Assignment 2 – H231 Australian Cinema
Welcome to Woop Woop (1997)
Contents: Part One
Ratings
Cast and crew details
Production Companies
Release Dates
Box Office Figures
Research Methods
On-line Presence
Part Two
Plot and Crtitcal Commentary
Critical Uptake
Production Circumstances
Prior Work of Cast and Crew
Uptake and Current Place of Australian Cinema
A Medium Sized English Language Cinema
References
Films Cited
Assignment 2 – Part 1
Welocme to Woop Woop – Film Information
Rating – MA (Aus.)
13 (Argentina)
14 (Chile)
18 (UK)
R (USA)
Cast and Crew Details
Directed by Stephan Elliott
Writing Credits: Stephan Elliot (Additional material)
Douglas Kenndey (novel The Dead Heart)
Michael Thomas
Cast
Johnathon Schaech .... Teddy
Rod Taylor .... Daddy O
Susie Porter .... Angie
Dee Smart .... Krystal
Richard Moir .... Reggie
Maggie Kirkpatrick .... Ginger
Barry Humphries .... Blind Wally
Mark Wilson (IV) .... Duffy
Paul Mercurio .... Midget
Stan Yarramunua .... Young Lionel
Bob Oxenbould .... Moose
Jan Oxenbould .... Big Pat
Daniel Rigney .... Small Kenny
David Hoey .... Dirty Dean
Sarah Osmo .... Laverne
Con Demetriou .... Darren
Rachel Griffiths (I) .... Sylvia
Tina Louise .... Bella
Chelsea Brown .... Maude
Adryn White .... Herbie
Felix Williamson .... Jerome
Kevin Copeland .... Plato
Shane Paxton .... Sonny
Bindi Paxton .... Cher
Alan Finney .... Barman
Pat Gibbs .... Auntie Di
Bella Cooper .... Leigh Ann
Cale Morgan .... Damien
Baden Jones .... Leon
Breanna Sonsie .... Tina
Ding .... Projectionist
Crew
Produced by
Antonia Barnard .... co-producer
Finola Dwyer .... producer
Margot Lulick .... line producer
Nik Powell .... executive producer
Stephen Woolley .... executive producer
Original music by
Boy George (song)
Guy Gross (I)
Cinematography by
Mike Molloy
Film Editing
Martin Walsh (I)
Production Design
Owen Paterson
Art Direction
Colin Gibson
Set Decoration
Suza Maybury
Costume Design
Lizzy Gardiner
Production Management
Catherine Bishop .... production manager
Wil Milne .... unit manager
Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Guy Campbell .... second assistant director
Carolynne Cunningham .... first assistant director
Jude Gorjanc .... first assistant director: New York
Paul Sullivan (III) .... third assistant director
Art Department
Lea Worth .... property buyer
Sound Department
Myk Farmer .... boom operator
Mark Heslop .... adr editor
Tony Johnson (II) .... sound recordist
Visual Effects
James Rogers (III) .... digital compositor
Other crew
Brian Bansgrove .... gaffer
Colin Chase (II) .... best boy
Robin Clifton .... location manager: Sydney (as Robyn Clifton)
Michael Corden .... first assistant editor
Polly Duval .... producer's assistant (post-production coordinator)
Stephen Law .... post-production consultant
John Laws .... special thanks
Nadia Naimi .... second assistant editor
John Platt .... camera operator
Adrienne Read .... thanks
Sophie Siomos .... production accountant
Judy Whitehead .... continuity
Production Companies
AFFC
Scala Productions (UK)
Unthank Films
Release Dates
France (Cannes Film Festival) – 13 May 1997
UK (Edinburgh Film Festival) – August 1998
Australia – 13 August 1998
Canada – 13 November 1998
USA – 13 November 1998
Hungary - 19 August 1999 (Video Premiere)
Argentina – 15 September 1999 (Video Premiere)
Box Office Details
Australia: opening Weekend - $226, 506
Total - $398, 127
USA: Opening Weekend - $19, 812 (US$)
Total - $35, 471 (US$)
Research Methods
Most of the information used in this critical review was collected from the Internet, as actual
Written documents in newspapers and magazines proved hard to find. A short preview in Variety gave an unfavourable account of the film, whilst box office figures in the magazine did not include Welcome to Woop Woop. A review in The Advocate magazine was published on the Net. Various Internet sites used included the Internet Movie DataBase (IMDB) and the Urban Cinefile site, which is a site for Australian films. There was no shortage of information about the film on the Internet, as well as a range of reviews. Unlike Variety magazine, the Urban Cinefile site gave full box office details of the week the film was released, an indication of the place of the film in American media and at the US box office itself.
Web Literature
Welcome to Woop Woop actually had quite a large on-line presence on the Internet, and the number of different websites containing information on the film was amazing. Perhaps the lack of success of the film is responsible for its wide exposure on the Internet. It was not difficult to find links to the film, most of which contained reviews of the film after its release. A lot of the information in the critical reviews was gained from interviews with Stephan Elliott and various cast and crew members prior to the release of Welcome to Woop Woop.
Bibliography and Links
The most useful websites used were:
http://imdb.com/Find
http://www.urbancinefile.com.au/home/view.asp?a=1408&s=Reviews
http://efilmcritic.com/hbs.cgi?movie=71
http://infilmau.iah.net/reviews/woopwoop.htm.
http://www.mgm.com/woopwoop/
http://www.bonza.rmit.edu.au/essays/text/1998/woopwoop/
Assignment 2 – Part Two
Plot and Critical Commentary
Welcome to Woop Woop (Elliott 1997) was first screened at the Cannes film festival in 1997 and later released in Australia in 1998. Directed by Stephan Elliott, of the hugely successful Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, (Elliott, 1994) Welcome to Woop Woop derived from the novel, The Dead Heart, by Douglas Kennedy, and tells the story of American con man Teddy, and his encounter with a group of isolated, and ultimately, very strange Australians. Played by US actor Jonathon Schaech, Teddy finds himself fleeing to the Australian outback after his girlfriend (Rachel Griffiths) decides to shoot the hoons who are chasing Teddy. On the road through the Northern Territory, Teddy meets Angie, a sex-crazed hitchhiker played by Susie Porter, and his future begins to resemble every mans fantasy.
But soon the story of every man's fantasy becomes the story of every mans nightmare after Angie drugs Teddy and kidnaps him. Waking up in a stable, consequently very drowsy and covered in whipped cream, Teddy finds he has been brought to the isolated and somewhat unique dwelling of Woop Woop, inhabited by so-called freaks and weird-os, and ruled by the irrepressible Daddy-O (Rod Taylor). With their strange behaviour and even stranger traditions (not to mention compulsory pineapple chunks and XXX Beer) it is no surprise that any normal person should express the need to escape to civilisation. The ill-fated end to Paul Mercurio's character portrays just how the illegal act of escape is dealt with in Woop Woop, and serves as a reminder to how his fantasy future has suddenly turned into a theatrical nightmare.
Welcome to Woop Woop has actually has a very difficult underlying message to determine: in it's simplest terms the film tells the story of one man's fight to preserve his heritage, and a piece of land he has claimed as his own after a fight with the Government. The humour arises through the townsfolk's actions and behaviour and Teddy's obvious outsider status. The situation for Teddy is worsened by the fact that he is an American, and has no idea about Australians living in the outback, let alone the freakish occupants of Woop Woop. Personally, I perceive this film not to be a statement that Australians are strange creatures as a whole, but rather a statement about a specific, isolated group who behave in such a manner because they have no outside judgement to base their lives upon, and their only leader is a tyrannical character who serves to be the only role model to the residents of Woop Woop.
On the other hand, Welcome to Woop Woop has displayed a darker message centred on outback Australians. The people of Woop Woop live with many of the values still held in isolated communities, such as sexism, community loyalty and an obvious hierarchy of power. But even though the characters and community as a whole may hold these realistic values, the characters themselves are highly exaggerated and difficult for the audience to relate to. Whatever the audience understands the message to be, Elliott has chosen to approach these issues and values with his definitive and strange sense of humour. However, only a specific few may understand its attempts at satire.
Critical Uptake
After first refusing to direct such Hollywood films as Twister and First Wives Club, and describing Hollywood as a system of "no control, no freedom," Elliott decided to return to Australia to direct The Big Red (The working title of Woop Woop's). Following the international success of Priscilla, critics expected a definite repeat performance by Elliott. Prior to its release, Elliott described the film as "outrageous, risky, vulgar, fun". 1
Unfortunately for Elliott, critics didn't quite see it in the same light. Even the film's midnight screening at the 1997 Cannes festival meant that organisers thought the film to be a little risky for such a prestige event and audience. Critics slammed the film, claiming that it "[took] the stereotypical Australian 'yobbo' image and exaggerates it to the point where it becomes annoying rather than funny" 2.
Most believed it was an embarrassment to Australian cinema, and was a forum for "the harsh treatment of the Australian character".3 SBS Movieshow reviewer David Stratton describes how 'likes many of the "in jokes" that the film has (most of which fly way over the head of Joe Public)'.4 This statement highlights the point made previously, that the film is difficult to relate to.
Production Circumstances
Screen writer Michael Thomas, whose work includes Backbeat (Softely 1993) and Scandal (Caton – Jones 1989), converted Douglas Kennedy's novel The Dead Heart to the form of screenplay. Even though Elliott was handed the script at the 1995 BAFTAs, actual production on location did not take place until October 1996, a time when the desert temperatures were rising rapidly. The excessive heat caused many setbacks to the production process, including equipment damage.
1:From an interview with Stephan Elliot: http://www.urbancinefile.com.au/scripts/cinefile/Features.idc?Article_ID=1432
2: From a review with Luke Buckmaster
http://infilmau.iah.net/reviews/woopwoop.htm.
3. From http://www.urbancinefile.com.au/home/view.asp?a=1408&s=Reviews
4. From http://bonza.rmit.edu.au/essays/text/1998/woopwoop/Oz_Reaction.html
The film was set in the natural basin of Mount Ooramina, located 35km out of Alice Springs, and filming here took three weeks. After its initial screening at Cannes and Edinburgh, Woop Woop underwent extensive editing prior to its official release in Australia.
This release process also suffered a number of setbacks: the original release date was April 1998, yet the film was finally released August 13th 1998. Perhaps one reason for the poor box office business of Woop Woop was its release in the same week as the Australian drama Head On (Kokkinos 1996). As stated by an annoyed Stephan Elliott "This industry is not big enough to support two Australian films competing with each other". The truth is, there really was little competition involved – Head On remained in the top 20 films for ten weeks and made more than $1.6million, whereas Woop Woop lasted only three weeks and made around $400,000. 5
The total box office gross in the US was (US)$35,812. 6 Test audiences in the US were reported to be perplexed by the vulgarity of the film, and many failed to understand it's humour, evidence that Australian film often "has highly specific audiences in mind" (O'Regan, 1994, p70). In this case the audience who associate with the humour of Woop Woop are somewhat alienated.
Prior Work of Director, Crew and Cast
Director Stephan Elliott made his film debut with the award winning, but lesser known Frauds (1993) followed by Priscilla, released in 1994. Elliott's filmmaking techniques are undeniably characteristic of Australian cinema, and what O'Regan describes as "a quirky, eccentric cinema to one side of the international norm" (1994; p54).
As mentioned earlier, many of the crew from Priscilla returned to work with Elliott. Included in the credits was Academy-Award® winning costume designer Lizzie Gardiner, BAFTA nominated Guy Gross, who also worked on Frauds and Production Designer Owen Paterson, who has numerous television credits.
Various other crewmembers include Cinematographer Mike Molloy, who originally was a cameraman for Walkabout (Roeg 1971) and A Clockwork Orange (Kubrick 1971). As his role as Director of Photography his credits include Bliss (Young 1997) and Scandal (Caton-Jones 1989). Also included in the credits was Australian producer Antonia Barnard, whose short Aboriginal film Two Bob Mermaid (Barnard 2000) was nominated for several overseas awards.
Welcome to Woop Woop features a predominantly Australian cast, the main exception being American actor Johnathon Schaech and also to some extent veteran Rod Taylor, who has played three Australian characters in his 42-year absence from his home
5: From http://www.urbancinefile.com.au/News_Bums_on_Seats_new.asp
6: From http://us.imdb.com/Business?0120491
country. Schaech's prior work includes How to Make an American Quilt (Moorhouse 1995) and his most famous role in Tom Hank's directing debut That Thing You Do! (Hanks 1995) Taylor has starred in over 70 feature films, including The Birds (Hitchcock 1963) and various US television shows. Woop Woop features Susie Porter in her first major role, her prior work including Paradise Road (Beresford 1997). Paul Mercurio, of Strictly Ballroom (Luhrman 1992) fame, played the desperate Midget, and Muriel's Wedding (Hogan 1994) Co-star Rachel Griffiths make a cameo appearance as Sylvia, as does Barry Humphries, best known for his work as Dame Edna Everage.
Uptake and Current place of Australian Cinema
Welcome to Woop Woop was created at the end of 1996. At the beginning of the 90s an increased need for Government investment was experienced, after the failure of the 10BA tax concessions in the 1980's. The new federal body, the Australian Film Finance Corporation (AFFC), which actually provided some funding for Woop Woop, played a major part in supporting Australian film. Government commitment has significant links to the role of public support of Australian cinema. Critics and the public deemed the release of Woop Woop an embarrassment. Such a film acts to devalue the Australian cinema, which 'needs not only a cinematic identity but a positive one' (O'Regan, 1996; 112). Woop Woop presents a negative perception of Australian values.
Australian cinema is defined as 'mundane' – 'it is seen to lack distinction and great value' (O'Regan, 1996; 121). Welcome to Woop Woop features a landscape that is undeniably Australian, with its' vast and isolated outback sequences and lack of high-speed action, which gives the impression that many Australian films offer the same landscape.
Another emergent aspect of the 90s was increased internationalisation amongst the National cinema, and the international aspect was often determined 'other'. An example of this is shown by Johnathon Schaech's character. Here the American is used as an innocent amongst 'monsters who happen to be Australian' (O'Regan, 1994; 52). The national/international cleavage (O'Regan, 1994; p280) is an emergent idea of Australian cinema, and Teddy is a fine example of how the international figure is used to 'establish a collective identity by showing how we are different from them' (O'Regan, 1994;p280). Prior to its official release in August 1998, Elliott extensively edited the film to ensure it was ready for a local and international audience. Unfortunately it is the lack of social commentary in the film that signifies how it is devalued as Australian cinema. A national cinema should 'generate meanings of significance and value…and be able to speak and connect with local and international audiences' (O'Regan, 1996, 112). Woop Woop does not generate such significant meanings and leaves little place for positive social criticism amongst the audience.
The Medium Sized English Language Cinema
The Australian Cinema is defined as a medium sized English language cinema due to it's "mainstream exhibition orientated to the English language" (O'Regan, 1996: 86) and medium sized market. This means that Hollywood is regarded as the centre of the cinema industry and Australia is a market situated within it. Welcome to Woop Woop provides us with an example of how Australian cinema is different: it negates Hollywood norms, and competes. However, this competition can be viewed purely as an alternative as Australian cinema struggles against the dominant Hollywood. Woop Woop was neither successful nor a means of competition in Hollywood. It is an unsuccessful film that enforces the Australian cinema as Mundane and reveals why the Australian National cinema remains to be Medium-sized. There is no doubt that Australia has produced some classic and highly successful films, yet local audiences simply crave the international product. For example, in the week Welcome to Woop Woop was released, seven of the top ten films were imported. As described by O'Regan, 'the Hollywood competition is a cultural imperialism, preluding the local and engaging in an unequal and unfair competition' (1996; 117). But this is just one offer of the argument that attempts to devalue Hollywood. The specific audience, by which Welcome to Woop Woop is received positively by, is somewhat related to Australian cinema as a whole: it will always remain a minor stream in the local and international entertainment industry. If the Hollywood-going audience does not understand the Australian film then it is unlikely that it will find any success at all.
References
See listed web sites
O'Regan, T Australian National Cinema Routledge London, 1996
Films Cited
The Adventures of Priscilla: Queen of the Desert (Elliott 1994)
Backbeat (Softely 1993)
Bliss (Young 1997)
The Birds (Hitchcock 1963)
A Clockwork Orange (Kubrick 1971)
Frauds (Elliott 1993)
Head On (Kokkinos 1996)
How to Make an American Quilt (Moorhouse 1995)
Muriel's Wedding (Hogan 1994)
Paradise Road (Beresford 1997)
Scandal (Caton-Jones 1989)
Strictly Ballroom (Luhrman 1992)
That Thing You Do! (Hanks, 1995)
Two Bob Mermaid (Barnard, 2000)
Walkabout (Roeg 1971)