Gags galore as The BBQ raises steaks
THERE was plenty at steak when French chef Manu Feildel signed on for his first acting role in new Australian family comedy The BBQ.
The My Kitchen Rules host stars opposite beloved Australian actor Shane Jacobson in the family friendly laughin, which opens in cinemas on February 22.
Directed by Stephen Amis, The BBQ casts Feildel (champion French cook Andre Mont Blanc) and Jacobson (backyard BBQ master Darren ‘Dazza’ Cook) as rivals tyring to win an international BBQ competition.
Dazza, on the nose after his raw prawns accidentally lead to Australia’s biggestever outbreak of food poisoning, turns to a Scottish chef known as The Butcher (Magda Szubanski), to help him restore his reputation.
Filmed mostly in AlburyWodonga, The BBQ cast also boasts Nicholas Hammond, Julia Zemiro and 13-year-old newcomer Freddie Simpson.
The film breaks new ground by dishing up product placement deals written into its screenplay. Dazza works at Barbecues Galore, wife Diane (Zemiro) works at IGA and Heat Beads loom large wherever barbies light up.
The film’s producers have made no secret of the fact they sourced $1 million of film’s $3.7 million budget via the sponsorships.
“The film is all about barbecuing and has been since day one so they were an obvious fit to be honest,” Jacobson said of the brands. “Films cost a lot of money to make. This was a good marriage. It wasn’t forced.”
Could The BBQ pave the way for a new business model for indie films? Definitely.
“Anything that can help get an Aussie film funded and get a product made is great,” Jacobson said. “It’s great to have Aussie films with Aussie scripts and Aussie actors.”
Talkative chaps with a shared sense of humour, costars Jacobson and Feildel became firm friends during the film’s short shoot.
“I’ve been touring with Shane for four days and my belly is killing me. I’ve been laughing my head off – joke after joke,” Feildel said.
A hoot in his perfectly hammed-up portrayal of arrogant Andre, Feildel said he was still pinching himself at his good fortune in landing his scene-stealing role.
“If someone said to me 10 years ago ‘you’re going to be in a movie’, I would have said, ‘Yeah, right’,” he said.
While Feildel is a newcomer, Jacobson has amassed an impressive list of TV and film credits since he burst on to the big screen in Kenny.
An actor, writer, director, producer and TV presenter, he has roles in five feature films due out this year.
“Yes – I’m going to be talking about myself all year,” he said, laughing.
Jacobson stars in, co-produced and co-wrote (with Dean Murphy) That’s Not My Dog! currently in post production. The film’s all-star comedy cast includes his great mate Paul Hogan and “30 comedians”.
He’ll also be seen as Gary in Guardians of the Tomb,
filmed on the Coast in 2016 under the working title The Nest, and as Mr Miles in director Bruce Beresford’s highly anticipated feature Ladies in Black.
Jacobson said he’d love to come back to the Coast to film more projects.
“Village Roadshow is an amazing studio,” he said.
The BBQ opens in cinemas on February 22.
ANYTHING THAT CAN HELP GET AN AUSSIE FILM FUNDED AND GET A PRODUCT MADE IS GREAT. SHANE JACOBSON