VALE JOHN PILGER: FIVE FILMS TO WATCH

Australian journalist and documentarian John Pilger has passed away, aged 84, in his London home. Born in Sydney’s Eastern suburbs, Pilger would become the most important and influential factual filmmaker in his nation’s history. His camera and his pen captured, with acute insight, the geopolitical turmoil in many of the world's most dangerous zones of conflict, while also profoundly recording the human suffering left in the wake of wars.

From 1963 to 1986, Pilger was a reporter, sub-editor, feature writer and, finally, Chief Foreign Correspondent for U.K.’s Daily Mirror, a role that saw him on the ground as a war correspondent in such hotspots as Vietnam, Cambodia, Egypt, India, Bangladesh, Biafra and the Middle East. The experience would steel his resolve in the face of often shocking inhumanities to expose the brutality of dictatorships and regimes, a focus that led to his most important work as a fearless writer and director of often incendiary documentary works.

Here are five of his works that exemplify the integrity and power of his filmmaking…

VIETNAM: THE QUIET MUTINY (Writer, Presenter / Directed by Charles Denton; 1970) Pilger's first film, broadcast September 28 1970, on the British current affairs series World in Action, broke the story of insurrection by American drafted troops in Vietnam. In his classic history of war and journalism, The First Casualty, Phillip Knightley describes Pilger's revelations as among the most important reporting from Vietnam. The soldiers' revolt – including the killing of unpopular officers – marked the beginning of the end for the United States in Indo-China.

WATCH HERE: Vietnam: The Quiet Mutiny from John Pilger on Vimeo.

YEAR ZERO: THE SILENT DEATH OF CAMBODIA (Writer, Presenter / Directed by David Munro; 1979) Pilger’s landmark documentary alerted the world to the horrors wrought by Pol Pot and his Khmer Rouge. His spontaneous, vivid reporting of the power politics that caused such suffering is a model of anger suppressed. Originally broadcast on commercial television in Britain and Australia without advertising, Year Zero won many awards, including the Broadcasting Press Guild’s Best Documentary and the International Critics Prize at the Monte Carlo International Television Festival. Pilger won the 1980 United Nations Media Peace Prize for ‘having done so much to ease the suffering of the Cambodian people’. The British Film Institute lists Year Zero: The Silent Death of Cambodia as one of the ten most important documentaries of the 20th century.

WATCH HERE: Year Zero: The Silent Death Of Cambodia from John Pilger on Vimeo.

DEATH OF A NATION: THE TIMOR CONSPIRACY (Writer, Presenter / Directed by David Munro; 1994) Pilger has said that the making of Death of a Nation: The Timor Conspiracy, about genocide in East Timor following the Indonesian dictatorship’s 1975 bloody invasion and occupation, as”the most challenging to my sense of self-preservation and the most inspirational”. With concealed Hi-8 video cameras, Pilger and director David Munro entered the country clandestinely, and were able to capture footage of mass graves and accounts of widespread slaughter of resistors to Suharto’s reign. Death of a Nation is journalism and history as topical today as it was 30 years ago; members of the UN Human Rights Commission credit the documentary with influencing their decision to send a special envoy  on extrajudicial executions to East Timor to investigate massacres such as the infamous Santa Cruz cemetery.

WATCH HERE: Death of a Nation: The Timor Conspiracy from John Pilger on Vimeo.

BREAKING THE SILENCE: TRUTH AND LIES IN THE WAR ON TERROR (Writer, Presenter / Co-directed with Steve Connelly; 2003) Six months after the invasion of Iraq in March 2003 and two years after the invasion of Afghanistan in October 2001, Pilger’s documentary highlighted the hypocrisy and double standards of the American and British military misadventures, actions which led to the deaths of more than a million people. “What are the real aims of this war and who are the most threatening terrorists?”, he poses. Interviews with administration officials – described by former CIA analyst Ray McGovern as ‘the crazies’ – are perhaps the highlight of a film made when 9/11 and the invasion of Iraq were raw. The film achieved something of a ‘cult’ status in America, thanks in part to McGovern, who took the film on a screening tour of campuses and small towns.

WATCH HERE: Breaking the Silence: Truth and Lies in the War on Terror from John Pilger on Vimeo.

THE COMING WAR ON CHINA (Writer / Director; 2019) His 60th documentary and arguably his most prescient, The Coming War on China was completed in the month Donald Trump was elected US President; the film investigates the manufacture of a ‘threat’ and the beckoning of a nuclear confrontation. When the United States, the world’s biggest military power, decided that China was a threat to its imperial dominance, two-thirds of US naval forces were transferred to Asia and the Pacific. Seldom referred to in the Western media, 400 American bases now surround China, in an arc that extends from Australia north through the Pacific to Japan, Korea and across Eurasia to Afghanistan and India. The Coming War on China was broadcast on ITV-UK and SBS Australia, as well as China, where a pirated version was shown to possibly its biggest audience.

WATCH HERE: The Coming War on China from John Pilger on Vimeo.

(SOURCE: https://johnpilger.com/, with thanks)

VALE KATE FERGUSON

Kate Ferguson, a vibrant and adored industry presence who parlayed her experience as a gifted actress and musician into a second phase career mentoring young talent, passed away on July 2 after a determined battle with cancer. She was 66.

A combination of extraordinarily diverse skills were recognised early in a young Kate, who achieved acclaim as both a ballet student and a concert pianist protege. But, after fleetingly dabbling in academia (she attended Sydney’s Macquarie University for one year), it would be the stage and screen that became the natural fit for her compelling presence and ‘brunette bombshell’ beauty.

At 14, Kate convinced administrators that she was 17 and secured entry into the Independent Theatre Company’s acting school in North Sydney, leading to a featured role in their production of Adventures in Fol (1974). She aligned herself with The Actor’s Theatre Company in inner-city Ultimo, where she starred as a burlesque cabaret version of Ophelia in The Naked Hamlet (1977); other more mainstream roles included Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead (1977) and Romeo and Juliet (1978). 

Her stage work would include roles opposite John Bell in the Opera House Drama Theatre production of The Lower Depths (1977); Jon Ewing, Rory O’Donoghue and Grahame Bond at the Bondi Pavilion in Hamlet on Ice (1976); and, Trevor White and Christopher Pate in Mike Wade’s 1981 revival of Hair (pictured, below).

From her bit part as ‘Bikini Girl’ in the Jack Thompson vehicle Petersen (1974), Kate became an engaging fan favourite and striking presence on-screen. Her film work included Peter Shillingford’s sexually frank drama, Naughty Girls (1975); opposite Andrew McFarlane in Ken Hannam’s Break of Day (1976); and, as ‘Skipper’ in Norman J. Warren’s bawdy sci-fi romp, Spaced Out (aka, Outer Touch; 1979). Most endearingly, she played ‘Edith’, one of Kristy McNichol’s lady entourage, in Ken Annakin’s 1982 musical, The Pirate Movie, a role that cast her alongside heartthrob Christopher Atkins as well as local stars Bill Kerr, Garry McDonald, Magge Kirkpatrick and Rhonda Burchmore.

On the small screen, Kate vamped it up as ‘Fay’ for a two episode arc opposite Graeme Blundell in Alvin Purple (1976; pictured, left); acted with Belinda Giblin, Hugh Keays-Byrne and Robyn Nevin in Oliver Howes’ rape drama, Say You Want Me (1977); and, supported leads Nicole Kidman and Terence Donovan in John Duigan’s Room to Move (1987). She also secured parts in such popular series as Case for the Defense (1978), Sons and Daughters (1982) and A Country Practice (1982).

By the late 1980s, Kate had refocussed her talent into industry education. A long stint teaching music in various forms, voice coaching and talent mentoring meant less time in front of audiences, but a blossoming reputation behind-the-scenes among the sector’s young, gifted artists. From 1985 to 1987, Kate was Music Director of the Australian National Capital Theatre Company; by 2005, such was her status amongst the burgeoning performer’s pool, she was able to launch Kate Ferguson Management and oversee the career paths of 100s of talented hopefuls. In 2014 and having relocated to Coffs Harbour on New South Wales’ mid-north coast, Kate undertook a senior teaching role as Vocal Coach at the Coffs Harbour Conservatorium. (Pictured, right; Kate, far left, in The Pirate Movie)             

Kate was born into a family of animal lovers - her father worked in the field of animal research; her mother, a veterinary surgeon - and she would surround herself with four-legged friends for much of her life. In her teens, she became an accomplished horsewoman, as well as dedicating her time to the breeding of her beloved Cavalier King Charles spaniels. Later in life, she would fall under the spell of ‘Sunny’, the goat with whom she shared her mid north coast home, along with, at various times, ageing chickens, Blake the snake, possums, water dragons and blue tongue lizards, a goanna, peacock, gecko and occasional echidna. 

Kate Ferguson is survived by her children Bonnie, Leif and Adie, and their extended families. She remained close friends with many of her castmates, including LA-based Atkins, Spaced Out lead Ava Cadell Knecht (pictured, above) and Alvin Purple co-star Anna Simone Scott, and boasted a vast network of friends across the entertainment industries. She will be mourned by many in her adopted hometown, where her contributions to promoting regional talent and the local arts community was invaluable.

R.I.P. HUGH KEAYS-BYRNE

Actor Hugh Keays-Byrne, a towering presence in Australia’s acting community and iconic genre cinema figure, has passed away in hospital overnight, aged 73. Destined to be forever remembered as ‘The Toecutter’ in the 1979 action classic Mad Max, Keays-Byrne reunited with director Dr George Miller 36 years later to play ‘Immortan Joe’ in the blockbuster reboot, Mad Max: Fury Road. It would be his final film role.

Born in Srinigar, India in 1947 to British parents, Keays-Byrne acted extensively on the London stage in his formative years, working with the Royal Shakespeare Company on productions of  As You Like It, Hamlet, King Lear, Much Ado About Nothing and Troilus and Cressida. A RSC tour of Australia performing in A Midsummer’s Night Dream led to the actor relocating here, his classically trained credentials providing entry into the burgeoning film and television sector.

The imposing physicality and enigmatic screen presence for which he would garner a legion of fans was evident in his big screen debut as ‘Toad’ in the late Sandy Harbutt’s motorbike-gang classic, Stone (1974; pictured, right), a role which caught the eye of director Brian Trenchard-Smith, who cast him in the action opus, The Man From Hong Kong (1975). This was a prolific period for the actor, with television work in the made-for-small-screen movies Essington (1974) and Polly My Love (1975) and the popular historical series Ben Hall (1975) and Rush (1976), for which he won a Best Actor Logie award.

Recognised as an invaluable ensemble player, support parts began to mount; Keays-Byrne supplied vivid character work in Phillipe Mora’s Mad Dog Morgan (1976), John Duigan’s The Trespassers (1976), Carl Schultz’s Blue Fin (1978) and Simon Wincer’s Shapshot (1979). With the industry hungry for local content, TV-movie production was at an unprecedented high, demand that the actor benefitted from with compelling turns in Beyond Reasonable Doubt (1977), Say You Want Me (1977), The Death Train (1978) and The Tichborne Affair (1978).

His star-making role came when he provided the villainous ying to young NIDA graduate Mel Gibson’s heroic yang in Miller’s low-budget, high-octane Mad Max. In a fearlessly crafted performance that perfectly conveys the anarchy and brutality of the post-apocalyptic setting, Keays-Byrne’s ‘Toecutter’ is one of Australian film’s most enduring figures; his left-field interpretation of psychotic villainy has ensured lines such as “Jessie, Jessie, Jessie, you've not got a sense of humor,” and “What a wonderful philosophy you have” will live forever. The performance earned Keays-Byrne a Best Supporting Actor nomination at the1979  Australian Film Institute Awards.

Hugh Keays-Byrne remained loyal to the sector that embraced him as a young English actor, staying in Australia and working steadily throughout the 1980s in such films as ian Barry’s  The Chain Reaction (1980; pictured, right, with Steve Bisley), Jonathan Dawson’s Ginger Meggs (1982), Werner Herzog’s Where the Green Ants Dream (1984), Richard Lowenstein’s Strikebound (1984), Graeme Clifford’s Burke & Wills (1985), Tim Burstall’s Kangaroo (1986), George Miller (the other one)’s Les Patterson Saves the World (1987) and David Webb Peoples’ Salute of the Jugger (1989). In 1992, he co-directed the dystopian action-thriller Resistance, reuniting him with fellow Mad Max alumni Vincent Gil (‘Nightrider’) in a support role.

International productions utilising Australian facilities recognised the value of a professional presence like Hugh Keays-Byrne, providing steady work for the actor throughout the 1990s in series such as Moby Dick (1998), opposite Patrick Stewart and Henry Thomas; Journey to the Centre of the Earth (1999), starring Treat Williams; and, as fan favourite ‘Grunchik’ in the sci-fi hit, Farscape.

Dr George Miller always acknowledged the invaluable contribution the actor made during the guerilla-style shot of Mad Max. It is known that the director had written a key role for the actor in his planned DCU adaptation, Justice League: Mortal, a Warner Pros tentpole project that was ultimately shut down only weeks before production was due to begin in 2007. His casting as ‘Immortan Joe’ in Mad Max: Fury Road was seen as a spiritual bond back to the original film and greeted with adoration by the franchise’s fanbase.

VALE ROSSLYN ABERNETHY

Industries on both sides of The Tasman are mourning the loss of industry veteran Rosslyn Abernethy, one of the region’s most experienced and respected production managers. Having forged a remarkable career overseeing shooting schedules and location duties on high-profile shoots in Australia and New Zealand, Abernethy passed away on The Gold Coast on July 20. She was 68.

 

Born in Masterson on New Zealand’s North Island in 1952, young Rosslyn led a nomadic life, the family following her bank manager father to branches nationwide before settling in Taupō in 1975. She began her film career as a typist for the Auckland based exhibition outfit Amalgamated Theatres prior to decamping to the the U.K. where she found office work in the film production community.

Her antipodean ties gave her the edge when director Mike Newell was crewing his New Zealand production Bad Blood (1981), an account of the manhunt for farmer-turned-murderer Stanley Graham (played by Australian actor Jack Thompson; pictured, right). Abernethy returned from England to act as production secretary, a role for which she earned a credit on such productions as Buddies (Dir: Arch Nicholson; 1983); The Return of Captain Invincible (Dir: Philippe More; 1983); and, BMX Bandits (Dir: Brian Trenchard-Smith; 1983).

The all-encompassing role provided training for the position of production co-ordinator, to which Abernethy progressed on the films The Coolangatta Gold (Dir: Igo Auzins; 1984); Cassandra (Dir: Colin Egglestone; 1987); and, Slate, Wyn & Me (Dir: Don McLennan; 1987).

It would be as the industry’s pre-eminent production manager that Rosslyn Abernethy earned her reputation as one of Australia’s most in-demand professionals. From her debut in the role in 1985 on Best Enemies (Dir: David Baker), she would work steadily on productions like the mini-series Sword of Honour (1986); Howling III (Dir: Philippe Mora; 1987); the hit TV series Police Rescue (1989); the Kylie Minogue vehicle, The Delinquents (Dir: Chris Thomson; 1989; pictured, left); Traps (Dir: Pauline Chan; 1994); the international shoot Street Fighter (Dir: Steven E. de Souza; 1994), with Jean Claude van Damme; The Real Macaw (Dir: Mario Andreacchio; 1998); the Hugh Jackman hit, Paperback Hero (Dir: Anthony Bowman; 1989); and, the global hit TV series, The Sleepover Club (2003).

During this period, Abernethy adapted her organisational skills and legendary rapport with crew to oversee the art department of Fortress (Dir: Stuart Gordon; 1992), starring Christopher Lambert (pictured, right). The Queensland shoot was a massive undertaking, an experience that prepared her for working with producer James Cameron on the cave-diving adventure Sanctum (Dir: Alister Grierson; 2011) as production manager. On the 2017 thriller Out of the Shadows (Dir: Dee McLachlan), Abernethy expanded her production manager role into that of line producer, a function she also undertook on the war drama, Escape and Evasion (Dir: Storm Ashwood; 2019). Her final production manager credit was on the thriller The Second (Dir: Mairi Cameron; 2018), starring Rachael Blake, Susie Porter and Vince Colosimo.

Rosslyn Abernethy is survived by her husband Shane Denman and son, actor Burgess Abernethy. Her extended family, including her sister Seonaid, still live in her hometown of Taupō.

VALE GEORGE OGILVIE

The Australian arts community is today mourning the passing of George Ogilvie, one of its most beloved elder statesmen. A masterful director and creative collaborator across theatre, film and television disciplines, Ogilvie mentored a generation of young actors with a commitment to his art and craft that was unparalleled.

One of twin sons born in Goulburn to Scottish immigrants, Ogilvie grew up in Canberra and was drawn to the theatre from a young age, exhibiting acting prowess and musical skills in his early teens. At 20, he moved to London and studied acting at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and with the iconic Jimmy James Company, where he performed works by Agatha Christie, Tennessee Williams, Terence Rattigan and Noel Coward, amongst many others.

Ogilvie returned to Australia in 1954 and, under the professional guidance of theatrical greats Walt Cherry and John Sumner, began to explore directing; his early work included landmark productions of Shelagh Delaney’s A Taste of Honey, Federico Garcia Lorca’s Blood Wedding and Ann Jellicoe’s The Knack. He would travel and work extensively in Europe, studying with the great mime Jacques Lecoq in Paris and forging a reputation upon his return to to London as one of the industry’s finest directors of actors.

It was John Sumner who encouraged his protégé to return to Australia to take up the role of Artistic Director at the Melbourne Theatre Company, a six year engagement during which he directed 23 plays, winning the Melbourne Theatre Critic’s award for Best Director on three occasions. Over the subsequent decades, George Ogilvie became one of the most influential figures in Australian live theatre.

He oversaw the South Australian Theatre Company as Artistic Director from 1972-1975; worked with the Sydney Theatre Company, directing Nick Enright's The Man With Five Children, starring Steve Bisley and Proof, starring Jacqueline McKenzie and Barry Otto; staged now legendary productions for the Australian Ballet (most famously, ‘Coppelia’, in 1979 and again in 2006) and Australian Opera ('Il Seraglio'; 'Falstaf'; 'Lucretia Borgia'; 'Don Giovanni'); and, taught extensively at the National Institute of Dramatic Art, Actor’s Centre Australia and The Eora Centre.

George Ogilvie turned to television at the height of the mini-series heyday to launch the next phase of his directing career. He made his debut helming an instalment of the true-life political saga The Dismissal in 1983, which he followed with a multi-episode arc behind the cameras on the historical sports drama Bodyline, both for producers George Miller and Byron Kennedy.

He would work steadily in television for the next twenty years, directing Bryan Brown in The Shiralee (1987); Claudia Karvan in Princess Kate (1988); Angie Milliken in two made-for-TV procedurals, The Feds (both 1993); Gary Sweet and Jacqueline McKenzie in The Battlers (1994); Richard Roxburgh in The Last of The Ryans (1997); and, eleven episodes of the hit series, Blue Heelers (from 2002-06).

His affiliation with the Kennedy Miller production outfit led to one of the most high-profile feature film directing debuts in Australian industry history. Ogilvie earned co-director honours alongside franchise founder George Miller (pictured, above; from left, Miller, star Tina Turner and Ogilvie, in red) on the highly-anticipated sequel Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome in 1985; while Miller invested time and energy in the films kinetic action sequences, Ogilvie was employed to guide the cast (many of them child actors) through the dialogue and drama. The director had proven his worth with the film’s prickly leading man previously; Ogilvie had directed Mel Gibson for the Nimrod Theatre Company’s acclaimed 1982 staging of Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman.

He parlayed his profile into two smaller-scale but potent workds – Short Changed (1986), an inter-racial custody drama, nominated for five AFI Awards, that pits a white woman against an Aboriginal man for the custody of their son; and, The Place at The Coast (1987; pictured, right), a Bergman-esque drama set in a remote seaside community that tackles both environmental issues and father-daughter dynamics with Ogilvie’s trademark intelligence and sensitivity. (Pictured, below; Bryan Browm and Rebecca Smart in The Shiralee)

His final big-screen effort was The Crossing in 1990, the film that launched the leading-man career of a young actor named Russell Crowe. "Oh, I just loved him," Ogilvie told The Sydney Morning Herald in a 2016 interview. "He was a force. He worked hard but he did expect everyone around him to work hard as well. None of the crew liked him, thought he was an arrogant little pisspot." The coming-of-age period drama, co-starring Danielle Spencer (pictured, below; with Crowe) and Robert Mammone, earned Crowe his first AFI Award nomination; it would win the highest industry honour for Jeff Darling’s cinematography. Twenty-four years later, Ogilvie returned to acting briefly as a favour for his friend, with a small part in Crowe's directing debut, The Water Diviner (2014).   

In 1983, George Ogilvie was cited in the Queens Birthday Honours List when he was made a Member of the Order of Australia for services to theatre and the performing arts. Despite never earning a directing nomination for his film and television work, he was recognised by the Australian Film Institute in 1988, when he received the prestigious Byron Kennedy Award, an accolade that honours “innovation, vision and the relentless pursuit of excellence.” In 2006, he published his memoirs, entitled Simple Gifts: A Life in the Theatre.

A deeply spiritual man who practised Siddha Yoga for many years, travelling to the Ganeshpuri ashram in India to meditate, George Ogilvie devoted his later life to inner peace and understanding; in an interview for ABC Radio National in 2006, he recounted camping by the Sea of Galilee, reading the Bible as he walked its banks. A private man whose legacy is a body of work unmatched in the Australian entertainment industry, Ogilvie spent his final years in his home in Sydney’s Potts Point, with his dogs and close friends. He was 89.  

VALE SASKIA POST

Australian actress Saskia Post, whose vivid portrayal of doomed rock-star girlfriend ‘Anna’ in Richard Lowenstein’s Dogs in Space made her an icon to a generation of teenage moviegoers, passed away March 16 at Melbourne’s Alfred Hospital from complications stemming from a congenital heart condition. She was 59.

Born of Dutch heritage in 1961 in Martinez, California, Saskia Steenkamer immigrated with her family to Australia in 1975. Studying writing at Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology and acting at both University of New South Wales and The Drama Studio in Sydney, she soon became a popular and respected figure in the arts communities in both cities.

She made an immediate impact on audiences in her television debut, playing WWII Dutch refugee ‘Julianna Sleven’ in the popular series, The Sullivans (pictured, right; centre, with co-stars Norman Yemm and Vicki hammond), and would work steadily in the medium with semi-regular slots on primetime soaps Sons and Daughters and A Country Practice and the mini-series Return to Eden.

Following a small cameo in Haydn Keenan’s film Going Down (1982), Post made her credited debut in the nuclear-era drama One Night Stand for director John Duigan (Dimboola, 1979; Winter of Our Dreams, 1981). A four-hander about teenagers spending a night together in the Sydney Opera House as war erupts in Eastern Europe, Post shone opposite the equally impressive Tyler Coppin, Cassandra Delaney and Jay Hackett (pictured, below) in a film that beckons cult status.

Post followed One Night Stand with a support role in Ray Lawrence’s AFI Best Film honouree Bliss (1985), playing Barry Otto’s daughter in the critically-acclaimed adaptation of Peter Carey’s book. Other film work included Jocelyn Moorhouse’s Proof (1991), with Russell Crowe and Hugo Weaving, and Stavros Kazantzidis’ True Love & Chaos (1997), alongside Miranda Otto, Noah Taylor and Ben Mendehlson.

Post also became a sought-after stage performer, with a long career playing key roles in such productions as Hating Alison Ashley, Salome, Endgrain, Train to Transcience, Could I Have this Dance?, In Angel Gear, Figures in Glass, Skin and Vincent in Brixton.

But it will be Dogs in Space, Lowenstein’s chaotic recollections of Melbourne’s hard-edged inner-city 70’s music scene, for which Saskia Post will be forever remembered. As the wise-beyond-her-years Anna, she both towers over yet succumbs willingly to the enigmatic, self-destructive musician Sam (Michael Hutchence), in a performance that itself seems to dominate then ultimately submit to the tragic trajectory of the heroin-infused narrative.

Film writer Thomas Caldwell, in his 2011 analysis of the film’s enduring legacy, described Post as, “The heart of the film…[radiating] every time she is on screen with her combination of punk attitude and classical Hollywood beauty.” In 2016, theatre director Robert Chuter, who worked with Post on his 1990 stage production In Angel Gear, wrote a brief appreciation of their collaboration, recalling, “she was one of my favourite people/actors: beauty, dignity, curiosity, talent, kind, independence.” (Pictured, right; Post, left, with Lowenstein and Hutchence).

Although she surfaced briefly in 2017 for what would be her final onscreen appearance in Timothy Spanos’ underground oddity Throbbin’ 84, Saskia Post spent her final years in the small Victorian township of Trentham, where she practiced transpersonal art and therapy. Her impact upon both her community and her many fans was evident when nearly $15,000.00 was raised via a Chuffed crowdfunding campaign to help with her living and medical costs.

VALE CHRIS MURRAY

Fans, filmmakers and a global network of friends are mourning the shock passing of Chris Murray, a beloved, passionate advocate of Australian film culture. Via a public Facebook post written in his final days, the multi-hyphenate talent was frank about his yearlong battle with aggressive bladder cancer and his wish to fight the disease without burdening his friends with the news. He wrote, "I didn't want to worry people and by the time it got away from me I wasn't sure what to say." His last words to his friends and followers were, "We all had awesome times together. Remember me and us that way. I love you all. Much love, Muzz." He succumbed to the disease this morning, December 19, just before dawn, surrounded by family and close friends. He was 45.

A life consumed by film was given focus when he saw Martin Scorsese’s Goodfellas at age 18. “[My dad] said to me, ‘I’ll think you’ll like this, son’,” Murray recalled in a 2014 profile for Sydney Film School. “When I came out of the cinema, I really wanted to f**k shit up. I really wanted to get involved. No other film has affected me as much as that.” (Full interview below). After a stint selling advertising space in the street magazine 9 to 5, the 23 year-old Murray took the helm of Australian Playboy as Managing Editor in 1999, for what would be a brief tenure but one that paid huge dividends for the passionate film lover.

In November of that year, he fronted the launch of the first international edition of the iconic British film monthly, Empire, taking on the role of Editor and staffing the local office with some of Australia’s best-known film writers. He oversaw four years of circulation growth in a publishing sector faced with a shrinking ad market; his infectious passion for cinema, keen business acumen and warm personality proved endearing, affording him access to talent from all sectors of the Australasian industry. 

Murray’s laconic yet passionate presentation skills, cool personal style and encyclopaedic understanding of film, television and music did not go unnoticed by the broadcast sector. He took on-air roles as film reviewer for The Seven Network’s top-rating Sunrise show (2002-2007) and Austereo’s flagship FM station, Triple M (2002-2006). He emerged as one of Australia’s most informed entertainment industry voices, lending his knowledge and profile to such outlets as ABC 702 Sydney and 5AA Adelaide; the cable channels Showtime (where he hosted the popular ‘Movie Club’ show) and The Movie Network; and, as contributor for FOX News USA and The Nine Network. In addition to Empire, his writing would be published in Rolling Stone, FHM, Smash Hits, Kerrang!, Stack and The Walkley.

Of the many great legacies left by Chris Murray, it may be the 6½ years he spent as the Creative Director of the film celebration society Popcorn Taxi that most profoundly impacted our film culture. In November 2007, under the freewheeling principle, 'We love movies. You love movies. We should definitely hang out...', Murray (alongside Peter Taylor, his co-principal at the media company Neon Pictures) took creative control of the screening-and-Q&A event format established in 1999 by Gary Doust and Matt Wheeldon.

It proved the perfect platform for Murray’s vast film knowledge and warm interpersonal skills. Under his stewardship, the Popcorn Taxi interviewee roster boasted such names as Jerry Lewis, Vince Gilligan, Andrew Stanton, Karen Allen, Joel Edgerton, Richard Kelly, Brian Trenchard-Smith, David Michod, Rob Zombie and Quentin Tarantino (pictured, right); in 2013, Murray sat with Thor The Dark World star Tom Hiddleston for one of the most popular Popcorn Taxi sessions ever held. When interviewed by SBS Movies in 2009 as part of Popcorn Taxi 10^th anniversary celebrations, Murray exhibited the spirit of a true showman, stating, “Every show is the Be all and End all. Everyone who goes must walk away after it and say, 'f**k that was awesome!'”

Murray left Popcorn Taxi in early 2014, taking a two-year sabbatical from the live Q&A format before launching the live event initiative, P.R.O.M. “The People’s Republic of Movies”. Murray drew on his reputation for the first round of PROM presentations – …Taxi alumni Quentin Tarantino introduced the Australian classics The Chant of Jimmy Blacksmith and Mad Dog Morgan; a transcontinental interview with director Tom Ford followed a sneak peek of Nocturnal Animals. In February 2017, he was appointed Head of Media for Xeitgeist Entertainment Group, a multi-faceted production company based in Singapore and Sydney's Fox Studios .

Details of a service for Chris will be announced in the days ahead.

Correction: A previous version of this article stated Chris was 44. He was 45, born in April 1972. Apologies for the error.

R.I.P. ALAN CASSELL

For 40 years, one of the most sturdy and reliable character players in the Australian film sector was a Brit expat Alan Cassell. A master of the stage (he featured opposite Lauren Bacall in Sweet Bird of Youth for the Sydney Theatre Company) and a constant presence on local television (27 small-screen credits, including ‘Prime Minister John Gorton’ in the landmark mini-series, Vietnam), Cassell was a cherished cast member in many of the great films of the industry’s boom decades. On the occasion of his passing in Melbourne on August 30 at the age of 85, we honour the memorable moments of Cassell’s rich big screen career… 

CATHY’S CHILD (1979) and HARLEQUIN (1980)
Plying his trade on Australia’s west coast earned Cassell lead parts in two Perth-based productions - Edgar Metcalfe’s dramatic thriller, The Olive Tree (1975) and Terry O’Rourke’s bawdy soft-core romp Plugg (1975). Relocating to the eastern seaboard, roles in the TV series Matlock and a stand-out ‘crooked cop’ role in Bruce Beresford’s ensemble heist hit Money Movers (1978) signalled to the industry that Cassell was that great supporting player who could enliven any narrative.  Director Donald Crombie cast Cassell opposite Michele Fawdon in Cathy’s Child, a powerful drama about a mother determined to get her stolen daughter back; it would earn Fawdon the AFI Best Actress award and secure Cassell a Best Actor nomination (his only nod from the industry body). When casting the pricey genre thriller Harlequin, director Simon Wincer and producer Anthony Ginnane recognised Cassell’s worth and gave him a key role in the 1980 production opposite a cast of international imports including Broderick Crawford, Robert Powell and David Hemmings. (Pictured, right; a promotional lobby card for Cathy's Child, featuring Cassell and star Michele Fawdon)    

BREAKER MORANT (1980), THE CLUB (1980) and PUBERTY BLUES (1981).
On the set of Money Movers, Cassell had developed a strong professional rapport and lasting friendship with his director, Bruce Beresford. The filmmaker drew upon that mutual respect for three films that would come to represent Cassell’s most acclaimed character work. Beresford cast Cassell as pompous Brit officer Lord Kitchener, working against the actor’s working class roots, in the international hit, Breaker Morant. As football club administrator Gerry Cooper, Cassell gave perhaps his finest career performance in Beresford’s adaptation of David Williamson’s The Club, holding his own opposite Jack Thompson, Graham Kennedy and Frank Wilson. In the director’s teen classic Puberty Blues, Cassell played the ‘suburban dad’ to perfection as Mr Vickers, father of Nell Schofield’s wild child beach girl Debbie. (pictured, above; Cassell with Beresford on the set of Money Movers)  

The 1980s: SQUIZZY TAYLOR (1982), THE DARK ROOM (1982), FIRE IN THE STONE (1984) and BELINDA (1988)
Cassell worked to greater acclaim on television for the duration of the 1980s including the lead in Special Squad (an Aussie take on tough Brit police thrillers The Sweeney and The Professionals) and a 14 episode arc on Neighbours. His film work from the period was first rate, though often in service of films that saw minor theatrical seasons before their home video shelf life. Most prominent amongst them was Kevin James Dobson’s period crime thriller Squizzy Taylor, starring David Atkins as the 1920s underworld figure and Cassell as Detective Brophy, the hardened cop out to get him. US director Paul Harmon’s solid potboiler The Darkroom afforded Cassell a rare leading man role in a cast that included Anna Maria Monticelli and Rowena Wallace (and a blink-and-miss bit part for a young Baz Luhrmann). Other films in which Cassell made an impression include Howard Rubie’s romantic bush yarn The Settlement, opposite Bill Kerr, John Jarratt and Lorna Lesley; Gary Conway’s young adult adventure romp The Fire in The Stone, most notable for its origins as a novel from Storm Boy author, Colin Thiele; and, Pamela Gibbon’s semi-autobiographical dance drama Belinda (aka, Midnight Dancer), with Cassell comfortable as the anxious father of Deanne Jeff’s showgirl wannabe. (Pictured, above; a screengrab from The Darkroom, featuring Cassell and co-star, Svet Kovich)

THE HONOURABLE WALLY NORMAN (2003) and STRANGE BEDFELLOWS (2004)
In his final screen appearances, Alan Cassell got to play in two broad comedies, a bigscreen genre that had largely passed him by for most of his career. As his persona softened throughout the 90s with warmer and often very funny parts in TV series like The Flying Doctors, SeaChange and The Micallef Program, producers sought out his effortless charm to enliven their would-be crowdpleasers. In The Honourable Wally Norman, veteran comedy director Ted Emery used Cassell as the pivotal character, boozy politician Willy Norman, who misspells his own name and sets Kevin Harrington’s average Joe ‘Wally Norman’ on a course to Canberra. In Dean Murphy’s gay-themed romp Strange Bedfellows, Cassell plays ‘small country town beffudlement’ with warmth and integrity, opposite leads Paul Hogan and Michael Caton.