Latest news with #AustralianFilmIndustry
The Guardian
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
David Stratton, legendary film critic who championed Australian and international cinema
At last count, the film critic, writer and cinephile David Stratton had seen and critiqued at least 25,000 films, not counting those he watched more than once. His goal was to see one new film every day, a childhood habit that developed into a career spanning six decades that celebrated and advanced the Australian film industry. Stratton, who has died aged 85, had an incomparable passion for celluloid storytelling. As a seven-year-old boy in England watching his childhood hero Chips Rafferty wrangling cattle in The Overlanders, Stratton had little idea that Australian films would transform his life. He left England in 1963 as a '10-pound Pom' intent on exploring Rafferty's outback for himself, but, like the protagonist John Grant in Wake in Fright, one of Stratton's favourite films, he found it menacing and dark. Instead, he was drawn to the Sydney film festival and the prospect of seeing films for free as a volunteer usher. Three years later, in 1966, he became its director and remained so for 18 years. Much to his father's disappointment, Stratton chose to make Australia his home and the support and promotion of the Australian film industry his life's work. Since Australia had no recognised film industry at the time, Stratton's first task as festival director was to launch short film competitions and promote untapped talent. Entries were received from names now synonymous with some of the country's best and most successful movies. By the 1970s, federal funding was in place, and with it came the rise of Australian cinema's new wave. Stratton ensured that classics such as Picnic at Hanging Rock (he saw it 'dozens of times'), Mad Max and Newsfront received international exposure, thus drawing the world's spotlight to the unique qualities of Australian cinema and its stories. In one memorable stunt at the opening night of the 1975 film Sunday Too Far Away, 40 sheep were brought in and a city street closed off so the film's star, Jack Thompson, could give a shearing demonstration. '[Stratton] was a warrior in the cause of finding an audience for Australian films, which was, and remains, difficult,' the writer and broadcaster Phillip Adams said. A fan of French cinema since his teens, Stratton was also keen to introduce Australian audiences to the diversity of world cinema. 'I still vividly remember seeing Truffaut's first feature, 400 Blows, for the first time and walking out of the cinema feeling I'd seen something extraordinary,' he said. Programming a series of Soviet films for the festival in the late 1960s resulted in Stratton being put under surveillance by the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (Asio), who photographed him outside the Soviet embassy in Canberra. When he became aware of it, Stratton declared it 'a complete and staggering waste of time and money'. He had been there getting a visa to attend the Moscow film festival. In bringing international films to Australia – and with the emerging local film industry gaining momentum – Stratton found his focus turned to overthrowing what he called the country's 'draconian censorship' laws of the 1960s. 'It was films of real stature and real importance that were being attacked by the philistines at the film censorship board at the time,' he said. 'They were ignorant, stupid people.' Stratton was most recognisable as the white-bearded, bespectacled and avuncular co-host of The Movie Show on SBS, which ran from 1986 to 2004, and then At The Movies for a further 10 years. The good-humoured repartee between the no-nonsense Stratton and his cheerful (and stylish) co-host Margaret Pomeranz as they sparred over their star ratings and favourite films won them a devoted audience and led the Guardian to label them 'the head and heart of Australian film culture.' Their star ratings were divisive, with fans declaring themselves either 'a David' or 'a Margaret'. One director not happy with Stratton's review of his film, Romper Stomper, was Geoffrey Wright, who called him a 'pompous windbag' and, two years later, flung a glass of wine over the critic. David James Stratton was born on 10 September 1939 in Melksham, England, the oldest son of Wilfred and Kathleen Stratton. During the second world war, his parents were absent, his father posted overseas and his mother volunteering with the Red Cross. His grandmother became his primary carer, and every afternoon she would take David to the cinema to see a matinee. He left school in Salisbury at 16, spending his time with local film societies when not working in the family grocery business, Stratton Sons & Mead, established in 1830. In the 2017 documentary of his life, Stratton became emotional talking about the 'fractious relationship' he had with his father, who had groomed his son to take over the family business and could not understand his interest in films. Stratton's younger brother, Roger, said the relationship between David and his father was difficult in part 'because my brother didn't know him for the first five or six years of his life because when he came back from the war, he was a stranger'. From 1984 to 2003, Stratton wrote reviews for the US entertainment magazine Variety, earning a reputation as their fastest critic. He had been reviewing films since he was a boy and continued to do this for every film he saw throughout his life, recording typed or handwritten details on cards filed in wooden drawers. He was a member of the international jury at the Berlin, Montreal, Chicago and Venice film festivals and served twice as president of the international film critics jury at Cannes. He was made a Member of the Order of Australia in 2015, and in 2001 a Commander of the Order of Arts and Letters, France's highest cultural honour, for his services to cinema. His 2008 autobiography, I Peed on Fellini, describes an unfortunate meeting with the famous Italian director after Stratton had drunk copious amounts of champagne. He wrote several books about his favourite movies, and in 1990 began teaching film history at the University of Sydney, where he received an honorary doctorate in 2006. He was intensely private and lived in the Blue Mountains, west of Sydney, for many years with his wife, Susie Craig. No further details of his family are available. David Stratton, film critic, born 10 September 1939; died 2025.
Daily Mail
11-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Australian film industry legend dies after long battle with brain tumour
The Australian film industry is in mourning after legendary sound recordist Paul 'Salty' Brincat died last month, after being diagnosed with a brain tumour. The beloved sound recordist died in late May in New South Wales, after a long battle with illness. He was one of the country's most respected film identities, and worked on many Australian-filmed Hollywood blockbusters. Paul's family has set up a GoFundMe page which has a target of $10,000, to help with the funeral costs, and has currently raised over half its goal. 'It's hard to understate the profound impact that Paul Brincat has had upon the Australian Film Industry,' the page reads. From A-list scandals and red carpet mishaps to exclusive pictures and viral moments, subscribe to the DailyMail's new showbiz newsletter to stay in the loop. 'For decades Salty was at the cutting edge of sound, recording dialogue for Hollywood Blockbusters and independent Australian feature films alike. 'So it is with no surprise that so many of our extended film family are travelling from far and wide, to Murwillumbah, to pay homage to the great man himself. 'With so many wonderful people in attendance, we have put together a small fundraiser, to help alleviate his family of some of the Behind the Scenes costs of the memorial.' Across his career, he worked on the 2002 Steve Irwin movie Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course, Star Wars: Attack of the Clones, The Invisible Man and many other acclaimed productions. He was nominated for an Academy Award in 1999 for his sound work on the Sean Penn film The Thin Red Line. Paul also won an Emmy Award in 1996 for Outstanding Sound Mixing on the short-lived US series Flipper, featuring Neighbours star Alan Dale. Heartbroken colleagues took to social media to pay tribute to Paul. 'I was greatly saddened to hear of the passing of one of our longstanding members. He was much loved,' wrote industry body the Australian Screen Sound Guild. 'Vale Paul. Despite his formidable resume, I found that Salty was an extremely humble man, devoid of ego,' added fellow sound recordist Josh O'Donnell. 'I can honestly say that I would not be the man I am today without Salty.' 'We have lost a legend,' Aussie cameraman Jason Binnie chipped in. Paul worked in the industry for four decades, from the early '80s until last year. His final work was on the 2024 Australian film The Nut Farm, featuring Madeleine West and Arj Barker. Paul's funeral will be held on Saturday, June 14 in his home town of Murwillumbah, regional NSW.
The Guardian
08-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
King's birthday honours list 2025: from broadcasting luminary Phillip Adams to a PM and a film-making couple
The broadcasting luminary Phillip Adams has been appointed a companion of the Order of Australia on the King's birthday honours roll, where he is joined by the former prime minister Scott Morrison and film-making couple Baz Luhrmann and Catherine Martin. Adams was made a member of the order in 1987, then an officer in 1992. At the age of 85, he can now add the suffix AC – denoting Australia's highest civilian honour – to his name. 'It's good, isn't it, given I left school at 15,' he said. 'If they waited any longer, it would have been posthumous.' Adams started writing at the age of 16 for the communist newspaper the Workers' Weekly Guardian and today writes for The Australian, earning 'a penny from Rupert, who keeps me on, as I often say, to give the illusion of pluralism'. He said his nomination was 'interesting' in that it involved two ex-prime ministers from different sides of the political fence: Kevin Rudd and Malcolm Turnbull. He is most proud of his roadmap – and subsequent securing of funding – for the Australian film industry, his early alerts to climate change and work on refugee justice and the voice referendum – even if, by his measure, some of those campaigns have been 'fizzes'. Sign up for Guardian Australia's breaking news email But his most enjoyable role was his 33 years at the helm of Radio National's Late Night Live, 'pumping out an infinite number of interviews', he told Guardian Australia. Morrison, the prime minister from August 2018 until May 2022, is also among the 14 people appointed companion of the order, with his leadership in Australia's contribution to Aukus singled out for mention by the council overseeing the honours. The former Liberal leader said he was 'honoured and grateful' to have been appointed and that his time as the country's 30th PM was an 'immense privilege'. His tenure faced 'unrelenting' natural disasters and a global pandemic, through which, he said in a statement, 'Australia proudly prevailed'. He thanked the Australian people and his former colleagues, in particular Josh Frydenberg and Michael McCormack, as well as the Liberal party 'and the people of Cook in southern Sydney for the honour of representing them in the Australian parliament'. 'Above all, I am exceedingly grateful to my wife Jenny, daughters Abbey and Lily, my mother Marion and late father John, and all my family and friends,' he said. Luhrmann, the writer and director of Strictly Ballroom and Romeo + Juliet, and his artistic collaborator and partner, Martin, have also been appointed to the order as companions. Sign up to Breaking News Australia Get the most important news as it breaks after newsletter promotion Martin won four Academy Awards for her costume and production design on The Great Gatsby and Moulin Rouge!, adding a Bafta for her costume design in 2022's Elvis. She and Luhrmann have 20 Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts awards between them. Prof Graeme Stephens, a co-director at Nasa's climate sciences centre, the Sydney businesswoman and author Wendy McCarthy and South African-Australian author JM Coetzee have become companions of the order, adding the honour to a long list of previous accolades, including Coetzee's Nobel prize in literature. As the ambassador to the Holy See from 2012 until 2016, John McCarthy worked closely with the late cardinal George Pell. The Catholic church lawyer, involved in the controversial Towards Healing church-run compensation scheme, becomes a member of the order. The former Vogue Australia editor Kirstie Clements receives a medal of the order of Australia, as does the skin cancer awareness ambassador and former Australian Women's Weekly editor Deborah Hutton. A meritorious award goes to the ACT's Dr Bridget Gilmour-Walsh, an architect of new federal vaping legislation. This year's King's birthday honours roll recognises 830 Australians across general and military divisions. The youngest recipient, Scott Guerini, 19, is recognised for his charitable fundraising, while the oldest, South Australian resident Henry Young, is honoured at the age of 101 for his service to veterans and tennis.
