MovieTime

Eric Bana directs

This week we learned that Eric Bana has made a documentary: that is, written and directed one, as well as appearing in it. Love the Beast it's called, and it's a rather emotional film about Bana's 25-year-old relationship with a 1974 Ford Falcon coupe. It's in post production now in Melbourne, and Madman films will release it in October.

Film delay good for Rusty

The Los Angeles Times has reported on why the Ridley Scott Robyn Hood drama Nottingham has been put on hold again. Russell Crowe is to play Nottingham and the film is to put a rather positive, let's say revisionist spin, on the character of the Sheriff. But Crowe's good friend Ridley Scott is still dissatisfied with the script, already worked over by ace screenwriter Brian Helgeland; and has called in British playwright Paul Webb for a third version.

According to Universal Studios chairman Marc Shmuger, the delay will also help Russell Crowe get back into shape as an action hero. The studio is sending a top Los Angeles trainer, Joe Abenassar, to Australia to help Crowe lose weight and get back into fighting shape. Go Rusty, go.

Directors awards

The Australian Directors' Guild is to award cartoonist and animator Bruce Petty its outstanding achievement award for 2008. Previous recipients have been Fred Schepisi; Peter Weir and Gillian Armstrong. Tom Zubrykzki received the Cecil Holmes award for mentoring other filmmakers and Kate
Woods received the outstanding achievement in television direction award.

Screen Australia latest

The online industry journal Screenhub this week got its hands on, and published, a series of charts of the organisational structure of the new giant Screen Australia. Editor David Tiley commented that it looks like Mosfilm. In other words: big, complicated, and scary. If simplicity was the aim of merging three Australian government screen agencies, it ain't happening so far.

There are four divisions to this structure and maybe 200 positions. Interestingly, I've been browsing through the diagrams, the yet-to-be appointed CEO appears to directly head only two divisions. Chris Fitchett, ex AFC, heads a division called Production Support and Investment. Tait Brady, formerly of the FFC and before that Palace Films, heads one called Marketing Support and Promotion.

And Fiona Cameron, who jumped directly to a job as executive director of Strategy and Operations at the new agency after just two months at the Sydney Film Festival, heads a mega structure called Strategy and Operations.

Now this is a work in progress. But we note that Screen Australia still has to announce its CEO. And that the Labor government somewhere along the line made a commitment that this merger would take place without anyone losing jobs. A decision which may well defeat aspirations for a slimmer, faster, more adventurous agency.

Presenter

Julie Rigg

Producer

Julie Rigg