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=============================== NEWCASTLE CINEPOST ISSUE #5 SUMMER 2000/2001 =============================== EDITORIAL Another year in the can, and this makes five issues of NCP. So here's our super millennium summer Christmas bumper special issue. Phew! That translates as 'gives Andrew & Marty a break 'til March.' In which time we'll take a look at NCP and see where it's headed. For starters: NCP will soon be online! Though you'll still receive the monthly issue in e-newsletter format, you can now also go to the site and view the current and back issues, complete with images and links. So we hope you've enjoyed the first 5 issues, and thanks to all those that have submitted articles - keep 'em coming! Finally, CONGRATULATIONS to Jason van Genderen (winner Sunrise Film Festival), Kristi Street (for the Shootout madness), Anthony O'Connor (for getting his script 'Angst' up onto the big screen), Susie Porter (for her AFI nomination for 'Better Than Sex'), Dion Cominos (winner Newcastle Video-Makers Awards), Dein Perry (5 AFI's for 'Bootmen'), Beth Phelan (directing her first World of Women Film Festival) and Andrew Gibbons & Shaun Perrett (winners Newcastle Short Film Awards). Enjoy your summer…enjoy your filmy stuff! Enjoy NCP #5! eds. THIS ISSUE: - local screen culture news - festival reports - NCP profiles local filmmaker Joe Laughton - interview with Susie Porter - NCP Billboard: Rod Ansell & Drew Davis ========================== SCREEN CULTURE ========================== STUDY VIDEO AT TAFE In 2001 the Hunter Institute of Technology is offering a subject in digital video production as part of its 'Digital Arts & Media' course. The course is for people who want to work as digital arts and media product and/or service developers. You learn to create and produce digital arts and media products using target platforms such as digital video, CD-ROM, computer, World Wide Web, and other media as they emerge. Areas of coverage may include the arts, family and community history, entertainment, information, marketing and e-commerce. Course subjects include Animation Software Packages, Promotion and Marketing, Digital Sound & Music Production and Digital Video Production. For enrollment info on the course, phone the Hunter Street Campus on 4925 2344, or log-on to the Digital Arts & Media course's web site at http://www.hunter.tafensw.edu.au/courseinfo/courses/coursedetails.asp?crsnumber=7499 ASSISTANCE FOR FILMING IN REGIONAL AREAS From the 1st January 2001 the FTO's new REGIONAL FILMING FUND will be operating to provide grant funds to productions filming in NSW, outside the Sydney Metropolitan Area. Funds will be available for Feature Films, Television Series, Mini-Series, Telemovies and Documentaries. To download guidelines and applications forms and find out more go to http://www.fto.nsw.gov.au/News/N001215.HTM NEWCASTLE WARMS TO THE COLD READS The response to the Cold Read Series had been so popular, that centrescreen extended their season until mid-December. The new venue for the reads is The Cambridge Hotel, in Newcastle West. The series has now taken a break for Christmas, though will recommence in late January. Watch this space for more details. Centrescreen is the script development arm of Hunterscreen Entertainment. For info, contact Greg Hall at centrescreen on 4927 1933. YOUNG FILMMAKERS FUND The NSW Film & Television Office's Young Filmmakers Fund is now in it's 10th Round. The YFF provides grants of up to $25,000 towards film production or post-production costs. Since Round 1 of the funding project, the YFF has received 920 applications, with 53 successful applications receiving an approx total of $1.1M. This is an excellent opportunity for Newcastle documentary and short video-makers to access some serious funding for their next project. To be eligible for funding, you entrants be a NSW resident aged between 18-35 years and your project must be produced entirely in NSW. You can download YFF Round 10 entry forms & guidelines from http://www.fto.nsw.gov.au or contact YFF coordinator Michelle Fillery on 02 9264 6400. ========================== FEATURES ========================== THE 5TH NEWCASTLE FILM FESTIVAL Newcastle Film Festival was held 17-19 November with filmmaking seminars, international short films and the Newcastle Short Film Awards at the Cambridge Hotel and Performing Arts Newcastle space. Students from the University of Newcastle - Amelia Robertson & Angela McKay (public relations), Andrew Slattery (producer) and Marty Middlebrook (director) - coordinated the event. The festival was a great success, attracting close to 500 people over two afternoons and nights. Friday night saw a variety of world shorts, including the psychotic 'Black XXX-Mas' from Belgium, and 'Rick & Steve the Happiest Gay Couple in all the World' - the comedy lego-mation that's proving a favorite with festivals worldwide. Plenty of in-the-know ex-Novocastrians were on hand over the weekend to panel on NFF's two seminars. Glenn Fraser ('Indulgence' and 'Boy') and Paul Klarenaar (Race Around Oz) arrived to discuss ideas at the Short Filmmaking seminar, whilst Anthony O'Connor ('Angst'), George Mannix (Hunterscreen Entertainment) and others rolled in to talk writing for the screen. The seminars provided both an escape from the belting rain and a wealth of information for some of Newcastle's budding filmmakers. The Newcastle Short Film Awards were held on Saturday night at The Cambridge Hotel. Twelve local shorts were screened out of competition, then the top ten. Some high-profile judges were on hand to view the best that Newcastle had to offer - Beth Phelan (director - World of Women FF), Kristi Street (director - Shootout FF), Yahoo Serious ('Mr. Accident') and June H. Tayloe (Project Manager for the Newcastle FTO). What unfolded were a diversity of genres and themes from local filmmakers, with docos, comedies, experimental and animation films making up the finalists. Best Film prize of a video camera went to Andrew Gibbons for 'Stuck,' his riotous tale of a couple, that while having sex, get, well…stuck! This opening premise set-up all manner of occurrences - including best script and the audience award (a helicopter joyflight with Yahoo Serious). Gibbons was elated, not seeming all that concerned about being Stuck in a Chopper with 'Mr. Accident.' Amanda Matthews took the editing award for her documentary 'Behind the Scenes' about Newcastle's Regal Cinema. The cinematography award was shared by Emily Maksimovic for 'Electricity' and Jason van Genderen  for 'Release The.' Tony Reynolds received a special judge's commendation for his unique chase film, 'Cliffbanger.' And Owen Elliot's film 'The Making of a Short Film' didn't make the finals, but he did take out the NEA Best Extra award for his role of "that guy sitting on the bench" in Andrew Gibbons' 'Stuck.' The Cambridge Hotel proved a great success for festival organisers to showcase the best films from Newcastle. "What better way to celebrate our egalitarianism than to hold a film festival in a pub," said Yahoo Serious in his welcome speech. "The entire festival went off without a hitch!" said festival director, Marty Middlebrook. "With an entire crew of volunteers - the weekend went phenomenally well!" Hopefully they will all have left inspired for next year's festival." The festival will be back in November 2001, to continue playing a key role in the development of screen culture activity in regional Australia. Andrew Slattery Festival Producer ================================== ================================== IF AWARDS 2000 / THE AFI AWARDS Within five days of each other, these were not only Australia's feature film nights of nights, but also a showdown of glitz, glamour & glory that I was to infiltrate for the very first time. The if Awards were on a Tuesday night, the AFI's on the following Saturday; if Awards were udience voted, the AFI's were industry voted, and everyone was wondering if they could get away with wearing the same tux twice, or was that only me? Initially I headed to Wharf 8, thinking that Foxtel was a strange venue for an awards ceremony. Then the rain started getting heavier and no-one in a tux turned up, so I hailed a cab and went to the other side of Darling Harbour to Kings Wharf, Wharf 8, to find that there was nobody wearing a tux at this venue as well. There was, however, a red carpet. The if Awards chose an excellent venue for their night. The foyer was big enough to hold the crowd of celebrities, filmmakers, wannabe filmmakers, actors, aspiring talent, media personalities and industry hangers-on like myself. The awards themselves were precisely scheduled, with music clips from feature films on the big screen, and a very short audience warm-up which allowed everybody time to get back to what was really important about the night, drinking lots of booze. Nick Gianopoulos made an enjoyable speech when accepting the box office award for Australian film, pointing out that 'The Dish' had just passed 'The Wog Boy' total for the year, he was also the only celeb I got to meet (yes: the yobbo-wog thing really is an act!). The most satisfying moment was when Paul Cox accepted the prizes for Best Film ('Innocence') and Best Independent Filmmaker of the Year. Another great moment came when Charles "Bud" Tingwall summed up the history of Australian film and Baz Lurmann counter-pointed by talking about the future of Australian filmmaking. The organisers did such a good job, they were able to provide drinks to patrons within seconds of leaving the ceremony hall and entering the foyer for the post-awards drinks. After half an hour of the awards ceremony finishing, the organisers had transformed the awards hall into a huge dance party venue and everyone got mingling. It was time to pitch Tropfest ideas and meet the industry talent. I was able to find all the aspiring actors, wannabe filmmakers, potential media personalities and industry hangers-on like myself who enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere. The AFI Awards were a more serious affair. These were the awards that the actors and filmmakers really cared about. I found my way to Fox Studios with my last minute date (my flatmate), and was immediately stunned by the lights, cameras and lack of action. The Fox Studios venue, was the old Hordern Pavilion, the same venue that I thrashed to Nirvana and Primus at The Big Days Out of old, but this dressed up speech night was a much, much slower affair. The long red carpet had its moments of glory, like when I walked in and was rushed by the rows of cameras getting to Guy Pearce behind me. I then joined the crowd of "lookers" who stood to the side of the red carpet to watch Annalise Braakensiek walk down the carpet and pose for cameras and then, moments later, walk down the red carpet again. There were many pretend kisses, fake "How nice to see you" and actors searching the crowd for producers. The foyer was tiny and the bar was packed, and you had to pay (way too much) for drinks! At intermission, I joined the queue for the bar. I was still 2 people deep when they shut the bar, and I thought it was a film industry event! Unbelievable! The only award that everyone knew for certainty was the best actor, and Eric Bana's acceptance speech was great, "...I better not cry, Chop would be very disappointed...". The non-televised highlight of the awards was when Mikey Robbins broke his chair during a presentation and had to get a new chair. They were uncomfortable chairs, but he didn't need to break it! The after party at least had a good amount of food, there was a choice of food from all over the world and the beers were premium, and, thankfully, free. When we walked into the exhibition hall next to the Horden, there was an immediate segregation of the crowd to those with tables and the rest. I was able to get onto a distributor's table for a short amount of time, but it really did create a gap between the glamorous and the peasants. The music and sound system were fairly ordinary, but the drunken celebrities dancing to Brittany Spears was entertaining. The Chopper party had the sense to go elsewhere, Rob Stich was attempting to be a man of the people, and the bathroom scene was a bit full-on but generally it was a fairly sombre party. Overall I had a better time at the if Awards, but the award to win is still the AFI. Paul Robinson 12/12/00 [Paul Robinson is a video/communications graduate from the University of Newcastle. Paul was festival producer of Newcastle Film Festival in 1999. Paul is now the Product Manager in Film Research for ACNielsen in Sydney. In his spare time Paul writes and directs short films]. ========================== INTERVIEWS & PROFILES ========================== PROFILE: JOE LAUGHTON It's a shame I didn't actually get to meet Joe Laughton, because at 85 y/o he seems a more vibrant and enthusiastic filmmaker than some young people I've met. Having been retired for more than 16 years now, and after 60 years of filmmaking Joe is still behind the camera. He began in the 1930's as a photographer, which he loved. Until he bought his first 8mm movie camera. Influenced by the newsreels featured between movies in those golden years, Joe noted there was never anything local, only overseas content. Henceforth he began shooting his own. Unfortunately, Joe's newsreels could not be shown in local theatre's as they were only shot on 8mm. So instead, Joe would run weekly shows in his garage, which were well attended and well enjoyed. This is not to say that Joe has only ever made newsreels. Over the years he has made many short films, covering a range of topics and genres. He most recently took out an entire film festival for a comedy he shot with friends. He is also a lifetime member of the local Cine Society. He has filmed many of the major events over the years, apparently almost all Newcastle Shows, Mattara Festivals, The Anzac Parade right through to a documentary on the opening of the Palais Royal in 1942. Joe still captures footage around town. Most recently he says he's been filming the end-of-year formals at local high schools. He made mention of one particular couple arriving in a helicopter to their formal. Joe's work has been utilised many times for historical and commercial purposes. NBN recently discovered his archives, using much of it for documentary pieces on the local area. His footage was also used for Film Australia's recent documentary 'Steel City.' ***JOE'S TIPS***  "Always be sure people will be interested in what you shoot. Select the actors that fill the role, if they don't fit the part they're playing - you've made a comedy. You have to allow for help, you can't expect to be able to make a film on your own. And use a script! And do it because you love it. There isn't much money in amateur filmmaking. So unless you intend on becoming a filmmaker - be sure to enjoy yourself and make films that you want to see as well." "So many people have their own video cameras these days, and a lot of people are getting quite sick of home videos and weddings. They film every little bit that happens. I make films that people want to see. I try to keep it as professional but these days EVERYONE has a video camera." ============================ INTERVIEW: SUSIE PORTER Susie Porter began acting at a young age, and kept at it until achieving a spot in NIDA (National institute of Dramatic Art), famous for producing talents like Mel Gibson and Judy Davis. Susie went on to appear in many feature films, including most recently 'Two Hands', 'Bootmen' and her AFI-nominated performance opposite David Wenham in 'Better Than Sex'. Susie also has a small role in 'Star Wars: Episode II,' which has finished filming at Fox Studios. But remember: Ms. Porter once attended Newcastle Grammar... MM: Is there anyone there you can attribute your acting talents to in Newcastle? SP: Nola Wallace,  my drama teacher. I remember saying to her "I want to be an actress" and she said "Look, you can't just want to be an actress, you have to have a NEED to be an actress" and I suppose I've always remembered that. And in times of unemployment you realise that it's really true. MM: So what are your tips for aspiring actresses? SP: It's a matter of discipline and luck. There are so many variables in being successful, I suppose you need to really love the craft and work hard at it. And learn how to cope with being unemployed. MM: You're getting to be pretty successful right now. I mean 'STAR WARS: Episode II', every actor in the whole country would be quite envious of that. Were there times when you were thinking of another career, that you'd be a waitress forever? SP: There was a time where, despite having been in some films, I hadn't done anything for a year and it's times like that you think "I'll never ever get work again, I've had my fifteen minutes and that's it." Of course it turned around, but it is always hard to deal with being unemployed. What I think you need to do is keep busy, keep looking for work but also keep learning new things, like learning to ride a horse or speak another language. You have to keep motivated, but now, around December / January it's always very quiet as far as work goes for actors. MM: Do you do a lot of Theatre work? SP: I just finished a play 2 weeks ago, a play called 'Sweet Phoebe' by Michael Gow. And that's the first bit of Theatre I've done since I finished NIDA 5 years ago. This one was a real challenge because it was a two-hander and I had 7 page monologues and I knew I couldn't say "can we cut now?" So it was really frightening but it was a great experience. I mean stage acting is a totally different discipline. I think that I will go back to do more stage work. Our industry is a small industry and I think people can get sick of you really quickly. MM: You've worked with an array of directors. Lately I noticed you've been working a lot with first time directors, but you were in Bruce Beresford's 'Paradise Road' and Stephan Elliot's 'Welcome to Woop Woop'. So can you describe the ideal film set? SP: Yeah, I think that, all my film experiences have been really good. But working on 'Better Than Sex' was a great film set. We had a very small crew, and I was only working with one other actor, David Wenham who was great. That was more fun than it was work, and you really feel guilty being paid for it. There are some directors who are what you'd call "actors directors", and there are others who are more concerned with how the shot looks than on rehearsing scenes and things. MM: It'd be interesting to see what you thought working with Dein Perry then. SP: Oh he was lovely to work with. He was just very easy. We just mucked up on set. And I spoke to him the other week and he's keen to keep making movies, so I think he's been bitten by the bug. MM: So have you caught a Hollywood bug at all with STAR WARS at all? SP: Not really. I mean I have been to LA and it's a horrible place. But I look at it as just a working town, you just go there and find the other Australian's and just get your film done. But ideally I'd love to stay in Sydney, I love Australia and I'd love to keep working here. But there are a number of directors I'd love to work with, and if I get those opportunities I don't want to pass them up. And I don't want to stay here until I'm like 40 years old and then before you know it I don't get any work, or I could have the apron slapped on me and I'm playing mother roles. You do have a strange sense of panics and stuff. MM: What do you attribute your talent to education wise? SP: Basically, what I did was acted in about 20 plays while I was at university. When I finished my BA, I'd done enough plays that I felt confident enough to go Sydney and go to Drama school there. When I was about 20 I'd send my NIDA application fee and my photo, and I never turned up because you've gotta be really confident for your audition. It was quite full on. The audition was full on to start with. 2 days of intense performing. It was a huge thing when I went in at 22 to the biggest acting school in the southern hemisphere. You need a lot of discipline and a lot of self belief. It's a fantastic course, but it's also a very demanding place to be. Basically, for those three years it's your life. When you go out you talk about nothing but acting. It's quite weird. It's wonderful because you just act every day! When you're finished with Drama school, you have a big agents day. You kind of do a big audition in front of all the industry heavies. There you get an agent and casting agents know you and having been to NIDA is a great foot in the door I think. MM: I have to ask - what was the set of STAR WARS like? SP: Well, it was very different to what I'm used to, which is the sort of small film set. It was huge, there were so many people there, which was quite daunting. But it's good to dabble in both of them. It was a great experience to work with someone like George Lucas. He actually let me do some stuff that wasn't scripted and let me impro some stuff. He was very open and he let me do what I wanted. MM: And in the future? SP: I have a film coming out soon called 'Mullet' which is the latest film by David Caeser with Ben Mendelsohn, which is set in a rural town and is quite a funny film, but I haven't seen any of it yet. I'll be appearing in a few episodes of 'Farscape' next year. And then I'm doing a film called 'When We Were Modern' which is about artists living in the 1940's living in Melbourne. I'm playing an artist called Joy Hestor, and it's about a time in Australia that not a lot of people know about. So it's quite an interesting era to look at. http://us.imdb.com/Name?Porter,+Susie ========================== BILLBOARD ========================== >ARTICLES A FEW THOUGHTS ON CASTING by Rod Ansell I saw a great little short film on ABC this week. It was called ‘Lost’ and was obviously made on a tiny budget, and its imaginative use of limited resources was admirable. Yet  the heart of the film was an extraordinary performance from Aussie legend, Helen Morse - beautiful & troubled, delicate yet powerfully emotional. A fine performance can “carry” a film and nothing can save a film with a dud central character. But what underfed independent film maker could afford Helen Morse? Why not use your sister-in-law or a fellow student? The good news for film makers is that over 90% of Australian actors are unemployed at any one time - many of them fabulous talented professionals with riches to offer on set & on screen. They’re keen! Actors don’t cost a fortune and will work with a passion & dedication in a role which offers them creative possibilities. Treat them well & give them a challenging part & actors love to work. The good ones will bring more to a role & a film than the writer & director could imagine. And they are, after all, the star of the show. Why not budget for the right actor at the centre of your film? [Rod Ansell is a local aator, director & casting person at Ansell & Ansell Actors Agency – contactable by ph\fax 02 49 623 983]. >MAIL NOVOCASTRIAN EXTRAS AGENCY (NEA) would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a very merry and safe Christmas and New Year Season. We would also like to thank the editors of NCP - Marty Middlebrook and Andrew Slattery - for their help and support over the last 6 months and congratulate them on doing such a great job with Newcastle CinePost and Newcastle Film Festival. Like the NCP, NEA is in its first year of operations and has grown and developed enormously over the last 9 months. The last 15 weeks have seen NEA place over 160 actors and extras into work in both the regional and metropolitan regions. This work has included many TVC's, documentaries, real-life shows, short films, advertorials, promotions, comedy gigs, etc. for local and national companies including: - Ch 10, Ch 9, CLEO, Australian Defence Force, Prime Film Productions, Voices 1, ICS, CHR Employment Services, Companion Travel, Charlestown Square, Landcom and many others. Novocastrian Extras is becoming well known and regarded in the industry for its straightforward, no-nonsense approach and for having a huge local range of both actors/extras and performers who have the "normal look" and these are ensuring the growth and future success of NEA in the industry. Novocastrian Extras Agency was proud to be associated with the 2000 Newcastle Film Festival and would like to congratulate Owen Elliot for winning the inaugural "Best Extra" award for his work in the film  "Stuck" during the festival. The level of talent displayed during the Filmfest ensures that Newcastle will have a very strong future as a film and TV centre and enforces the depth of skills and abilities in local actors, extras, scriptwriters, directors, production crews and so on. NEA is determined to be there to help promote, foster, and develop the Hunter Region and it's many talented actors and performers to all in the Film and TV industry. Novocastrian Extras will be open over the Christmas season and will be operating on our normal business hours of 8am to 5pm Monday to Friday. Stuck for a Christmas gift idea? - NEA has gift certificates for membership available all year. Why not surprise someone with something a bit different this year and give them the chance to be discovered! Stay safe and enjoy the Festive Season. Drew Davis NEA Director ___________ DEAR FILMFEST SUPPORTERS, Marty & Andrew would like to personally extend their gratitude to all the volunteers who helped out during the build-up and over the course of the weekend of November 17-19. The entire Film Festival was a success, and no one got paid, so we're very pleased to know that so many would do so much, for so little. As well as the volunteers, it is important to acknowledge the support of the many industry people who lent their expertise in one form or another to ensure a quality event for all. And finally, special THANK YOU'S to our entrants as well, as we all know: without films, there are no film festivals. Marty Middlebrook [NFF Director] Andrew Slattery [NFF Producer] >CAST & CREW CALLS EDITORIAL ASSISTANT WANTED for Newcastle CinePost. Assistant would work with editors to produce the newsletter's content to meet the monthly deadline. Duties include gathering small snippets of information for the 'Screen Culture' section; maintaining communications with regular film & video-related groups in the Newcastle area; producing & distributing newsletter flyers and news items. Each issues content will be gathered in week 2 & 3 of each month, then formatted and edited in the 4th week. Email ncp@start.com.au if you're interested. WANT TO REVIEW AN AUSSIE FILM? NCP is now calling for readers to submit reviews of doco or drama, feature or short Australian films. Films can be new or old video classics. Submit reviews to ncp@start.com.au *=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*= Well that's it for NCP in the 20th century. Andrew & Marty wish you all a super fabulous Christmas & a Happy New Year. Issue #6 will be out for March. See ya’ll then… eds. =================================================== PUBLISHING DETAILS / CONTACTS =================================================== >EDITORS: Andrew Slattery & Marty Middlebrook > SUBSCRIBE/UNSUBSCRIBE at > ncp@start.com.au > NCP WILL BE ONLINE SOON! [news & back issues] > www.newcastlefilmfest.org/ncp > PO Box 47 Union Building > University of Newcastle > Callaghan NSW 2308 > tel  [612] 4921 7374 > fax  [612] 4921 6944 > © 2000 Andrew Slattery & Marty Middlebrook ===================================================