Snippet - Inside Film

Australian hit ready for international breakout

Sandy George for Screen Daily: The Australian drama Look Both Ways may become the country's long-awaited international breakout after taking $230,000 (A$300,000) on home soil in its first week from only 17 screens.

The film, which has its international premiere at Toronto, has been the number one film in every cinema in which it opened and was the seventh highest-grossing film in the week to August 24.

Dendy/Footprint Films has now widened the local release to 50 screens, including selected multiplexes, and international release will follow.

The film, handled internationally by Fortissimo, is in competition in the new directors' section of San Sebastian. It opened the Adelaide Film Festival, where it was voted most popular film, and won the FIPRESCI film critics' award for Asia Pacific film in Brisbane.

At the Australian box office, the only films that have bettered it were on between eight and 23 times more screens.

This helped writer/director Sarah Watt's debut record a screen average of $13,500 (A$17,773) well ahead of its Hollywood rivals.

'The film is life-affirming and speaks to people emotionally and directly,' says Dendy joint general manager Andrew Mackie.

'An honest and heart-felt film stands out in a sea of films that are similar and formulaic, with style over substance.'

The film screened at major chain Greater Union for the first time last night.

Film general manager Peter Cody does not always agree with the philosophy of distributors but did not have a problem not being in the opening wave given it is 'a small film without star power'.

Look Both Ways is getting particular attention because of the poor performance of local films at the box office in the past couple of years. So too is another local hit Oyster Farmer.

Despite being in the top 20 chart for the past eight weeks, it increased its gross in the last seven days. It is released by Dendy sister company Becker and Sherman Pictures, and will reach A$2 million shortly.

Look Both Ways is in competition in the new directors' section of San Sebastian. It opened the Adelaide Film Festival, where it was voted most popular film, and won the FIPRESCI film critics' award for Asia Pacific film in Brisbane.

Look Both Ways was produced by Bridget Ikin, who is now one of the executives making decisions on the Film Finance Corporation Australia's slate. Beyond is handling sales on Oyster Farmer.
www.screendaily.com

Stills from Look Both Ways

Article - City News Brisbane

Book Review - Herald Sun Melbourne

Family humour a bill of rights;
SUSAN BUGG Herald Sun (Melbourne, Australia) 08-20-2005

MAN'S GOT TO HAVE A HOBBY: LONG SUMMERS WITH MY DAD by William McInnes, Hodder, rrp. $32.95

MOST Australians would recognise William McInnes from TV shows such as Blue Heelers, SeaChange, My Brother Jack and most recently a cameo role in Kath & Kim. This talented actor also has a talent for telling stories. In his first book, a fondly written memoir, Footscray resident McInnes returns to his Queensland boyhood and the home he shared with dad Colin, mum Iris and brother and sisters. It's pure '70s: tales of cracker night, making lip-slicing tumblers with a K-Tel glass cutter, jumping the fence at the Redcliffe show, lining up for hotdogs at the local footy, and trips to the drive-in, when Dad would always drive away without disconnecting the speaker.

McInnes' World War II paratrooper dad, as the title suggests, is central. He's a big man, in physique and personality, and the source of the black humour that seems to keep the family humming. Never happy without a project on the go (a man's got to have a hobby), he talks to the telly as if it were human and has an unusual line in put-downs: piecan, tripe hound, banjo player. It's an atmosphere of mutual affection, peppered with lingo rarely understood outside the family circle.

The book is highly visual. There is no trouble imagining the entire family, one by one climbing up on the dining table, first to fix a terminally troublesome fluoro light, but then having a jig while there. This memoir is more than just a string of amusing stories, though. It's a lament for days gone by.

McInnes is at times almost wistful for less complicated times when tennis racquets were made of wood and sarsaparilla was his drink of choice. And it's a recognition that few things remain the same: drive-ins make way for ``more appropriate development'', old friends drift apart and seemingly unassailable old men fall prey to the monster of Alzheimer's disease. For all the long summers with his dad, winter is inevitable.

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

Look Both Ways Review - Sunday Mail - SA

Best of both worlds Edition: 1 - State
Section: Supplement, pg. I08
DRAMA
Look Both Ways
(100 minutes, M)
****

The players: William McInnes, Justine Clarke, Anthony Hayes, Lisa
Flanagan, Daniela Farinacci, Edwin Hodgeman.

Behind the scenes: Written and directed by Sarah Watt.

The plot: A group of people deal with unexpected news during a hot
weekend in Adelaide.

In short: Warning signs.

IT'S been a long wait for the return of Look Both Ways, an Australian
drama that opened the Adelaide Film Festival in February to rave
reviews from audiences and critics.

Look Both Ways is both touching and funny - and an exciting debut
by first-timer Sarah Watt.

The director, who has won awards worldwide for her animated short
films, wrote the screenplay with her husband, William McInnes, in
mind.

The former Blue Heeler plays Nick, a photographer who is told some
very bad news very early on in the piece.

The story then follows his life and that of several other characters
during a scorcher of a weekend in Adelaide.

Nick meets Meryl (Home and Away alumni Justine Clarke), an artist
returning home after her father's funeral.

Meryl paints pictures and fears the worst; she imagines trains crashing
and killer sharks gobbling her up.

Her encounters with Nick throughout the film are sweet, awkward and
funny - so much between them is left unsaid.

Andy (Anthony Hayes) is a journalist with two kids who has separated
from his wife.

He's involved with Anna (Lisa Flanagan), a nurse who discovers she
is pregnant and gives him an ultimatum.

Meryl meets Andy when he and Nick are sent by the newspaper they work
for to cover a local train accident.

Apart from the train driver (Andreas Sobik), Meryl is the only witness.
Watt cleverly weaves these many strands together. She also inserts
short bursts of animation and photographs to illustrate the inner
life of her characters.

It's a risky technique that pays off superbly.

Rather than intrude on the story, the animation brings an expansiveness
to the film.

Some of these small moments are just plain funny. In fact, the small
moments are where the film's strength lies.

Watt is a great observer and there is profound pathos and insight
underlying the day to day interactions between her characters. Each
scene is beautifully structured and thought out, from the cosy
mess of Meryl's flat to the relaxed atmosphere of a summer afternoon's
game of cricket.

McInnes, flashing those baby blues, is excellent as thoughtful but
troubled Nick.

His unpredictable moments of closeness, then shyness, with Meryl bring
a believable unease to their relationship.

Clarke is also excellent and plays a character with whom many women
will sympathise.

She wants Nick in her life but is also more than a little bit terrified
of having him there.

Not long after they've met, he takes her home to meet his Mum.
It's a bit keen on his behalf and painfully funny seeing her trying
to make a good impression and work out what on earth this man is
about.

Funded through the State Government's Adelaide Film Festival Investment
Fund, it was a great choice to launch the festival.

Look Both Ways - made on the summery streets of Port Adelaide - was
worth the wait.

Between it and the upcoming Wolf Creek and December Boys, it's a great
time for our home-grown film industry.
Copyright 2005 / Sunday Mail (SA)

San Sebastian Film Festival

For more information on the San Sebastian Film Festival, go to:

http://www.sansebastianfestival.com/2005/in/n12.htm

News From Inside Film Magazine

Look Both Ways to compete at San Sebastian, Spain

The San Sebastian International Film Festival has announced that the Australian feature film Look Both Ways, written and directed by Sarah Watt, will screen in the Zabaltegi — New Directors program and will compete for the coveted Altadis — New Directors Award at this year’s festival.

Look Both Ways has commenced its Australian theatrical release after opening the Adelaide Film Festival and screening at Melbourne and Brisbane International Film Festivals. It is set to make its international premiere next month at the Toronto Film Festival before travelling to Spain to screen at San Sebastian.

The 53rd San Sebastian International Film Festival runs from September 15-24, 2005
Look Both Ways(100 minutes)Writer / Director Sarah WattProducer Brigit IkinStarring William McInnes, Justine Clarke, Anthony Hayes, Lisa Flanagan, Andrew S. Gilbert, Daniela Farinacci, Sacha Horler, Maggie Dence, Edwin Hodgeman and Andreas Sobik

Look Both Ways was produced and developed with the assistance of The Australian Film Commission, Film Finance Corporation Australia, Film Victoria, South Australian Film Corporation, Adelaide Film Festival and SBS Independent.
S
ynopsisLook Both Ways is a mix of animation and live action, set over a hot weekend in which seven people have to deal with unexpected events. As their paths intersect and intertwine, they form a story both intimate and universal.
Find out more information on the film:[www.afc.gov.au]
Find out more information on the festival:[www.afc.gov.au]
[release from Avviso PR / AFC]

Inside Film Magazine www.if.com.au

Movie Show Interview

On the Movie Show on SBS there was an interview with Sarah and William. Go to:

http://www20.sbs.com.au/movieshow/index.php?action=dispInt&intID=332

If it doesn't take you to the direct link, you will find it under either "S" or "W".

More Reviews

Nine's Sunday Programme

The Film Pie

FilmInk

Optusnet Movies

Dendy Cinemas

The Courier Mail (Brisbane)

Melbourne Age

Look Both Ways - Review - Nine's Sunday Programme

http://sunday.ninemsn.com.au/sunday/film_reviews/article_1850.asp

William on Rove!!

I've just had word (thanks Mandy from the Classic Blue Heelers list) that William will be appearing on Rove Live on Tuesday night (9.30pm, 23rd August) to promote "Look Both Ways" and "A Man's Got to Have a Hobby."

That's his first visit to Rove Live I think!

Still Photo - Look Both Ways

Justine Clarke and William in Look Both Ways

Sydney Morning Herald Review

http://www.smh.com.au/news/reviews/look-both-ways/2005/08/19/1123958224257.html

A Letter from Stella McInnes to her Mum, Sarah Watt

Another one I don't have a source for, but I thought it was cute!
_______________________________________________

Dear Mum

i dont see you enuogh stop going to these screening things.

From Stella

William Writes About Look Both Ways Screening at MIFF

I don't know where this came from, but it's cute - and the typo's and spelling errors are William's own!
___________________________________________________

Saturday 30 July.

Screening of Look Both Ways at Melbourne International Film Festival. For some reason I decide to wear a tartan tie with a blue shirt and suit. Sarah Watt and I head into town to meet Bridgit Ikin, Justine Clarke Tony Hayes, Andrew S Gilbert and more of the Look Both Ways gang for a pre screening drink. Nobody says anything about my tie. Started having a chat to festival Director james Hewittson about train films.

Everybody slightly nervous but pretty excited about the sold out screening at MIFF. No nobody has says anything about tartan tie! It's winner. Catch myself and my tartan glory reflected in bar mirror. I take off my tie.

As we walk from the bar to the cinema James Hewittson mutters to me"Good Move". Streams of people waiting to go in and all of we Look Both Wayers are pooled in a little band at the bottom of the stairs. Chris Odgers the film"s first assistant Director rocks up. It's good to catch up with the people who worked on the film again.

We are led to our seats which are right down the front of the cinema, just below the screen. We sit with necks craned back as there are a few short speeches. One funny one from a spokesperson for the night's sponsor Holding Redlich. One from Bridgit and a sort of speech from Sarah. It is clear that despite who many, vareied and quite considerable gifts, public speaking is not one of them.

Actors are called out and introduced and we line up like little kids in front of the school on a Monday morning assembly ready for show and tell. Well it's really Sarah's show and tell and as the film begins we scatter.

Standing in the foyer with Bridgit after the screening it seems it's gone well. And at the after party bash thrown by Holding and Redlich people are happy and really positive. I bang on about train films to anybody who will listen and come up with Runaway Train, The Railway Childeren and an absoloute beauty with Burt Lancaster with the imaginative title of "The Train"It's been a good night. Fingers are crossed.

Anyway, Sarah Watt's Look Both Ways is out away out there and now it's off on the press safari.

William McInnes.

Promotional Appearance - 22 August

William will be at the Beaumaris Pavilion this month to read from his debut book A man's got to have a hobby long summers with my dad. Monday, August 22 at 7.30pm at the Pavilion, 472 Beach Rd, Beaumaris. Cost: $20 including finger food. Book through Beaumaris Books on 9589 4638.

Article - Sandringham Brighton Advertiser

Cover story: Well heeled -END-; Sandringham Brighton Advertiser (VIC Leader Publications, Australia) 08-15-2005

William McInnes has won two silver Logies, but he's not sure where they are. ``With the kids, I think,'' says the laidback star of the seminal ABC series SeaChange. A few years back, his daughter Stella buried one of the Logies in the sandpit at their West Footscray home. ``She wanted to water it and make it grow,'' he says, admiringly.

It's easy to see how you could lose a Logie or two in the McInnes household: clutter, kids and canines reign supreme. It's well loved and well lived-in, a recreation of his Queensland childhood home he calls a ``living, breathing thing''. Family, clearly, is the centre of McInnes's world. His upbringing in Redcliffe, 40km north of Brisbane, was full of love and hilarity and his own family wife Sarah Watt, 46, and children Stella, 8, and Clem, 11 are his greatest pleasure. Scriptwriter Andrew Knight, co-creator of SeaChange, said in a recent Australian Story profile on the actor: ``I never feel Will's comfortable unless he's within touching distance of his family.

You can't say that about too many men. ''The McInnes-Watt household is even more chaotic these days with the release of his first book A man's got to have a hobby: long summers with my dad and the movie Look Both Ways. The film, in which he co-stars, is his wife's directorial debut. Watt, an award-winning animator, also wrote the script about seven people trying to deal with unexpected events over one hot weekend.

Incredibly, while making the film in which McInnes' character is told he has cancer, Watt herself was diagnosed with breast cancer. She had surgery and chemotherapy, but continued post-production of the film and faces a further five years of treatment. ``She's living with it,'' McInnes said. ``Just getting on with things.

''While Watt attends film festivals in Europe and North America, McInnes will be on ``domestic duties'' and promoting his book. He will be in Bayside on August 22 at the Beaumaris Pavilion.

Though writing comes naturally, McInnes is ``astounded'' he's actually completed a book. It took about four months. His office is a backyard shed where he revels in the organised chaos; even his brother calls him a ``well-adjusted slob''.

McInnes, 41, may be one of Australia's most talented actors, but he's refreshingly down to earth, rejecting the trappings of celebrity. He attributes that to his family: fair-dinkum, salt-of-the-earth characters without a whiff of pretension. He brings these characters vividly to life in his book, a hilarious frolic through his Queensland childhood of the '60s and '70s. At the heart of these treasured memories is his father, an Irish-born, larger-than-life, Labor-voting would-be politician, who possessed a remarkable collection of sayings that had his children doubled over with laughter. McInnes has drawn a remarkable, loving portrait of a man who stays with you long after the book is finished. No wonder his son felt compelled to write about him. Colin McInnes died in 1992, aged 70, from various ailments including Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease. The youngest of five children, William McInnes was born to act and admits to being a natural mimic who has always loved taking the mickey out of people.

Copyright 2005 News Limited. All rights reserved.

Look Both Ways - Review in The Melbourne Age

http://www.theage.com.au/news/reviews/look-both-ways/2005/08/11/1123353442402.html

ABC Interview - Look Both Ways

Just another little interview with William about Look Both Ways on the ABC. Go to:
http://www.abc.net.au/goulburnmurray/stories/s1438819.htm

A Podcast!

William has been appearing all over the country on radio stations near and far promoting "A Man's Got to Have a Hobby" and we're in luck.... the ABC has created one of his interviews as a podcast. Go to:

Life Matters Podcast

You'll find it in the list of podcasts towards the bottom of the page.

It's a delightful interview with Julie Macrossin, and William reads excerpts from his book. But be warned - you'll have the tissues out at the end!

Still Shot from Look Both Ways

A still from Look Both Ways, of William and Anthony Hayes.

Melbourne International Film Festival

Just a couple of photos from the Look Both Ways event at the Melbourne International Film Festival.

At the Movies - ABC TV

For anyone who missed At the Movies with David Stratton and Margaret Pomeranz last week, there was a piece about "Look Both Ways". There is a link on the ABC website to a rough transcript of the review, and you can also view some video footage of the show. Go to:

At the Movies

Look Both Ways - Film Review

Great film review for Look Both Ways by Klaus Eder from the International Federation of Film Critics.

Go to:

FIPRESCI Review

Look Both Ways

William's new movie "Look Both Ways", written and directed by his wife Sarah Watt, will be released on August 18th, 2005. This is Sarah's first feature film after many years of short animated pieces.

For more information go to:

Look Both Ways

"A Man's Got to Have a Hobby"

William's first book "A Man's Got to Have a Hobby" (Hachette Livre) was released on August 1, 2005. For more information go to:

Hachette Livre - A Man's Got to Have a Hobby
and
Hachette Livre - William McInnes

William at Dendy Cinema - Brisbane

New William McInnes Update Site

Welcome!

You're reading the original post for the William McInnes News weblog service. Here you'll find all the news and updates on William's career and activities. This is where you'll find information about his work, appearances and new photographs.

If you have any new information about William's work or appearances that you would like to add to this blog, please email me.

There will be a lot to add to this at the moment as William is very active in promoting his latest movie "Look Both Ways" which is released nationally on 18th of August, 2005 and his first book "A Man's Got to Have a Hobby" (Hachette Livre) was released on 1 August, 2005. Please bear with me as I add this information.

Cheers
Kath
BlogMistress