Speaker 1: It's in the news today, but it was actually on
Speaker 1: TV Reload, the podcast Last Deep Their Life. Hey guys,
Speaker 1: welcome back to TV Reload. I want to thank you,
Speaker 1: of course for clicking and downloading on today's episode with
Speaker 1: Sarah Walker, one of the executive producers and writers of
Speaker 1: The Twelve, which is on series two on Foxtel at
Speaker 1: the moment it's kind of mid season. I have to
Speaker 1: say that I'm a big fan of Sarah's work over
Speaker 1: the years, and in a past podcast contract that I
Speaker 1: had before I did TV Reload, I featured LGBT I
Speaker 1: Guess that talked about their backstory and in some ways
Speaker 1: it was my chat with Sarah that made me think
Speaker 1: about my passion of television, that made me think I
Speaker 1: was better suited to talking about television. So you know, look,
Speaker 1: there's a bit of trivia there for those who have
Speaker 1: been listening to this podcast since the start. Sarah is
Speaker 1: a highly experienced Austrayan author, screenwriter and script producer. She
Speaker 1: was the lead writer on Lingo BBC one's ratings hit
Speaker 1: thriller The Secret that She Keeps, which played out here
Speaker 1: on Foxtel. She co created Network Ten's one and was
Speaker 1: this script executive on the prison drama Wentworth, which I
Speaker 1: absolutely loved. I will ask her today about the future
Speaker 1: of The twelve and how important Sam Neil is in
Speaker 1: the continuation of this story. I will ask about the
Speaker 1: nature of Fox Tell's productions and how Brian Walsh's legacy
Speaker 1: has played a part in making scripted drama moving forward.
Speaker 1: This season of The Twelve feels a little easier to follow,
Speaker 1: and it's rare that a second series is better than
Speaker 1: the first, So I will ask about the notes that
Speaker 1: we're given before they went back into the writer's room
Speaker 1: to create this series. We will even get an update
Speaker 1: on the work that Sarah has been doing with Charlie's
Speaker 1: thereon Oh My God, amazing. She's been working with her
Speaker 1: for quite a few years on a few projects that
Speaker 1: haven't quite seen the light of day, but I believe
Speaker 1: when they do will be quite amazing. There's actually so
Speaker 1: much to talk about with Sarah, and I absolutely love
Speaker 1: talking to her. You can hear that in the chat.
Speaker 1: She's very passionate about television. Guys, sit back and relax
Speaker 1: as we delve deeper into the production of how they
Speaker 1: made The twelve series two. When Yeah, I really hope
Speaker 1: you enjoy this chat.
Speaker 2: How are you, Ben? Are you good?
Speaker 1: I'm so excited to talk to you because, as you
Speaker 1: would know, I've been in your audience for so long,
Speaker 1: and I actually had you as a guest in a
Speaker 1: podcast that I previously did five years ago where we
Speaker 1: talked about your LGBTI legendary status amongst the media. But
Speaker 1: here we are, five years later talking again.
Speaker 2: Yes, I think legendary is probably pushing it, but I'm
Speaker 2: very glad that you can say that.
Speaker 1: What a great opportunity to talk today about the twelve
Speaker 1: Just so amazing. You've obviously been kicking some serious goals
Speaker 1: since we last spoke.
Speaker 2: Yes, we've had the wonderful opportunity to come on to
Speaker 2: a show that stars Sam Neil and is super elite.
Speaker 2: I think in terms of Australian television, it's a huge show.
Speaker 2: It's got so many characters and so many storylines and threads,
Speaker 2: so it's a real challenge. But I was invited on
Speaker 2: season one as a writer and a kind of co
Speaker 2: producer with Brad Winters, and then ultimately in production. I
Speaker 2: took over the second half of the production to see
Speaker 2: it through. And we're talking about season three, which is great.
Speaker 1: Well, this is the thing about the show. It really
Speaker 1: does lend itself. I mean, the idea is genius because
Speaker 1: we can just come back and see Samuel back there
Speaker 1: in that role and get twelve new characters for us
Speaker 1: to win best our time in. It's fantastic.
Speaker 2: I mean, it's kind of like an anthology series in
Speaker 2: that respect. We've got our lead, wonderful, cheeky criminal barrister
Speaker 2: in Sam Neil's so charming, and as you say, each
Speaker 2: series is a new crime and twelve new people that
Speaker 2: we're exploring. You know, because of that, it's actually quite
Speaker 2: challenging because most series, now, you know, when you open
Speaker 2: up for the first episode, you've got usually a single
Speaker 2: protagonist or maybe two, and all you're doing is setting
Speaker 2: up those two people and their journey how it's going
Speaker 2: to go. But on this one, we've got you know,
Speaker 2: at least four core durors plus eight more, and then
Speaker 2: we've got the crime and all the people associated with it,
Speaker 2: and Sam's character and whoever his rival is. So you know,
Speaker 2: it's a really tricky to kind of get it out
Speaker 2: of the gates fast and set everything up. But it's
Speaker 2: a challenge that I'm enjoying.
Speaker 1: I did feel like this time around, for me, it
Speaker 1: felt a little bit more succinct. There wasn't as much
Speaker 1: left unanswered for the audience to try and interpret. So
Speaker 1: I'm curious about what notes will passed down from series
Speaker 1: one to series two.
Speaker 2: Well, it's a good question. I think there were notes
Speaker 2: passed down from series one to series two in that
Speaker 2: we should reduce the number of core Duror stories, So
Speaker 2: rather than trying to follow all twelve to a kind
Speaker 2: of even or close, we should choose maybe four major
Speaker 2: storylines and use that, and the other jurors become not
Speaker 2: invisible at all because they've all got opinions about the case,
Speaker 2: and they also become engaged with those core characters that
Speaker 2: we're following, and I think that's why it felt much
Speaker 2: more manageable to both write and watch. But I also think,
Speaker 2: you know, we were basing our first season on the
Speaker 2: twelve from Belgium, the original creators, so we were kind
Speaker 2: of guided by the model that they'd used and the
Speaker 2: way they'd done it, and in season two I was
Speaker 2: able to take over. We haven't based anything in season
Speaker 2: two on anything from the original creators except for the
Speaker 2: model of the show and how it comes, so I
Speaker 2: was able. I felt more comfortable taking I guess agency
Speaker 2: with that and making decisions made it a lot easier.
Speaker 1: I think I remember talking to Penny when about this,
Speaker 1: about not treating the audience though as though they're stupid,
Speaker 1: always remembering to treat the audience like they are intelligent,
Speaker 1: and I think that's what this drama feels like for me.
Speaker 1: We don't know exactly where it's going to go, and
Speaker 1: it's that's how it maintains your engagement level is by
Speaker 1: not giving away everything and setting so many things up
Speaker 1: that your brain can has to process.
Speaker 2: I've been extremely heartened by the response to both season
Speaker 2: one and season two because you have it beaten into
Speaker 2: you that the audience you have to come out of
Speaker 2: the gates really fast, give the audience a lot of information,
Speaker 2: hook them up and tell the story so they don't
Speaker 2: get bored. And I really believed, I have always believed
Speaker 2: that Australian audiences and audiences everywhere are intelligent and if
Speaker 2: you give them something that's genuinely solid and good, that
Speaker 2: it's just like having a nourishing meal, they'll take their
Speaker 2: time and they'll allow you the time to do that
Speaker 2: instead of having this fast food model where you kind
Speaker 2: of shove it in your mouth and stick it down
Speaker 2: and it gives you all of those great kind of
Speaker 2: feelings in the first ten minutes and then you're hungry later.
Speaker 2: I really feel like happy that audiences will sit with
Speaker 2: these and we'll sit with the show, and we'll sit
Speaker 2: with the crime and it's more of a slow burn
Speaker 2: in terms of storytelling, but I really believe people are
Speaker 2: more hooked than they are by the other version.
Speaker 1: I think you're right. What you have been able to
Speaker 1: do is really make it our own and make it
Speaker 1: very Australian, which I think is great. How does that
Speaker 1: work in terms of global appeal outside of Australia. What's
Speaker 1: the reaction been to other countries watching the series?
Speaker 2: Well, you know, we don't get a lot of information
Speaker 2: about the international viewership, but I understand that in the
Speaker 2: UK it's gone through the roof, and I think everybody
Speaker 2: in the industry at the moment is really interested in
Speaker 2: getting becificity around characters and places. It's what intrigues people.
Speaker 2: So people watching from overseas may not have seen these
Speaker 2: kind of areas portrayed in Australia like this, is suburbia.
Speaker 2: These are real people's houses. They're not all beautiful harbor
Speaker 2: views or beaches, and so I feel like there's a
Speaker 2: real interest in what it is to live in Australia
Speaker 2: or be in Australian that we're presenting in a way
Speaker 2: that it hasn't often been presented before.
Speaker 1: I think you've captivated that community spirit really well. There's
Speaker 1: something quite fascinating about slowing it down and taking it
Speaker 1: out of a metro environment and putting it into this
Speaker 1: rural setting, because it does feel a little bit more contained.
Speaker 1: With that a conversation that you're having, you're like, Okay,
Speaker 1: well we want to slow this down so audiences can
Speaker 1: keep up with us. Let's take them to this smaller setting.
Speaker 2: It wasn't so much about slowing it down. It was
Speaker 2: more about what would happen if you had a big trial.
Speaker 2: You know, we were intrigued by the fact that the
Speaker 2: juries are peaked from your peer group, But what happens
Speaker 2: in a small town, a very small town when courts,
Speaker 2: the Supreme Court has what they call the circuit and
Speaker 2: all of the lawyers and the judge go on a
Speaker 2: little trip around the regional areas and all of the
Speaker 2: main cases that are too big for local courts there
Speaker 2: are heard in this traveling Supreme Court. It's called the circuit,
Speaker 2: but as we refer to in the show, they call
Speaker 2: it the circus the lawyers themselves because it is really
Speaker 2: like a rolling show. And I think we all found
Speaker 2: it intriguing. These people are supposed to be judged by
Speaker 2: a jury of their peers, but their peers are from
Speaker 2: the same small town or that same region, and so
Speaker 2: how can you be judged both fairly by people who
Speaker 2: probably haven't an idea of a view or have heard
Speaker 2: the stories, but also if the jury knows each other
Speaker 2: as well, that was kind of intriguing, whereas in the
Speaker 2: city scape we can't have, you know that the jury,
Speaker 2: none of the jury members would know each other. But
Speaker 2: we felt like it added a whole new layer and
Speaker 2: texture to the jury room.
Speaker 1: It does, and I think I like the overall question
Speaker 1: can the twelve really be impartial when they come from
Speaker 1: such that tight rural community, And that's what's fascinating about
Speaker 1: this series.
Speaker 2: Yeah, can anyone? Though, I mean, it's one thing we
Speaker 2: all ask about juries. They're human beings, you know, dealing
Speaker 2: with things outside our workplace and in this case, they're
Speaker 2: kind of contained in a workplace that is the jury.
Speaker 2: You know, when things are going wrong in your home life,
Speaker 2: or if things are triggered by you know, things that
Speaker 2: you're hearing in the trial, you're triggering personal things. You know,
Speaker 2: You're all bringing your preconceptions and your own ethics and
Speaker 2: your own life story to this case. And I guess
Speaker 2: that's one of the things that we always want to explore,
Speaker 2: is how the case is affecting the jury's current life
Speaker 2: and vice versa. How is the juror's current life affecting
Speaker 2: their perception of the trial. I think that's one of
Speaker 2: the fascinating questions.
Speaker 1: What about Sam Neil we were talking about, you know,
Speaker 1: this series could do series three, you could do series ten,
Speaker 1: like could go for a long time. What do you thought, Well,
Speaker 1: do we have to always have Sam Neil? Do you
Speaker 1: think it's imperative? Did you wait to hear that Sam
Speaker 1: Neil was going to do it before going ahead with
Speaker 1: series two? Was that a crucial element?
Speaker 2: I'm going to say, from a personal place, what is
Speaker 2: anything without Sam? Now? I love I mean, I love
Speaker 2: this man. I you know, I could honestly sit and
Speaker 2: listen to him reading anything and just be fascinated because
Speaker 2: he's so charming and such a wonderful screen presence. Technically, no,
Speaker 2: we could have. When we first started the plans for
Speaker 2: season two, we didn't think Sam would come back. Wow,
Speaker 2: it never you know, we just didn't have that on
Speaker 2: the radar, and so you know, we were questioning, are
Speaker 2: there any characters that we want to have back from
Speaker 2: season one? Or could you just start fresh? And I
Speaker 2: think we all agreed that you could have started fresh
Speaker 2: in the second season. I think now that we've had
Speaker 2: Sam back, and thankfully he did come back, because he
Speaker 2: adds so much to it, I would hate to go
Speaker 2: forward without him. I mean, technically it's possible, because you
Speaker 2: could obviously, since it isn't that anthology sense, you could
Speaker 2: find yourself in and another season and with another group
Speaker 2: of lawyers or even you know, perhaps a prosecutor instead.
Speaker 2: But I would hope that we don't it doesn't come
Speaker 2: to that, because I think he would be a loss.
Speaker 1: You can't set up sort of Kabakova or whatever it
Speaker 1: was from Murder she wrote, and not have Angela Lansbury back.
Speaker 2: You know what I mean, right, Yeah, he's definitely a
Speaker 2: crucial piece of the puzzle for me anyway, then let's
Speaker 2: see how we roll.
Speaker 1: You know, I had a lot of conversations to with
Speaker 1: Brian Walsh while the first season of the twelve was
Speaker 1: going into production, and I heard about his passion for
Speaker 1: this series. He really believed in this series. I would
Speaker 1: like to know from you, because I know you've got
Speaker 1: to work with him. What was one of some of
Speaker 1: your memories about working with Brian Walsh with getting this
Speaker 1: series together that you cherish?
Speaker 2: I guess, oh, look specifically, I mean, God love Brian.
Speaker 2: He was really such an amazing part of our industry
Speaker 2: and he's still sadly missed. So yeah, look, he was
Speaker 2: just enthusiastic. I think when you've got Brian's enthusiasm, you
Speaker 2: feel like you're just on the right path and you
Speaker 2: can't you know, you feel very supported and buoyed by that.
Speaker 2: I can remember pitching him the Crime for the second season,
Speaker 2: and that was on a zoom and obviously with other
Speaker 2: members of the team, including Penny Win, but he listened.
Speaker 2: There was just silence, as there often is when I'm
Speaker 2: talking about a story and you kind of don't know
Speaker 2: how it's going down so well when it's on a
Speaker 2: pitch because you know, seeing people's faces, there's often like
Speaker 2: six seven people all in little boxes on the screen.
Speaker 2: But I remember him saying something like I can't remember
Speaker 2: the exact words, but he was like, this is fantastic,
Speaker 2: this is amazing, And so your heart just goes through
Speaker 2: the roof because you know that you've got Brian's support
Speaker 2: and you know that he feels safe that you're going
Speaker 2: to deliver something that he's going to enjoy. And all
Speaker 2: I remember is the enthusiasm and very few notes, which
Speaker 2: is also fantastic When that happens, that's a compliment within itself.
Speaker 2: What does a Foxtel look like though now without Brian?
Speaker 2: Like Allison Hubert Burns is there and well she'd been
Speaker 2: there working with Brian for quite a few years at
Speaker 2: that point. How has Foxtel changed making a show? Have
Speaker 2: you noticed his absence? I look, it's hard to take
Speaker 2: Brian out of a situation and not feel there's some
Speaker 2: kind of whole. But I think it's more about, you know,
Speaker 2: genuinely missing him as a person. And he had incredible
Speaker 2: energy and the kind of thrusting energy around the projects
Speaker 2: and around people, and he would grab new talent and
Speaker 2: kind of say we need something for this person, and
Speaker 2: so there was a lot of development kind of push
Speaker 2: around Brian that I'm not sure whether that is still
Speaker 2: the case there, but I know that from my experience
Speaker 2: on this season, they're incredibly involved. Penny Winners is a
Speaker 2: wonderful consultant for them, and you know, she gives us
Speaker 2: thoughts that I think would echo what Brian's were and
Speaker 2: her own of course, and Ali Herbert Burns came with
Speaker 2: us on ARECI recently, so we all spent like three
Speaker 2: days down in a regional area of Western Australia and
Speaker 2: it was wonderful to have her there because you really
Speaker 2: felt like she was bringing the same kind of support,
Speaker 2: interest and passion to the project that Brian bought. And
Speaker 2: I really don't think there's been any change to the
Speaker 2: level of expertise or interest that there's still you know,
Speaker 2: a wonderful team absolutely.
Speaker 1: You know, it's interesting our contribution to scripted drama here
Speaker 1: in Australia has just really leveled up in the last
Speaker 1: couple of years. You know, we side settle HBO dramas
Speaker 1: and you can see the level of our achievement has
Speaker 1: just is matching that. What do you think the biggest
Speaker 1: difference is in all the biggest change in the way
Speaker 1: we approach storytelling here in Australia.
Speaker 2: I think part of it is the fact that we're
Speaker 2: now as an industry having to rely on co productions
Speaker 2: with America and the UK much more than we ever had. Therefore,
Speaker 2: our storytelling needs to be much more globle because people,
Speaker 2: even though we're telling specific Australian's stories, the way we
Speaker 2: tell them has to be more sophisticated at a global level.
Speaker 2: I think there's been an understanding that some of the
Speaker 2: more conventional, older ways of telling stories in Australian TV
Speaker 2: are no longer going to fly globally. You've got a
Speaker 2: whole bunch of new emerging voices coming through who are
Speaker 2: very literate to how stories can be told in ways
Speaker 2: that aren't conventional, or their personal stories so that you
Speaker 2: know they have a personal spin on the way they're told.
Speaker 2: I think all these factors are changing our storytelling for
Speaker 2: the better. I think I felt like a lot of
Speaker 2: my career I was boxed into the conventions according to
Speaker 2: Australian TV, and now you know we're able to go, well,
Speaker 2: how about we just tell the story well let's not
Speaker 2: do it by a formula, and I think that's an
Speaker 2: incredibly good thing for the industry.
Speaker 1: Do you think that that can be then adopted by
Speaker 1: some of those long running soaps that you've worked on,
Speaker 1: you know, at different times you've worked on Home and
Speaker 1: Away and Neighbors at different points of your career. Do
Speaker 1: you think that sort of learning in telling stories will
Speaker 1: be adopted by them or do you think that those
Speaker 1: sorts of soaps are still stuck in that sort of
Speaker 1: formula that they know that works.
Speaker 2: Home and Away and Neighbors are their own animal and
Speaker 2: they're very, very, very successful. So what they're doing has
Speaker 2: always worked and possibly will always work. I think the
Speaker 2: way that those the production demands on those shows, I mean,
Speaker 2: it's almost impossible to do it any other way. You know,
Speaker 2: they're putting out so much material, and I don't think
Speaker 2: they're really need change. They are successful as themselves. I
Speaker 2: admire everybody who's working on that kind of show that's
Speaker 2: turning out like two and a half hours of television
Speaker 2: a week.
Speaker 1: You know, when we spoke last time, you were talking
Speaker 1: to me about a project you're working on, and all
Speaker 1: you told me was Charlie's thereon. That's all I think
Speaker 1: we touched upon and you couldn't say anything more. But
Speaker 1: I've dug something up on the internet. So like I
Speaker 1: found Charlie's Barn's production company Denver and Delilah on a
Speaker 1: pilot for HBO. Is what you're working with them to
Speaker 1: get this project up and running. What can you tell
Speaker 1: me about this project? Is this still happening?
Speaker 2: It is notionally still happening, or we've had a couple
Speaker 2: of things. I was working with her on another project
Speaker 2: some years ago, like five or six years ago, and
Speaker 2: actually this was set up at Netflix and we you know,
Speaker 2: COVID hit and that show was to be shot in
Speaker 2: four different countries, so that obviously had to go on
Speaker 2: the back burner. And then of course post COVID, which
Speaker 2: you know, it was there for two years, and then
Speaker 2: post COVID, the option on the book could run out
Speaker 2: and things had changed, and so I think that that's
Speaker 2: now on the back burner. And then she asked me
Speaker 2: to be part of another fantastic project, which was an
Speaker 2: HBO pilot which I wrote, and then we had the
Speaker 2: writer's strike and so I feel like and then by
Speaker 2: the time that came back again, the option had run
Speaker 2: out on the book, and there'd been a documentary series
Speaker 2: of the same project put out and had run all
Speaker 2: through the writer's strike. And I think it was felt
Speaker 2: by HBO that the audience for that, even though it
Speaker 2: was really good, it wasn't high enough to warrant doing
Speaker 2: a period drama series. But you know, Charlie's is fierce,
Speaker 2: and she's you know, an incredible producer, and she'll no
Speaker 2: doubt take it elsewhere and it will have its day.
Speaker 2: But at the moment, we're just in a little what would.
Speaker 1: I say, Well, we really suddenly seeing the real effects
Speaker 1: of what that righter stroke is at the moment, you
Speaker 1: know what I mean. Funny, you can go to the cinemas.
Speaker 1: I was only at the movies the other night. And
Speaker 1: I worked at the cinemas as growing up, so even
Speaker 1: on a weeknight, people went to the movies. And you
Speaker 1: know what I mean. Was that the movies the other day?
Speaker 1: And I said to the guy that was serving as,
Speaker 1: I said, you know, is it quiet at the moment?
Speaker 1: He said, it's really quiet. You know, because back in
Speaker 1: the day, we would have a Gladiator coming out every week.
Speaker 1: You know, we would have Wicked coming out every week,
Speaker 1: which is two big movies that are about to happen.
Speaker 1: And it's sad that, you know, we're in the midst
Speaker 1: of that. But I guess there's also so much of
Speaker 1: our viewers and our attendance to go to see the
Speaker 1: movies and now watching television. You know, there's also a
Speaker 1: big element.
Speaker 2: It's it is demoralizing what's happened to cinema. And I
Speaker 2: mean as a person who has an incredibly long term
Speaker 2: film buff and my you know, my goals and dreams
Speaker 2: are around film, like the ultimate is you know, winning
Speaker 2: an Academy Award. That's still the ultimate for me. But
Speaker 2: in this environment where films are no longer being made
Speaker 2: in the same amount, people aren't going to the cinema.
Speaker 2: Even myself. I used to go once or twice a
Speaker 2: week because there'd always been a new film out on
Speaker 2: the Thursday, and whether that was at an Arthouse film
Speaker 2: and I was off to the Palace Cinema or I
Speaker 2: was going to you know, Hoitts, I would be there
Speaker 2: at least once a week. And now I can't remember
Speaker 2: the last time I went to a film at the cinema.
Speaker 2: So I'm a die hard film buff, and yet I
Speaker 2: no longer go. I wait until it's on television. So
Speaker 2: I can't even you know, I can't even be and
Speaker 2: ferocious about that because I'm falling into the same trap.
Speaker 2: It was really COVID that did us in. You know,
Speaker 2: up until then, we were getting a lot of content
Speaker 2: coming every week, and so you were kind of there
Speaker 2: and you wanted to see it before it went off,
Speaker 2: and because next week there'd be something else, and so
Speaker 2: there was a kind of momentum to those releases. I'm
Speaker 2: definitely going to go and see Deadpool, But in the meantime,
Speaker 2: I think what's happening is I am really hopeful because
Speaker 2: of the projects that are on my desk at the
Speaker 2: moment or my slate, several of them are wonderful feature films,
Speaker 2: and these are coming in. I've never had so many
Speaker 2: feature films on my slate, and I was I've discovered,
Speaker 2: you know, I believe that it's because, you know, with
Speaker 2: all the algorithms out there at the moment, there's been
Speaker 2: an understanding that people only watch three episodes of a
Speaker 2: series that they're not going to watch. They'll give it
Speaker 2: three episodes and then if they don't like it, they
Speaker 2: don't watch anymore. So you know, the big companies are
Speaker 2: spending If they've created a series it's got eight episodes
Speaker 2: in it, that means five episodes worth of content aren't
Speaker 2: being watched by the majority of people that you know,
Speaker 2: and so that's a lot of money that's down the
Speaker 2: drain in terms of content. If each episode is being
Speaker 2: made for five million dollars, and that's like twenty five
Speaker 2: million dollars of content that's down the drain, and it's
Speaker 2: a risk. So I think that the big company is
Speaker 2: a big broadcasters now are going, okay, well, three episodes,
Speaker 2: this is the equivalent of one feature film. So if
Speaker 2: we get people, if they'll give it a shot for
Speaker 2: that amount of time, then what we should do is
Speaker 2: make stuff that is that long. So some of the
Speaker 2: big streamers now are starting to turn two lower budget films,
Speaker 2: films sort of under ten million or under fifteen million,
Speaker 2: and that will create not only hopefully much better content
Speaker 2: and a much more people staying for it giving it
Speaker 2: the whole film, but it will also invite a lot
Speaker 2: of risk taking, so that you've got many more emerging directors, writers,
Speaker 2: actors who are going to have an opportunity to do
Speaker 2: it a film under ten million dollars and have it
Speaker 2: bought by the streamers and have it shown. And I
Speaker 2: believe that that process over time will reignite people's excitement
Speaker 2: about film and perhaps put us back in the cinemas again.
Speaker 1: Interesting though, with going to the cinema, I'm such a
Speaker 1: like because I grew up with it. I love the
Speaker 1: community of being in a theater to watch something. It
Speaker 1: can really change the perception of the product. Like I've
Speaker 1: been in cinemas where you know people laughing or people reacting.
Speaker 1: There's nothing like that community of being there like that
Speaker 1: and knowing that it has such a powerful effect on
Speaker 1: how well you enjoy the show. I feel like cinema
Speaker 1: is worth being protected, and I would pay to go
Speaker 1: and see the Twelve in the cinemas. Is it just
Speaker 1: me that is thinking that we could put some of these?
Speaker 1: I mean, Sarah, I remember watching Mayor of Eastown because
Speaker 1: Fox John Binge had it, and we had a screening
Speaker 1: of the first two episodes to watch Marraor of Eastown
Speaker 1: in the cinema, and I just remember being like, it
Speaker 1: was so amazing. I mean, Kate Winslet's obviously the protagonist
Speaker 1: of that story and She's a known film actor, so
Speaker 1: it was not unreally like unusual to see her on screen.
Speaker 1: But I just was like, I feel like people would
Speaker 1: pay money to watch some of these series in theaters.
Speaker 2: I think that's fantastic, Like I mean an eight hour
Speaker 2: cinema experience, or a six hour cinema experience. I guess
Speaker 2: it'd be what. It's actually a great thing to explore.
Speaker 2: I think you should be the person who brings it
Speaker 2: to the to the world.
Speaker 1: I feel like, in particular or any of these places
Speaker 1: should just have a HBO cinema, you know what I mean,
Speaker 1: what's really interesting.
Speaker 2: It's a great idea, and you could kind of loop
Speaker 2: it so that people could come in an episode, you know,
Speaker 2: if they only watch too that can come back and
Speaker 2: watch the rest.
Speaker 1: I think it would be quite amazing and immersive.
Speaker 2: I agree. And in fact, you know you're saying about
Speaker 2: the cinema, about the screening that you went to. Nearly
Speaker 2: all of our TV shows have a cinema screening to start.
Speaker 2: They'll usually show two episodes to all the cast and crew,
Speaker 2: sometimes also to reviewers, and you get to see it
Speaker 2: in this big form, and because you know, we have
Speaker 2: such wonderful directors and talent now dops working with us that.
Speaker 2: You know, it is a great experience to sit there
Speaker 2: and watch it and it's not at all the same
Speaker 2: as being on television. It's you know, something gets lost
Speaker 2: in that. And so I agree with you. I think
Speaker 2: it would be wonderful. Let's find a way to do
Speaker 2: it happen.
Speaker 1: I remember someone was watching that Mayor of Eastown episode
Speaker 1: and leaned over and said, I think it was to
Speaker 1: d Or. It was maybe to Brian, who was down
Speaker 1: for that screening of that first episode of Mayor of Eastown.
Speaker 1: The two episodes finished, and they said, well, can you
Speaker 1: play the next episode? Can you play this? You know,
Speaker 1: they wanted to stay there. They were willing to go
Speaker 1: and buy them more red wine and come and sit
Speaker 1: back down and keep watching.
Speaker 2: Well. I had the same experience when I watched Tim
Speaker 2: Mention's upright, yeah, because I think they played the whole
Speaker 2: thing and it was half hours, you know, but it
Speaker 2: was it was long. And my intention had been to
Speaker 2: leave after two, you know, to come and say hello
Speaker 2: and show my face and kiss you know people, and
Speaker 2: then watch the past two episodes. And I couldn't leave.
Speaker 2: I sat there. I was not going ending where and
Speaker 2: it was fantastic to watch it in that and I
Speaker 2: was just absolutely riveted for the whole thing and excited
Speaker 2: to see something complete as well, you know, the whole
Speaker 2: story movie marathons.
Speaker 1: Do you remember them? They had movie marathons in the nineties,
Speaker 1: like back to back, breach of features, put me in there.
Speaker 1: You know, I'd sit there at the pastoor in those
Speaker 1: uncomfortable astor seats and watched at least eight hours of
Speaker 1: the show.
Speaker 2: It's true.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I honestly I've over I'm over time. I would
Speaker 1: just enjoy spending so much time with you and just
Speaker 1: talking to you because I just so fascinating. Well, I
Speaker 1: feel like that with the rest of Australia is watching
Speaker 1: this show at the moment, we're sort of on the
Speaker 1: same roller coaster and trying to work out if Patrick
Speaker 1: and Sasha are innocent or guilty. Have you got any
Speaker 1: any tips for the viewers that are watching it at
Speaker 1: this point, anything that they should be looking out for.
Speaker 1: How what can you tell us before we get towards.
Speaker 2: Well, all I can tell you is that the twists
Speaker 2: keep coming. There's you know, it's I don't think you
Speaker 2: can never I think you know the intent was to
Speaker 2: make sure that people were never quite sure. And we
Speaker 2: have really some really great storylines coming up or moments
Speaker 2: coming up that will change your mind or reconfirm what
Speaker 2: you already think. I can't speak enough about how wonderful
Speaker 2: a performance is by Amy Matthews, and I think in
Speaker 2: the last couple of episodes even more so, I think
Speaker 2: that people will be really satisfied as they go along.
Speaker 2: I don't think there's a moment. In fact, it's one
Speaker 2: of those series that I would say continues to kind
Speaker 2: of grow in its momentum as it does. You know,
Speaker 2: some can fall off towards the end. I think this
Speaker 2: is the reverse, and so I'm hoping people will be
Speaker 2: excited to keep watching.
Speaker 1: I am with that person. Can I just say I
Speaker 1: watched episodes four and five just before we chatted, and
Speaker 1: so I was like, how do I write to d
Speaker 1: Who do I write to?
Speaker 2: It?
Speaker 1: Foxtel to just give me more episodes. Amy reminds me
Speaker 1: of like a young Sigourney Weaver, you know, like there's
Speaker 1: something very fresh and dynamic about her acting that makes
Speaker 1: me think of Sigourney in some weird way. I don't
Speaker 1: know if I'm alone with that, so people listening to
Speaker 1: the podcast hit me up if you feel the same.
Speaker 1: But she's incredible, incredible.
Speaker 2: She is. I worked with her a long time ago
Speaker 2: on Home and Away, in fact, and I had her
Speaker 2: marked as someone who is an exceptional actor, and so
Speaker 2: it was wonderful for me to see her come back
Speaker 2: into my orbit on this show and to prove in
Speaker 2: fact she was everything that I had always thought. And
Speaker 2: it's wonderful to see someone who as appearing seemingly a
Speaker 2: fresh face or someone you know, people haven't seen a
Speaker 2: lot of I've had so many producers come up to
Speaker 2: me and say that actress playing the lead role Amy mathis,
Speaker 2: where did she come from? And I'm thinking, well, she
Speaker 2: was here twenty years ago. She just hasn't had that
Speaker 2: moment in you know, for quite a while, and I'm
Speaker 2: so happy to see her having it.
Speaker 1: Give her the awards, give you that I want to
Speaker 1: everyone to be please acknowledge for the show, everyone who
Speaker 1: joins the pot. I finished on this question, what is
Speaker 1: something from behind the scene, something we as an audience
Speaker 1: won't know or won't get a chance to know, sort
Speaker 1: of a behind the scene secret of making the second
Speaker 1: series of the twelve if you can help us with
Speaker 1: something a funny anecdote or a bump in the road
Speaker 1: or something that had happened along the way.
Speaker 2: Look, I've gone blank, but I can say that we
Speaker 2: were filming in New York, which is the most fabulous
Speaker 2: talent for filming because it's just completely untouched. It's like
Speaker 2: a straight out of the Wild West. And I can
Speaker 2: remember going down the street with Sam Neil and there
Speaker 2: wasn't I think practically the shops were all closed. Everybody
Speaker 2: was running out on the street to catch a glimpse
Speaker 2: of him, and I think the excitement around that was wonderful.
Speaker 2: And I said to him, Oh, Sam, you know, what
Speaker 2: are you going to do? Like he said, I'm do
Speaker 2: you know that there's the only sock factory left in
Speaker 2: I think I don't know whether it was Western Australia
Speaker 2: or Australia. Yeah, where they're still manufacturing socks is here,
Speaker 2: So I shall go and get myself some new socks.
Speaker 2: And that was just as the funniest guy, and so
Speaker 2: off we went to the sub factory. And I think
Speaker 2: that that it sort of sums up Colby as well.
Speaker 2: I think just a unique person and a unique talent
Speaker 2: and it was lovely to put in that town and
Speaker 2: to have such support from the town as well. It
Speaker 2: was everyone was super excited to have us there and
Speaker 2: so welcoming.
Speaker 1: I love the idea of them all peering out of
Speaker 1: their windows to get a look at Sam Neil and
Speaker 1: there's so much more person. I interviewed him once after
Speaker 1: the logis and I was such a random thing. You
Speaker 1: could put your name down to interview certain people you
Speaker 1: don't think you're going to get to do it, sort
Speaker 1: of a red carpet scenario. But then afterwards in the
Speaker 1: media room, and I just remember thinking that this person was,
Speaker 1: for one thing, could be a comedian, like he is
Speaker 1: so funny, like I was like, and I'd ever known
Speaker 1: him at that point was just being this very serious actor.
Speaker 1: But there's just so much more to his warmth and
Speaker 1: his integrity. Is just a joy to be around. And
Speaker 1: it's a surprise, you know it is.
Speaker 2: And he's wonderful intelligent with his notes too. Just for
Speaker 2: the record, I love it.
Speaker 1: Well, hopefully he listens to this podcast. Sarah. I am
Speaker 1: in your audience, and I am going to be in
Speaker 1: your audience forever. I will be there cheering you on
Speaker 1: when you get your Academy award. I feel like it's
Speaker 1: the it's in the water, it's got to happen.
Speaker 2: So I love you, thank you, and thank you for
Speaker 2: having me back. I really appreciate it. It's lovely talking
Speaker 2: to you.
Speaker 1: Ben No, thank you for your generosity with your time.
Speaker 1: I will let you go look after yourself and I'll
Speaker 1: say how amazing you were to d so thank you
Speaker 1: for that.
Speaker 2: I appreciate that. Thanks So, I really appreciate your support
Speaker 2: and enthusiasm.
Speaker 1: Okay, watching