How To Make It In W.A-The Full Back Lot Tour

Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
And lisas how it's amazing in Wa.

Speaker 2 (00:04):
Bring this son, I'll make you a start.

Speaker 3 (00:06):
Absolutely, with WA becoming quite the hub of film production
in recent times, we've decided to dig a bit deeper
with this news series how to Make It Stick with
Brian You'll make you a Star, And we're going to
start at the beginning where it does start for a
lot of people today. Whopper the West Australian Academy of

(00:27):
Performing Arts and doctor Renee Newman is the Associate.

Speaker 4 (00:31):
Dean at WAPPER and joins us. Good morning, Welcome, Hi, Hi,
thanks so much for having me, Thanks.

Speaker 3 (00:36):
So much for joining us, and congratulations on having one
of the most amazing performing arts schools around on the planet.

Speaker 5 (00:45):
Yeah.

Speaker 6 (00:45):
Yeah, it's a pretty amazing place to work and be
surrounded by these extraordinary students and stuff.

Speaker 4 (00:52):
But it is WOPPER been around for now, okay.

Speaker 6 (00:56):
So we've been part of its US city is that
we actually go back a little bit further than that,
So we've been around for quite a while. Yeah, and
we have, you know, like the most comprehensive performing arts
training program in Australia, So we go across music, dance, acting, music, theater,
arts and cultural management. We have production and design, we

(01:17):
have performing arts. So many different programs on offer.

Speaker 4 (01:21):
Yeah, I'm sure it's evolved over the is.

Speaker 7 (01:23):
But what about the courses and the pathways for potential
wopper students?

Speaker 8 (01:26):
Yeah?

Speaker 7 (01:27):
What can I say? What are the what's on offer
for them that can help them tack that next time?

Speaker 4 (01:31):
Yeah? Yeah, okay.

Speaker 6 (01:33):
So we've got our VT Vocational Education training programs, so
diploma and Advanced diplomber. We've got to set forward aboriginal performance.
The VT programs go across music, dance, acting for screen
performance as well as music, theater, live production and technical services,
which is what covers our production and design. So that
might be lighting and sound or costume, it could be

(01:55):
set in prop, scenery and so on.

Speaker 4 (01:57):
Then you have the high Rate.

Speaker 6 (01:59):
Which is the Bachelor of Arts in Acting MP, music.

Speaker 4 (02:02):
Theater, sorry dance.

Speaker 6 (02:04):
We also have a Bachelor of Performing Arts, which is
performance making, which is kind of like where you learn
to be a writer, a director, an actor, but also
to make new and original devised performance. So for the
news stories for the coming through. Yes, so there's a
whole range and arts and cultural management, which is also
where you know we have our cultural leaders coming through

(02:25):
the new CEOs of the arts companies and the opera
and so on. So that real extraordinary way of understanding
that whole facet of how to make great art.

Speaker 3 (02:38):
So if you're someone in high school now you're coming
up to you know, year eleven and twelve, and you're thinking,
I really would like to go to Whopper after I
finish up with the school.

Speaker 4 (02:47):
What do they need to keep in mind?

Speaker 3 (02:49):
Will there be an audition process as well as you know,
having to get a certain maggregate and that sort of thing.

Speaker 6 (02:54):
Well, yeah, so it's interesting actually because some of our
programs require ATA, others don't, and some of our programs
require audition, others don't. So it's sometimes it's an interview process.

Speaker 4 (03:08):
It just depends.

Speaker 6 (03:09):
I think what's always wise is that if you're a
school leader you might be really interested in a diploma
to actually sort of start off and see where your
interest lies. You can of course audition and go straight
into a bachelor program as well, but it's a matter
of just actually checking out the information and going what's
best for me right now, you know, and having a conversation.

(03:31):
So we've got a lot of information on the website
on the Whopper website about what's required if it's an
audition based entry.

Speaker 4 (03:38):
If it's interview.

Speaker 6 (03:40):
There's all the information there, including basic entrants as well,
because you know, WAPPER is part of ECU Edistown University,
so we do have those entrance requirements as well for
getting into a university. So yeah, there's also some videos
on there for students to be able to have a
look at and see what might be required to do
that or which is clearly, you know, a complex thing, right,

(04:04):
They're they're hard, but they're also exciting, and they're a
really important part of the process, right is to kind
of go through that.

Speaker 4 (04:14):
That stage I suppose and testing.

Speaker 6 (04:16):
Out your skills in an audition setting. Yeah, so there's
heaps of information.

Speaker 4 (04:21):
For a school level or for.

Speaker 6 (04:23):
Anyone for that matter, who are interested in actually applying
to go to Whopper, whether that be to jazz for example,
or you know, classical performance or acting the program.

Speaker 7 (04:35):
Yeah, there's probably nothing more thrilling for people group like Whopper,
an organization like Whopper to see someone like a Hugh
Jackman get plucked out pretty much before he was on TV,
but pretty much before it finished, right They quite some
of them so talented and they just demand, you know,
a bright light on them even before right at the
end of the course or sometimes before the end.

Speaker 6 (04:55):
Yeah, sometimes it happens, and you know, and like we've
we've got of course and so proud of you, and
we're so proud of all of our crowds. Really what
it is that thing of you know, we try to
counsel our students in a way of what is best
for them moving through their degree, moving through their study,
knowing as well that that full program is really important.

(05:17):
But I think what's really exciting about what we're as
well as we have many courses that have what's called
WILL or work integrated learning, so you know, during your
course you'll have an opportunity to go work inside that
industry in some capacity, whether that be you know, in
an event space or arts and cultural management students going
and doing the commental dance students doing to commenting in

(05:41):
an overseas location somewhere.

Speaker 5 (05:43):
You know, there's all of.

Speaker 6 (05:44):
These opportunities to actually be part of the industry while
you're studying and while you have that support of the
University of the Academy, and so it's so yes, it's
so exciting when we have those graduates who then get
picked up straight away. But I think also we've got
this huge Jackments, We've got the jar Courtney's, We've got

(06:06):
all these tabulous, fabulous stars, right, But we also have
Rachel d'es who is an amazing local composer, seeing a
songwriter artist who is just as comfortable creating a beautiful
sound design for a theater production for Black Swan as
she is for Maxine Doyle.

Speaker 4 (06:25):
Who's at punch Drunk.

Speaker 9 (06:27):
You know.

Speaker 4 (06:27):
So there's hundreds of graduates who are working at every
level there are, Yeah.

Speaker 3 (06:33):
There is no doubt it's renowned people. I mean even
people studying at other places like Nier and stuff are
doing it with a night, are hopefully getting into Wapper afterwards.
And when you've spoken to a lot of these alums
over the years, and we have asked many of them,
what do they think is the secret that sets Whopper apart?

(06:55):
And some of them Renee have cited the remoteness of
Way as giving them an opportunity to really focus on
honing their craft without any of that sort of Sydney
Melbourne chatter that you can get sometimes.

Speaker 6 (07:10):
Absolutely I totally agree with that. I think sometimes we
actually think of our geographic isolation as being some you know,
fodder for an imposter syndrome, you know, someone able to
kind of to really do incredibly well. And I think
there is something about that isolation that allows us to play,

(07:33):
to actually do that necessary learning and that necessary perhaps failure,
you know, to actually how do we do this and
how can we do it really well and learn from it?
Because it's the learning that will allow us to actually
have a sustainable career. And that's what we're all interested in, right,

(07:55):
We're all interested in that workforce. Yeah, just actually be
able to go beyond that next gig or what happens
when you are creating your own next gig, as well
as waiting for your agent to call, you know, because
that's what we want, is someone who's able to actually move, adapt,

(08:15):
be resilient and actually just be part of that next
generation of Australian stories.

Speaker 10 (08:22):
Right, whether you are the actor or you're in art
direction and you're making the costume, you know, we want
that person who's able to sort of move and do well.

Speaker 6 (08:33):
And I think there's something about Perth that you're right,
it's away from the big agents or the bigger end
of town industry. That is incredibly thrilling, but also you
get to play, you get to really really in way
and find your way through it, and I think that's

(08:54):
probably what.

Speaker 4 (08:54):
They're talking about.

Speaker 7 (08:55):
Yeah, and so many players having seen Chicago Teama Turnatis
a couple of shows in the last four months, and
I'm a program now, it's all go through the program
and how many Whopper grads are here? You can see
the list and it's it's like a playbill. Yeah, exactly, Yeah,
you must, you must be proud of that and then
everyone there.

Speaker 11 (09:11):
Yeah, absolutely, Yeah.

Speaker 3 (09:14):
There is definitely there has definitely been a big number
of you know, movies TV being made here just recently.
Has that Does that give a bit of a sort
of an extra excitement vibe around Whopper about totally?

Speaker 6 (09:29):
Yeah, And of course, you know, we're eagerly waiting the
launch of the Press Film studios as well as yeah,
city Campus, right, it's all happening happening at the same time,
so you know, it feels transformative. It feels like we're
all part of a transformation process and the City Campus
is really going to be that as well, you know,

(09:51):
right in the past spectacular of the of the cities.
So we have you know, we've got a CBD, we've
got the Arts Precinct and right there as our neighbors
and we're part of that. They are our neighbors. So
it's very exciting to know that we're going to have this.
I think the way they refer to it is because
it's the equivalent of sixteen stories and we've got eleven

(10:13):
superstories and that's to capture the amazing theaters.

Speaker 4 (10:17):
That will be well.

Speaker 6 (10:19):
And it's the most densely packed vertical set of vertical
stories theaters. So it is a really exciting time and
the first Film Studio feeds into that as well, so
we know that there will be people interested to come
and use our extraordinary locations, you know, our coastline, our weather,

(10:43):
I mean.

Speaker 4 (10:44):
Remarkable. Yeah, And so we need a workforce for that, right.

Speaker 6 (10:49):
We need the people who can create the sets and
props and scenery. We need the costume makers, we need
we need the active and we need to be able
to have that industry to encourage people to come back
to Perth, yep, to encourage people to stay in Perth,
you know, to be part of that workforce.

Speaker 4 (11:07):
And I think.

Speaker 6 (11:08):
This is exciting for all of us.

Speaker 4 (11:10):
It is a very exciting time.

Speaker 3 (11:12):
In fact, we're going to talk to the Arts Minister
tomorrow about the Malaga Film studios and Brittany We I mean,
I'm pretty parochial, but we are so proud of whopper
great work that happens there and we love the you know,
the triple threats that you continue to pump out every year.

Speaker 4 (11:31):
So great to talk to you this morning, doctor and
I oh, thank you for having me. Thanks for your time,
We appreciate it.

Speaker 1 (11:38):
And lisas how to make yet in wa bring this.

Speaker 2 (11:41):
Sun, I'll make you a start.

Speaker 4 (11:44):
Indeed, way is the hub at.

Speaker 3 (11:46):
The moment with movies being made here, quality television series
being made here, and so we are taking a bit
of a deeper dive and today we want to talk
about the film studios that are being built at Malaga
with the Minister for Culture and ut stated Templeman, good morning, welcome, oh.

Speaker 12 (12:03):
Good morning, and it's going to joined Claires and Lisa.
How are you going lovely very well over now?

Speaker 3 (12:07):
It's all so exciting and this just makes it all
the more so. Tell us about the Malaga film studios
that are currently being.

Speaker 12 (12:15):
Built, well, constructions commenced and the big, the big film
studios are now underway, so they're like big sheds really,
they're four of them, yes, and they're very in size.
The biggest is about twenty thousand square meters in the laws,
so big space.

Speaker 4 (12:37):
But look, they're underway now, will be opening.

Speaker 12 (12:41):
Those in early twenty twenty six, and everything seems to
be on track there now. In the meantime though, it's
what's happening in the meantime that's really important because in
preparation for the opening and for the obvious content delivery
that we want to see through that production facility is
all of the work going on the screen screen for

(13:01):
some of or the screen strategy, and this is all
about developing the workforce, because what we know is when
you begin to get a real steady pipeline of work
through film series, whether it's bigger film films or it's
a television series or documentaries or whatever it might be,
you need the crew in place. You need to have

(13:22):
a steady supplied crew, and so the workforce development is critical.
And so the first part of the strategy very much
is focusing on that. That's aligning without training institutions. It's
making sure that our tastes are well aware that there
is going to be huge demand for a whole range

(13:44):
of technical expertise, so all of those that support a
film production. We want to of course ultimately train and
retain our wa creative workforce here in preparation for the
studios opening and operation. And it's very exciting, very exciting.
I mean, I've even announced my retirement. I not that politics, well,

(14:08):
because I want to go to the film and you
should be close up.

Speaker 7 (14:14):
You should be in musicals because we know that you
colleagues there in Parliament will miss those songs of yours.

Speaker 4 (14:22):
How many jobs do you think it will create?

Speaker 12 (14:24):
I mean, I mean I think I always I always
say people people should. They don't do this. Of course
when they've seen a film or even a documentary, of
course they don't watch the credits. They don't watch the credits.
But the credits actually tell the story. Because that's the
list of people who work on a production. They include
people that not just at the forefront, you know, the

(14:45):
producers and directors and the actors, but it's almost pole
behind them to do all the work, the technicians, the carpenters,
the set builders, the technical and electricians and all of
those and what we've seen and is one of the
exciting about it is when we've had productions in, for example,
regional wa the economic benefit is huge because what happens

(15:09):
when the production team comes to town is your sparkys
are employed or asked to come on and set things ready.
Your carpenters are there to help with set building. They
source transport and logistics locally. You've got to feed the
people locally, and of course accommodation has taken up. So

(15:29):
this is also not just about the Malaga Center, which
is going to be critical, but it's also about supporting
a burgeoning industry in our regions as well. So this
is just a you know, this is really a major
plank in our creative industry is being created before our eyes. Now, yeah,
we're taking huge attention. I mean people around the world.

(15:51):
Nicholas Cage film down here in the Southwest and.

Speaker 4 (15:55):
He just raved about the place.

Speaker 12 (15:57):
Now and that film goes live, so you've got a
standing ovation that can't film festival when it premiered over there.
When it goes live around Australia and around the world,
people will start saying, where's that place filmed? Because there's
beautiful backdrops that we have in Western Australia. Yeah, that
also added to our advantage.

Speaker 4 (16:19):
Yeah, absolutely beautiful light here as well. Dover and are
consistently pretty good weather. Yeah, not tomorrow, but most is
going to be Verish. David.

Speaker 7 (16:29):
I know that projects, especially in only would they take
years to find funding and support and the rest of it.
But I know you're talking about twenty twenty six for
the Malaga to open. But are there any bookings as
yet former Laga?

Speaker 12 (16:42):
Yes, there are actually there there there I can't announce
which ones now.

Speaker 13 (16:46):
Basically the Home Fire, which is the operator of the center,
is already fielding a fielding interests for bookings.

Speaker 12 (16:57):
The other thing, of course, which I think is importantly,
the government's invests a huge amount in what we call
stream attraction initiatives. So we've got a twenty minute dollar
stream production attraction fund, and this is like the cream.
This is like the cream on the cake, the money
that really ultimately gets to production across the line. So

(17:17):
we've gone for all of these incentives that are similar
to other states and territories. But of course we've got
a natural attraction and the natural elements I think we
are going to really attract people to come here.

Speaker 5 (17:31):
Now the other thing about our.

Speaker 12 (17:35):
Film studio is it's actually got room for growth.

Speaker 4 (17:38):
Now.

Speaker 12 (17:38):
Most of the others in the other states are now constrained,
they can't go any further because there's no further land available.
Ours is a big site. It'll include what's already proposed,
but it has rooms for of course, for further expansion
in the future. And it also of course has a
big area for what they call the backlock, so that's
where you can store and have a whole range of

(17:59):
other additional resources stored on the site. So our site
is big, also not constrained like those in the Eastern States.
So you know, Melbourne stock Lands is now constrained. You
can't build any further because there's a three way in
one corner and residential on the other. Ours is a
very good, very much a greenfield site. So it's gone really.

Speaker 4 (18:23):
Be a benefit when we have.

Speaker 12 (18:25):
To expand it in the future.

Speaker 3 (18:26):
Yes, being a bit of a movie nerd, I do
watch the credits and of course you often see that
you know, stuff is done on location, like we talked
a lot with the good people of York about the
beautiful location that offered for the twelve and then other
stuff is done in the studio. So now we will
also be a one stop shop.

Speaker 12 (18:46):
Where absolutely so post production, pre production.

Speaker 4 (18:48):
Exactly post production, and so.

Speaker 12 (18:52):
This facility will ensure that everything can be done here
in WA. You won't have to go away for other
parts or elements of the film to be completed. It
will be state of the art, obviously latest technology. We're
kind of very excited about this is this is a
real game changer for Western Australia and any young person,
any young person out there who's in Whopper or who's

(19:14):
going through training in the creative industries. This is particularly
exciting for them because there is now a pathway for
them to train, get experience work and stay in Western
Australia doing a craft that they love. And I think
that's one of the real positive things about this.

Speaker 4 (19:32):
And of course it's not just for the actors and
the directors and whatever.

Speaker 3 (19:34):
There are so many different skills and things that are
required and add at all levels of capability too.

Speaker 4 (19:41):
There's something for.

Speaker 3 (19:41):
Everyone to try to get in on. How important is
the entertainment industry at WA or how important do you
foresee it being when we've got all this look.

Speaker 12 (19:53):
I think people are very much about experiences. I think
lots of people now seek creativity is something that's a
very human element.

Speaker 4 (20:02):
And so when you invest in the crowd.

Speaker 12 (20:04):
Of industries, as the government has, you enhance that liveability
of a place, the appeal of the place to visit,
to live. I mean, it has so many other benefits
that make for a great place for work, for you
to live, work and visit. Now we for example, so

(20:25):
I mentioned about the surfer for example with Nicholas Kshem,
but there is a direct link to having films and
using landscapes and ocean STAPs and coastal plains and mountainous
areas at all.

Speaker 5 (20:39):
We've got it, We've got everything.

Speaker 12 (20:40):
We go to Kimberling, the Kimberling, you've got this ancient landscape.
All those also help sell Western.

Speaker 4 (20:48):
Australia that place.

Speaker 12 (20:51):
Where's that place we've had For example, Mystery Roads Series
four is now being filmed in WA. So all Mystery
Road has been filmed in in West Australia, has been
three series underway. Now it's down in that in the
Southwest Pemberlin area.

Speaker 4 (21:07):
So directors want to come.

Speaker 12 (21:10):
Here, producers want to come here. So you know, this
is why we've got this great momentum.

Speaker 7 (21:15):
Now, hey, David, I'm thinking I'm getting excited because you
use the word backlot and obviously it makes you think
of Hollywood a lot.

Speaker 4 (21:22):
I'm thinking about.

Speaker 7 (21:23):
Yeah, I'm thinking about the you know, the majesty of
being in a golf cart and feeling like you're in Hollywood.

Speaker 4 (21:29):
You might spot a start, you know, or whoever's drawn
here in.

Speaker 5 (21:34):
The great UK.

Speaker 4 (21:36):
See, this is what I mean.

Speaker 12 (21:37):
I've already sort of asked Ricky Leaf basedol from greens
need agent. I want to get.

Speaker 4 (21:44):
I want to be immersed in this.

Speaker 12 (21:46):
I'll take any job you want to give me a
job as an extra.

Speaker 4 (21:51):
Yeah, it's very exciting. It's very excited. Is well, we
share your excitement.

Speaker 3 (21:57):
We can't wait until, you know, things get really rolling
year after next and we.

Speaker 4 (22:02):
Hope will be tours available for the public as well.

Speaker 14 (22:05):
And the cut Yeah, well I reckon you too.

Speaker 4 (22:09):
Look Gray the cart and I can as as you
sing it. It is so cool. Thank you so much
for chatting to us today. Thanks man, and all the
best next year and beyond. Mate, Yes, thanks very much.
Thanks David. Well, we know what he's planning.

Speaker 7 (22:29):
He's not running for our parliament, so that is very exciting.
And I think the thing I hadn't thought about until
you mentioned that, the room for expansion of malag with
more Land. Yes, it wouldn't have happened if it had
been a Frio, there was no FROs and Co.

Speaker 3 (22:42):
Yeah, it was a good choice because you know, it's
not competing with a lot of other stuff that Frio already.

Speaker 4 (22:49):
Has pretty quick directly one from the airport too.

Speaker 3 (22:51):
Tomorrow we're going to talk to a casting director very
good as.

Speaker 7 (22:56):
We continue our little journey along and how to make
it in w way and so you can's being made
in so many great plans.

Speaker 4 (23:01):
That is exciting stuff.

Speaker 1 (23:03):
So and Lisa's how do you make it in wa
been this son?

Speaker 2 (23:08):
I'll make you a star?

Speaker 4 (23:09):
Thank you, Brian.

Speaker 7 (23:10):
Good on you, Brian, Brian Brown. Not too many better. Hey,
I'm from Australia. Our guest today is Annie Murder. Mikes
have known any known any for a long time. Casting
director and acting coach has worked on so many projects
based here in the West and filmed here, including Rabbit Proofence,
Japanese Story, Last Train to Free Go and Drift. And
we're very proud of the actors. A lot of the
stars who have become international stars from the West, but

(23:32):
she's been pivotal in their careers. He Fledger, Melissa George,
Eila Fisherma Booth and Joy Corney just some of those.
And Johnny Yesterday casting director acting coach, and Anie Murder, Mike's
Andie welcome, Oh thank you, so.

Speaker 3 (23:43):
Hi Hi, Clarzie, Hi Lisa, So talk to you lovely
to have you joined us on this.

Speaker 15 (23:49):
What tell us?

Speaker 3 (23:50):
First of all, Annie, let's start at the beginning. What
exactly is a casting director and how did you get
into it?

Speaker 6 (23:56):
Great question actually because a lot of people get confumed.
So a casting director is someone who is hired by
a production either a film production company or television company
to help them find the best possible actors for a production.
So I work on behalf of the production company. An

(24:20):
actor's agent works on behalf of the actors and they
and they represent the actors. And so I deal with
all the different agents.

Speaker 3 (24:31):
Dodger, working through your wish difference. You can the movie
whatever it will be.

Speaker 11 (24:40):
It's always casting by committee these days. Sold every books.
You know, the producer, the director, the investors in the
film or the television show. So it could be Netflix,
or stand or the ABC or you know one of
the networks. Everyone tends to have a bit of a

(25:01):
say with the lead roles in something.

Speaker 15 (25:04):
I bet.

Speaker 11 (25:06):
Yeah, So it's an interesting job and it can be
very time intensive.

Speaker 7 (25:12):
Put it that way, I would imagine, so any when
you're trying to deal with so many cooks, t I
come up with the right form it?

Speaker 11 (25:18):
Yes? Yeah, what about hopefully it works?

Speaker 3 (25:20):
Yes, it's those you have to deal with the actors
or is it their agents that approach you and go.
But mine's going to be perfect for that role of
you know that all be onto you.

Speaker 4 (25:33):
Yeah, I suppose.

Speaker 11 (25:34):
Look, I used to be an actor years ago and
I trained in that area, so I know what it
was like for them on that side, and hopefully I
can potentially help them to give their best performances when
it's when it comes time to do an audition or
a callback.

Speaker 7 (25:52):
And can I say, a bloody good actor too, because
you fooled us one day and I kind of did
it was very curious and didnt acting course Sunday your
tutelage and watched you could completely baffle us with a
performance for a guy who reckoned he rented the same.

Speaker 11 (26:04):
Room I've forgotten about it.

Speaker 4 (26:07):
It was well then to.

Speaker 7 (26:08):
Show your skill, and you can't do what you do,
especially as an acting coach, without having those skills.

Speaker 6 (26:13):
Yeah, oh that's I'm very glad to hear that it
was effective and.

Speaker 3 (26:19):
An what a lot of people, you know, they talk
about the factor? What is the factor?

Speaker 6 (26:26):
Look, I was reading something last night and it said
it only takes fifteen years to become an overnight success,
And I think it's so true because you've got to
You can have a certain quality that the screen loves,
but it has to learn how to use that and

(26:46):
be able to act effectively and bring a character to life.
And most people don't get cast in lead roles having
had no training or experience.

Speaker 12 (27:00):
So if you're.

Speaker 6 (27:00):
Interested in becoming a skilled actor, you've really got to
put in the hard yards. You've got to do some training,
and various people, like for instance, Heath Ledger, they had
their own acting coaches in LA and he would have
an acting coach to assist him with every single audition
and every role. He referred to him as a voice coach,

(27:25):
but he was really also his acting coach as well.
And most actors spend a lot of time developing their skills.
But I think for a lot of your listeners, what's
exciting with the new per Film Studio is that there's
potentially going to be a lot small productions filming in WA.
I mean, we could have big Hollywood productions because they've

(27:47):
got two twenty five thousand feet soundstages they're building. They
can be split into four smaller ones. There'll be probably
going to be quite a few more productions, and so
a lot of people might be interested in just having
the fun experience of being an extra.

Speaker 3 (28:04):
Yes, TV, This is why we're talking about this some
in a bit more depth any because of the Gangbusters.
That way has gone recently in terms of being a
location for making staff. You know, we've had movies, We've
had The Twelve up in New York, We've had Runt
in York, just to name a few, and now we've
got the Malaga Studios coming. What would be your top

(28:27):
couple of tips to people, you know, just for the
ordinary of you know, not the people trying out for
major roles, they already know what they're doing, but those
of us just want to get involved in this industry
as an extra or whatever. How do people go about it?
How do they put themselves in the right place.

Speaker 4 (28:47):
At the right time. A great question.

Speaker 11 (28:49):
And by the way, just before I answer that, I
just want to give a plug because I was casting
director on Runs and it's close to the third biggest
opening weekend.

Speaker 12 (29:00):
Film this year.

Speaker 6 (29:02):
It's passed the one million total and it was all
filmed in Wa and all filmed in Perth and York.
And I'm so excited that a lovely family film who
has come from.

Speaker 12 (29:13):
Wa like that.

Speaker 11 (29:15):
Yes, So advice if you want to do extra work,
I would suggest that a good way is to join
an agency who represent extras.

Speaker 6 (29:25):
So there are several in Perth. Some of those are
film Bites. Another one is called Padua, Another one is
Artist Artist Management Australia. Another one is called now Actors Now.
Both those last two also represent actors, but they do

(29:45):
have extras on their books as well. There are other
actors agents as well. There's several of those, but they're
more for people who have trained and have experience, but
also for extras. There are quite a lot of Facebook
groups in Perth.

Speaker 12 (30:05):
Some of them are.

Speaker 6 (30:05):
Called Perth Actors, some are called Actors in Perth, and
many times there are student filmmakers who post notices asking
for volunteers for their student films, and also when people
are casting productions and they need extras, like on films

(30:30):
like rumpt Or twelve.

Speaker 4 (30:33):
The third series of.

Speaker 6 (30:34):
The twelve is filming right at the moment in Perth
as well. Yeah, so often they will post if they're
searching for extras. A colleague of mine, Megan Carpenter, she's
a casting director in Perth and she specializes in extras
and in television commercials as well. So I would suggest

(30:56):
that exploring any of those would be a good way
of maybe joining one of the agencies and they're going
to be able to let you know when there are jobs,
and being an extra can be a lot of fun
because I'll get paid and get to you get to
observe what's going on. You just need to be prepared
that there's a lot of hurry.

Speaker 4 (31:18):
Up and wait.

Speaker 7 (31:19):
Yeah, it's funny you say that, because when they made
the boxing movie two for one Hard in Australia about
fifteen years ago Rail We've had a lot of friends
who were extras in that and for the boxing scenes,
they had to keep moving around to make it look
like it was a full studium of people, but it
was it was a whole day. Is it going to
be patient? But you learned so much from behind the scenes.

Speaker 6 (31:40):
Yes, yeah, and it's it's fascinating to watch to see
how they do it and how the actors get directed.
But yeah, you do need to be prepared, so you
need to take along the book with you and a
jumper in case it gets cold. But you get fed
and paid, so it can be something to do. It's
pretty exciting.

Speaker 3 (32:00):
I remember a movie that came out in nineteen eighty
called Harlequin.

Speaker 4 (32:04):
I don't know if anyone remembers this movie, and it
was horrible, scary, scary one.

Speaker 3 (32:11):
It was the first movie ever to be made because
it was made with the Wa Film Corporation and it
was made in Wa but it was set in the States,
and they tried to make out that it was filmed
in the States, but it was made here. And I
remember watching and there were scenes on the river sort
of around Mosman Parkway, and I was my thirteen year

(32:34):
old self or whatever was so excited that.

Speaker 4 (32:39):
It was on the screen.

Speaker 3 (32:41):
So to see it come to this extent where we're
making these, you know, we've got huge stars coming to
town to make these movies and quality television like the.

Speaker 4 (32:52):
Twelve being made right on our doorstep. It must be.

Speaker 3 (32:56):
You must what you've seen in your time, and you
must be. I'm so excited by the developments.

Speaker 11 (33:03):
I am.

Speaker 6 (33:04):
And look, we've known for years that wa has the
most beautiful, unique light I know you don't have today
at the moment.

Speaker 4 (33:12):
We always talked about the light.

Speaker 6 (33:15):
We have nine months of almost guaranteed perfect filming weather,
you know, because our climate really I suppose it's quite
similar to Los Angeles in that way, but we have
ideal conditions for filming. But the challenge I think is
up until now is we've never had a film studio.
And all the other capital cities except for Darwin, I

(33:42):
think all of them and Tasmania hover that all of
the others have got film studios, some more than one,
and so we've been missing out for years. And I've
got to tell you we were so stoked that David Templeman,
our arts minister, managed to push for this and has
managed to make it a reality. And now we're devastated
because he's stepping down.

Speaker 3 (34:04):
He has his eye on signing up. Though to us
it was to be an extra all right. We spoke
to him yesterday. You're excited about that, so right about
the light? I remember when they made Cloud Street, the
director was absolutely adamant that it be made here because
he said, you cannot create that light anywhere else, and

(34:26):
it was, you know, was.

Speaker 4 (34:27):
Captured in Cloud Street.

Speaker 3 (34:30):
Can you tell us anything about any of the things
you've been involved with just recently or are involved with
as well.

Speaker 11 (34:38):
Run is what I just the latest film that I
on and I'm just so excited that it's come out,
and if if audiences haven't gone to see it, I
really recommend it for their families, for any age.

Speaker 4 (34:53):
Really.

Speaker 6 (34:53):
It's the adaptation of Craig Silvey's novel Yep. I know
it's playing currently at Luna Leadable and I think most
other cinemas yes as well. And it's a really beautiful
film with amazing classic Australian actors in it as well,
So that's a perfect one I would recommend.

Speaker 11 (35:13):
Yeah.

Speaker 3 (35:14):
Absolutely, we're big Craig silver fans, so we're already gunning
for Honeybee to be one of.

Speaker 4 (35:19):
The next things. A couple of weeks ago, Yeah, we
made Yeah, we could let you go.

Speaker 7 (35:24):
I just want to raise the word. I want to
bring up the word charisma. Now you talked about acting skill.
You have to have skill to make it. But I
look at someone them multiple generations of actors, and you
look at someone like Sam Neil looking so good in
his seventies, and then Lee Tiger Helli from Frio, the
Young Fella, and then.

Speaker 4 (35:38):
Everyone in between.

Speaker 7 (35:40):
Sometimes they just walk in for an auditional walk in
and you just go they've got.

Speaker 4 (35:44):
It or do you have to see the depth of
the skill first look.

Speaker 6 (35:49):
I certainly think the camera does love some people, and
that's to.

Speaker 4 (35:52):
Do with one clue. Yeah, they're photogenicity.

Speaker 5 (35:57):
I made that word up.

Speaker 6 (36:01):
That's really to do with their bone structure, their eye color,
their their skin tone, the quality of their voice, all
of those things. Certainly, if they're not difficult to look
at or look at, then we take notice. And that's
across the board. And they don't have to be beautiful either.

(36:21):
It can be something that knows you through.

Speaker 11 (36:24):
Them and their eyes and what they embody when they
bring you they come on screen. But that won't do
it only otherwise models would be playing the leads everything.

Speaker 3 (36:37):
Yeah, well has got that photognicity in.

Speaker 7 (36:42):
Spain, And then you're going to who's walked under the
set and become become a quality actress as well, exactly.

Speaker 6 (36:50):
And Lee we cast I cast him in The Heights,
which is the A episode in his first adut role,
and it was just beautiful to to really see him
blossom and what he did in Boys Follows universal extraordinary, extraordinary.

Speaker 3 (37:07):
Indeed, by the way I loved The Heights, I would
if I would have no problem with the making another series,
but I don't think there's going to be anymore now.

Speaker 11 (37:15):
I think we wanted it. We wanted it. COVID here, Yes,
cuts to the ABC here.

Speaker 14 (37:22):
Yeah, we love doing that.

Speaker 6 (37:23):
And that was all filmed in Perth.

Speaker 3 (37:25):
Yeah, well yeah absolutely, cod we drive past the building
to you know, to get into work.

Speaker 4 (37:31):
Annie, thanks for what you do, keep doing it.

Speaker 3 (37:34):
It's all fantastic, And thank you so much for joining
us today with all that great advice about where people
will to make sure they're in the right place to
all to happen, because it's exciting plays the right time.

Speaker 4 (37:46):
You never know what's going to happen.

Speaker 6 (37:47):
It is, it is, and let's hope our industry continues
to keep growing.

Speaker 11 (37:52):
Here.

Speaker 4 (37:52):
Oh, I think it's going to any good again. Thanks Annie,
yes see you lay.

Speaker 7 (37:58):
Uh some of these guests and you can hear the
excitement about this new studio setup in Malai.

Speaker 4 (38:03):
Yeah, it's very very cool.

Speaker 3 (38:05):
So film bites, Padoir, Artist Management Australia. Good good advice.

Speaker 7 (38:08):
There, And like you say, let's twenty twenty six will
be here like that, Yeah, where production will start and
let's hope.

Speaker 4 (38:15):
We can be like New Yorker's by the end of
this decade.

Speaker 3 (38:17):
We all have appeared in some sort somewhere, you know,
as an extra shot The Red Jumper, More More, Lisa.

Speaker 1 (38:26):
More podcasts soon clear and Lisa's how do.

Speaker 4 (38:31):
It make it?

Speaker 2 (38:32):
In way you bring this sun, I'll make your start.

Speaker 3 (38:37):
This has been fabulous And today Jordan Prince Wright is
joining us. Good Morning director w film director of the
movie Before Dawn, amongst other things. Before Dawn is coming
out on Netflix tonight, Slash Tomorrow. You were just telling
us and this is not the usual thing that happens
in the States.

Speaker 4 (38:55):
It was meant to have what a three week cinema.

Speaker 16 (38:58):
It's meant to run three weeks cinema run ended up
doing eleven weeks in the cinemas and the States.

Speaker 4 (39:04):
That's high praise.

Speaker 16 (39:05):
Yeah, and it's gone pretty much equivalent in Europe. It's
just gone mental over there, which is rantaic. Well, I'm
not surprised because it looks amazing.

Speaker 9 (39:12):
What a great resource.

Speaker 4 (39:13):
It is an Anzac story.

Speaker 16 (39:15):
Yeah, and it's an Anzac story that needed to be told.
And I read the diaries back when I was in
high school. Yeah, and going through those diaries and you know,
everybody knows the story of Gallipoli, but they don't necessarily
know the story of the Western Front.

Speaker 15 (39:26):
So reading those diaries and just seeing.

Speaker 16 (39:28):
The sacrifices of what those men and women went through
back then, it was like, no, this, this has to
be told, This has to be put on the big screen.
And so all the films are previously done, have been
leading up to this, and the purpose of this was
an awareness piece, and little did we know it would
go this gangbusters around the world.

Speaker 7 (39:44):
Though it is incredible now. Ian Hale from the back
movie cinemas of course, in Halo Films, he spoke to
us what a couple years ago, last year and a
half ago about you, and he said, there was this
key who wrote to me, how old were you when
you rose?

Speaker 16 (39:56):
About thirteen years old? When I wrote to and said, oh, yeah,
I want to be a movie maker. And you know,
and little did I know what was actually involved in
my film. But no, I wrote to him and he wrote,
he wrote back to me, he was encouragement. He still yeah,
he still got the letter today and I still got
the letter he wrote back to me.

Speaker 4 (40:13):
Dined out on you a lot.

Speaker 16 (40:17):
It was quite funny though, because I remember going to
him with the Western that I did and he's like, yeah,
you know great, make it so encouraging.

Speaker 15 (40:23):
And we won awards in l A.

Speaker 16 (40:25):
And I got to meet a lot of people like
Jack Thompson I got to meet when I was in
high stool and advice and and long story short with
you know when we started with the war film. Because
we've made all these films to date, but now you're
going to go to this whole next level, you know,
a Hollywood level.

Speaker 15 (40:39):
You're going to need a significant amount of funding.

Speaker 16 (40:42):
Six months later, went back told him I did it,
and he's like, well, I don't have a choice.

Speaker 3 (40:46):
Now I guess we'll have to be Yeah, now you
went to Whopper.

Speaker 16 (40:51):
Yes, I went to ECU and got to the units
a Whopper and whatnot and what you learned there is incredible,
you know, and now EC is moving into the city's fantastic.

Speaker 15 (41:02):
So it's really it's really.

Speaker 16 (41:04):
Exciting that we've got, specially at the studio that's been
built here as well. There's plenty of opportunities for upcoming
talent and artists to actually you know, explore because you know,
Australia's all really loves the sports, but there's also the incredible.

Speaker 15 (41:18):
Artists here, you know, and you see that that around
the world.

Speaker 16 (41:21):
In fact, the recent awards that have just come back
from in the Netherlands, which was the Septimius Awards. We
one night we were just sitting in a restaurant started
chatting to these Aussies and they were all from Whopper.
They were in some musical theater show over there.

Speaker 4 (41:34):
So it shows you Aussies are.

Speaker 15 (41:36):
Really taking over the art scene around the world.

Speaker 7 (41:38):
How excited are you about Malagamo, because it's going to
be a big stuff up there. As a filmmaker, you
must be, oh, definitely.

Speaker 16 (41:43):
And I think it's really good that the government's got
behind this and before Dawn it was an independent production
and it can actually be you know, without being.

Speaker 15 (41:53):
Too political about it.

Speaker 16 (41:54):
It is hard to get funding sometimes from government to
make films, even if it's an ANZAC film, but to say, hey,
look we've actually now got the studio that's being built
there and hopefully that we have that support that the
local art to see in WA get to actually be
involved in that and we actually get to and it's
not just overseas or over east so to speak, and
we actually get those jobs here to Yeah, it's going

(42:15):
to be interesting to see what happens there, but I
know the local scene, we're super excited, and yeah, there's
gonna be a lot more opportunities to.

Speaker 3 (42:21):
Come, and the whole movie can all be done in
the one stage rather than having so you know, some
bits there in the post production somewhere else entirely. As
a director, you know why WA is really taking.

Speaker 4 (42:34):
Off because of our incredible locations.

Speaker 16 (42:38):
Yeah, I mean before Dawn we filmed a World War
One film in Esperance, you know, and then we had
Q where was all the outback scenes. So we have
got magical locations here and I guess also, yeah, with
the studio, go back to it saying about doing stuff.
We had to have studios over East, but we even
had studios in India assisting us out because there wasn't
that capability here in WA. We've got everything up to

(43:01):
the stage of post production, but nothing beyond that. So
then you know, other than places like ends, the backlot
and that sort of thing. So for us, it was
one of those things going Okay, well we've got the
magical locations, we have.

Speaker 15 (43:13):
To source overseas.

Speaker 16 (43:14):
But yeah, look before Dawn, you know, we brought in
thirty tons of wood to Esperance. And one thing that
stands out with doing stuff like that on such a
massive scale, as you're making a Hollywood film with a
limited budget, how do you do that while it's the
community and way has that community that really want to
get behind you.

Speaker 15 (43:31):
And Before Dawn and all the films.

Speaker 16 (43:33):
That I've worked on in WA would not have been
possible without that community support.

Speaker 9 (43:38):
Yeah.

Speaker 7 (43:38):
Jordan Quentin Tarantino is an interesting care right, So he
was the guy who, you know, the movie freak almost
born in the wrong era and he was working in
the video shop and became a monster success as a filmmaker.
Were you born in the wrong era? What were you
doing as a kid watching Stee John Wayne movies? Definitely
definitely was born in the wrong era.

Speaker 15 (43:56):
My old man.

Speaker 16 (43:56):
He used to go to video easy and order in
black and white. The Stage Coach was one of my
favorite films with John Wayne, and they used to say
to you know, dad, oh, this is for his dad,
you know granddad, AND's like, no, no, this is for
my son who's like four years old watching this.

Speaker 15 (44:12):
And you know, so in.

Speaker 16 (44:13):
Facts, when you guys were just playing Michael Jackson then
on the radio before everyone's texting me going, this is
quite ironic because you know you're an eighties fan. You're
about to go on the radio and they're playing eighties
before you jump on. It's like, yeah, I was born
in the wrong era. But that also is great in
the sense that when we're making films, I prefer to
do it the old school way, like let's do least
amount of CGI, let's focus on the story, the characters

(44:36):
and really bring that old school filmmaking. So that way, well,
that way, you know, five ten years from now, you
can watch that film again and it hasn't outdated.

Speaker 4 (44:43):
So I just recently watched twelve Angry Man for the.

Speaker 3 (44:49):
Like hundred a million time in my life, and that
is a classic example. You know, no CG on that
and it's really really good, did you? What was it
always I want to be a director. I want to
be the guy that's sitting in the chair directing the whole.

Speaker 16 (45:04):
Oh, it's a good question. I don't think so. I
think this is just the way that it's kind of
played out. But in high school it was I was
originally I was going into customs, originally border security, watching
TV shirt But I always was running around as a kid,
making like films and just filming stuff, right. And then
I hit high school and I went to Swan Christian,

(45:25):
which was a great school there, and they had this
media department. And I came home when I was thirteen
and year eight, so my dad, yet, I'm going to
be a filmmaker, And of course they went arts, you
know versus government paid job. You know, this is going
to be interesting, you know. And I was like, no,
I'm going in the arts industry and I'm going to
do it. And the more I started working on I
guess the craft in high school because when you're in

(45:45):
high school, you're just having fun. Same when you're at unis,
you're just making mistakes, and you know, learning from those
mistakes because it's that mistake's not going to cost you
ten twenty thirty thousand dollars like it would on a
big zep And I just fell in love with the
craft and I look back on it and I think
I was always born to do it because as a
kid I was watching the old school, old school films.

Speaker 3 (46:06):
Yeah, they've only got themselves to blame because they started
you off.

Speaker 7 (46:09):
With exactly and you're born to do it, is I
Ben Athleck and Mad David, you know.

Speaker 16 (46:16):
And it's not funny because even with the trench, there
was all the post holes, the fold digger that needed
full the uprights that they're doing, and there was three
hundred odd plus and so that was my dad was
going around drilling all those and now and then the
post old digger would whack him on the hip and
you know he'd go, oh, you know, like.

Speaker 15 (46:31):
Well that's your fault, dad, you know.

Speaker 16 (46:34):
Yeah, And then sometimes it'd be like, oh, this is
broken down, all that's broken down, All this needs fixing.
It's like, well, Dad's going to help out with that.
So it's a very family orientated set. And you know,
before Dawn and all my films have only really been
possible because of the support from the family and the
cast and crew, which is very much a family as well.

Speaker 3 (46:50):
Is yelling cut the best feeling in the world. Well, action,
I think, but you you don't do action, do you?
Does someone else that does that isn't there?

Speaker 16 (47:00):
So I like saying an action yeah, and the reason
why you got and action is because you got and
and then the actors.

Speaker 15 (47:06):
Then we're going on. But the cuts sometimes sometimes I
call cuts. Sometimes it's the first day and all the casts.

Speaker 16 (47:15):
They caught on pretty quickly. If I picked because everyone
has caps. That's something we do on productions. We all
get custom caps. And if I lift my cap up
and scratch my head, the actor said, we know we're
going again because Jordan's not happy.

Speaker 15 (47:27):
We're going again.

Speaker 7 (47:29):
And what came Speaking of the sect, what came first?
Was it a chair with director in on it, or
that brilliant before Dawn jackets gone on? The rector producer?

Speaker 16 (47:38):
Yeah, this was actually one of the executive producers got
me this, we got we had jackets and caps and
all that, and again it's making it kind of that
everybody's part of that community. But I did actually have
a director's chair on before Dawn, and I sat on
it on the last day when the documentary, which is
also going to be coming out sorely they interviewed me

(47:59):
and that, But for the whole eight weeks on set,
I never sat in that chair.

Speaker 4 (48:04):
In the trenches. I wanted to be.

Speaker 15 (48:05):
In there in the mardin.

Speaker 16 (48:08):
But yeah, hey, look you'll see me sitting in it
in the documentary of Yeah, which is the making of
Before Dawn. And I just found out this morning that
it's been selected in the International Australian Film Festival.

Speaker 3 (48:19):
I heard in the amount of time you were sitting
out there, you got nominated for something.

Speaker 9 (48:23):
Yes.

Speaker 16 (48:24):
Ben Scotford, he's the director of that, so he've pretty
much followed us around on the first day with every
film set. Anything, everything that could go wrong went wrong
on the first day and he came up to me,
so I want to make a documentary. Went go for it,
and honestly didn't think much at the time, and then
now I sit down and watch it and it just
shows you again the dedication of everyone involved to go, look,

(48:45):
this isn't just a film we're putting forward here. This
is an ANZAC film and that's you know, That's the
one takeaway from this is that this was a story
that needed to be told and we're just so thankful
that WA got behind it and the sponsors from across
Australia so that we were able to tell this remarkable
story on the silver screen.

Speaker 4 (49:02):
So you and your team in the moment, yeah, exactly real.

Speaker 3 (49:05):
John, Can I ask who your favorite directors are?

Speaker 4 (49:08):
Do you have? Is there anyone that really, you know,
stands up for me?

Speaker 15 (49:12):
Ron Howard?

Speaker 4 (49:13):
Oh yeah, yeah.

Speaker 15 (49:15):
It's not because he's got the same hair color, not all,
but it was because it seems like everything that he
just is human writing.

Speaker 16 (49:25):
He just knows how to tell story. And I've got
to do the master class with him as well.

Speaker 15 (49:29):
Yeah, and that was unreal.

Speaker 16 (49:31):
But for him it's you know, it's just I don't
know how he does it, you know, and learning his
craft and go okay, well how do you. Everybody can
say I love Steven Spielberg, Tino and all that, but
Ron Howard can just be brought in like with Solo,
you know, he was brought in towards the end or
not towards the end, but he was born in second etctera. Yeah,
and he just said to the actor, go get acting classes,

(49:52):
you know, and he had that power to go, well, no,
I know what I'm doing here, and he's very much
an actor's director, which is what I love doing. And
like with Before Dawn, being in those trenches, I don't
want to be sitting in a tent and you know,
telling him from afar what to do. I want to
be in there, feeling it and being one of those characters,
the footy coach on the bench, you know. Yeah, that's
the best way to put it.

Speaker 7 (50:12):
Yeah, he makes with Cuban good because I follow social.

Speaker 16 (50:17):
Yeah, that was quite a surreal moment because again, like
going back to my childhood, I watched Lightning Jack Cane
with Yeah, and he was in that, and yes, I
got to meet him at the Yeah the Awards in
Europe and got chatting with him and I'd mentioned Lightning
Jack Cane and he was blown away, like he used to.

Speaker 15 (50:35):
I forgot I even did that film.

Speaker 16 (50:38):
But he did actually have great things to say about
Australia and he's like, you know, he said, I'd love
to make a film in Australia again, and so yeah,
through him, I'm chatting with him about a few other things.
And yeah, because I'm off to work with a major
studio shortly.

Speaker 4 (50:52):
And we say which major studio that yeah, it is
at all. Yeah, that's majorist E Mojor Studios. It's that's amazing.

Speaker 3 (51:03):
So the reason we've been doing this series is because
there has never been a greater time for everyone who's
ever harbored any thoughts of in you know, just in
any small or big way of being in the movies.
What's your one tip for people, especially you know, younger
ones that are thinking, oh, what.

Speaker 16 (51:21):
Do I do? How do I put myself in the
right place for me? It's making sure you surround yourself
with good people. That's probably the biggest thing. So if
you've got a good team behind you, like you know,
obviously I'm the face of everything, but I'm only sitting
here because of the people that are back to me
to get here. So if you've got people that are
supporting you and they're going to do that's that's what
you need.

Speaker 15 (51:41):
You need to build that team. But also just making stuff.

Speaker 16 (51:44):
So you know, even though between before Dawn Walt Disney
and then I've got something else happening with Apple TV
towards the end of next year, but we've got two
feature films we're bringing to wa So we'll kick off
pre production for that next year, but in between all
that could be three or four weeks gap of nothing.
It's just like go film something, you know Instagram, now
film something, but be creative with it. Film you just

(52:07):
don't know what's going to happen or who's going to
see it. And it's from the short film not their Boots,
that I did when I was thirteen or fourteen that
I entered into some awards and then meet this guy
named Jack Thompson. Of course at the time, I've watched
you in that snowy river move, you know. But when
you're that young, you don't realize that that small step
could lead to something bigger. So it's just a matter

(52:28):
of constantly making stuff.

Speaker 12 (52:30):
Yeah.

Speaker 15 (52:31):
Always, you've always got to be working, You've got to
be networking.

Speaker 16 (52:34):
And yeah, and like I said, you know, I'm just
incredibly grateful and very lucky with the team that I've
got that where we've got to now and with the
next films that I'm bringing back to wa. You know,
the one of the conditions was, well, thre's two conditions.
That has to have community involvement, and the second condition
is I want to have my team on it, because
you guys are investing and wanting to fund this film.

(52:54):
But you're not doing it based on me. You're doing
it based on the entire film crew and cast that
built family.

Speaker 7 (53:00):
And it may be a bit of a sit down
and be humble. Maybe industry too, Yeah, yeah.

Speaker 15 (53:05):
It can be.

Speaker 16 (53:05):
And in fact, the people that I get to speak
to and I actually decide, yeah, I'm going to cast
you or you know you're going to be on set,
they're usually the ones that are really humble and to
have a bit of a laugh and are in it
because they love it, not in it because oh, we's
this going to get me next?

Speaker 3 (53:20):
Well, Jordan are Your body of work already is incredibly impressive,
and yet I feel like it's just the tip of
the iceberg. Thank you so much for coming in for
a chat today before Dawn is out on Netflix. Tonight's
slush tomorrow tomorrow. It's your weekend taking care of anyway.
So I can't wait to see that.

Speaker 4 (53:38):
Thank you so much, no worries. Thanks for you telling
me I'm looking forward to seeing that doc o too.

Speaker 12 (53:42):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (53:42):
He keep an eye out Cleary and lisas how to
make it in way in.

Speaker 2 (53:49):
This sun and make your start.

Speaker 3 (53:51):
As we continue to you know, it's a case of
stick with me or make you a star. Looking at this,
you know, the development of West Australia, sam as A.

Speaker 4 (54:01):
You forget New York. New York is just York York.
It's a new hub, isn't it. It is the new hub.

Speaker 3 (54:08):
And you've been at the center of the hub of
acting in WA for quite some time.

Speaker 9 (54:13):
Yeah, thirty odd years, very very odd years actually, when
I say it out loud, yeah, and I've done everything
from you know, from stage plays in undercover areas in
primary schools to His Majesty's Theater, the Heath Ledger, film,
TV radio.

Speaker 4 (54:28):
I've done the full gamut, full gamut.

Speaker 9 (54:30):
Now I've actually my first ever professional gigs with Barking
Gecko Theater Company back in the early nineties and a
few months ago.

Speaker 4 (54:40):
You've come from full circle now the director of Barking Gecko. Yeah,
wonderful man. Barking Gecko has been a stayer.

Speaker 11 (54:48):
Yeah.

Speaker 15 (54:49):
Five years, yeah, thirty five years.

Speaker 9 (54:51):
And as I'm sure you guys know, we just recently
announced that we have merged with Awesome Festival. So now
Barking Gecko Arts we are presents the Awesome International Children's
Festival so we're even bigger, even stronger. This should allow
us to reach more kids and do more shows and
have more art.

Speaker 3 (55:13):
It's not an accident marking Gecko has survived because of
some hard graft, hard work, talent. What is the answer
the question what does it take to make it in
this industry?

Speaker 9 (55:26):
Wow? Okay, that's a great question.

Speaker 4 (55:30):
I think.

Speaker 9 (55:30):
No, I think you've hit it on the grit and
determination is part of it. Yeah, there are as you
guys know, there are so many facets to the industry.
If we're talking about what it takes to be to
make it as an actor, I mean, it's so ethereal,
don't We don't know. We really don't know. If anyone
could say, well, this is the magic thing that makes
it happen, everyone to be going great, I'll just do that.

Speaker 3 (55:52):
People talk about the factor. No one knows what it is,
but you've got it. Yeah, not many you know that
Heath Ledgers magic.

Speaker 9 (56:00):
So that we'll just govaue and you can see it
sometimes with people, that little twinkle in their eye, the
way they inhabit a role. Just go oh, look she
was perfect in that. But she may have done a
really bad audition for the previous show and they went, yeah, no.

Speaker 12 (56:16):
Not her.

Speaker 9 (56:17):
It's very very it's really weird. And the industry, the
performing arts, is one of the few industries where they
can totally not give you the role because of how
you look. Go to another job interview. The color of
your hair doesn't matter if and your gender shouldn't matter.
Your skills on the on the paper, that's what counts.
But if you go on audition for a role and

(56:39):
they just go, boom, she's got it, we need her
what It doesn't matter if you've got a degree or not.
It doesn't matter whether you've been to Whopper or not.
It's whether or not you've got what they need just
for that particular role. And it depends on the director.
If I'm directing, I'm looking for something might be different
from when Andrew Gibbs is directing, and she's looking for
something to as well. And then every roll and then

(57:01):
what that, And so there's a big chunk of luck
in there. Of good friend Sam Murray, she was auditioning
for a film and she just wasn't feeling it.

Speaker 4 (57:10):
She was at work, she was like so many other actors.

Speaker 9 (57:13):
She was making coffee and hearing dishes and her friend
Turner and said, only you supposed to be somewhere and
she's like, what, oh the audition and had totally spaced
it so was not prepared.

Speaker 4 (57:24):
Didn't gust yourself up.

Speaker 9 (57:26):
She basically before she even got to the audition, She's like,
I'm not getting this. There's no way I'm getting this.
I'm not. I've still got you know, mocker on my
T shirt. Went in there, didn't give a crap, did
the audition, walked out, went back to her shift, never
thought anything of it.

Speaker 4 (57:40):
A week later, her.

Speaker 9 (57:41):
Agent calls and goes, so, Harvey, ca, I tell loved
what you did and you're in the film.

Speaker 4 (57:45):
Wow.

Speaker 9 (57:46):
She was like, what, So I just don't have to
care and assume I don't have it. And on that date,
on that particular day, it might have been the magic
to it. And that might have been where we don't know,
trying too hard or who knows how to impress? Who knows?

Speaker 3 (58:00):
It's not for the fainthearted, is it. I mean, let's
be real, you've got to have a fairly thick skin.

Speaker 4 (58:04):
You really do.

Speaker 9 (58:05):
I mean, any performative industry where you can be judged
by the populace guaranteed thirty percent of people are going
to hate you.

Speaker 4 (58:13):
Of course, it doesn't matter.

Speaker 9 (58:15):
They're going to and you have to go, yeah, that's fine,
You're allowed to hate me. That's okay. You do have
to have a thick skin in with auditioning. When I
was an actor and I still am, my rule was
rule of ten. You do ten auditions and you might
get a callback on one, okay, So you have to
be to fail nine times if you're not prepared to fail,
and if you take it personally, after nine times of

(58:37):
personal you didn't get it, it's going to hurt. You
know you're going to feel. So if you go none,
I didn't get that one's fine, I'm close to my tent.
And then when you get one, gig rolled up to
the audition. So you've got to see that as a
successful step already. Absolutely top if you get the wrong
exactly And I had one active friend of mine sat oh.

(58:58):
The work is auditioning. When you get the role, that's
what you do for love and they pay you. But
work is learning stuff for a show that you never
end up getting on and all of that. But look
in Perth, we are we are doing far more stuff
here now and so we are to Yeah and Awesome

(59:18):
is putting on a lot of shows and they always
back w a first bucking Gecko. Our new thing is
West Australian First, where possible gender equality on our shows.
West Australian Artists First. And that's how we're rolling out.
And that means we will have some people from the East,
but we got enough talent here. We've got so much talent.

Speaker 3 (59:39):
We've got the best training school in the Southern Hemisphere.
I mean, Whopper is just I've always wanted to bring
out a bumper sticker that says, Whopper, they go in good,
they come out the world the number of people that
go to Nither while they're trying to or any of
the other ones over East while they're trying to get
to the Great Whopper. But you know, I mean, if

(01:00:02):
you're really, really keen, you probably want to start even earlier.
What local theater? Local theater groups are they a thing
that you can get involved in.

Speaker 9 (01:00:12):
I mean I didn't go to Whopper. I taught it.
I get in and looking back at my young self,
I wouldn't have let me in either. I didn't prepare
well enough. You know, I was long and lanky, I
didn't quite fit in the Neighbours model, which at the
time I believe had it very much. You've got to

(01:00:32):
be this height, you've got to be blonde, and you've
got to beautiful. And they've thrown that out the classes.
Now Whopper, they've realized that diversity is very much something
we have to do, and they're they're really great. I
cannot speak highly enough of Whopper. But I went and
I trod the boards in the local community theater to
begin with, and then I did the independent theater. I

(01:00:53):
did the blue room route and I just worked. Yeah,
I just did show after show after show, and I
was bartend of the whole time, trying to get paid
along the way. And yeah, and I made a full
time professional career for twenty five years.

Speaker 7 (01:01:07):
It's amazing because I went with my son to a
joem show on the weekend, Yeah, Jones By Theater, and
it was so much fun. Now these people aren't getting paid,
but they're loving their craft. And the people in the
crowder said the lest there's only thirty odd seats in
that theater, but the people in the next two productions,
and the mates of the people on stage cheering and
joining in and it was just a joy.

Speaker 12 (01:01:26):
To be there.

Speaker 11 (01:01:26):
Yeah.

Speaker 9 (01:01:26):
And Joam is a really good example of people doing
art for the sake of doing art and to make
themselves happy.

Speaker 4 (01:01:33):
Yes, and to be creative.

Speaker 9 (01:01:35):
And I think everybody needs a creative outlet in some way,
whether it's you know, you glue pop sticks together and
make wind shoones. I think that's legitimate mental health, having
some spot of creativity. If you had to look at
a piece of art, whether it a poem or a
sculpture or a piece of theater, and go my brain,
my heart went into that.

Speaker 4 (01:01:53):
Yeah, and I built that.

Speaker 9 (01:01:55):
Yeah, And I think and I don't know if you
did same when you listen back to your radio show.
You can go a little bit of pride in that.

Speaker 4 (01:02:02):
But it's a solid I.

Speaker 3 (01:02:03):
Mean, it's a solid base for anything else in life too,
especially when you're considering theater and you are very big
with improv. And I've always said improv sorts separates the
men from the boys.

Speaker 4 (01:02:13):
And there's a lot thing to go. It's one thing
to go into something with a script.

Speaker 3 (01:02:18):
It's another thing to go in with a word or
an idea or something and then away you go, see.

Speaker 4 (01:02:23):
I've done it from dying up there exactly, and that's
going to set you up for your job, interviews, life,
just life in general.

Speaker 11 (01:02:32):
Yeah.

Speaker 9 (01:02:33):
Absolutely, any kind of creativity helps, I think, expand the
mind and teaches people to attack a problem from a
different point of view. And AI isn't doing that. No,
humans are doing that. And human creativity is one of
those things that AI is trying to do or we're
trying to do with a I'm not quite sure where
those lines are, but it's one thing that will always

(01:02:55):
be something that humans will will be better at in
my opinion. Creativity, that problem solving and any kind of
art form you can do.

Speaker 3 (01:03:06):
You No, I was just going to say the great
thing about this industry becoming such a big thing in
w ways. It's not just treading the boards or in
front of the camera either. There's so many great ways
to you have a career around around it.

Speaker 9 (01:03:21):
Behind the scenes, stage, everybody on stage, you see there's
three or four people backstage. When you go into film
and TV, you multiply that by ten.

Speaker 5 (01:03:30):
Yes.

Speaker 9 (01:03:31):
Yeah, so that actor she's up there doing a fantastic job.
But first she was in the in the hair and
makeup trailer. Before that, she was in costuming, and before
that she was with a third ad, and before that
she was with craft Services, and so just there's this
multitude of people who are all creating something beautiful, something
worthwhile watching. In most cases, that enhances the whole of

(01:03:53):
our community, our cultural conversation, our society, and is making
wa bigger and stronger, I think culturally and artistically.

Speaker 4 (01:04:02):
As you mentioned catering, because that's where I'd be. It's
hard to get you.

Speaker 9 (01:04:06):
Yeah, Look, if you don't get catering right on a
film shoot, the whole thing can fall apart. I want
that because for the next two hours post lunch, all
the crews and the cast are talking about when the
cameras aren't rolling, is how good lunch was.

Speaker 4 (01:04:28):
All they're bitching about it.

Speaker 9 (01:04:30):
And if they're if they're doing ten hour days and
they haven't been fed, oh they are angry and they're
not looking forward to the next one. And if somebody
god for a bid, doesn't like it and has to
leave the set to go and get lunch, yes, then all.

Speaker 4 (01:04:43):
Kinds of problems can happen. And where is it?

Speaker 7 (01:04:46):
Yeah, way is it someway? You can't correct me if
I'm wrong. I'm pretty sure I sat at Kingspark and
watched you in a Shakespeare in the Park one night.
Does that sound right? Would you have done that in
your career? I did about ten seasons. Yeah, so surprised
you didn't do it only one reason. So that night

(01:05:07):
you're talking about getting the role. But it was it
was like the It was like a standing ovation on
the lawn.

Speaker 11 (01:05:13):
You know.

Speaker 7 (01:05:14):
People appreciated the humor and the production so much, so
you must have loved doing that.

Speaker 9 (01:05:19):
I absolutely loved doing that, and that was one of
those training grounds that we've lost it a little bit
for the Shakespeare in the Park because what WA has
realized is that that King's Park is much a beautiful
place and we wear an outdoor people, so we want
to go and see stuff outdoors. So you know, you know,
if Jack Johnson's coming to play, he's going to play

(01:05:39):
in the park, of course, because why not.

Speaker 4 (01:05:41):
This is magnificent.

Speaker 9 (01:05:42):
Yeah, and he can play two nights and the King's
Park will make more money than they will than three
months of Shakespeare in the Park.

Speaker 4 (01:05:49):
But that's okay. We'll find other ways. We've got lots
of beautiful theaters.

Speaker 9 (01:05:53):
It was great doing Shakespeare in the Park when you're
projecting at the bottom of a hill up to the
top of a hill, five six hundred people with the
wind blowing directly across you. So your voice. Yeah, Well,
the party boat goes by, and the kooka bar just
stole someone's piece of chicken. Like to hold an audience
with all of that going on, said as it was

(01:06:16):
very very regular.

Speaker 3 (01:06:18):
Well for anyone, doesn't matter how old they are, thinking,
I would like to take advantage of what's happening in
this this industry and get involved. What would you suggest
is the one place they start? I mean, you know,
we talk about getting involved with community theater groups, but
where do they start?

Speaker 4 (01:06:35):
What do they google? What are they looking up to?
A really rate question. Where do you look? Do you just
google local theater? Yeah?

Speaker 9 (01:06:46):
I mean there are there are a few out there,
and they need people, they want people.

Speaker 4 (01:06:51):
They are building a community like Joan is.

Speaker 9 (01:06:54):
They have their group of people and they are always
welcoming and it's about putting it on. And you might
I just want to be involved, but I don't like
being on stage and most people don't like being on stage.

Speaker 4 (01:07:05):
So what I want to do is sell tickets.

Speaker 9 (01:07:07):
No great in front of house and somebody smiles and
takes your ticket and it's part of that way.

Speaker 4 (01:07:14):
Or maybe you do want to be on stage.

Speaker 9 (01:07:16):
Great, you get up there, you audition, You start with
a small part, they go, oh, yeah, he's not bad.
The next part you get a little bit bigger, and
before you know it, it goes on and on and on.

Speaker 4 (01:07:24):
Yes, start there.

Speaker 9 (01:07:26):
Classes I think are really good thing for people to
do because you can try something out. If you ever
want to do stand up comedy, try stand up comedy class.
You may hate it, but you tried it. You were
brave enough. That's great. You know, if you want to
go painting, try watercolors for a little while. Any bit
of creativity keeps the heart and the soul and the
mind active in a very different way.

Speaker 11 (01:07:48):
Yeah.

Speaker 9 (01:07:49):
I don't know who you're, where you are, and where
your community is, but just have a look for their
theater and go along and see a show.

Speaker 4 (01:07:57):
Yes, go along and see a show because that network.
If you love.

Speaker 7 (01:08:05):
Class with any murder monks, she told me you'd be
good for sci fi fi fi. With your height and
your voice, you'd be good for sci fi.

Speaker 9 (01:08:13):
I mean, I'm not going to disagree with any murder
monks starting to make a sci fi movie. You're in
it absolutely, the gig is the freak.

Speaker 3 (01:08:23):
All right, Well, this is all good information. And what's
coming up at the Barking Gecko Theater.

Speaker 9 (01:08:28):
Forward to theater. We've got House, which is a remount.
You may have seen House before. It's an incredibly beautiful show.
We're running out at the Octagon Theater at u w
A that starts November. Sometimes checking on.

Speaker 3 (01:08:40):
I love anything that you talking about outdoor stuff that.

Speaker 4 (01:08:45):
The Octagon. Yeah, it's beautiful.

Speaker 9 (01:08:48):
And then we've got shows on next year which I'll
let you know next year.

Speaker 3 (01:08:53):
Keep in touch to long Yes, fantastic, Thanks for coming in,
No worry.

Speaker 17 (01:09:00):
To make it in the wall, make your start, so
continuing our series, sticking with me or make your starff
The West is the place right now to be famous
and someone who has got themselves to just that position.

Speaker 3 (01:09:16):
Lake Bovell is a TV and film unit manager. Hello
late he welcome, Hello Hi So Lake.

Speaker 4 (01:09:22):
What is a unit manager?

Speaker 11 (01:09:24):
Well, a unit manager is the person that manages the
unit for a film and TV production, and a unit
is so there's all the trucks like the mini village
that travels alongside set We've got the costume trucks, the
hair and makeup trucks, the generatorout power water, the catering area,

(01:09:46):
the supplier truck, the green rooms. All of that is
called a unit and that travels alongside set to service
the set. So it's a place where everyone can rest off,
get their food, snacks, etcetera, etcetera. Yeah, we sort of
look after the crew and cast and yeah, so I
take care of all of that stuff with the team.

(01:10:08):
Of course, I.

Speaker 7 (01:10:09):
Would say there would be because there's a bigger responsibility.

Speaker 4 (01:10:12):
It's quite the wrangling, right.

Speaker 11 (01:10:14):
Yes, Yeah, it is quite a big footprint. It changes
every day where we are, the locations like the park
up the ground that we're on, the trees over here.
We have to consider all of this stuff when we
choose the location for the unit, and then the councils
that we're in and all of those like logistical things.
Yeah that's in my brain.

Speaker 7 (01:10:35):
Yeah, yeah, I betcha Yeah, Like I said, even changing.
So how did you get into this kind of work.

Speaker 11 (01:10:39):
I have been doing festivals and events for probably fifteen years,
and I then sort of skipped my toe into the
comedy world and have done a lot of stage managing
and stuff. A few years ago, Sasha Baron Colin was
in Perth. I don't know if you guys heard about that. Yeah, yeah,
he was Santo and by his Sydney team and because

(01:11:03):
they couldn't travel over and they're like, who do we
know in perse that could deal with this, Let's send
him to Like, yeah, I did some stuff with him.
I produced and managed and coordinated everything for him that
was happening in Perth. And through that we were doing
some live stage shows and we had to do some
filming so you could change costumes between his characters, between

(01:11:25):
Alergy and Boran. So I met some film people through
that we hired them to do the little interstitials. And
then yeah, they called me up probably four months later
and we're like, hey, COVID's happening and we need someone
to be a COVID coordinator. No one's done this job
in Wa before, but we reckon.

Speaker 4 (01:11:47):
You could do it.

Speaker 11 (01:11:48):
So I was invited in as a COVID coordinator right
and then my now colleague Slash Mentor Mike Montague, who
is the old school unit manager of Western Australia, it
was like, with all your skills are you in unit?

Speaker 4 (01:12:04):
And I was like, what's unit.

Speaker 11 (01:12:06):
And yeah, then I just I was on the next
job with him and it's my dream job I did
not existed, and I love every second of it.

Speaker 3 (01:12:13):
Well, it sounds like coordinate is the key word, because
it sounds like if you don't have everything coordinated and
ready to go where the cast and song gets there,
the whole thing's going to fall over.

Speaker 12 (01:12:27):
Yeah.

Speaker 11 (01:12:28):
We like the glue of the operation really, Like obviously
it's a team that's a production officers and their first
day DS and everyone does scheduling. Everyone's integral to the operation.
It's amazing. How like, well oil the machine is so
I'm just one little.

Speaker 5 (01:12:43):
Part of it.

Speaker 11 (01:12:44):
Yeah. Yeah, it's sort of like setting up a festival
every day and then packing down festival and moving to
another location doing the same thing.

Speaker 4 (01:12:51):
Yeah.

Speaker 11 (01:12:52):
Love communication, coordination, amazing.

Speaker 4 (01:12:55):
Yeah, So what would an average workday be like long?
I guess no?

Speaker 18 (01:13:02):
Yeah.

Speaker 7 (01:13:03):
Yeah.

Speaker 11 (01:13:03):
We usually if we're moving locations, we'll start maybe three
hours before step on, which is when they's costume and
make up people arrive to prepare for the past when
they arrive, so we'll drive the truck to a new location,
set up everything.

Speaker 12 (01:13:21):
Very physical work, a lot.

Speaker 11 (01:13:23):
Of planning goes into it before we actually land at
the location. And then yeah, so get everything ready. Everyone arrives,
and that's sort of when we can sort of take
a breath, and then lunch, breakfast happens, and then lunch,
and then then I goes to set and then lunch
and then yeah, the last sort of three or four
hours of the day filming, and then we start to

(01:13:43):
pat down and get everything ready to move to the
next location. So the days are often maybe twelve hours.

Speaker 7 (01:13:53):
Last out parallels with the music industry, you know, with
a whole circus moving from.

Speaker 4 (01:13:59):
Play the place. Ye yeah, exactly, Like.

Speaker 7 (01:14:07):
I'm sure it's just part of the job dealing with talent,
but what about egotistical talent or cast members that say
there's the acusing and the trailers, not that they can't
find it.

Speaker 4 (01:14:14):
What do you do?

Speaker 11 (01:14:15):
You know, I haven't come across that at all.

Speaker 12 (01:14:19):
Ye w A.

Speaker 4 (01:14:22):
Everyone we all work together.

Speaker 11 (01:14:25):
Usually there's a few crew members that come in from
Sydney and a lot of actors come from all over Australia.
But in w A the industry is so small and
so nice, Like if you're a jerk, you just don't
get hired again. Yeah, it's actually amazing. I haven't knocked
off anyone that that in life.

Speaker 3 (01:14:46):
The industry is getting bigger though, by the by the moment.

Speaker 4 (01:14:50):
What are some of the projects that you've worked on recently.
I've just come off Scrubland season two.

Speaker 11 (01:14:57):
And now I'm.

Speaker 4 (01:14:59):
Looking forward to that.

Speaker 11 (01:15:00):
Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, that should be good. Yep,
yeah she is, Yeah, she is brilliant. And now we
are on to the twelve season three.

Speaker 4 (01:15:14):
Oh yes, that's here as well. Seems so quick you
just finished watching the second one.

Speaker 11 (01:15:20):
Oh yeah, yeah, well it takes six to eight months
to come out.

Speaker 12 (01:15:24):
Yeah.

Speaker 3 (01:15:25):
At the same time, you know, like it's it's sort
of York really was the catalyst that got us talking
about this and how w Way is becoming such an
attractive place to film in because York.

Speaker 4 (01:15:38):
I think it was Craig Sylvie.

Speaker 3 (01:15:40):
You know, the author of rud He described it as
seamlessly cinematic.

Speaker 11 (01:15:45):
Oh yeah, it's stunning.

Speaker 12 (01:15:47):
Yeah.

Speaker 11 (01:15:48):
So yeah, yeah with all the I guess this season
is changing as well. You get a lot of variety
out there.

Speaker 4 (01:15:54):
And it's so close to her. Yeah, there's just a
lot of.

Speaker 11 (01:15:57):
Benefits for filming regionally.

Speaker 12 (01:16:00):
Plan perf.

Speaker 7 (01:16:01):
Yep, you talk about the importance of your job and
when you were saying, oh, you used a small part
of it, but you're a bit like you. I've been
working with directors like Stevie Cruz Martin. I mean you're
so integral to everything going right, aren't you.

Speaker 11 (01:16:11):
Yeah, I love Stevie.

Speaker 4 (01:16:13):
Yeah.

Speaker 11 (01:16:14):
Yeah, it's just yeah, I don't know how to describe it.
Our job so multifaceted. Yeah, it's all about communication. Really,
thank you for everyone on the same page.

Speaker 3 (01:16:22):
Yeah, I need to detail the fact that you said,
I've just come off working on Scrublands and now we're
onto the twelve season three speaks to obviously both your
value in the industry as in charge of the unit,
but also it speaks to just how much is happening here.
What is your advice for anyone who wants to get

(01:16:43):
into the industry.

Speaker 11 (01:16:46):
Keep yourself available out there, talking to people a lot
of it for you know, but you get to know
the people by doing the study and being in the
right courses and being in the right workshops for the available.
So yeah, it's just talking to people, really having the
passion looking looking for your own opportunities and yeah, being

(01:17:10):
a nice.

Speaker 4 (01:17:10):
Person, help help you. That is advice for life. Absolutely
whatever you're doing. Like, we now know what a unit
manager is.

Speaker 7 (01:17:18):
But we were talking yesterday a lot of filmmaking jargon
running through gaffers and dollies and groups.

Speaker 4 (01:17:23):
But what the hell is the best boy?

Speaker 11 (01:17:24):
Our best boy is old language to I see so right?

Speaker 4 (01:17:32):
Yeah, I'm going to the bests anymore.

Speaker 11 (01:17:36):
Yeah, it's getting.

Speaker 4 (01:17:37):
Phased down, doesn't do I see? Well? Lake, give my
love to Sam Neil. That's going to work for you.

Speaker 3 (01:17:52):
And thanks so much for joining us to talk about
what you do and how you got into it.

Speaker 4 (01:17:58):
Thank you you too.

Speaker 1 (01:18:01):
More more Lisa, More podcasts soon, Cleary and Lisa's how
It's a major in Wait, good new Sun, I'll make your.

Speaker 3 (01:18:12):
Start, continuing our series about getting into the ever burgeoning
movie biz that w Way is pulsing with at the moment.
Our guest today is Ben Callman, who is a film
and TV audio and sound person, a boom operator. Good morning, Ben,
Good morning you holding the big furry thing just out
of shot?

Speaker 4 (01:18:33):
Sorry, that's me.

Speaker 14 (01:18:33):
Absolutely yeah, telescopic pole, the big.

Speaker 4 (01:18:36):
Fing one of the many things. I'm sure, what exactly
is it.

Speaker 13 (01:18:40):
That you do?

Speaker 14 (01:18:41):
Well, I'm a boom operator. So first and foremost, I
operate a boom pole to a telescopic pole, and that
allows me to extend it with a microphone on the
end and then hold it above actors on screen moving
around in shot to follow the dialogue that moves around
a table or a kitchen or wherever we're at.

Speaker 4 (01:19:01):
On top of that, I do.

Speaker 14 (01:19:05):
I had a Lavalier Mapel microphone on actors attaching it
to their costumes. Yes, putting it in their hair sometimes, yes,
you may see them and shows you'll you see a
little thing poking out the bottom of a tie, that
ubbly alreadio microphone.

Speaker 3 (01:19:20):
I'm on a Christmas card basis with anyone who's ever
had to attach one, because you know they've got to
slide it down the back of the top.

Speaker 4 (01:19:26):
Absolutely, yes, I do.

Speaker 12 (01:19:27):
We get up close and personal.

Speaker 4 (01:19:29):
A bit of a cool building goes along with apologetic.

Speaker 7 (01:19:34):
Absolutely, you have to be been is one of the
greatest fears with that big fuzzy thing you're talking about,
getting it in shot and getting told.

Speaker 12 (01:19:40):
Off, you know, certainly once once a day is sort
of my my aim. If you're not, if you're not
putting it to shot, you're not doing good enough job
by times, I think, but.

Speaker 14 (01:19:52):
Yeah, that's certainly the goal is to keep it out.

Speaker 4 (01:19:55):
So how did you get into film and television?

Speaker 14 (01:19:57):
Well, it was a little bit of a crossing road,
across roads in my life. I didn't really know what
I wanted to do, and I sort of started asking
myself what I actually like and I was like probably
twenty two thirty one now.

Speaker 5 (01:20:07):
And.

Speaker 14 (01:20:09):
You know, a film, film and TV came up because
all I did with my spare time, and I went
to Tafe in the end for a couple of years
and sort of landed a gig straight out of Tafe.
And that's kind of all she wrote. It was eight years.
It's been eight years now since I finished, and loving it.

Speaker 7 (01:20:25):
It's an impressive list of work, maw, can you drop
a few names for us, so at least some of
the work is that.

Speaker 4 (01:20:29):
You're quite incredible.

Speaker 12 (01:20:31):
Sure.

Speaker 14 (01:20:31):
I mean, I've been quite lucky in that I've had
a lot of work here in wa and we've had
some great cast and crew come through. So it's been
a lot of really fascinating, interesting people like Derek Banner,
Aaron Peterson, to name.

Speaker 12 (01:20:43):
A couple of people who've come here. But also I've
done a.

Speaker 14 (01:20:46):
Little bit of work over in Sydney as well, taking
myself out there on my own dime and working on
most recently Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes. Right, wow,
I think maybe just finishing up it's theatrical release now
as well as anyone but you, which is a bit
of a global meme phenomenon for a while there. Yeah,
Quickney Sweeney, Glen Powell to them a couple and I

(01:21:07):
did a little picked up a couple of days on
Full Guy as well. So Ryan Godlin, Emily Blunt.

Speaker 4 (01:21:11):
That's pretty cool. That's awesome. And you're working on the
third installment of the.

Speaker 14 (01:21:15):
Twelve now absolutely, Oh dear Sam Neil, he's really great
and so far as going.

Speaker 3 (01:21:21):
Pretty well, yeah, sound must come with so many challenges
because you cannot control the thing that's going to fly over.

Speaker 4 (01:21:31):
Drive paths, just make a general clang of some sort.

Speaker 14 (01:21:35):
Absolutely, we try our best, you know, especially other departments
do what they can for us, you know, parking the
generator further away, having quite a props in the scene
that they use, you know, camera fans turning off when
we hit records.

Speaker 12 (01:21:50):
So we do what we do our best, and so
to other people.

Speaker 14 (01:21:53):
Yeah, as you said, you can't always control it, and
you know, sometimes they pick a locations needs to flight pass,
you know out in the middle one you're watching the
flight radar every five minutes, you know, went through a
window you.

Speaker 4 (01:22:05):
Get to go.

Speaker 7 (01:22:05):
And also catering have to do the right thing and
not have such chewy food you might then.

Speaker 4 (01:22:11):
Tu Right, do you ever get to your client on
the set?

Speaker 12 (01:22:16):
You know, I've definitely done it many funds when people
don't get a message, but you know that's not really
my job. Actually, that's more of an instant director stepping
on their toes.

Speaker 4 (01:22:26):
You know, I don't want to do that. Did you
meet Nicholas Cage and work with him on the Surfer
down South?

Speaker 12 (01:22:31):
I did a couple of.

Speaker 14 (01:22:31):
Weeks on that, Yeah, taking over for a friend and
met him very briefly. He's a man of few words,
very private man.

Speaker 12 (01:22:38):
Trying not to bother them. But that was pretty cool
shooting and I think it's not out yet, but that'll
be a very very fun film to watch.

Speaker 9 (01:22:45):
I think.

Speaker 3 (01:22:45):
Yeah, we've been doing this ben because of the you know,
we've got the Malaga studios being built at the moment,
We've got so many different groups realizing what great locations
w A has and a lot of stuff is really growing.
You must be thrilled at how WA is reaching new

(01:23:06):
heights as the place to be at the moment.

Speaker 14 (01:23:08):
Absolutely. I mean when I started eight years ago, the
only studio we've really had that was being utilized was
the ABC Studios in these perth and for the most
part it was going under utilized. There's only really been
a handful of productions that have come through that have
used it. When you know, I'm sure that we'd have
loved to have had a bigger budget or a scripts
that required it. But the best thing about these new
studios coming up is that they're going to be incentivizing

(01:23:31):
more productions to come here on top of what we
already do. So that extra bit of funding will go
a long way with bringing in bigger and better films,
bigger and better TV shows, which you'll only add to
more crew getting hired, more cast getting hired locally, which
will just inject a bit bit of money into the
industry here and outside the industry even as well.

Speaker 7 (01:23:50):
Ben, you know how you said you stopped me and
so what do I really like? Are the times on
set you're holding that boom up there, or you're doing
whatever in your part of your job, and you go,
I cannot believe on doing this?

Speaker 4 (01:23:58):
How good? Is this? Pretty great?

Speaker 9 (01:24:00):
You know?

Speaker 14 (01:24:01):
The only times I've ever asked that is when it's
been something so bizarre and weird that I couldn't believe
I was filming it. I feel like one of the
ones that earliest in my memory was twenty eighteen. Were
shooting a film called Naked Wonder. I think it's been
renamed now, but yeah, we're filming a scene where a
guy gets stung by jellyfish and he is, you know,
doing a certain acts to try and relieve the pain

(01:24:22):
on himself, and I did think, what the hell am
I doing?

Speaker 3 (01:24:27):
But also there must be times where you're holding that
thing aloft, thinking would you get it in this take?

Speaker 4 (01:24:33):
My arm is killing me.

Speaker 12 (01:24:35):
Yeah.

Speaker 14 (01:24:36):
Sometimes when you start hearing take twelve, that's what questioning action.

Speaker 7 (01:24:40):
As you would know, camera operators chemos always compleatin about.

Speaker 4 (01:24:43):
That, especially with sport hold this bloody thing.

Speaker 19 (01:24:46):
All daugh absolutely for people who are thinking, now's my
moment to you know, to embrace what's happening in w way,
what's your your one tip for getting into the industry.

Speaker 12 (01:24:57):
My one tip.

Speaker 14 (01:24:58):
Would probably be quite a bit more too faceted really,
but checking out our local stayroum provider. So screen West
does a lot of funding and a lot of incentivizing
towards getting attachments in various different roles and departments. So
keep an eye out for screen West stuff. And you
can even go beyond and looking at screen Australia and
then looking through the Guild as well. So I'm a

(01:25:19):
member of the Australian Screen Sound Guild and our w
a branch here.

Speaker 4 (01:25:22):
You know.

Speaker 14 (01:25:22):
There's a cinematography one, there's a costume one, there's a
production design one.

Speaker 6 (01:25:27):
You know.

Speaker 14 (01:25:27):
So if you're interested in a certain subset of filmmaking already,
like just check out the guild and see what what
they've got offering. They may have a talk of free talking,
go to and meet people, connect to network there.

Speaker 7 (01:25:37):
Yeah, I guess beyond that, it's the context and then
the bloody hard work clog an you feel, yes.

Speaker 14 (01:25:42):
Absolutely, put your head down, do the work so you're
better than anywhere else and you'll get some work.

Speaker 3 (01:25:46):
Nice's good advice. Then thank you so much for joining us.
We'll let you get back to working with Sam Neil.
Thanks giving my love, I'm.

Speaker 15 (01:25:56):
Yes, thank you, Ben, thanks.

Speaker 1 (01:26:01):
And Lisas.

Speaker 4 (01:26:02):
How does it make it?

Speaker 2 (01:26:03):
In ways you bring the sun, I'll make your start.

Speaker 3 (01:26:07):
Continuing our series about our burgeoning state of our movie
and film industry. Right now today we have someone from
the world of wardrobe and costumes, Angela Duncan, is with us.
Hello Angela, Hello Angela. So wardrobe costumes, I mean one
and the same. I imagine the clothing department you dress these people.

Speaker 4 (01:26:29):
We do, and.

Speaker 20 (01:26:31):
Yes, we like to be referred to as costume costume
costume department.

Speaker 3 (01:26:35):
Okay, So when you would be I guess required very
early in the shoot for something, you'd have to sort
out everybody's individual look.

Speaker 20 (01:26:48):
Well, there's different members of the costume department. Normally the
costume designer and the supervisor sort of start in pre
and my job that I have done mostly in my
life is stand by. So I kind of come on
just before filming. It's a lot of work has done.

Speaker 4 (01:27:05):
Before I arrive. Okay.

Speaker 20 (01:27:09):
Then when I start, I break down a script yep,
and then I'm sort of handed a lot of the
costumes that have been decided at that point.

Speaker 4 (01:27:17):
Okay, right, how did you get into this line of
work handler first?

Speaker 5 (01:27:22):
Right?

Speaker 4 (01:27:23):
Okay, and just from there.

Speaker 20 (01:27:25):
I did a secondment on Men from Snow River in
Melbourne and just went from there early.

Speaker 15 (01:27:31):
Right.

Speaker 3 (01:27:31):
Have you done stage stuff as well or is it
mostly TV and film?

Speaker 4 (01:27:35):
Very small amount of stage?

Speaker 3 (01:27:37):
Yeah, because I guess that would be a whole different
animal too that you're dealing with there.

Speaker 20 (01:27:42):
It is, yeah, just something I didn't gravitate to, I guess, right.

Speaker 3 (01:27:47):
What are some of the things that you've worked on recently?
I believe you worked on The Surfer with Nicholas Cage.

Speaker 1 (01:27:53):
I did.

Speaker 20 (01:27:54):
I'm lucky enough with what I do that I can
sort of come in and out of productions, sort of
work the whole thing. So I've done a bit of
that recently. It's quite good and convenient when you have kids.
A lot of my CV is in my twenties, I
had children. I love traveling, so that's what I did.

(01:28:16):
I used to take jobs all over the country and
different you know. I worked in London, different parts of
the world, so I could go exploring and.

Speaker 4 (01:28:24):
Work this job.

Speaker 20 (01:28:26):
Yes, Yeah, when you have kids, it kind of changes
the ball game a bit. So I'm a bit more
settled now and a bit more choosy. I guess, as
we know, we don't have studios here, so.

Speaker 3 (01:28:38):
We're going to This is why you must be so
excited about what's happening in way in this industry.

Speaker 20 (01:28:47):
Definitely, I mean to have work in Perth is a
huge plus four something Like me, I'm not always somebody
that can pack up my bags and go and work
three months up north or out that kind of thing. Well,
I mean, I guess I could. Yeah, I just kind
of choose not to for to have from here, so,

(01:29:07):
you know, to work in Perth, it's the stability is good. Yeah,
just opens up a lot more doors for I guess
people who may not be able to drop everything.

Speaker 4 (01:29:18):
And not everyone can.

Speaker 3 (01:29:19):
And like you said, different stages of your life, you
still want to stay in it, but you're in a
different stage. So yeah, having that flexibility it's awesome.

Speaker 4 (01:29:29):
Hey, Angela, Over the years, have there been is it
unusual being on a set and there's a difficult there's
an issue, something's broken or whatever, and you're there at
three o'clock stitching or working on something for running repairs
for a shoot the next morning.

Speaker 20 (01:29:41):
That happens all the time, and I think that's sort
of you know the difference between not having studios and
having studios. Sometimes you will come across a problem on
a beach or in the desert that's remote and a
shoe's broken or those kind of things, and you're left

(01:30:01):
there with, you know, very limited things you can do
to fix the problem. Kind of nice being in a
studio where you know there's a whole worker room behind
you and you've got glues and tapes and all sorts
of things that can help you out to you know,
save the day.

Speaker 4 (01:30:17):
At least, I said mcguy. You've got to have a
pretty important kit with you.

Speaker 20 (01:30:21):
Do, and sometimes you know, that's very limited when you're
in a very remote spot, you know, where you can
only take what you can take. So I quite like
the safety of the studios and having a costume department
there with lots of things. I think that's going to
be great.

Speaker 3 (01:30:37):
What about dealing with some stars, I mean, you are
putting them in there what they're wearing, and of course
that can be a very personal thing. Do you ever
get a bit of pushback from them on oh I
don't want to wear that, or you know, my character
wouldn't wear that.

Speaker 4 (01:30:55):
Go to you Yeah, that happens a lot, so you've
got to deal with that. Yep.

Speaker 20 (01:30:59):
Sometimes you have just have different ideas, you know, sometimes
they might see the character in a different way, and yeah,
there's there's always a compromise. And you know, it's great
when you get handed of an actor that will just.

Speaker 3 (01:31:12):
Do exactly, you know everything, Yeah, Samuil, imagine Samuel pushing back.

Speaker 4 (01:31:19):
I don't think you can pay.

Speaker 20 (01:31:22):
Yeah, it's you know, everybody's different and at the end
of the day, they are playing a character. Some people,
you know, get confused between themselves and the character. Yes, yeah,
you know sort of sometimes do you have to remind
them that maybe you know, they wouldn't wear that or
kind of the thing.

Speaker 3 (01:31:39):
Yeah, they've got to be a bit of a personality
wrangler as well as in the.

Speaker 4 (01:31:44):
Way the character.

Speaker 20 (01:31:47):
Yeah, someone might whip out the sunglasses at the last
minute and sort of say, oh, you know, I think
he could wear these, and they sort of sunglasses that
don't go at all, you know, with their characters.

Speaker 4 (01:31:58):
And that's exactly exactly.

Speaker 3 (01:32:04):
Speaking period pieces and stuff, the costumes can absolute well,
they do absolutely set the scene of what we're watching.
Do you have a particular era that you like to
deal with that is a sort of a personal thing
that you love to do.

Speaker 20 (01:32:18):
I wouldn't say yes, because I guess that's kind of
refer a bit more to fashion or I guess perhaps history.
I quite like costume costume, like the you know, really
judge of the Jungle of Matrix or kind of Scooby Doos.

Speaker 4 (01:32:41):
Very different and out there kind.

Speaker 3 (01:32:43):
Of Scooby Doo would be. Well, I have to ask
about County Rapes because he's gorgeous.

Speaker 4 (01:32:52):
Yeah.

Speaker 20 (01:32:53):
I actually can't really say much that I kind of
was only went. There's a lot of Matris help with
extras and things, so you know, obviously a lot of
films with the big stars, they keep themselves to themselves,
which I've.

Speaker 4 (01:33:08):
Been there, Witty Bago. Yeah, I mean, apparently you've got it.

Speaker 20 (01:33:13):
You've got hundreds of crew members around, expect them to
speak to everybody.

Speaker 3 (01:33:17):
Angela, what would be Because we're talking about the fact
that the film and TV industry has never been healthier
than it is right now in wa and it's only going.

Speaker 4 (01:33:28):
To get more.

Speaker 3 (01:33:29):
So what is your topic of advice for someone wanting
to get into the costume department in this industry?

Speaker 4 (01:33:36):
I guess I.

Speaker 20 (01:33:37):
Feel for the people who say that they really they
try and they can't get their foot in. I would say,
sort of try to let us know that you're around,
because we don't know out of them if we don't
know who you are. And I guess that's a really
hard thing for those people to then say, but who

(01:33:58):
do I.

Speaker 4 (01:34:00):
I speak to?

Speaker 20 (01:34:02):
Yeah, because I guess there is a bit of a
thing where you know, sometimes by the time you hear
of a film, it's already it's rude. Yes, and these
are smaller films, so sometimes you only have five or
six people in a costume department. Yeah, so you know
Screen West, Screen Australia. I don't know, finding a way

(01:34:24):
of getting get.

Speaker 3 (01:34:25):
Onto those websites, see what's happening, do.

Speaker 20 (01:34:28):
Little courses along the way, making contact, Yes, just letting
us know what your skills are, what you can do.
That's not only just for the Whopper graduates and the
Tafe graduates. For me, I also think you know experience
being older. You know, perhaps you've graduated from Wapper ten

(01:34:48):
years ago, you've done some work at other places, but
you you know you've got a skill now. Yet people
who just graduate won't have so even if you haven't
done a lot, you know, immediately, but yeah, get in touch.

Speaker 4 (01:35:03):
Yeah, I think that's you know, put yourself out there. Yeah,
it is good.

Speaker 20 (01:35:07):
And people who are a bit older and have I
don't know, lots of different things.

Speaker 3 (01:35:12):
Yeah, all right, well, Angela, thank you so much for
taking us into your line of the whole industry.

Speaker 4 (01:35:19):
It's fascinating. Costume department, absolutely, thank you.

Speaker 15 (01:35:23):
Thanks Angela and Lisa.

Speaker 2 (01:35:26):
How to make it in wa this, I'll make your stuff.

Speaker 3 (01:35:30):
Oh, we're very excited in this today because we've got
Sam Desmond, who is a stuntman. Good morning, and you
just came in through the door. I'm not going to
say I was disappointed.

Speaker 4 (01:35:44):
But maybe you'll leave through the window. I don't know.

Speaker 3 (01:35:46):
Sam, it's very exciting to have you in here as
part of our series that we've been, you know, diving
down a rabbit hole because so much is happening here
recently and you've been in the heart of it up
in York being in runt But I've never met a
stunt man and I thought, what it must be such
a conversation starter when you're at a dinner party or whatever.

Speaker 4 (01:36:06):
What do you do? Cool gig?

Speaker 3 (01:36:08):
I'm in film, which is already a really cool answer.
And then I'm a stunt man.

Speaker 8 (01:36:12):
That's right, it is. My missus usually takes over the Yeah, yeah,
that's right. Just back off a bit there, exactly. I
always get what's the most dangerous stunt that you have? Yes,
full body fire burned.

Speaker 7 (01:36:27):
With no mask gel you already made answer, that's pretty
much the most.

Speaker 8 (01:36:31):
Dangerous, and my favorite is a full story header, which
is headfirst into an airbag.

Speaker 4 (01:36:37):
Yes, storry is high. Yeah, so there are two favorites.
What do you like with heights? You're okay? Yeah, I'm
pretty good man. Yeah. Well when I was younger, I
used to have a bit of a few, so I
went skydiving. Yeah, I loved it. So I've sorted it out,
solved it. Yeah, face the fears head on, yeah, head on.

Speaker 3 (01:36:56):
As you said, when you did that head on out
of a four story do you remember who it was
you were doing that on?

Speaker 4 (01:37:02):
Behalf of?

Speaker 8 (01:37:03):
Oh that was for the training actually really yeah exactly
at the Stunt Academy in Queensland.

Speaker 4 (01:37:09):
Okay, you want to go to get most of your training?

Speaker 7 (01:37:11):
Yeah, because that's what they do with the shows. You know,
if you're going to see those shows in Anaheim or whatever.

Speaker 8 (01:37:15):
That's they have it at the wild West. Yes, yeah,
Queensland that the studios there.

Speaker 3 (01:37:21):
I'll tell us about the stunt Academy then, what I mean,
what was it like a day in you know, stunt school,
all sorts of.

Speaker 4 (01:37:28):
Stunt You get a taste of everything.

Speaker 8 (01:37:30):
Yeah, on car hits to basic body control, high falls, fireburns. Yeah,
how to land? How to land, that's the main main
thing you learned. Yeah, stat hurting yourself.

Speaker 7 (01:37:42):
There was a time in the seventies and eighties it
was a called Buddy Joe Hooker was he was. He
was doing stunts for everything in Hollywood. He's still around,
he's still going.

Speaker 13 (01:37:51):
Yeah.

Speaker 4 (01:37:51):
So did you have Was there anyone like him that
you saw and I thought I would love.

Speaker 11 (01:37:55):
To do that?

Speaker 4 (01:37:56):
Jackie Chan and to Brewis obviously they yeah, they're out there.
But Buddy Joe. Yeah, he's great at car crashes absolutely. Yeah.

Speaker 8 (01:38:06):
Death Proof was one of his movies with Quenton Tarantino,
and he did a multiple car rolls and landed on
the roof into the frame.

Speaker 4 (01:38:13):
You see him on the credits on almost everything that
was coming out with Legend for sure. Was that your
favorite thing? To do, like car because you're a boy,
so I want a farm in So you were already
doing it. I was cars, bikes, horses.

Speaker 8 (01:38:26):
My sister always chucked me on a horse if she
couldn't couldn't break it in, so stummy for that, my dad. Yeah,
that's right. They taught me how to drive a car
backwards before I could even hittles.

Speaker 4 (01:38:37):
Really all right?

Speaker 8 (01:38:38):
Yeah, yes, what are some of the things that you've
been in wells recently? Runt is out in cinemas right
now doing quite well. So I was actually lucky enough
to get a call and come back home to start
as location scout on the job, right, and then went
into production assistant for a few weeks into construction. I

(01:39:00):
have a backgrounding trade, so I was able to use
that in the industry as well, and then once filming
started I went on to stunt assistant, safety assistant and
also a couple of cameos on the film as well.

Speaker 4 (01:39:11):
So yeah, that was very exciting.

Speaker 3 (01:39:15):
But I mean building stuff. You just build stuff and
then jump off with at the end of the day.
A big part in the windmill that right, tell me.

Speaker 7 (01:39:26):
I read once where I read Burt Reynold's autobiography, and
he had really bad damage to his face and he
had to reconstruct his jaw on his teeth because they
used to hit him.

Speaker 4 (01:39:34):
With the bird's face, Bert's face.

Speaker 7 (01:39:37):
What he's making a lot of those movies and the
Badies and that smoking the band and stuff. But from
those stunt chairs they used to use, that's what they
called it meant to be collapsible breakaway. People used to
get really damaged by those, and he his life changed
because of it. Yeah, well, safety has definitely changed a
lot since.

Speaker 17 (01:39:51):
Yeah.

Speaker 4 (01:39:52):
Yeah, it was almost like they're a bit too tough
to chairs.

Speaker 8 (01:39:54):
Yeah, exactly, hard so okay, yeah, exactly unless they're made nowdays.

Speaker 4 (01:40:01):
He can make props out of foam and it looks
to hit the right way by these things, exactly. Okay,
that's right. Sure is it a silly question to us
if you have been injured.

Speaker 8 (01:40:12):
Most of the injuries I did was before I became
a stunt man. Oh, freestyle motocross, and I broke my
wrists and located my kneel at the same time. And yeah,
even when I was a fencing contractor, him perfect jumping
off the top of the fence when I finished broke
a couple of ankles. Yeah, most have happened before my
stunt career, which is kind of interesting.

Speaker 4 (01:40:32):
So it just shows you how safe it is in
the industry.

Speaker 3 (01:40:35):
And most people on set, I mean Tom Cruise is
the exception. Of course, he loves to do his own,
but most people on set more than happy to just
say you take it from here.

Speaker 4 (01:40:46):
That's bien back out. Yeah, yeah, that's right.

Speaker 8 (01:40:50):
If anything happens to them, then the film just stops completely. Yeah,
so we step in and take the hits and especially
take the falls, and yeah, we're trained to do it
so well.

Speaker 7 (01:41:00):
If they've been working on funding for ten years on
something on a project, which often happens, or five years exactly,
I wanted to fall.

Speaker 3 (01:41:05):
Yeah, actually, you probably hurt yourself less than the average
person because you do know how to fall over and
things like that.

Speaker 4 (01:41:13):
Yeah, helps in every day life. It does help it
every day life home from the pub. Yeah, yeah, I
have a profession.

Speaker 7 (01:41:25):
It always makes me overways curious because I'm a nerd
and I'm watching shows to see if you can pick
the stunt man and things or a stunt.

Speaker 4 (01:41:30):
Well with the crossover point.

Speaker 6 (01:41:32):
Yeah.

Speaker 17 (01:41:32):
Yeah.

Speaker 7 (01:41:32):
There's a movie called Face Off with Travolta and Page
Right and the you can in the boat. You can
pick the stuntman almost every time, but they're very careful
to make it blend and look perfect, doren't they are?
You get critical when you're watching other productions you're not in.
You're watching so much.

Speaker 8 (01:41:47):
Now, I've always been a film lover, so I can
get sucked into whatever I'm watching. But there are times
when it's like that's a stunt man body size or
the way they move. Yeah, there's a lot of things.
There's a lot of acting that goes into stunts.

Speaker 4 (01:42:00):
Actually.

Speaker 8 (01:42:01):
Absolutely, when you are doubling someone, you have to move
like them and obviously look like them. Is up to
wardrobe and makeup, yeah, you know. But also with stunts
you also get an opportunity to act and do your
own stunts, not just double other people. So yeah, it
was just what I did on runt was I was
my own character doing.

Speaker 4 (01:42:24):
I'm a continuity nerd.

Speaker 3 (01:42:26):
I like to watch the glass, you know, go up
and down in its liquid, or the ice cream that's
stripping and then it's not, And that would apply, I
guess apply a lot to the scenes where you come
in because they've got to find that moment where the
swap happens exactly.

Speaker 5 (01:42:39):
Yeah.

Speaker 8 (01:42:39):
Well, one of my recent films was Late Night with
the Devil, which is a great Australian horror movie Kahnes Brothers. Yeah,
and I doubled one of the actors who was the
first death and his head spun around backwards and as
it happened, so I had a green sock on my
head and I was.

Speaker 9 (01:43:00):
The moment.

Speaker 8 (01:43:00):
When you do watch it in the film, it's like
you can't tell, well, it completely seamless.

Speaker 3 (01:43:05):
I've heard of a green screen, a green slot screen
exactly what it was, a green.

Speaker 4 (01:43:12):
Screen, it was.

Speaker 3 (01:43:14):
How excited are you for what's been happening in wa
with the And we've got the Malaga Film Studios coming,
so a lot of that post production stuff that might
have had to go elsewhere can all be done here.

Speaker 4 (01:43:24):
The industry is this is the happening time.

Speaker 8 (01:43:28):
Yeah, definitely, So hopefully it'll attract a lot more people
back home that have had to leave. There's a lot
of us stunties have to go over East and training
room and then we make our contacts in the East,
so most of the work happens over there for us.
So unless we can get our foothold in here. You know,
the work is fairly slim picking.

Speaker 3 (01:43:48):
And we're making all genres of movies now too, which
is you know, where are you coming?

Speaker 4 (01:43:53):
Definitely lots of comedy that's usually has the most thun
in it.

Speaker 7 (01:43:59):
Yeah, yeah, like a car chase from some of the
classic movies out of Hollywood.

Speaker 15 (01:44:04):
Particularly car chases. Yeah, they're the best.

Speaker 7 (01:44:07):
The other thing about malagam Aut lest I mentioned it's
very exciting, but it sounds studios a great, big constructure
they're building out there, and that adds to it. The
versatility of the venue.

Speaker 8 (01:44:15):
Well, definitely, there will be places for us to train
and the versatility. Yeah, it would attract more people, more productions,
and yeah, hopefully they'll use more local cruise and yeah, I.

Speaker 7 (01:44:26):
Want to see car chase off Alexander Drive into ma
Laga local Blues Brothers.

Speaker 4 (01:44:31):
I saw one recently, but I don't think it was sanctious.

Speaker 3 (01:44:36):
Are there a lot Is there a lot of work
for stunt people, if you know, for people are going,
I'm going to get in here into this industry somehow?

Speaker 4 (01:44:43):
Is this a good angle to go?

Speaker 15 (01:44:46):
Definitely?

Speaker 8 (01:44:46):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, I mean if you're willing to put
in the hid yards for the training, get the grading,
and then it definitely pays off anything from driving cars
to fighting and stunts on film. Big stunts like yeah,
going through a glass table with a green sock, with
a green sock in your head.

Speaker 3 (01:45:02):
So what's your advice to someone thinking I'm going to
I'm going to make my move today.

Speaker 8 (01:45:07):
The main thing is you need twelve months worth of
body control, so some sort of fighting, martial arts okay,
gymnastics Okay, that's definitely going to help you go towards
your training, and then six months with a stunt coordinator,
which is where most of us end up in Queensland,
training with a coordinator, and once you've got your grading,
then you're able to work on films.

Speaker 7 (01:45:28):
Yeah, okay, have you seen the Dev Patel movie that
came out this year called Monkey Monkey Man.

Speaker 4 (01:45:34):
That's brutal. It's like one long flight scene for two.

Speaker 21 (01:45:37):
Hours, one long fight increasi, it's like the raid, right, Okay,
pretty full on definitely, but some of the sequences in
that obviously it's choreographed, but it is quite at times
ridiculously for sure.

Speaker 4 (01:45:53):
Sam, thanks for coming in today.

Speaker 3 (01:45:54):
I'm going to be a pleasure I'm looking for you
out of the green stock now every Yeah movie that
I see how to make it in w Way as
a stunt man?

Speaker 4 (01:46:04):
Thank you, Thanks for all the best of cheers.

Speaker 15 (01:46:07):
Clasi and Lisas.

Speaker 1 (01:46:08):
How do to it make it in Way this.

Speaker 2 (01:46:11):
Sun and I'll make you a start?

Speaker 3 (01:46:12):
This has been fascinating mid our burgeoning film and movie
industry that's happening in w Way. We've spoken to the
Minister about the Malaga Film Studios. We've spoken to a
casting director, We've spoken to the costume person who supposed
it to the guy that holds the big ferry microphone

(01:46:32):
just out of shop today, wrapping it up with the
pinnacle of getting into the industry. Known for starring as
Peter Allen and Not the Boy next Door, Deadline, Gallipoli,
and most recently Run to name just a few things.
W Way born and bred Logi and actor winner Joel Jackson,
Good morning, right, welcome, Good.

Speaker 4 (01:46:53):
Morning gang, How are you? Thank you for the very
beautiful introduction.

Speaker 3 (01:46:59):
Thank you for taking time out of your very busy
schedule to have.

Speaker 11 (01:47:04):
A chat to us.

Speaker 4 (01:47:06):
Because I thought I'd kick starting the day with a
bunch of mates. You know, why not, Joel would you
would agree. I'm sure that this is a very exciting
time in the WA industry.

Speaker 5 (01:47:18):
It's one. I mean, on Wednesday night we hosted the
very first ever Australian World Travel on Tourism Council dinner
and the first summit that's ever happened here in Australia,
let alone in Western Australia. To see the scale of
the entertainment industry and then to see the interest in
people from overseas asking me about the studios and asking

(01:47:41):
about what they expected and what can we look forward to,
it was really special because you start to go everybody
else outside of Australia is also taking notice.

Speaker 7 (01:47:51):
Yeah, and that's the key, isn't it to get that
international interest. So it's locals and from across the country
and around the world visiting us working.

Speaker 5 (01:47:59):
That's quite an insane things. What happens at Billid Roadshow
or around those other bigger, kind of significant studios is
that people come to visit, they come to see the
locations and it's a whole other part of the tourism
industry which is incredibly exciting. But that's yeah, that's outside
of our.

Speaker 3 (01:48:16):
And then and then it just snowballs because they see
our locations and they see, you know what Nick Cage
is doing down south.

Speaker 4 (01:48:22):
Wow, what an amazing location. And they see York and think,
well that's York.

Speaker 3 (01:48:26):
That is you know, as as Craig Sylvie said, effortlessly cinematic.

Speaker 4 (01:48:31):
I just love his description of York where you just made.

Speaker 5 (01:48:35):
You give Craig Sylvie. Yeah, you give Craig Silvie your
chance to use the English language. You're going to get
a master class.

Speaker 18 (01:48:41):
You should write right, thank you one of these days, expiningly,
he should.

Speaker 4 (01:48:47):
Ever credit, he should ever cracking it.

Speaker 5 (01:48:50):
This morning, really excitingly, I just opened my social media
to see that he'd actually announced that they've been approved
to this sequel for twenty twenty.

Speaker 12 (01:49:00):
I have the book.

Speaker 3 (01:49:01):
Fantastic. Oh that is beautiful, awesome news. He's just a
He's a treasure. He's so you I said, born and
bred and that is It couldn't be any truer really,
because am I right? You were born in Albany, but
then dad was a primary school principle and that took
you to Katha at about ten, which is very different.

Speaker 4 (01:49:23):
You know extremes.

Speaker 5 (01:49:27):
Yeah, you get like solidn granite rock in the Great
Southern Ocean to like the tip of the Indian Ocean
with this pointy, wonderful kind of coral coast and the
red pined and dust it was.

Speaker 4 (01:49:39):
It was amazing. But like in saying that.

Speaker 5 (01:49:43):
Randomly too yesterday I bumped into ten Winter in Earphoia
and just kidding, no, just I was walking in and
kind of get up ready to go for this event,
and saw him and dropped everything and went, I have
been meaning to find an opportunity to meet you and
talk to you for my high lifetime because we're so
lucky in that Western Australia, the creators here, I've been

(01:50:05):
able to capture that landscape and I think having moved up,
the first audition I ever did was for Lucky Leonard
in Albany, Yeah, which is wonderful. Sean Keenan got incredible
and then.

Speaker 4 (01:50:21):
Joy I should say yeah yeah.

Speaker 5 (01:50:24):
And then when I headed to Kartha, the first opportunity
I had to kind of walk onto a film set.
I was working at the Rio Tinto Assault Mindes at
the time as a trade assistant as a ta ning
a bit of money in school holidays and I was
feeling red dog shitting.

Speaker 7 (01:50:41):
This is six degrees of separation in wa we spoke to.

Speaker 4 (01:50:46):
That really launching juice right. Yes, exactly has a big
fat book of his beauty.

Speaker 5 (01:50:56):
I know. But the great thing about it is that
that opportunity to at least get on to set. See
back in the day, it wasn't a thing where we're
taking photos with an iPad and putting it into an
application that then orders it. It was someone sitting there
with a polaroid camera and a blue stick and they
take the polaroid camera of the person's hands and what
the makeup was doing, and what they had on their hands,

(01:51:19):
the ring to watch where their collar was doing with
the buttons, how many buttons, if they had a belt
on three or four notches, like all these continuity things.
And I'm just asking the question of the costume and
make up the GOP team going what is going on here?
And for someone like me who loved the sport and
detail and the team aspect of everyone playing their part,

(01:51:42):
I just fell in love with the mechanism more than
I did the doing. And that was my first kind
of inkling of Oh, I might really like to investigate this.

Speaker 3 (01:51:52):
But when did you realize and I mean when did
you realize that do you kind of have leading man colicies,
not just.

Speaker 4 (01:52:00):
To be, you know, doing that.

Speaker 5 (01:52:03):
Dad will always say, there's this old video of us
kids gone a useless loop with all the cousins and stuff,
and everyone else went away and did their thing, and
they got into groups and made their little on a
show on a show, and.

Speaker 4 (01:52:18):
I refused to work with anybody.

Speaker 5 (01:52:22):
Yeah, I went into my winter bag.

Speaker 4 (01:52:24):
I was me, give me my fizzy water, Karen, and
I'll be back out. Your motivation as a youngster.

Speaker 5 (01:52:32):
Yeah, yeah, what's my why? What's my wife?

Speaker 17 (01:52:34):
Yeah?

Speaker 12 (01:52:35):
What I was about I stink.

Speaker 4 (01:52:37):
I was about two or three and it's still on
BA Death and I just walked out, and.

Speaker 5 (01:52:43):
Because I was trying to sing Twinkle Twinkle, little start,
so Dad will always go yeah. From then on we
were like, yeah, you were going to be a bit
of a a hairful by yourself. But I think the
leading man, or at least the idea of I can
go and do this and put it off was actually
when I was at night, when I was at school studying,

(01:53:07):
I knew that I was incredibly different. So for the
first year, half of the teachers called me Karatha. That
didn't call me by my name, all right, and you
know those schools in you know there's a it's changed now,
but it was a bit of a thing of ten
years ago. People would do that, you know, building down
to break you back out. But I was like, man,
I'm played footy in the North Tilbera, Like.

Speaker 18 (01:53:29):
You know what you don't do? Yeah, necessarily understand you. No, No,
I've been in the ruck against Laurie. But loove you
late the month players.

Speaker 12 (01:53:40):
What a good player.

Speaker 5 (01:53:41):
Yeah he took me out. Yeah, he gave me my
first ever knockout to the knee.

Speaker 12 (01:53:46):
Yes, yeah, he can jump higher that man.

Speaker 9 (01:53:49):
Yeah.

Speaker 4 (01:53:51):
Absolutely.

Speaker 7 (01:53:52):
But in the acting game, I remember talking to Roger
Corser one day, great actor, and he was saying, I'm working.
I'm working right now, but next month time at the
Wolf unpacking boxes and containers, and that was like, oh,
even a working actor has to have to have another job.
It can be one of those kind of gigskin of
in and out.

Speaker 4 (01:54:10):
It can be most definitely one of those.

Speaker 5 (01:54:13):
I was just listening to something that Nick Offerman from
Parks and Rush and who was one of the stars
of alongside another Ousie Murray Bartlett in the Last of Us,
and that beautiful emindod it was just a standalone.

Speaker 4 (01:54:29):
Brilliant o god themselves. Nick Offman, who plays opposite Murray Bartlett.
He is married to Anna Station beaver House and by
the way, right exactly.

Speaker 5 (01:54:40):
Right, yeah, yes, but he he didn't really get much
of a big, big, solid break until he was thirty
eight on Parks and Red.

Speaker 20 (01:54:54):
Wow.

Speaker 5 (01:54:54):
He was working as an actor throughout and doing stand
up and some pieces. But he was saying, you know,
he realized that a lot of other people that he
knew and adored were incredibly talented and far more skillful
than he was. But they put all their joy seeking,
put all of their self worth into this career rather
than stepping outside of it and going, you know, like,

(01:55:17):
if I'm happy and I get to work in this place, incredible,
But if I don't get to work in that place,
can I still be happy? And that, I think is
such a beautiful key to the longevity of what we do.
Caann't place and trust me like I've learned at firsthand
coming from the first two things that I ever did

(01:55:38):
in this industry. Being recognized and awarded for a nomination
and a win for our the biggest award for a
TV actor in this country. And I was only twenty
two or twenty three years old when I did both
of them, and from then on you're going, well, everything
else has to be on that part, right, You go, well, no,

(01:56:00):
you can't necessarily emulate all those things. And also those
things were incredibly incredible moments of flash in the pan
of great people, great stories at a great time. It
was very necessary. But you can't then place all of
your self worth by going, well, that's what my that's
what my plateau is. You go, well, no, that's someone

(01:56:21):
outside of me going you deserve that, well, thank you
very much, and then you can go back to yourself
and then being incredibly happy in there. So regardless of
what hat you wear on what kind of day, or
what shoes you put on to step out into that
next part in your career, as long as you can
be solid in yourself the little tributaries and offshoots that

(01:56:42):
this career will give you, you'll be fine.

Speaker 4 (01:56:44):
Are words to live by whatever you do.

Speaker 3 (01:56:46):
Because I think this is the reason why a lot
of sports people suffer, because they may, you know, for
want of a better way of putting a peak early,
and then they suffer because they're not giving themselves a
break for you know, you can do that. And then
go on, Joel, what are your top tips for anyone

(01:57:07):
who's listening and thinking, I want to be Joel one day,
or I want to just be in I want to
be in the industry in some capacity because it's such
an exciting industry to be in, and now is the
time to be doing it in way.

Speaker 4 (01:57:20):
Yeah, very good call.

Speaker 5 (01:57:22):
My first one straight up to that is discipline. Trump's
motivation every single day, right.

Speaker 4 (01:57:29):
On Trump's motivation. Okay, Yeah, So you're.

Speaker 5 (01:57:33):
Only going to be as good as your best effort,
and if you continue to show up and put in
an f every day, the chances are you're going to
produce a lot.

Speaker 4 (01:57:40):
Of good efforts.

Speaker 5 (01:57:42):
Stephen King had this beautiful quite where he talked about
the fact of you know, the clubs wait for inspiration.
The rest of us just get up and work. And
I think it's wonderful because in this industry you're never
going to get a pat on the back, and you
might put in you know, we put in upwards of
one hundred job applications a year with auditions of course.

Speaker 4 (01:58:02):
And you might hear back from three Lonely said this
is a very.

Speaker 5 (01:58:11):
Incredible man, and you know you you just have to go, Okay,
I'm going to put in my best effort and make
sure that I am doing it at the best of
my ability. Good advice, don't sleep on technical advances.

Speaker 4 (01:58:27):
Okay.

Speaker 5 (01:58:27):
So what I mean by that is the idea of
a self tap. At the moment and people are auditioning
around the world, there's this great theory that the world's
gone back to being flat because it's so well connected.
Like you know, it's just so easy to be able
to work with the casting director of the UK or
the US and for them to make their shows here,
or for you to be all of a suddenly getting

(01:58:48):
a role in House of Dragons and shooting in British
Columbia or and all because if you shot something on
your iPhone. So if you want to work within this industry,
whether you be on you know, in front of the
camera or behind the camera, look at the technical advances
and listen to podcasts. Be go and take someone out

(01:59:10):
for coffee and say that's what you're asking them out for.

Speaker 11 (01:59:13):
To go.

Speaker 5 (01:59:14):
I just want to know what you know, and I
want to see the holes in my own knowledge to
understand this mechanism better so that I can be as
good as I can. Join totally and you know, and
steal from YouTube. YouTube is the best. Michelangelo would always say,
like Michelangelo is not mate.

Speaker 4 (01:59:36):
It was big on he good artists copy, great artists steal.

Speaker 3 (01:59:48):
That Nightjel Jackson, listen. Thank you so much for joining
us today. It's always a treat.

Speaker 4 (01:59:54):
Very excited. Thanks, it's incredibly exciting. Thanks great great words
to take away. Thank you, Joel Diggs

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