Strange Planet

Last updated

Strange Planet
Strange Planet 1999.jpg
Cover of UK DVD.
Directed by Emma-Kate Croghan
Written by Emma-Kate Croghan
Stavros Kazantzidis
Produced by Stavros Kazantzidis
Bruno Charlesworth
Starring Claudia Karvan
Naomi Watts
Tom Long
Felix Williamson
Hugo Weaving
Alice Garner
Aaron Jeffery
CinematographyJustin Brinkle
Production
companies
Premium Movie Partnership
Showtime Australia
Strange Planet
NSW Film and Television Office
Australian Film Finance Corporation
Distributed byNew Vision Films
Release date
  • 7 October 1999 (1999-10-07)
Running time
92 minutes
CountryAustralia
LanguageEnglish
Box officeA$377,615 [1]

Strange Planet is a 1999 Australian dramedy film directed by Emma-Kate Croghan and starring Claudia Karvan, Naomi Watts, Alice Garner and Hugo Weaving. The film takes place in Sydney between New Year's Eve 1998 and January 2000. It was Croghan's follow up to Love and Other Catastrophes and used many of the same cast and crew. [2] [3]

Contents

Plot

The film explores the lives of three male friends and three female friends over the course of one year. Judy has an affair with her married boss. Sally is a party girl open to all experiences. Alice is morally strict but feels stuck.

Ewan is a lawyer who hates the law. Joel is left by his wife. Neil is desperate for love.

Cast

Production

At one stage it was planned that the film would be shot at the same time as another movie, Revolver which would be directed by Emma Kate Croghan while Stavros Kazantzidis would make Strange Planet. However, in the end Croghan directed Planet and Revolver was never made. [4]

The time lapse footage of the Sydney Harbour Bridge was shot by a cameraman who was permitted to climb the bridge without a harness and spend 12 hours there overnight. [5]

Dusty Springfield personally cleared the film's usage of her recording of "The Look of Love" only days before her death in March 1999. [5]

Reception

The film was well-received critically but a disappointment commercially that received little marketing attention. In 2005, Croghan told The Age:

With Love and Other Catastrophes there was so much interest about the way the film had been made, and the fact that a very young woman (of 23) had directed the film seemed amazing to people... There was a lot of interest in the process and it got a lot of press coverage. Strange Planet didn't. There wasn't a story around it for people and the press to hook into.

Croghan is yet to direct another feature film. [6]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Naomi Watts</span> British actress (born 1968)

Naomi Ellen Watts is a British actress. After her family moved to Australia, she made her film debut there in the drama For Love Alone (1986). She appeared in three television series, Hey Dad..! (1990), Brides of Christ (1991), and Home and Away (1991), and the film Flirting (1991). Ten years later, Watts moved to the United States, where she initially struggled as an actress. She took roles in small-scale films until she starred in her breakthrough role as an aspiring actress in David Lynch's psychological thriller Mulholland Drive in 2001.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frances O'Connor</span> American-based Australian actress and director (born 1967)

Frances Ann O'Connor is an Australian actress and director. She appears in roles in the films Mansfield Park, Bedazzled, A.I. Artificial Intelligence, The Importance of Being Earnest, and Timeline. O'Connor won an AACTA Award for her performance in Blessed, and also earned two Golden Globe Award nominations for her performances in Madame Bovary and The Missing. In 2022, her debut feature as writer and director, Emily, was released.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Claudia Karvan</span> Australian actress (born 1972)

Claudia Karvan is an Australian actress and producer. As a child actor, she first appeared in the film Molly (1983) and followed with an adolescent role in High Tide (1987). She portrayed a teacher in The Heartbreak Kid (1993) – the film was spun off into a TV series, Heartbreak High (1994–1999), with her character taken over by Sarah Lambert. Karvan's roles in television series include The Secret Life of Us (2001–2005), Love My Way (2004–2007), Newton's Law (2017) and Halifax: Retribution (2020). She won Best Actress in a Leading Role in a Television Drama at the AFI Awards for her appearance in G.P. (1996). She won two similar AFI Awards for her role in Love My Way and in 2014 for her work in The Time of Our Lives (2013–2014). As a co-producer and co-writer on Love My Way, she won three further AFI Awards for Best Drama Series in 2005, 2006 and 2007. Karvan was inducted into the Australian Film Walk of Fame in 2007 in acknowledgment of her contributions to the Australian film and television industry. From 2010 to 2011, she starred in the drama series Spirited, which she co-created and was executive producer. She appeared as Judy Vickers in Puberty Blues. Karvan has co-produced House of Hancock and Doctor Doctor (2016–2021). In 2021 she co-created, co-produced and starred in the TV drama series, Bump.

Alice Miriam Olivia Garner is an Australian actor, author, musician, teacher and historian.

<i>Love and Other Catastrophes</i> 1996 Australian film

Love and Other Catastrophes is a quirky 1996 Australian romantic comedy film featuring Frances O'Connor, Radha Mitchell, Alice Garner, Matthew Dyktynski, Matt Day and Kym Gyngell. The film was the first full-length release by director Emma-Kate Croghan and is set and filmed at Melbourne University where she studied writing and film directing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Xavier Samuel</span> Australian actor (born 1983)

Xavier Samuel is an Australian film and theatre actor. He has appeared in leading roles in the feature films Adore, September, Further We Search, Newcastle, The Loved Ones, Frankenstein, A Few Best Men, and played Riley Biers in The Twilight Saga: Eclipse, and Billy in Spin Out. He also starred as Cass Chaplin in Blonde.

Jamie Blanks is an Australian film director and composer. He directed the cult slasher films Urban Legend (1998) and Valentine (2001). He later directed the horror films Storm Warning (2007) and Long Weekend (2008).

"The Look of Love" is a popular song composed by Burt Bacharach and Hal David and originally popularized by English pop singer Dusty Springfield. The song is notable for its sensuality and its relaxed bossa nova rhythm. The song was featured in an extended slow-motion interlude to the 1967 spoof James Bond film Casino Royale. In 2008, the song was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. It also received a Best Song nomination at the 1968 Academy Awards. The song partially inspired the film Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997).

<i>Paperback Hero</i> (1999 film) 1999 Australian film

Paperback Hero is a 1999 Australian romantic comedy film starring Claudia Karvan and Hugh Jackman. It was directed by Antony Bowman who also wrote the screenplay. The film was predominantly shot in Queensland including Nindigully.

Emma-Kate Croghan is an Australian director and writer born in Adelaide, South Australia on Australia Day 1972.

<i>For Love Alone</i> 1986 Australian film

For Love Alone is a 1986 Australian film written and directed by Stephen Wallace and based on Christina Stead's 1945 novel of the same name. It stars Helen Buday, Hugo Weaving, Sam Neill and Naomi Watts in her film debut. The film was entered into the 37th Berlin International Film Festival.

Stavros Kazantzidis is an Australian-Greek writer, director, and producer. He graduated from the Australian Film, Television and Radio School in 1992. His graduation film, Road to Alice, won Best Short Film at the Australian Film Institute Awards. He was also the winner of 'Young Filmmaker of the Year' at the Edinburgh International Film Festival that same year. Kazantzidis wrote, directed, and produced Love & Other Catastrophes, the international indie hit, which was nominated for Best Film in 1996 at the Australian Film Institute Award. In 2000, Kazantzidis's film Russian Doll won the Best Original Screenplay at the Australian Film Institute Awards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Allanah Zitserman</span>

Allanah Zitserman is an Australian scriptwriter and film producer, founder of Dungog Film Festival, and director of Lumila Films.

An Australian Government Film is an Australian film that has been funded by the Australian government at either a state or federal level. This type of film is distinct from an Australian independent film which has had no up-front government investment.

True Love and Chaos is a 1997 Australian film directed by Stavros Efthymiou. It is a road movie.

Strange Fits of Passion is a 1999 Australian film directed by Elise McCredie and starring Michela Noonan. It is about a young woman determined to lose her virginity.

<i>The Old Man Who Read Love Stories</i> 2001 film by Rolf de Heer

The Old Man Who Read Love Stories is a 2001 Australian adventure drama film directed by Rolf de Heer. It is based on the book of the same name by Luis Sepulveda.

Never Tell Me Never is a 1998 Australian biopic TV film about cross-country skier Janine Shepherd.

References

  1. ↑ "Australian Films at the Australian Box Office", Film Victoria. Retrieved 12 November 2012
  2. ↑ Tim Hunter, "Another World with Emma Kate Croghan", Cinema Papers, June 1999 p 22-25, 56
  3. ↑ Andrew L Urban, "Emma Kate Croghan", Urban Cinefile. Retrieved 10 November 2012
  4. ↑ Shan Jayaweera, "An Interview with Ken Sallows", Senses of Cinema, 13 June 2001. Retrieved 12 November 2012
  5. 1 2 Strange Planet Emma Kate-Croghan DVD commentary track, 1999.
  6. ↑ Jim Schembri, "Aren't you...?", The Age, 6 May 2005. Retrieved 12 November 2012


This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.