Mullet (film)

Last updated

Mullet
Mullet 2001.jpg
2001 VHS cover
Directed by David Caesar
Written byDavid Caesar
Produced byVincent Sheehan
Starring Ben Mendelsohn
Susie Porter
CinematographyBob Humphreys
Music byPaul Healy
Release date
  • 28 June 2001 (2001-06-28)(Australia)
Running time
89 minutes
CountryAustralia
LanguageEnglish
Budget$1 million [1]
Box office$1.5 million approx. [2] [3]

Mullet is an Australian film released in 2001, written and directed by David Caesar, and starring Ben Mendelsohn, Susie Porter and Andrew Gilbert.

Contents

Plot summary

In the film, Eddie returns to his home town on the south coast of New South Wales. Having left for the city without explanation 3 years ago, he tries to pick up the pieces of his life and fit back into the lives of those he left, including his ex-girlfriend Tully and brother Pete. The title of the film comes from Eddie's nickname and from his attempts to make a living poaching mullet.

The film succeeds in a very human portrayal of the difficulties in living on the fringe of a close-knit community. The drama of the developing relationships is supported by very dry comedy (archetypical Australian humour) and detailed but understated design.

Cast

ActorCharacter
Ben Mendelsohn Eddie 'Mullet' Maloney
Susie Porter Tully
Andrew Gilbert Peter Maloney
Belinda McCloryKay
Tony Barry Col Maloney
Kris McQuade Gwen
Peta Brady Robbie
Wayne Blair James
Paul KelmanGary
Steve Le Marquand Jones
Aaron Blabey Terry
Jim WebbBig Bloke
Nash Edgerton Winger
Bryan Brown Publican (voice)

Production

The film is based on a short story written by Caesar, who grew up on the South Coast of New South Wales. It was shot mostly in Kiama over four weeks in June 2000, with a budget of approximately A$1 million. From conception to completion, the process of making Mullet took eight years. [4] [5]

Filming locations include Chapman Oval at Blowhole Point, the fish shop at Kiama Harbour, Kiama Police Station and Seven Mile Beach. Originally, Sheehan had intended to shoot interiors in Sydney, but found the cost of doing so was prohibitive within the film's budget.

Cameos include Bryan Brown as the voice of the never-seen publican, Steve Starling as a mullet wrangler and Australian rugby league player Mick Cronin on the steps of his Cronin’s Hotel in the town of Gerringong. The Kiama Knights rugby league club were also involved in production. [6]

Awards and nominations

AFI Awards, 2001

Australian Screen Sound Guild , 2001

Australian Writers' Guild , 2001

Film Critics Circle of Australia Awards, 2001

Shanghai International Film Festival , 2001

Box office

Mullet grossed approximately $1.5 million at the box office in Australia. [7] [8]

See also

Related Research Articles

<i>Iris</i> (2001 film) 2001 biographical film directed by Richard Eyre

Iris is a 2001 biographical drama film about novelist Iris Murdoch and her relationship with her husband John Bayley. Directed by Richard Eyre from a screenplay he co-wrote with Charles Wood, the film is based on Bayley's 1999 memoir Elegy for Iris. Judi Dench and Jim Broadbent portray Murdoch and Bayley during the later stages of their marriage, while Kate Winslet and Hugh Bonneville appear as the couple in their younger years. The film contrasts the start of their relationship, when Murdoch was an outgoing, dominant individual compared to the timid and scholarly Bayley, and their later life, when Murdoch was suffering from Alzheimer's disease and tended to by a frustrated Bayley in their North Oxford home in Charlbury Road. The beach scenes were filmed at Southwold in Suffolk, one of Murdoch's favourite haunts.

<i>Baadasssss!</i> 2003 film by Mario Van Peebles

Baadasssss! is a 2003 American biographical drama film, written, produced, directed by, and starring Mario Van Peebles. The film is based on the struggles of Van Peebles' father Melvin Van Peebles, as he attempts to film and distribute Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song, a film that was widely credited with showing Hollywood that a viable African-American audience existed, and thus influencing the creation of the blaxploitation genre. The film also stars Joy Bryant, Nia Long, Ossie Davis, Paul Rodriguez, Rainn Wilson, and Terry Crews.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andrea Bowen</span> American actress (born 1990)

Andrea Bowen is an American actress. She began her career appearing on Broadway musicals such as Les Misérables and The Sound of Music. In 2004, she began playing the role of Julie Mayer on the ABC comedy-drama series Desperate Housewives, a role she played on a regular basis until 2008. She later appeared on a recurring basis until the show ended in 2012. Bowen later went on to star in a number of Lifetime television movies.

<i>Tom White</i> (film) 2004 Australian film

Tom White is a 2004 film directed by Alkinos Tsilimidos.

<i>Gettin Square</i> 2003 film by Jonathan Teplitzky

Gettin' Square is a 2003 comedy crime thriller film directed by Jonathan Teplitzky and written by Chris Nyst. An international co-production between Australia and the United Kingdom, it stars Sam Worthington, David Wenham, Freya Stafford, Gary Sweet, and Timothy Spall. It follows an ex-con who vows to go straight and make an honest man of himself, but finding a job is difficult with a criminal record.

Always Greener was an Australian television drama/comedy series that aired on the Seven Network which followed the fortunes of two families, one from the city and the other from the country, when they decide to switch homes and start a new direction in life for themselves. It ran from 2001 until 2003, when it was cancelled after declining ratings and concerns over the cost of production.

<i>Look Both Ways</i> (2005 film) 2005 Australian film

Look Both Ways is a 2005 Australian drama film, written and directed by Sarah Watt, starring an ensemble cast, which was released on 18 August 2005. The film was supported by the Adelaide Film Festival Investment Fund and opened the 2005 Adelaide Film Festival. It won four AFI Awards, including Best Film and Best Direction. The film was selected as a film text by the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority for the VCE English Course from 2007 to 2010.

<i>Black and White</i> (2002 film) 2002 Australian film

Black and White is a 2002 Australian film directed by Craig Lahiff and starring Robert Carlyle, Charles Dance, Kerry Fox, David Ngoombujarra, and Colin Friels. Louis Nowra wrote the screenplay, and Helen Leake and Nik Powell produced the film. For his performance in the film, Ngoombujarra won an Australian Film Institute award in 2003 as Best Actor in a Supporting Role.

<i>Romulus, My Father</i> (film) 2007 Australian film

Romulus, My Father is a 2007 Australian drama film directed by Richard Roxburgh. Based on the memoir of the same name by Raimond Gaita, the film tells the story of Romulus and his wife Christine, and their struggle in the face of great adversity to raise their son, Raimond, played by the nine-year-old Kodi Smit-McPhee. The film marks the directorial debut for Australian actor Richard Roxburgh. It was commended in the Australian Film Critics Association 2007 Film Awards.

<i>Suburban Mayhem</i> 2006 film by Paul Goldman

Suburban Mayhem is a 2006 Australian comedy thriller film directed by Paul Goldman and written by Alice Bell. Starring Emily Barclay, Michael Dorman, Anthony Hayes, Robert Morgan, Steve Bastoni, Mia Wasikowska and Genevieve Lemon, the film follows Katrina Skinner (Barclay), a 19-year-old single mother with a long history of petty crimes who plots to murder her father John (Morgan) after he threatens to take custody of her child away from her due to her wild lifestyle and negligent behaviour.

<i>Panaghoy sa Suba</i> 2004 Filipino film

Panaghoy sa Suba, is a 2004 Visayan language film written, co-produced and directed by Cesar Montano. The film stars Montano, Juliana Palermo and Jacky Woo. Panaghoy sa Suba is a historical romance drama about a love triangle which takes place during the Second World War. Its themes concern Filipino nationalism and the legacies of colonialism.

David Caesar is an Australian television and film director and writer. He grew up in Turlinjah on the south coast of NSW and attended school in nearby Moruya where he was school captain in his senior year.

<i>The Well</i> (1997 film) 1997 Australian film

The Well is a 1997 Australian film directed by Samantha Lang and starring Pamela Rabe, Miranda Otto, Paul Chubb, and Frank Wilson. It is based on the 1986 novel of the same name by Elizabeth Jolley.

<i>My Mother Frank</i> 2000 Australian film

My Mother Frank is a 2000 Australian film.

<i>Ground Zero</i> (1987 film) 1987 Australian film

Ground Zero is a 1987 Australian action thriller film about a cinematographer who, prompted by curiosity about some old film footage taken by his father, embarks on a quest to find out the truth about British nuclear tests at Maralinga. It stars actors Colin Friels, Jack Thompson and Indigenous activist Burnum Burnum.

<i>Raajneeti</i> 2010 Indian political thriller film by Prakash Jha

Raajneeti (transl. Politics) is a 2010 Indian Hindi-language political thriller film co-written, directed and produced by Prakash Jha, with a screenplay by Anjum Rajabali and Prakash Jha. Depicting an archetypal conflict between rival political families and parties, based on the Mahabharata, the film starred an ensemble cast of Ajay Devgn, Nana Patekar, Ranbir Kapoor, Katrina Kaif, Arjun Rampal, Manoj Bajpayee, Sarah Thompson and Naseeruddin Shah. It was originally produced by Prakash Jha Productions and distributed by UTV Motion Pictures and Walkwater Media.

Muse Entertainment is a Canadian producer of films and television programs founded by Michael Prupas in 1998. The company gained press attention in 2011 for their production of the multi-Emmy winning and nominated miniseries The Kennedys in association with Asylum Entertainment.

The 3rd Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards are a series of awards which includes the 3rd AACTA Awards Luncheon, the 3rd AACTA Awards ceremony and the 3rd AACTA International Awards. The former two events were held at The Star Event Centre, in Sydney, New South Wales on 28 January and 30 January 2014, respectively. Presented by the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA), the awards celebrated the best in Australian feature film, television, documentary and short film productions of 2013. The AACTA Awards ceremony were televised on Network Ten. These awards were a continuum of the Australian Film Institute Awards, established in 1958 and presented until 2010, which was rebranded the AACTA Awards when the Australian Film Institute (AFI) established AACTA in 2011.

Anna Maria Monticelli is an Australian actress, screenwriter and producer.

References

  1. Mullet website, “It can take a long time to get a movie up in Australia Archived 31 August 2007 at the Wayback Machine ”. Retrieved January 2008
  2. Murdoch University Culture & Communication Reading Room – Megan Johnson, 2004, Mullet Archived 25 December 2007 at the Wayback Machine , 2004. Retrieved January 2008
  3. "Film Victoria – Australian Films at the Australian Box Office" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 February 2011. Retrieved 22 November 2010.
  4. Mullet website, “It can take a long time to get a movie up in Australia Archived 31 August 2007 at the Wayback Machine ”. Retrieved January 2008
  5. Stratton, David (15 May 2001). "Mullet". Variety. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
  6. Sheehan, Vincent. "On location in Coollawarra". Porchlight Films. Retrieved 5 March 2014.
  7. Murdoch University Culture & Communication Reading Room – Megan Johnson, 2004, Mullet Archived 25 December 2007 at the Wayback Machine , 2004. Retrieved January 2008
  8. "Film Victoria – Australian Films at the Australian Box Office" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 February 2011. Retrieved 22 November 2010.