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
apple vs. android
I popped up on Ten Late News talking about the never ending war between Apple and Android.
2012 in less than 10 minutes
Every year Madeleine Genner and I make one of these for ABC Radio National Breakfast but this year you'll be hearing it all around ABC Radio. Enjoy/Cry.
Oh and in case you're curious, you can hear 2011 here.
the passing of the circle
in Network Ten
I've worked on quite a few axed tv shows. Actually, I had my first show The Movie Show axed before I even turned 21. Usually you can see it coming. In the case of the old SBS Movie Show, we were keenly aware at the time that the show wasn't working and when the word came from above none of us were terribly surprised. In the case of Hungry Beast, upon entering Season 3 we all pretty much knew that there would be no 4th. That was fine. If anything it propelled us to do the stories we really wanted to do while we had the resources. It also gave us time to plan other jobs.
Then there's the axing of The Circle. For 2 and a half years I was the weekly movie reviewer for this quaint lady chat show. It was something that I balanced with other jobs like triple j, Hungry Beast and now Radio National. I was a small Sydney part of a big Melbourne team. It's only now, a week after the final episode that have I have fully realised just how much I'll miss it.
It's easy to dismiss a daytime chat show like The Circle if you only ever saw a small chunks of it or perhaps only heard of it via the infamous Yumi gaffe. A lot of people (myself included) like to dismiss morning tv as moving wallpaper. However, after 2 and half years of being tweeted and facebooked by viewers at home it dawned on me that it was a lot more.
For them, it was 2 or 3 hours with funny, honest, inquisitive, unpredictable women who were smart - and most importantly - they assumed that you were too. For people at home, it was something more akin to radio than tv - its was friendship and company.
I'll always remember one particular day in the lead up to Julia Gillard's spill that saw her become Prime Minister. I happened to be at the gym which had all 3 daytime tv shows playing on televisions sets in a row. The Morning Show and Kerrie-Anne were both running the talking point "Is Australia Ready for a Female Prime Minister?". But not The Circle. "Of course Australia is ready for a female Prime Minister" Georgie Coghlan said in the show opener "The real question is whether Gillard is the right person for the job" and with that they launched into their weekly political experts. It was a very very small distinction that said "Just cos you're at home right now doesn't mean that you are the absolute lowest common denominator"
Back in 2010 I mostly agreed to join the show because I was interested in learning how to do live tv. Pretty soon The Circle became the highlight of my working week. It was so much fun talking about movies with a live audience. It was a perfect mix of experienced tv makers and, as you can see in the video, an awful lot of young Melbourne talent
The grief expressed in the video may seem over the top. Christ, it was only on tv for 2 years? For those that worked on it though the video sums up the emotions of the cast, crew and guests beautifully. This wasn't an axing we saw coming. This was an unexpected loss. This was analogous to having that young, lively person in their prime snatched away without warning. We all know that those losses are felt far more keenly than when someone old, someone who's had a good inning passes on.
Suffice it to say, I miss my little daytime tv show a lot more than I ever thought I would.
news exchange: how spotify is screwing itself
in ABC News 24
p.t anderson • The Master ( & carly rae jepsen)
In November 2012 I hosted Radio National Friday Drive and this is my unusual interview with PT Anderson (Boogie Nights, Magnolia) that was supposed to be about his new film The Master and ended up being about penises and Carly Rae Jepsen.
And here is my full triple j review for the film. Feel free to leave comments below.
news exchange: apps to stop you texting while driving
in ABC News 24
Charlotte Dawson
twitter trolls on trial
Look, there's no question what happened to Charlotte Dawson is awful and I wish her a fast recovery. I think it's clear now that we need to perhaps have a serious conversation about the way we are hooked on social media to the point that we can't look away... when we really should. That is as opposed to a conversation about '
Banning Social Media' - which is patently ridiculous and '
Stronger Defamation Laws' which is pretty much completely unpoliceable on Twitter
at presentand if you look internationally it's often these laws that are misused for censorship.
I also think it's worth noting that Charlotte, like all of us, has herself said some pretty awful things online.
To tell you the truth, I've said worse online and I've had others say far worse to me. The difference is when you have the capacity to look away. I've had close friends who have been the victim of sustained attacks of online hate. Undoubtedly, an onslaught is harder to ignore and switch off. However, that is precisely what is required here.
The difficulty is that Facebook and Twitter are among the greatest drugs of our time. Social Media sites are not simply marvelous bits of technology they are also brilliant pieces of psychological art. They feed on our desire to connect with other, to be leaders of a pack, to hear the inside word direct from the rich, famous, powerful and clever. I don't like to buy into predictable op-eds about how "OMG Social Media is making us a generation of narcissists!!". It hasn't. We who are addicted are already narcissists, Social Media is perfectly designed to feed on those pre-existing impulses. That is the discussion we need to have - about learning when to ignore, finding methods of switching off. Because sure as the sun will come up: arseholes will always exist. Some of them can be gagged by shining a light on them. Others, as we saw last night, thrive on the attention. The only thing you can truly control is how you react to them.
Once again, I wish Charlotte a speedy recovery, but for everyone else: Let's not be quite so reactionary when it comes to putting Social Media on trial. It's all a lot more nuanced than the media (of which I suppose I am part) are behaving.
news exchange: klout, klouchebag and online influence
in ABC News 24
Morgan Spurlock talks Product Placement
the drum: near field communications explained
in ABC News 24
the drum: how to win an oscar
in ABC News 24
the drum: rise of music subscription services
in ABC News 24
the drum: strange ways to charge your phone
in ABC News 24