John Butler of the John Butler Trio interrupts his wildly popular meditation on Capitalism and Freedom for this reflection on the state of the Australian film industry.In 2007, this story appeared in the Daily Telegraph:
"With the exception of George Miller's Happy Feet, which has taken more than $20 million at the box office, local films have performed poorly this year. Not one other Australian production has cracked the $3m mark in 2007, a situation that has many in the industry scratching their heads...
Industry observers are hoping the new government tax rebate, or Producer Offset, announced in the May budget and which has bipartisan support, will turn things around...
'What the government has done (the tax offset had bipartisan support) is set us a challenge. We need to match it with our ability to make stories with broad appeal.' "
Okay folks, so how is the report card for 2008? Mmmh, here it is:
"The four films nominated for Australia's most prestigious industry award have the combined box-office takings of less than one bad American comedy."
So what appears to be the problem?
One really simple clue comes from looking at the images in the last link. All of the actors in the unsuccessful Australian films appear to be suffering from a near fatal combination of insomnia and constipation, while the actors in the American film appear to be happy. Is it a coincidence that the last successful Australian film was called "Happy Feet"?
Why is it that the few successful Australian films we have seen in the last few years are made by people who are from outside the Australian film industry? Could it be that Australian movie-goers are searching for a good time when they go to the movies? Why don't they go to see these over-wrought dramas and over-thought comedies portrayed by actors who may or may not be suffering from a twisted bowel?
So, Australian film types, any clue? Didn't think so. Retards.
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