Article: The Courier Mail, September 20th, 2008

William McInnes Admits His Preference for Nudism

Margaret Wenham

IT'S easy to get sucked in by William McInnes.

Like when you ask the man who's a star quality staple of Australian film and television, who's also now turning out best sellers, whether he prefers acting or writing and he says - in all smiling earnestness - "I prefer nudism to anything".

And then there's the times he goes off on a tangent, reminiscing about companies that were around in the 1970s and their TV ad jingles."Pick 'n' Pay Hypermarket," he hums, before joining you in a laughter-laced, shrieking chorus of "Any old iron" from the old John Zupp commercials.

Melbourne-based McInnes is back in his old home state for the Brisbane Writers Festival. He's also here to promote his second autobiographical book That'd Be Right, released last month and already ensconced on the lists that matter.

A series of yarns forming a loose chronicle of McInnes' life growing up in Redcliffe - it's also a political and sporting history told in that wonderful vernacular of Queensland and the 1970s.

Words such as grundies and dacks and expressions like getting creamed by someone, after which you'd crack the s ... s.Australians, he tells The Courier-Mail, define themselves through sport and politics.

Certainly such things were defining for the 44-year-old McInnes, whose parents' involvement in Labor and lively commentary on the personalities of all political persuasions made their mark.

McInnes finally comes clean. Both acting and writing are personally rewarding.

"I like a bit of everything and the good thing is you don't have all your eggs in one basket," he says.

McInnes says one of the rewards of writing is the correspondence he receives from readers who relate to the times, places and events he's writing about.

He's soon to start another film, Blessed, while one he's finished, Prime Mover, should premiere early next year. But is there another book on the boil?

"A history of nudism in football and I'm going to call it Showertime," he says, his brow creased with mock sincerity.

McInnes will be speaking at the Writers Festival at the State Library of Queensland at 4.40pm today.