Tim Ferguson speaks to Parallax Podcast writing good Australian Films
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The Australian film industry and the federal Labor Party have something in common, in the sense that crisis never seems far away and words like “beleaguered” are bandied about as if they’re going out of fashion. Tired of hearing about another morose drama or “kooky” comedy with an “arty” edge? You’re not the only one.
To help The Parallax Podcast get to the bottom of what is going wrong and why, critics Luke Buckmaster and Rich Haridy are joined in a special guest episode by Australian comedy and pop culture stalwart Tim Ferguson.
Ferguson, famous for a long list of gigs and productions including The Doug Anthony All Stars, Don’t Forget Your Toothbrush, Unreal TV and the award-winning political talk show With Tim Ferguson, and who is running for a seat this year in the Australian Senate, believes a resistance to genre filmmaking lies at the core of the industry’s troubles.
“Genre is genus. It’s the beginning. It’s the seed of a story,” he says. “If you look at a lot of Australian films, what they do is disparage genre. They disparage even things like a three-act story.”
Click the link below to listen to the podcast, which includes discussion of features such as Gallipoli, Mad Max 2, Sunday Too Far Away, Life of Brian and many others.