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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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