BEN’S TAKE ON MOVIES
Elton keen to see Aussie shows thrive
COMEDIAN’S FNQ VISIT:
AUTHOR and comedian Ben Elton says Australia needs to pour more support into its own film and TV industry, rather than rely on Hollywood studios to prop it up.
The British writer, famous for his much-loved TV series Black Adder and The Young Ones, wants more tales from regional Australia to be brought to the big screen, as he has done in his new film Three Summers.
The ensemble comedy, set and filmed in the Pinjarra region of Western Australia, tells the story of several unique souls who meet at an annual folk music festival.
The cast reads as a who’s who of Aussie TV and cinema, starring Michael Caton, Magda Szubanski, Deb Mailman, John Waters, Kelton Pell, Jacqueline McKenzie, Peter Rowsthorn and the Bondi Hipsters’ Christiaan Van Vuuren and Nick Boshier.
Elton, in Cairns yesterday as part of a regional tour to promote the film, which he also directed, said he was proud that “every penny” of the $3.5 million budget for Three Summers – which received funding from Screen Australia and Screenwest – went back into WA’s economy.
“That’s the good thing about investing in our own industries,” he said.
“With respect, when we give millions of dollars to a big studio to bring their movie here, that kind of money disappears overseas.
“Whereas when we make our own movies, the money stays here.”
The Stark and Popcorn author, who lives in Fremantle, said unless there was stronger government support to protect Australia’s film and TV industries, they would get swallowed by the Hollywood machine.
“I think we need to start on the inside looking out, rather than always expecting something coming in.”
Three Summers opens nationally in cinemas on November 2.