Speaker 1: Good a. Peter Helly here, welcome to you. Ain't Seen
Speaker 1: Nothing Yet the movie.
Speaker 2: Podcast where I chat to a movie lover about a
Speaker 2: classic or beloved movie they haven't quite got around to
Speaker 2: watching until now. And today's guests who spoke to me
Speaker 2: with my rather croaky voice. My apologies. He is my
Speaker 2: great mate, TV vet broadcaster, photographer, doctor Chris Brown.
Speaker 3: Do you any think you have a chance against us?
Speaker 1: Mister cowboy? Open the podbay doors.
Speaker 3: Hell, I'll have what she's happen happening right, don't see
Speaker 3: nothing yet.
Speaker 2: Doctor Chris Brown is one of the odd time great
Speaker 2: blokes in Australian showbiz.
Speaker 1: Both on screen and off screen. He's much loved.
Speaker 2: He burst on our screens in two thousand and three
Speaker 2: when he appeared on.
Speaker 1: Harry's Practice with Doctor Harry Cooper.
Speaker 2: And he was nominated that year for the most Popular
Speaker 2: New Talent at the Logis. But certainly it was his
Speaker 2: role as the Bondive Vet which sent him into the
Speaker 2: strata sphere. It became a global TV hit and Chris
Speaker 2: was obviously the face of it. He actually did mouth
Speaker 2: the mouth do a dog once. Yeah, just keep that
Speaker 2: in mind, and when you look at his face and
Speaker 2: remember how handsome he is. Just remember her passions. Docs,
Speaker 2: Just remember that I love Brownie. He's become a really
Speaker 2: great mate over the years. You've seen him, of course
Speaker 2: in the Living Room, A wonderful show with Amanda Cala.
Speaker 2: Also what a legend. Hopefully a guest on this show
Speaker 2: one day soon, Barry Dubois and of course Miguel oh mcgal,
Speaker 2: what a legend. Also he teams up with his great
Speaker 2: mate and my great mate to hilarious Julie Morris and
Speaker 2: I'm a Celebrity, Get Me out of Here.
Speaker 1: Those two have formed a formidable combination.
Speaker 2: Waxing, lyrical, just a great pairing and have really become
Speaker 2: not just because of the celebrities, but they're one of
Speaker 2: the reasons why people tune in to I'm a Celebrity,
Speaker 2: Get Me out of Here. Currently you can see him
Speaker 2: on Channel ten's hit The Doghouse Australia.
Speaker 1: Brown is generous despite the.
Speaker 2: Fact, and this may come up in the episode myself,
Speaker 2: Sam Mack and Brownie went to Chinatown in Sydney together
Speaker 2: and let's say he skimped when the bill came.
Speaker 1: He didn't do a runner, but he claimed he had
Speaker 1: no money.
Speaker 2: On him really, I mean, do you work on that
Speaker 2: many shows? The fon diveat the living room. I'm a celebrity.
Speaker 2: Harry's practice money will still becoming and I imagine Brandy's
Speaker 2: become a great mate over the years. He obviously has
Speaker 2: co hosted and filled him many times with us on
Speaker 2: the project.
Speaker 1: He was always such a pleasure.
Speaker 2: Hanging out with him again, both on screen and off screen.
Speaker 2: I love Brandy because he doesn't take himself too seriously.
Speaker 2: He's genuinely hilarious. He is a great mate, he really is.
Speaker 2: He is as genuine as they come, and I'm bloody
Speaker 2: stoked to be hanging with him today.
Speaker 3: Well, hello, it's Chris Brown here. Dr Chris Brown's I'm
Speaker 3: not confused with the other one. My three favorite films
Speaker 3: of all time are We Top Gun.
Speaker 4: You screw up just this much, you'll be flying a
Speaker 4: cargo plan full of Rubbert dog shit out of Hong Kong.
Speaker 3: Sir, Dumb and Dumber Austria. Well then Good Day Mate,
Speaker 3: and the Secret Life of Walter Mitty.
Speaker 1: The a Jez She Moves Slack a woman.
Speaker 3: I'm like that. The film I haven't seen is Chopper,
Speaker 3: The Australian classic Chopper.
Speaker 5: Don't sore at it trying to be general made. You're
Speaker 5: fucking in it, rip into it, slash it off. Yeah,
Speaker 5: the other one, Chop, I'm not gonna get me for
Speaker 5: this later. Are you just get on with it? Your
Speaker 5: fucking fairy to it? Get a screw, would you?
Speaker 1: I can bleed, Chop, pase, gotta stop a bleeding. Okay,
Speaker 1: you can get any COVID. What are you got to
Speaker 1: get yourself into the shower?
Speaker 3: Right?
Speaker 6: Are you talking to me now?
Speaker 4: A Hey, after all I've done for you, I took
Speaker 4: you from tears to fucking glory and you do this
Speaker 4: to me. I'm not angry at you, Jim just broke
Speaker 4: my heart at all.
Speaker 2: Yes, it's the movie that almost made us forget that
Speaker 2: there was once a time when Eric Banner was Australia's
Speaker 2: premier Ray Martin Impersonator two thousands, Chopper took everyone by
Speaker 2: surprise the story of Celebrity hit Man Yep, that's right,
Speaker 2: that's inking celebrity hit Man Mark A. Brandon Chopper read,
Speaker 2: who had become a best selling author despite being semi illiterate.
Speaker 2: It not only marked the arrival of Eric Banner on
Speaker 2: the global stage, but also director Andrew Dominic, who went
Speaker 2: on to direct the Assassination of Jesse James by the
Speaker 2: Coward Robert Ford. Great film, starring with Brad Pitt and
Speaker 2: Casey Affleck and also Killing Me Softly brad Pitt again.
Speaker 1: It became the.
Speaker 2: Highest grossing R rated movie in Australia until The Wolf
Speaker 2: of Wall Street came along. It's violent, it's intense, and
Speaker 2: somehow really funny. This, of course is thanks to Eric Banner,
Speaker 2: whose performance is utterly mesmerizing and maybe one of the
Speaker 2: best screen performances by a local doctor.
Speaker 1: Chris Brown. Chopper was a big deal. Do you reckon?
Speaker 1: He could have made it on too. I'm a celebrity,
Speaker 1: Get me out of here.
Speaker 3: It would have made the eating challenges a little interesting
Speaker 3: to pick which year you were you were consuming at
Speaker 3: the time. You know, there's already a lack of sleep
Speaker 3: in the in the jungle camp, but I reckon if
Speaker 3: you were, if you were sharing a campsite and a
Speaker 3: number of hot pokers with with the Chopper, you probably
Speaker 3: wouldn't sleep overly. Well, what a what a character? And look,
Speaker 3: I want to say what a film, and we'll get
Speaker 3: to that, But I'm mesmerized by the fact that I
Speaker 3: haven't seen it. I don't know how I dodged this one.
Speaker 2: Yeah, walk us through that, because I mean, it's been
Speaker 2: nominated on this show as various people's favorite films for memory.
Speaker 2: Samuel Johnson nominated it. I think Hughes he may have
Speaker 2: nominated as well. Much Loved was made a lot of
Speaker 2: noise because of Eric Banner's performance, you know, succeeded around
Speaker 2: the world.
Speaker 1: You have dismissed it.
Speaker 2: Why why aren't you supporting Australian cinema and Eric Banner?
Speaker 1: Chris Brown?
Speaker 3: You know me, I mean I despise all of those things. No,
Speaker 3: I think it just happened at a week in time.
Speaker 3: I think it came out in two thousand and you
Speaker 3: know that for me was that was a very critical
Speaker 3: time in my veterory career. I was, I was in
Speaker 3: what fourth year of my my veterory studies. I was,
Speaker 3: that's pretty a pretty pretty tricky time to to really
Speaker 3: sneak out and see a film. But at the same
Speaker 3: time it was it was one of those films that
Speaker 3: was so heavily quoted amongst your your mates, like the
Speaker 3: lines from Nevill Bartos, like the I've got no cash mate, cash.
Speaker 3: Anytime someone didn't have money, you would say that line.
Speaker 3: I even used that line, but I didn't even know
Speaker 3: what it meant or the context.
Speaker 1: I think I've been there when you've used that line
Speaker 1: as a certain incident in Chinatown with our good mate
Speaker 1: Sam Mack.
Speaker 3: Yeah, look, it was it was unfortunate that I didn't
Speaker 3: have cash. I mean ironic really now, but I didn't
Speaker 3: have cash to pay for that meal. But you know,
Speaker 3: I would like to think you've got more than you know,
Speaker 3: one hundred dollars worth of value out of retelling that
Speaker 3: story and insinuating to the nation that I am arguably
Speaker 3: astray as premier tighter, which which has been something you
Speaker 3: haven't even gone close to stepping away from in terms
Speaker 3: of an accusation.
Speaker 1: No, no, but the already is that.
Speaker 2: So we had a meal in Chinatown and and there's
Speaker 2: the three of us are having a great time, and
Speaker 2: you did you didn't have any cash and in need
Speaker 2: of the cash, so you had no cash.
Speaker 1: You said your cards, they're only accepting cash.
Speaker 2: And we have turned that into yes, you being the
Speaker 2: biggest Titus in the world, because the irony is the
Speaker 2: fact that we've made such a big deal kind of
Speaker 2: insinuates that where the tight us is really because the
Speaker 2: mayor was probably it was probably forty bucks.
Speaker 1: That's probably what it was.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean, you're not letting it go. I have
Speaker 3: felt many times that I would just like send you
Speaker 3: an envelope with cash in it just to put an
Speaker 3: end to this. But I've started to enjoy it because
Speaker 3: it gives me an interesting peaking to your mindset and
Speaker 3: the fact that you just simply cannot let things go.
Speaker 3: And they were good did sims don't or dim sum
Speaker 3: don't get me wrong, get it right, get it right. Yeah,
Speaker 3: but we need to we need to move on. We
Speaker 3: need to find a way through this.
Speaker 2: Okay, Well, let's move on to your three favorite films.
Speaker 2: And they respect to you, Chris Brown. Often people come
Speaker 2: on to this show and they feel the.
Speaker 1: Need to you know, big up there, hybrow, highbrow.
Speaker 2: You know there's no French classics here, no French new wave.
Speaker 2: Let's start with Dumb and Dumber. I mean to be honest,
Speaker 2: Dumb and Dumber has been nominated a few times actually,
Speaker 2: so you're not alone. I'm forgetting who nominated that. It's
Speaker 2: been quite a few guests have nominated that Dumb and dumber,
Speaker 2: So you're not alone.
Speaker 1: Tell us about your love of the of the of
Speaker 1: the classic.
Speaker 3: So it's not just in my top three, it's actually
Speaker 3: my number one film right all time.
Speaker 1: Okay.
Speaker 3: I just I love it, and I love it deeply,
Speaker 3: and if I'm ever at a loose end, I will
Speaker 3: put it on because I love the absurdity, the complete stupidity.
Speaker 3: But I love the comedy and the setup to the
Speaker 3: payoff of some of the best visual physical many you'll
Speaker 3: you'll ever see. And I you know, there are some
Speaker 3: some really incredible moments in there, like the and and
Speaker 3: incredible lines, you know, like the John Denver's Full of Shit.
Speaker 1: Man.
Speaker 3: Is is just they're in a in the they're in
Speaker 3: a van shaped like a dog, which like a sheep dog,
Speaker 3: and and and they you know, they believe they're in
Speaker 3: the Rocky mountains, and then they wake up and they're
Speaker 3: on the planes of like Idaho or something. It's just just,
Speaker 3: you know, and it's not the rocky mountains that John
Speaker 3: Denver had sung about, so I and then the you know,
Speaker 3: the taking the motorcycle through the rocky mountains and the
Speaker 3: frozen solid to each other. It's it's a movie that
Speaker 3: it's it's tricky to explain and do justice to without
Speaker 3: sounding so absurd that it's it's it's actually ridiculous. But
Speaker 3: I love. I love the character arcs. I love Mary's Sampson,
Speaker 3: Sampson Ightes Wanson, I love I love the fact that
Speaker 3: it is a love story. It's a story of unrequired love,
Speaker 3: but in the most absurd way. And I love the
Speaker 3: endings as well, the fact that they get to the
Speaker 3: end and they're just trying to be somebody, They just
Speaker 3: want to have somebody, and the the the bus pulls
Speaker 3: up with the with the American Bikini Model team on it,
Speaker 3: and they they need someone to rub oil on them
Speaker 3: before they compete, and the guys don't realize that they're
Speaker 3: offering the opportunity to them, and they think that they're
Speaker 3: best served going to the nearest town because there's heaps
Speaker 3: of people there. And it's you know, it doesn't have
Speaker 3: the class classic Hollywood happy ending. It goes off in
Speaker 3: a different direction. And I hear that Jim Carrey they
Speaker 3: wanted him to shoot the ending where they did with
Speaker 3: the two guys did get on the bus with the
Speaker 3: American Bikini modeling team and it all ended happily, and
Speaker 3: he would not even shoot the scene because he said
Speaker 3: the studio will use it. These guys have got to
Speaker 3: be losers to the end and completely missed the opportunity.
Speaker 3: And so I respect that. I respect the story, I
Speaker 3: respect the narrative, I respect that the costumes, I respect.
Speaker 3: I just respect the whole thing.
Speaker 2: I mean, I think we're getting a good look into
Speaker 2: your soul right now, but you know, before respect It's
Speaker 2: funny I chatted to Jim Carrey, had the honor of
Speaker 2: chatting with them just after the Oscars. Actually it's quite
Speaker 2: an interesting week because of the Will Smith and Chris
Speaker 2: Ruck incident. But what I learned about Jim Carrey in
Speaker 2: that interview is actually, to be honest, out of all
Speaker 2: the interviews I've done on the project, it was the
Speaker 2: most where I felt like I came away going, I reckon,
Speaker 2: I've learned a little bit about you, you know, like.
Speaker 1: Because what what what came out of it for me
Speaker 1: was that Jim Carrey is an artist, you know.
Speaker 2: And I kind of knew this, like I knew he painted,
Speaker 2: and like I knew I knew that he considered himself
Speaker 2: an artist. But talking to him, I could actually see
Speaker 2: it made more sense to me, and he he would
Speaker 2: do things like when he was becoming famous, like sabotage
Speaker 2: his own stand up comedy gigs because he was like,
Speaker 2: he goes in his mind, he was saying to the audience,
Speaker 2: you think you know what you're going to get, and
Speaker 2: I'm not going to give that to you. And so he'll, yeah,
Speaker 2: sabotage his own gigs. And I think, and that's such
Speaker 2: a great thing that he didn't shoot that ending, because
Speaker 2: I mean, I've been in situations, you know, and I
Speaker 2: think Rove taught it to me where you're doing a
Speaker 2: photo shoot and a photographer say, Okay, let's just get
Speaker 2: a silly.
Speaker 1: One and no, and they're like, oh, why not, and he.
Speaker 2: Goes because you'll use it, like you know, like, don't
Speaker 2: give him if you don't believe in thin, don't give
Speaker 2: them the option to use it.
Speaker 3: It's completely I had a really interesting lesson in that.
Speaker 3: A couple of had a really interesting lesson in that
Speaker 3: a few years ago, a you know, the end of
Speaker 3: the year, you have to give your You often get
Speaker 3: approached by the newspapers to give your news resolutions. Yep,
Speaker 3: and they just want they just want to cut they
Speaker 3: want one sentence. They want simplicity because it has to
Speaker 3: be put next to a photo of you with twenty
Speaker 3: other people from neighbors home and away or you know,
Speaker 3: and and you're like, okay. But I decided to try
Speaker 3: to like be a little bit out there and give
Speaker 3: them something unexpected. So my news resolution was was and
Speaker 3: and I quote because we always do the opposite of
Speaker 3: our news resolutions. My news resolution is to work less
Speaker 3: and party more. And when it came to when they
Speaker 3: published that article, it had doctor Chris Brown news resolution
Speaker 3: work less, party moore, which raised a few eyebrows around
Speaker 3: the network.
Speaker 1: Yeah, and less.
Speaker 2: People were bringing their dogs to be put down, you
Speaker 2: know by you. That is hilarious. Yeah, you gotta be careful.
Speaker 2: You gotta be careful. But the thing that I really
Speaker 2: got out of the Jim Carrey thing was he he
Speaker 2: knows that he lives in a crazy world, like he
Speaker 2: lives in Hollywood. Well, he works in Hollywood, and he knows,
Speaker 2: he recognizes that it's crazy, so he does things to
Speaker 2: make sure that he is constantly aware that it's a
Speaker 2: crazy world. Where Will Smith, on the other hand, I
Speaker 2: think it got to the point and I've interviewed Will
Speaker 2: Smith over the years a few times, and I've always
Speaker 2: come away from the interviews been really impressed.
Speaker 1: With Will Smith.
Speaker 2: I'm not This is not me slagging Will Smith, but
Speaker 2: I think he maybe got to a point where he
Speaker 2: forgot that he lives in a crazy world, that this
Speaker 2: is the things that happened around him and that orbit
Speaker 2: around him are not normal like hollywoods on a normal place.
Speaker 2: The things, the way these people are treated by the
Speaker 2: people around them is not normal. And I think Jim
Speaker 2: Carrey recognized that, and I think potentially someone like I'm
Speaker 2: just using Will Smith because he was the big story
Speaker 2: at the time, he maybe lost I guess it's the
Speaker 2: whole concept of losing touch.
Speaker 1: He lost touch with reality.
Speaker 3: I think, yeah, rather than drinking the kool aid, it
Speaker 3: feels like Jim Carrey spikes it and then sits back
Speaker 3: and watches the results. Almost He's an interesting guy and
Speaker 3: very clearly a very deep thinker, despite what his films,
Speaker 3: his comedy Dumb and Dumb and they suggest. But I
Speaker 3: think the thinking that goes into the stupidity is what
Speaker 3: I really like. And when you see it and you
Speaker 3: see the depth of it, and you also appreciate the
Speaker 3: fact that his role call of films, there are very
Speaker 3: few people who could have brought the characters to life
Speaker 3: like he did. You know, Cable Cable.
Speaker 1: Guy, and.
Speaker 3: You know, all of the mask and all those things,
Speaker 3: which a lot of people were sort of put off
Speaker 3: sometimes by the absurdity and by the level of performance.
Speaker 3: But he just he just gives so much.
Speaker 1: Yeah.
Speaker 2: Yeah, it takes a lot, and it's genuine skills to
Speaker 2: do what he what he does, and I mean, I
Speaker 2: love I mean Cable Guy was my introduction to Jim Carrey.
Speaker 2: For some reason, I was actually put off by the
Speaker 2: bigness of Jim Carrey. So it wasn't until Cable Guy,
Speaker 2: which I saw because I love Matthew Broderick, and I thought, ah,
Speaker 2: I get it now. And then I kind of went
Speaker 2: back and watched those films again and kind of had
Speaker 2: a new appreciation for them. And then his work obviously
Speaker 2: when he goes through his Robin Williams deep Pelt Society
Speaker 2: stage and you know with The Truman Show and Eternal Sunshine,
Speaker 2: the Spotless Mind, incredible incredible performer.
Speaker 3: The warm up sequence when in Cable Guy, where Jim
Speaker 3: Carrey has gone to play basketball with him and does
Speaker 3: a warm up sequence where he does the shuttle runs
Speaker 3: back and forth. It's one of my favorite scenes of
Speaker 3: any movie ever. It is quite extraordinary.
Speaker 2: If you haven't seen Cable Guy, you get the bonus
Speaker 2: of early Jack Black Early Owen Wilson in the very
Speaker 2: funny film Got a Dark Comedy, And I do remember
Speaker 2: the line I love was I learned the facts. I
Speaker 2: learned the facts of life by watching the Facts of Life.
Speaker 2: That was one of the sitcoms that was pretty popular
Speaker 2: now House Growing Up.
Speaker 3: And Jim Carrey. Jim Carey also gave I reckon one
Speaker 3: of the most authentic performances of rhinoceros being born in
Speaker 3: Acepentura Pet Detective too, that scene where he's stuck inside
Speaker 3: the fake rhinoceros and births himself in front of the tourists.
Speaker 3: That is I don't think you'll see a comedy performance
Speaker 3: better than that.
Speaker 1: You're a vet was it accurate? Like? Were you watching it?
Speaker 1: They've nailed this, They've nailed this.
Speaker 3: That's what I was drawn to it. It's remarkably authentic,
Speaker 3: and I mean they could have included that in the
Speaker 3: vetory science syllabus. It's that good.
Speaker 1: Let's move on to a Top Gun, my next typer
Speaker 1: Ow film.
Speaker 2: I know it's yeah, we did this with Tony Martin
Speaker 2: had never seen Top Gun, believe it or not, and
Speaker 2: we watched it. It's funny when you watch it as
Speaker 2: an adult, and I watch it because I loved it
Speaker 2: as a kid, and I like and I'm not I'm
Speaker 2: not turning my back on Top Gun. But when you
Speaker 2: watch it through the eyes of somebody watching it for
Speaker 2: the first time, particularly like a cinephile like Tony, you
Speaker 2: kind of go you see everything that's kind of silly
Speaker 2: and wrong about it, as opposed to when I watched
Speaker 2: it in the cinema in you know, eighty six and
Speaker 2: then many times on VHS afterwards and just just loved it.
Speaker 2: You know, I was all on board the tom Cruise Express.
Speaker 2: It's it's a very different experience. So do you see it?
Speaker 2: When did you first see it?
Speaker 3: I saw it in the cinema when I when I
Speaker 3: was a kid. And I mean I should preface this
Speaker 3: by saying that that as a kid, I all I
Speaker 3: wanted to do was be a pilot. Okay, I'm sex
Speaker 3: with planes and still to this day I'm I can
Speaker 3: you know, if a plane flies over, I can tell
Speaker 3: you what sort of plane it is and probably where
Speaker 3: it's going. It's a it's a little bit it's a
Speaker 3: little bit rain Man esque. Another great film, but it's
Speaker 3: I've always been fascinated with with aviation, and and I've
Speaker 3: had a few flying lessons, but I've always been hampered
Speaker 3: by the fact that I am significantly color blind, and
Speaker 3: so I think a little bit of this film was
Speaker 3: me living vicariously through this this this film, this film,
Speaker 3: and this experience. So I when I watched it, I
Speaker 3: just fell in love with the action. And it's an
Speaker 3: action film, but it's an action film at you know,
Speaker 3: ten thousand feet like it's and sure that the whole
Speaker 3: film is predicated upon the you know, the time Tom
Speaker 3: Cruise is inverted upside down with a MiG and they
Speaker 3: get the polaroid shot between him and Goose, get this
Speaker 3: polaroid shot of them flipping the bird at a MiG
Speaker 3: pilot and the two canopies of the planes are about
Speaker 3: like ten centimeters apart, and it completely ignores the fact
Speaker 3: that the tales of those planes are about twenty meters high,
Speaker 3: and like that was an aviation accident that should have
Speaker 3: occurred but didn't, and so somehow the tails are ignored
Speaker 3: in this they get upside down inverted, they get they
Speaker 3: have this close contact. It makes Maverick Tom Cruise a
Speaker 3: star within the Air Force, within the US Air Force,
Speaker 3: and he's sort of propelled into Top Gun all based
Speaker 3: on a lie. If you could get past that, then
Speaker 3: then you're in for a rollicking good time.
Speaker 2: I suspect Tom Cruise is also launched into the stratosphere
Speaker 2: based on his volleyball shirtless volleyball skills.
Speaker 3: Have you ever have you ever tried to play beach
Speaker 3: volleyball on a summer's day in nothing but jeans?
Speaker 1: I'm not sure why. Yeah, I mean put some boardies on.
Speaker 3: It's it's it's so impractical, and you know, jeans limit
Speaker 3: your movements in every in every sense, the sand, the sweat,
Speaker 3: it's it's so I watched that scene wondering why. And
Speaker 3: but then in the Top Gun Maverick sequel, they do it,
Speaker 3: they do it again, and I was just like wow,
Speaker 3: Like you're standing by your position on the on the
Speaker 3: denim on the beach, whereas you know where I'm from
Speaker 3: in Newcastle, you don't you don't wear you don't wear
Speaker 3: denim on the beach unless you are a Westie and
Speaker 3: you've never been to the beach before in your lot.
Speaker 3: So like the even even in Bondi now, like if
Speaker 3: the lifeguards see someone turn up to the beach in
Speaker 3: jeans and go for a swim, even in jeans, like
Speaker 3: they start rolling on Bondo Rescue because they know they're
Speaker 3: onto They're onto something.
Speaker 2: Immediately half of bond I Rescue people from the subcontinent
Speaker 2: who are swimming in Wranglers.
Speaker 3: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, I mean it's it's I'd be
Speaker 3: surprised if there isn't some sort of secret Wranglers sponsorship
Speaker 3: of the Progrim because there's so much branding that you
Speaker 3: see during during an episode of Bondo Rescue.
Speaker 1: It is incredible, top Gun.
Speaker 2: It really is the birth of a megastar with with
Speaker 2: with the with Tom Cruise, like he just from there,
Speaker 2: he just explodes.
Speaker 1: He made I think a few films, you know, all
Speaker 1: the right moves.
Speaker 2: And taps and the for them, but I think that
Speaker 2: kicks off, like you know, rain Man comes after that,
Speaker 2: and then the Born of the July and and.
Speaker 1: It really did this. He exploded after that.
Speaker 3: Jerry Maguire yeah, yeah, And I think that the passion
Speaker 3: that he delivers his role with. And but also he's
Speaker 3: just obscene cleanliness in every scene. He's always perfectly manicured,
Speaker 3: and and he's you know, the heart frog and the
Speaker 3: the you know, the Kelly McGillis character call signed Charlie
Speaker 3: she you know, is she's caught up in this. I mean,
Speaker 3: it's an HR department nightmare. The fact that Kelly mcgillis's character,
Speaker 3: Charlie she is she's working at Top Gun as an
Speaker 3: instructor and as an advisor, and Tom Cruise is courting
Speaker 3: her at the same time. And you know, but all
Speaker 3: these things shouldn't happen in the workplace, but this is
Speaker 3: the eighties, so they're allowed to happen in the workplace.
Speaker 3: And you know, the singing of you've lost that loving
Speaker 3: feeling in the in the air Force bar, which you know,
Speaker 3: somehow miraculously impresses her. It's it's it's it's quite remarkable.
Speaker 3: But but I think just bite de bite. It sort
Speaker 3: of being this this incredible eighties action flick that's set
Speaker 3: in the air it does actually bring you, i mean
Speaker 3: quite literally crashing back to worth with the death of goose,
Speaker 3: and that's becomes as such a surprise and and and
Speaker 3: really hits you, hits It's a real gut punch of emotion.
Speaker 3: And and I think that that moment is is something
Speaker 3: that I actually I really enjoyed the film because I
Speaker 3: feel like it's it brings brings a bit of depth
Speaker 3: to the to the film, which which may not have
Speaker 3: been there originally. But I just love I just love
Speaker 3: the action, and I love the adventure, and I love
Speaker 3: the excitement and and and I love the fact that
Speaker 3: when Tom Cruise is finally like it looks like he's
Speaker 3: finally won over Kelly mcgillis's character, he inexplicably decides he
Speaker 3: has to leave and go and have a shower. He's
Speaker 3: having drinks at a house. She's invited him to his
Speaker 3: to a house. They're like making out and then for
Speaker 3: no reason at all, he just s gets up and
Speaker 3: leaves and goes and has a shower. Like, what is that's?
Speaker 1: To me?
Speaker 3: Is the biggest story? What? How bad is Tom Cruise's body?
Speaker 1: Over?
Speaker 3: How bad is Maverick's body? Odor that he has to
Speaker 3: leave and have a shower right when he's about to
Speaker 3: achieve his goal.
Speaker 2: And the other big question is which we approach with Tony,
Speaker 2: and nobody really seems to be able to answer this.
Speaker 2: In fact, I was able to interview Myles Teller and
Speaker 2: I asked him, so I didn't get a chance to
Speaker 2: ask Tom Cruise.
Speaker 1: But who are they fighting at the end? Who is
Speaker 1: the enemy?
Speaker 3: It's an unknown or unnamed com me in a state
Speaker 3: because they have it's red. The helmets of the opponents
Speaker 3: are red. But they have a star like sort of
Speaker 3: that communist star. But it's it's never stated, no, and
Speaker 3: maybe maybe they don't need to know, maybe they don't
Speaker 3: want to know, like it's it's It is odd, isn't
Speaker 3: it that they've never well, they've never named.
Speaker 2: It because if you follow the logic, and I think
Speaker 2: it's kind of smart that they didn't, you know, give it,
Speaker 2: you know, name the country. It doesn't need that kind
Speaker 2: of movie doesn't need that. But what but the inference
Speaker 2: is basically is America? Because these guys are you know,
Speaker 2: we're in San Diego. I think top gunanies. Yeah, basically
Speaker 2: this doesn't this mean America is basically being invaded? How
Speaker 2: how far away does this happen? Like it doesn't seem
Speaker 2: like it's a long way away. I kinda forget. Maybe
Speaker 2: in the graphics they explain where it is in the
Speaker 2: Indian Ocean, but yeah, that's the biggest story, that America
Speaker 2: was being invaded and they stopped that invasion.
Speaker 3: Yeah, yeah, Yeah, it's a it's sort of a rogue
Speaker 3: state vibe. But you know from from you never hear
Speaker 3: the enemy speak as well as there's never any accent.
Speaker 2: Yeah, a very conscious decision not to not to get
Speaker 2: themselves in hot water with any with any country by
Speaker 2: by not naming them.
Speaker 3: And even the pilots when you when they cut to
Speaker 3: the cockpit of the pilots that they have visors down
Speaker 3: so you can't even like identify some sort of ethnicity.
Speaker 3: It's completely it's there's no reference to it whatsoever. But yeah,
Speaker 3: before I can tell it's it's kind of one of
Speaker 3: the sort of more this week invasion forces you've ever seen,
Speaker 3: because it looks like they've got three planes and that
Speaker 3: they decide they're going to take on the US with
Speaker 3: three planes and that's and that's it.
Speaker 2: It's incredible, it's incredible, it's you know, you know what,
Speaker 2: I never thought of it at the time. It was
Speaker 2: only many many years later I thought, So there we go.
Speaker 2: They made the right choice.
Speaker 3: I mean, I know I've kind of it sounds like
Speaker 3: I'm shit canning it. But the reason I love it
Speaker 3: is because of the kind of similar to Dumb and Dumber.
Speaker 3: It's it's the escapism of the whole thing and the
Speaker 3: adventure and and that's what I get out of That's
Speaker 3: what I get out of films is I just love
Speaker 3: to be transported into this alternate universe and and and
Speaker 3: go on on a rollicking good time and feel like
Speaker 3: this is, you know, just a beautiful distraction from from
Speaker 3: everything else. And you know, with Top Gun, it's it's
Speaker 3: the flying and the high speed sequences and and you know,
Speaker 3: and Goose Goose's demise and and and the redemption for Maverick.
Speaker 3: It's yeah, I just I've just always associated with with
Speaker 3: just this feeling it gave me when I first watched it,
Speaker 3: and then as a tribute, I actually my twin first
Speaker 3: birthday party was Top Gun theme. Oh oh my god,
Speaker 3: I have photos of this, and everyone came in like
Speaker 3: aviators and flight suits and I sang, you've lost that
Speaker 3: loving feeling. Of course at my twenty first, oh my god,
Speaker 3: it was it was on It was actually at a
Speaker 3: surf club in Newcastle, and which which which gave it
Speaker 3: that sort of San Diego vibe.
Speaker 1: Yeah, it was.
Speaker 3: It happened at night, annoyingly, so we couldn't play, you know,
Speaker 3: jeans clad beats volleyball. But it was just it was
Speaker 3: like we were we're at fighter school, and that's that's
Speaker 3: why it was just the perfect, the perfect thing.
Speaker 2: I I am requesting that you provide a photo that
Speaker 2: we can put on Socials when this episode goes out
Speaker 2: the cigaret life of Waldemity. Ben's still a bit of
Speaker 2: a passion project, I think for Ben Stiller, but a
Speaker 2: really really amazing film. And when I think about the
Speaker 2: sec what a MIDI I think about sometimes you get
Speaker 2: a movie and maybe even this for the trailer where
Speaker 2: there's a song that marries up perfectly to that movie,
Speaker 2: and that song of Monsters and Men, which is I
Speaker 2: think they I think they're Icelandic, aren't.
Speaker 3: They They're from Rakvic?
Speaker 1: Yeah?
Speaker 2: Yeah, And that I remember thinking what a perfect you know,
Speaker 2: I mean, the trailers is so good and and the
Speaker 2: and that song I just thought fit it perfectly. And
Speaker 2: then the movie delivered as well.
Speaker 3: That the soundtrack to the whole film is one of
Speaker 3: my most played things in you know, on my my Spotify,
Speaker 3: because it is it's escapism music, and it's it's it's
Speaker 3: music that's a soundtrack to adventure. And I think that's
Speaker 3: what I love about the film is the fact that
Speaker 3: it is kind of the this ultimate adventure travel film
Speaker 3: where you are transported to this sort of magical part
Speaker 3: of the world, this mysterious part of the world where
Speaker 3: you know, Ben Steeler's characters is trying to find this
Speaker 3: missing photographer and and and this missing photo And I
Speaker 3: love photography, I love travel, and I love Scandinavia and
Speaker 3: and so all those elements. It's it's like my sort
Speaker 3: of dream trip combined in put into a film. And
Speaker 3: I just I love the the little sidebars of of
Speaker 3: adventure and experience that that that Ben Steller's character has
Speaker 3: along the way. So it makes it just a really
Speaker 3: aspirational watch.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I remember really loving it.
Speaker 2: And because it's it's a it's a Kirsten Wig as well,
Speaker 2: isn't that She's Ben Stiller film? Because he goes on
Speaker 2: this incredible adventure and if you haven't seen The cigare
Speaker 2: Life of Water Meta get onto it's it's a cranker.
Speaker 2: But at this time we should talk about the film
Speaker 2: that we are here to talk about, written and directed
Speaker 2: by Andrew Dominic from the year two thousand, starring of
Speaker 2: course Eric Banner, also I mean Vince Colossimo, David Field,
Speaker 2: Dan Wiley, Kate b and Simon Linden. The cast is incredible.
Speaker 2: The movie is Chopper, Doctor Chris Brown.
Speaker 1: Did you enjoy it?
Speaker 3: Be honest, Yep, No, I didn't. Okay, I didn't like it.
Speaker 2: I mean, this is this is a film, this is
Speaker 2: and I say this always on this podcast. People will
Speaker 2: watch a film and they you know, oft in the
Speaker 2: morning of the night before. I think, in this case,
Speaker 2: and it's a lot and this is a this is
Speaker 2: a film that is well, it is divisive, it's it's
Speaker 2: it's it's a maz in a way that so many
Speaker 2: people love it because it is it's it's a bit
Speaker 2: full on. It it's a bit full on. And and
Speaker 2: I always make the point that people are often still
Speaker 2: processing a film. We've had example, and I'm not saying
Speaker 2: this is going to happen to you, Chris, but we've
Speaker 2: had examples where people have come on and the more
Speaker 2: we talk about the film, the more they may start
Speaker 2: to think about it a bit more and enjoy it
Speaker 2: a bit more. But this is this is that weird
Speaker 2: mix of violence and comedy, which it doesn't doesn't always
Speaker 2: work for everyone. But what what we what were your
Speaker 2: what were your thoughts?
Speaker 3: Look, it's gritty, it's dark, and I don't know, you
Speaker 3: probably had had a bit of a scary insight into
Speaker 3: into the way mine my mind works when it comes
Speaker 3: to cinema and into film. I like I like escapism.
Speaker 3: I like to go on an enjoyable ride. And when
Speaker 3: the first half of Chopper is set in a prison,
Speaker 3: a very dark, sort of gray prison, the concept of
Speaker 3: escapism is not surprisingly a little foreign when you are
Speaker 3: stuck inside a prison, and it just the dark humor
Speaker 3: of it. I just I just found it a little,
Speaker 3: I don't know, a little confronting. And I just find
Speaker 3: Chopper's character such so confounding, like he's so contradictory. But
Speaker 3: I know that's what made Mark Chopper read such and
Speaker 3: a enigma in a way, was the fact that he
Speaker 3: could combine humor, this dark charisma, but then this complete
Speaker 3: brutality and and this you know, bordering on being a psychopath,
Speaker 3: where he just doesn't seem to feel pain or sense
Speaker 3: any sort of sorrow for anyone that you just found
Speaker 3: it found it so so confusing, but not in a
Speaker 3: but not in a good way.
Speaker 2: Well it's crazy and that's why I kind of highlighted
Speaker 2: it in my intro.
Speaker 1: It is nuts.
Speaker 2: And I know that celebrity and has almost gotten out
Speaker 2: of control with you know who. It used to be
Speaker 2: that you did something you apply to trade, whether it
Speaker 2: be whether it be comedy or.
Speaker 1: Presenting or singing or acting or dancing.
Speaker 2: And that's and then and now, of course you can
Speaker 2: get famous through a number of different things. And I'm
Speaker 2: not that's not a complaint. Like you know, I think
Speaker 2: it's great that people can make YouTube videos and find
Speaker 2: fame through that because you know, like they're finding an
Speaker 2: audience and obviously people it's a response. But the idea
Speaker 2: that now, you know, twenty five years ago there was
Speaker 2: a guy who became a best selling author and a
Speaker 2: celebrity who was a.
Speaker 1: Hit man, yes, a gang Lang Gang Lang figure.
Speaker 2: This is all before you know, the underbelly juggernaut is
Speaker 2: still incredible to me. Like he was and I remember
Speaker 2: he was on talk shows, you know, he was doing
Speaker 2: the talk show circuit. He was on the footage show.
Speaker 2: He was doing I think some stand up comedy like
Speaker 2: it was. It was bizarre and everyone but I'm sure
Speaker 2: there were some dissenting voices at the time, but everyone
Speaker 2: seemed to be going along with it. Now Chopper was
Speaker 2: it was a Melbourne identity being in Newcastle? Did did
Speaker 2: did he permeate they your your psyche?
Speaker 1: Did he did he? Kind of? Yeah?
Speaker 2: Was he as big in New South Wales or Newcastle?
Speaker 2: Was he he was in Melbourne?
Speaker 3: Not not as as big? And I think that that underworlds,
Speaker 3: that Melbourne underworld was was quite far removed and was
Speaker 3: kind of seen as you know, what what was happening
Speaker 3: down there? And I was like whoa, like what what?
Speaker 3: What the hell? Like? What how how they not got
Speaker 3: this this whole thing under control? But he was certainly
Speaker 3: a character that was a cult figure. And and you
Speaker 3: know a lot of a lot of mates, often poorly,
Speaker 3: would would do an impression of of Chopper. A lot
Speaker 3: of people did Chopper impressions and and so you know,
Speaker 3: I think you had an appreciation for this, this searing
Speaker 3: character that had such a remarkable presence. But at the
Speaker 3: same time, like that the darkness was never was never
Speaker 3: too far away. What I found remarkable was was just
Speaker 3: how seemly and I think this is like part of
Speaker 3: the comedy of it, but the how contrive, how sorry
Speaker 3: he is, Like you'll pull a gun on someone and
Speaker 3: and and go to kill them on the spot, execute
Speaker 3: them in cold blood, and then something will make him
Speaker 3: not do it, and then he's like, oh, sorry, I'm sorry,
Speaker 3: I'm so sorry, and it seems it seems so real
Speaker 3: that he is he is apologetic. And I found that
Speaker 3: that that side of his character so is so intriguing
Speaker 3: the fact that he gives the impression of having such
Speaker 3: a deep conscience.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I I I completely agree, and it's see And
Speaker 2: I do wonder if he was, if he was contrite
Speaker 2: in those moments, you know, and he was remorseful and caring,
Speaker 2: or was it part of his part of his act
Speaker 2: was a performative, you know, the idea, because it's kind
Speaker 2: of scarier in a way that he can stab somebody and.
Speaker 1: Go, are you okay, mate? You know, like you're okay?
Speaker 2: I mean, I mean, at the same time, it's probably
Speaker 2: it probably is real because there's a scene, of course
Speaker 2: when he is attacked by Jimmy, and I figure if
Speaker 2: if the mask was ever gonna slip, it would be
Speaker 2: when he actually has had a few knives. You know,
Speaker 2: the ship's gone in a few times. In fact, let's
Speaker 2: have a listen at at that scene where Jimmy Lafman
Speaker 2: played by Simon Lindon tries to take down Chopper.
Speaker 7: Come he mane.
Speaker 3: Sorry, top, that's all right, that's all right.
Speaker 6: Yeah, shit, Jimmy, if you keep stabbing, you're gonna kill me. Right, terrific,
Speaker 6: snake gay, jim bloody, terrific. You obviously listen and learned, well,
Speaker 6: didn't you always give credit where credit is due, Jimmy,
Speaker 6: look in the top mark for treachery.
Speaker 2: I mean it's I mean, if it keeps stabbing, stabbing me,
Speaker 2: you're gonna kill me.
Speaker 1: I mean, there's genuinely great lines in it.
Speaker 2: But yeah, it makes me think that he was it
Speaker 2: was just part of his his DNA that there was
Speaker 2: obviously a little bit of there was performance, I think,
Speaker 2: but the fact that he's being stabbed and he's still
Speaker 2: the same chomper makes me think that this was actually
Speaker 2: who he was.
Speaker 3: Yeah, It's it's almost a little bit like Terminator esque,
Speaker 3: where you just realize that you cannot kill him. And
Speaker 3: and the fact that he is so emotionless to the
Speaker 3: fact that this, you know, he supposed best mate is
Speaker 3: stabbing him repeatedly, yet he's completely unmoved, unperturbed and just
Speaker 3: carries on with with it. Doesn't break character, doesn't doesn't
Speaker 3: it doesn't show any emotion and almost shows pity for him. Yeah,
Speaker 3: but I think it is quite chilling in a way
Speaker 3: that that he's able to do that, And you can
Speaker 3: see in that cell the mood amongst sort of Jimmy
Speaker 3: and Dan Wiley's character just instantly changed with the like, oh, no,
Speaker 3: we've made a We've made a terrible mistake, because it
Speaker 3: would be easier if he fought back, or if he
Speaker 3: if he was if he was angry, to continue and
Speaker 3: actually kill him. But the fact that he's just impervious
Speaker 3: to these attacks. They just become incredibly frightened by by
Speaker 3: that very thing.
Speaker 2: The fact that his mood can can switch on a
Speaker 2: knife's edge does give an intensity when he goes later
Speaker 2: on to visit Jimmy because he suspects he's heard that
Speaker 2: he may be going to carry out a hit on
Speaker 2: behalf of Nevil Barchas and he's one minute he's telling
Speaker 2: that the kid.
Speaker 5: Look look, hello, hello, Hello.
Speaker 2: He's doing all of that, and then he's having a
Speaker 2: laugh and this is a bit swank, isn't it.
Speaker 1: This is a great old laugh, I mean.
Speaker 2: And then to go into now, Jimmy, I need to
Speaker 2: you know, and and he's serious and he's got the
Speaker 2: gun to his head, you know, like seconds later. It's
Speaker 2: that kind of those characters who you just don't know
Speaker 2: when they're going to switch a gold as far as
Speaker 2: you know, a writer or a director goes or an
Speaker 2: actor to be able to switch it up like that
Speaker 2: is just it gives a very because the audience a
Speaker 2: very intense feeling and experience.
Speaker 3: And this is I guess this is the important thing
Speaker 3: that I think Eric Banner's performance is actually like actually remarkable. Yeah,
Speaker 3: you know, it's it's it's chilling, it's compelling, it it
Speaker 3: has it has humor. You know. He does give like
Speaker 3: one of the worst, one of the worst auditions for
Speaker 3: a role in The Wiggles with that scene with the kids,
Speaker 3: with the with with with Jimmy's daughter where he's doing that.
Speaker 3: It's that's so disturbing because it's his take on how
Speaker 3: Hard a Parent? But I yeah, I just I find
Speaker 3: so many parts of the film so so challenging that
Speaker 3: it's it's hard for me to relax into and enjoy.
Speaker 3: If you like it's it's a harder watch of a
Speaker 3: film rather than an enjoyable watch. It doesn't make it
Speaker 3: a I guess, a terrible it's just it's just for me,
Speaker 3: it's it's a harder film to watch.
Speaker 2: Yeah, And I think we should point out for those
Speaker 2: who are too young to remember. You know, this came
Speaker 2: out of no seemingly came out of nowhere. Eric bandal I,
Speaker 2: I was about to use you about it. I remember
Speaker 2: when Eric Banner was cast. Before the movie came out,
Speaker 2: we just heard that Eric Banner was going playing Chopper.
Speaker 2: It was like he was the biggest sketch comedy star
Speaker 2: in the country. He was doing impressions of of you know,
Speaker 2: Ray Martin was one of his famous ones. He had
Speaker 2: his character Peter, you know, and you know, his Bogan
Speaker 2: kind of character. And then to hear that he was
Speaker 2: playing it took a while to get our heads around it,
Speaker 2: you know, like what And I remember doing a joke
Speaker 2: on stage that I said, Eric Banner has been cast
Speaker 2: as Chopper, I said. And in more breaking news, Mark Mitchell,
Speaker 2: who was from the Comedy Company played on the Fruiter,
Speaker 2: he's been cast as Martin Bryant.
Speaker 1: You know, like it kind of it seemed.
Speaker 2: You know, like it seemed like there was a mix
Speaker 2: of excitement but also like, wow, this is going to
Speaker 2: be interesting and and your fingers crossed for Eric and
Speaker 2: then for him to deliver I think one of the
Speaker 2: great Australian screen performances is incredible and that and that
Speaker 2: launches him.
Speaker 1: Brad Pitt basically sees this movie. He casts him in Troy.
Speaker 2: Then he then gets the director Andrew Dominic to direct
Speaker 2: you know, the assassination of James, and everyone just goes
Speaker 2: from there and it's it's just it was an incredible
Speaker 2: performance and the charming you know, like it was really
Speaker 2: like I can understand. And one of the reasons I
Speaker 2: get people to you know, tell me their top three
Speaker 2: films at the start of the show is you are
Speaker 2: giving us a little bit of an insight into what
Speaker 2: you love and what you what you like, so to
Speaker 2: be honest, and I didn't really think about because you know,
Speaker 2: I basically, you know, heard your three films as as
Speaker 2: you said them. But if you think about the three
Speaker 2: films you nominated, Dumb and Dumber, Top Gun, and The
Speaker 2: Secret Life of Walder Midi, it's probably no shock that
Speaker 2: Chopper didn't sit well with you.
Speaker 3: It's probably in hindsight, Yeah, it makes a lot more sense,
Speaker 3: doesn't it. But you know, but it is you. You
Speaker 3: do witness, as you say, a truly great performance. And
Speaker 3: and I never once questioned Eric Banner as Chopper. You know,
Speaker 3: and at a couple of moments, you just assume you're
Speaker 3: watching Mark read like you actually feel like that that's
Speaker 3: that is actually him, And it's almost a documentary, it's
Speaker 3: almost real life vision because it's so it's such a
Speaker 3: believable portrayal, and and he just commits so wholeheartedly that
Speaker 3: you know it it is a tribute to him. I
Speaker 3: did spend a lot of time in the film looking
Speaker 3: at his ears, though, and I really, I really wanted
Speaker 3: to know what they've done with the years. And I
Speaker 3: was at one point, I'm like, they've just stuck heir,
Speaker 3: They've just stuck hair over them to hide where like
Speaker 3: they haven't chopped off part of his ears prosthetic. Ye,
Speaker 3: what's going on? I was so obsessed with the years,
Speaker 3: which are such a defining feature of the Chopper story
Speaker 3: and continually are used like as a as a punchline
Speaker 3: throughout the film as to why people don't like him
Speaker 3: because because of his the fact he's missing his ears
Speaker 3: and he's going to scare the children because of his ears,
Speaker 3: and you know that they constantly back reference the years,
Speaker 3: and I'm like, which I think is a risky It's
Speaker 3: a risky play given given the relatively short views that
Speaker 3: the Chopper has, but hey, they go there.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean, the dad cheers big ears. I mean,
Speaker 2: there is absolute craft, you know, in this movie, and
Speaker 2: that's why Andrew Dominic has gone on and become you
Speaker 2: know this, you know, one of the most sort of
Speaker 2: after directors in the world. Not only does it look
Speaker 2: great before, he gets great performances. But yeah, I love
Speaker 2: where the movie starts. It's Chomper in e Cell watching
Speaker 2: himself back do this interview. And I think that interview
Speaker 2: is which, you know, I think he's almost verbatim in
Speaker 2: an interview he gave and he's you know, a couple
Speaker 2: of the screws are there watching and enjoying it with him,
Speaker 2: and it kind of tells us a lot from the
Speaker 2: get go. He tells us that, you know, he's charming
Speaker 2: enough to you know, have the screws, you know, almost
Speaker 2: be entertained. He's on TV, and the stuff he's saying
Speaker 2: in that interview, I think actually rang true. And that's
Speaker 2: why when we talk about how was there a hitman celebrity,
Speaker 2: it's because I think the feeling was and I think
Speaker 2: you kind of even sense it with the gang land
Speaker 2: wars that go on now. I think the community are like,
Speaker 2: if you guys, keep it in your own areas, if
Speaker 2: innocent people aren't getting you know, affected by this, we'll
Speaker 2: just watch on his entertainment, you know, like, but as
Speaker 2: soon as you can cross that line where a civilian
Speaker 2: and a c civilian gets gets hurt or harm, that's
Speaker 2: when we're you know, that's when we're going to demand
Speaker 2: action in a way. But otherwise just keep it to yourself.
Speaker 3: Yeah. Yeah, And that constant through line of the fact
Speaker 3: that he's having these regular meetings with the police who
Speaker 3: are trying to just corral him into the place they
Speaker 3: want him to be, and he keeps on wanting them
Speaker 3: to admit the fact that he's almost running above the
Speaker 3: law with his operations. I did find that quite quite
Speaker 3: an enjoyable thing to say, and I think you're right
Speaker 3: that's probably how the public assumed things were going. They
Speaker 3: probably didn't want to know the reality of the fact
Speaker 3: that he was he was killing people in cold blood ultimately,
Speaker 3: but these people were bad people, and so that was
Speaker 3: how it was. It was justified, and and so we
Speaker 3: were able to sort of sleep at night. And he
Speaker 3: does does talk about the fact that, you know, most people,
Speaker 3: most people shouldn't be worried about Chopper because he's not
Speaker 3: he's not he's not in their world, he's not them,
Speaker 3: he's not coming after them. And I think that's a
Speaker 3: that that that would that would certainly that would certainly
Speaker 3: explain it. You know, his his celebrity status, but but
Speaker 3: he you know, he does make for a chilling figure
Speaker 3: when you're taken front row two to what what are
Speaker 3: some some pretty robust killings of you know, Sammy the
Speaker 3: Turk for example, which when you're talking about the director
Speaker 3: Andrew Dominique and and what he does with that, that
Speaker 3: the dramatic reenactment of that killing in almost like a
Speaker 3: cartoon esque way is I found it's sort of maybe
Speaker 3: sit up and go what what is? What is this?
Speaker 3: But they almost make a comedy out of a cold
Speaker 3: bloody killing. It's but it's done. It is done beautifully.
Speaker 3: It's done very well and almost humorously.
Speaker 1: Yeah.
Speaker 2: Absolutely, And we'll have a listen to the bow Jangers
Speaker 2: recital maybe soon. But it is like, it's those kinds
Speaker 2: of stylistic decisions that Dominic makes that propels this film
Speaker 2: into into something else. It's it's it's bad its performance obviously,
Speaker 2: but it's also yeah, I love it when you get
Speaker 2: this situation where it's the director or the creative team
Speaker 2: just are all on the same page and and like
Speaker 2: this this is not necessarily a tragedy, like it's a
Speaker 2: it's kind of a tragic comedy.
Speaker 1: I mean a lot of this is also.
Speaker 2: About, you know, a man who who are more comfortable
Speaker 2: on the inside than the outside, and that's we've seen
Speaker 2: that many times. But Shure Shank Redemption is very much
Speaker 2: about that. And it's that they don't overegg that point.
Speaker 2: But it's quite clear that Chopper runs the show inside,
Speaker 2: you know, h division, But as soon as he gets out,
Speaker 2: he's looking over his shoulder.
Speaker 1: You know, he doesn't know, he can't shake. He can
Speaker 1: never shake, h division, It's.
Speaker 2: Always going to be part of him, and that's that's
Speaker 2: not a nice way.
Speaker 1: It's not a nice way to live.
Speaker 3: It's not but you know, he finds ways of spicing
Speaker 3: it up by catching up with his good mates, like
Speaker 3: like Nevil Bardos.
Speaker 2: Yeah, well, let's just lean into Nevil Bartos for a second,
Speaker 2: Vince Colossimo. I mean, it's hilarious from the get go
Speaker 2: that Chopper can't remember his name, despite the fact he
Speaker 2: did actually shoot him in the leg.
Speaker 3: In the knee, right, yeah, which he takes credit for
Speaker 3: because he could have shot him in the head, but
Speaker 3: he decided to shoot him in the knee. So he's
Speaker 3: looking for praise and thanks, yeah, from the.
Speaker 1: Outset, because Chopper is the great.
Speaker 2: Think about the character I think and the way Eric
Speaker 2: plays him, he is well. He points out that he,
Speaker 2: you know, he can barely read or write, but he's
Speaker 2: become this great author. These you know, all these academics
Speaker 2: and intellectuals, you know, can't get published or trying to
Speaker 2: get get their books on shelves and they can't do it.
Speaker 2: But here he is in his cell So he's not
Speaker 2: well educated, but he sees himself as intelligent, you know,
Speaker 2: the way the way he talks. You know, one of
Speaker 2: the early quotes is, you know, even even Beethoven had
Speaker 2: his critics, you know, name three, and Nevil Barts I
Speaker 2: think is a similar kind of thing. He sees himself
Speaker 2: as a businessman, you know, and he's you know, I
Speaker 2: mean Vince Colossimo. I've had the chance to work with
Speaker 2: Vince before. He directed him in an episode of It's
Speaker 2: a Date.
Speaker 1: You know.
Speaker 2: I won't say he's an underrated comic actor because I
Speaker 2: think a lot of people will realize how how good
Speaker 2: he is.
Speaker 1: He's also really good dramatically, but he's so good in this.
Speaker 2: And then there's there's, of course, a famous scene where
Speaker 2: Chopper goes, this is this weird relationship they have and
Speaker 2: you're not sure if Chopper is playing Neville. Is it
Speaker 2: a cat playing with a mouse, you know, or or
Speaker 2: are these this instinctive choices that Choppers making along the
Speaker 2: way we instinctive It's like I need money now, yeah,
Speaker 2: I'm gonna go see Neville. Then he's apologizing and then
Speaker 2: he's fucking him up again like that.
Speaker 1: The fucking around with.
Speaker 2: Nevill Bartos's head by Chopper is quite incredible. But he
Speaker 2: finally goes to the house and of course he wants
Speaker 2: some cash.
Speaker 1: Never a.
Speaker 6: Bloody sorry, mate, I've had a couple of dreams. I
Speaker 6: get a bit bloody carried on. I've just been out.
Speaker 6: You fucking sorrytybody goy.
Speaker 3: I don't know who you think you're talking to him.
Speaker 7: I think you're being very rude.
Speaker 3: You understand, show me some respect. We are very very rude.
Speaker 5: You have money.
Speaker 6: I'm very embarrassed. You know I'm fucking embarrassed. I'm fucking sorry,
Speaker 6: Nev I'm sorry.
Speaker 3: All right, apology accepted. Now let it go. We relaxed,
Speaker 3: take it easy.
Speaker 5: Fuck, I'm trying to relax o.
Speaker 6: But seriously, the like, how you holding for cash? I'm
Speaker 6: a big bloody break.
Speaker 7: This the mate. What are you talking about.
Speaker 5: Cash?
Speaker 8: There's no cash here here, there's no cash, all right, cash,
Speaker 8: no Robbie.
Speaker 3: No cash.
Speaker 6: I'll tell you what you try getting from where you're
Speaker 6: sitting to the front door, because I reckon I could
Speaker 6: shoot you from where you're sitting to the front door.
Speaker 6: Because that's about as long as you've got to produce
Speaker 6: some money for me right now. I'll give you twenty
Speaker 6: seconds to produce some cash as a fucking shoot you one.
Speaker 9: Two. I've got no cash, mate, for I told you this,
Speaker 9: you come here, we shut the fuck down.
Speaker 3: What fifth? Oh god, what the fuck are you doing? Mate?
Speaker 3: Jesus Christ relaxed.
Speaker 9: He's not any w fucking is now, wouldn't he And
Speaker 9: then and then supposedly drives him to the hospital, which
Speaker 9: is again a very funny scene when he explains that
Speaker 9: driving he's victim to the hospital defeats the purpose of
Speaker 9: shooting him in the first place, which is.
Speaker 3: It's probably one of the main Chopper quotes, isn't it
Speaker 3: that that he that he gave and just explains sort
Speaker 3: of the absurdity and the contradiction of of his life
Speaker 3: almost perfectly in one in one statement. Yeah, yeah, you're
Speaker 3: pretty convinced he did he did shoot him. I mean
Speaker 3: he doesn't he doesn't have a short views, he doesn't
Speaker 3: have a fews. It's just flips so so instantly into
Speaker 3: into deciding he's gonna play this game with him and
Speaker 3: shoot him if he doesn't produce cash in twenty seconds.
Speaker 3: That it's It's again, it's that chilling nature of the
Speaker 3: character where you never know exactly when it could turn.
Speaker 3: And I think that's what makes him so so terrifying.
Speaker 2: Yeah, absolutely, because the only time he really seems to
Speaker 2: get emotional is with Tanya. He's he's he's sex worker
Speaker 2: a girlfriend, which I imagine, you know, like if somebody
Speaker 2: is prone to being jealous, and I think Tanya points
Speaker 2: it out, you know, you're seeing who are you fucking?
Speaker 2: And she's like, I'm a I'm a sex worker, you know,
Speaker 2: and it's and I mean there's that scene of course
Speaker 2: where he goes to her house and and and this
Speaker 2: is what the sharpest example of that, in a way,
Speaker 2: the tone of the movie of violence and you know,
Speaker 2: in a way comedy kind of going so closely. He
Speaker 2: actually he's strikes it's off camera, but you see him
Speaker 2: kind of you know, striking Tanya, and it's really really
Speaker 2: hard to watch. It's it's it's horrifying and any headbuts
Speaker 2: his mum and that's really hard to watch. But then
Speaker 2: he and you know that he kind of tries to
Speaker 2: gather himself. He's apologizing, and then and then he says
Speaker 2: this line which like should not be funny, it should
Speaker 2: not be but he says, your mum's upset.
Speaker 1: Man. It's it's like.
Speaker 2: It's funny, and that is that is the movie in
Speaker 2: it like it should not. This guy should not be funny,
Speaker 2: and and and and it's a really tricky balance because
Speaker 2: like I don't come in, I don't come out of
Speaker 2: this going, oh I really you know, I really like
Speaker 2: Chopper or you know, I'm you know, I'm even condoning
Speaker 2: his actions because on top of yeah, he may have
Speaker 2: murdered some people that as a society we may we
Speaker 2: may not care about the drug dealers, and you know,
Speaker 2: you know, getting murdered wrongly are rightly. But there is
Speaker 2: you know, like that that scene was there were innocent
Speaker 2: victims there, and and then he turns around and and
Speaker 2: it's kind but it's also it's inherent in his character.
Speaker 2: He's you know, he headbuts at the moment says, now
Speaker 2: your UM's upset. But it's it's the same thing with
Speaker 2: with Neville, like he's he's basically shot him in the
Speaker 2: leg some years earlier. He found out that he's got
Speaker 2: crime compensation for it, and then feels like he deserves
Speaker 2: some of that money because it's like we almost like
Speaker 2: we worked it out. This is you know, where's my
Speaker 2: where's my cup?
Speaker 3: It's like he feels like he's been the greatest entrepreneur
Speaker 3: of his time because he's found his niche where if
Speaker 3: he if he maims people, they make money out of it.
Speaker 3: So he's the good guy in all of this. He
Speaker 3: he doesn't tend to own his his mistakes mistakes too much,
Speaker 3: but but more celebrates his his achievements has been the
Speaker 3: greatest gift in there in their life. And the fact
Speaker 3: Nell never can barely walk is beside the point. I mean,
Speaker 3: as a side note, I think the fact that Nevill
Speaker 3: Bartos can't walk is more due to the fact he's
Speaker 3: carrying around sixty kilograms of gold chains around his neck
Speaker 3: at any given opportunity, which would surely hamper his mobility.
Speaker 3: But I think, yeah, it's it's incredible the way his
Speaker 3: mind works. I think that's what makes him so so compelling.
Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, the I wasn't sure if I was gonna
Speaker 2: actually talk about this or bring this up, and I'm
Speaker 2: not sure if I've ever said this. Probably I met
Speaker 2: Chopper really, he's a drink at my local pub in Collingwood.
Speaker 2: I was living in Collingwood for a couple of years.
Speaker 3: I mean, I wanted to make the point that I
Speaker 3: think it's unlikely would have had such an open chat
Speaker 3: about him if he was still alive.
Speaker 1: Yeah, no, no, And I certainly gonna be telling this story.
Speaker 2: But it was basically, it was a pretty quite a
Speaker 2: little pub and I was there with my mate who
Speaker 2: you know, we we were sharing a house together, and
Speaker 2: we're playing pool and look over at the other side
Speaker 2: of the bar and Choppers there with his his girlfriend
Speaker 2: and he, you know, we have a few drinks and
Speaker 2: he recognized him, and he comes over and we start
Speaker 2: having a chat, and then we start we start having
Speaker 2: a couple of laughs, and I'm you know, Chopper was
Speaker 2: chopping like I was, like, you know, start, I started
Speaker 2: asking questions and some all laughs, and then you know,
Speaker 2: a couple more beers, and I remember at one point
Speaker 2: going to the bathroom and maybe splashing a bit of
Speaker 2: water on my face, maybe metaphorically doing that, and kind
Speaker 2: of reminding myself, don't get fucking too comfortable, don't get
Speaker 2: too cheeky.
Speaker 1: This guy has murdered people.
Speaker 2: You know, it's it's probably time to go home, because, yeah,
Speaker 2: who knows he's drinking, you're drinking.
Speaker 1: Who knows you might just get one of those wrong?
Speaker 3: Yeah, had you seen the film by the time you
Speaker 3: did that this encounter.
Speaker 2: Yes, I would have seen the film actually, because this
Speaker 2: is I saw it in cinemas as soon as it
Speaker 2: came out, and this would have been around about a
Speaker 2: year after the film came out. I reckon, so so
Speaker 2: I had I felt like I had, you know, reference
Speaker 2: points and things to ask about.
Speaker 3: And then to not mention as well.
Speaker 1: Well, yeah, exactly.
Speaker 2: I kind of just went, no, you don't need to
Speaker 2: know if he's killed people or you know, in details,
Speaker 2: like just just kind of keep it light, keep it
Speaker 2: about footy, you know. But then what happened, like, you know,
Speaker 2: I bumped into him again. It was almost this very
Speaker 2: similar situation. He was like, there's a few.
Speaker 1: More people around, but he came up to me.
Speaker 2: He had a bit of a chat, and he came
Speaker 2: and then he went back to the bar and we
Speaker 2: went necessarily hanging out, but you know, we past each
Speaker 2: other as we go out of the bathroom or something,
Speaker 2: and he came up to me and he gave me
Speaker 2: this like clicklock bag of drugs, I'm telling you like,
Speaker 2: and I, to my to my untrained eye, not not
Speaker 2: a drug user, but it seemed to be I would
Speaker 2: say marijuana laced with speed, which seems like two competing
Speaker 2: forces to me.
Speaker 3: At least call it at least call it goey. I mean, just.
Speaker 2: So, just give me the bag of goeye and and
Speaker 2: I I put it in my pocket at me because
Speaker 2: I was like, I don't want to get spotted with this,
Speaker 2: and and.
Speaker 1: I kind of you really say much, And he goes
Speaker 1: out there.
Speaker 2: Mate, that's some fun, you know, and I'm like what,
Speaker 2: And then I remember going home, you know, I say,
Speaker 2: there for a while going home, I had this bag
Speaker 2: and I don't know what to do with it. I said,
Speaker 2: not a drug user. And in no way I was
Speaker 2: going to you know, tending or even give this to anyone.
Speaker 2: I was like, so I put it in my bedside
Speaker 2: table and it was around the stat at that time
Speaker 2: I was, I was, you know, seeing my now wife Bridge,
Speaker 2: and I took a little while for me to tell her.
Speaker 2: I said, oh, by the way, this weird thing happened
Speaker 2: that Chopper gave me this bag of drugs. As she goes, really,
Speaker 2: what did you do with it? And I said, I
Speaker 2: just this in my bedside table.
Speaker 1: And she's just what the fucking like, why didn't you
Speaker 1: get rid of it? And I didn't really have an answer.
Speaker 2: I think the only thing I could think of was
Speaker 2: I just thought, what happened if Chopper says to me,
Speaker 2: do you have that bag of drugs for me? Like
Speaker 2: it was he giving it to me for me to
Speaker 2: use or was it giving it to me to hold
Speaker 2: until like it seemed to me, Yes, it seemed to
Speaker 2: me like a significant amount of drugs. It wasn't like
Speaker 2: a tiny little click bag with you know, somebody you
Speaker 2: see the tiny bit to drug like the little bagges
Speaker 2: what do they call them with with coconut.
Speaker 1: It wasn't. It wasn't that.
Speaker 2: It was like a significant you could you could fit
Speaker 2: you know, a decent sandwich into this into this bag, you.
Speaker 1: Know, Like my god, Yeah, it was a lot. So
Speaker 1: I said, you're right.
Speaker 2: You know, a few months had passed, I think since
Speaker 2: he'd given it to me, so I threw it out,
Speaker 2: you know, but I remember when he died.
Speaker 1: For those who don't know he died.
Speaker 2: Of I think you might have been cancer or it
Speaker 2: was a liver living cancer. Yeah, yeah, I think what
Speaker 2: liver related. But there was a part of it is like, okay, well,
Speaker 2: thank god, he's not going to come back for the drugs.
Speaker 2: He's I'm not gonna get a tap on the shoulder.
Speaker 3: I feel like you had. Yeah, you go to those
Speaker 3: charity options and you can like money come by experience.
Speaker 3: I feel like you've got the Chopper experience. Someone someone
Speaker 3: at an option bid for Peter Hellier to have the
Speaker 3: full Chopper experience, and it was it included two drinks
Speaker 3: and a bag of Goeye with Chopper in a pump.
Speaker 3: And people would have bid, you know, signal like one
Speaker 3: hundred thousand dollars for that experience, and someone someone's bought
Speaker 3: that for you and you got to live like you
Speaker 3: went on the Chopper ride. Yeah, and very few people
Speaker 3: have done that and then lived or like or not
Speaker 3: had a life of drugs and addiction after it. So
Speaker 3: what what what an experience?
Speaker 2: Yeah, it didn't get stabby, you know, I'm pretty sure
Speaker 2: it was the last time I saw him too, so
Speaker 2: I'm not I'm not sure when did it actually chop.
Speaker 3: A dive thirteen? I think in the because it says
Speaker 3: it at the end of the film.
Speaker 2: Okay, right, okay, so it was it was a bit
Speaker 2: longer after that. So there's plenty of opportunities, perhaps for
Speaker 2: us to bump into each other, but fun times, let's
Speaker 2: have it. Let's obviously I did want to ask you.
Speaker 2: I mean, it takes a certain kind of individual, doesn't
Speaker 2: it to you know, to be having a quiet chat
Speaker 2: at a pub with the police officers and they get
Speaker 2: the Johnson out at the same time.
Speaker 1: I mean, that's.
Speaker 3: That's I didn't want to know whether whether he got
Speaker 3: it out when you're in the public him and what
Speaker 3: was It wasn't as significant as as as it would appear.
Speaker 1: No weird because I'd seen the movie.
Speaker 2: I got mine out and didn't notice nobody noticed, So
Speaker 2: it was very you know how embarrassing it is to
Speaker 2: have it out there for fifteen twenty minutes and nobody's
Speaker 2: saying anything.
Speaker 3: You thought it was like almost the way Chopper shakes
Speaker 3: hands and you just get it out and that's that's
Speaker 3: the greeting that you use.
Speaker 1: It is.
Speaker 3: I've never done that personally, but I find a remindable
Speaker 3: way that I just to carry yourself quite literally in
Speaker 3: a pub. But yeah, I do find that it's again
Speaker 3: like just one of the many layers of the man.
Speaker 2: What's interesting about this film its structurally It's a really
Speaker 2: impressive film because it just it gives you.
Speaker 1: What it wants to give you. Like the idea that.
Speaker 2: He gets taken out, he chops his years off, he
Speaker 2: gets taken to you know, another prison, because he knows
Speaker 2: that there's that they're coming for him. I mean, first
Speaker 2: of all, his plan to get out of the way
Speaker 2: was was nuts. Like the reason that Jimmy you know,
Speaker 2: tries to kill him is because he knows that this
Speaker 2: this plan, this guy's insane and either he's going to
Speaker 2: get me killed or kill me or I have to
Speaker 2: take him out. The idea that they're going to basically
Speaker 2: basically knife everybody into you know, basically paralyze or make
Speaker 2: everybody paraplegics.
Speaker 3: He was going to take multiple hostages and then use
Speaker 3: an ice pick to take out the spines of all
Speaker 3: of his rivals.
Speaker 2: Yeah, which is when everyone in that prison like it's
Speaker 2: batshit crazy. That's what happens. So then basically you cut
Speaker 2: from him getting transferred when he's gloating about getting transferred
Speaker 2: to mister Beasley and all of that, and then it
Speaker 2: just cuts to him walking down the street.
Speaker 1: He's obviously put on some kg.
Speaker 2: So that's all we need to know is time is
Speaker 2: obviously passed and now he's out. We have no I
Speaker 2: think it's even I think it's like a ninety four
Speaker 2: minute film that a lot of people are talking about
Speaker 2: these days. I see even Netflix now has a category
Speaker 2: ninety minute films. I think people are kind of wondering
Speaker 2: why everything that needs to be you know, two two
Speaker 2: and a half hours now. But it tells us what
Speaker 2: it was. We don't we start in prison. He doesn't
Speaker 2: tell us. It tells us why he got into prison.
Speaker 2: He kidnapped the judge. But you know, you know, there's
Speaker 2: a version of this film where you start with the
Speaker 2: kidnapping of a judge, and that you can imagine that
Speaker 2: being a pretty interesting and intense scene.
Speaker 1: But it doesn't. It goes exactly where Andrew Dominican wants
Speaker 1: to take us.
Speaker 3: And that's why I think it's funny you touch on
Speaker 3: that because I watched it last night, and I was
Speaker 3: watching it and it was it was getting late, and
Speaker 3: I just pressed the remote just to see. I assume
Speaker 3: that there must be an hour to go, because it
Speaker 3: was still very much in his crime phase. You know,
Speaker 3: he was dealing with Jimmy, in the fact, Jimmy wanted
Speaker 3: to killing and I looked at and it said the
Speaker 3: film had twelve minutes to go, So what how? How
Speaker 3: how are we here? How are we How are they
Speaker 3: going to wrap this up? How is this? How's this
Speaker 3: going to finish? And it was sort of, it's it's
Speaker 3: a film that doesn't have a clear arc in a
Speaker 3: way or a clear resolution apart from the fact that
Speaker 3: Chopper Dog eventually died. But it's it's it's I like that.
Speaker 3: I do respect that, I know I'm doing what you
Speaker 3: said I might do, which is sort of coming around
Speaker 3: to the majesty and the magic of the film. But
Speaker 3: I do like the fact it doesn't necessarily follow the
Speaker 3: rules of a classic a classic crime drama, whether there's
Speaker 3: some sort of beautiful tied in a bow resolution at
Speaker 3: the end. It's it's sort of it just continues to
Speaker 3: be dark, and the story of Sammy the Turk is
Speaker 3: kind of the lasting sort of legacy of the whole
Speaker 3: thing and the stats around how many people he apparently
Speaker 3: killed versus how many people he ever got actually charged
Speaker 3: and then acquitted for.
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's fascinated because every film usually it's about a
Speaker 2: Journey's about your protagonist journey, and he starts they start
Speaker 2: at a at a certain point and then they they
Speaker 2: may want something, but usually it's you know, we don't
Speaker 2: give them what they want, they actually get what they need.
Speaker 2: And that's and that's the journey with with Chopper. There's
Speaker 2: not there's not really those there's not even really the
Speaker 2: traditional kind of obstacles you put in their way, because
Speaker 2: he seems impervious to obstacles. He just walks around the obstacles.
Speaker 2: So there's no sense of this journey that Chopper has
Speaker 2: gone on from seeing one to you know, the final scene.
Speaker 2: It's he's not he's not rehabilitated. You know, we know
Speaker 2: he doesn't really you know, see the light and you know,
Speaker 2: and whatever comes out of his mouth. To be honest,
Speaker 2: where can we believe it? I mean, the fact that
Speaker 2: even that there's you know, I think the opening you know,
Speaker 2: credits on this green like this is base of the paraphrase.
Speaker 2: It's something like this is based on the autobiography. But
Speaker 2: we had no idea if this is true or not.
Speaker 2: You know, it's I think the tagline of the film
Speaker 2: was the truth, the half truth, and nothing like the truth.
Speaker 3: You know what's interesting about the film when you have
Speaker 3: your ninety three minutes all about Chopper. You would think
Speaker 3: that it ultimately glorifies his character, but I didn't really
Speaker 3: feel that way. I didn't really feel that by the end,
Speaker 3: you think the world of this guy, you're happy to
Speaker 3: sort of let go of the murderous, murderous ways and
Speaker 3: really love him. You don't come out of it loving him.
Speaker 3: You sort of come out of it intrigued by the
Speaker 3: contradictions of his life. But I sort of came out
Speaker 3: of it with probably the same feeling about him that
Speaker 3: I had before, which is sort of just a bit
Speaker 3: more a bit stand offish and a bit sort of
Speaker 3: confused by about how we sort of reach this celebrity status. Yeah,
Speaker 3: which is which is interesting.
Speaker 2: Yeah, And I think I think it's a beautiful final scene.
Speaker 1: And we'll get the same same the Turke in the second.
Speaker 2: But the final scene, maybe it is maybe the journey
Speaker 2: is that he starts off it's almost a reverse journey.
Speaker 2: It's he starts off being happy and watching himself on
Speaker 2: the TV, and we go back to that moment, you know,
Speaker 2: we see him give the interview to Renee Brack and
Speaker 2: then he's he's watching it back and we you know,
Speaker 2: the bits of what we've seen before. But then you know,
Speaker 2: the screws, it's all laughter, it's all like, you know, oh,
Speaker 2: this is great publicity.
Speaker 1: How much will that you know costs?
Speaker 2: Usually you know, and he's really wrapped with himself and
Speaker 2: he's he's the king, he's living the life.
Speaker 1: And then the screws kind of you know, leave him alone.
Speaker 2: They lock the door, and he's in a he's in
Speaker 2: a cell by himself, and it's and then what a.
Speaker 1: Horrible way, what a horrible existence that is?
Speaker 2: So I think you're right in the same way that
Speaker 2: you know, somebody thought the train Spotting was was glamorizing Heroin.
Speaker 2: It's like, how can you watch that movie and come
Speaker 2: away thinking that Heroin was a good option for any
Speaker 2: of those characters. It's it's I feel the same with Chopper.
Speaker 3: It's a it's a tragic end in a way because
Speaker 3: you see this man when there is no bluster and
Speaker 3: bluff and and performance that it's it's actually it's a
Speaker 3: front to what is a fairly sad existence.
Speaker 2: Yeah. Absolutely, let's see send Me to Turk. So he's
Speaker 2: basically a minor character up until the end.
Speaker 3: Here.
Speaker 2: You know, there's a few glances, and I love those
Speaker 2: at first nightclub scene where Chop ends up shooting the
Speaker 2: place up because it feels like he's going through a
Speaker 2: haunted house and it's like he doesn't know who's out
Speaker 2: there getting there's never Bartos over there. There's this guy
Speaker 2: to Turk that's looking over him, and he's just he's scared.
Speaker 2: I actually see for the first time, even though there's
Speaker 2: no doesn't seem to be any imminent danger, like he's
Speaker 2: been in a much more dangerous place in h division.
Speaker 2: But all of a sudden you actually see fear on
Speaker 2: his face for the first time, which I think is
Speaker 2: really interesting. But towards the end, Sammy to finally gets
Speaker 2: his attention and and takes him out to the car park.
Speaker 6: Much because you'll touch me for the talk, you buddy,
Speaker 6: homosexual or something?
Speaker 8: Why are you scared?
Speaker 5: I don't touch you.
Speaker 1: I'm scared.
Speaker 5: Just don't touch me, you buddy.
Speaker 8: Where's your cart?
Speaker 3: There?
Speaker 5: Which one.
Speaker 6: Kick going?
Speaker 9: Where?
Speaker 3: Hey? Here is that gun?
Speaker 9: Huh?
Speaker 4: It's a gun?
Speaker 6: It's fucking porn to at you know? Who's taming you on?
Speaker 1: What?
Speaker 8: Whose team?
Speaker 3: Are you on?
Speaker 5: Team?
Speaker 7: That's great?
Speaker 8: Fucking comedian too, are you?
Speaker 1: Yeah?
Speaker 5: What'd you fucking bring me out here?
Speaker 3: What no, chop you you you bring me here?
Speaker 6: Huh fucking good answer.
Speaker 3: Yes, I'm good. I'm friends to you.
Speaker 6: Yeah, oh yeah, you're a fucking friend ancher bringing me
Speaker 6: out here in the middle of the fucking night.
Speaker 3: Before sick line.
Speaker 5: Huh sick line?
Speaker 4: What what's that mean?
Speaker 1: You are?
Speaker 3: You want English?
Speaker 5: Fucking English?
Speaker 7: A slayer?
Speaker 3: Fuck you?
Speaker 8: And know it's English.
Speaker 2: And then and then Chopper again goes into his like
Speaker 2: almost apologetic and you came out quite.
Speaker 1: It's it's it's quite.
Speaker 2: It's yeah, I mean he's himself to the end.
Speaker 1: And then of course we we we go to you know,
Speaker 1: we learn.
Speaker 2: What actually was supposed to take place and and and
Speaker 2: what went wrong or right, I guess in Chopper's case
Speaker 2: with again lovely you mentioned it before, Lovely Flourish from
Speaker 2: writer director Andrew Dominique. To do this like this, I
Speaker 2: think was a It was just a beautiful touch. But
Speaker 2: just sometimes you can go for these you have these
Speaker 2: ideas and these creative ideas, and you're seeing films and
Speaker 2: it doesn't quite fit. It's a bit jarring. But this
Speaker 2: is fit the mood and the vibe of the film perfectly.
Speaker 2: This is the Bojangles Recital.
Speaker 5: Jimmy and the boys will be in the car.
Speaker 4: You helped set up the big fella.
Speaker 3: It'll make you a star.
Speaker 6: They said they had it farmed out, they had it consted,
Speaker 6: but when I walked out the door, they just let
Speaker 6: me posted.
Speaker 9: The game was for real.
Speaker 3: It was no lark. But the twitch took him out
Speaker 3: of the wrong car park. Silly boys.
Speaker 6: That's all the chop I had to say, Poor little
Speaker 6: semi god, blown away the knuckleheads. I could have shot
Speaker 6: him in both kneecaps and finished a game of cards
Speaker 6: before this crew of retail. It's got there.
Speaker 2: Yeah, there's a bit of a chop referring to himself
Speaker 2: in the third person as well. He doesn't he doesn't
Speaker 2: mind doing that.
Speaker 3: From the opening scene to the last that that is
Speaker 3: a recurring, a recurring theme of the third person. But
Speaker 3: but you're also he's almost poking it spends a lot
Speaker 3: of time in the film, I think poking fun of
Speaker 3: just the lack of intelligence of of most criminals and
Speaker 3: the fact that he does see himself as being above
Speaker 3: above that because he's a he's a smarter operator, and
Speaker 3: it stands out, and that that's I think what he
Speaker 3: enables him to endure through those moments, and that's one
Speaker 3: great example where just bumbling fools a lot of the time.
Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, it's it's it's a mesmerizing performance by Eric
Speaker 2: Banner and everyone is so good. We had Jimmy Luffman there,
Speaker 2: Simon Lyndon, you know, Kate b And as Tanya I
Speaker 2: think is great. David Field as Keithy you know at
Speaker 2: the start he's one of my favorite Australian actors.
Speaker 1: David Field is awesome that he's.
Speaker 2: In the great One called Every Night, Every Night if
Speaker 2: you ever get a chance to, if you're like a
Speaker 2: prison drama, it's seemed a bit more full on than
Speaker 2: than Chopper.
Speaker 3: You know, Dan put boot polish, boot polish in your
Speaker 3: hair to hide a bald spot. That is a that
Speaker 3: is a master class in that as well.
Speaker 1: It really is mate, mate, thank you so much.
Speaker 2: You are one of the busiest men in the Berz
Speaker 2: and for you to watch a movie about h division
Speaker 2: when you would rather be following Ben Stiller through the
Speaker 2: scenic landscapes of Iceland. It was quite quite remarkable that
Speaker 2: we chose this film.
Speaker 3: You know what, I not two months ago I did
Speaker 3: actually go on a Ben Stiller inspired journey through the
Speaker 3: fjords of Iceland, almost retracing the secret life of Walter
Speaker 3: Mite journey. So I look, this was coming. I needed
Speaker 3: a reality check back to the underworld of Melbourne, and
Speaker 3: you provided it. And for that I will be eternally grateful.
Speaker 3: I had I feared nightmares last night. I didn't. I
Speaker 3: didn't have them. But but I am now so across
Speaker 3: the world of Chopper, of Bojangles, and the fact that
Speaker 3: if someone asks you for cash, just give them the cash.
Speaker 3: That that is my advice.
Speaker 2: And next time you see me, maybe you know at
Speaker 2: the logis, you know, if I'm at a bar, just
Speaker 2: just cast your eyes downwards.
Speaker 1: I might have a little surprised for here.
Speaker 3: Just look in the pocket in the skyrocket when you
Speaker 3: said you throw it out. I don't believe a word
Speaker 3: of that. I think. I think it's it should be
Speaker 3: in a museum. That should be a museum piece somewhere.
Speaker 3: The bag that Chopper gave you, I think is the
Speaker 3: remarkable piece that I think. You know, how how is
Speaker 3: the Victorian Museum not snapping that up?
Speaker 2: I wish I forget which have been if I threw
Speaker 2: in the recycle being all the garbage, But yeah, I
Speaker 2: want to. I assume it's it's been dispensed. Maybe somebody
Speaker 2: found it. I don't know. I certainly wasn't going to
Speaker 2: be responsible for giving it to anybody, but yeah, fun times,
Speaker 2: fun times with Uncle Chop Chop.
Speaker 3: I had a similar experience in an l A nightclub
Speaker 3: with with Courtney Love and Lindsay Lowe and and a
Speaker 3: bag that was just was appeared in a bathroom that
Speaker 3: I just saw and took a photo of because I thought,
Speaker 3: you know what, that's going to be a fun story
Speaker 3: to retail one day. And I don't know who owned it,
Speaker 3: which are those people owned it? But one of them did,
Speaker 3: and that's enough for me.
Speaker 2: I just I mean, I'll just remind you that both
Speaker 2: those people are still alive, at least at least Choppers there.
Speaker 3: In hindsight, a terrible, terrible retelling story.
Speaker 2: But you're a legend, and thanks for joining us and
Speaker 2: we'll catch up against So no doubt.
Speaker 3: Really enjoyed it.
Speaker 1: Thanks so much, mate, that was fun.
Speaker 2: And I think another episode where somebody maybe didn't love
Speaker 2: a film, but then maybe the more.
Speaker 3: We discussed it.
Speaker 2: Maybe came around a little bit, maybe not completely, but
Speaker 2: just a little bit it's interesting when we actually get
Speaker 2: a chance to discuss films, it's, you know, we do
Speaker 2: find appreciation. And the fact is every week on this
Speaker 2: podcast we're talking about a classic movie. So the you know,
Speaker 2: as my dad will say, they're classics for a reason.
Speaker 2: And so sometimes when you just do a little bit
Speaker 2: of deep diving, you start maybe appreciating it a little.
Speaker 1: More, hopefully. You know.
Speaker 2: Chris well, I know that he enjoyed that. He said so,
Speaker 2: and I believed him. Thank you, Chris, and apologies for
Speaker 2: my voice being a bit croaky. We had some some
Speaker 2: farewell drinks from my colleague Curry More couple of days
Speaker 2: ago before this episode was recorded, so.
Speaker 1: It's it's unblaming her. It'd be better for next episode.
Speaker 2: I'm sure Derek Myyers and Casways Studios dot com au
Speaker 2: is in the building of course, as he always is
Speaker 2: in the studio.
Speaker 1: Derek, you'd be a big Chopper Fanily.
Speaker 7: Chopper was amazing. It was just that weird thing, that
Speaker 7: Kubrick esque kind of vibe where there's someone you're kind
Speaker 7: of tricked into sort of barracking for who's just not good,
Speaker 7: not a good person.
Speaker 2: I mean, I think with movies generally, I mean we
Speaker 2: always it's always the protagonist that we kind of root for,
Speaker 2: you know, like I very rarely do you not root
Speaker 2: for the And there's a reason Tony Soprano. We love
Speaker 2: Tony Soprano. You know, there's there's a reason, you know what.
Speaker 2: We're white, you know, they're we We're okay with people
Speaker 2: doing bad things in movies, you know, like as long
Speaker 2: as we can see and understand them a little bit more. Now,
Speaker 2: Chopper is a fine line with him, whether we how
Speaker 2: much insight we get as to why Chopper became Chopper.
Speaker 2: But it's a fascinating character study. And I think it's
Speaker 2: a brilliant, brilliant film.
Speaker 1: I really do.
Speaker 2: All the elements from production came together and and I
Speaker 2: think it's a cracker.
Speaker 7: Yeah. Did the production team and the writers and the
Speaker 7: director and Eric Banner and the other actors in there
Speaker 7: you've seen years and years later doing amazing work I
Speaker 7: know their names. Yeah, But did they make him seem funny?
Speaker 7: Did Chopper love this? Afterwards? I also ran in him
Speaker 7: in a bar he did, Yeah, And you just go,
Speaker 7: I wonder if he is that same a year or
Speaker 7: so after the film. I wonder if he was a
Speaker 7: real funny guy or whether they just whether the movie
Speaker 7: was just a genius it was just really well made.
Speaker 2: I think he was a pretty charming guy, you know,
Speaker 2: like he I think he cerently had I think he
Speaker 2: had a good turn of phrase as far as you know,
Speaker 2: the way he would put things. I think it was
Speaker 2: I think it was pretty funny, you know, like whether
Speaker 2: that you know, there's probably a reason why it's down
Speaker 2: up comedy didn't take off for you know, you know,
Speaker 2: you can be funny at a bar, and that's a
Speaker 2: very different thing as being funny, you know, being professionally funny.
Speaker 1: I guess if you like, but a fascinating guy.
Speaker 2: And yeah, you're right. The cast is incredible. You got
Speaker 2: Dan Wiley, you got David Field, Kate b and Simon Linden,
Speaker 2: Vince Colossimo of course, you're really really strong cast.
Speaker 1: And yeah, it's it's a real good one, all right.
Speaker 2: If you if you want to get onto us, you
Speaker 2: can send us an email at Jasney Podcast at gmail
Speaker 2: dot com.
Speaker 1: That's the that's one way you can do it.
Speaker 2: What we would love is to hear your voice and
Speaker 2: you can get onto our speak pipe through the There's
Speaker 2: a link on the on the page and leave a message,
Speaker 2: but actually love to hear your voice with loving to
Speaker 2: speak pipes coming through, and I believe we have another
Speaker 2: one today, Derek.
Speaker 7: We've got a great one here from Pete Davis from
Speaker 7: the lyrics of the Lost podcast.
Speaker 8: Hello Team YASNI loved the podcast. Last episode with Dave
Speaker 8: Callen was great. Those stories of mistaken identity, the actors
Speaker 8: signing up with the wrong director and directors hiring the
Speaker 8: wrong actor with the same name. I have one for
Speaker 8: you from the same era. I heard it at a
Speaker 8: film industry talk in the mid eighties. Rosanna Raquette was
Speaker 8: getting really big and she noticed this exciting new Australian director,
Speaker 8: George Miller, who had so far done a couple of
Speaker 8: brilliant Mad Max films plus the only good chapter in
Speaker 8: the Twilight Zone movie. She eagerly signs up to his
Speaker 8: next project, The Aviator, with Christopher Reeve of Superman. Oops,
Speaker 8: she's got the wrong Australian George Miller. She got the
Speaker 8: one that did the Man from Snowy River, but also
Speaker 8: Les Patterson, says the world and Cybermutt the Bionic Dog.
Speaker 8: Hope she can laugh about it now. Thanks Pete.
Speaker 2: By Well, thank you, Pete. That's I never heard that
Speaker 2: story before. That is another great case of mistaken identity.
Speaker 2: I think pet was referring to. I think we spoke
Speaker 2: with Dave about Joel Cohen, who Bill Murray famously signed
Speaker 2: up to do the Garfield movies, thinking that Joel Cohen,
Speaker 2: that Joe Cohen was the same. Joe Cohen is in
Speaker 2: one half of the Coen Brothers, the famous iconic legendary directors,
Speaker 2: the Coen Brothers, And it was only when he got
Speaker 2: to set that he realized that completely different guys, completely
Speaker 2: different guys. So thank you. That's great lyrics at the
Speaker 2: last podcast. Yeah, I haven't heard the podcast, but I
Speaker 2: will to check it out. And yeah, fans, if you
Speaker 2: love movies, it sounds up Pete's loves his movies too,
Speaker 2: So check that out. And I believe we have a
Speaker 2: couple of emails. In fact, there's a debate. That's not right.
Speaker 2: I won't say he's raging. It hasn't got too and
Speaker 2: that fun of Cello stages just yet. But we had
Speaker 2: a conversation during an episode where we were speaking about
Speaker 2: tom Cruise and its actually with Todd Sampson when we
Speaker 2: short Shak Redemption, and we're talking about Tim Robins height,
Speaker 2: and we were saying I made off the carf remark
Speaker 2: because I had to shoot around Tim Robins height. It
Speaker 2: was quite tricky that this is why you'll never see
Speaker 2: Tim Robbins and Tom Cruise in the same movie. Somebody
Speaker 2: got in touch with me pointed that, of course they
Speaker 2: were in Top Gun together. They also pointed out that
Speaker 2: Tim played Goose. He didn't actually play Goose. So I'm
Speaker 2: calling out a draw, but I believe we have another
Speaker 2: email on this subject.
Speaker 7: Yes, the saga continues. This is called Tim and Tom
Speaker 7: from Christopher Hi, Pete love the podcast. I've been stewing
Speaker 7: over the debate whether Tim Robbins and Tom Cruise had
Speaker 7: ever acted together, and then thought it was going to
Speaker 7: be settled at the end of the Josh Lawson episode.
Speaker 7: Yes they were in Top Gun together, but they also
Speaker 7: had shared a pivotal scene in War of the World's
Speaker 7: thank you for doing what you do. Cheers Chris.
Speaker 2: Oh, Chris, Jesus is getting bigger. We're through the looking
Speaker 2: glass now. I didn't realize it was a second film
Speaker 2: out there. Okay, So Tim Robins and Tom Cruise have
Speaker 2: actually appeared in Top Gun in Our War of the World.
Speaker 2: I can't remember that scene. I think I've only seen
Speaker 2: the movie once or maybe twice. Yeah, I have to
Speaker 2: go back and watch. I mean, I take your word
Speaker 2: for it. I'm not disputing it, but I'll go back
Speaker 2: and check that scene out. I want it'll be interesting
Speaker 2: to see how they frame that scene. Yeah, Okay, if
Speaker 2: anyone knows the third film that Tom Cruise and Tim
Speaker 2: Robbins have been starring in together, let me know. Let's
Speaker 2: crack this thing wide open. Thank you Chris for getting
Speaker 2: in touch. I'm very much amused by this. Next episode
Speaker 2: of You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet, we complete the Holy Trinity.
Speaker 2: We have the third member of Nie Donna. We've had
Speaker 2: Broden who did each wonderful line, Mark did Citizen Kane.
Speaker 2: So next week Zach will be joining as Zach Ruan
Speaker 2: will be joining us to talk about film that up
Speaker 2: until recently, it was my favorite Australian movie ever, first
Speaker 2: strained film to win the Palm Dior at the Kahn
Speaker 2: International Film Festival, starring Edward Woodward starring Jack Thompson, Brian Brown,
Speaker 2: Chris Hayworth, Olf Floody, Stewart, Rod Malmer, bud Tingwell, they're
Speaker 2: all there. Lewis Fitzgerald in his film debut it is
Speaker 2: you probably worked at that by now, Breaking Morant an amazing,
Speaker 2: amazing film that is still timely to this day. If
Speaker 2: you haven't seen Break Him Morund, check it out. You
Speaker 2: will thank me later. A little fun fact. One of
Speaker 2: the source materials I'm sure I don't believe it was
Speaker 2: based on, but Kick Denton wrote a great book about
Speaker 2: Breaking Round, which for some of the background for this movie.
Speaker 2: I believe Kick Denton is the father of mister Andrew Denton.
Speaker 2: So there you got a little fun fact. But next
Speaker 2: week on the show, you went say nothing yet, Zach
Speaker 2: for money Donna Breaking Morant from nineteen eighty It'll be fun,
Speaker 2: trust me, love Zach Love Breaking Morant until then, By
Speaker 1: For now, and so we leave old Pete, save fan soul,
Speaker 1: and to our friends of the radio audience, we've been
Speaker 1: a pleasant good name.