The Bazura Project

Last updated

The Bazura Project
BazuraProjectS3poster.jpg
Season 3 poster
StarringShannon Marinko
Lee Zachariah
Opening theme"In the Hall of the Mountain King" by Edvard Grieg
Country of originAustralia
No. of episodes42
Production
Running time30 mins. (approx)
Release
Original network Channel 31 (2006–2008)
ABC2 (2011)
Original release7 December 2006 (2006-12-07)

The Bazura Project is a comedy show about the history of cinema, written and presented by Shannon Marinko and Lee Zachariah. It originally ran on Australian community television from 2006 to 2008, and on ABC2 in late 2011. [1]

Contents

On Australian Community TV

The show originally aired on Australian community television stations (Channel 31 Melbourne, 31 Brisbane, Television Sydney and C31 Adelaide) on 7 December 2006. It ran for three seasons, ending on 18 December 2008.

It was nominated for multiple Antenna Awards, and won Best Comedy Program and Best Director in 2007, and Best Arts Program in both 2007 and 2008. [2]

Every episode began with a pre-title sequence in which hosts Shannon Marinko and Lee Zachariah parodied a classic film scene. There would then be a news segment, a feature story (either informational or a comedic sketch), an interview with a key figure movie figure, then reviews of that week's releases.

Opening Sequences

These sequences are not strictly parodies, but rather hosts Shannon and Lee finding themselves in situations that closely resemble famous scenes. Notable openings included the season one finale The Graduate (in which the wedding is attended by all the characters from the previous opening sequences), season two's On the Town (in which Marinko and Zachariah "sung" New York, New York with lyrics pertaining to the Melbourne International Film Festival), the season two finale Back to the Future Part II (in which they travelled back through time, appearing in that season's previous opening sequences), Plan 9 from Outer Space (featuring one of the final on-screen appearances of legendary Australian actor Bud Tingwell), Full Metal Jacket (in which their heads were shaved on-screen), and the series finale Fight Club (in which, rather than doing a single scene, the entire film was acted out).

FearLoathingCrop.jpg
Promo - Blues.jpg
Clerks BW Crop.jpg
Delorean crop.jpg

Episode 1.01 (7 December 2006) The Sixth Sense
Episode 1.02 (14 December 2006) Clerks
Episode 1.03 (21 December 2006) It's a Wonderful Life
Episode 1.04 (4 January 2007) Say Anything...
Episode 1.05 (11 January 2007) Apocalypse Now
Episode 1.06 (18 January 2007) Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
Episode 1.07 (25 January 2007) The Usual Suspects
Episode 1.08 (1 February 2007) Goodfellas
Episode 1.09 (8 February 2007) Manhattan
Episode 1.10 (15 February 2007) American Psycho
Episode 1.11 (22 February 2007) The Graduate
Episode 2.01 (7 June 2007) The Blues Brothers
Episode 2.02 (14 June 2007) Trainspotting
Episode 2.03 (21 June 2007) Faster Pussycat Kill Kill
Episode 2.04 (28 June 2007) Ferris Bueller's Day Off
Episode 2.05 (5 July 2007) Pulp Fiction
Episode 2.06 (12 July 2007) Donnie Darko
Episode 2.07 (19 July 2007) Adaptation
Episode 2.08 (26 July 2007) The Untouchables
Episode 2.09 (2 August 2007) On the Town
Episode 2.10 (9 August 2007) Midnight Cowboy
Episode 2.11 (16 August 2007) A Clockwork Orange
Episode 2.12 (23 August 2007) King Kong
Episode 2.13 (30 August 2007) Back to the Future Part II
Episode 3.01 (9 October 2008) The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
Episode 3.02 (16 October 2008) Lolita
Episode 3.03 (23 October 2008) Plan 9 from Outer Space
Episode 3.04 (30 October 2008) On The Waterfront
Episode 3.05 (6 November 2008) The Shining
Episode 3.06 (13 November 2008) Singin' in the Rain
Episode 3.07 (20 November 2008) Goldfinger
Episode 3.08 (27 November 2008) Blade Runner
Episode 3.09 (4 December 2008) Psycho
Episode 3.10 (11 December 2008) Full Metal Jacket
Episode 3.11 (18 December 2008) Fight Club

Interviews

People interviewed on the community TV iteration of the show included George Miller (producer), Melanie Coombs, Anthony Lucas, Sarah Watt, Chris Noonan, Everett De Roche, Jack Sargeant, Danny Boyle, Geoffrey Wright, Pixar's Jerome Ranft & Paul Topolos, Roger Donaldson, Robert Connolly, Sue Maslin, Jonathan King, Scott Hicks, Rolf de Heer, Jason Schwartzman, Gillian Armstrong, Brian Trenchard-Smith, David Eggby, Mark Hartley, Steven Berkoff, Leigh Whannell, Bud Tingwell, Nathan Phillips, Jan Sardi and Clara Law.

On the ABC

Guide To Sinema

BazuraProjectABCPromo.jpg

In early 2011, the ABC commissioned a six-part series for ABC2 entitled The Bazura Project's Guide To Sinema. Each episode was devoted to a different cinematic sin: Violence, Sex, Money, Profanity, Drugs and Fame. The series began on 29 September, airing Thursday nights at 9pm.

Regular segments included: History, in which Shannon and Lee give a lesson on how sins were depicted in early cinema; Forgotten Films, featuring Shannon revealing obscure cult works; Lee's Therapy, with Lee explaining to his therapist (David Stratton) how he's been forever scarred by sinful movies; the Future, in which Shannon and Lee travel to the future to meet a robot (Shaun Micallef) who uses sci-fi films to reveal the future of sins; How To Make a Movie, a guide on how to make your very own sinful movie; and The Bazura Project Awards, an elaborate show rewarding cinema's standout sinful scenes.

The series included appearances from Kat Stewart, Tony Martin, Francis Greenslade, Julia Zemiro, John Safran, Bryan Dawe, Michael Ward, Luke Hemsworth, Abe Forsythe, Marc Fennell and Stephanie Bendixsen.

Radio Free Cinema

In 2021, the show returned as a six-part audio series The Bazura Project's Radio Free Cinema, released as a podcast on the Apple, Google, Spotify, Stitcher, and Amazon platforms.

"Radio Free Cinema" was made in the format of a commercial radio show, presented as if old tapes had been recovered and re-released online. The show featured fake movie news, trailers for non-existent films, original music, scripted interviews (often with comedians playing actors or filmmakers), and sketches. [3]

It featured cameos from Tom Ballard, Rusty Berther, Kristy Best, Robyn Butler, Rhonda Burchmore, Santo Cilauro, Marc Fennell, Tim Ferguson, Abe Forsythe, Bob Franklin (comedian), Francis Greenslade, Tosh Greenslade, Roz Hammond, Stephen Hall (actor), Andrew Hansen, Peter Helliar, Tegan Higginbotham, Ming-Zhu Hii, Adam Hills, Claire Hooper, Wayne Hope, Dan Ilic, Laura Hughes, Mark Humphries, Nazeem Hussain, Ed Kavalee, Christopher Kirby, Colin Lane, Tommy Little (comedian), Cassandra Magrath, Tony Martin (comedian), Shaun Micallef, Rhys Muldoon, Brian Nankervis, Celia Pacquola, Geraldine Quinn, Ben Russell, John Safran, Kat Stewart, Emily Taheny, Chris Taylor (comedian), Dave Thornton, Toby Truslove, Michael Veitch, Cal Wilson, and more.

The show was nominated for Best Comedy Podcast and Best Fiction Podcast at the 2022 Australian Podcast Awards, winning Silver in both categories. [4] The sixth episode received a nomination in the Audio - Fiction category at the 55th AWGIE Awards. [5]

Other works

Election 2007: Countdown to a Letdown

In 2007, the crew moved away from movies to apply the Bazura style to the Australian Federal Election. The one-hour special aired on the eve of the election, Friday 23 November, and featured a look back at the campaign, an instructional video about whom to vote for, a guide on how to be a politician, and an interview with the Australian Democrats' Laura Chipp. In addition to Marinko and Zachariah, the special was also hosted by Emma Race and Adam Knox.

The Bazura Project presents Saturday Night Cult Movie

Beginning in March 2008, The Bazura Project began introducing Saturday night movies on Channel 31 Melbourne. [6] This ran for three seasons until 2010, and included such classics as the 49th Parallel , Hercules Against the Moon Men and Voyage to the Planet of Prehistoric Women .

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard Herring</span> English comedian and writer (born 1967)

Richard Keith Herring is an English stand-up comedian and writer whose early work includes the comedy double act Lee and Herring. He is described by The British Theatre Guide as "one of the leading hidden masters of modern British comedy".

William James Anderson is an Australian comedian, writer, presenter, and podcaster.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shaun Micallef</span> Australian comedian, actor, writer and television presenter

Shaun Patrick Micallef is an Australian comedian, actor, writer and television presenter. He was the host of the satirical news comedy series Shaun Micallef's Mad as Hell on the ABC. He also hosted the game show Talkin' 'Bout Your Generation on Channel 10.

<i>Micallef Tonight</i> Australian TV series or program

Micallef Tonight was a short-lived Aria Award-winning Australian variety show that aired on the Nine Network in 2003. It was hosted by comedian Shaun Micallef and also featured the talents of Francis Greenslade, Jason Geary, Livinia Nixon and Pete Smith.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul Provenza</span> American actor, comedian, filmmaker and skeptic

Paul Provenza is a television presenter, actor, radio panelist, stand-up comedian, filmmaker, and skeptic based in Los Angeles. He has appeared on several podcasts and in recent years has interviewed other stand-up comedians. In 2005 he became a director, in 2010 an author and in 2011 he started producing for comedy festivals and television.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hamish & Andy</span> Australian comedy duo

Hamish & Andy are an Australian comedy duo formed in 2003 by Hamish Blake and Andy Lee. Best known for their various drive time radio programmes on the Hit Network, which aired in multiple formats until 2017, their shows gained consistently high market share and became the highest rated radio show in Australian history. Retiring after 14 years of broadcasting, the duo now produce a weekly self-titled podcast and occasionally publish a secondary programme, the Remembering Project, to revisit their old radio segments.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hamish Blake</span> Australian comedian, actor, and author

Hamish Donald Blake is an Australian comedian, television and radio presenter, actor and author. Since 2003, he has worked with Andy Lee as part of the comedy duo Hamish and Andy. The pair have performed live and on television and radio, most notably with their drive-time radio program Hamish & Andy. As a solo performer, Blake has appeared on various Australian television programs, including the Melbourne International Comedy Festival's televised 2008 Great Debate, and has been a regular guest on TV programs such as Spicks and Specks, Rove, and Thank God You're Here.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Josie Long</span> English comedian (born 1982)

Josie Isabel Long is an English comedian. She started performing as a stand-up at the age of 14 and won the BBC New Comedy Awards at 17.

20 to One is an Australian television series on the Nine Network from 2005, that counts down an undefined "top 20" of elements or events of popular culture, such as films, songs, or sporting scandals. The format mixes archival footage of the listed events with comments from various Australian celebrities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lee Mack</span> British comedian

Lee Gordon McKillop, known by his stage name Lee Mack, is an English comedian, actor, podcaster and presenter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Triple J TV</span> Australian television series

Triple J TV is the name given to a series of Australian television programmes which started broadcast in July 2006 as a television spin-off of national radio broadcaster Triple J. They are broadcast on ABC1 and ABC2 as well as available online. As with Triple J, it focuses on youth-oriented (18–35) programming.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard Marsland</span> Australian actor and comedian

Richard Kemble Marsland was an Australian comedy writer, actor, comedian and radio personality.

David O'Neil is an Australian stand-up comedian, actor, bass guitarist, writer, television and radio presenter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lawrence Leung</span> Australian comedian

Lawrence Leung is an Australian comedian, writer, director and actor from Melbourne. He is best known for his television series Lawrence Leung's Choose Your Own Adventure based his one-man shows on stories about his obsessions, such as breakdancing, ghosts, the Rubik's Cube, and his family.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Antenna Awards</span> Australian awards given for excellence in community television production

The Antenna Awards is an Australian awards ceremony which recognises outstanding achievements in community television production. First held in 2004, the ceremony is produced by C31 Melbourne, and is broadcast by terrestrial community television stations across Australia.

"Galway Girl" is a song written by American singer-songwriter Steve Earle and recorded with Irish musician Sharon Shannon; the title was originally "The Galway Girl". It was featured on Earle's 2000 album Transcendental Blues. "The Galway Girl" tells the semi-autobiographical story of the songwriter's reaction to a beautiful black-haired blue-eyed girl he meets in Galway, Ireland. Local references include Salthill and The Long Walk.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Josh Thomas (comedian)</span> Australian comedian

Joshua Michael Thomas is an Australian comedian, actor and writer. In 2005, he won the Melbourne International Comedy Festival's Raw Comedy Competition. He has since appeared on television numerous times, including as a regular and Generation Y team captain on Network 10's Talkin' 'Bout Your Generation. In 2013, Thomas created the award-winning ABC2 and Pivot television series Please Like Me, which he also co-wrote and starred in.

Dave Thornton is an Australian stand-up comedian, actor, television and radio presenter. He has performed stand-up comedy throughout Australia, in Edinburgh, Singapore and New York. He has also appeared on Australian television and radio.

Dirty Laundry Live is an Australian comedy panel television quiz show hosted by Lawrence Mooney. The first of 22 episodes in Season 1 screened live on Thursday 16 May 2013 at 9.30pm AEST on ABC2. It returned for 16 episodes in Season 2 the following year in the same timeslot on 15 May 2014, with longer episodes. The show was moved to ABC for Season 3 with 12 episodes from 28 May 2015 and repeats on ABC2.

Dilruk Jayasinha is a Sri Lankan Australian comedian, actor and former accountant.

References

  1. ABC2 picks up the Bazura Project
  2. List of Antenna Award winners Antenna Awards
  3. "The Bazura Project's Radio Free Cinema".
  4. https://www.australianpodcastawards.com/winners2022
  5. https://if.com.au/nominees-for-55th-awgies-unveiled-as-awards-returns-in-person/
  6. The Bazura Project: Calling all Cinefiles