Entertainment scene Wild man attacks TV viewers

Press, 28 July 1977, Page 23

Entertainment scene Wild man attacks TV viewers

by J

JOHN McNEILL

What drags Aucklanders from their television sets? A wild man half animal touted by a carnie colonel, and a bionic ram with previous experience in space.

The wild man and bionic ram are products of a n imaginative indefatigable film-maker —

Geoff Murphy — whose latest efforts “Wild Man” ana “Dagg Day Afternoon” ran close to boxoffice records when they were screened in Auckland last month.

The Christchurch season for the two films begins on September 16. Critics have been kind to these home-grown efforts, both produced on budgets that would make shoe-strings look opulent. Rummaging around in their hat for stars, they have found about one apiece, slating both films for their fragmented scripts, the look of haste that surrounded both productions. But, they did recommend a look, and looked for more. John Barnett, the executive producer for the films and ther manager of John Clarke, star of “Dagg Day Afternoon,” is aware of the reason for criticism. "There is an appalling lack of knowledge at the lower levels of film making in New Zealand,” said Barnett.

“In England there are sound assistants, fortyfive years old who are

content to remain assistants, this makes for great strength in the film and television industry,” he said. What pool of trained technicians there were here were unlikely to be employed next year, said Barnett. There had been a great spurt of film making in New Zealand recently, by independent companies and by television. Tony Williams of Pacific Films had made “Solo,” the love story of a fire watcher in a State forest, in co-operation with Channel 7 in Sydney, Michael Firth “Off The Edge” — a film about skiing and hang-gliding in the South Island had been nominated for an Academy Award in Hollywood. As well there had been the Feltex Award winner “Winners and Losers,” “Smith’s Dream,” the C. K. Stead novel, and Murphy is now working on "Sleeping Dogs” with Roger Donaldson of Aardvark Films. It seemed as though all this film-making talent had been lying around, and with nothing to do, had decided to go for broke with full-length features, said Barnett. Now, after this spurt of activity, Barnett thinks that the experience gained will be lost. “I cannot see any films of consequence being made in the next year,” he said.

“Technical staff will drift back to their old jobs, the talent will move off to Australia, too frustrated to stay here.” Australia does look more promising. The Australian Film Commission, established under the Gorton Government with a grant of SIM made boxoffice money with films like “The Adventures of Barry McKenzie” and “Alvin Purple.” With these profits they were able to make more artistic films such as “Picnic at Hanging Rock,” and there is still 54.5 M in kitty, said Barnett. “It is a shame the State does not take similar moves to establish an industry here.” Tony Simpson, the former depty-director of the Arts Council seems to agree. In a recent criticism of how money is spent on the arts in New Zealand, he stated that the amount of money availble for an art form increases in inverse proportion to its following in the community.

In New Zealand films are a widely enjoyed art form both through cinemas and television, and for years had had nothing from the Arts Council; only now has it got more than 5 per cent of the council’s budget. Geoff Murphy has been the recipient of an Arts Council grant of $BOOO for “Wild Man.” The balance of the funds came from savings from previous work by Blerta, the musictheatre company closely associated with Murphy’s film-making Acme Sausage Company, which has to its credit “Tankbuster.”

Payments of $55,000 wages on the “Wild Man” film was “deferred.” “Without the co-oper-ation of West Coasters the film could not have been made,” said Murpjy. Horses and harnesses, gigs, barrels and troughs they produced to make the ramshackle facade that was the gold-rush town. As well they were the audience for the fight that was the climax to the film, the wild man — Bruno Lawrence versus the town champion, Willy Master, in truth Bill Stalker from TV’s “Close to Home.”

John Clarke has a cameo role in “Wild Man,” though his first appearance in films was with a small part in “The Adventures of Barry McKenzie” and after Barnett and Murphy had been able to interest the Moodabe crothers — directors of the Amalgamted Theatre chain — of the viability of “Wild Man” they decided to make a Dagg film to run concurrent with it. Barnett’s experience with filmmaking is a brief but active one. Endeavour Television Productions was formed in 1973 and made “The Games Affair” — the first television drama serial to be sold abroad. The company has also produced “Three Women” the stories of Janet Frame, Ngaio Marsh, and Sylvia Ashton Warner.

Still waiting in the

wings, too, is a documentary on Arthur Lydiard. They had to move quickly, as “Wild Man” was to be released on the week-end the school holidays finished in May. John Clarke and Murphy sketched the loose outlines of the script of Fred Dagg’s search for the New Zealand Government’s missing S6M bionic ram, and with the co-oper-ation of Derek Payne, Michael Wilson, and the New Zealand Army they shot the film in five days. “By the time we arrived in Auckland, after beginning filming in Wellington the torn shorts and farming aroma’s had a realistic

quality,” said Clarke. “It came as no surprise to meet a cool reception at Auckland International Airport. Consternation when we had to sneak back for a remake after the trouble we had there.” It is hoped that those further south than Auckland, and especially West Coasters, have a chance to see these films. Perhaps the talent of people like Geoff Murphy, the organising ability and financial savvy of the John Barnetts will yet enable a stable film industry to be established here — if the necessary financial help is forthcoming.