MOVES AFOOT: THE YOWIE EXPERIENCE

Bad news. The director had been agitating with Kylie to get money we'd never conceived he'd be entitled to - percentages of grants for crew accommodation and so on. She had a stand-off with him, and asked me to get involved. I emailed him a few times and got no response. Basically I offered him what I'd always offered - the standard deal: 8% of budget. I phoned him (together with my wife - the iron fist in the velvet glove) and we got fairly assertive - he said this should be coming from the producer. I said no, in this case I'd got all the money together so I do the hard negotiations - I am exec producer. Anyway, after a few circlings the vultures descended - things were said: I decided enough was enough: I said we could no longer work with him; he wanted some money for his efforts to date which i agreed to - in all fairness he had put some time into the piece and come up with a few suggestions which helped the script. There were a few others which were way, way off and were ignored, but be that as it may, I was happy to pay him off. He has another project on which sounds tremendous and I honestly hope he does well with it. So where did that leave us? Without a director. However Kylie said she knows a few young directors and will try and rustle one up in the next week.

But it's time for a bit of review here: I wrote the script in 2002 - it's now seven long years since, trying again and again to get some little money together, find a team that doesn't fragment whenever there's an excuse to do so; trying to get government support, the list goes on. What the hell is wrong with this country? Or is it me? Note I didn't say is it just me - because it isn't just me; I know several young and not so young people who have all had good filmic ideas and have had the devil's own job trying to get them flying - like wee ragged kites they flutter hopefully and ascend above the poppy field, only to be cut down by the outrageous winds of fortune before they get anywhere. We are a nation of mockers: it's what we do best and most of our films celebrate mockery in one form or another. But sadly, in the end mockery is hollow, a paper tiger, unless it delivers the thing to think about; unless it gives the heart a genuine lift; unless it connects at a level deeper than the belly laugh. I am a farmer of sour grapes, but one thing's for sure - I do not give up on something i believe in, and I believe in in this little Yowie. If everything falls over i will sigh and retreat before advancing again into the compromised world that is the Aussie filmmaker's experience. Till I succeed.