Latest news with #WhatAboutSal
Sydney Morning Herald
16-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Sydney Morning Herald
‘A nasty, horrible human being': Wolf Creek's John Jarratt on Bradley John Murdoch
John Jarratt, the actor who has portrayed outback serial killer Mick Taylor in two Wolf Creek movies and a TV series, says real-life killer Bradley John Murdoch was 'a belligerent arsehole' who may have refused to reveal the location of Peter Falconio's body as a final insult. 'It could be his last little 'up yours' to cash out without telling anyone where the body is,' says Jarratt, 73, of the convicted murder who has died in custody, aged 67. 'He was a really nasty, horrible human being from all accounts.' But the actor, who portrayed Taylor in two Wolf Creek movies in 2005 and 2013, and in two seasons of a spin-off TV series in 2016-17 for streaming platform Stan*, also conceded it was possible that Murdoch simply didn't know the exact location of Falconio's remains. 'Maybe he just went off track somewhere and dug a bit of a hole and threw him in and he didn't know where the hell it was,' Jarratt speculated. 'I mean, it would have all been a bit frantic.' What Jarratt does know for a fact is that, contrary to popular belief, the character of Mick Taylor – whom he will again portray in Wolf Creek 3, due to start shooting early next year – was not based on Murdoch. Nor was he based on Ivan Milat, though the actor did read a biography of the so-called backpacker murderer in an attempt to understand something of the mindset of a psychopath – 'how they operate because they've got no empathy and all that sort of stuff'. Jarratt was first given a screenplay by the film's writer and director Greg McLean sometime in 2003, the same year Murdoch was arrested (in November) and charged with the 2001 murder of British backpacker Falconio and the assault and attempted kidnapping of his girlfriend Joanne Lees in the Northern Territory. But the idea had been kicking around long before that. 'Greg had this in mind about 1998 or '99,' says Jarratt, whose latest film as writer-director, What About Sal – about a young man with Down syndrome who tries to track down his birth father – currently sits at number 6 in Netflix's top 10 movies in Australia.
The Age
16-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Age
‘A nasty, horrible human being': Wolf Creek's John Jarratt on Bradley John Murdoch
John Jarratt, the actor who has portrayed outback serial killer Mick Taylor in two Wolf Creek movies and a TV series, says real-life killer Bradley John Murdoch was 'a belligerent arsehole' who may have refused to reveal the location of Peter Falconio's body as a final insult. 'It could be his last little 'up yours' to cash out without telling anyone where the body is,' says Jarratt, 73, of the convicted murder who has died in custody, aged 67. 'He was a really nasty, horrible human being from all accounts.' But the actor, who portrayed Taylor in two Wolf Creek movies in 2005 and 2013, and in two seasons of a spin-off TV series in 2016-17 for streaming platform Stan*, also conceded it was possible that Murdoch simply didn't know the exact location of Falconio's remains. 'Maybe he just went off track somewhere and dug a bit of a hole and threw him in and he didn't know where the hell it was,' Jarratt speculated. 'I mean, it would have all been a bit frantic.' What Jarratt does know for a fact is that, contrary to popular belief, the character of Mick Taylor – whom he will again portray in Wolf Creek 3, due to start shooting early next year – was not based on Murdoch. Nor was he based on Ivan Milat, though the actor did read a biography of the so-called backpacker murderer in an attempt to understand something of the mindset of a psychopath – 'how they operate because they've got no empathy and all that sort of stuff'. Jarratt was first given a screenplay by the film's writer and director Greg McLean sometime in 2003, the same year Murdoch was arrested (in November) and charged with the 2001 murder of British backpacker Falconio and the assault and attempted kidnapping of his girlfriend Joanne Lees in the Northern Territory. But the idea had been kicking around long before that. 'Greg had this in mind about 1998 or '99,' says Jarratt, whose latest film as writer-director, What About Sal – about a young man with Down syndrome who tries to track down his birth father – currently sits at number 6 in Netflix's top 10 movies in Australia.
The Age
16-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Age
I didn't set out to make a ‘diverse' film. I wanted to create a hero
There's a particular kind of magic that happens when you see yourself on screen. Not just someone who looks like you, but someone who feels like you. Someone whose story rings familiar – not because it's perfect, but because it's true. That magic is still far too rare. For decades, the stories we've consumed on screen have followed a narrow path: familiar faces, familiar arcs, familiar settings. We were taught to believe that these stories were universal. That if they resonated with the mainstream, they must be enough. But enough for whom? As a filmmaker, I've seen firsthand how the industry is slowly, sometimes painfully, waking up to the power of diversity – not just as a checkbox, not just as a quota, but as the lifeblood of meaningful storytelling. When I made What About Sal, I didn't set out to make a 'diverse' film. I set out to tell the story of one man – Sal, a young adult with Down syndrome on a mission to find the father he's never known. But in doing so, I quickly realised just how few films had ever placed someone like Sal at the centre. Not as comic relief. Not as a side character. As the hero. That shouldn't be rare. But it is. And that's why it matters. Diversity in film isn't about ticking representation boxes. It's about widening the lens – both literally and metaphorically – so that the world we see on screen starts to look a little more like the world we actually live in. It's about nuance, depth, and honesty. It's about telling the stories that have been sitting quietly on the sidelines, waiting to be heard. I'm often asked why diversity feels so urgent right now. Why the push? Why the focus? The answer is simple: because storytelling shapes perception. Film teaches us how to see one another. It teaches us who gets to be the hero, who gets to be complex, who gets to be loved, forgiven, redeemed. When we limit the stories, we limit the humanity.
Sydney Morning Herald
16-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Sydney Morning Herald
I didn't set out to make a ‘diverse' film. I wanted to create a hero
There's a particular kind of magic that happens when you see yourself on screen. Not just someone who looks like you, but someone who feels like you. Someone whose story rings familiar – not because it's perfect, but because it's true. That magic is still far too rare. For decades, the stories we've consumed on screen have followed a narrow path: familiar faces, familiar arcs, familiar settings. We were taught to believe that these stories were universal. That if they resonated with the mainstream, they must be enough. But enough for whom? As a filmmaker, I've seen firsthand how the industry is slowly, sometimes painfully, waking up to the power of diversity – not just as a checkbox, not just as a quota, but as the lifeblood of meaningful storytelling. When I made What About Sal, I didn't set out to make a 'diverse' film. I set out to tell the story of one man – Sal, a young adult with Down syndrome on a mission to find the father he's never known. But in doing so, I quickly realised just how few films had ever placed someone like Sal at the centre. Not as comic relief. Not as a side character. As the hero. That shouldn't be rare. But it is. And that's why it matters. Diversity in film isn't about ticking representation boxes. It's about widening the lens – both literally and metaphorically – so that the world we see on screen starts to look a little more like the world we actually live in. It's about nuance, depth, and honesty. It's about telling the stories that have been sitting quietly on the sidelines, waiting to be heard. I'm often asked why diversity feels so urgent right now. Why the push? Why the focus? The answer is simple: because storytelling shapes perception. Film teaches us how to see one another. It teaches us who gets to be the hero, who gets to be complex, who gets to be loved, forgiven, redeemed. When we limit the stories, we limit the humanity.
