Melissa McCarthy: Feminism, Film and Hammer Pants

Melissa McCarthy and her husband Ben Falcone chat about their new film The Boss, feminism, her goth stage, comedy and welp, a whole lotta things.

Sir James Dyson: Inventor

The technological home: Sir James Dyson has built a $2billion fortune out of applying new technology to reinvent familiar appliances like the vacuum cleaner and the hand dryer. I spoke with him about innovation and invention.

2013 was a year of stars and nerds.

I flew 10 hours to have a 5 minute conversation with Will Smith and waited 2 hours in the corner of the Sydney Town Hall to put a microphone in the face of the man who created the World Wide Web. From the underpaid, overworked special effects designers who make the movies we love to the likes of Ang Lee, JJ Abrams and Russell Crowe.

Usually when it comes to big stars you basically walk into a room with 2 cameras, 15 lights, an expectant movie star and a ticking clock. Every once in a while though you get a fun, unexpected moment. From Julian Assange critiquing Benedict Cumberbatch  to the man who translated all of Star Wars into Shakesperean Verse.  These, however, are my favourites... 

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1. Andrew Gordon, Director of Animation at Pixar 

Deep inside Pixar Studios this man has a secret bar that Steve Jobs and Tom Cruise used to hang out in. Deep inside this man is a childlike love of animation that will make you warm and fuzzy. 

2. Sir Tim Berners-Lee, Inventor of the Web

Facebook, Google, Twitter, YouTube,  Wikileaks, Anonymous even LolCats would not exist without this man. In 1989 Tim Berners-Lee created the web. This was his only broadcast interview in Australia and they wouldn't let me film it. Once I got in the room I understood why. I later found out that Sir Tim was recovering from a major illness which left him shuddering throughout the interview. His mind however is still as vibrant as ever. Stay for the end bit with him talking about appearing in the Olympic Opening Ceremony. It gives me goosebumps every time. 

3. Sir James Dyson, Inventor

Sir James Dyson has built a $2 billion fortune from applying new technologies to seemingly mundane appliances like the vacuum cleaner and the hand dryer. But for him... it's all about failing gracefully. If you've every made something, you'll find this guy inspiring.

4. Zach Braff 

Ever wanted to see Zach Braff belt out the Jurassic Park theme song? The actor & filmmaker talks about his love of the dino epic, getting killed off by an internet rumour, why he loves the internet community of Reddit. He later DM'ed me on Twitter to say how much he enjoyed the chat but he wouldn't tweet it because I bagged Oz: The Great and Powerful. I'm claiming this as both a #humbelbrag and my weekly dose of editorial independence brownie points. 

5. Julian Assange 

Julian Assange was easily the most internationally recognised person running in the 2013 Australian Federal election. But ever since he set up the Wikileaks Party, it was been plagued by resignations and a preferences scandal. More importantly, this is how he rated Benedict Cumberbatch's performance as him. 

6. Guy Pearce

World's. Easiest. Guy. To. Talk. To. He talked about why sometimes you need to shave your head for a role,  What hoops he had to jump through in order to get ahold of a script for Iron Man 3 and why the hell did he chose to be in Prometheus anyway? 

7. George R.R Martin, Creator of Game of Thrones 

Meet the man responsible for murdering all your favourite characters! What's lovely about George R. R. Martin is how he is happy to go anywhere in an interview. There's not many authors you can talk to about their Porn fan fiction and they'll come along for the ride.

8. Armie Hammer 

Way to cause controversy, guy. Armie Hammer (The Social Network, Mirror Mirror) was in Australia to promote The Lone Ranger and we got onto the topic of George Miller's scrapped Justice League Mortal. Hammer was on board to play Bruce Wayne/Batman in the buzzed about film, and even went through costume tests before the project collapsed... and Kevin Rudd is to blame.

9. Danny Boyle, Director 

Danny Boyle is a champion. He is one of the easiest people in the world to talk to about movies and what makes them so, frankly, sexy.  His latest film is called Trance and he opens up about messing with the audience' head, the hypnotism of movies and what it's like directing the actual damn Queen.

10. Baz Luhrmann, Director 

I love how outspoken Baz is. He has a go at critics, politicians and anything else that moves.

Bonus. Hugh Jackman is a dude....

JJ Abrams and the Cast of Star Trek

How important is secrecy to the master of the Star Trek and Star Wars Universes? Very. 

Guy Pearce on Iron Man 3 & shaved heads

Why sometimes you need to shave your head for a role. What hoops Guy Pearce had to jump through in order to get ahold of a script for Iron Man 3 and why the hell did he chose to be in Prometheus anyway? Oh hey, if you want to subscribe to my YouTube Channel you can here

ABC News 24: Wearable Technology

​ABC News 24 sent me out to do a wrap on the world of Wearable Technology and it ended up with me doing sit-ups on camera. 

Magda Szubanski & Laura Michelle Kelly on Gods, Goddesses, Feminism and Bitches

See Magda and Laura talk about their brand new musical comedy GODDESS. ​

zach braff on oz, death and the web

my somewhat foolhardy 2013 oscar predictions

I promised to eat my shoe on national tv. again. ​

Righto, enough of my crap. More importantly what do you think? What would you like to see win awards tomorrow? Lemme know in the comments below. ​

Abc New 24: Rose Byrne

​Actor Rose Byrne talks about her new-found role as a comedic actress in movies like Bridesmaids, Get Him to the Greek and I Give It A Year. She also talks about why television is better than film and reveals the 10 second performance that is still giving her fan mail... 

ABC News 24: The Golden Globes a sham?

hugh jackman and tom hooper • Les Misérables

It's been almost 3 decades since the musical of Les Misérables became a worldwide theatrical sensation. Why did it take so long for it to become a movie? Marc sits down with Hugh Jackman and director Tom Hooper (The Kings Speech) to find out. Plus: Why the movie could've been renamed Occupy Paris and why there are no spoken words throughout the whole film.

ang lee • life of pi + 3d filmmaking

Why did this book need to be made in 3D? Why Tom Hanks should've played the tiger and much more as Oscar winning filmmaker Ang Lee sits down with Marc Fennell for ABC News 24

And here is the full triple j review for the film. Feel free to leave comments below.

And here is the full triple j review for the film. Feel free to leave comments below.

2012: the year in technology

From Spotify to Apple Maps to Kickstarter: What were the major events in the year that was 2012 

So, what did I miss? What was worth mentioning. Let me know down in the comments section...

my picks for boxing day 2012

news exchange: how spotify is screwing itself

news exchange: apps to stop you texting while driving

news exchange: klout, klouchebag and online influence

the drum: near field communications explained

the drum: how to win an oscar