Favourite Movie Friday with director David Michod

The film critic-turned-filmmaker’s debut film Animal Kingdom took out a jury award at Sundance and a tonne of others at the IF Awards in Sydney last month (including best director and best lead actor). He also wrote Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Natalie Portman vehicle Hesher, which is out next year, but most importantly, he shared his favourite movies (or movie rather) with me here:

“It’s so weird, there are so many different movies I really love but the one I think I love most is Apocalypse Now. In part because it works on such a grand scale, but it’s full of such beautiful detail. It was the first time I remember watching a movie and thinking `it would be fun to make that movie. Terrifying, but an adventure. It represents everything I love about films, making them and watching it.”



You can read my exclusive interview with David Michod here.

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Palmer lights up Hollywood

They say when one door closes, another one opens and that was certainly the case when George Miller's Justice League movie was cancelled just a few weeks into rehearsals. Adelaide actress Teresa Palmer (above) was to play super villain Talia al Ghul in the superhero mash-up alongside Batman, Wonder Woman and Superman. Although she was `devastated', the weeks in rehearsal gave her the opportunity to bond with American actor Jay Baruchel, who is best known for roles in Knocked Up and Tropic Thunder.
``It was fortunate for me because I got to know Jay. . .and when we did a chemistry test for The Sorcerer's Apprentice we had already worked together and I got the part,'' says the 24-year-old.
``It's very surreal actually; I never expected to be in a Jerry Bruckheimer film starring across from Nicolas Cage.''

The film sees physics nerd Dave (Jay Baruchel) recruited as the new apprentice to master sorcerer Balthazar Blake (Cage) in a battle to save New York City from the evil Maxim Horvath (Alfred Molina). Palmer plays Dave's love interest, Becky, and says the shoot was a unique opportunity to get to know some Hollywood heavyweights, especially Cage.
``Nic is very intriguing person, he has so many layers to his personality - he's funny, delightful, interesting, quirky and so off the beaten track,'' she says.
``And he's just a funny character because he's really intense and quite humourous, and can be quite serious.''

It is the third big Hollywood role for Palmer, after The Grudge 2 and Bedtime Stories, as well as parts in Australian films such as 2: 37 and December Boys alongside Daniel Radcliffe. She says her growing popularity overseas is largely thanks to the work of other Australian actors.
``Americans have really embraced the Australians,'' she says.
``It might have something to do with the wonderful actors before us like Cate Blanchett, Russell Crowe, and Naomi Watts, who helped paved the way because they were so focussed and wonderful in their work.
``It opened the doors for us.''

Doors are continuing to open for Palmer, who just finished shooting romantic comedy Kids In America (alongside boyfriend Topher Grace) and the Michael Bay and Steven Spielberg produced blockbuster I Am Four. Set on Earth, the alien action film is new territory for Palmer, who says she got to do her own stunts and `play an alien who kicks major bad-alien butt'.
``We're getting pursued by the bad aliens, but my character is sick of running away so she turns around and the hunters become the hunted.
``I got to do my own stunts and I had someone film this one amazing stunt I did.
``I was attached to a harness which was attached to a 60 foot crane and when they said action I had to run and the harness, that was attached to just my leg, would pull me back and I would go flying 60 feet up in the air.
``I had to act like this huge alien, a Piken, was pulling me up and I would be kicking and screaming and trying to stab it with this dagger.''
Palmer is set to make a return to Australian film when she stars alongside Joel Edgerton in Nothing To Say, which begins filming later this year. In the meantime, she is travelling to Africa with charity organisation The Happy Africa Foundation to film a documentary on their work at an orphanage.The documentary will be Palmer's directorial debut, but that doesn't mean she's giving up acting anytime soon.
``Directing, well I'm so interested in filmmaking and philanthropic and this is a nice way to merge it all together,'' she says.
``I'm going to dip my toes in the water with it and hopefully I will be good at it, but I always want to keep acting.
``I'm so ecliptic in every aspect of myself, in my clothes, my taste of music and my taste of film, that I'm all over the shop.
``I love comedy, action, romance, drama, I don't have one specific genre and by being willing to try anything it keeps you mentally stimulated.
``Hopefully I will be able to keep doing that with my career.''

Speaking of career, Hollywood is the graveyard for many a promising young star, with fame and fortune corrupting the likes of Lindsay Lohan, Kirsten Dunst and Winona Ryder, to name a few. But Palmer, who has been based in Los Angeles for several years now, is keeping her feet firmly on the ground.
“Hollywood can be a very addictive drug and it can be a very dangerous world,” she says.
“There are ways to avoid it and sympathise with actors who have peaked early then spiralled out of control.
“It’s an easy thing to happen if don’t have good judgement and aren’t protected by your managers and agents.
“For me it’s surreal to meet these actors and filmmakers that you’ve looked up to for so long.
“I recognise how lucky and blessed I am and I would never take it for granted.
“It keeps me grounded, especially in Hollywood when there is so much temptation.”

It would be easy to let all the recent success go to her head, but Palmer says her friends help her keep a grasp on reality.
“I don’t let work define who I am,” she says.
“I have work and then I have my life.
“I find it relatively easy because I only work for six months of the year then you have rest of time off hanging with friends.
“When I’m working I stay in touch with them through Skype.
“As soon as they call action I’m creating a character, but when they call cut, I go home and I step back into myself.
“A lot of actors do method acting and that doesn’t really work for me.
“I just try to switch off at the door and when I come home for the day I be myself and enjoy life.”

The Sorcerer's Apprentice is out on Thursday. You can watch my video review of the film HERE. Note how I have fulfilled my journalistic ambitions by slipping in the phrase `bat-shit crazy’. Hooray!

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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.

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King of the jungle

It is one of the most prestigious film festivals in the world and this year Sundance was ruled by one man; Aussie film student turned film critic turned film director David Michôd (above). After making a string of award-winning short films, Michôd's full length debut Animal Kingdom took out the dramatic grand jury prize for world cinema and reviewers compared his work to that of Quentin Tarantino and Martin Scorsese.

Michôd also had another film in competition at the festival, Hesher, starring Natalie Portman, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Rainn Wilson, which he co-wrote with director Spencer Susser who was nominated for the dramatic grand jury prize.
``It was incredibly exciting,'' says Michôd.
``I already felt like I won before the awards were presented because for it to play the way it played and for it to go down the way it went down…it was so exhilarating.
``I didn't need a prize; I already had my wildest dreams achieved.
``I was extremely happy that Hesher got in and Spencer was going to be there too.
``It's quite extraordinary when you think it about it because out of the 12 to 13 films in competition and the 2500 entries, we had them both in.
``I was very much living in an Animal Kingdom bubble. . .and to be there with so many of the cast and crew it felt fun, like being on tour with a rock band.
``It was great to be there with Spencer and Hesher and on some weird level it felt like we owned Sundance, but I think that way because I’m self-obsessed.''

Michôd says he had already left the festival when the award was presented because he didn't know `how the film was going to be received.' It was not his first time at Sundance, as he ventured there in 2008 in a déjà vu situation when his short film Crossbow was selected along with two others he co-wrote; Spider, directed by Nash Edgerton, and I Love You, Sarah Jane, directed by Spencer Susser and starring Mia Wasikowska.
“It really felt like people were talking about us and that there was something new coming out of Australia,” he says.
“People became aware we were all working on each others films.
“It was incredibly rewarding to go through the whole trauma of making a feature film and having it land there – I wouldn’t want it to play at any other festival.”

That wish cam true and to great result, with reviews for Animal Kingdom unanimously positive so far. Michôd says he had been carrying around the idea for the film for a while, however, it was his move from Sydney to Melbourne that prompted him to put pen to paper.
``It felt like a big city to me and I read a lot of true crime writing,” he says.
“It gave this new personality to the neighbourhoods behind the stories.
``I wanted to do a big, sprawling, crime story in Melbourne.”

His crime epic took a back seat while he finished film school and then got a job in Sydney working at Inside Film magazine where within two-years he became editor.
Michôd says he learnt a lot about how the business works in his time at the magazine and saw the distribution, marketing and publicity side of the filmmaking process which `filmmakers don't often get to see.' He says now that Animal Kingdom is to be released soon, he is surprised he was not more fearful of reviews given his experience writing them.
``I do think of myself as a sensitive soul and I'm surprised I didn't fear having the tables turned after having cast judgement for so long,'' he says.
``I didn't really enjoy reviewing films and I knew that if I didn't just jump out and have a crack, make Animal Kingdom, then I was never going to do it.''
As he began to gather momentum for Animal Kingdom through short film work, he also established a connection with Blue-Tongue Films, a loose-jointed Australian moviemaking collective founded by the Edgerton brothers Nash and Joel. Michôd, Spencer Susser, Nash Edgerton, Luke Doolan and Joel Edgerton (pictured in order above) make up the core of the group.
“The beauty of Blue-Tongue is it’s a collective of friends,” says Michôd.
“We’re all off making films with different production companies, but we always make sure we’re involved in each others stuff.
“It’s all about feeling like your not doing it alone, especially in the early days when you’re making shorts and none of you have any idea if there are careers awaiting you.”

Once the project was up off the ground, Michôd says `one of the most encouraging things' was how quickly people came on board.
``I felt good about it, but I didn't know it would work and I was racked with self-doubt,” he says.
“So, to have actors with such an incredible body of work jump on board quickly and enthusiastically made me think the material would work.
``It feels intimidating walking on set and all these powerful personalities and actors are waiting for you.
``But when you know the movie inside out, you know what you need to say.
``I know I wanted it to be quite simple and almost beautiful.
``I knew early on and talked about this a lot with the cinematographer that I didn't want it to be full of funky camera stuff.
``I didn't want it to feel like a rock 'n' roll crime movie that's about how cool criminals are.''

Animal Kingdom stars a who's who of Australian acting talent such as Guy Pearce, Joel Edgerton, Luke Ford, Ben Mendelsohn, James Frecheville and Jacki Weaver. It is psychological crime drama about a 17-year-old boy (Frecheville) as he tries to survive amongst his criminal family and manage a detective who is determined to save him. Animal Kingdom opens in cinemas on Thursday and you can check out the trailer below.

In the meantime, if you find the indie and oh-so-awesome film collective Blue-Tongue Films as interesting as I do, then I suggest you head over to the NY Times and read this far superior piece by Michael Cieply. Tis’ fascinating.

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Exclusive interview with Paul Middleditch, director of Separation City

Famous for his commercials, New Zealand director Paul Middleditch continues his crossover into feature filmmaking with the adult dramedy Separation City.

Unless you’re a trans-Tasman film buff, odds are you haven’t heard of Paul Middleditch. You’re more likely to have heard of his famous characters, namely the disgruntled worker from the Yellow Pages ad who turned the line “not happy Jane” into a mainstream catchphrase.

Coming from a background in directing commercials, Middleditch says humour is an element he has carried across from his early projects into his feature filmmaking career.
It is certainly key ingredient in his most recent work Separation City, which follows the intertwining lives and relationships of several adults living in Wellington, New Zealand.
“A lot of the best films I’ve seen use humour to look at the dark things, like Little Miss Sunshine,” he says.
“I wanted Separation City to be a commercially entertaining film that has real emotional hurt to it and a lot of the material is quite heavy.
“But it really has heart to it.
“I think I wanted to make the film insightful, but very amusing in its insight.”
Unlike his earlier films A Cold Summer and Terra Nova which used local actors, Middleditch says he has assembled “a United Nations cast” starring acclaimed character actors from around the world. In the lead roles are Australian actors Joel Edgerton and Les Hill, New Zealand actress Danielle Cormack, German actor Thomas Kretschmann from such films as The Young Victoria, Valkyrie and Wanted. and British actress Rhona Mitra (above) who was most recently seen in Underworld 3: Rise Of The Lycans as Sonja.

It took considerable effort on Middleditch’s behalf to convince Kretschmann to do the film as it was his first foray into comedy.
“He said to me `I’m German, I’m not funny” he says.
“I managed to convince him and he loved it, he had a lot of fun with it.”
Moderate star power aside, Middleditch says the key to Separation City is the story, written by former political cartoonist Tom Scott.
“I was approached to do the film because they were looking for a comical, New Zealand director and Tom Scott had put together this funny, enlightening script about what can happen in a long term relationship and marriage,” he says.
“It’s about how you start to redefine yourself after having children and the marriage can be neglected.
“In the movie two people’s self-esteem is through the floor and by chance they meet and get excited by each other.
“It has a very positive, uplifting message that nobody is perfect.”
Middleditch says he’s “very proud” of the performances from the ensemble cast, particularly Joel Edgerton (above) in a rare comedic role and close friend Les Hill, best known for his role in Underbelly.
Dr Who ring tone of Les on the phone, have to go in interview bro
“We have worked together on a lot of commercials but this is his (Les Hill) first major comedy role and he’s hilarious,” he says.
“He’s probably the funniest thing in the film, like a Jack Black sort of character.
“He trusted me to cast him as Harry, a dry-as-a-biscuit political journalist, and he had to put on weight for the role.
“He’s usually a pretty healthy sort of guy so he loved the idea of getting off the plane and going to McDonalds.”

As if to illustrate their friendship and in a stroke of perfectly choreographed timing from the Gods, the Doctor Who theme song goes off in the background as Middleditch’s mobile phone starts ringing and he has pause the interview.
“Hang on one second, it’s Les,” he says.
“Hi bro, I’ve got to go, I’m doing an interview.”

Resisting the urge to make a comment about the use of the word `bro’ amongst Kiwi’s, I instead ask him about working with cinematographer Steve Arnold who, after working on the John Malkovich film Disgrace, has shot another visually stunning film in Separation City. Wellington has never looked quite so beautiful on film, with Arnold applying his skill for capturing beautiful images to the New Zealand landscape just as easily as he does in the streets of Berlin.
“Working with Steve…I’m a very visual director and I wanted to give the film a very exciting, cinematic feel,” says Middleditch.
“We shot a small amount in Berlin and we had a beautiful shoot there in mid-winter with only four hours of shootable light to work with.”

With Separation City now a finished product and screening in cinemas nationally, Middleditch says he has been up to his old tricks creating yet another comical character in an ad, this time Barabara who lives in Bank World from the new ANZ ads (below).


Middleditch has also been in the US looking at several projects, including developing a film in Australia. (Above) Writer and producer Tom Scott with director Paul Middleditch

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That Thing you do

See that? See what I did there with the headline? Clever huh *insert cricket noise and tumble weed here. Moving on…uber-talented Australian lad Joel Edgerton is set star in a remake of The Thing.

The Hollywood remake is said to be a remake of John Carpetner’s `82 version of The Thing which was a remake of the Howard Hanks’ `51 film The Thing From Another World which was a take on the `38 short Who Goes There?

If you lead a more exciting life then I, a fun game could be played involving a shot of whiskey every time I use the word `remake’. An even funner game would be a shot every time Hollywood did another remake (shot!) which would have you in a medically induced coma in 45 minutes ….approximately.

Remake (shot!) negativity aside, I’m actually semi-excited about this, mainly because Edgerton (below) is involved and frankly, I consider him a bit of a multi-talented, cinematic genius. Did I mention his most recent film Animal Kingdom picked up the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance? And don’t even get me started on The Square.

The Thing follows a shape-shifting alien who terrorizes a group of people in Antarctica. Sounds a bit like the first Alien Vs Predator to me, but less shit.

Mary Elizabeth Winstead will co-star, which is good if she behaves like she did in Death Proof and frightening if she pulls a Make It Happen. Her character is a PhD candidate (cough) who joins a Norwegian research team in Antarctica after it discovers an alien ship in the ice. When the trapped organism is freed and begins a series of attacks, she is forced to team up with a blue-collar mercenary helicopter pilot (Edgerton) to stop the rampage.

Dutch producer Matthijs Van Heijningen makes his directorial debut with The Thing which begins filming on March 15 in Toronto.

No word yet on a release date or 3D inclinations.

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