Like, toadally dude
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
A little 3D documentary about cane toads has already hoped its way into Australian cult status.
Below: Were-toad.
As a general rule, when your film gets selected into the Sundance Film Festival and Oscar-winning filmmaker Michael Moore is speaking your praises, it's a success. For veteran Australian filmmaker Mark Lewis, it's success he's still having trouble grasping.
``You know, I nearly dropped dead,'' says Lewis.
``Michael Moore came up to us after the Sundance screening and was saying things to the press like it's the `first great cult film of the decade.''
The praise kept coming for Lewis' Cane Toads: The Conquest - a 3D documentary about the cane toads introduction to Australia. The day after the film screened to 1300 people at Sundance earlier this year, Lewis received a phone call from eccentric German filmmaker Werner Herzog (Grizzly Man, Rescue Dawn).
``He called me up the next day and was waxing lyrical about the film and saying things like `wonderful, wonderful, wonderful' in his typical accent,'' says Lewis.
``He said the strange thing is, you're laughing and laughing so hard during the film that you forget what you're laughing about.
``It was amazing to get that kind of feedback from other filmmakers, especially ones that I respect. They were very generous.''
Lewis has worked in the Australian film industry for over 23 years as a writer, director and producer and his 1988 debut film was also a documentary on cane toads. He says he has spent decades ``wondering about and looking at the issue'' and Canetoads: The Conquest addresses some of the key questions.
``How did it get across the country and at the same time become ingrained as part of our culture?,'' he asks.
``These are extraordinary questions I hoped we've answered.
``The overriding thing is you can't control them, so by default have we have to learn to live with them or cohabit with them.''
Cane Toads: The Conquest was the first 3D film shot in Australia and Lewis (above) says taking the unusual approach of shooting a documentary in 3D has helped ``immerse the audience in the world of the toad.'' But Lewis says the highlight of the film was the array of unusual characters and experts he found to interview.
``We threw the net wide for people who have an understanding of the toad,'' he says.
``I see it as an honour when people ask if the characters are fictional because they are truly larger than life.
``From the people who had Buffy, a giant cane toad sculpture, to Kevin from Bloomsbury who creates beautiful art from taxidermy toads . . .they were all interesting.''
Cane Toads: The Conquest 3D is out today.
As a general rule, when your film gets selected into the Sundance Film Festival and Oscar-winning filmmaker Michael Moore is speaking your praises, it's a success. For veteran Australian filmmaker Mark Lewis, it's success he's still having trouble grasping.``You know, I nearly dropped dead,'' says Lewis.
``Michael Moore came up to us after the Sundance screening and was saying things to the press like it's the `first great cult film of the decade.''
The praise kept coming for Lewis' Cane Toads: The Conquest - a 3D documentary about the cane toads introduction to Australia. The day after the film screened to 1300 people at Sundance earlier this year, Lewis received a phone call from eccentric German filmmaker Werner Herzog (Grizzly Man, Rescue Dawn).
``He called me up the next day and was waxing lyrical about the film and saying things like `wonderful, wonderful, wonderful' in his typical accent,'' says Lewis.
``He said the strange thing is, you're laughing and laughing so hard during the film that you forget what you're laughing about.
``It was amazing to get that kind of feedback from other filmmakers, especially ones that I respect. They were very generous.''
Lewis has worked in the Australian film industry for over 23 years as a writer, director and producer and his 1988 debut film was also a documentary on cane toads. He says he has spent decades ``wondering about and looking at the issue'' and Canetoads: The Conquest addresses some of the key questions.
``How did it get across the country and at the same time become ingrained as part of our culture?,'' he asks.
``These are extraordinary questions I hoped we've answered.
``The overriding thing is you can't control them, so by default have we have to learn to live with them or cohabit with them.''
Cane Toads: The Conquest was the first 3D film shot in Australia and Lewis (above) says taking the unusual approach of shooting a documentary in 3D has helped ``immerse the audience in the world of the toad.'' But Lewis says the highlight of the film was the array of unusual characters and experts he found to interview.``We threw the net wide for people who have an understanding of the toad,'' he says.
``I see it as an honour when people ask if the characters are fictional because they are truly larger than life.
``From the people who had Buffy, a giant cane toad sculpture, to Kevin from Bloomsbury who creates beautiful art from taxidermy toads . . .they were all interesting.''
Cane Toads: The Conquest 3D is out today.
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