Sun Herald (Sydney) - Sunday June 1st 2008
'Our films have to stop trying to be something they're not'
Interview; Kristie Lau Sun Herald (Sydney)
06-01-2008
I mean, who wants to sit through a bunch of talking penguins again?' Actor William McInnes has strong views about Australia's movie industry ... and how he'd like the world to see him, writes KRISTIE LAU.
William McInnes is worried - but it has nothing to do with acting or the latest film in which he stars. "I'm no Brad Pitt these days, so I'm actually rather concerned at how tubby I look coming out of the tractor more than anything else," he says. "Do you think I looked tubby coming out of it?"
The former SeaChange heart-throb appears in cinemas next month as the star of locally made Unfinished Sky. McInnes plays John, a widowed farmer whose world is turned upside down when a beaten but beautiful stranger stumbles on to his property. As McInnes embarks on the film's promotional trail, preparing for another ride through the fickle world of fame, the 46-year-old appears to be more concerned with his interpreted masculinity than his skills as an actor (or whether or not we'll like the film).
"What did you think of my kick over the house?" he says about one scene in the film in which he shows off his footballing prowess. "It was a great kick, the footy went all the way over. Right?"
Shot in majestic outback Queensland, Unfinished Sky is a local interpretation of the Dutch film The Polish Bride. It's a confronting look at attitudes towards refugees and the threat of terrorism, among other political issues. Without giving too much away, John risks his life to save the beautiful stranger - an Afghanistan native working illegally in a nearby brothel.
McInnes says that although the film offers food for thought, audiences should not forget that it's a love story. "So many films bang on about serious issues for hours and this isn't what this story is about," he says. "It isn't trying to shove anything down your throat. It's a nice intimate story that prompts you to think about those issues but doesn't force an answer out of you. And I love that it takes you on a journey rather than forces you to sit through one. There's a great human dimension to the politics in Unfinished Sky without taking an easy route around the drama."
Grief-stricken John has been suffering for years since his wife died and McInnes says the character's inability to deal with trauma is important. "While John lets everyone down around him, he also lets himself down by not accepting the life he's been dealt with. In a sense, he has completely marooned himself, from the town and from the world, which you just can't do in reality. And this type of thing can happen to even the most intelligent people in the world." He says this behaviour is common among Australians facing heartache. "It's what a person can do to themselves when they don't move on ... they can bathe in grief and that immersion in grief and the darker thoughts that can occupy a human mind can really lead to a frightening place."
As an actor, McInnes says there were certain challenges in portraying this aspect of John's personality. "It is a detached, nihilistic view of the world which is very interesting to play because if you act like that you can look like Bela Lugosi [of late 1920s Count Dracula fame] who needs coffee. "It's a really bad thing to actively try and play so you've really got to sit on it a lot and invite the audience in. You can't comment on what you're doing. You just have to be, which is tricky because actors like to act."
McInnes compares acting to a game of Aussie rules football. "If you work with your team and use your team members effectively and everyone sticks to what they're supposed to be doing in the team, you're going to come out with a better result," he says. "But if you're too worried about what everyone is thinking of you and about your performance, you'll often let it get to you and it will get you down and you'll ruin the game for everyone."
When it comes to the state of the Australian film industry, McInnes says he isn't as concerned as others. He says people should "quit harping on about it", particularly without offering some practical solutions of their own. "Look, our film industry, no one has an answer for it, but everyone has an opinion about it, don't they? It's as simple as this - Australia just needs more great filmmakers making more great films. And they have to be genuine, real films with heart and guts. "Actors and filmmakers need to be honest about what they're doing. I mean, it's like people who think that farmers are conducting brain surgery. If we can tell a believable story about what people believe in, the success is half-way there already. In the end, you've got to deserve recognition to gain it."
He says the key to a great Australian film is keeping story content simple and accessible, rather than focusing on financial success or what international critics may say. "American films are just crap and so I hate it when people bang on about the financial element of Australian films. We don't have to create those big- scale dramas that they do over there that cost millions of dollars. Black Balloon [a movie starring Toni Collette that was released in March] is another good example of a film that does the same sort of thing as we've done. "Why do we have to measure a film's success by how much it earns? There are lots of good people making good films and you've just got to have perspective in the end and come to terms with the fact that we don't have the institutional support other industries do. The creative industry will never get the same amount of money that was thrown at our Olympic team in 2000, for example. No one gets rich making Aussie films."
McInnes says the local production of large-scale films, such as the 2006 Oscar-winning film Happy Feet, should be kept to a minimum. "Happy Feet is one of those big films that made a whole lot of money and it did a great job at entertaining but we can't have a whole host of these type of big-budget films coming out. I mean, who wants to sit through a bunch of talking penguins again? "Our films have to stop trying to be something they're not. There is a time and a place for big, obvious films but we need to tell more stories about what people want to see and when we're talking about Americans, they want to see more of Australia itself and the locals - plain and simple, stereotypical Australia."
Interview; Kristie Lau Sun Herald (Sydney)
06-01-2008
I mean, who wants to sit through a bunch of talking penguins again?' Actor William McInnes has strong views about Australia's movie industry ... and how he'd like the world to see him, writes KRISTIE LAU.
William McInnes is worried - but it has nothing to do with acting or the latest film in which he stars. "I'm no Brad Pitt these days, so I'm actually rather concerned at how tubby I look coming out of the tractor more than anything else," he says. "Do you think I looked tubby coming out of it?"
The former SeaChange heart-throb appears in cinemas next month as the star of locally made Unfinished Sky. McInnes plays John, a widowed farmer whose world is turned upside down when a beaten but beautiful stranger stumbles on to his property. As McInnes embarks on the film's promotional trail, preparing for another ride through the fickle world of fame, the 46-year-old appears to be more concerned with his interpreted masculinity than his skills as an actor (or whether or not we'll like the film).
"What did you think of my kick over the house?" he says about one scene in the film in which he shows off his footballing prowess. "It was a great kick, the footy went all the way over. Right?"
Shot in majestic outback Queensland, Unfinished Sky is a local interpretation of the Dutch film The Polish Bride. It's a confronting look at attitudes towards refugees and the threat of terrorism, among other political issues. Without giving too much away, John risks his life to save the beautiful stranger - an Afghanistan native working illegally in a nearby brothel.
McInnes says that although the film offers food for thought, audiences should not forget that it's a love story. "So many films bang on about serious issues for hours and this isn't what this story is about," he says. "It isn't trying to shove anything down your throat. It's a nice intimate story that prompts you to think about those issues but doesn't force an answer out of you. And I love that it takes you on a journey rather than forces you to sit through one. There's a great human dimension to the politics in Unfinished Sky without taking an easy route around the drama."
Grief-stricken John has been suffering for years since his wife died and McInnes says the character's inability to deal with trauma is important. "While John lets everyone down around him, he also lets himself down by not accepting the life he's been dealt with. In a sense, he has completely marooned himself, from the town and from the world, which you just can't do in reality. And this type of thing can happen to even the most intelligent people in the world." He says this behaviour is common among Australians facing heartache. "It's what a person can do to themselves when they don't move on ... they can bathe in grief and that immersion in grief and the darker thoughts that can occupy a human mind can really lead to a frightening place."
As an actor, McInnes says there were certain challenges in portraying this aspect of John's personality. "It is a detached, nihilistic view of the world which is very interesting to play because if you act like that you can look like Bela Lugosi [of late 1920s Count Dracula fame] who needs coffee. "It's a really bad thing to actively try and play so you've really got to sit on it a lot and invite the audience in. You can't comment on what you're doing. You just have to be, which is tricky because actors like to act."
McInnes compares acting to a game of Aussie rules football. "If you work with your team and use your team members effectively and everyone sticks to what they're supposed to be doing in the team, you're going to come out with a better result," he says. "But if you're too worried about what everyone is thinking of you and about your performance, you'll often let it get to you and it will get you down and you'll ruin the game for everyone."
When it comes to the state of the Australian film industry, McInnes says he isn't as concerned as others. He says people should "quit harping on about it", particularly without offering some practical solutions of their own. "Look, our film industry, no one has an answer for it, but everyone has an opinion about it, don't they? It's as simple as this - Australia just needs more great filmmakers making more great films. And they have to be genuine, real films with heart and guts. "Actors and filmmakers need to be honest about what they're doing. I mean, it's like people who think that farmers are conducting brain surgery. If we can tell a believable story about what people believe in, the success is half-way there already. In the end, you've got to deserve recognition to gain it."
He says the key to a great Australian film is keeping story content simple and accessible, rather than focusing on financial success or what international critics may say. "American films are just crap and so I hate it when people bang on about the financial element of Australian films. We don't have to create those big- scale dramas that they do over there that cost millions of dollars. Black Balloon [a movie starring Toni Collette that was released in March] is another good example of a film that does the same sort of thing as we've done. "Why do we have to measure a film's success by how much it earns? There are lots of good people making good films and you've just got to have perspective in the end and come to terms with the fact that we don't have the institutional support other industries do. The creative industry will never get the same amount of money that was thrown at our Olympic team in 2000, for example. No one gets rich making Aussie films."
McInnes says the local production of large-scale films, such as the 2006 Oscar-winning film Happy Feet, should be kept to a minimum. "Happy Feet is one of those big films that made a whole lot of money and it did a great job at entertaining but we can't have a whole host of these type of big-budget films coming out. I mean, who wants to sit through a bunch of talking penguins again? "Our films have to stop trying to be something they're not. There is a time and a place for big, obvious films but we need to tell more stories about what people want to see and when we're talking about Americans, they want to see more of Australia itself and the locals - plain and simple, stereotypical Australia."
posted by WilliamWatch at 2:54 PM
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