excellent 3D film. The third scene screened was the most suspenseful and featured the characters trying to survive amidst the flooding caves. The package reel showed clips of footage from the entire film including fight scenes, rock climbing, explosions, underwater actions and what, for the most part, looks like an intense and thrilling ride. Sanctum was filmed on the coast earlier this year and at Warner Roadshow Studios. Local director Alister Grierson is at the helm and said he is currently putting the `final touches’ on the film during post-production in Melbourne.

A well-hung parliament means…

So, with the Australian Federal Election last night and the actual results more unstable than Britney Spears’ mental state, I thought I would let you know about this lil snippet of governmental news left over from last week’s Australian International Movie Convention (AIMC).

Shadow Arts Minister Steven Ciobo wants to get the Australian film industry’s reels rolling with the announcement of a $60 million temporary film production fund if the Abbott Government is declared the winner sometime in the near future. Mr Ciobo unveiled the Coalition’s Arts Policy at the Australian International Movie Convention at Jupiters Hotel and Casino last week. The fund is aimed to spur investment in Australian film productions by providing matching loans to distributors of eligible Australian films with production budgets between $7 million and $30 million.

Mr Ciobo said he hopes it will refocus the national film industry on commercial outcomes. “The film industry of Australia has been abandoned by the Labor government,” he said. “There’s no doubt the Australian film industry has done it particularly tough in the past couple of years and we think this is crucial to helping the film industry get back on its feet. It’s basically a temporary loan that has been introduced at the beckoning of the industry. This is a way we can put increased emphasis on commercial realisation of quality films, so we can match the funding of distributors and insure there’s a stronger commercial focus that we believe will lead to a healthier local industry.”

The loan will match dollar-for-dollar the financial commitments made by film distributors, with a minimum loan of $2 million and maximum loan of $10 million. Managing director of Omnilab Media Chris Mapp said it would help get movies to the screen earlier, instead of companies having to spend time fighting for funding. “Tomorrow When The War Began is a really a great example where the budget cracks ran with us right up into the start of production and with the loan vehicle put forth by the Coalition it would have helped plug any of the gaps we had and raise funds for that movie,” he said. “The key thing is that we have had to stop work in other areas because we’ve tied up so much in making films.”

Omnilab is Australia and New Zealand’s largest privately owned media company and responsible for films such as The Bank Job, Bran Nue Dae and Tomorrow When The War Began. Under the case scenario modeled by the Screen Producers Association of Australia (SPAA) 73 per cent of the funds invested will be returned to the Commonwealth over seven years. The fund will run for five years before being wound up. Managing Director of Universal Pictures Australasia Mike Baard said the plan would help bring more large-scale productions like Nim’s Island and Sanctum to the Gold Coast.

Mark, Will, Movie Mazz and those Other Guys

(Above) FYI this is the best photo of my entire life, Wahlberg and Movie Mazz, together at last.

Marky Mark did not require the funky bunch to walk the red carpet for the premiere of his new film The Other Guys - he just needed his close friend Will Ferrell. Mark Wahlberg and Will Ferrell faced a horde of screaming fans at Event Cinemas, Robina, on Wednesday for the Australian premiere of their new action comedy. Sporting matching Australian accents, the pair seemed relaxed chatting with fans and joking with each other. When asked where he learnt to do an Aussie accent, Wahlberg said in our national slang `I watched Chopper, my mate Chopper Reid.’

After arriving on the Gold Coast from Sydney earlier in the day and settling into the penthouse at Jupiters Hotel and Casino, where the Australian International Movie Convention is being held, the two slipped away to Lakelands where they played a game of golf before attending the premiere.It is Wahlberg’s first visit to Australia and he said so far he is `loving it’.
“But I got to tell you, from the flight over on Qantas, the A380 Airbus is the greatest thing ever invented, and every second since I’ve been here has been amazing,” he said.
“The people are so hospitable, so polite, I don’t know if it’s sincere or not, but I love it and I’m so sorry it has taken me so long to get here.
“Now I know where the party’s at.”
Ferrell too is a big fan of Australia and even managed to slip a Little River Band joke into the film.
“Little River Band is the greatest band ever,” he said.
“They were a favourite of mine growing up in the mean streets of Southern California.
“We actually love the Little River Band in the states, they are ten times as big there as they are here.”
In The Other Guys Wahlberg and Ferrell play a pair of mismatched police detectives who are constantly being overshadowed by the city’s top cops, played by Samuel L Jackson and Dwayne `The Rock’ Johnson. Eva Mendes also stars in the film as Ferrell’s wife and the funny man had nothing but good things to say about his co-star’s natural assets.
“I can tell you they are real, they are extra perky and they were not waiting for me at home,” he said.

Wahlberg and Ferrell did the genuine nice guy thing and spoke with fans and signed memorabilia, before heading in to introduce the film. The pair have undeniable chemistry and were happy to continue their jokey banter off screen too.
“I loved you in Step Brothers,” Wahlberg told Ferrell.
“I loved you in The Italian Job,” said Ferrell.
Wahlberg responded by saying `that was Matt Damon’ and Ferrell replied ‘oh, this is awkward.’
The movie debuted at number one on the US box office last fortnight, knocking off Inception, and made $US 35.6m in its opening weekend. And for the record, it was a dream come true to meet Mark in real life as I have a well-known obsession with him. Will too, was lovely. Before the red carpet event that night I interviewed the pair of them at the convention and I shit you not, Mark was pushing Will around in an old man’s walker. It was hilarious. My other interview with them was on the red carpet at the premiere and you can watch it in full HERE. It’s worth it just to see Will’s raging full go in for the hug :o) For pic gallery of the premiere hit this. The Other Guys opens on September 9. Stay posted for all my other updates from AIMC coming over the next week or so. A lot happened, so give me some time to write about it all.

Splice and dice baby

Readers, feel free to marvel at my multitasking skills if you will because on top of covering the Australian International Movie Convention (AIMC) on the Gold Coast this week and attending screenings, premieres, interviews, seminars, panel discussions and orgies with Mark Wahlberg and Will Ferrell, I have still managed to get up my weekly online video movie review. This week looked at Splice and you can take a geeze at the video here.

Also, my straight-to-camera piece on the AIMC is also worth a look, albeit only for comedic purposes. For more serious news hounds, the Australian federal election is coming up on Saturday and the Coalition announced their Arts Policy with BIG boosts to the Aussie film industry. Get the lo-down here.

Stay tuned for my interviews with Mark Wahlberg and Will Ferrell and coverage from the red carpet Australian premiere of The Other Guys. It will be posted this afternoon.

TWTWB gets politicool

It is the election issue that has got the country divided and the upcoming release of Tomorrow When The War Began will not ease any concerns about border security. Based on the best-selling series of novels from John Marsden, the film sees a group of teenagers become guerilla soldiers after Australia is invaded by a foreign power. Writer/director Stuart Beattie (above) was on the Gold Coast yesterday to promote the film and said although the books were published in the nineties, no one could have guessed border security would still be such a hot topic.

“It’s not refugees in the film, but the defense experts we talked to painted a very scary picture for us. It’s one of those things where we’re the beloved country, the lucky country where we’ve got so much and so many others have so little. We should be grateful and always remember that we have it better than anyone, we’ve never had a war on our own soil. If you take away anything politically from the film it’s that we’re so lucky and we should appreciate what we have, because we have so much.”

Although both the books and the film depict soldiers of Asian appearance, the invading country is never named and Beattie said `it’s not about who’s invading us’. “It’s about the main characters and what happens to them when their homes have been taken and their families have been locked up,” he said. “How do they react and how do they survive? That’s where the real drama is. And because they’re high schoolers to me it would feel inorganic to get into all that other stuff because teenagers would not be privy to the politics that’s going on. If I was making a film about the Prime Minister and his cabinet and a bunch of SAS soldiers then okay, we would need to say who this is because that’s what they would be talking about. But they’re teenagers trying to survive and the whole thing about the enemy is it doesn’t matter who they are, they’re here now and lets deal with it.”

(Above: Caroline Russo, TWTWB's Andy Ryan and Movie Mazzupial at the premiere after party)

Amid one of the battle scenes in the film, the key protagonist Ellie, played by Caitlin Stasey, comes across a mural of Captain Cook and the aborigines meeting for the first time. Beattie said the story of a country invading Australia and taking over the land might invoke comparisons to our nations history.

“I thought it was important to acknowledge that it’s not the first time this has happened,” he said. “Having Ellie acknowledge just for a second, amidst all this craziness, that she’s on the other foot now and look at that in a whole new light. I didn’t want to make it all about that, I just wanted it acknowledged.”

After the film’s Queensland premiere on Sunday at Jupiters Hotel and Casino for the Australian International Movie Convention, the stars and Beattie had the opportunity to relax on the coast and have breakfast together in Southport yesterday. Sydney-based actress Phoebe Tonkin, who plays the character of Fiona in the film, said being back on the coast was like coming home. Tonkin was based on the Gold Coast for three years where she played one of the main characters in children’s show H20: Just Add Water.

“I lived in Broadbeach for six months with the girls from the show and we trained at Southport pool, so it’s great to be back here,” she said. “I filmed at Warner Roadshow Studios and there were always big films coming into be made there because this is such a beautiful place to shoot. It looks great on camera and has all the locations.”

Tonkin and co-stars Caitlin Stasey, Linoln Lewis and Andy Ryan, along with Beattie, are now in Brisbane promoting the film. Although Beattie, who is based in L.A, said it was great to be able to spend some time back in Australia, what he was really excited about was the election.

“It’s so exciting to be here for that and to get to go into an election booth,” he said. “I haven’t been in the country for an election campaign in a long time. I’ve decided who I’m voting for, but I’m going to keep it under my hat.”

We still call Australia home?

The stars of Tomorrow When The War Began swapped Molotov cocktails for alcoholic ones when they celebrated the Queensland premiere of the film at Jupiters Hotel and Casino tonight.Writer/director Stuart Beattie walked the red carpet along with producers Andrew Mason and Michael Boughen, and stars Caitlin Stasey, Lincoln Lewis, Phoebe Tonkin and Andy Ryan, who play guerrilla soldiers in the film. The glitzy premiere launched the start of the Australian International Movie Convention, which is being held at the casino this week.

Beattie said it held special significance to him to hold the premiere at the convention. “It’s great to be back here again, because this is where I first announced that we would making the film last year,” he said. “It’s a real honour to be able to adapt these books and I was grateful for John (Marsden) trusting me with this.” Despite having penned blockbusters such as the Pirates Of The Caribbean trilogy and G.I Joe: Rise Of The Cobra, this is the directorial debut for Beattie.

The film is based on the best-selling series of novels from John Marsden, which follow a group of teenagers who decide to become guerilla soldiers when Australian is invaded. Lincoln Lewis, son of rugby league great Wally Lewis, plays one of the film’s protagonists and said it was `awesome’ to have a premiere in his home state. “I’m so happy to have the premiere not just in Queensland, but on the Goldy where I grew up,” he said. “I’m pretty nervous actually. I was very lucky to be cast in this, I was happy to just audition for it. But all of the reviews we have been getting so far have been really positive.” Lewis said he would be interested in appearing in the film’s sequels, but it would depend on `box office results and audience reaction’.

Former Neighbours actress Caitlin Stasey plays the film’s heroine Ellie Linton and said it was `incredible’ as there are rarely opportunities to play a female action hero. "Every girl wants to feel they can amount to someone of this calibre,” she said. “Most of the action movies are for males, so it’s great to play Ellie and prove that you don’t have to be a romantic heroine to be a heroine.”

More than 1000 people packed Jupiters Theatre to watch the movie, which was introduced by Beattie and the cast and crew. Last week the Hollywood Stock Exchange – an artificial money market which allows punters to trade ‘movie stocks’ and ‘star bonds’ using imaginary dollars, tipped Tomorrow When The War Began as one of the five Australian films likely to gross more than $US20 million each at the US box office.

The film itself was, I'm glad to say, truly fantastic. My full review is coming tomorrow sometime and I'm interviewing Tonkin, Lewis and Beattie in the morning so stay posted for that. Besides speaking to them on the red carpet, I chatted with the cast at the after party tonight and everyone, seriously everyone, is lovely and sincerely passionate about what they are putting out.

Speaking of passionate, you may remember at the start of this year I did and extensive interview with the Spierig Brothers, Peter and Michael. As a massive fan of their work, I saw one of them at the after party tonight (I have no idea which one) and totally made a fool of myself by doing the gushing fan thing. He remembered me, but by then it was too late as I had already exploded into a ball of geekiness and had to apologise and excuse myself. He thought it was funny. Me? Mortifying. AND when I went to leave, who should I get stuck in the elevator with? Both of the bloody Spierig Brothers! I said "I'm sorry for before, I will try to gush from a distance this time" and they laughed. But instead of taking the opportunity to ask about Dark Crystal, what did we talk about? Shoes. And the colour purple. Please excuse me now while I get the shotgun and take myself out the back.

War, Sanctum, Mark Wahlberg . . .it's going to be a crazy week

Hello beloved children! I have some exciting news for you; the Australian International Movie Convention kicks off at Jupiters Hotel and Casino, Gold Coast, Australia tonight and I will be there covering all the exciting juice to come out of it. The convention runs until Thursday with executives from all the top studios in the world coming to screen their films, hold panels on issues affecting the industry, seminars, trade shows, premieres and sneak peeks. It’s going to be a crazy, but very exciting period and I will be posting as often as I can. Here are some of the things to look out for:

-The event launches tonight with the Queensland premiere of Tomorrow When The War Began with all the stars and crew walking the red carpet. I will update you later tonight with what happened at the premiere and after party, but you will have to wait for the review in a few weeks time (sorry). On Monday morning I will be hanging out with the film's writer, director and producer Stuart Beattie (the lad behind screenplays for Pirates Of The Caribbean franchise and G.I Joe: Rise Of The Cobra) and the film’s stars Lincoln Lewis and Phoebe Tonkin, so stay posted for extended interviews of that.

-Later on Monday I will be trotting back to the convention command centre to find out what else has been happening and I will attend a screening of the sure-to-be-brilliant The Girl Who Played With Fire. Insert excited squeal here.

-Tuesday will kick off with a screening of Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, followed by some other exciting things which I can’t really tell you about just yet.

-Wednesday is the big one and I mean BIG one. I got an unexpected call from Alister Grierson last week, who’s the director of James Cameron’s underwater 3D epic Sanctum (Cameron, Grierson and Wight pictured above on set). He’s a pretty awesome dude and after meeting with him dozens of times over the past year and a half, we’ve stayed in touch and he is surprisingly not a douche baggy film type and actually ENJOYS keeping the progress updates coming.

Anywho, he told me exclusively that they will be screening the first-ever footage from Sanctum at the event on Wednesday morning. It makes sense, Cameron blew delegates away when he showed exclusive footage from his blockbuster Avatar last year, now, 12 months later, he is set to do the same. Star of the Sanctum, Rhys Wakefield, and producer Andrew Wight will attend the event when Universal Studios will present the scenes. Sanctum, filmed on the Coast earlier this year, is in post-production in Melbourne where the visual effects and final touches are being added.
 Grierson said it will be 'very exciting' to have people see the footage.

''It won't be the fully finished version but what you will see will be in 3D. Universal pictures are really excited and pumped up to do the release and it's rare an Australian film gets this amount of positive review and anticipation before it's out. We're doing some pick-up shots and have built a mini set here for visual effects, so we're very close to finishing.''

Although he and executive producer Cameron will not be attending the convention, Grierson reckons they've had amazing support from their American partners.

"I flew over to LA and screened a version for Jim about a month ago and he really enjoyed that. He had some tips on how to improve it and a few nips and tucks.''

So following that world exclusive screening, I will then get to interview Will Ferrell and MARK FREAKIN’ WAHLBERG when they come to the convention for the Australian premiere of The Other Guys at Event Cinemas, Robina. Excited as I am about seeing the film and meeting Ferrell, it’s no secret I’m slightly obsessed with Wahlberg and it has been one of my dreams to meet him in person so. . . eeeeeeeekkk!

-Thursday is the final day and I will still be coming down from the combined Wahlberg/Ferrell high of the night before. However, I do have an interview locked in with schlock kind George Hamilton about his new 3D film Bait. Yes, you may have heard of it, a tsunami washes a bunch of sharks into a supermarket and people need to escape. So bad it’s good, you know.

That’s a rough outline of what I have planned and what you can expect from me over the next few days. Like I said, I’ll be posting regularly, but I will also be tweeting like a mad dog and you can follow me here. There are a few things I can’t divulge, so be sure to stay tuned as there’s a bunch of exciting stuff happening that will blow your peuny minds. For the full lo-down on AIMC and the agenda, click here.

In the mean time, to catch up on Tomorrow When The War Began you can read my previous posts here, here and here, on Sanctum here, here, here and here, and The Other Guys here. Enjoy.