SKIN DEEP: THE GREATEST FULL BODY MAKEUP PERFORMANCES

CGI technology has seen the art of acting under a full body prosthetic all but disappear. Performance-capture technology, made famous by actor Andy Serkis’ mastery of the dotted leotard in the roles of Gollum, King Kong, Caesar and Captain Haddock, has meant the painstaking detail needed to dress an entire torso in character is a fading skill. In honour of the practical effects brilliance behind some of cinema’s most iconic characters, SCREEN-SPACE offers an entirely subjective look at some of the best full body prosthetic performances…

Mystique in X-Men (2000) and X-Men: First Class (2011)
The shapeshifting mutant Raven Darkholme, aka Mystique, was first brought to life in Bryan Singer’s 2000 franchise starter by Rebecca Romign-Stamos; ‘It-Girl’ Jennifer Lawrence put her own spin on the blue-skinned assassin in Matthew Vaughan’s 2011 retro-themed update.
"MAKEUP!" In the decade between the films, little changed in the prosthetic technology used to create the on-screen look of Mystique. Both Romijn-Stamos and Lawrence spent 8-10 hours in the makeup chair prior to filming, undergoing the application of adhesive skin and air-brushed body-paint.

Chewbacca from Star Wars (1977), The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Return of the Jedi (1983).
The Wookiee co-pilot of the Millenium Falcon became one of the most endearing characters from George Lucas’ space saga. Actor Peter Mayhew, who donned the late Stuart Freeborn’s intricately detailed full body fur suit and wonderfully expressive face mask for all three features (pictured, top), last wore it at the 1997 MTV Awards, where Carrie Fisher presented him with the medal denied the heroic sidekick during the final scenes of the 1977 film.
"MAKE-UP!" Following the famous ‘trash compactor’ scene in Star Wars, the fur suit retained a foul odour for the remainder of filming; cast and crew would steer clear of Mayhew when he was in costume due to the smell.

Cast of Planet of the Apes (1968; 2001)
The groundbreaking work of John Chambers and his small team on Franklin J Schaffner’s 1968 sci-fi classic was matched by the legendary Rick Baker and hundreds of wig, denture and foam latex technicians on Tim Burton’s 2001 remake. So skilfully articulated by an unrecognisable Tim Roth was the brutal simian soldier Thade (pictured, right; with co-star Mark Wahlberg) in the new version, a concerted campaign was mounted to secure him a Best Supporting Actor nomination.
"MAKEUP!" Chambers, who would work on all the Apes… sequels and TV series, was only the second person to be awarded a Special Achievement Oscar for makeup; the first was Wiliam Tuttle, four years earlier, for 7 Faces of Dr Lao.

Emil Antonowsky in Robocop (1987)
Although Peter Weller’s cyborg law enforcement officer is one of the great performances in genre cinema, it is more a melding of actor and costume (see also Alien and Predator). The full-body prosthetic star of Paul Verhoeven’s ultra-violent satire is Paul McCrane (pictured, left; the director and actor on-set), who donned a suit of oozing flesh to portray the demise of henchman Emil. His skin melting of his bones having been doused in toxic industrial waste, the actor stumbles before a speeding vehicle and…, well, once seen the sequence is never forgotten.
"MAKEUP!" The great Rob Bottin took an upper torso mold of McCrane, which was then rendered in latex and sculptured into the detailed disintergration of skin and muscle. The sequence was one of the first that the MPAA ratings board wanted cut out, but the producers fought for its inclusion when test audiences said it was their favourite part of the film.

Darkness in Legend (1985)
For Ridley Scott’s epic fantasy adventure, actor Tim Curry and makeup creator Rob Bottin crafted one of cinema’s most vivid portrayals of the Lord of the Underworld, in this case simply known as ‘Darkness’.
"MAKEUP!" As the early makeup tests closed in around Curry’s face, the actor pleaded with Bottin and Scott to at least leave him his eyes to act with; scleroid lenses were fitted, giving him cat-like slits for pupils. With the full body prosthetic in place (including hooves and horns), the actor stood over twelve feet tall.

The cast of The Wizard of Oz (1939)

MGM’s Louis By Mayer wanted to one-up Walt Disney’s Snow White and The Seven Dwarves blockbuster when he greenlit the adaptation of Frank L Baum’s much-loved literary classic. Mayer’s ambition infused the every department on the production, most notably makeup creator Jack Dawn’s largely uncredited team of 29 craftsmen, who would envision and construct some of the most iconic full-body character makeup in film history.
"MAKEUP!" In striving to be innovative, the makeup department did not make a lot of friends amongst the cast. When a pyrotechnic effect went off close to Margaret Hamilton (The Wicked Witch), her makeup seared her face and hands, leaving second- and third-degree burns; rubber skin glued to ‘Scarecrow’ actor Ray Bolger to create the illusion of fabric left lines on his face which lasted a year; and, original ‘Tin Man’ Buddy Ebsen left the production when aluminium dust in his silver facepaint coated his lungs and brought on an allergic reaction.

El Fauno and The Pale Man in Pan’s Labyrinth (2006)
These two unforgettable creations are just two of the characters played by Doug Jones, an American actor who has established a reputation as being the greatest full-body makeup working today. In addition to Guillermo del Toro’s Spanish-language masterpiece, the pair worked together on the Hellboy films, in which Jones played several parts, most notably the hero’s sidekick Abe Sapien; trained as a contortionist, Jones has featured behind the body makeup in films such as Legion, The Watch and Lady in the Water.
"MAKEUP!" It took Jones five hours to get into the Pale Man makeup/costume before shooting his scenes for Pan’s Labyrinth. So unnatural was the visage, the actor had to look through the nose holes of the face prosthetic to see his fellow actors.

Seth Brundle in The Fly (1986)
Shonagh Jabour’s makeup melded seamlessly with Chris Walas’ Oscar-winning prosthetic creature effects, capturing the transformative stages of Jeff Goldblum’s genetically-fused man/fly (pictured, right) with a grotesque commitment to putrid detail that remains unsurpassed today. From early-stage symptons to latter-stage metamorphosis, it is one of the most perfectly refined ‘collaborative performances’ in film history.
"MAKEUP!" Chris Walas’ name is the first to appear when the end credits roll. At the first test screening, audiences cheered; producer Stuart Cornfeld turned to him and reportedly said, “You’re going to win the Oscar…”

John Merrick in The Elephant Man (1980)
From 5am until midday, actor John Hurt would have layers of makeup applied that transformed him into John Merrick, a Victorian era sufferer of Proteus Syndrome that deformed his appearance so radically he would become known as ‘The Elephant Man’. Despite graphic and disturbing in its detail, the malformations portrayed in the film were less severe than those suffered by Merrick in real life.
"MAKEUP!" Below-the-line industry bodies around the world were outraged when the makeup artistry of Christopher Tucker was overlooked at Oscar time, due to their being no category for that discipline. The outcry lead to a Best Makeup award being introduced in 1981, the inaugural honour going to Rick Baker for John Landis’ An American Werewolf in London.

2014 MARDI GRAS FILM FESTIVAL: PREVIEW

As the Opening Night festival-goers enjoy the post-screening festivities in Sydney’s George St cinema precinct, SCREEN-SPACE looks at some of the highlights the next ten days offer at the 21^st annual Mardi Gras Film Festival (MGFF), brought to Harbour City patrons by festival director Paul Struthers and his Queerscreen team.

FIVE WORLD PREMIERE SCREENINGS:
Australian filmmakers tackling the complexities of LGBTI lifestyles have always cherished the internationally recognised exposure that the MGFF offers. This year, five local works have their global premieres – Martin Fox’s fascinating journey through Sydney’s queer history, Friends of Dorothy; the lesbian coming-of-age drama, Zoe.Misplaced, from Mekelle Mills; Out in the Line-Up, Ian Thomson’s insightful doco on the world’s gay surfing culture; and, Sasha Hadden’s Vicky: The Gay Gene Comes to Australia, a chronicle of the controversial gay bishop’s 2013 visit to Melbourne. Closing the festival is Fiona Cunningham-Reid’s highly anticipated Croc-A-Dyke Dundee, a colourful profile of 1960’s hard-nosed lesbian icon, Dawn O’Donnell.

GAY LITERATURE ON SCREEN:
Two packed auditoriums responded warmly to the Opening Night film, Bruno Barreto’s Reaching for the Moon (pictured, top), a vivid, passionate account of the love between poet Elizabeth Bishop (our own Miranda Otto) and Brazilian architect Lota de Macedo Soares (Gloria Pires). It kicks of an unofficial festival focus on key literary figures who publicly embrace their alternative lifestyles. Humorist and commentator David Sedaris puts a comedic spin on his late-teen coming-out in Kyle Patrick Alvarez’s C.O.G. (pictured, right); documentarian Pratiba Parmar’s Beauty in Truth, a portrait of feminist, activist, bisexual author Alice Walker, Pulitzer Prize winner for The Color Purple; and, from Nicholas Wrathall, a fitting and very moving tribute to the late Gore Vidal, the provocatively titled The United States of Amnesia.

RETROSPECTIVES:
Two of the biggest mainstream hits in Australian cinema history have been gay-themed works that attained iconic status very soon after they hit our screens 20 years ago. Stephan Elliott’s classic comedy, The Adventures of Priscilla Queen of the Desert and PJ Hogan’s eccentric suburban romp Muriel’s Wedding will screen ahead of a night of partying in honour of the films. Also showing in conjunction with the Rainbow Kids & Babies initiative will be Disney’s Oscar-nominated Beauty and The Beast, a fancy-dress event with prizes and festivities.

BEYOND BORDERS: LGBTIQ CINEMA FROM AROUND THE WORLD:
In addition to the 23 features from the US, MGFF has secured works from some of the most creative yet unsung alt-lifestyle filmmaking subcultures around the world. These include Spain (Andrea Esteban’s Born Naked); Taiwan (Arvin Chen’s Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?); Germany (Anne Zhora Berrached’s Two Mothers and Stephan Lacant’s Free Fall); Israel (Yariv Mozer’s Snails in the Rain; pictured, left); The Philippines (Eduardo Roy Jr’s Quick Change); and, Poland (Tomasz Wasilewski’s Floating Skyscrapers). Canada’s bad boy of gay cinema, Bruce Labruce, softens his sledgehammer stylings with Gerontophilia. Co-productions include Nejc Gazvoda’s Dual (Slovenia/Denmark/Croatia) and Cagla Zencirci and Guillaume Giovanetti’s transgender study, Noor (France/Turkey/Pakistan).

THE BUCK ANGEL Q&A:
Guaranteed to continue on his establishment shocking ways will be transgender advocate and porn superstar Buck Angel, who will address what is certain to be a sellout crowd following the screening of Dan Hunt’s incisive doco Mr Angel. One of the most high-profile LGBTI stars ever to attend MGFF, he will riff on the issues raised in the acclaimed film, including his upbringing, modelling, entry into the gay porn sector, substance addiction and the formation of his gender identity.

The 2014 Mardi Gras Film Festival runs from February 13-23 at the Event George St Cinema complex. Further details and tickets are available on the event’s website. 

NEW YORK STORIES: THE JUSTIN COLE INTERVIEW

Justin Cole was a passionate filmmaker with a vision – to revive the all-encompassing found-footage experience embodied by The Blair Witch Project, the original shaky-cam shocker that rocked every young filmgoers world in 1999 and changed the way independent cinema was seen and marketed. The result was The Upper Footage, Cole's terrifying genre piece that doubles as a blistering indictment of the 1%’s immorality. What the young, New York-based auteur (pictured: below, right) did not expect was behind-the-scenes turmoil that would become one of the most talked-about creative struggles of 2013. Here in full is the interview SCREEN-SPACE conducted with Cole, in which he candidly discusses the film that inspired him, the mythology and madness behind his debut feature and the monster of his own creation that almost consumed him… 

You’ve been very open about the influence that The Blair Witch Project had upon you as a young film watcher. How did its influence inspire The Upper Footage?

The best part of any film is the suspension of disbelief. There isn’t a more effective way for people to think the events that they are watching are real than convincing them they are real.

The Blair Witch Project was the first found footage film I had ever seen and the experience still sticks with me. Sitting in my dark bedroom alone and wondering if what I was watching was real was truly an experience. In the years afterwards, I would watch every found footage film I could find only to be disappointed. No one went for it like Blair Witch did. The films that claimed to be real would have a full cast and crew bio section on their web pages and a fully fleshed-out IMDB page. I felt that the genre had so much untapped potential. One thing a lot of these films had in common was fake newscasts and I always wondered, “what if I can actually get the media to report on a film as if it is factual.”

I knew what The Blair Witch Project did in 1999 wouldn’t work in 2013, so I set out to modernize the concept. I knew as soon as we pushed the project as real, people would jump on Google to debunk it. I wanted to make sure that when they did, our claims would be backed up by multiple independent media sources.

Movie-making and movie-marketing impact each other in films like The Upper Footage and The Blair Witch Project, which take the illusion to the ‘n’th degree. How tightly bound does your own mythology influence you in post?

The marketing was always in my head, even though I saw it more as performance art than marketing. I was unsure how far I would be able to take it, but as we had success I wanted to push it further. I wanted to blur the lines of fact and fiction to the point where it was hard to tell which was which.

I also wanted show that the media that convinces us to aspire to this lifestyle is full of shit and easily manipulated. If an indie filmmaker with no financial backing could fool the media into reporting on a film’s events and characters as fact, imagine what people with money, power, and influence can do.

Are the people that populate your film people familiar to you? Why do you inflict this kind of fateful destiny upon the rich, educated, socially mobile young people, the likes of which will influence America's future?

I grew up right outside of Manhattan in Queens, New York and always put the city on a pedestal. Even though I lived roughly 15 miles outside of the city, it might as well have been a different world.

As soon as I got old enough not to have my parents breathing down my neck, I was in the city as much as I could be. I met a young lady who came from affluent parents, and I was thrust into a world that was very foreign to me. I grew up an avid hockey player and sacrificed much of my social life in exchange for spending weekends on the road, following a dream. All of the sudden, I was thrust into a world that was the polar opposite – drugs, sex, alcohol, and debauchery quickly became the norm.

I had the misconception that people with elite money were devoid of the middle class pitfalls, but I couldn’t have been more wrong. The people I met and events I witnessed made my rowdy hockey player buddies look like alter boys in comparison.

As I got older, the media increasingly glamorized this lifestyle with shows such as Gossip Girl. I found it odd that people would think that the spawn of those whose greed has left our country in financial ruin would be anything like how they are portrayed on TV. I didn’t want to pander to the audience by making any of the characters likeable, because in reality they aren’t.

What sort of artifice were you looking out for when cutting the film? Why is this not just another found footage pic but more a carefully constructed clip compilation?

When I first viewed the footage I was thrilled, because I knew the film that I wanted to make was in there, I just had no idea how to get it. I went through five editors, ruining a few friendships along the way, before deciding that the only way I could get the cut I wanted was to edit it myself. I locked myself in my apartment for about four months and taught myself how to edit.

Before I even wrote the script, I took a trip with a buddy of mine to Sweden. I saw it as a perfect opportunity to give the concept of my film a test run. For two weeks, we put ourselves into a lot of awkward situations and I filmed everything. While at first people seemed a bit apprehensive about me having a camera, it was quickly forgotten and I was able to capture some stuff from complete strangers that you wouldn’t believe.

How do you stop actors from acting? How do you convince them to just keep going, to play out the emotion of the scene instead of following their instincts to play the subtext?

I used unconventional methods to get the performances I needed, perhaps most importantly getting actors that were similar to these characters in real life.

When shooting inside the found footage genre, it is important that everything is organic to some degree. With the long cuts, five actors could play a scene perfectly, but if one is off it ruins the whole bunch so I had to make sure the relationships and actions were based in reality.

I wanted the relationships in the film to feel authentic. The main cast of four spent as much time as possible together while I made sure to exclude the actress that played Jackie. I didn’t want her to be to comfortable with the cast or vise a versa. During rehearsals we made sure to have her arrive late and leave early, along with telling the cast not to greet her or say goodbye when she left. I wanted a stark contrast in the level of comfort between the friends and the newcomer.

On our first night of shooting we shot the whole script from beginning to end. Everyone felt what it would be like to go through a night that had all these events and they were able to pull from the experience on our later shoot dates. The actors began to morph into the characters as the shoot went on. Night after night of living within this lifestyle started to change them on and off camera.

Tell me about the backstory you so painstakingly created? Names and faces like Tarantino and the Entertainment Tonight people don’t lend their names to any low budget work. Where does the façade end and the truth begin?

No one in the media knowingly pushed our narrative for us. We set rumors and stories into motion and the stories built up a life of their own. We manipulated the media on several different occasions to weave our narrative.

We planted some of what was reported, while other parts were true. Others parts were made up by outside rumors and by the media themselves. We made an effort to build on each story that was run to keep the narrative going. We wanted anyone to be able to jump on Google and follow the narrative not through us but by what was reported by multiple media outlets.

The façade ended in March when I posted an open letter explaining the circumstances around the project and with the exception of a few details I have been extremely open about the circumstances around the project since.

Why didn’t your carefully constructed mythology play out? You’ve been very vocal about how the exhibition sector treated The Upper Footage, and how the role a high-profile personality connected to the film influenced its industry acceptance. How much faith can we put in your claims?

Well, the mythology did play out the way we intended. We took the film from concept to a theatrical release in NYC without anyone finding out it was fictional. We were met with online and in-person protestors because people thought we were showcasing an actual girl’s death. Would I have liked it to have a wide release with people all over the world leaving cinemas wondering if what they just saw was real? Of course, but that simply wasn’t an option for us.

As for my claims, I am assuming that you are referring to the actress that had her identity obscured in the film.

To give some backstory, an actress in the film has a famous mother, whom after she found out details of the film did not want her daughter associated with the project. The actress asked for changes in the edit which would have required re-shoots, which I offered to do but the actress refused to show up. I was later told that if the edits were not made she would disassociate herself with the project, but if they were made that she and her mother would promote the film. She then went on to inform me how popular her mother was, along with how many red carpets she walks.

The thought of this spoiled brat and her washed-up mother promoting my film didn’t appeal to me at all, along with the fact that I wasn’t exactly thrilled to be strong-armed by an actress who I was very accommodating to. I am not going to pat myself on the back but she and others in the production are fully aware of how I made sure to do right by her when a lot of other directors in my position wouldn’t have.

Anyway, I told her my idea of blurring her face throughout the film, she moves on with her career, I say nothing, everyone is happy. She agreed and I thought that was the last I would hear on the subject – unfortunately I was the only one who kept my word. As we started to get attention from studios and publications, this actress’ mother came up quite a bit. We were suspicious at first but brushed it off as a coincidence but then it became very apparent what was going on.

Along with the headaches this actress was causing we didn’t exactly get a fair shake from some of the studios we were in talks with. Being a first time director, everyone wanted to take advantage. I hate to sound like the stereotypical indie director but I was and still am extremely passionate about this project to the point where I put the project ahead of myself in every way. I walked away from more than a handful of “career advancing” opportunities to make sure the film was released in the way I wanted it to be released. I didn’t start this project thinking it was going to be a big studio mainstream film. At first I was wide-eyed by some of the names that were interested but the reality of the situation wound up disgusting me.

We decided that the only sure-fire way to have people see the film the way we wanted it to be seen was to release it ourselves. We also thought that with everything now being in our hands it would be harder for anyone to screw with us. We were wrong.

The theater we screened at was the most excited to showcase our film but, from day one, there were issues with them not letting it be known that our film was playing there. After promising to be showcased on their social media, website, and theater, we were hidden. 
The manager of the theater informed me that he did not understand what was going on but “corporate“ was making everything that had to do with our film impossible. We then noticed that the actress’ mother’s most relevant film, a 20-year-old film, was playing at the same theater, same time, same nights. When I brought this up, the manager said that the theater and mother of our actress shared the same publicist.

At this point, we were still promised the screenings would go on without issue, but we were completely sandbagged. The theater went back on their word and essentially hid the fact that our film was playing there, along with defacing our theatrical poster, having their employees bash the film on social media prior to it screening, people with comp tickets were turned away, and the list goes on.

Due to our treatment, I was ready to come clean after our first screening and make it known exactly what was going on but after seeing the response I just couldn’t bring myself to do it. The audience reaction was exactly what I dreamed about when I first conceptualized the project.

There was no sense in continuing theatrical screenings when we saw how easy it would be to sabotage us. Continuing to push the film as real left us open to these things happening without us being able to come out and call those responsible out on it. It put us in a position where we would have to lie to our fans to keep the illusion intact and that wasn’t something that felt right. Even though a majority of our fan base thought the film was real, it still felt as if they were in on it with us. We didn’t lie to them directly, just showcased the media we were creating around the project. With this event we were put into a position where no story outside of the truth made any sense. The project was never about what we were telling people but what we were creating in the media. When I released the letter it was at a point where it just did not make sense to push it as real any longer. I did what I set out to do and feel the performance was complete. We fooled countless media outlets, became the biggest story in celebrity media, had characters in the film recognized in character and brought the film to a theatrical release amidst real-world controversy.

I felt our fans deserved an explanation, as they are the only reason we kept afloat. After the media caught on to what we were doing, no one would touch us with a 10-foot pole. We were turned away from advertising and the only articles that ran were slanderous at a level expected from a bitter high school ex-girlfriend. We pissed off people in positions of influence and it’s because of our fans spreading the word (along with our recent push of critical support) that we have been able to have success with our online release. 

It is poetic that the films themes made their way into the project’s release. This is how the real world works; people who have more power, money, and influence than you, will always fuck you over if it benefits them. In the end I can’t be mad, as it has pushed us into a situation where I have a found a potential model for future projects. The paradigm of film distribution is changing. This whole process has given me hope that I will be able to continue to make projects I am truly passionate about, without having to deal with people who will make me lose that passion.

2014 ACADEMY AWARDS NOMINATIONS LIST

The full list of nominees for the 86th annual Academy Awards were announced at the Samuel Goldwyn Theatre in Los Angeles overnight by actor Chris Hemsworth and Academy President Chryl Boone (pictured, below). And click here for further analysis, including our take on the high-profile snubs...

BEST PICTURE:
American Hustle Charles Roven, Richard Suckle, Megan Ellison and Jonathan Gordon, Producers
Captain Phillips Scott Rudin, Dana Brunetti and Michael De Luca, Producers
Dallas Buyers Club Robbie Brenner and Rachel Winter, Producers
Gravity Alfonso Cuarón and David Heyman, Producers
Her Megan Ellison, Spike Jonze and Vincent Landay, Producers
Nebraska Albert Berger and Ron Yerxa, Producers
Philomena Gabrielle Tana, Steve Coogan and Tracey Seaward, Producers
12 Years a Slave Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Steve McQueen and Anthony Katagas, Producers
The Wolf of Wall Street Nominees to be determined

BEST ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE:
Christian Bale in American Hustle
Bruce Dern in Nebraska
Leonardo DiCaprio in The Wolf of Wall Street
Chiwetel Ejiofor in 12 Years a Slave
Matthew McConaughey in Dallas Buyers Club

BEST ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE:
Amy Adams in American Hustle
Cate Blanchett in Blue Jasmine
Sandra Bullock in Gravity
Judi Dench in Philomena
Meryl Streep in August: Osage County

BEST DIRECTOR:
American Hustle David O. Russell
Gravity Alfonso Cuarón
Nebraska Alexander Payne
12 Years a Slave Steve McQueen
The Wolf of Wall Street Martin Scorsese

BEST ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE:
Barkhad Abdi in Captain Phillips
Bradley Cooper in American Hustle
Michael Fassbender in 12 Years a Slave
Jonah Hill in The Wolf of Wall Street
Jared Leto in Dallas Buyers Club

BEST ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE:
Sally Hawkins in Blue Jasmine
Jennifer Lawrence in American Hustle
Lupita Nyong’o in 12 Years a Slave
Julia Roberts in August: Osage County
June Squibb in Nebraska

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE:
The Act of Killing Joshua Oppenheimer and Signe Byrge Sørensen
Cutie and the Boxer Zachary Heinzerling and Lydia Dean Pilcher
Dirty Wars Richard Rowley and Jeremy Scahill
The Square Jehane Noujaim and Karim Amer
20 Feet from Stardom Nominees to be determined

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE:
The Croods Chris Sanders, Kirk DeMicco and Kristine Belson
Despicable Me 2 Chris Renaud, Pierre Coffin and Chris Meledandri
Ernest & Celestine Benjamin Renner and Didier Brunner
Frozen Chris Buck, Jennifer Lee and Peter Del Vecho
The Wind Rises Hayao Miyazaki and Toshio Suzuki

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM:
The Broken Circle Breakdown Belgium
The Great Beauty Italy
The Hunt Denmark
The Missing Picture Cambodia
Omar Palestine

BEST ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE:
Barkhad Abdi in Captain Phillips
Bradley Cooper in American Hustle
Michael Fassbender in 12 Years a Slave
Jonah Hill in The Wolf of Wall Street
Jared Leto in Dallas Buyers Club

BEST ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE:
Sally Hawkins in Blue Jasmine
Jennifer Lawrence in American Hustle
Lupita Nyong’o in 12 Years a Slave
Julia Roberts in August: Osage County
June Squibb in Nebraska

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY:
The Grandmaster Philippe Le Sourd
Gravity Emmanuel Lubezki
Inside Llewyn Davis Bruno Delbonnel
Nebraska Phedon Papamichael
Prisoners Roger A. Deakins

BEST COSTUME DESIGN:
American Hustle Michael Wilkinson
The Grandmaster William Chang Suk Ping
The Great Gatsby Catherine Martin
The Invisible Woman Michael O’Connor
12 Years a Slave Patricia Norris

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT:
CaveDigger Jeffrey Karoff
Facing Fear Jason Cohen
Karama Has No Walls Sara Ishaq
The Lady in Number 6: Music Saved My Life Malcolm Clarke and Nicholas Reed
Prison Terminal: The Last Days of Private Jack Hall Edgar Barens

BEST FILM EDITING:
American Hustle Jay Cassidy, Crispin Struthers and Alan Baumgarten
Captain Phillips Christopher Rouse
Dallas Buyers Club John Mac McMurphy and Martin Pensa
Gravity Alfonso Cuarón and Mark Sanger
12 Years a Slave Joe Walker

BEST MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING:
Dallas Buyers Club Adruitha Lee and Robin Mathews
Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa Stephen Prouty
The Lone Ranger Joel Harlow and Gloria Pasqua-Casny

BEST MUSIC (ORIGINAL SCORE):
The Book Thief John Williams
Gravity Steven Price
Her William Butler and Owen Pallett
Philomena Alexandre Desplat
Saving Mr. Banks Thomas Newman

BEST MUSIC (ORIGINAL SONG):
Alone Yet Not Alone from Alone Yet Not Alone
Music by Bruce Broughton; Lyric by Dennis Spiegel
Happy from Despicable Me 2
Music and Lyric by Pharrell Williams
Let It Go from Frozen
Music and Lyric by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez
The Moon Song from Her
Music by Karen O; Lyric by Karen O and Spike Jonze
Ordinary Love from Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom
Music by Paul Hewson, Dave Evans, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen; Lyric by Paul Hewson

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN:
American Hustle Production Design: Judy Becker; Set Decoration: Heather Loeffler
Gravity Production Design: Andy Nicholson; Set Decoration: Rosie Goodwin and Joanne Woollard
The Great Gatsby Production Design: Catherine Martin; Set Decoration: Beverley Dunn
Her Production Design: K.K. Barrett; Set Decoration: Gene Serdena
12 Years a Slave Production Design: Adam Stockhausen; Set Decoration: Alice Baker

BEST SHORT FILM (ANIMATED):
Feral Daniel Sousa and Dan Golden
Get a Horse! Lauren MacMullan and Dorothy McKim
Mr. Hublot Laurent Witz and Alexandre Espigares
Possessions Shuhei Morita
Room on the Broom Max Lang and Jan Lachauer

BEST SHORT FILM (LIVE ACTION):
Aquel No Era Yo (That Wasn’t Me) Esteban Crespo
Avant Que De Tout Perdre (Just before Losing Everything) Xavier Legrand and Alexandre Gavras
Helium Anders Walter and Kim Magnusson
Pitääkö Mun Kaikki Hoitaa? (Do I Have to Take Care of Everything?) Selma Vilhunen and Kirsikka Saari
The Voorman Problem Mark Gill and Baldwin Li

BEST SOUND EDITING:
All Is Lost Steve Boeddeker and Richard Hymns
Captain Phillips Oliver Tarney
Gravity Glenn Freemantle
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug Brent Burge
Lone Survivor Wylie Stateman

BEST SOUND MIXING:
Captain Phillips Chris Burdon, Mark Taylor, Mike Prestwood Smith and Chris Munro
Gravity Skip Lievsay, Niv Adiri, Christopher Benstead and Chris Munro
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug Christopher Boyes, Michael Hedges, Michael Semanick and Tony Johnson
Inside Llewyn Davis Skip Lievsay, Greg Orloff and Peter F. Kurland
Lone Survivor Andy Koyama, Beau Borders and David Brownlow

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS:
Gravity Tim Webber, Chris Lawrence, Dave Shirk and Neil Corbould
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug Joe Letteri, Eric Saindon, David Clayton and Eric Reynolds
Iron Man 3 Christopher Townsend, Guy Williams, Erik Nash and Dan Sudick
The Lone Ranger Tim Alexander, Gary Brozenich, Edson Williams and John Frazier
Star Trek Into Darkness Roger Guyett, Patrick Tubach, Ben Grossmann and Burt Dalton

BEST SCREENPLAY (ADAPTED):
Before Midnight Written by Richard Linklater, Julie Delpy, Ethan Hawke
Captain Phillips Screenplay by Billy Ray
Philomena Screenplay by Steve Coogan and Jeff Pope
12 Years a Slave Screenplay by John Ridley
The Wolf of Wall Street Screenplay by Terence Winter

BEST SCREENPLAY (ORIGINAL):
American Hustle Written by Eric Warren Singer and David O. Russell
Blue Jasmine Written by Woody Allen
Dallas Buyers Club Written by Craig Borten & Melisa Wallack
Her Written by Spike Jonze
Nebraska Written by Bob Nelson

WOLF MAN: THE JOHN JARRATT INTERVIEW

As Mick Taylor, the sociopathic serial killer of Greg Mclean’s 2005 horror hit Wolf Creek, John Jarratt spun his career off on to yet another unpredictable tangent. After roles in Picnic at Hanging Rock, Summer City, The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith and The Odd Angry Shot, he was one of the most recognisable stars to emerge from the 1970’s Renaissance period in Australian cinema; his profile soared during the 1980s television mini-series boom (notably, as legendary bushranger Ned Kelly in The Last Outlaw). When SCREEN-SPACE sat with him on the harbour foreshores in early 2013, he was spruiking Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained, in which he had a memorable cameo. With Wolf Creek 2 nearing release, our never-before–published chat proves very enlightening… 

What does it feel like to have this resurgent profile at this stage of your career? The overseas trajectory of established Aussie stars such as yourself and Jackie Weaver is deserved but, it must be said, unexpected.

It happened to Geoff (Rush) with Shine. He was pushing 50 when all that happened. It must be a strange age to suddenly be in the world spotlight and winning Academy Awards. This business is a mixture of luck and talent. Just because you have the talent doesn’t mean you are necessarily going to get there.

Several of the name actors from that Renaissance period of Aussie films have travelled, but not everybody did…

My favourite Australian actor is bloke called John Hargreaves (pictured, right; Hargreaves, centre, with Jarratt, far left, in The Odd Angry Shot). He was working his bum off right alongside me and Mel and the like. He was great in films that didn’t go anywhere, whereas Mel had a dream run. A bloody talented man, a very, very good actor and so was Hargreaves, but Mel was in Mad Max, then Gallipoli then The Year of Living Dangerously. He just marched into (fame).

How did your role in Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained materialise?

I’ve known him for many years and he just got the script to me and said, ‘I want you to play this role.’ They got a million miles behind in the schedule, so a major sequence before what you see in the film, where I give a couple of really good speeches where I told this guy off, who was to be played by (Anthony) Lapaglia, were cut. So that was a bit of a bugger. I just tried to make a meal of what I had. It was just great to be on a film with him.

Can you shed some light on Tarantino’s desire to shoot a film in Australia?

Yeah, he always mentions that, but whether he does it is another thing. He's always saying stuff like, ‘I’d love to do a film in Australia, it’d be great. I gotta do it! An all Australian crew in Australia!’ He loves Australia and I’d love for him to do an Aussie film. Simply because he knows the genres and he loves the kicking and scratching movies we make. He only shoots on Panavision, nothing on digital, so he’d make a very gritty, dirty film. I’ll keep annoying him about it.

And so, finally, we get to Wolf Creek 2 (pictured, below; Jarratt on set with director Greg Mclean). It has been a stop/start path for the much-anticipated sequel. Why has it taken so long?

We had some private funding with this dubious human being, who immediately made me think ‘Where’s the back-up plan?’ and, of course, he pulled out. And the production said we’ll fight then realised how expensive it (would be) to fight it, so they said, ‘To hell with it.’ We had our funding from Screen Australia but because of what this clown did, it delayed us to the point where they reallocated our funding for that year. So we had to reapply and get it okayed and it took until the end of the year to get it done.

Word is that director Greg McClean’s vision is more expansive, that the vastness of the outback plays a greater role…

It is more of a chase film, more of a road movie. But apart from that element, it is more of the same. It is very much a ‘Wolf Creek’ movie, that’s for sure. It is everything you expect. You are going to be exhausted by it. It is so full-on.

Looking back on your extraordinary career, from the leading man parts in The Last Outlaw and The Odd Angry Shot to the Better Homes and Gardens period to the Wolf Creek fame. What perspective do you have on your body of work?

I reckon I’ve had a dream run, had some fantastic parts and done some amazing work that I wouldn’t have done if I’d become a bloody big movie star in the States. Some of the mini-series I have done have been very gritty, very grand pieces of work. The Last Outlaw and Fields of Fire, which I think was a very underrated piece of Australian drama, were fabulous characters, so I have got absolutely no complaints. I wouldn’t mind being a millionaire, that’d be fun, but I get by. I get the equivalent of plumber’s wages, so I’m pretty well off.

Wolf Creek 2 opens February 20 in cinemas Australia wide.