Burn the Butterflies

Last updated

Burn the Butterflies
GenreDrama
Written by Cliff Green
Directed by Oscar Whitbread
Starring Ray Barrett
Fred Parslow
Alan Hopgood
Rowena Wallace
Country of originAustralia
Original languageEnglish
Production
ProducerOscar Whitbread
Cinematography Ian Warburton
Running time77 min
Production company ABC
Release
Original releaseOctober 14, 1979 (1979-10-14)

Burn the Butterflies is an Australian 1979 TV movie about a government dealing with the controversy around uranium mining. [1] It stars Ray Barrett as the Prime Minister of Australia.

There was some criticism in the press, [2] but it won a Logie in 1980 for best single drama. [3]

It was written by Cliff Green. who described it as an "experiment".

Cheeky me wanting to push the boundaries and do a drama within another drama, which moved in real time and was relatively cheap to make... There was a crisis in Government and there were news teams filming what was happening. And that was the documentary that was a fake documentary. And all the action, all the on-stage action (if that is the right word) was happening in the Prime Minister's suite in Canberra—so the way he was reacting, and who he was talking to—it was almost a one-man show. And it was beautifully performed. By Ray Barrett. It was wonderful. [4]

Green says the idea to make the film came out of a week he had spent in Canberra for the Australian Writers Guild lobbying for the arts budget.

We brought up the highflyers from Australian Opera, and the ballet, and the Sydney Theatre Company—but we did the hard work. We knocked on the doors and we faced the politicians. And I understood, at the end of that, how that place worked. And it was nothing like how we thought it worked. And if I had decided that I would like to do a Canberra-based piece and set myself, and got up and become a member of the press corps for a few weeks I wouldn’t have got it. It was being in there, and understanding the contradictions, and the layers of commitment and attitude, and so on, that brought it on, that gave me the confidence to write it. [4]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ray Bradbury</span> American writer (1920–2012)

Ray Douglas Bradbury was an American author and screenwriter. One of the most celebrated 20th-century American writers, he worked in a variety of modes, including fantasy, science fiction, horror, mystery, and realistic fiction.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carol Thatcher</span> English journalist

Carol Jane Thatcher is an English journalist, author and media personality. She is the daughter of Margaret Thatcher, the British prime minister from 1979 to 1990, and Denis Thatcher.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Lazenby</span> Australian actor (born 1939)

George Robert Lazenby is an Australian actor. He was the second actor to portray fictional British secret agent James Bond in the Eon Productions film series, playing the character in On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969). Having appeared in only one film, Lazenby's tenure as Bond is the shortest among the actors in the series.

Arthur Baysting was a New Zealand writer, producer and children's advocate. He lived in Auckland with his partner, artist Jean Clarkson. They have two grown children.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Julia Butterfly Hill</span> American environmental activist (born 1974)

Julia Lorraine Hill is an American environmental activist and tax redirection advocate. She is best known for having lived in a 200-foot (61 m)-tall, approximately 1000-year-old California redwood tree for 738 days between December 10, 1997, and December 18, 1999. Hill lived in the tree, affectionately known as Luna, to prevent Pacific Lumber Company loggers from cutting it down. She is the author of the 2000 book The Legacy of Luna and co-author of One Makes the Difference.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ray Barrett</span> Australian actor (1927–2009)

Raymond Charles Barrett was an Australian actor. During the 1960s, he was a leading actor on British television, where he was best known for his appearances in The Troubleshooters (1965–1971). From the 1970s, he appeared in lead and character roles in Australian films and television series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prime Minister's XI</span>

The Prime Minister's XI or PM's XI is an invitational cricket team picked by the Prime Minister of Australia for an annual match held at the Manuka Oval in Canberra against an overseas touring team. The Australian team usually consists of up and coming grade cricketers from the Canberra region and state players.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mi-Sex</span> New Zealand new wave band

Mi-Sex is a New Zealand new wave band originally active from 1978 to 1986, and led for much of its existence by Steve Gilpin as vocalist, Kevin Stanton as guitarist and songwriter, Murray Burns as keyboardist and songwriter, and Don Martin as bassist. The group's manager for much of its career was Bob Yates. Mi-Sex achieved two top 10 hit singles in 1979-80: "Computer Games" in October 1979 and "People" in 1980. Their first two albums both reached the New Zealand top 10, Graffiti Crimes and Space Race. They were known for their cutting edge production and dynamic live shows. Gilpin died in January 1992, two months after a serious car accident from which he never recovered. Mi-Sex have periodically reformed, including in 2011 with Steve Balbi (ex-Noiseworks) on lead vocals. Stanton died on 17 May 2017, Martin on 10 August 2020.

Jean Ethel "Jeannie" Lewis is an Australian musician and stage performer whose work covers many different styles such as folk, jazz, Latin, blues, opera, rock and fusion. Her music often includes a strong social consciousness and political statements. Australian musicologist, Ian McFarlane, described her as "one of the most enigmatic and expressive, yet underrated singers Australia has ever produced... Always able to adapt her emotional and dramatic voice to suit a range of moods and styles."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Terry Britten</span> Musical artist

Terence Ernest Britten is an English-Australian singer-songwriter and record producer, who has written songs for Tina Turner, Cliff Richard, Olivia Newton-John, Status Quo and Michael Jackson amongst many others. Britten won the Grammy Award for Song of the Year in 1985 for "What's Love Got to Do with It".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Moss Cass</span> Australian politician (1927–2022)

Moses Henry Cass was an Australian doctor and politician who held ministerial office in the Whitlam government. He served as Minister for Environment and Conservation (1972–1975), the Environment (1975), and the Media (1975). He represented the Division of Maribyrnong in the House of Representatives from 1969 to 1983.

<i>Picnic at Hanging Rock</i> (film) 1975 Australian mystery film by Peter Weir

Picnic at Hanging Rock is a 1975 Australian mystery film produced by Hal and Jim McElroy, directed by Peter Weir, and starring Rachel Roberts, Dominic Guard, Helen Morse, Vivean Gray and Jacki Weaver. It was adapted by Cliff Green from the 1967 novel of the same name by Joan Lindsay.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pam Ewing</span> Fictional character in CBS Dallas

Pamela Jean "Pam" Barnes Ewing is a fictional character from the CBS primetime soap opera Dallas. Pamela is portrayed by actress Victoria Principal, first appearing on the show in the first episode, entitled "Digger's Daughter", which was first broadcast on April 2, 1978. Dallas follows the trials of the wealthy Ewing family in the city of Dallas, Texas, which Pam has married into. Principal played Pam until the end of season 10 in 1987, when the character crashes her car into a truck carrying butane and propane and her body is severely burned. A year later, she was briefly played by actress Margaret Michaels in an attempt to write the character out. Pamela's storylines in season 1 focus on her relationship with her new husband, Bobby Ewing, and her fight against the considerable suspicion and hostility from within the Ewing family, due to Pamela being a member of the Barnes family. Pamela's love for Bobby remains a strong character trait throughout her tenure on the show, noted for its similarities to Romeo and Juliet, with two people from hostile families falling in love.

First Australians is an Australian historical documentary series produced by Blackfella Films over the course of six years, and first aired on SBS TV in October 2008. The documentary is part of a greater project that further consists of a book, a community outreach program and a substantial website featuring over 200 mini-documentaries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cliff Green</span> Australian writer (1934–2020)

Clifford Green OAM, born in Melbourne, Australia, was an Australian screen writer, whose best-known work is the script for the film Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975).

At Home with Julia is a four-part Australian sitcom television series, created and written by Amanda Bishop, Rick Kalowski and Phil Lloyd, which debuted on 7 September 2011 on ABC1. A re-run of the series aired on ABC2 in April 2012. The series ran in syndication in the United States on the Vibrant TV Network.

Mud, Bloody Mud is a 1985 Australian television film based on a popular comic strip, Bluey and Curley. These comic book characters link documentary footage with puppets playing political figures.

No Room to Run is a 1977 Australian television film about an American businessman who kills a man in Sydney. The lead actors, writer, producer and director were all American. It stars real-life husband and wife Richard Benjamin and Paula Prentiss.

The Dalfram dispute of 1938 was a political industrial dispute at Port Kembla, New South Wales, protesting the export of pig iron from Australia to Japan during the Second Sino-Japanese War. It became famous for providing the nickname of Pig Iron Bob to Attorney General Robert Menzies, later to serve as Prime Minister.

The Sammy Awards were an Australian television and film awards held annually between 1976 and 1981, initially supported by the TV Times and the Seven Network.

References

  1. Ed. Scott Murray, Australia on the Small Screen 1970–1995, Oxford Uni Press, 1996 p21
  2. "TELEVISION Well, the bookcase was convincing". The Canberra Times . 19 October 1979. p. 23. Retrieved 7 August 2013 via National Library of Australia.
  3. Burn the Butterflies at AustLit
  4. 1 2 Oral history of Cliff Green, Australian Writers Guild Archived 23 September 2015 at the Wayback Machine accessed 13 July 2013