Entertainment reporting royalty on Oz-GC film buzz
At the Aussie Oscars - aka the AACTA awards - was Network 10 entertainment editor Angela Bishop. She caught up with Portia Large.
Portia Large: You’re a national treasure, it’s not your first rodeo - you mentioned this is the busiest you’ve ever seen the AACTA Awards - why do you think that is?
Angela Bishop: Look, we had an incredible year of film and television production. So many of our productions are being recognised overseas, when you think about television - Colin from Accounts, Heartbreak High, we had NCIS Sydney made here and go off like a frog in a sock over in the states. So we’re really being recognised around the world and I think that’s what made all our big stars want to come back and be a part of it too, to celebrate the great stuff our industry makes here in both film and TV.
PL: Why do you think Aussies are so likable?
AB: You know, we just want to get the job done and everybody who’s ever worked with an Australian crew, and I get to talk to lots of people, everyone raves about them because of their passion, can-do attitude, ‘no worries mate, we’ll get there’ - they’ll go the extra mile. Talking to the crew who just did the Force of Nature: The Dry 2 - getting bitten by leeches and still filming - that’s an Australian crew. We’ve got Ron Howard coming back to make yet another production here, because he loves working here, he’s worked everywhere! There must be something good going on here.
PL: You’re a seasoned pro there’s new categories being introduced for these ‘digital creators’. How do you feel about the emergence of these ‘digital content creators’... is it influencer or influenza?
AB: No, it’s influencer! Excited, beyond belief, because that’s how people are going to get their start. Once upon a time you couldn’t get a start in the industry unless someone gave you a camera and gave you an opportunity yourself. Now you can do it yourself. Steven Soderbergh filmed a film on iPhones. So, you can film it yourself. You can learn editing techniques, you can make youtube videos and that is how you progress to stardom. Margot Robbie told me tonight that she did dance Eisteddfods at this venue and now she’s here receiving the trailblazer award having produced two Oscar Nominated films. You just go, anything is possible, it doesn’t matter where you start, just start.