Look Both Ways Review - Herald Sun Melbourne
Double take Edition: 1 - FIRST
Section: WEEKEND, pg. W12
An Aussie husband and wife tell Claire Sutherland how they got on
making a movie together. He did what he was told
FIRST-TIME director Sarah Watt had a strategy in steering her leading
man -- and husband -- William McInnes to a winning performance
in her film Look Both Ways.
``It's a bit like having one of your own children in the classroom
when you're the teacher. I think sometimes you're harder on your
own child.''
If McInnes is offended at being likened to a schoolkid, he doesn't
show it.
``She caned me. Gave me detention,'' he says, deadpan.
Look Both Ways is about a newspaper photographer (McInnes) who's diagnosed
with cancer. He has to spend the weekend anxiously awaiting
test results that will determine his prognosis, but on his way
home from work is sent to photograph the scene of an accident in
which a man is hit by a train.
There he meets a young woman (Justine Clarke), who saw the accident,
and they strike up a friendship of sorts.
In a macabre coincidence, Watt herself was diagnosed with breast cancer
soon after filming finished. She underwent chemotherapy and
a mastectomy.
Even before her diagnosis, Watt says, the point of Look Both Ways,
which she also wrote, was that worrying about death is futile.
``The whole film is meant to be about the perception of fear versus
the actuality of fear, and cancer is a really good metaphor for
that.
``When you get cancer, you did have it the day before, you just didn't
know. It's not as if you're going to die next week. It might
mean you have less chance of making it to 90 -- you might not. Even
with the most severe forms of cancer, there's a 10 per cent chance
of survival.
``We don't really know, any of us, when our lives are going to end.
So whether you have less chance than the next person doesn't really
matter.
``The audience is left with hope that he will beat it, but there's
no telling what's around the corner. I think it's kind of uplifting
to think we all just hope about all of the things in our lives.''
LOOK Both Ways was made in South Australia with money from the South
Australian Government. As with all independent films, money was
hard to come by.
``It was hard getting the finance because I'm a first-time director.
In this climate that's not a good thing to be.
``We didn't get the film up on the cast. William and Justine aren't
known outside Australia. It was like we had a no-name cast.''
``Home-brand acting,'' McInnes says.
He is doing an Australia-wide publicity tour to promote the film,
though Watt has the plum task of travelling to the Toronto Film Festival
to present it. With two children, the couple cannot both
go.
``Yeah, cause I can't get any acting work,'' he says, possibly joking.
``I'm doing the sandwich board in Swanston St mall. You know the guy.
One side, the thing is for the film, the other side is for my
book.
``I could get in some spruiking for the Bargain Bin at the same time.
`Hello, you may remember me from Blue Heelers. And tonight we
have some wonderful deals on face cream'.''
The book, out this month, is A Man's Gotta Have a Hobby, McInnes's
memoir of growing up in Queensland. He wrote it after shooting Look
Both Ways.
``Working with Sarah helped me connect my thoughts a lot more.''
``He stole all my ideas,'' she adds.
He is now working on a new book, this time about cricket, while she
searches for another project on which they can collaborate.
``Because we enjoyed working together so much, we might try another
one, but it's a long process,'' Watt says.
MCINNES jokes that he's ``between acting projects''.
Watt: ``What's that saying, you can't get arrested in TV?''
McInnes: ``You can't say that to a journalist! Jesus!''
Watt: ``He hasn't worked in years. As a matter of fact, he's so unemployable
he has to do sketch comedy, and even when he does that,
it's terrible.''
McInnes: ``No, I'm picking and choosing. I'm just taking a break from
acting at the moment. I have been offered work, but it's a lot
of stuff I've already done. But I'd like to do something different,
so I'll just wait and see how the film goes.''
Look Both Ways opens today.
Copyright 2005 / Herald Sun
Source: Herald Sun (Melbourne), AUG 20, 2005Item: 200508201W12171921
Section: WEEKEND, pg. W12
An Aussie husband and wife tell Claire Sutherland how they got on
making a movie together. He did what he was told
FIRST-TIME director Sarah Watt had a strategy in steering her leading
man -- and husband -- William McInnes to a winning performance
in her film Look Both Ways.
``It's a bit like having one of your own children in the classroom
when you're the teacher. I think sometimes you're harder on your
own child.''
If McInnes is offended at being likened to a schoolkid, he doesn't
show it.
``She caned me. Gave me detention,'' he says, deadpan.
Look Both Ways is about a newspaper photographer (McInnes) who's diagnosed
with cancer. He has to spend the weekend anxiously awaiting
test results that will determine his prognosis, but on his way
home from work is sent to photograph the scene of an accident in
which a man is hit by a train.
There he meets a young woman (Justine Clarke), who saw the accident,
and they strike up a friendship of sorts.
In a macabre coincidence, Watt herself was diagnosed with breast cancer
soon after filming finished. She underwent chemotherapy and
a mastectomy.
Even before her diagnosis, Watt says, the point of Look Both Ways,
which she also wrote, was that worrying about death is futile.
``The whole film is meant to be about the perception of fear versus
the actuality of fear, and cancer is a really good metaphor for
that.
``When you get cancer, you did have it the day before, you just didn't
know. It's not as if you're going to die next week. It might
mean you have less chance of making it to 90 -- you might not. Even
with the most severe forms of cancer, there's a 10 per cent chance
of survival.
``We don't really know, any of us, when our lives are going to end.
So whether you have less chance than the next person doesn't really
matter.
``The audience is left with hope that he will beat it, but there's
no telling what's around the corner. I think it's kind of uplifting
to think we all just hope about all of the things in our lives.''
LOOK Both Ways was made in South Australia with money from the South
Australian Government. As with all independent films, money was
hard to come by.
``It was hard getting the finance because I'm a first-time director.
In this climate that's not a good thing to be.
``We didn't get the film up on the cast. William and Justine aren't
known outside Australia. It was like we had a no-name cast.''
``Home-brand acting,'' McInnes says.
He is doing an Australia-wide publicity tour to promote the film,
though Watt has the plum task of travelling to the Toronto Film Festival
to present it. With two children, the couple cannot both
go.
``Yeah, cause I can't get any acting work,'' he says, possibly joking.
``I'm doing the sandwich board in Swanston St mall. You know the guy.
One side, the thing is for the film, the other side is for my
book.
``I could get in some spruiking for the Bargain Bin at the same time.
`Hello, you may remember me from Blue Heelers. And tonight we
have some wonderful deals on face cream'.''
The book, out this month, is A Man's Gotta Have a Hobby, McInnes's
memoir of growing up in Queensland. He wrote it after shooting Look
Both Ways.
``Working with Sarah helped me connect my thoughts a lot more.''
``He stole all my ideas,'' she adds.
He is now working on a new book, this time about cricket, while she
searches for another project on which they can collaborate.
``Because we enjoyed working together so much, we might try another
one, but it's a long process,'' Watt says.
MCINNES jokes that he's ``between acting projects''.
Watt: ``What's that saying, you can't get arrested in TV?''
McInnes: ``You can't say that to a journalist! Jesus!''
Watt: ``He hasn't worked in years. As a matter of fact, he's so unemployable
he has to do sketch comedy, and even when he does that,
it's terrible.''
McInnes: ``No, I'm picking and choosing. I'm just taking a break from
acting at the moment. I have been offered work, but it's a lot
of stuff I've already done. But I'd like to do something different,
so I'll just wait and see how the film goes.''
Look Both Ways opens today.
Copyright 2005 / Herald Sun
Source: Herald Sun (Melbourne), AUG 20, 2005Item: 200508201W12171921
posted by WilliamWatch at 2:30 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home