with @WatchItWombat
Is Queensland the new Hollywood? Judging by the amount of movies being made in our backyard, you could be rubbing shoulders with De Niro any day now.
One Aussie filmmaker who is bringing Tinseltown Down Under is director Jonathan Teplitzky with his new Gold Coast gangster tale, Spit. The film is packed with a largely Queensland cast, including Brisbane local David Wenham, star of 300 and two The Lord of the Rings movies (to name but a few). Although a sequel to the 2003 crime comedy Gettin’ Square, you don’t need to have seen the original to enjoy this, but it definitely adds value.
Johnny ‘Spit’ Spitieri, played by Wenham, is a hapless crim with a heart of gold. All he wants to do is get home, look after his mates and maybe settle a few scores along the way. Despite being more dramatic and emotional than its predecessor, Spit packs in plenty of laughs and shines a light on how refugees and minorities are treated in Australia. Mateship and family are at the heart of the story, and discovering what lengths you would go to for those you care for the most.
An Inside Look with the Filmmakers
I was lucky enough to sit down with Jonathan and David and pick their brains, asking firstly, ‘Why the Gold Coast?’
“Sunshine and big skies,” Jonathan said. “Because the film is about little characters in big environments.”
David chimed in with his best quiz show impression. “Buzz! It’s a sunny place for shady characters.”
Well, he could have a point there.
David said that they never even considered doing a sequel.
“But of all the characters that I’ve played, Spit is the character that people talk to me about the most,” he said.
When asked how he deals with stardom, he said he takes it in his stride. Well, almost.
“It’s always really lovely,” he said. The only time I don’t like it – you’re in a restaurant and you’re just about to put the fork in your mouth and you hear, ‘Excuse me, I know you don’t like to be disturbed when you’re eating, but…’ Otherwise, I love to chat.”
You couldn’t hope to meet two nicer blokes, so support their film and Aussie cinema and check out Spit. Only in cinemas March 6.
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